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irisintheafterglow · 1 year ago

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if he's a ghost, then I can be a phantom

summary: the strawhats are summoned back to baratie so sanji can cook for a high-class diner. they can't figure out why zoro is so nervous. (opla!zoro x you)

wc: 2k

cw/tags: swearing, mentions of food and eating, established relationship, pet names (sweetheart, doll, lover, pretty), spoilers if you squint, sanji being himself and zoro having absolutely none of it

note: this was requested by an anon a few weeks ago and i finally got around to writing it!! every time i write for zoro, i have a new favorite fic i've made because he's just so fun to write for. hope you enjoy!!

likes, reblogs, and replies are always appreciated <3

“You know, they’re a lot hotter in person.”

“Shut your mouth, waiter, or I’ll skewer it closed,” he mutters with palpable distaste. Another swig of rum burns down his throat and, for the first time that the crew can remember, Zoro seemed nervous. It wasn’t obvious, but they’d sailed long enough to know that he never stopped surveying a room for threats, no matter how familiar he was with it. Today, though, the only thing that took his attention was the rim of his glass and he was subtly avoiding the eyes of the crew’s target. “This is the dumbest idea you’ve had in a long time.”

“Thank you for your input, Zoro. I will, however, be belaying it,” his captain replies brightly, unfazed by the blank expression of his first mate. The uneasy faces of his crew only makes him beam more, giddily excited for the anticipated challenge. “C’mon, guys. We’ll be fine. They just need to see how awesome we are and they’ll totally give us a new sail!”

“Loud, loud, too loud,” Zoro warns in response to the increasing volume of Luffy’s voice. They were already causing enough of a scene, as is, and he damn sure didn’t want other guests looking in their direction. To make matters worse, the amount of alcohol in the table’s bottle was dwindling too quickly for comfort.

“Hey, if we’re lucky,” Usopp offers, “we might just get a whole ship. You know, maybe one that Captain Usopp can command as the second ship in the Straw Hat fleet.”

“You think we’ll get a whole fleet?”

“Hell yeah. Maybe, we can all captain our own ships–”

“Alright, let’s get our heads out of the clouds,” Nami cuts in. “We still need to figure out how we’re going to get over there, in the first place. And just for the record, I’m with Zoro on this one.”

“First time for everything,” he deadpans. She smartly elects to ignore his sarcasm and continues to argue why the plan is a bad idea. The call from Zeff came at an opportune time and during an unfortunate situation when the Merry sailed straight into a torrential thunderstorm that ripped the main sail clean down the middle. Despite their best efforts to patch it up, it was beyond repair; with the Marines constantly on their tail, having a working sail was a matter of survival. Zeff’s reluctant summons for Sanji to cook for a special guest provided a means to buy a new sail and have a little extra spending money. But, in his wildest dreams, Zoro could not have predicted that the special guest was you. The smug look on the chef’s face snaps him out of his thoughts. “Shouldn’t you be in the kitchen, waiter?”

“Shouldn’t you be downing the rest of this bottle, drunk?”

“I’ll smash this damn bottle on your head, I swear–”

“No, no. Zoro has a point,” Luffy agrees. Sanji gives him an odd look and he quickly realizes what his statement insinuated. “Not about smashing the bottle on your head. We need you to bring them your food so then I can go over and talk with them.”

“You don’t think I can charm them on my own?”

“Don’t look so aghast, blondie,” Zoro answers and receives a knife-sharp glare in response. “This is not someone who will entertain your theatrics.”

“How would you know anything about them, hmm? I believe you’re a little too dead inside for their liking,” Sanji baits and Zoro’s on the verge of biting before Nami steps in again.

“Sanji, get in the kitchen. Let’s just get the money and get out of here.” Zoro silently thanks her in his head for effectively ridding the chef of the table for the time being. His gratitude turns into a grimace when she turns to him expectantly. “You’re gonna hate me for asking–”

“Then don’t ask,” he finishes. She doesn’t relent.

“How do you know them? It seems like you’re nervous about being here, but we’ve never met them before as a crew.” Hitting the damn nail on the head. “So, you must’ve met them when you were still hunting down pirates. Am I right?” He grumbles an unreadable response, but the slightly pink shade of his face tells the table everything they need to know. “You’re terrible at covering up secrets.”

“I don’t remember asking.”

“Ah, you’ve got him on the run, now. He’s deflecting,” Usopp chuckles, immediately shutting up when Zoro shoots him a deadly scowl. He hated that all of them were right and would never admit it to save his life. After all this time, seeing you still made his heart rate skyrocket and cause his hands to clam up with boyish nervousness. You were just as beautiful as the last time he saw you, instances that were too few and far between for his own liking. Your father would have a fit if he saw you in such an unregulated environment as Baratie, but he knew that you were safe. As long as you breathed the same oxygen, he vowed no harm would come to you.

“I met them when I first started hunting,” he admits and the words felt wrong on his tongue. Every nerve in his body was telling him to stop revealing his relationship to you. It didn’t matter if he’d almost died surrounded by his crew; his connection to you was sacred and something he was going to take to his grave. It was mostly for your safety, the late-night sneaking out and stolen displays of affection. In another life, he wouldn’t have to hide you from other hunters that wanted to see him fall. “Their father is a captain in the Marines. When I first met them, they were training with Mihawk. Their father wanted them to be the most feared Marine in the seas.” The jaws of his friends fell to the table and he knew how wild it sounded, a legacy Marine trained by a pirate lord. “But, Mihawk taught them more tricks than just swordfighting and their father fired him on the spot.”

“He taught them sympathy for pirates,” Nami concludes and he nods. “Why are you so shifty around them?” He shrugs half-heartedly and tries to make it look like his face wasn’t on fire.

“Just haven’t seen them in a while,” he states, zeroing in on the blonde asshole waltzing to you with a plate. Your surrounding guards stiffen, hands flying to the weapons at their belts. You, however, roll your eyes and tell them to stand down. He knew you hated going out with security because they were always watching, watching, watching. “Eyes up. The waiter’s making a move.”

A strange sense of nausea washes over him as he watches you smile politely at Sanji, laughing softly at his jokes and kindly nodding as he explains the dish to you. You trust them, Zoro keeps telling himself. That waiter doesn’t stand a fucking chance. All the reassurances don’t stop his gut from churning when Sanji does his signature lean-down-and-whisper-suggestively into your ear. To his surprise, however, you don’t immediately meet the chef’s eyes. Your attention flicks to Zoro, instead, with a look that he knows all too well.

Please get me out of this.

Despite the protests of the table, he’s standing in an instant and walking with his hands on his swords like your guards didn’t even exist. His sight becomes tunnel-vision on nothing but you and he bypasses your guards with ease. Your shoulders relax when he stations himself protectively behind you, much to the confusion of the chef in front of you. As subtle as he can, he rests his hand on the back of your chair, inching closer until he’s just barely touching your shoulder. It’s small, but speaks wonders for his presence.

“Zoro,” you murmur without looking up, your fingertips brushing against his knuckles. Your touch on his skin after so much time away feels electric.

“Hey, sweetheart.” Sanji stiffens at the term of endearment so easily leaving Zoro’s mouth and you can sense the boost it does for his ego. “Whatcha got there?”

“My new friend was just telling me about the dish he made. He said he crafted it especially for me, with his own hands,” you inform him with a sly sparkle in your eye. His jaw clenches unconsciously. You knew exactly what was going on in Zoro’s mind and he knew it, too. “Apparently, he can work wonders with his hands,” you remark casually and you can hear the chair crack under the force of the swordsman’s hand gripping it. To your delight, Sanji’s face has also taken on a slightly darker shade of red at how crassly you echo his suggestion. And in front of his rival, no less.

“Was he, now?” His tone is lethal and it sends goosebumps up your arms. “Well, it best be time for him to get back in the kitchen, no?”

“Mmm, but he said he had a proposal for me–”

“I had one for you too, though I did ask you in a much finer establishment than this one.” You can’t help the smirk that spreads on your face and you have to look to the side to keep from laughing aloud. Zoro’s jealousy was rearing a very indignant head; you’d be lying if you said you didn’t find it a little hot. “Got that stone on your left hand to prove it.” Sanji’s eyes darted to the band wrapped around your finger, a ring that looked suspiciously like the one hanging from a chain around Zoro’s neck. “Give us some time alone, yeah?” His question becomes rhetorical as he pulls out a chair next to you and tugs your seat closer until you can cross your leg across his. His palm rests possessively over your thigh and the chef gapes for a few moments more before turning back to the kitchen.

“That goes for all of you, please,” you order your guards without looking at them, absentmindedly tracing Zoro’s jawline with the back of your pointer finger. “Take my bag and buy however many drinks you want. I’m safe,” you state with absolute certainty. Once they’re gone, all you see, feel, and know is him.

“Hi,” he breathes.

“Hi,” you smile just as softly. “What’re you doing in a place like this?”

“I can ask you the same question, pretty.” His eyes shine with nothing but adoration. You forgot just how much you missed him.

“Took a detour to prolong my time at sea. I didn’t want to go home just yet.”

“Your old man’s being an ass again?”

“You know how he is,” you reply. “Why are you here?”

“Believe it or not, that blonde shithead is my crewmate. We’re here to get some extra Berry for a new sail.”

“Sail, hmm? I always knew you had a little pirate in you,” you tease and he sticks his tongue out immaturely. “Heard you fought my esteemed mentor. I don’t know what the hell you were thinking.”

“You don’t think I can beat him?”

“I don’t think I can fathom what will happen if you don’t,” you say quietly, swallowing a lump in your throat. “Don’t do any dumb shit, okay?”

“You’re acting as if I’m already leaving you again.”

“Aren’t you?” Your smile is sad and it makes his chest ache. When he beat Mihawk and killed your bastard father, he was going to give you the life that you deserved.

“Not yet,” he promises. “I don’t wanna go yet.”

“I don’t want you to go, either. How much do you need for that sail?” He gives you a number and you don’t even blink. You just nod and reach into your coin purse, fishing around and deciding to just give him the entire pouch. “Will that cover it?”

“Doll–”

“It’s a yes or no question, husband,” you say with lighthearted sternness. He shakes his head in exasperation but can’t hide the grin painting his features.

“Yes, lover. It’s more than enough.” He presses a kiss to your forehead and you hum in contentment. “Thank you, sweetheart.”

“Of course. D’you mind introducing me to the rest of your crew besides the flirty waiter?”

if you enjoy my writing and would like to support me, you can buy me a coffee on my ko-fi! you can also check out my full masterlist here :)

#zoro x you #zoro x reader #zoro x y/n #roronoa zoro x you #roronoa zoro x y/n #one piece x you #one piece x reader #opla x you #opla x reader #opla x y/n #zoro fluff #opla fluff #ask iris!#one piece x y/n

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toxycodone · 3 months ago

Note

PLLSS- what if like- curly kinda takes you under his wing as a crewmate, like his own kid even to the point where he calls you kiddo and HIS kid like overly proud- and no one bats and eye thinking it's cute even tho he is forcing u to call him dad behind closed doors even if your embarrassed <3

(Idk what content warning to use for this so. Go my scarab. Someone tell me if it needs to be tagged.)

Curly’s always been one to treat the crew as family. As much as you love the guy, you figure it’s a byproduct of his oncoming mid life crisis and the fact he really has no family of his own. It’s innocent enough (and honestly kinda cute) so you lean into it.

He gives good advice. Spoils you with treats and praise. Sticks up for you when things get dicey. It’s nice. He really is like a father figure to you, in a weird “we’re both adults and totally not related” type of way.

Anya thinks it’s adorable. Seeing Curly’s softer side makes her smile, plus, she thinks it makes Curly come outta his shell more. Gives him something to do besides stay in his head and worry. Jimmy finds it annoying as fuck, but doesn’t press the issue because it’s not worth the drama (Curly gets oddly defensive of the relationship). Swansea couldn’t give less of a fuck. But he’s giving side eyes from the start. He’s perceptive enough to know this favoritism is just a tad odd. Meanwhile, Daisuke’s extremely jealous. But also, he’s glad to see at least someone his age be so respected and tolerated on the ship.

and it’s all nice and fine and dandy until.

“It’s like I’m your dad, huh?”

Those words flash through your mind, prompting a quirk of your brow. Okay. Whatever. I mean, he’s not wrong? You guess? He kinda is like one. But maybe this didn’t need to be spoken out loud.

“You should call me dad!” Curly holds up a piece of candy—your favorite. Being holed up on the Tulpar for months on end has you more desperate than you’d like to admit for the food.

He shakes it a little, like an owner trying to prompt a pet to do a new trick.

“You gotta admit, right? C’mon, say it!”

His smile is bright. Blinding as usual. There’s no malice in his tone. It’s Curly. Captain Curly. He’s messing around. You can trust him.

“Dad…?” The word feels foreign on your tongue. It’s wrong, saying this to him. You’d like to get this over with as soon as possible. “Can you just give it to me already?”

“Hm? What’s the magic word?”

Anya’s within earshot for that, walking past the corridor. She gives a little chuckle before continuing on her way.

“Please.”

“Please…?”

“Please, *Dad*.”

“That’s my girl.”

He tosses you the candy with a wink. Despite getting your prize, you don’t feel like you’ve won. More like used, somehow.

#LIKE…..yeah im crazy.#captain curly #mouthwashing #mouthwashing x reader

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starlightsreigns · 4 months ago

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bloodline | the bloodline

summary ⇢ gianna feels like the shinest toy in the middle of a classroom with everyone eyeing it. she attracts all the interest when she walks into the room, and now it's causing chaos. But, chaos is so fun and it's only the beginning. word count ⇢ 10.1k tags ⇢ language, brief smut

note ⇢ she for the whole team — twins. but I started writing this and over time the main love interest kept changing as the story developed hahah. I'm just a girl and I love every version of the bloodline x

“i ain't lookin' for my one true love, yeah, that ship sailed away”

Gianna rubs her eyes trying to mask the exhaustion written all over her face. she forces a smile as the photographer lifts his camera towards her. the flashes don’t help with the headache that’s pounding through her skull. if anything, she wants to be in bed with her comfort movie and a pile of food — but of course, work always comes first.

“c’mon, Gigi, that’s the best you got?” a familiar voice booms through the room.

solo stands in the doorway of the room, a grin on his face because he knows he’s irritating her. “damn, my bad.” he raises his hand when she glares in his direction. “don’t be like that.”

eighteen years of knowing someone makes you immune to their antics. Gianna and Solo have been best friends since fifth grade; attending the same schools in California since kindergarten, but something changed in their last year of elementary school that brought them together – that something being their teacher sitting them beside each other. Their similar loud nature and her crush on his older brothers made their friendship blossom over the years. She was a cheerleader in high school, and he followed his brothers and cousin in being a football player. They spent every waking moment together, took the same classes, made the same jokes, and got close to each other’s family.

Graduation hit them like a ton of bricks – they spent 13 years always in the same state and school, and now that had to change. Neither one of them understood how much that would hurt. While he stayed in Sacramento for a while and then went on to North Dakota, Gianna moved across the country to Florida. They’ve always been committed to their friendship, which meant every holiday was spent in California and every school vacation was divided between there and Florida. For four years, they made it work through the school work, the various jobs, and the multiple relationships that found their friendship a little too high maintenance – but it only had to matter to them.

Gianna finished college, and with the push of Solo’s older brother, Jimmy and Jey convinced her to try out for WWE. It was always a pipe dream. They came from a wrestling family, the most prominent one at that, and she fell in love with it because of them. Gianna couldn’t imagine making it in the business, but the twins refused to let up. They’d take her to the performance center whenever they were in town until she was convinced she could do this. She trained and prepped until her body couldn’t take it anymore.

The distance came. Their friendship was harder to balance once she joined the main roster years later. Once he joined WWE, their schedules were even more of a mess, but again, if they could survive six years across the country from each other, they could survive the fucking apocalypse – and yeah, they survived the apocalypse to be on the same show now…

Gianna glances at Solo again. Usually, she’d smile at his comment, but any facial movements only exacerbate the growing pains in her body. And he could see it from where she stood. The way her face could barely hold a scowl and the glint in her eyes was gone – she was almost lifeless.

“You hungry?” He asks softly, seeing the way she was trying to hold it together.

After a slow nod, Solo gives her a thumbs-up and quickly disappears from the doorway. The rest of the photoshoot feels like a million years until she’s set free. Gianna gathers her stuff, shuffling through the hallway, bombarded by all the noise the backstage area unfortunately brings.

“Gianna, baby, you okay?” Naomi calls out where she sits in a makeup chair.

Gianna stops beside her, holding onto the arm of the chair, “No, I feel like absolute shit.” She holds onto her forehead, trying to steady the spinning room. Naomi holds onto her arm. “I think I just need to sit for a little bit.”

“You need me to walk you back there?” Naomi’s voice fills with worry. “Or, lemme call Jimmy.”

“Nah, I’m good girl, I can make it.”

Solo comes from behind her, seeing the look of concern on Naomi’s face, “Hey, you good?” He’s holding a plate of food from catering. “C’mon, lemme take you back to med.”

Naomi smiles at her brother-in-law before she meets eyes with Gianna, “text me, ‘kay?”

With a small hum, Gianna lets Solo lead her back to medical. She can barely remember the walk or anything that Solo says to her. To be truthful, she can’t remember anything from before she blacks out and wakes up hours later in confusion.

The world feels hazy as she takes a deep breath. The room is dim while the TV screen plays the current match. Gianna groans, realizing she passed out. From beside her, someone chuckles and Gianna groans louder when she knows exactly who it is.

“Of course, you’re still here,” she smiles softly as she looks over at Solo. “Please tell me I didn’t throw up or say something stupid.”

Solo sighs dramatically, “Now, you want me to lie to you, Gigi?”

“No!” Gianna’s eyes widen. “Was it bad?” She covers her mouth with a laugh.

“Doc was givin’ you fluids,” Solo starts and all Gianna can do is cringe. “You threw up over his shoes, said you was sorry, threw up again, then told us how much you love us for takin’ care of you.”

Gianna shrieks, laughing into her palm as she throws her head back. Solo follows suit in his laughter.

“You piece of shit, you should’ve kept all that to yourself.” Gianna shakes her head just as the door opens. “Hey, girl.” She greets Naomi who walks in cautiously.

Naomi grins, sashaying up to the bed, “girl I came in here earlier and you was out, dead to the world with this fool watchin’ over you.” She jokes as she takes a seat at the end of the bed. “How you feelin’?”

“Like a million bucks, apparently all I needed was some water and to empty out my fucking stomach.” Gianna rolls her eyes with a sigh. “Thank Jesus I didn’t have a match tonight or I would’ve killed myself.”

“Don’t say that, you know I hate that.” Solo rolls his eyes.

He was the sensitive type, not that he’d ever admit it. It’s what she adored most about him, since they were kids, he was very serious about statements like that and went to great lengths to always be there for Gianna. He never wanted to feel like he wasn’t communicating or was being purposely rude to anyone. Kindness was the biggest thing for him.

“I’m sorry,” Gianna reaches over to cup his chin. “I didn’t mean that.”

Naomi watches the pair for a moment, they way Solo instantly melts into a smile at the physical contact. The twinkle in his eyes when he watches her and how he falls into laughter when she says something stupid and it’s about the way he’s always talking in her direction, even when Naomi talks and he responds to her, his eyes always drifts towards Gianna to watch for her reaction.

This wasn’t new – Naomi and the twins often teased him about it, never in front of Gianna because he begged them to not make her uncomfortable, over the past couple of years but they’ve laid off the teasing because damn… they’ve known each other for years and have never made a move. But something about recently has made Naomi suspicious. Solo couldn’t seem to be away from Gianna for more than a single day. It’s the point that if she calls Gianna and she doesn’t answer, she knows to call Solo cause he’ll be with her.

“I gotta go get ready, but I’ll be back to get you later.” Solo stands from his chair, playfully throwing a pillow at Gianna as he walks towards the door. “See you Nao.”

“Bye, brother.” She calls out then turns her attention to Gianna. “Can I ask you something and you won’t be mad at me?” Naomi asks cautiously.

Gianna scrunches her nose, “and what exactly is this question?” She sits up in the bed. “And why would I be mad?”

Naomi sighs, “Why haven’t y’all dated?” She asks right out, catching Gianna off guard. “Y’all’ve known each other y’all whole lives.”

There’s a beat of silence while Gianna thinks about the question. She looks out at the wall. Strangely enough, it’s never been anything she’s sat and thought about. There was always someone she was in a relationship with. This is the first time she’s truly been single and the thought never crept in.

“I’ve never thought of him that way, honest, you know I broke up with whatshisname last year and we were together for six years. It’s always been purely platonic between me and Solo.”

For the rest of the night, the thought rings through Gianna’s head. Why hasn’t there been a romantic relationship between her and Solo? Now, she kinda wishes that it never came up because she’s not one that can hold her tongue and unfortunately, he knows her too well and will eventually read her face.

Gianna has to force the thought to sit in the furthest spot in her brain, it wasn’t something she had the time to worry about, and she’d been a little upset with Naomi for bringing it up. Even weeks later, there’s an air of awkwardness and she’s not sure why it’s there.

The hallway is empty as Gianna rolls her suitcase.

“Gianna,” Naomi’s voice calls out from behind her. Gianna stops reluctantly and turns. “G, you mad at me?”

They both continue their walk towards the locker room. Gianna sighs and shakes her head.

“No, I’m sorry girl, you know how I get sometimes.” Ginna apologizes, “I got uncomfortable with the thought and haven’t been able to face you.”

Naomi nods slowly, “I ain’t mean it like that, I was just askin’.”

“I know, it’s dumb, but he’s my best friend and funny enough when we left high school, I think we both left those thoughts in San Francisco. So, for the past thirteen years we’ve gotten into this perfect groove and yeah…”

When they walk into the locker room, it’s empty and almost eerily silent and it makes Naomi’s next question land in the center of the room like a pin drop.

“Do you think the reason you reacted like that was because you do like him and have liked him all the years?”

Gianna sets her bag down and turns to Naomi. She squints her eyes in disbelief.

“No, I don’t think that’s the case.” She answers bluntly. “And quite frankly, I really want you to leave this alone, Trinity.”

The atmosphere in the room turns uncomfortably cold as the pair stare at each other – it’s almost a stand down as neither one of them say a word. Naomi shakes her head, refusing to let the conversation go. Gianna rolls her eyes, retreating from the room before she has to hear anything else about it, but her friend is on her tail.

“Gianna, be serious.”

Gianna groans, “No, you be serious and drop it.” She grits through her teeth. Down the hallway, she spots Jimmy and Tama in the middle of a conversation. “Jimmy, Tama.”

Something or someone has to get Naomi off of her back and she’s hoping that her husband can help as the men turn to look at her.

“Hey G, what’s up?” Tama smiles, pulling her closer and resting an arm over her shoulder. “Why you look like you about to kill someone.”

“Cause, I’m ‘bout to kill your wife if she don’t leave me the hell alone.” Gianna points to Jimmy.

The men glances at each other before they look between either women. “What the hell goin’ on?” Jimmy asks.

Silence. Naomi raises an eyebrow, waiting for Gianna to say it but she knows she won’t let the words pass her lips. Gianna stares up at the ceiling as she shakes her head, anger not being enough to describe how she feels. Tama shakes her softly, smiling when they make eye contact.

“Talk to us, baby.” Tama rubs her arm.

“Jimmy, you’ve know me since we were kids, please.” Gianna begs then turns to Naomi. “And girl, I love you but don’t make me hate you.”

With that, Gianna shakes out of Tama’s arms and marches down the hallway. There’s nowhere to go, but she refuses to stand with them any longer. That’s the problem of knowing people for so long, there’s no separation in their personal life. All she wants to do is to forget this conversation ever happened and hope that Solo never hears about it, but now Jimmy and Tama knows and soon enough Jey, Tonga, and Jacob will know. None of those men know how to keep a secret if you paid them a million dollars.

Gianna is lost in her thoughts that she doesn’t hear Solo call her name. He grabs her hand to stop her, scaring her in the process. She snaps her head in his direction, faking a smile when she realizes who it is then gives him and Roman a quick nod.

“Hey, you two.” Gianna runs her fingers through her hair suddenly very uncomfortable.

Roman sends Solo a look before poking Gianna’s shoulder, “What’s up with you, G?”

It’s awkward for a moment as she tries to discreetly place some space between her and Solo, “nothin’, I’m just tired and tryna prep for my match tonight.”

“You ain’t look like this even with your mania match, for real, what’s going on?” Solo questions, closing the space between them.

Again, like said earlier, Gianna can’t hide a single emotion from Solo. Her face betrays her as if it doesn’t care what her brain says. She musters the best believable, fake smile she can and shakes her head.

“Y’all I’m good, I promise, can we talk later?”

How long is it appropriate to kinda ignore someone? There’s always been a need to place some distance between Gianna and the amazing Fatu/Anoa’i family before she lost her fucking mind. If she didn’t, she wasn’t sure her friendship with Solo would survive – and again, it’s the most important thing to them. She felt awkward and unlike herself. Naomi sort of took the hint to cool off, Gianna wasn’t sure if she came to that conclusion on her own or if Jimmy convinced her, but whatever it was, she was thankful.

Yet, ignoring people you’re on the same brand with came with making a lot of excuses – tired, training, media, family plans – whatever it was, she used it. Now, Solo wasn’t really accepting any more excuses, she can feel it. But Gianna needs a little more time to not feel so weird about everything.

After her match, Gianna strolls into catering, trying to figure out if she was actually hungry or if she was just anxious… or maybe she was both? She rubs her temple as she stares at a platter of cookies.

“You lookin’ for something sweet?”

Gianna turns to meet eyes with one Tama. She laughs softly with a nod.

“Yeah, tryna figure out if it’ll be worth cheating on my diet.” She stares at the cookies with a sigh. “If you eat one, I’ll eat two.” Gianna propositions him with a laugh.

Tama thinks about it for a second then shugs, “fuck it, let’s do it.” he laughs as they grab their cookies. “Can I ask you something?”

“Uh oh, that’s scary.” Gianna jokes as they walk out of catering. “Should I be scared of this question?”

The taller man lets out a loud laugh that makes her smile, “Nah, you ain’t gotta be scared, baby.” He waits for her to nod before he continues. “Let me take you out?”

Gianna stops to stare at him, “and why do you wanna take me out?”

Tama groans at the same question he’s gotten every time he asks her out. Unfortunately for him, Gianna always gave him the same response. He wraps an arm around her shoulder while continuing their walk.

“You play too much, G,”

Sunlight pours into Gianna’s living room as she lays sprawled on her couch, eyes transfixed on her TV. She could have said yes to Tama’s date, but her one weekend home in over a month… she needs to spend that at home for her sanity. The comfort of her couch and her puppy makes everything manageable.

The doorbell ringing doesn’t bother her puppy nor when she slips off the couch to peek into the peephole. Gianna bites her lip when she sees Solo on the other side, hands in pocket, almost expressionless. She shuts her eyes for a moment before she unlocks the door to come face-to-face with the man she’s barely spoken to in weeks.

“Hey,” Gianna smiles, pushing the door wider for him to come in. “I didn’t know you were comin’ over.”

Solo smiles then his brows furrow in confusion, “When have we ever called before showin’ up at each other’s house?” He watches her shut the door in silence. “What’s up with you, Gianna?”

They sit on the couch, Solo pets the puppy he hasn’t seen in a while, giving Gianna the chance to come up with whatever she needed to say. She’s never felt this anxious in her entire life and she wishes this wasn’t happening right now – why couldn’t she act normal about this? She knew what her feelings were and she thinks she knows what Solo’s feelings are, so why does she feel like she could go skydiving without a parachute?

“Gia,” Solo says. The only person in the world she allows to use that awful nickname. “Talk.”

“Naomi, a couple of weeks ago, was basically pressurin’ me about you and I’s relationship and why we’ve never dated. She wouldn’t let up on it no matter how many times I told her it wasn’t somethin’ you and I were interested in, and it just made me feel all awkward cause now I’m thinkin’ how many other people have the same idea as her and if maybe you was thinkin’ about us some type of way.” Gianna word vomits the entire sentence in one breath as she watches his reactions. When he doesn’t say anything she sighs. “Are you thinkin’ about us in another type of way, Solo?”

Solo runs his hand over his beard, “I’ve told them all not to do this shit over and over again, I don’t know why Naomi would do that, but Nah, G. You my best friend and it’s always been that since we was kids and it not gone change now.” He confirms. “I don’t like how you felt like you had to ignore me instead of just comin’ to talk to me about it.

Gianna swallows. There’s something in the pit of her stomach that doesn’t disappear after his answer, actually, it gets worse and she feels like she’s about to be sick, but sucks it up for the moment, mauling over his most recent statement.

“I didn’t know how you’d react, and I’m sorry, I just started feelin’ awkward and anxious, so I just took a step back.” She smiles softly. “I know how you are and I should’ve just went to you and told you.”

Solo finally cracks a smile. He walks up to Gianna, helping her up then envelops her in a bear hug. With their hearts pressed together, Gianna blinks away the sad tears brimming the corner of her eyes. She stares at the door, feeling nothing but… misery? On the opposite end, Solo shuts his eyes tightly with the exact same fucking feelings.

“Listen, man, you ain’t listen, G.” Tama throws himself back in his seat in anger making her laugh. “Oh, you think this shit is funny?”

Gianna tries to hold in her laugh, “Tama, I love you, but baby you can’t do no fucking coup de grace.”

Tama finds himself beyond words in their argument on whether or not he’d be able to steal Finn Balor’s finisher. On a Tuesday night, this was the best they had to do as they sat in the backyard of Jimmy and Naomi’s place, liquor in hand, and no expectations for the next day. Tama sucks his teeth, turning to look at Jey as he walked out on the patio.

“Man, tell this girl I can do Finn’s shit.”

Jey looks at the older man then lets out a holler, “Uce, you can’t do no fuckin’ coup de grace.”

With a shit eating grin, Gianna raises her glass then takes a sip, “I’ve said that for the past hour, thank you, my brother.”

She sticks her tongue out at him when he places a greeting kiss on her cheek and takes the seat next to her.

“Mr. Monday Nights, I feel like I never see you anymore.” Gianna sits up, crossing her legs. “How’s it goin’ over there? I been seein’ you and rhea.”

“Man, we chillin’, I’m just vibin’ with everything right now.” Jey grins. “When you comin’ back to the winnin’ brand?”

Gianna scoffs playfully, “I’m already on the winning brand, if anything, we might need you back.”

Jey shakes his head with a grin. He loks down at his glass for a moment then meets eyes with Gianna, “I miss travellin’ with y’all, but this is somethin’ good, you know?” He shrugs. “I know you missin’ me.”

“Of course I miss you,” Gianna stands and moves over to sit on his lap. “These dudes get on my last fucking nerve.”

Tama scoffs, “what I do to you, G?”

She rolls her eyes with a smile, “Nothin’, Tama, you ain’t do nothin’ to me.” Gianna says sarcastically before tipping the rest of her drink into her mouth.

“The girl crushin’ on me and doesn’t know how to say it.” Tama mocks with Jey.

“Oh yeah? So that means she got over her crush on me?” Jey raises his eyebrow.

They turn their attention to her as she slowly brings her glass down with wide eyes. Gianna’s mouth widen with a smile, trying to come up with a quick comeback.

“Oh, y’all playin’ tonight.” Gianna sputters.

Tama sucks his teeth, “you a horrible liar, G.” He shakes his head while Jey hums in agreement.

“And what did I lie about?” She challenges while she stands from Jey’s lap to retake her seat between them.

“Forget us,” Jey speaks up. “But when you say you don’t like my brother, we can see it on your face.”

In the silence of the patio, Gianna leans back in her seat. She should’ve known that this conversation would never truly end – it was inevitable. Jey and Tama share looks as they wait for her to say something. Tama scoots his chair closer to hers.

“Tell me somethin’ G,” Tama starts while Jey watches. “If you don’t like Solo, let me take you out tomorrow?”

Gianna smiles, “Oh, so you’re not worried about family, you just want me.” She raises an eyebrow. “Is that what this is?”

Tama chuckles then shrugs. “I mean, I don’t understand how they all known you all this time and haven’t taken you out.”

With his statement, Gianna turns to Jey and raises an eyebrow. Jey chuckles and runs his hand over his beard. “I don’t know, baby, you like family at this point. We can’t cross that line.”

“It’s okay, young me wanted you before I knew how annoying you are.” Gianna jokes as she places a hand on his cheek. “It’s all love though.”

Jey swats her hand away while they laugh. The door to the patio opens and catches their attention. Solo steps out, coming to join them on the lawn chairs. He sits beside Tama.

“What’s goin’ on, people?” He greets, clocking the way the guys are all sitting so close to Gianna. “I can hear y’all laughin’ from inside.”

“Nothin’ man, I’m tryna get G over here to go out with me tomorrow.” Tama looks into Gianna’s eyes as he says it making her laugh. “But she think I’m playin’ with her.” He jokes.

Thankfully the trio is both distracted and drunk or they would’ve seen the way Solo was burning a hole through Tama after his sentence. The way his grip tightens around his beer could shatter the glass. Solo rolls his head before producing a fake smile just as Gianna looks in his direction.

“They’re drunk as shit.” She lets out her own drunk giggle. Gianna studies Solo for a second then stands, holding a hand out for him to take. “Can we go talk?”

After their conversation at her house not too long ago, things went back to normal. But there are still times when Gianna catches him deep in his own thoughts when they’re together. There’s just a slight difference in their relationship now that isn’t noticeable on certain days, but she can see it now, even though her drunken haze.

It’s quieter at the front of the house, so Gianna and Solo rest on the hood of his car. She messes with the seam of her skirt as they sit in some silence. It’s as if they don’t know what to say to each other and it’s killing them.

“What are you thinkin’ about, sweet?” Gianna finally asks as she turns her head towards him.

Solo slowly shakes his head, “I ain’t know Tama had a thing for you.”

“I don’t think that the case, I think he just likes getting under my skin.”

Gianna shrugs. They sit in silence again for a moment then Solo nods.

“Let him take you out.”

What? Gianna wasn’t sure she heard what he said correctly. Never in their lives has he ever pushed her towards going out with someone, especially not family. Solo turns to look at her shocked and confused face. For a moment, his eyebrows furrow in confusion at her confused look, but then he nods.

“That’s not somethin’ you want, G?” Solo asks. “might as well, you know, you been single a while now.”

Gianna opens her mouth and closes it several times, “I don’t understand you, Solo, why would you tell me to go out with him?” Now she’s slightly irritated. “What the fuck?”

Solo holds his hands up in question, “I’m just sayin’, if you want to you should. Who you waitin’ on? Me? Man, go out with Jey too if you wanna, fuck ‘em if you wanna.”

That makes Gianna push off the car. She turns to look at him with pure anger, “If I wanted to I would’ve, but again, what I’m tryna understand is what the fuck are you saying to me?” She can’t explain the feelings in her body as she yells at him. “I don’t understand this anymore.” Gianna motions between them.

“And what is this?” Solo stands up straight.

“Our friendship?” She scoffs at his question. “You know what, Solo, I’m over this and I’m over you right now.”

Just as she finishes her statement, Jey and Tama walk out from the backyard. Solo glances in their direction then looks at Gianna.

“Aye, one of y’all can take Gianna home now.” He says cooly.

Gianna licks her bottom lip, “Wow, just like that?”

“You said you done, G.” Solo shrugs without a trace of humor. “So, be done and don’t worry about me.”

“Fuck you,” She spits, shoving him away from her. The tears hit her cheek before she can realize she even wanted to cry. “Cause I never would’ve said that shit to you in a million years but you think that’s fuckin’ cool to say to me then kick me out? You're a bitch.”

Gianna wipes her tears as she walks away from him. She stops in front of Jey and he immediately wraps an arm around her shoulders. He sends a confused look to Tama who in turns sends daggers at Solo.

The ride home is quiet. Jey had the unfortunate task of taking her home as Tama stayed behind, completely plastered. She sits in the passenger seat and stares out the window. It was a horrible way to end the night and she didn’t even understand where the hell it went wrong. All Gianna can think about is how her best friend essentially called her a slut because of a joke that’s been ongoing for the past year. This attitude wasn’t anything she’s ever seen from him before.

It broke her heart to think that he saw her in that light. She was never that person. He knew that, so why say it even if he was upset at her for whatever reason?

“What’s goin’ on with y’all?” Jey asks.

“I don’t know,” Gianna says through shallow breaths. “He basically called me a slut then told me to leave, not much explanation there?”

Jey glances at her shocked, “Uce said what?” He shakes his head. “I need to talk to him. Why he say that?”

Gianna rubs her temple, “Jey, he said I should sleep with Tama or sleep with you. I wish I fuck knew where he got the idea that I wanted that, but he’s convinced I do.”

By the time they make it to her house, Gianna’s panic attack is soothed. She gathers her heels and purse and looks at Jey. He gives her a sympathetic look then quickly gets out the car to open the door for her. They walk up to her door slowly and he waits as she looks for her keys then unlocks the front door.

“Thank you for bringin’ me home, and please just leave this whole thing alone. I really do think your brother and I just need some separation for a little while. I think we’ve been in each other’s faces for too many years and it’s just a phase.”

It was a wish that Solo would come to the conclusion on his own that what he said was wrong. Hopefully the separation would create some clarity for them both. Jey nods in understanding and pulls her into a tight hug.

“I got you, mama, you know that.” He murmurs into her ears. “And, how about we give him something to be mad about?” She can hear the smirk in his voice.

Gianna moves back to meet his eyes, “What do you mean by that?” She searches his eyes then breaks out into the biggest grin he’d ever seen. “Oh my God, are you gonna kiss me? Please tell me you are so I can prepare young me.”

Jey laughs brightly and nods. Gianna throws her stuff into the house, turns back to him, and watches as he leans into her. He presses the soft kiss on her lip, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her closer to his body. When they pull apart, Gianna covers her mouth in shock.

“You’re the greatest friend I’ve ever had in this life, thank you for that.” Gianna kisses his cheek.

“You know I got you, G, goodnight.”

As he walks back to the car, Gianna stands in her doorway. She laughs to herself at the fact that she got to kiss her first ever crush, even though it wasn’t in the most romantic way. She waves as Jey pulls of and closes the door to the dark house. The kiss was amazing, but it wasn’t something either of them were ever going to pursue, it was a way to make her feel better.

Why does she feel like shit about the events earlier in the night? She didn’t do anything wrong but here she was wondering if she should text Solo first.

There are rare instances that Gianna and Solo fought. It was rare. For them to find themselves at odds, it’d have to be serious. Their first ever fight was in elementary school when Gianna decided to sit next to another kid for an entire week. Solo proceeded to throw paper balls at her for the week until she sat next to him again. Then, in middle school, Solo thought it’d be the bright idea to date Gianna’s nemesis. They spent half of their seventh grade year at odds. High school was probably their biggest fight. For years they couldn’t come up with the reason as to why the fight started, but Gianna remembers that she started talking to some guy on the football team whose name she can’t even remember anymore.

It was her thought that Solo would be okay with it, he knew about it, and didn’t say anything. Her relationship with the guy was fine, until it wasn’t. A rumor started that her and Solo liked each other. It wasn’t true and no matter how many times she explained it to her boyfriend, he just seemed to hear something different. The real kicker came when she found out that Solo was making stuff up and telling other players, who of course shared it to other players until the entire team was talking about it. The fight started when Gianna showed up on his porch. He denied it, even though they both knew he was doing it. For the life of her, she couldn’t understand why he’d sabotage her relationship. He said it was because he didn’t trust the guy.

No correlation, he was right, her boyfriend was a piece of shit who was cheating on her, but that wasn’t the point. It took them until the following summer to make up.

There’ve been several more fights post high school. All of them revolved around her relationships. Either the guy was too nice, too douchey, or just was plain boring. No one ever seemed to be quite right. Yet, everything before paled in comparison to this one.

No contact is what they’ve been for the past three weeks. He avoids her when they travel, they don’t text, they don’t call. Gianna’s sick and tired of this shitty ass attitude he’s had towards her and refuses to be the one that fixes it. So, she’s letting it run its course, if it ever does. Hopefully it does or it’ll ruin the next few days.

“Hey girlie,” Naomi smiles, wrapping her arm around Gianna as she sets her carry on down.

Gianna scrunches her nose, “Hey baby doll, you look cute.” She scans Naomi’s outfit for the flight. “Your ass is actually insane, bro, how Jimmy handle all that?”

Naomi laughs as they find a spot to sit, “Girl bye,” she waves her off. “Did you bring your best outfits?”

“Oh, of course, I plan on being the best dressed.”

Once a year, for the past ten years, they all take a big vacation to relax. Naomi and Gianna were the ones to convince everyone and it’s become habit. This year, they decided on Puerto Rico because they loved it so much when they all went for Backlash. It was probably one of their easiest ones to pick – usually it’s a big group argument about where to go, and this years they’ve invited three new, annoying people in Tama, Tonga, and Jacob.

“Where are the brothers?” Gianna quickly glances around.

“They went to get somethin’ to eat, you know how they are.” She rolls her eyes then clears her throat. “You and lil man talkin’ again?”

Gianna chuckles at the nickname but shakes her head, “No, I think we just need some more time.”

And unfortunately, the three hour flight had Solo and Gianna sitting besides each other. They both bought their tickets months ago and it was awkward. Neither of them had the idea to switch seats, but both had their headphones on, acting as if the other wasn’t there. Gianna’s eyes rarely stray from the window out of fear of making eye contact with him.

Hours flew by from the plane ride, to the awkward waiting for their car, and the hour drive to the rented villa. Gianna wants to run and hide and take the ride with Tama and Tonga and Jacob, but Naomi wasn’t having it, so she found herself squished beside her in the quietest car ride.

Sunset shines off everyone’s sunglasses when they finally get to the house. Gianna flicks her hair over her shoulder as she grabs her suitcase from the driver with a small smile.

“G, you sleepin’ with me?” Tama yells out.

Their car pulls in with him hanging out the window. Gianna laughs as she turns to see them. Tama leaves the guys behind to wrap his arms around her.

“I can’t share with you,” Gianna laughs against his chest.

Tama raises an eyebrow, “cause you can’t keep your hands to yourself when it comes to me?”

Gianna pushes him away but he doesn’t move, “no, cause you can’t keep your hands to yourself.” she smiles, glancing at his hand that’s at the top of her ass. “like right now.”

“I can’t help myself when it comes to you, G.”

His eyes never leave hers as he talks and Gianna finds herself, for the first time, completely lost in the thought of his words. She hums softly and looks around at everyone making their way towards the front door.

“Fine, we can share, but you have to promise to keep your dick in your pants.” She stares up at him. “Unless, I say otherwise.” Her voice dips as a glint sparkles in his eyes.

The house is absolutely insane. Once everyone claims their rooms: Jimmy and Naomi in one, Gianna and Tama in one, then everyone gets their own with a single room left empty, they meet in the kitchen to eat before getting started.

“Where’s Roman? I thought he was traveling with you guys?” Naomi points to Tonga.

Tonga sips his water, “He should be here later tonight.”

“Who invited you?” Gianna points to Jacob who’s pulling out his cigarettes.

Jacob throws a wrapper in her direction making her laugh, “Didn’t you ask me, Gigi?”

Gianna gags at the nickname, “And I think I’m regrettin’ that now.”

“Oh Gigi,baby, you know you love me.” Jacob comes around the counter, wrapping his arm around her waist. She leans her head away with a groan. “Don’t act like that.”

Gianna folds under the pressure, giving into a smile and letting Jacob hug her. He’s the biggest teddy bear of the group and she can’t be mad at him for too long, even if she was only pretending.

“Man, y’all let’s eat.”

Most of them took a nap after they ate. Gianna sighs into her pillow when she feels Tama’s hand on her hip. She keeps her eyes closed, but slaps his hand away.

“Tama, stop playin’, I’m tired.”

Tama groans softly, moving closer to rest his chin on her arm, “I ain’t tired, G.”

Gianna opens her eyes and looks over at him. She searches his eyes for a while before shifting down to see his shirtless torso and it’s a fight to bring her eyes back to his.

“You’re a horny fuck, do you know that?” she asks softly, laying on her back. “Why you stressin’ me, Tama, you haven’t let me breathe since we met.”

They met several years ago at an event. The twins introduced them and it’s been history ever since. He was the biggest flirt she’s ever met and she’s his primary victim. Once he joined the main roster, she hasn’t had a moment of peace.

“I can't let you pass me by, Gianna.” He leans up on the palm of his hand, hovering over her. “I want you.”

She shies under his gaze. His usually playful face is more serious than she’s ever seen. Gianna watches the way his other hand slowly moves the duvet from her body. Tama gets on his knees in front of her and pulls her up against him so they’re both kneeled in front of each other.

“We can’t be together,” Gianna whispers softly, feeling his hand on her back. “You know that.”

“I know that, G.”

Yet, the doesn’t stop either of them as their lips come together. Gianna sighs into his lips while Tama wraps his arm around her waist and pull her into his bare chest. The kiss starts to get frantic, neither one of them wants to pull away, it’s like life or death. Tama manuevers them back onto the mattress, but Gianna snaps out of his and pulls away.

“I need to cool off,” She rolls to the other side of the bed, trying to catch her breath while he lays besides her. “I’m gonna go get some water.”

Gianna gets to the bottom of the stairs, playing with her hair as she tries to find a light switch in the darkness. She finally turns one on then looks for the glasses to get a drink of water. She’s barely down a sip when she hears a knock on the door. Gianna hesitates for a minute, looking down at the oversized judgment day shirt she was wearing with nothing else.

She walks over cautiously and peeks towards the glass door but calms when she sees the familiar, friendly face. Gianna cheers as she runs towards the door.

“Ro, you’re here,” she throws the door open. “How was your flight?”

Roman takes a deep breath as he shuffles in, “exhausting, but hey G.”

She chuckles, giving him a quick hug, then takes him over to his room that’s on the main floor near Jimmy and Naomi. Roman drops down on the bed with a huff as she stands in the doorway.

“Excited to not think about work for the next three days?”

“Very,” He peeks at her. “You upstairs?”

Gianna nods, “Yeah, i’m sharing with Tama.”

That catches Roman’s attention and he sits up, “Huh… Why’s that?”

For a moment she thinks about it, suddenly very cautious and aware that she just made out with him.

“I dunno, he asked so I said yes.” She speaks slowly.

“Well, if you need an escape from that fool, you got a space down here.”

With a smile, Gianna blows him a kiss, “I appreciate that, Ro, I’ll let you shower.”

Back in the living room, Tonga and Jacob were sitting on the couch in their own conversation. Jacob whistles when he sees her. Gianna rolls her eyes and goes around to sit across from them on the couch.

“I thought y’all were passed out,” She crosses her legs.

Jacob groans, “Man, this fool woke me up talkin’ ‘bout it’s time to drink.”

Gianna laughs and leans her head back against the arm of the couch to stair at the ceiling, “I’m down with Tonga, where’s everyone else?”

“Jim took Naomi and Solo to the store.” Tonga says as he watches the way Gianna absentmindedly taps her exposed thigh. “Tama ain’t botherin’ you, is he?”

“Nah, he’s not botherin’ me.” Gianna meets his eyes. “Not yet at least.”

For a little while, the trio sit in a meaningless conversation about backstage at Smackdown. Tama joins them not long after, taking a seat beside Gianna, stealing glances at her when she’s talking. Their conversations halts when the door opens and a loud cheer comes from Jimmy.

“Good, all your asses awake now.” He calls out as she comes into the living room with the bags.

Gianna gets on her knees on the couch, facing him, “so, what’s in the bags?” She smiles hopefully.

“You wondering if I got your stuff?” He raises an eyebrow. Jimmy shuffles through the bag before he pulls out a bottle of 1942 Tequila. “You know I got you, sis.”

With a dramatic sigh, Gianna grabs the bottle and kisses it before she sends Jimmy an air kiss. She peers back to catch a look from Tonga. He smirks and leans in towards Jacob to whisper something to him. Jacob chuckles and peers over at her.

They don’t look away when she keeps her focus on them. So, Gianna shakes her ass in their direction. Tama whistles and grabs her by the waist, pulling her t-shirt down.

“Nah, this all me.” He points to Tama and Jacob.

Solo and Noami come out from the kitchen and she claps her hands to get everyone’s attention.

“You two, c’mon, y’all been nappin’ too long.” Naomi points to Tonga and Tama. “G, give me the bottle.” She holds out her hand and Gianna sadly gives it back.

Gianna sighs back into her seat with a pout making Jacob laugh. She turns to look back at Solo then quickly turns around when they make eye contact. Her heart falls and she drops her head down to stare at her legs. Jacob looks up at Solo and widen his eyes then look at her. Solo, thankfully, gets the hint and clears his throat as he comes to sit beside Gianna.

“Can we go outside and talk, Gia?”

The nickname makes her look up. She nods slowly and follows him out to the backyard. There’s a pool and they’re overlooking the ocean as they sit on the lounge chairs across from each other.

A silence sits amongst them for a while as Gianna massages her scalp. Solo keeps his eyes on her while trying to come up with the first word to say. She finally looks at him and raises an eyebrow. For all the years they’ve known each other, if he fucked up, Gianna will sit in silence until he apologizes, and she’s good at that.

“Gianna, I was an ass to you and I’m sorry.” Solo finally talks. “I didn’t mean what I said and I never should’ve said it. You’re my best friend.”

Gianna swallows hard, “why’d basically call me a slut?”

Solo shakes his head and looks down in shame, “it’s dumb,” he says lowly. Gianna uses her foot to nudge his to continue. “I felt like you was pullin’ away from me, and then you was getting close with them and I just…”

“So you were jealous?” She nudges him again.

“I shouldn’t, cause you can hang with whoever you want, I don’t own you.” He meets her eyes. “I want us to go back to how we were, Gia, I love what we got and how we doin’ it.”

When he finishes, Gianna rubs her hands together, “I accept your apology, because you’re my best friend, and I know your heart.” She reaches out and grabs his hand. “If you ever imply that i’m a slut ever again, I’ll cut your dick off.”

They break into a smile then a fit of laughter as they stare at each other. Solo stands and pulls her into his arms in a bear hug. He lifts Gianna off the ground as she shriek, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“I love you, Gia.” Solo sets back on the ground.

“Love you much more.” She caresses his cheek like the million of times she has before. “I’m happy we’re cool now.”

She turns first to walk away but feels his hand hold her in place.

“Also, I said it like an asshole, but really, Tama likes you.”

Gianna searches his eyes, for what, but she’s not sure what she’s expecting. Her stomach slightly drops but she sports a smile and a nod.

“Yeah, I know.”

Solo walks in first, leaving her outside, in the middle of her thoughts. Gianna watches him bounce around the room, obviously a weight off of his shoulder after their conversation. Yet, now she feels a million time heavier.

Tama peeks his head out the house. He sends a bright smile and steps out to stand with her. Gianna stares into his eyes, making a decision to let go of the one thing that’s been gnawing at her. She steps closer to him and holds onto his arms. Tama knows the look in her eyes and nods silently for a little bit.

“So, it’s a no for us?” He finally questions.

Gianna places a hand on his cheek, but then immediately moves it, “the opposite, actually, we can see how this goes.”

He squeezes her in a hug, but all Gianna can do is stare at Solo from inside the house. When they move eye contact, she holds it until he’s the first to look away.

Back inside, Gianna stealthily grabs the bottle of 1942 and hurries back into the living room. She jumps onto the couch just as Roman arrives. He glances down at her and chuckles.

“Who bought you Tequila?” He rests against the arm of the couch. Gianna shrugs, trying to mask her grin. “You know you get crazy off that Tequila, G, what we gettin’ into tonight?”

Gianna thinks for a moment, “i’m getting fucked up off this 1942, everything’s up.”

Roman claps his hands on her shoulder, “you do know you get really sentimental when you drunk? Save me a kiss when you go around kissing everyone.”

A laugh falls from Gianna’s mouth, “you’ll get the first kiss this time, promise.”

Drunk Gianna is fun Gianna. It’s her and a bottle of Tequila against the world. Instead of going out the first night, it was easier for them all to just eat, drink, and listen to music at the house. Gianna was about five shots deep, pouring Tequila into everyone’s mouth as it got later into the night.

They pulled the sliding doors all the way open, letting the music waft out poolside. Jimmy and Naomi were in the pool, lips stretched, Jey and Solo were going between the patio and the living room, Gianna sat on Tama’s lap in the living room with Roman and Jacob as they played 2K.

“G, baby, ain’t it time for your drunk kissin’?” Naomi called out from the pool.

“Yeah, I'll save yours for later.” Gianna sticks her tongue out. “Ro, you want another shot?”

“Pour it up,” He responds, his eyes not leaving the screen.

Gianna gets off Tama’s lap, takes a moment to steady herself then drops down beside Roman. She carefully leans his head back to pour the tequila into his mouth. They lock eyes as she does so. After his mouth is full, Gianna moves the bottle and lets him go, but neither of them look away.

“I'll come back for you later,” Gianna winks, using her finger to place his attention back onto the tv.

A sudden yell from the kitchen catches her attention. Gianna makes her way into the kitchen to see Tonga and Solo turn to look at her with their hands behind their backs. She rests against the counter to steady herself then takes a sip from her bottle.

“And what are y’all up to?” She raises an eyebrow.

Tonga glances at Solo before he lets out a sigh, “we unfortunately can’t tell you that, G.” A wicked smirk on his lips.

Gianna cocks her head to the side. She taps her nail on the counter before shrugging her shoulder. “That’s fine, you’ll come crawling to me later.” She winks while turning on her heels.

As she leaves the kitchen, Gianna smacks herself on her ass. She sighs softly in the living room. She leans over to whisper into Tama’s ear.

“Wanna go into the pool?”

Tama looks up, “you ain’t gotta ask me twice.”

Outside, Gianna finally sheds the oversized shirt she’s been wearing, leaving her in a bra and thong. Naomi whistles at the sight making Gianna blow her a kiss.

“c’mon, G.” Tama watches as she takes a swig of the 1942 then places the bottle at the edge of the pool.

After jumping into the pool, splashing the other couple, Gianna pulls Tama further down with her. She wraps her legs around him as they surface. Gianna closes her eyes as he twirls her around in the water. She closes her arms around his neck, pushing their bodies together.

Without a word, Gianna draws him into a kiss. Tama doesn’t miss a beat, falling into the rhythm. His arms tighten around her. All the noise, mostly coming from the other couple cheering them on, falls into the background as it becomes messier.

A drunk Gianna finally pulls away with a laugh, floating onto her back. She was too drunk to even process anything more than Naomi pulling her arm towards her.

“G, girl, I need to party like you.” Naomi laughs.

“Babe, my bottle of 1942 is off limits, sorry!” She shouts, swimming up towards the edge to grab the bottle. Gianna pours more Tequila into her mouth before stumbling out of the pool. “where’s everyone?”

She stumbles lightly into the living room. Gianna scans the room, only seeing Roman on the ground. She whistles to catch his attention.

“You comin’ in?” Gianna asks but he shakes his head. She walks over to him and drops down next to him. “More ‘42?”

Roman takes the bottle out of her hand and pours some of the liquor into his mouth, “you drippin’ water everywhere.” His voice is dark as he stares at her bare legs.

“Then grab me a towel.” She raises an eyebrow.

He gets up, pulling her alongside him into his room. Gianna sets her bottle on the dresser and runs her fingers through her wet hair, mentally cursing at the fact she’ll have to wash it later. Roman comes out of the bathroom with a towel, pausing to watch her.

Gianna meets him where he stands. She slides the towel out of his hand and wipes down her body. When all the water is dry, she tosses the towel on the ground and then turns her attention to Roman who's still silent. She steps closer to him, messing with the hem of his shirt.

“You got me alone, in the dark, you not gonna take advantage of this moment?” Gianna murmurs when they gaze into each other's eyes. “Cause i’m waitin’ on you.”

Roman chuckles, “You don’t need no more tequila.”

She shrugs at the comment. Yet, even with that, he doesn’t move an inch, but instead, continues to watch her actions. Gianna gets on her tiptoes slowly, hands on his chest to keep herself steady. She doesn’t say anything, only stares into his eyes, until his eyes drift down onto her lips. Roman finally captures her lips with his, making her lose her breath.

In the pitch-black darkness of the room, Roman pins Gianna against the wall with his hands cupping her face. It catches her off guard at first, the sheer hunger in the kiss, the neediness, was unlike anything else — this is a new question she needs answered. Roman hikes her legs up around his waist, one hand firmly on her ass to keep her up.

“This what you wanted, G?” He growls in her ear, getting a moan in response. “I been watchin’ you with Tama all night, now you wanna be in my bed?” Roman continues, peppering kisses down her neck, sucking on a sensitive spot.

Gianna arches her back against the wall, “And so what? is that a problem for you?” she hits back, knowing there’d be a hickey in that spot he was still sucking on. “Are you tryna mark me?”

“I don’t need to mark you, baby, I can make you mine without all that.”

His mouth moves up to her lips again, taking her into a breathless kiss, “You’re so fucking cocky,” Gianna says in a breath before his lips is back on hers.

Breathing is harder every time Roman pulls away. Gianna’s head spins, but she’s never one to tap out. Her fingers slowly massage her raw and swollen lips while making note of how long he’s been holding her up. Roman swipes her fingers away to look at his handiwork, making her nervous under his strong gaze. He finally breaks a small smirk.

“Where you sleepin’ tonight?” He questions, but Gianna can tell it wasn’t a question.

“I actually have no plans on goin’ back out there.” She murmurs when being placed on her feet.

Roman nods. Gianna grabs the bottle of 1942 and sits on the edge of the bed. She downs the last of it and lays back on the bed. All she can do is let out a soft laugh when one random thought pops into her head: maybe she is a slut. But, honestly, who gives a fuck?

Life is more fun when you don’t give a fuck.

Gianna sits up slowly, “Are you just gonna sit there or should I go find someone else?”

“That’s a threat, G, you wanna threaten me?” Roman stalks up towards her. Gianna eyes the boner he has under his joggers then shrugs. “What you lookin’ at?” He smirks.

Feeling his soft touch on her skin, Gianna flips onto her stomach and looks back at him, “Please?” She rests her head on the mattress.

How could he say no when she asks so nicely. Roman trains his eyes on her as he drops his jogger, chuckling at her reaction. His hands slide up her legs before massaging her ass. Gianna's eyes flutter shut, even when he helps drop her up on her knees. His rough hands were weirdly soothing to her.

“Gianna, look at me,” His voice rough.

When she opens her eyes, a gasp escapes her lips as he pushes into her slowly. With her thong to the side, Gianna can feel every inch of him pressing into her. She clutches the bed sheets not finding enough air in her lungs.

“Fuck,” Gianna moans into the bed, feeling his hand on her stomach. “Roman, please.” She pleads at his achingly slow pace.

“I got you baby,”

With one swift buck of his hip, Roman fully pushes into her then pulls out, repeating those steps until there were tears of pleasure streaming down the side of her face. Gianna’s moans were breathy at his erratic movements.

Roman grunts softly, “talk to me, G, how you feelin’?” He leans to whisper in her ears.

“Just keep goin’, please, I need it.” Gianna begs, unable to think of anything beside the sensation pulsing through her body. “I need it.” She muffles a loud moan into the mattress.

Her legs, now shaking, couldn’t hold her up anymore. She was shaking so bad. Roman pulls out, chuckling at her groan, to turn her onto her stomach. He waits as Gianna pulls her thong off and throws it across the room. Roman pulls her towards the edge of the bed and plunges into her. Gianna’s back arches off the bed, wraps her legs around him, unwavering in their eye contact.

Ecstasy would be the only word to describe what’s pulsating through her body. She finds Roman’s arm, digging her fingernails into his skin to find some form of tension. Gianna’s eyes roll to the back of her head, a loud moan reverberating through the room as she came down from the high. She was barely breathing when he pulled out of her, cumming on her stomach.

There were no other words when Roman collapsed beside her. Gianna rolls towards him, resting her head on his chest. Before a minute passed, they were knocked out.

The sun in the room blinds Gianna when she finally opens her eyes. She moans softly, sitting up, but freezes in realization that she’s not in her own room. Beside her, Roman stirs.

“Oh, shit.” Gianna covers her mouth, glancing around to see her bra and thong alongside Roman’s clothes. “Oh… shit…”

Roman grunts as he opens his eyes. When he looks in her direction, his eyes widen. Gianna runs her hands through her hair not knowing how to start this conversation. That, and the fact, that she can’t get out of bed because she’s naked.

“G, baby, did we…” Roman sits up as she nods. “Oh, shit.”

Before anything else is said, Gianna bursts into a fit of laughter. She shakes her head at the scenario in front of them. Roman finally cracks a smile, running his hand down his face.

“Okay, I’m gonna get up and leave before anyone sees us.” Gianna slides out of the bed, finding her bra and Roman’s shirt. She turns to look at him before quietly exiting the room.

The living room, thankfully, is empty, but Jacob and Jey are passed out on the couch. Gianna tiptoes to the kitchen and starts the coffee. Anything can help with this hangover. When it is ready, she takes her coffee out by the pool. Her feet dangle as she thinks of the mess she’s put herself in now.

“There you are,” Naomi walks out in her bikini, taking a seat beside the younger woman. “You went missing last night.”

“I passed out in Roman’s bed, bless his heart.” Gianna smiles. “I need to lay off the Tequila sometimes.”

Naomi laughs, “Girl, I don’t think anyone here, beside me, can remember anything from last night.” She says then clears her throat. “So, how are things with you and Solo?”

Gianna sips her coffee slowly, “We’re good. He apologized and told me to get with Tama.”

“That’s good,”

For a long moment, neither one of them says anything. Gianna can only think about how she woke up in Roman’s bed. There’s no one she can confide in — as much as she loves Naomi, the information will eventually find itself being shared with Jimmy and it’ll make the rounds from there. She runs the risk of Solo and Tama finding out and that’s the last thing she wants.

“I’m gonna go shower the Tequila smell off of me, be back and we can swim?” Gianna starts to get up.

“I’ll be right here, G, I’ll save you a mimosa.”

Gianna winks as she enters the living room. Jey stirs on the couch, groaning loudly. She leans against the arm of the couch for a second.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty, coffee?”

Jey nods with his lopsided smile. “You’re my savior, G.” He scans her outfit then chuckles. “You don’t own pants?”

“Nope, but you can just say that my half naked body makes you horny.” She teases when he grabs the mug from her.

“Oh, that’s what you wanna hear?”

Gianna shrugs, lightly yawning with a stretch, purposely raising the shirt to give a glimpse of her ass. “Who knows, but you staring at my ass tells me more than anything else.” She winks.

“You play dirty,” Jey groans softly, leaning his head back.

“It’s the only way to play, Jey.”

Upstairs was quiet. Gianna found Tama asleep on bed, body horizontal. She slips into the shower and sighs under the warm water. Lost in her own thoughts, Gianna leans against the cool tiles, letting the water cascade down her body.

There are rarely moments that make Gianna stop and think. She’s always been the wild child, that’s what people love about her, the willingness to throw caution to the wind, party until the sun rises and not remember what happened the night before.

In her last relationship, she took precautions — too many precautions because her ex didn’t appreciate the wildness she brought along. Now, she’s not understanding why she’s acting out. Sleeping with Roman was never part of her plans, if anything, it almost concerns her. Yes, he’s the most attractive human on the planet, but it was never something she thought of.

The person she wants, she’s now realizing, doesn’t want her. Gianna is in love with her best friend, but he’s not in love with her. How was she supposed to deal with that?

Gianna doesn’t do well with unrequited love, it makes her crazy. It makes her act erratically. It’ll literally drive her insane.

“G, baby, that’s you?” Tama’s hoarse voice slices through the room. He opens the fogged shower door in nothing. “You doin’ okay?”

She looks at him for a moment then pulls him into the shower. Tama licks his lips as she presses him against the wall. Gianna runs his chest softly and slowly moves down until her hands wrap around his dick.

No, she’s not doing okay. But, when life gives you lemons: fuck.

one of my most hectic pieces of work. thanks for ignoring all my grammatical errors... i literally went to school for writing

but until next time... or until part two x

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your-unfriendlyghost · 2 months ago

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Johnny cade for the "give me a character" thingy cuz I love him :3

How I feel about this character

I love Johnny, man. Very simple feelings ‘bout him, but yk, I love him. I don’t often…spin him ‘round in my brain like I do with some of the others, but I have a lot of strong opinions abt him and I love him lol

All the people I ship romantically with this character

I occasionally ship him with Dally, but only occasionally. Idk they’ve got something goin on but idk what lol. I definitely don’t see them as an older brother and little brother, although I get where people are coming from- idk though, that’s like the least interesting take on their whole…deal for me I guess? I (personally) don’t think Dally and Johnny are brotherly/parental at all, and reducing them to that means losing out on the much more interesting (I think) dynamic that they do have- like Dally can’t be vulnerable with anyone BUT Johnny, and Johnny is at his most confident with Dally. And he has power over Dally that no one else does. It could be romantic or platonic for me, but the important thing is that they’re equals imo. I mean c’mon, only one of them’s canonically stabbed a guy to death, and it ain’t Dally. They’re tied together somehow idk man

I sorta like the idea of Johnny and Sylvia being something tho. I don't think abt it much, but it adds something morally bad to a character that’s supposed to be purely good that I find fascinating. Not the sorta ship I ship per se, but one I like toying with sometimes because there’s so much to unpack there ig. I don’t usually see it as canon but I sometimes like it.

Finally, I read this GUT WRENCHING fic one time where Johnny was who Sandy cheated on Soda with. I…really liked that fic. The ship hits a lotta the same notes as Johnny/Sylvia but explores Johnny and Soda…idk man again not the sorta thing I usually see as canon but holy shit the fic kinda blew my mind lol. It’s here if y’all wanna check it out- mind the tags and all. It’s a rarepair but it KILLS me man. It ain’t…canon to me, but I think abt it sometimes (the ship and the fic) and just feel things idk. (Part of that is probably b/c I love Soda, but yk)

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Uhh Dally also honestly

I mean Johnny and Pony are close too, but I really don’t see them as BEST friends. Ik a lotta people do which is perfectly valid, but in my head they’re…not? I dunno. They’re definitely friends, but TO ME it’s in the way that I’m friends with kids who I’ve grown up with who are like cousins to me now- we’re close, and I know they have my back, and I could tell them anything if I really wanted to, but I probably won’t unless we’re alone together in a church for a week. (@veggiesforpresident just talked abt them earlier today here, and she put it into words a helluva lot better than I am rn- definitely check that out)

My unpopular opinion about this character

He’s tough. I mean everyone knows that, but I’m not massively fond of fics/art that portray him as small and soft. Like sure, Pony sees him that way, but to the rest of the world Johnny is a hood. He may be small, but he can fight. He loves drag races, man!

Idk, Ralph Macchio put it best in this behind the scenes book I own:

“Johnny was always described as the runt of the greaser litter- the one they all protected. However, as the story unfolded he became the most level-headed and clear-minded in the face of adversity. I always recognized that in him even from the first reading of the book at age twelve. I am biased, but he is one of the richest and fully drawn characters in the ensemble.”

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon

I’m biased b/c I love Soda but I woulda loved to see him hanging with Soda. Really the rest of the gang in general (not that there was time for that lol), but it’s canon to me that Johnny was friends with Soda first. Eventually they diverged and became close to Dally and Steve respectively, but in elementary school it was Johnny and Soda.

(On the other side of the coin, I like the idea of Dally and Steve having had a bit of a fling that they don’t talk about as a way of repressing their romantic feelings for Soda and Johnny respectively. But that’s not always canon to me lol.)

#the outsiders #the outsiders 1983 #the outsiders johnny #johnny cade #jally #johnny x dally #<- …kinda. In a way.#rambling #ask #ask game #oh btw if anyone I’ve mentioned here doesn’t wanna be just lmk!!

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blackdollette · 7 months ago

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I know you’re not really writing for Rory characters right now but if I could request a Clyde smut where he says “swallow, swallow” with the pill, but instead.. it’s his girlfriend or OOO maybe someone who buys stuff off him like weed, and she’s giving him head as payment but she’s got a textural problem so like, weird textures are icky, and he holds his hand over her mouth and says swallow? That may be weird, I dunno— if it is I’m so sorry 😭😭

anon you don't understand how much i've been thinking abt this ever since you sent this. i just 😩

"hand at the back of my neck." | clyde

national anthem. - lana del rey

✮⋆˙ [tags] @lustkillers @mayathepsychic1999@livingdead-materialgirl @romanroyapoligist@auggiethecreator @oliviah-25 @vanlisbon @lankysimp @livingdead-reilly@imoonkiss @lankysimp@nom-nommmm1@xxbl00d-cl0txx@k1ll3rh0rr0r@wildathevrt@mommymilkers0526@greenxgloss

⊹₊⋆ pairing: dealer!clyde x female!reader

⊹₊⋆ word count: 1.4k

⊹₊⋆ contents: drugs, blowjob, cum-eating, slight aftercare, fluffy if you squint

when it came to describing you, impulsive only covered the tip of the iceburg. the lines defining the story between you and clyde had gone blurry over the years but as far as you knew, he was basically the best thing that had ever happened to you.

and both of you were fully aware of that.

your faintly shivering fist sheepishly knocked that familiar pattern on the door of his apartment room. the hallway outside of his room always smelled faintly of green and stale fast food. before you could bring your hand back to your side, the doorknob turned allowing the stained wooden door to creak open, bringing his warm, sleepy eyes and that smile into view.

“well, if it isn’t my favourite customer…” clyde flipped his hair out of his face, allowing his gaze to run up and down you shamelessly. “...you look good. as usual.”

he was shirtless, only clad in a pair of gray sweatpants that rode dangerously low on his hips. all need for formality had vanished the day you had experienced your first high right there in his “workshop”.

you smiled shyly, already feeling slightly light on your feet as the psychedelic aromas from inside wafted toward you. “hi clyde. sorry for showing up unannounced…”

considering how quickly he opened the door and the lack of that lust-filled flush that covered his cheeks whenever he was getting some action, you could safely conclude that he was alone at the moment. but you felt the need to ask anyway.

“is now a good time? i can come back later if you’re busy…”

he let out a little breathless laugh, shaking his head and dislodging a few locks from behind his ear. “there’s no better time than now. c’mon in. i just got some new stuff shipped in that you’ll love.”

he snaked an arm around your shoulder, pulling you into his cozy apartment room and shutting the door behind you.

“you got your mind on anything specific today?” he asked as he ushered you to his overstuffed couch. you sat down, scanning the various piles of boxes with long medical names and numbers on them.

you weren’t really the adventurous type when it came to drugs. you saw how badly it could screw someone’s life over, and you didn’t know if you had the willpower to “stop whenever you wanted to”. so a little marijuana had always seemed like the safest choice.

“just the usual please.” you watched as he playfully rolled his eyes at the predictability of your request.

“that’s my girl. i don’t even know why i wonder differently…”

he dug through a large cardboard box, retrieving two dainty bags of weed and a pack of rolling paper. he wrapped them up nicely for you, knowing that the presentation meant everything to you.

“alright, a bag of mary jane for the pretty lady.” he handed the goods to you, the smile on your face tugging at his heartstrings. “that’ll be $50.”

you hissed, the mention of the price nearly killing the mood.

“you know i’ve never had that kind of money on me, clyde. i’m barely making it by at the restaurant. i’m out looking for my third job this month.”

clyde tossed his hair out of his face, crossing his arms over his chest with a sigh. “don’t think i don’t know that times are getting hard around these parts. you know people have hardly been buying from me these days…”

you nodded, a guilt-ridden expression on your face as you cleared your throat to propose a suggestion.

“i doubt all those used-up strippers that come around here have the money. how do they pay you? blood money?”

clyde laughs heartily. “the night usually ends in some cheap sex that i regret in the morning. but a deal is a deal. you thinking of spending the night with me to cover the fee?”

you shake your head. “it’s that time of the month. i know how you are around blood.”

clyde grimaces, nodding with a chuckle. “no kidding. but you might be onto something…”

you looked up at him from your position on the couch debating whether or not to make your proposal.

“...want a blowjob..?”

clyde’s gaze snapped to your face, looking for any hint or humour or sarcasm in your question. but you were dead serious. he looked down, a grin playing at his lips.

“well that sure would be one hell of a payment…”

you fidgeted with your thumbs. “so… do we have a deal..?”

he smiles, extending a hand to you. “indeed we do.”

he gave you a firm handshake, spinning you around and sitting down on the couch as you stood in front of him.

you slowly sank down to your knees, resting comfortably in between his partly spread legs. your gazes met briefly, yours eager and his desperate. his imprint pressed against the soft wool of his sweatpants, betraying how much he was trying to keep his composure.

you place your hands on his thighs, trailing them up until you reach the waistband. your fingers pried underneath the elastic, the feeling of your cold fingers against his skin making him shiver. it took a moment for you to navigate your way under you felt him against your palm. you pulled out his needy erection, the tip already red and angry with desire.

clyde let out a shaky exhale, tipping his head back as your soft hands massaged his girth and teased the tip. his hips rutted up into your grip, desperate for more contact.

you swallowed hard, getting rid of the abundance of moisture in your mouth before slowly opening your jaw, your hot breath hitting the tip and you licked a long stripe up his cock. clyde groaned deeply, his hand finding the back of your head as the other went down to cup your cheek.

you began to take him in, inch by inch as you salivated around him. you went down until your chin touched his balls and your nose tapped at the base of his length. you held back a gag as the tip hit the back of your throat. once you were secure, you bobbed your head up and down, creating suction in your cheeks to maximize his pleasure.

clyde’s breathing grew laboured, a huge grin plastered on his face. “...oh man… you’re a natural, aren’t ya..?” your heart fluttered at his praise, urging you to go a little quicker.

your tongue flicked against his tip with practiced precision.

clyde whimpered as his hips bucked upward, forcing his length into you and out just as quickly. “i-i don’t think i’m gonna last much longer…” he swallows hard, his voice coming out strained and breathy. “...hope you’re ready for a load…”

you fondled his balls with your hand, massaging hypontic patterns onto the soft flesh. the heat of your mouth, the feeling of your perfect touch, it was all doing things to his head. better than any drug around.

as his leg began to twitch and his breathing grew weary, he vigorously thrusted into your mouth as moans and dirty phrases spilled from his lips.

“...that’s it… i’m cummin’...”

before he could fully get his warning out, his seed spilled into your mouth. everytime you thought he was running empty, another load busted onto your tongue. you gagged, your eyes welling with tears as he panted heavily, pulling your mouth off his rod as he recollected himself.

his vision went hazy. “that… that was amazing…” he looked down as you, watching you struggle to swallow his excessive load.

he waited for you to get yourself steady, but it was almost as if your body was physically rejecting his cum. you gagged, a few drops spilling out of your mouth until he quickly held the bottom of your jaw.

“hey, hey..! easy there… what’s wrong..?” he asked frantically. you couldn’t speak, but he got the message quickly.

he tilted your head back gently. “there you go, sweetie… swallow, swallow. just like that…” he whispered, wiping away the stray drops as you finally managed to get the thick, salty solution down.

you panted heavily, gripping onto his thighs for support. “i did it…” you managed to gasp out as he gently held your face.

clyde pushed his hair out of his face, helping you get back to your feet. he stood up as well, still reeling over the aftershocks of his orgasm. “well, a deal is a deal.” he picked up your bagged goods from the couch, tossing them to you.

you murmured a quiet ‘thank you’ as he walked you to the door, opening it for you like the gentleman he was.

“it was a real pleasure doing business with you.”

author's note: this request took me wayyy too long :(( and how haven't I written for clyde since April?!

#444rockstargf #rory culkin #rory culkin smut #smut #clyde rory culkin #clyde electrick children #rory culkin clyde #electrick children clyde #lana del rey

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in1-nutshell · 7 months ago

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Hi!

Can I please request for a platonic buddy that is always following lost light Ratchet around trying to become an apprentice so he get annoyed asking buddy to stop but then one day after a battle Ratched doesn't see buddy until he finds them injured in a storage room.

Buddy just trying their best to show Ratchet their skills.

Hope you enjoy!

Bot Buddy trying to be Ratchet's apprentice

SFW, Platonic, Mention of injury, Cybertronian reader

MTMTE

Ratchet had gotten used being viewed as a mentor figure or father figure throughout his lifetime.

It seemed to happen every couple of years or so.

But no bot had gotten such a… strong reaction.

Buddy was one of the newest additions to the crew after making a stop on Cybertron.

They were fresh from passing their nursing exam and ready to work.

It wasn’t Buddy’s seemingly unlimited optimism that bothered him.

They were realistic on the grimmer situations of life but tried to view the brighter side of things.

Buddy trying to get Tailgate to sit still: “C’mon Tailgate! One more checkup and your good to go!” Tailgate: “But is this one really necessary? I feel fine.” Buddy: “But that would mean you’d have to tell Cyclonus. Wouldn’t you like to give the news to Cyclonus that you are 100% healthy yourself? I think he’d really like that.” Tailgate sits on the med slab: “Do it.”

Ratchet could respect that.

It wasn’t their habit of trying to get everything organized in the med bay.

That was not only crucial, but a habit even he tended to lose every now and then.

Ratchet and First Aid walking into the med bay. They turn on the lights to see Buddy in the corner with several tools in their servos. Ratchet flinches a bit while First Aid jumps a bit. Ratchet: “Kid? What are you doing here in the dark?” Buddy: “Germs produce faster in light. I’m making sure these tools are properly sterilized.” First Aid: “We have a machine for that…” Buddy: “I know.” First Aid: “… Are you going to use it?” Buddy: “Nope. Now, if you don’t mind turning off the lights?” Ratchet: “… Our personal tools are clean and ready to use at a moment’s notice?” Buddy smiles and points to the tools neatly arranged in their place. Buddy: “Even alphabetized them.”

No. it wasn’t that.

It was their increased chattering that rivaled Swerve’s own chattering.

It was a bit endearing at first since most of it reminded him of the younger days when some bots used to shadow him and ask him questions.

One of the more common questions they asked was how he felt about them becoming his apprentice.

Ratchet never gave an answer to that question.

But after a couple of days the chatter began to become more and more annoying.

It was one particular day that Ratchet had gotten into a nasty spat with Drift, he snapped as soon as Buddy got on his nerve.

He nearly tore them a new one if it weren’t for First Aid, Ambulon and Velocity trying to calm him down and let Buddy slip out of the med bay.

It took a couple of hours before he calmed down and started feeling a bit bad for tearing a new one in Buddy.

But he felt like in a way it was a bit necessary, so he didn’t apologize.

Buddy on the other hand felt awful.

They had no idea Ratchet hated them talking so much.

They felt like they needed to make it up to Ratchet in some way.

They knew that the talking so much wasn’t going to go in one day.

That was unrealistic and they liked talking.

No matter how much they looked up to the senior medic, they weren’t going to give that up for him or anyone.

Instead, they thought about getting him something.

An apology gift and to stop mentioning the apprenticeship.

It was the least they could do.

The day of the incident the Lost Light had welcomed the Scavengers.

The rag tag group had decided to visit the ship again.

Spinister spots Buddy and walks up to them. Spinister: “You’re Buddy, right?” Buddy looks at the bot and smiles: “That’s me!” Spinister: “Our ship ran out of some medical equipment. Do you mind sparing—” Buddy: “You don’t need to explain, follow me!” Buddy grabs Spinister’s servo. The mech nearly grabs his blaster with the other but refrains. Spinister: “You’re a perky one, aren’t you?” Buddy just flashes him a smile as they continue to walk down the hall. CCCRRREEEAAAKKKKK!!!!!! GGGRRROOOOAAANNNNN!!!! The ship suddenly stopped and lurched forward, sending both bots into one of the storage units. The doors lock from the outside, not even bugging with Spinister ramming his shoulder into it or blasting it. Spinister hears blaster exchange outside the door. Spinister: “Blasted door! I—” Buddy: “Spinister…?” Spinister turns to see Buddy pinned by one of the columns in the room. The column covered half of their frame. They looked scared once the sight of a familiar pink hue began spreading. Spinster: “…Scrap. Why does the storage unit even have columns?!” Buddy: “I don’t know! I think someone bought them last planetary visit!

As it turned out the ship had been attacked by space pirates again.

It was a whole team effort to get the pirates off the ship.

Once the battle was done, was when the Scavenger’s noticed that Spinister was missing.

Soon enough the crew noticed they were also a medic short.

Ratchet was in the search party with some of the Scavengers when they heard the yelling.

After finally unlocking the door, the group wasn’t ready for Spinister to kick down the unlocked door.

He began yelling at them to get them both to the med bay before Buddy ran out of anymore energon.

Spinister and Buddy were treated for their wounds.

Ratchet gives a quiet apolody to Buddy, who immediately accepts and makes their apology.

It’s after a few more days of them being at their 100% that they suddenly get an opening for an apprenticeship with Ratchet.

They pounce at the opportunity immediately.

Ratchet doesn’t regret giving them the chance.

The only thing he regretted later on, was them bringing the Scavengers with them to Swerve’s during game night.

No one knows what exactly happened to Buddy and Spinister from their time in the storage room, but now they make an unstoppable team in Earth board games.

#transformers x reader #maccadam #bot buddy #mtmte x reader #mtmte x platonic reader #mtmte ratchet #mtmte ratchet x platonic reader

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anystalker707 · 2 years ago

Text

"Show me how to kiss?"

Pairing: Roronoa Zoro x [gender neutral] Reader Summary: Two sets of headcanons: one in which you ask Zoro to show you what it is like to kiss and another one in which he's the one to ask. Tags: Shy Zoro / Fluffy and loving / Also sorta funny Check out (Vinsmoke Sanji's version)

MASTERLIST

If you’re the one to ask him...

• He just. He doesn’t know how to kiss either. I mean, do you think he ever had the time or mindset to do it??

• So, it’s messy. None of you really know what to do.

• Behind it all, Zoro has been kinda hoping he could kiss you and you’d been looking at him in a different way lately, so something like that was sort of bound to happen at some point

• It’s like a switch turns for you two, and it’s impossible to stop after that because, after all, you gotta practice to be perfect, right?

“...They wouldn’t stop kissing.” You sighed, twisting your mouth a little as you thought back to the couple you saw at a bar when hanging out with the crew at an island. You and Zoro were out on the deck for the night watch; he sat back against the railing while you had your back on the ground, observing the stars above you. Once in a while, a colder breeze would make you shiver, but it wasn’t really that bad. The gentle rocking of the ship would intensify your tiredness, at times, but never enough to make your consciousness slip away into slumber, which resulted in sporadic and pointless talks. “It was obnoxious.”

Zoro hummed in agreement, shaking his head as he kept his gaze far in the horizon.

“What’s so great about it?”

He raised an eyebrow, humming again, and looked at you.

“About kissing,” you explained, sitting up and scooting closer to him with a sigh. “What’s good about it?”

...Why would he know? Zoro blushed a little as he looked away and preferred not to answer it. Maybe you’d give up on the question or talk about something else. Having to deal with always trying to find something other than the annoying couple at the bar was already stressful enough.

“Zoro.” You nudged him. “Can I ask you something?”

He blinked and looked at you for a moment. He nodded. You were a pain in the ass everyday—affectionately—, so he was mostly used to what you could come up with.

“Look, I don’t know how to say it without making it awkward, but like, I trust you, so...” You sighed, your eyes averting away for a moment. “Like, could you show me how to kiss? I never really had any time to think about it because I was always training to be strong out in the sea, y’know?” Was Zoro even paying attention? Even in the dark, you could see his red cheeks. Did you say something wrong?

“I can’t help you with that.” He kept looking forward, eyes narrowed. You knew that serious posture was just a play. It was when Robin and you ran into him taking care of babies.

You pouted. “What? C’mon, I’m just curious. We’ll just never talk about it.”

Zoro didn’t bulge, only groaning when you poked his side, squirming away more than he usually would. “I already said I can’t help you with that!”

You opened your mouth to argue, but nothing really ever came from your mouth. Instead, you searched in your mind for some reference, however, you could only remember Zoro always in the corners of bars or celebrations or over the sake. He was never the type to be around hitting on someone like Sanji did nor pay attention to whoever approached him. Maybe...

“I think I get it.” You smirked a little. “You don’t know how to kiss either.”

The flush on Zoro’s face intensified as he gasped and widened his eyes. “Wh—What are you talking about?”

You chuckled. Of course, Zoro, the swordsman with his unbelievable focus on becoming the best ever and his whole damn shyness wouldn’t allow him to be with anyone else either. It was almost relatable.

“It’s obvious Zoro. You can tell me, though,” you continued, ignoring the stuttering mess he was in, “y’know, it all makes sense. And I’m, like, the closest one to you here, you can at least admit it to me, right?” You elbowed his side a little—you didn’t give a fuck about it, to be honest, it was just nice seeing him like that. “I’m up to helping you with it, though, hm? What do you say?” You chuckled again, but made sure to keep a serious hint. It was all a joke until he agreed. If he disagreed, you were just fucking around, right?

Zoro’s face was so red. He could feel it burning and everything felt too much. His heart already felt like it would rip off his chest, and then the way you elbowed his side and that your face was so close to his that he could feel your breath on the side of his face, he was—

“Fine!” He breathed before he could notice it himself.

You raised your eyebrows. Did you hear it right? “Fine,” huh? Your own cheeks warmed up at the thought.

“You really...”

“Don’t make me regret it.” Zoro gulped, and you almost chuckled as he shifted to face you, his eyes still not looking anywhere near yours.

Despite fooling around the whole time, a serious atmosphere fell over both of you simultaneously, having the two of you gradually fall quiet. Zoro took a deep breath while you already looked at his eyes, waiting for his gaze to meet yours, which it did, eventually, even if still a little uncertain. You wanted to smile, laugh and hide all at the same time, but still held the gaze.

The ship had never been that quiet and maybe the wind was a little colder than you thought it to be. It didn’t matter, though, because Zoro’s hand was warm against your cheek, and you held onto his wrist out of reflex, which also felt warm. A quiet exchange of gazes was enough to determine you were ready and he was leaning in.

It was slow and careful, with nervousness lacing it, but still sweet nonetheless.

Zoro’s nose tickled a little when it brushed against your own nose, as if testing the waters before you leaned in properly. The distance was miscalculated and your lips brushed together too soon, making both of you pull away at the same time as if it’d burned. It didn’t burn, no, but there was something.

Your eyes met Zoro’s and he had a similar look on his face—so he felt it too. He mirrored the small smile that showed up across your face before the two of you leaned in again, carefully and slowly letting your lips meet.

Warm. Zoro’s lips were warm, but the kiss also made you feel something inside your chest that stirred up with the “kiss”, and made you lean in for more as you’d seen other people do, which snatched a soft gasp from Zoro, but he still tried to make up for it. If anything, things were just messy. None of you really knew what to do, trying to set your own rhythm but also match with the other’s and put in practice only brief notions you only had so far.

Suddenly, Zoro had his other hand cupping the side of your neck, which made you pause for a moment, but it was more than enough for him to figure out exactly what was missing and make the kiss more of a kiss. You just followed his lead this time, letting his lips guide yours through a gentle and uncertain kiss that maybe awakened more in you that you were aware of.

Cold air replaced Zoro’s lips when he pulled away. Your mind was still a little fuzzy, so you took a moment to open your eyes, already meeting his waiting gaze when you did so.

“That...” You whispered and gulped. The small pause had Zoro holding his breath and tensing up. “Can we do it again?”

Zoro chuckled, closing his eyes as he blushed again. “I hoped you’d say that...”

The new kiss had actual synchrony, even if it was barely present. Your hands actually held onto his shoulders this time as you pressed yourself closer, allowing the kiss to be deeper.

There was a look on Zoro’s face when he pulled away this time, one you couldn’t quite read. “You taste nice.”

“I taste nice?” You chuckled. “What’s it like?”

“It’s...” Zoro sighed, blinking a couple of times as he looked at you. “Sweet. What do I taste like?”

“Sake.” You answered without missing a bit, which made his face fall a little; you chuckled.

.𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟.

If he asks you...

• Zoro’s been thinking about it for a while now, to be honest, trying to find an excuse to make it happen

• He genuinely didn’t think it would be that good. He had little faith in it—mostly curiosity—, but when you kiss him, he just ends up getting lost and wants more. Just wants you to show him everything. Also uses the excuse he gotta practice to get perfect

“What’re you so grumpy about?” You raised an eyebrow, seeing Zoro walk in while grumbling under his breath. He usually didn’t come over to the aquarium bar when you were there during the afternoons messing with your own stuff just like the rest of the crew, so he certainly wanted attention that you were more than willing to give.

Zoro took a seat next to you, scowling. “That damn cook.”

“Oh.” You raised your eyebrows and sighed with a nod without looking up from the stuff you messed with. There were a few lists of what each one of the crew needed since you would soon make a stop on another island, so you needed to organize all of those and estimate how much money you’d need, and thinking wasn’t very easy with Zoro there, but it probably wasn’t anything that bad since it was just more fighting with Sanji. Not that he really cared about it, but you supposed it was a way of him gaining your attention despite how shy he tended to be. He wasn’t that shy around you, though. It was even funny when people commented about him being only cold and stoic—he could be, yeah, but he was also too shy for his own good.

“He’s spilling some stuff about kissing today, y’know?” Zoro huffed, crossing his arms. “About how he misses it and how I wouldn’t understand because I’ve never kissed!” He growled.

“Is it true, though?” You mumbled between the numbers of berries. 15 minus 7 resulted in 8, then 2 minus 1 would be 1, so 11 minus 7, so it would be...

Zoro clicked his tongue. “I’m not like him.”

“That doesn’t answer the question,” you hummed. So, 15 minus 7 was 8, then the 2 turned into 1, and 11 minus—

“I don’t have time to waste around like he does, kissing and— and hell knows what.” He looked down with pursed lips then turned to you.

“Right.” You inhaled deeply and scratched out the math you were doing to start it all over again later. “It’s not really a waste of time, I mean. Depends on the person. What, you’re aromantic or something? Or just never kissed? You’re sounding a little too bitter about something so irrelevant.” Now and then, Zoro just needed you to poke him with the raw truth so he would ground himself in reality again a little.

“I—I wouldn’t think about it.” Zoro clicked his tongue, looking away again. “I got better things to do.”

You sighed, putting your pen away and sitting back on the couch. “I mean, you never tried it. I wouldn’t be so secure about it myself, in your position, but you do you, right? I'm no one to judge."

Maybe that rubbed off on Zoro the wrong way. He raised an eyebrow at you for a long moment, but all you could do was shrug and nod at him to say something already. You had work to do, after all.

"If you're so sure about it, then show me."

"What?"

"Show me how to kiss." Zoro's face had a tinge of red despite how confident he tried to seem.

Despite the surprise, a smirk still tugged on your lips as you raised your eyebrows. "Oh? You sure? Wanna give me your first kiss? Am I that special?"

He clicked his tongue and looked away once again. "Don't be annoying about it or else I'm leaving."

A chuckle erupted from your lips as you tugged a little on his haramaki when Zoro started to stand up. The way he put it all made you want to tease him more to humble him down a little, but you knew better than that; things probably wouldn't go the right way if you kept him there grumpier than he already was or even accidentally scared him away, something you absolutely didn’t want before such an opportunity.

“Come on, don’t be like that.” You scooted a little closer to Zoro on the couch, putting an arm over the backrest of the couch, behind him. “Right, seriously. You mean it?”

A little crease was still there between Zoro’s furrowed eyebrows as he glanced you up and down, with his arms still crossed over his chest.

“Okay.” You rolled your eyes. He could be just like that sometimes. Annoying.

“How do you do it? Is there any secret trick or—” Zoro shrugged and raised an eyebrow at you. His shoulders dropped a little from their jagged stance and his arms weren’t crossed so tightly anymore.

“I mean, there’s no secret, but there are a few tips I wish I knew before I did it the first time, y’know?” You shifted a little, trying to push your mind away from annoying numbers to a new setting instead. “Like, it’s not necessarily a continuous thing, and it’s sort of you kissing my upper lip while I kiss your bottom one and then vice versa, but you can also— You’re not listening, are you?”

“I’m not.” Zoro confessed with that grin that made you want to punch it right off his face. “Your lips do look nice while you talk, though.”

“...Shameless bastard.”

“What was that?” He narrowed his eyes at you.

“Nothing!” You mirrored his expression and clicked your tongue, holding back a chuckle. “You’re quite useless sometimes, huh? You listen to nothing.” Your hand cupped Zoro’s face gently, letting your thumb reach the corner of his lips before going down along his lip. “That’s why you’re such an empty head, got nothing but muscles...”

Zoro grinned. “You may complain, but you just never get away from me.”

“I’ll just make you shut up at once.”

His hand held onto your elbow as you leaned in and finally pressed your lips to Zoro’s. It was a simple kiss, just keeping your lips against his for a few seconds before pulling back again. A light blush dusted his cheeks and he still glanced at your lips, so you leaned in once again to give him a kiss that wasn’t just like a prolonged peck, actually moving your lips together.

Zoro wasn’t the best at it—of course not—, but he still tried, his grip against your elbow tightening a little at times while he messily kissed you back, trying to keep it up and mirroring your movements. His lips were clumsy and messy, but still something that you could guide and make the whole thing worth something. You held his cheek as you deepened the kiss a little, which made his breath get caught in his throat and his lips get a little lost for a second before they followed your lead again.

The mere seconds you had to pull away already felt like too long, with you exchanging gazes with Zoro to silently check if everything was alright, before your lips were pressed together again. Your tongue ran against his bottom lip this time, actually snatching a gasp from him.

“Is it okay?” You whispered, furrowing your eyebrows a little. Just a few inches still serpared your faces, having you both feel each other’s out of pace breathing.

Zoro nodded. “I just wasn’t waiting for that.”

“Is it okay, though?” You grinned again, seeing him grow flustered once more.

“...Do it again.”

You did kiss Zoro and lick his bottom lip once again, but this time, he opened his lips and allowed you to slip your tongue past his lips. There was a little taste of sake still, already faint. He still didn’t know what to do, but the way you held onto his jaw did ground him a little so he would calm down.

“Good?” You whispered against his lips, lips still grazing him.

Zoro’s breath hitched as he tried to catch his breath, hazy eyes observing you from close. “Do... Do it again.”

.𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟.

#one piece #roronoa zoro #x reader #x male reader #x female reader #gender neutral #fan fic #fan fiction #oneshot #imagine #zoro x reader #monkey d luffy #vinsmoke sanji #usopp #nico robin #nami #tony tony chopper #trafalgar law

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autumnwoodsdreamer · 13 days ago

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Hi! I was going through your art tag (found you thanks to Kanera) and saw a staggering amount of Din and Sabine art??? Which! Intriguing! It tickles my brain! And also, going through your art tag, I saw a modern au with Human Grogu and Star Wars t-shirt Din, so I wa swondering about it. How would that au develop? And how would the Sabine ship fit into it? Just curious! Also wondering for some more Din/Sabine art bc you draw them so pretty

For a moment, I was so scared you were going to say something else 😅 (I swear I am trying to be normal about Din and Sabine but I love them and I want them to be happy and I think they could get on very well together, your honour)

Anyway. Thank you! I had baking to do this morning and this ask got me to think about a Din and Sabine modern meet-cute while I was busy. So then this evening, I sketched this out

(More about the modern AU under the cut)

The things is: I do have some ideas but I haven’t pinned down enough to actually get a fic off the ground. I only have a loose little skeleton…

Din Djarin is a paramedic (the bounties he brings in in the show translate to patients on call-outs: for instance, the Mythrol is a guy who gambled with the wrong folks and got beaten up in a bar). He works night-shift and he works every night he can, takes the holiday shifts and weekends and such because he doesn’t have any family or even a pet to spend that time at home with—his workmates are his family. He lives in a tiny apartment he’s never decorated and while he knows all his neighbours, they don’t know him.

(I’m not sure how tragic to make his backstory. I’ve read modern AU’s where he has a really traumatic past and ones where he doesn’t and I like both, gotta say. I prefer the idea that he is just quiet and reserved by nature, not as a result of some horrific event or loss, but I do want to keep that he was adopted)

Along one day comes Gregorio aka Grogu.

Din finds the child one day on a call—abandoned, injured, and obviously neglected. Takes him to the hospital—his partner (a humanized IG) drives while Din stays with the kid in the back of the ambulance, treating his wounds and just talking to him gently. They get to the hospital and this kid is glued to Din. He won’t go to anyone else and he won’t let anyone else touch him until Din is holding him and he’s okay with it.

If the kid ever had parents, they’re not looking for him. The child is either an orphan or as good as one.

Din doesn’t adopt the child right away, but he tries to be there for him as much as possible. He thinks it would be better for the kid to be placed with a more complete family—maybe a couple that already has kids so they’ll know what they’re doing. Because what does he have to offer? He’s just going through life keeping himself alive; kids need more than that… don’t they?

The one who takes Grogu’s case—Ahsoka?—recognizes the connection between the two of them right off the bat. She gets Din to take the child temporarily, just to help him settle down because they can’t seem to get a foster family to take him. Yeah, no, they’re all, uh, booked up. Strange that… (ultimately, of course, Ahsoka’s plan works out and Din ends up adopting the child)

Din’s life has to change quite a bit. He’s gotta rework his work schedule and he quickly realizes he needs a bigger apartment. It’s quite the upheaval but he’s willing to do it for the kid. Their new land-lady is, of course, Peli, and their neighbours are a variety of other characters.

Sabine is one of their neighbours.

The only things Din knows about her for weeks is that she has purple hair, he always smells paint fumes when he walks past her apartment, and she has a crazy ginger cat (Chopper) that keeps breaking into his apartment and stealing things (usually knives because, c’mon, it’s Chopper).

One day, while out in the city, going to or from Grogu’s appointment with a speech therapist, Din sees his purple-haired neighbour painting a mural on the side of a cafe. He stops because Grogu wants to—he loves watching people paint—and Din has to admit, it is quite mesmerizing.

This is the first time they have a conversation that doesn’t start with “hey, I think your cat stole my bread knife. Again.”

He learns that this is what she does for a living: she gets hired to paint murals all over the city.

She also volunteers with a group that runs various community programs, some of which are meant to help kids like Grogu. She holds arts and crafts workshops, which she of course invites Din to.

So. Yeah.

That’s kinda all I got 😉

#thanks for the ask!#din djarin #grogu djarin #sabine wren #modern au #the mandalorian #star wars rebels #the mandalorian fanart #star wars rebels fanart #djarwren #din djarin x sabine wren #my art #autumnwoodsdreamer art #ask autumn

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murmaiderii · 4 months ago

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A BETTER WORLD CHAPTER ONE: NOWHERESVILLE, MAINE

Also available on ao3

MDNI, Check ao3 tags for more info

Winter and its winds are always unkind to Stan’s boat. The ship wasn’t in great shape 30 years ago when he bought it with what little money his brother gave him. But now, after decades of wear and tear, Stan is getting worried that the old girl is on her last legs. Sailing will be out of the question for the rest of the season. If he wants his boat, his home, to stay intact, he’ll have to hunker down at the nearest port in a shitty little town in Maine.

His boat pulls into the sparsely populated port. He hoists the rusty anchor into the water, grunting heavily as he does. If he had someone to help with that task, maybe it wouldn’t be so hard on his back. “Fuck…” He rubs his aching back through his thick sweatshirt. It isn’t enough to keep him warm in the cold of Maine, but he just doesn’t care enough to even bother grabbing his only coat. The thing is falling apart at the seams, anyway. He locks up his cabin and jumps onto the splintered dock, aggravating his knees in the process. He needs a drink.

Everything in this town is so gray. He’s seen more than his fair share of bleak sites, but this place is just depressing, even for him. Obnoxiously bright street lights pollute the sidewalks, illuminating cookie cutter houses. No lights are on in anyone’s windows. It isn’t even midnight yet. This town must be so dull that people have nothing better to do at night than sleep. Luckily, there’s a bar not too far from the dock, located in the perfect spot to attract the rare sailor who’s unfortunate enough to stop here.

A bell rings when he opens the door to the bar, startling the distracted bartender. The young redhead behind the counter looks up from her phone to greet Stan. “Welcome. Don’t get too many customers at this hour,” she says. “What’re you havin’?” He sits at a stool right in the middle of the counter.

“Gimme whatever will get me drunk fastest for the least amount of money,” he requests. She cracks a small smile.

“Got a real crappy whisky that’ll do the trick.” She grabs a clean glass from under the bar and fills it with an unusually dark whisky from the lowest shelf. She slides it across the bar to Stan. He throws half the glass back and shivers from the bitterness.

“This is disgusting,” he complains.

“Want something else?”

“This is the cheapest thing you got?”

“Yup,” she confirms. He swallows the rest of the glass and slides it back towards the woman.

“I’ll take another.” She leans over the bar and fills the glass back up to the brim. His eyes flicker to the cleavage pouring out of her black dress shirt. She sure is showing the girls off, probably in an attempt to get better tips from sad saps like him. She’ll be sorely disappointed to find that Stan is too broke to leave more than a couple bucks for her. She leaves him to his drink, focusing on cleaning up a tap.

He sips his second round more leisurely. He’s in no rush to get back to the faulty heating of his ship’s cabin, and he sure as hell can’t afford a hotel. The familiar bug of nicotine cravings crawls through his body. He pulls a cigarette and lighter from his pocket. The bartender whips her head around when she hears the flick of the lighter.

“Ya can’t smoke in here, buddy,” she tells him.

“C’mon, kid. Ain’t no one else around.” She shakes her head at him.

“Federal law, and I don’t want this place to reek of tobacco.” He sighs and slips the contraband back into his pocket. “Hey, mind if I pour myself a drink? I’m not supposed to drink on the job, but as you said, ain’t no one else around.” He nods at her. She grabs herself a glass and fills it with cheap vodka and cranberry juice.

“Your boss ain’t gonna fire you when he sees ya drinking on the security camera?” Stan asks.

“Bosses are my parents. They won’t do anything besides give me a quick lecture.” She leans on the counter across from Stan. Her big breasts stare him in the face. Keeping his eyes away from them is a struggle. “The hell brought you to this wasteland? Hope you’re not staying long, for your own sake.”

“My boat ain’t doin’ too well. I gotta stay in one spot until spring.”

“Damn, you chose just about the worst spot to stay in. Might be worth the risk to sail to the next port. Drowning is a way better fate than living here,” she complains.

“If it’s so bad, why don’t you get up and leave?” He questions.

“I’ve been plotting my escape since I was a kid, but I always end up being too lazy to run. That’s the issue of this town. Breaks your spirit so much you don’t even have it in you to escape its clutches. You should get out before it takes you, too,” she warns.

“Can’t be that terrible if it produces women as beautiful as you,” Stan flirts. Her lip briefly twitches up, just long enough for Stan to catch it.

“If only the selection of guys was as good. You’re about the most attractive man to walk into this garbage joint.” Stan chuckles at the compliment.

“I find that hard to believe.” He polishes off his second glass. She pours him another. “Kid, I don’t think I can swing another drink. I’m pretty strapped for cash here.” “On the house. I just wanna talk to someone who isn’t from here for once.” He lifts his glass in a cheers to her.

“What’s your name, sweetheart?”

“Marty. Yours?”

“Stan. Marty’s a pretty manly name for such a sweet young thing like you.”

“I’m more salty than sweet,” she jokes.

“Why don’t ya let me taste so I can see for myself?” He leans closer to her face. She leans closer to his in return.

“You’re a real dirty old man, you know that?” She pats him on the cheek.

“I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t at least shoot my shot. Haven’t seen a woman as gorgeous as you in forever.” He finishes his third drink. There’s enough booze in his system that he feels like his problems are a little further away. “How much do I owe ya?”

“For that swill? $10,” she tells him. He pulls a 10 and two 1s from his pocket.

“Thanks for the drink, sweetheart. I’ll get outta that pretty red hair of yours now.” Stan staggers across the bar. Being this drunk will make it a little easier to sleep in the freezing cabin of his boat tonight.

“Night, Stan. Don’t come back. You’re too good for this place.”

“So are you, kid.” She waves him off. As much as he wants to heed her warning, he doesn’t have the choice. He’s stuck here for some time. If he gets to see her again, then maybe it won’t be so bad.

The booze is not enough to keep him from shivering. Maybe he can call that rich bastard brother of his for a little financial help. He owes Stan as much after exiling him to do his dirty work. All he needs is for him to cover a few repairs and maybe get him a heavier blanket and new coat. But that would mean contacting the asshole for the first time in three decades. The man got rich and famous with his dumb science shit and never even thought to track Stan down and see if he needed help. He’ll freeze before he’ll talk to his brother again.

He needs to get out of this cold. He can probably swing another glass of whisky at that bar if he skips a meal tomorrow. The longer he can stay in the warmth of the bar, the better. He pulls his hood over his head and power walks back to the establishment. When he gets there, the door is locked, but Marty is still inside, seated at a table and scrolling on her phone. He turns around when the door doesn’t open for him, but she unlocks it for him.

“Everything good, buddy? It’s after hours,” she calls to him. He enters the bar and she closes the door and locks it again.

“I was hoping you’d still be open. It’s damn cold on my boat. Don’t think I’m getting any sleep tonight,” he explains.

“Well, I can’t let you stay here when I leave. Can’t risk you robbing the place.” She thinks her options over. “There’s a shelter a couple of miles from here.”

“Nah, forget it. Thanks for tryin’.” He tries to leave again, but she puts a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

“There’s a room in the back with a bed. Remember that there are cameras if you try to rob us.” She leads him past the employees only door to a small room with a single bed and a few boxes left there for storage.

“Ya ain’t gotta do this, kid,” Stan protests.

“Don’t make a mess, alright? And no helping yourself to the booze.” She ignores his pushback and starts to leave.

“Hey, Marty?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.” She gives him a salute and walks out, closing Stan’s door behind her. He lays down and stares at the ceiling. This simple gesture by this young girl has to be the first nice thing anyone has done for him in years.

Marty sits in her car and contemplates what she’s done. Trust has never been one of her strong suits, so she surprised herself by letting Stan stay in her bar unsupervised. There was something about him. It’s hard not to pity a man whose life is in such a state of disarray that he’s forced to spend any amount of time in her town. She feels that the effects of her one drink have worn off enough for her to drive home.

Though her family home is across the street from the bar, she doesn’t want to spend too much time with those people. The ten mile drive to her studio apartment is worth the peace it offers. She thinks about Stan through the drive. She’s almost tempted to pay for repairs to his boat in exchange for hitching a ride anywhere but here. She parks in her designated spot, next to the car of the neighbors she always hears fighting through the walls. They’re even going at it when she walks through her front door.

She rips off her work clothes and flops into bed in her bra and panties. She’s going insane here, and Stan's presence really brought those feelings to the surface. She’s sick of the human waste around her. The awful marriages and the town drug epidemic and all the teen parents throwing away their chances at college. The blinding light pollution and the abandoned structures crowding the streets because most businesses can’t survive here. She needs to get Stan out of here before the place swallows him like it does everyone else.

The yelling next door gets worse. They’ve done this nearly every day since Marty moved in almost two years ago. The thread finally snaps for her. She shoots up and starts banging on the wall she shares with the couple. “Shut up! Shut the fuck up! I’ve had it with you people! Get a divorce if you hate each other so much!” She screams.

“Mind your own business, bitch!” The man yells back.

“You bastards keep everyone in this damn building up every night!” She bangs harder. She hears both of them swear and barrel out of their front door. They begin banging on her door.

“Come out and say that to our faces, bitch!” The woman yells.

“Fuckin’ shit,” Marty hisses. Unless she wants her neighbors to bust her door down and lose her deposit for her, she won’t be able to keep them locked out forever. She isn’t going to be able to stay here tonight. She tosses her essentials into a duffel bag and throws an ex-boyfriend’s oversized t-shirt over her underwear. Then, she snatches a small canister from her desk. She takes a deep breath, swings the door open, and blasts the neighbors in the face with pepper spray.

“Dammit! You bitch!” The neighbors clutch at their reddened faces and stumble around blindly, trying to grab Marty. She slams her door shut and dashes past them, straight to her car, and books it out of there. She’ll have to spend a night or two at her parents’ place.

#gravity falls #stanley pines #stan pines #stan pines x oc #stanley pines x oc #oc x canon #ao3 #archive of our own #gravity falls fanfiction #fanfiction author #my fanfiction #oc fanfiction #gravity falls au #au #abw

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blainesebastian · 1 year ago

Text

celebrating you

words: 1,654 ship: austin x female reader summary: @whoreforbrownies requested: fluffy reader celebrating austin's fragrance campaign. more details in posted q and a :) warnings: none notes: masterlist is here! tag list: @killerqueenfan, @austinbutlermischief, @stylespresleyhearted

You’ve always been someone who likes to celebrate—not just putting up Halloween or Christmas decoration months in advance or throwing surprise birthday parties, but by having this incredibly warm aura that makes sure to praise family, friends and your partner. Admittedly, that’s come with a few downfalls in the past—more often than not, you’re always looking after other people while no one looks after you. It’s not something done on purpose, you know that, yet you sometimes find yourself in this rut of being there for others that you forget to take care of yourself.

That changes with Austin.

He reminds you how good it feels to have someone take care of you, how it should be something necessary, a balance within your relationship. He celebrates you just as often as you celebrate him—there are moments that he’s completely taken you by surprise. Not because there’s some obligation of a holiday or a birthday, but because it’s a Thursday in the middle of the month and he wants to buy you flowers and your favorite latte.

So, in turn, it makes celebrating your boyfriend a lot more organic feeling. It’s not out of responsibility or requirement, but because both of you know the value of the other.

Lately there’s been so much to be excited about when it comes to Austin’s career—first Elvis and everything that it brought with it, Bikeriders wrapping up, Masters of the Air, and now a slightly different turn with this fragrance campaign. You couldn’t be happier for him, not only does it come with a photoshoot to highlight how beautiful Austin is, but an interview to also showcase that same beauty on the inside. It’s really what you love most about him, something that drew you in in the first place. Austin’s kind, thoughtful, considerate, and a hundred other things that make you feel warm from the inside out.

Pretty much why it’s a no-brainer to put together something special for him.

You decide one morning, right before Austin leaves for the day for a handful of different meetings, that you’re going to decorate the entire apartment. It’s gonna involve baking and dinner too but one step at a time. Your friend, Carly, comes over and helps, buying extra tape that she sets on the kitchen counter.

“All this for a fragrance campaign?” She asks, but she’s amused as her eyes rest on the multiple sets of streamers and balloons that still need to be put together and hung.

“Yes,” You grin excitedly, picking up a cup of coffee to take a sip. “It’s not just about the cologne, I’m just proud of him—it’s a new step in a different direction, you know?”

“I know,” Carly smirks, moving to grab the coffee pot to pour herself some more too, “You’re in love,” Her voice is warm and teasing, “I get it. I’d celebrate him too if he was my boyfriend.”

You smile, your stomach doing that flip-flopping thing that is often associated with Austin. You know exactly how lucky you are.

“So you’ll help me with streamers?” You smile prettily at her, purposely fluttering your eyelashes in a teasing plead.

“Yeah,” She laughs, tossing a package of tape at you. It lightly hits your chest and falls back onto the counter, “Wouldn’t want him to come home with you sprawled off a ladder. Not much to celebrate in the ER.”

You gather up all the supplies to take to the living room, “C’mon then, I don’t have a ton of time before he comes home.”

Regardless that it’s the morning and you do have until early nighttime, you want to make sure you give yourself enough hours to play with to bake red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing and chocolate chip cookies. Dinner will be simple enough—it’s the baking that needs timed dedication.

Standing on a small stool in your living room, you take the tape from Carly’s waiting fingers and reach up to put some of the streamers into place. You’re definitely not overdoing it, just enough to make the apartment look festive.

“So…just curious,” Carly starts and you get down off the stool and move it a bit to continue the streamer line…you already know that if she’s gonna start off a conversation like that, it’s going to be something. “If Austin asked you to marry him, would you?”

A laugh startles out of your chest because, “Carly, we’ve been dating for eight months.”

“So?” She crinkles her nose, handing you another piece of tape, “My aunt and uncle were together for six before he popped the question.”

The whole concept has your stomach erupting in butterflies. You’re not saying you haven’t thought about it, because how could you not? But still…feels like something that’s a long while away. You glance back down at your friend, trying to picture what it’d look like for Austin to come home and just—

“I’d say yes,” You reply, fixing another streamer. You can’t picture something different coming out of your mouth, but before Carly gets too wound up, “But we’re far from that being a thing.”

She grins anyways and you can’t help but smile, a fond eyeroll to follow as you set up streamer on the other side of the room so it matches. Then comes the balloons and the handmade sign that goes up a little crooked but…thought that counts, right?

“Do you think I overdid it?” You ask, looking around at the living room.

Carly shakes her head, “Nah, we went through one roll of tape…two rolls would have been overdoing it.” You smirk, bumping shoulders with her for a real answer, “No,” She replies again, “I think it’s just the right amount—he’s going to love it.”

That makes something warm and golden explode in your chest and…good, you really hope so. You thank her a few more times for coming over and promise to save her some cupcakes if there are any leftover, closing the front door after she’s left. You’re hoping it doesn’t take too long to finish things up for tonight.

Nothing is exactly going according to plan—and you already know it’s your fault because you’ve got this concept of what ‘perfect’ is supposed to look like tonight. You should really know this by now, it’s better to land on something ‘special’ rather than ‘perfect’. It’s fine—everything is going to work out, you’re determined. So what if the cheese you bought for the chicken parm has mold on it? You can just go with pasta instead. So what if your cupcake pan has mysteriously gone missing? You can make banana bread with chocolate chips in them (a personal favorite of Austin’s).

There’s no reason to freak out over this…your boyfriend is going to love whatever you’ve put together (it only took you three times to talk yourself down off that metaphorical ledge).

Luckily, nothing else throws you off balance. Though you do wish you’d been paying closer attention to Austin’s location because you hear the front door open as you’re taking the banana bread out of the oven. Quickly setting it down on a hot pad, you tug off your oven mitts, putting your arms up and out.

“Surprise!”

Austin’s eyes are bright with surprise, a soft laugh tumbling out of his mouth as he sees the put together dinner, the banana bread, the streamers and balloons just past the kitchen in the living room. He sets down a bouquet of flowers he’s picked up for you (just because).

“It’s uh, it’s not my birthday.” He says teasingly.

Rolling your eyes, you grin as you move to wrap your arms around his shoulders. Austin leans down to hug you back, squeezing, pressing his face into your hair to breathe you in,

“I know that,” You huff playfully, shaking your head, “Just wanted to do something nice for you.”

You pull back out of the hug a little bit, Austin’s arms still around your waist. He presses a kiss to your lips, your hand lingering on his cheek. Your stomach does that familiar fluttering that you’ve easily associated with being around him, running your thumb along his lower lip.

“For the fragrance campaign?” You offer, as if it’s obvious.

Then his face kinda does that handsome thing where he flushes, his cheeks kissing pink. Apparently it wasn’t so obvious and he’s genuinely surprised. “You didn’t have to do all this.”

You crinkle your nose, taking a look at the decorations, the dinner, the dessert—feels fairly apparent to you because what better way to celebrate him? This is actually pretty low caliber compared to what you could have done but…the key was really not to overdo it.

“Are you saying you don’t want the banana bread?” You ask, taking a playful step back from him, “Because I’ve been known to eat an entire loaf in bed before, so—”

You act like you’re about to reach for the pan but Austin doesn’t let you get very far, lifting you up and gracefully setting you down on the kitchen counter. A soft laugh leaves your lips, your arms resting on his shoulders as he takes a step forward and settles between your legs. One of your favorite positions with him because you’re nearly eye level now.

“I mean, there’s chocolate chips,” You grin, “I really don’t need to share any part of it with you—”

He cuts you off with a kiss, his hand moving to cup your cheek. You lean into it, can’t help it, would gladly fumble off the kitchen counter if it meant keeping your lips locked. Eventually though, oxygen wins out. He presses another kiss to the corner of your mouth, pulling back a little,

“Thank you,” He whispers.

You hum a soft reply, wrapping your fingers in his shirt and tugging him forward—definitely worth celebrating with another kiss.

#austin butler #austin butler x reader #austin butler fic #austin butler x you #elvis 2022 #mccall writes things

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kittynugg · 18 days ago

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WOOP WOOP MORE A LITTLE DILEMMA

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62289874/chapters/161401792

chapters: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/?

words: 3,983

p.s: reblogs appreciated! do not tag as any ships! also the fun link thing isnt working again and im mad about that i'll try to fix it sometime

“C’mon, Grunkle Ford!” Mabel called from the see-saw across the playground. Ford stood anxiously on top of the foam barrier between the sidewalk and the sand. “I need someone to balance me out!”

He.. didn’t move. He couldn’t! There were so many other– no, not other, just kids, and Dipper was watching him like he was the parent figure and he didn’t want to play with Mabel right now. Not because it was childish. Frankly he loved going along with Mabel’s silly games, He just didn’t feel like it and chose to be a vain little shit about it.

..Shut up, he was angry about the “child” situation.

“You’re really just gonna stand there?” Dipper questioned with crossed arms. “You went on a Merry-Go-Round with her two days ago.” He stepped back with a ‘woah!’ as a girl with blonde pigtails and pink overalls sprinted past him, then gave an exasperated comment about playground traffic. “..what I’m saying is you’d definitely do it as an adult. So why not now when you’d fit in perfectly?”

Ford shifted a little on the barrier, a few inches tall and just wide enough for him to balance on, and rose his arms ever-so-slightly to keep his balance. “You wouldn’t understand,” he declared with all the melodrama of his older self. “This is a disaster, Dipper!” His arm flew out emphatically and his other hand ran through his hair.

His theatrics fell flat, though, as Dipper bit his lip to hold back a laugh. “You’re on a playground, man.” Ford glared. Dipper smirked. “No, no, you’re right.” He put out his hands placatingly. “This is the worst. Total tragedy.”

“Exactly!” He hopped off of his little perch on the barrier. “A total atrocity!”

“A calamity!”

“A crisis!”

“A cruel injustice.”

“An utter outrage!” Ford cried out as Dipper grabbed his hand and– hey was he leading him toward the see-saw?

Before he could question it he was standing right in front of it. “Okay, get on.” His nephew instructed, gesturing up toward the empty seat. Mabel looked over at him with that innocent smile that made him feel like she’d explode from sadness if he didn’t.

“Ugh, fine, I’ll..” Ford sighed despondently. “I’ll get on the see-saw. That’s a stupid name for.. Anything.” He narrowed his eyes at the ground, then pulled himself up onto the higher end of the grey board, settling in the yellow seat. Such an ugly color scheme! He hated all of thi–

He cut himself off with an unsteady squeak as gravity did its job and his end of the see-saw lightly bumped against the ground.

“Now you have to push up!” Mabel whisper-yelled from above him, beaming brighter than the sun above them. Suddenly the embarrassment was worth it.

Nodding, he kicked off the ground. Gravity was once again his best friend here, gently lifting him into the air, and he’d never admit it but maybe he giggled a little on the way down. As he reached the ground again his stomach did that awful lurch thing it did when he hit a speed bump or pothole in his car and made him unwillingly let out an “ough–”

“..Again!”

And for a few minutes, he wasn’t an old man stuck in a child’s body, he was just.. Him. Laughing, cheering “higher!” every other time he went up, and grinning like it’d always been this way. Like everything was exactly the way it should be.

When he finally stumbled off the see-saw, he was dizzy. He fell backward into the sand with a leftover chuckle and was met with Mabel.

“You okay?” She asked, kneeling next to him and then sitting down.

He dug his fingers into the sand. The grains were warm, they felt nice between his fingers. “More than okay, hun. I think the constant motion just threw off my equilibrium.”

”I don’t really know what that means.” Ford actually got more excited at his niece’s words, an opportunity to educate!

One of his six fingers stuck up pragmatically. “Well, inside of your ear is a liquid called endolymph, it displaces the miniscule hairs in your inner ear as your head moves. That’s the reason you get dizzy when you spin around, because the fluid in there is still sloshing around.” Frankly, he was happy to supply that, and even happier when Mabel nodded with interest. “It’s basically your body’s biological bubble level.”

“..Definitely the same Ford,” Dipper observed quietly.

Ford rolled his eyes and laid back, letting out a slow breath. The sun gently warmed him and the sand around him in a way that seemed to melt all defenses he had in place. Something about it, maybe the reminder of simpler times, almost made him drowsy. “I’m surprisingly happy you kids took me out here.” He uttered. “At first I was.. Less than thrilled but I think I was just being oddly immature. Considering how bent on being the opposite I was.”

“Yeah, kinda..” admitted the boy now sitting cross-legged in the sand near them. “But, hey, I wouldn’t blame you for it. You’re going through a lot right now, y’know?”

“And you’re, like, super dramatic.” Mabel nudged Ford’s shoulder.

“That too. I think you’re just thinking too much into it, honestly. Like, last summer, before you came along, I had this whole thing where I didn’t feel manly enough for.. Whatever. So I went to these Man-otaur guys and they tried to get me to kill the.. Multi-bear..? Man, this town is weird.” Dipper’s brows furrowed, then he shook his head. “But, yeah, it was pretty stupid now that I think about it.”

Once Ford began to question what Dipper’s point was, he got to it.

“You’re still.. Just because you look like a kid doesn’t mean you’re just a whole different person, you’re still Stanford Pines, it looks like you’re overcompensating.”

He nodded slowly, folding his hands on his chest. “Right.” Glasses-clad eyes darted around. “Maybe you two should go and play,” he suggested. “I’ll be okay by myself for a while.”

Dipper opened his mouth to give a hesitant response, but Mabel grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. “Hey, let’s go spin on the spinny-doo until we throw up!” She chirped, pointing toward the spinner.

“Yeah!” Cheered her brother, taking the hint, and they scampered off toward it.

Ford watched them with a tired smile, then laid his head back into the sand.

Against his better judgement he let his eyes slip shut.

He flinched back into reality, unsure of how long he’d been dozing, when a high-pitched voice piped up from above him.

“Hi!” A little girl said to him, and upon opening his eyes he noted it was the same one who’d almost crashed into Dipper earlier. “Are you asleep?”

Ford blinked tiredly up at her, then sat up and tried to keep the grumpiness out of his expression. “I would have been in about five seconds if you didn’t come around.” He flinched back as she suddenly extended a hand toward him.

“Lemme help you up!” She offered, and without thinking he took her hand and used it to pull himself to his feet. A mortified chill ran through him as her eyes drifted down to his own hand, then she looked at her free one and spread out her fingers. “One.. two.. three.. four.. five..” she counted under her breath.

..Six. His mind echoed, and he suddenly felt that panicked heat run through his veins.

Until the little girl beamed at him. “You can count to twelve! I can only go to ten with my fingers!”

“..Really?” As quickly as it came, the fear melted away into a hesitant gratefulness. “I counted to one million, once, it wasn’t too difficult.” He spread out his fingers and stared down at them thoughtfully. “But ten is a big number,” he stated as his ‘nurture child’ instincts reared their head slightly. “You should be awfully proud of yourself.”

She let out some little happy noise, then tugged at his hand. “I’m Sally! I’m six!” Introduced the girl with a strikingly Mabel-like enthusiasm. It made him chuckle.

“My name is Stanford,” he shook her hand, then pulled his away. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” His eyes drifted over to Dipper and Mabel, a screaming blur on the spinning piece of playground equipment, and he shrugged. They were fine. Dipper could handle more g-forces than you’d expect at first glance! “Oh, I’m.. ten, by the way.”

Quickly counting her fingers, Sally murmured, “you’re.. Four years older than me! What’s being a growed-up like?”

Not correcting her grammar error hurt, but he ignored it nonetheless. Being called a “grown-up” was a nice ego boost. He was a grown-up. Adult. “Oh, it’s fun. For the most part.”

That was not exactly the truth.. Maybe he enjoyed not having to sneak snacks after a certain time but there was also the whole.. “Freedom” thing that he had to get used to.

“Can you go to bed whenever you want?” She asked innocently.

What was once a forced, polite smile became an amused one, and he nodded. “Well, yes, but like I said; not as glamorous as you might think.” Eugh, tell that to his eyebags. “You can’t stay up too late.”

“Why not? My Dads say it’s because you need beauty rest or else you won’t grow.” Her eyes drifted over to a couple sitting on a bench, watching attentively and probably excitedly discussing their daughter making a new friend if their faces had anything to say about it.

“Precisely that,” Ford stated, “and you feel bad when you don’t get enough sleep.” It was a struggle he knew all too well.

His head swiveled in the direction of the two men on the bench as one of them called, “Sal! Gotta go, think you can say goodbye to your little friend?”

Well, he’d hardly consider them frie-

He wheezed as two arms tightly wrapped around his tiny frame, then let out a gasp when she pulled away.

“I have to go home, now! Uh, hang on..” She dug in the front pocket of her pink overalls until she produced a handful of lollipops and dropped them into Ford’s hand. “You can have these, I have more in the car! See ya!”

Ford was only able to give a muttered goodbye before she skipped off, waving at him the whole time. Once he was out of her sight he violently shuddered. He could practically feel the bacteria growing on his clothes, multiplying.. Child germs.

Just as his disgust began to morph into horror at the thought of whatever pathogen that child just spread to him, Dipper and Mabel stumbled over to him with green faces and twin grimaces.

Mabel was the first to “speak” as Dipper attempted to get his gag reflex under control, giving a long groan and then gagging herself. Ford watched them with furrowed brows until she actually said something. “I think we spun too fast..”

“As I said,” replied Ford with a smug grin and a raised finger, “endolymph! You’ve been dizzy before, it’ll stabilize.” He waved a hand dismissively.

His nephew dragged a hand down his face, then frog-blinked. “I greyed out.. like.. three times.” He

“Ooh, impressive,” he enthused softly. After tapping his chin for a moment he pointed at Dipper with a finger gun. “Did you experience G-LOC?”

Rubbing his temples, Dipper arched an eyebrow. “..No..?”

“Hm, really? Every good scientist needs to. I’ll help you with that when we get home.” He bit back a snicker at the incredibly concerned looks he was shot by both of his niblings.

“Haha.. I’m in danger.” Said Dipper with a distant glint in his eyes.

Ford, ever the responsible guardian, nodded. “We have plenty of danger at home, now let’s go there before any other children try to befriend me.” He started to walk off toward the sidewalk, but Mabel stopped him.

“Someone tried to be friends with you!? Aaaawwww!” She cooed with her hands pressed to her cheeks. “Who was it, did you learn their name? Maybe we can set up a playdate!”

The very mention of a “playdate” made his skin crawl, so he put the kibosh on the idea as quickly as possible. “A little girl named Sally, but I don’t want to have a playdate with her. I’m a grown man, remember?”

Mabel countered, “a teeny tiny adorable grown man,” patting his head. Naturally, he swiped at her hand with a grumble.

And when he looked to Dipper for help he absolutely failed him, arms cross and expression appraising of Mabel’s idea. ”I think you’re losing this one, Great Uncle Ford.”

“I am going to throw you into a centrifuge at my first opportunity.” Threats would surely help him in this situation!

Dipper’s eyes narrowed in that.. ‘I’m manipulating you right now and you know that but are you going to do anything?’ expression, and he tapped his chin. “That’s interesting, almost makes me want to intervene less.”

Threats didn’t help him! What kind of nonsense was that!? That cunning–

“Is she still here? I can get her phone number if she has one and tell her to come to the shack..” mused their sweater-clad partner in crime to herself.

Ford panicked. “No, no! No.” He waved his hands with emphasis, then leaned over to Dipper and promised him anything he wanted as long as he intervened in a whisper because these were desperate times.

Before Mabel could really get into the logistics of the playdate (probably how much glitter would be involved), an elbow nudged hers. “Maybe he should try to lay low, right? He’s gonna be an adult again soon,” said Dipper with a glance at Ford that carried a glint of uncertainty, “if he goes and makes a bunch of friends they’ll just miss him when he’s back to normal.”

“Aw, you’re right..” She tapped her chin, squinting. “Hmm.. wanna go back on the see-saw?”

An intense look was cast at her by Ford. “I will always want to play on a see-saw with you, Mabel.”

“I knew I could count on you!” Mabel chirped, grinning from ear to ear. She took Ford’s still frustratingly-tiny hand and pulled him toward the see-saw.

Naturally, Ford climbed on like he had the first time, and gripped the railing tightly with one hand as he pushed off the ground and was lifted into the air. Such a simple action.. and yet it was more fun than he had on a daily basis as an adult. Even the second time! It just didn’t get old! “Whoo!” He cheered, reaching a hand toward the sky that cast a long shadow against the ground.

All good things must come to an end.

“That kid’s got six fingers!” Yelled an older boy on the playground, pointing at his excited form high in the air.

He gave the kid the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he just had his guard down from that little girl..

“Oh, yes!” Ford jumped off of the see-saw once he was close enough to the ground. Dipper and Mabel watched with trepidation as he trotted right up to the boy, extending a hand. “It’s called Polydactyly. It’s cool, right?”

The kid actually flinched back, pulling his hand as far away from Ford’s as possible, and stepped back. “What the heck-!?”

Ford froze, hand still outstretched even as the boy backed away from him. Voices around him murmured words he couldn’t process anymore. Was his vision starting to tunnel? Why did it matter? He didn’t say ten words to him and he was already being judged.

This was just like..

Cathy shrieked, yanking her hand away from Ford’s. He felt so much colder without the contact..

“Ew, you have six fingers!?” A squeal escaped her as she frantically wiped her hand on her skirt. “That’s so weird!” Now the other kids on the playground were looking at them. He could feel their eyes on his back. It burned.

His face went red, and he buried his hands in his pockets. “I- I didn’t think–”

“You’re a freak!” She pointed at him, Ford flinching away from her hand. “I don’t like-like you anymore!”

He couldn’t move. She turned, she ran away, she left forever and wasn’t going to come back. He couldn’t breathe. “B- But.. I..” He whispered, but his words died off long before Cathy could hear him.

That was the day something shifted, wasn’t it?

“Grunkle Ford? Come on, stay with me.” A pair of fingers snapping in his face brought him back to reality, where Dipper stood before him with a concerned look. “We need you in the real world, alright?”

The real world. Right. That was when he was brought into the real world. Found out that those who are different are hated, shunned. He shook his head. “I’m fine.” An obvious lie, he could feel tears pricking at his eyes. “I was just.. Thinking of something.” He dragged in a breath, but it didn’t help as much as he’d hoped.

He’d dealt with this for fifty damned years, he almost thought it shouldn’t hurt so much anymore, but now? Now that wound felt just as fresh as it had the day it happened. Maybe even worse.

“Aw, don’t– Don’t listen to them!” Mabel gave a half-hearted laugh that was intended to be reassuring. “They don’t know what they’re talking about, they’re just–”

“Just kids?” Ford hissed in a shaky voice. “In the real world, grown-ups will lie so they don’t hurt you. But she– she was too young to know, she’d just say anything because she didn’t know I’d– I’d carry that for the rest of my life, and– and–” He choked a sob despite his instincts screaming at him to pull himself together. “It’s not fair.” A small, broken voice that couldn’t have come out of him squeaked.

She grabbed his hand, gently but firmly, and gave it a soft squeeze. “Oh, Grunkle Ford.. who hurt you? You can talk about it, me and Dipper’ll listen! I can go make them apologize if you want!”

Get a grip, he told himself, now they’re worried.

“Just some.. Perceived crush at the time, sweetie..” he ignored the way his voice was more sniveling than speech. It wasn’t romantic, he didn’t actually feel what he thought he felt, fine. But it would have been nice if she wasn’t so.. So cruel. “That was the day I realized how different I was, I suppose it.. Stuck with me.” His eyes turned toward the ground. “And it affected me a lot.”

But he placed his other hand over Mabel’s anyway. “I.. do appreciate the sympathy.”

“You, uh,” Dipper rubbed the back of his neck. “Didn’t get much of that as a kid, huh? Man..”

“No, I wish.” Ford instinctively reached for Dipper’s hand, almost releasing it when his nephew gave him a slightly surprised look but relaxed as his expression softened. “But Stan and you two make up for that exponentially, don’t worry about me.”

Mabel glanced at Dipper, and he met her eyes, the two of them seeming to have a silent conversation.

Then they turned back to him and Dipper said, “we’re not gonna stop worrying about you.” Because of course they wouldn’t. He was oh, so fragile.

..Okay, he was at the moment, but that was sarcasm and his point still stood.

“You don’t have to be concerned, you know, I-” don’t want your pity “-can manage my own emotional state just fine. I’ve been doing it for most of my life, after all.”

“We can tell.”

“I still have the authority to ground you,” deadpanned Ford with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow, but Dipper and Mabel just smirked at him. “..Can’t you at least pretend that I’m not too soft to discipline you? Once?”

Dipper made a real show of thinking about it. He tapped his chin and his foot, eyes narrowed with intense thought. “Hmmm.. I don’t know.. What do you think, Mabel?”

His gesture was mimicked by his sister, if not exaggerated ten-fold. “I’m not a good actor..”

“You play pretend all the time, you roped me into it the other day!” Facepalming helped him fight the fondness from his expression. “Pirates, it was fun. But regardless, both of you are very good actors and I frankly don’t believe that this self-doubt stems from anything but convenience.”

Ford rolled his eyes as the other two Pines kids– the only Pines kids nodded in unison. “Oh, yeah.” “We’re totally guilty,” they muttered to his chagrin.

“You kids have no respect.” He tsked, dramatically looking away. ..That was a motion he regretted as his eyes caught a few kids mumbling to each other and pointing at him. “Can we leave?” Vulnerability once again forced itself into his demeanor, his voice low and shoulders hunched, but it ebbed when Mabel took his hand again.

The softest little giggle escaped her as he happily squeezed her hand. “Yeah! This was a dumb idea, anyway.. I just didn’t think kids who are okay with gnomes would be so freaked out about an extra finger.” Her eyes drifted over to a kid sitting by the swings, playing pat-a-cake of all things with.. Was that Jeff?

“Anyway, wanna be our gnome queen?” Ford could hear him ask as they finished their game. So he still hadn’t found a new queen. Now, why wouldn’t anyone want to marry that? Hmm..

Sarcasm.

“I wouldn’t call the idea stupid, honey,” he reassured with a thoughtful expression as Mabel took Dipper’s hand and led them off the sand, to the sidewalk. “I had fun. For the most part.” Until.. Children happened. Children were brutal.

Dipper turned to glare at the posse of children watching them leave. “Yeah, until they decided not to mind their own business.” ..Defensive, much? He looked like he was going to kill those kids if Ford glanced away from him.

Then he’d end up in jail, and he wouldn’t see him for a long time..

On some strange instinct he didn’t remember having, he reached up and tapped his fingers against his own cheek. One at a time in a very controlled gesture. “It’s okay, Dipper,” he mumbled, “really. Don’t go and give them a piece of your mind. It isn’t worth it.”

“I wasn’t going to, I was kinda just gonna stare in disdain at them until they’re out of my line of sight.” Dipper replied, turning his head to keep looking even as they were starting to put some distance between themselves and the playground.

How cute, his nephew had inherited his pettiness. He pulled his fingers away from his cheek, looked at them for a moment, then slipped his hand into his pocket. “..Unrelated, but have I had these sorts of.. Tics, before?”

“Like, the stims?” Mabel piped up, pointing to his cheek. When Ford nodded she continued. “I don’t think so..”

Dipper shook his head with a nudge to his sister’s elbow. “He totally has, it’s just subtle.”

Really? Ford wasn’t expecting that. That was interesting. Now he had to know. “Like what?” What did he do that he didn’t notice, but other people did?

“Uh,” glancing up, Dipper wracked his brain for examples. “You spin pens, tap your fingers against things..” He pulled his hands toward his chest, letting them hang loosely. “The velociraptor thing– you’ve definitely done that once or twice.” His hands dropped to his sides. “Not to mention, like, fidgeting. You do this weird thing with your dice all the time,” he wiggled his fingers as if imitating the gesture, “I have no idea how you do it.”

How did he do things frequently enough for Dipper to notice, while still not noticing them at all? His eyes narrowed, and he tapped his chin.

“You’re doing it again.”

Damnit.

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