#like I wish this shit happened while I was there I’d have a raise and title like damn

[aizenat]

This girl who they were trying to promote over me at my last job got fired/quit today lol. Long story short she acted like a banshee after me and my ex-boss ended up quitting within a week of each other.

That department is now a bunch of new ppl with little to no knowledge, no real leadership, and trainees. Lol.

The only thing I’m mad about is she managed to go out on her own terms. She doesn’t deserve it. Her husband apparently got a new job/position so I’m sure they can afford to live (barely; but working class Trump supporting whites don’t care about that) on just his income. She also called out Friday and yesterday, and after calling out yesterday apparently had no pto left. Sis was planning to quit. She went home on Thursday after being caught being shitty to their new trainee (who is Black but she was straight bullying the girl to the point she asked to go back to being an operator; my mother believed this girl was racist especially with how she treated me and while I wouldn’t have made that accusation, it is interesting that she’s apparently being mean to her Black trainee when I’ve heard her train white ppl without driving them out of the department), and called out Friday. She was purposely trying to use up her time.

I’m sure after talking to our old boss (who quit to be a stay at home mom; her checks mostly went to daycare anyway, so after she and her man came into some money through inheritance, they decided to just use that for savings and investments while living off his chick and not having to pay for daycare) and her husband, they decided that if she was reprimanded she could just quit. And so when she finally went in and the manager pulled her in to tell her she was on probation, she apparently tossed her badge at them and was like “I’ll save you the trouble” and basically quit.

Which honestly from what I heard the manager wanted to fire her last week but couldn’t because hr told her she couldn’t lol. So her quitting really is great because she now can’t sue the company and that department is free from her. And apparently the department was super light and peppy with homegirl gone.

Girl lost her bag and now she’ll be even more alone and isolated with those kids who are driving her so crazy she’s had to start therapy to deal with and she thinks she’s won but she lost a job paying more than she’d get anywhere else without a degree that’s she’s had for over 20 years. Like girl when your man becomes overbearing or you wish you had somewhere to go where your kids aren’t there, good luck. Since they’re literal card carrying/dues paying NRA members, I just hope I don’t hear anything crazy happening at their house. Cuz her and her gleefully racist beau are the types…

[katszumi]

silence immersed the room as the door clicked shut behind you. the ticking clock a reminder of how little time you have.

“you’re such an asshole, you know that?” you spewed to the male in front of you, your features displaying a look of anger.

katsuki rolled his eyes. “well, it’s not like i get called a ray of fuckin’ sunshine. what else did you honestly expect?” he crossed his arms over his chest, taking a seat atop of the long metal table.

“not much, yet you still seem to subceed my expectations.”

“subceed? seriously?” katsuki paused to let a scoff escape his lips. “you’re upset because i’m actually selling this story? the only one, might i add. this was your shitty grand idea!”

unknowingly, you took a step forward.

“the idea was to make it known we disliked each other. not for you to publicly shame and insult me!”

you, katsuki and a few other heroes were invited to attend a press conference. while the original topic was to discuss about the mission you all completed the day before, the topic began to stray away and focus on the relationship between you and katsuki.

japan knows of the hatred you and katsuki shared between each other, that was no unknown fact. the media described you two as fiery rivals considering both of your quirks contained fuel.

you two despised each other. or at least that’s the lie you fooled everyone with.

you were unsure when katsuki started to look appealing to the eye, how attractive he was when he was drowned in sweat, how you began to long for the small but noticeable glances he sent you in public. you couldn’t tell when it happened. but before you knew it, a small pool of desire that had katsuki’s name printed on it began to fill every minute of the day.

“which is no different than what we used to do. you want them to believe it? then don’t take my shit. suck it up and be a bigger asshole than i already am.” he was right. you know he was right. but it was so difficult to pretend as if you hated him.

even if you called him a bitch, or a cunt, maybe even call him out for having a small dick—which you know is far from the truth—that still wouldn’t deny the peace you felt whenever you were with katsuki. how the world seemed to stop still on its axis. how there were no rain, wind or time. just pure bliss.

fuck.

out of everyone, it just had to be him? his captivating, intense ruby irises. his brash, abrasive demeanor. only his words that could seem to sway you. the man the world deemed you to abhor.

instead of admitting the truth, you twist his words. “well, i’m pleased to know it’s so easy for you to do.”

“jesus fuck, y/n.” now, katsuki rose from his position, never once breaking eye contact with you. “you think this is easy for me? you think i like getting up there and lying through my teeth? doing this is the one of the hardest things i’ve ever done.”

he walks closer and even closer to you, minimizing the distance you established for good reasons. this is how it always happens; one of you forgets about the space you two have to maintain until words don’t seem to work anymore. instead, your lips weave together, forming a new way to communicate.

but you don’t move. you don’t want to.

“is it? all those insults feels like it comes pretty smooth to you.”

katsuki pauses as he takes a second to analyze you. his eyes scan your body then leading right up to your face.

“because those are the words i wish i could mean. every time, it burns me to say those things about you when i’d rather be up there claiming every single part about you.” he lowered to a whisper, but his voice maintained a fervent tone.

his hand raises, slow and steady. he cups your cheek, gently swiping his thumb across your cheek. instinctively, you lean into his palm, your eyes softening as you gaze into his eyes.

“you think i enjoy this?” you watch his jaw tighten, his hand dropping to your hip. “think i like watching you talk with those eager men? it takes everything in me to not beat them shitless for daring to come across you. do you know how hard it is to fight the urge to pull you in and show them that you’re not available?”

too captivated by his words, you didn’t notice how katsuki lowered his head. you could feel the heat of his body from how he gave you no room to breathe. he placed his lips on your soft skin, slowly kissing the side of your neck.

no. resist him. your mind was screaming. this couldn’t go on forever. at some point, you guys had to stop.

“what will make them back off? if i mark you up? think they’ll understand then?” he proposed the question, but to you, it seemed more like he was asking for permission.

you didn’t know what effect katsuki placed on you to have you like this. but in this moment, you didn’t care about the rumors, the consequences, your image. it was all pushed back in the back of your head. so, you slightly tilted your head upwards, giving him more leeway to continue.

katsuki gripped your hips. not too strong to leave a mark but strong enough to squeeze a small moan out of you.

“don’t you fuckin’ understand, y/n?” he leans away to look in your eye.

“what?” you meekly responded.

“i go insane when it comes to you. i’m not the kind of guy that drools over any woman’s attention. but, you… fuck.” he stops himself, from what you can only assume was to control himself with whatever he was about to say. “not being able to have you only makes me crave you more.”

you stay quiet.

“you know how many times i’ve tried to resist you?”

“how many?” finally, you spoke.

“too many fuckin’ times. i’m done fighting it, y/n.”

confusion struck your face. “what do you mean?”

“be mine. forget the press, forget our pr managers. be with me.” katsuki brings you closer with the hand placed on your hip, the action drawing you to one conclusion.

he leans in and interlocks his lips with yours. immediately, you drown in the feeling of his soft but chapped lips that you couldn’t seem to push away. somehow, you find the strength to pull back from him.

“not here. not in pub-”

“yes here.”

with his tone, you could mistake him to be aggressive in this moment. but over the months, you managed to be able to read his eyes from the forbidden glances he’s sent your way; how he really felt through the way he wore his eyes.

katsuki’s eyebrows were slightly furrowed, his soft ruby eyes shifted from your lips to your e/c irises.

there was a look behind his eyes. there were more watchful, more tender than usual. almost as if he was pleading with his eyes. like he was begging.

so, how could you say no to him in this state? him being so vulnerable with you?

but that was always the problem.

you could never say no to katsuki bakugou, no matter what.

your arms wrap around his neck, drawing him in with your eyes. he inclined his head and laid his lips on your mouth. the silence that did wrap the room ten minutes ago was replaced with the noise of sloppy kisses, your mouths powering over each other.

you can feel your heart rate increase from the action, even more noticeably so when he entangles a fist in the back of your shirt. he needs you closer, maybe within his skin if possible.

following his action, you guide your fingers through his ash blonde strands, sending a shiver down his spine. he nibbles on the bottom of your lip, pulling it just slightly.

“we really shouldn’t be doing this.” your murmur, yet his ears catches it. “this would be the hottest topic for the media.”

a snicker parted his lips. “we just can’t be caught. but the day you stop being scared, i’m ready.” his words vague and simple, yet still holding so much promise.

“i hate you.”

and you did. you hated that he was too enticing. too irresistible.

“thought it was hard for you to say things you don’t mean?” he referred from earlier. of course, that was just like him. the same him you mistakenly fell for.

“just shut up.” was all you replied with before leaning back in to connect his lips with yours, choosing to help him with your statement.

this was supposed to be like a forbidden love trope but i think i just revealed how thirsty i am😔

[going-to-ikea-for-the-fries]

It's a Match! || 141 x reader

[ Chapter 8 ] || [ Chapter 10 ]

Pairing: Ghost x gn!Reader || 141 x gn!Reader Words: 1.2K~ Summary: While overcoming recent heartbreak, you decide to join Tinder in search of a rebound. Your friends advise to just Swipe Right indiscriminately... What happens when 4 soldiers from the same squad match with you? a/n: i think Ghost always steals Soap's hygiene products bc he cannot be arsed to buy some for himself.

Chapter 9: Drinks?

The moment the helo touched down, the soldiers descended, each of them parting ways as they went about their regular business, returning their gear to the armory, debriefing, showering, eating…

Almost a whole hour after their arrival, Simon threw himself down onto his bed, his skin dewy from the shower, his hair combed to the front and dripping over his face.

He popped open the top drawer of his nightstand and fished out his phone and charger. He set the charger up and turned on the phone as it charged up.

Simon didn’t often use his iPhone. Sometimes he forgot he even had it. The only times he did was to check Soap’s and Gaz’s insta/snap stories (because he liked being up to date on what they were doing) and when they were all on leave and had parted ways, so he could check the groupchat. 

Once the phone turned on, he immediately beelined for Tinder and opened the app. The app lagged a bit at first but, open loading up, he saw it.

99+ likes, 99+ messages.

The big majority of them were girls, too young for him, thirsting for him, even with his face being hidden. He always knew he could attract people, so it didn’t exactly surprise him.

Rolling his eyes, he flicked his finger over the screen until he found your chat and clicked on it.

Simon: I’m back and in one piece. Simon: I think you need to wish me luck more often.

He didn’t expect you to answer him immediately, even if it was only 6 P.M. on a Tuesday and you’d likely be at home and free, considering the job you listed on your profile.

However, the Read notification popped up under his text almost immediately and your dm came right after without the app even announcing you were typing.

you: omg i was literally JUST checking to see if you had said anything you: welcome back!

The text made a smirk take over his scarred lips before he bit the bottom one and typed out a reply.

Simon: Have you been waiting to hear from me for 3 weeks? you: noooo Simon: That’s frankly adorable. Simon: Didn’t think I’d have gotten in your head that strongly. you: oh piss off simon. you: ur not that great. Simon: You’re still texting me. you: sooo???? Simon: So, I can’t be that terrible. Simon: Got your attention, didn’t I? you: oh piss off you: ur so cocky and for what Simon: Not cocky. Just sure of myself. you: no Simon. No? you: no 😤 Simon: Okay then. Simon: Suddenly not sure of myself because you deemed it so. Simon: I’m very insecure now. Simon: Is that better? you: stop being such a bloody smartass 🙄🙄🙄 Simon: You’re breaking my heart, sweetheart. Simon: I can’t take this. Simon: Going to go hug my pillow and cry some more. you: oh no you: i’m making the giant cry? 😱 Simon: Is that a dig at my height? you: YES Simon: My God, I’m going to cry even more. Simon: I’m being bullied. you: good!!! 😤 Simon: I’m making you pay for my therapy. you: pay for it yourself!!!! 🙄 Simon: How about I pay for dinner for the two of us one of these days instead?

You didn’t answer immediately after that. You always did that whenever he flirted with you and spoke about taking you out.

Simon had a shit-eating grin on his face, imagining that you were all annoyed at him behind the screen. He was right in guessing you were shy about going out, he assumed.

you: no. you: but you can buy me a drink tonight.

His jaw dropped and his eyebrows raised just a bit.

Simon: It’s a Tuesday night, are you sure? Simon: You know going out for drinks on a Tuesday is usually a sign of alcoholism? you: ur backing out now? you: wheres all that bravado of yours? Simon: Oh no, sweetheart. I’m not backing out, I’m asking if you’re sure. you: if i wasnt i wouldnt have invited you. Simon: Fair enough. Simon: Where? you: the same pub i met up with john at maybe? Simon: Rog. Simon: 30 minutes. you: i need longer to get ready. Simon: That’s fine. I’ll still be there in 30. you: are you going to be wearing the mask? Simon: 🤷‍♂️ you: SIMON you: YOU CAN’T BE PULLING OUT THE EMOJIS LIKE THIS you: YOU STARTLE ME EVERY TIME. Simon: Good. Simon: See you soon.

Setting the phone down on the mattress, Simon got up from bed and took off his towel, tossing it over the back of his desk chair before opening the top drawer of his tall dresser, grabbing a pair of black boxer briefs and putting them on.

Then, he rummaged through the other drawers looking for his one ‘going out shirt’™️ (which was actually a black long-sleeve compression shirt) which he put on along with a pair of dark jeans. It was a simple outfit. 

Then he slipped on some black boots. He threw on a leather jacket over that and tucked a black neck gaiter into the neckline of the t-shirt, hiking it up to cover his mouth and nose.

Barely a minute later, he was making his way into Soap’s room and across the small space that separated him from the bathroom. 

“Going somewhere, L.T.?” Soap probed from his spot at his desk, eyebrows raised and his eyes locked on the older man’s with intrigue. He rarely saw Ghost in civvies and even more rarely did he see him without a hoodie.

Unlike Ghost, Soap had made his officer’s quarters into his own living space, having brought in a gaming computer and chair, a small beanbag, and had plenty of knick-knacks around.

“Going out.” Ghost said simply as he grabbed Soap’s hair gel and squirted a glob of it into his hand before lathering them and using them to run through his blond locks which were exposed without the hoodie or signature balaclava.

“Out? On a date?” Soap asked Ghost as he quickly jogged up to the bathroom door, watching as Ghost fiddled with his hair.

“No. Just drinks.” Ghost replied as he tugged a bit as his hair to make it stand up straight. 

“Is this someone you found on Tinder…?” Soap probed as he leaned his shoulder on the bathroom door, a boyish grin on his lips.

Ghost looked over at Soap out of the corner of his eye as he finished fiddling with his hair and rinsed his hands under ice cold water in the sink.

Soap took Ghost’s silence as an affirmative response. “Pro’lly a shag too, hm?” He joked, earning him another glance out of the corner of his eye. “Bloody hell, L.T. tell me all about it later, yea?” He laughed.

“Fuck no.” Ghost added as he grabbed one of Soap’s cologne bottles and raised it up for a sniff before scowling at the scent and setting it down again.

“Aw, c’mon L.T.!” He pleaded. 

“Get your own date, MacTavish.” Then, he just made his way right out the door, forcing Soap to move out of the way, looking a bit like a wounded puppy. 

“I’m not getting anything interesting on there!” Soap lamented with a sigh.

“No? Well, I’m sorry for you, then, Johnny.” Ghost quipped as he opened the door again and stepped out into the hall, leaving Soap behind.

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

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[slxtarchive]

𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 … billie takes care of you when you’ve come down with the flu

꩜ … billie absolutely hated when you were sick. she hated seeing you in pain regardless but especially when she couldn’t do anything about it.

she knows she might be a bit dramatic when things like this happen but she wishes she could just take the pain away from you.

as soon as billie got home she saw you laid on the couch looking miserable. you were buried under all kinds of blankets that looked as if they swallowed you whole.

your usually vibrant happy eyes were dull, framed with dark circles because of your lack of sleep. and your cheeks were flushed undoubtedly because of a fever.

billie frowned watching how you shivered. even under all those blankets. she closed the door and immediately went your way. “baby.” she said with worry.

“i’m fine.” you mumbled, clearly not fine.

billie shook her head. “mm mm, no. you’re sick as fuck. have you eaten? i’m going to make you soup.” she quickly stated not waiting for your answer.

you didn’t have the energy to reply just closing your eyes.

about ten minutes later you heard her footsteps get closer. “c’mon, i have your soup baby.” you groaned again not having an appetite for anything. billie tutted, “yn you have to eat at least a few bites okay? i’ll feed you.”

you let out a breath as you sighed reluctantly scooting back onto the side of the sofa so you could eat comfortably. she spoon fed you smiling down at how beautiful you looked even if you felt like shit.

as soon as you felt full you refused to take anymore bites. “c’mon just one more bite.” billie held the spoon to your lips.

you shook your head looking away and grimacing. “i can’t. i’m full.” you choked out hoarsely wrinkling your nose.

“you’ve only had three bites baby. that’s not a full meal that’s just a snack.” she raised her brow. “barely even a snack actually.”

you huffed opening your mouth letting her spoon feed you once more before you reluctantly swallowed it. “there. happy?” you laid back down where you previously were — very dramatically.

she narrowed her eyes at your tone. “ecstatic.” she teased with a smile setting the bowl aside. she then reached for a cold wash cloth from a bowl of ice that she decided on using on you and placed it on your forehead.

you let out a sigh of relief. “you’re too good to me.”

billie’s eyes softened as she moved some hair out of your face. “i’d do anything for you baby, you know that right?” she caressed your cheek while pressing the cloth a little further onto you before flipping it over.

your gaze softened on billie sighing in contentment. “you’re making me fall in love with you all over again.”

she giggled. “i’m glad, that’s the goal.” she playfully winked at you before sucking on her teeth. “now no more arguing or resenting my help. you need your rest.”

you rolled your eyes teasingly. “you’re impossible.”

“you love me.” she stated, her tone warm and soft.

“i do.” you laughed then groaned at the aches in your body. you closed your eyes briefly feeling the flush in your face. as you started to open your eyes again you noticed billie closer toward you. “uh uh! no kissing. i don’t wanna get you sick.” you tried to push her away.

“worth the risk.” she shrugged still leaning forward. “c’mon…think you can resist me?” she raised her brows.

“billie…” you said in a warning tone but you couldn’t take it. her pretty face leaned in further causing you to fold in her sight. you sighed guiltily before puckering up as she connected your lips in a small but chaste kiss.

it happened quickly but left a lingering feeling on you.

as billie pulled away she grinned cheekily. “see? i’m not sick. practically invincible.” she shrugged smugly.

“you’re so cute.” you couldn’t help but say, hiding your face in your blanket feeling shy around her. “and smug.” you mentioned lastly with a whisper.

she laughed, “can you blame me?”

you lifted the blanket off your face narrowing your eyes at her. she licked her bottom lip before speaking. “okay now get some rest before i kiss you again.”

you smiled before turning over on your side toward her and closed your eyes. you felt her hand on you placing a newly soaked cloth on your forehead before kissing the side of your head. “i love you.” she whispered.

© slxtarchive

[livelaughlou]

Dipping my toes into the rpf Louliver waters because I can't help myself. And I said I wasn't gonna write this weekend. I'm such a sucker.

I'm not going to take the usuals because I have no idea who might be open to RPF and I don't want to tag people who aren't into it, though I will tag @louvemeanyway, @desert--moonchild. ❤️

Louliver - words: 800ish - Rating: Teen - complete

RPF

It only takes an hour after Shanna’s dropped him off with eighteen different instructions on how to care for a head wound for the text to come on. At least he’d managed to avoid a concussion this time or she would have insisted on staying with him.

Open the door, idiot.

Lou rolls his eyes but complies, opens it to see Oliver standing there with his hands shoved into those cargo pants he seems fond of.

“You could have knocked on the door like a normal person,” Lou snarks, leaning tiredly on the doorway.

Oliver snorts and scoots past him before grabbing his shoulder and turning bodily around.

“Jesus Lou,” he says in that accent he won’t tell Oliver always makes him a little weak in the knees. He’s pretty sure he already knows anyway. “What the hell happened? All your text said was ‘in the ER.’”

“Accident on S.W.A.T,” Lou admits as he makes his way to the kitchen, opening the fridge and grabbing two beers. “Stunt gone wrong.”

Oliver eyes the beers. “Should you be drinking?”

Lou undoes the cap and takes a swig and it tastes so damn good after the day he’s had. “Yep. No concussion, but barely. You’re lucky, though, Shanna only just dropped me off a little while ago.”

Oliver shrugs, takes a drink. “I figured I’d take the risk.”

Lou raises an eyebrow and Oliver matches his gaze, looking like the brat he’s accused him of being since they started...whatever this is. He decides to let that go for now; he’s too tired for that conversation, though he knows they’re going to have it at some point.

“Come on, we can crash on the couch.”

Oliver follows him and soon enough they��re both comfortable in front of his TV, though Lou's entire body aches and he's not as comfortable as he'd like.

“It’s been a few days,” Oliver says, still eyeing him like he’s going to collapse into unconsciousness any minute now. “How’s everything?”

Lou shrugs. “Fine, I guess.”

“Twitter?”

Lou takes another swig. “It’s slowed down a lot but not completely gone away. They pop up here and there with something shitty. It’s fine, I’m handling it. Well, my agent’s handling it. I try and ignore it.”

Oliver sighs, sets his beer down on the side table. He leans forward and grabs Lou’s legs, throwing them over his lap. “Get comfortable, dummy. I don’t care that you don’t have a concussion, you still got seven staples in your head.”

Lou doesn’t have it in him to fight it, shimmies further down on the couch, jamming one of the throw pillows behind his head, trying his best to avoid the injured area, though it's not easy. He finishes off his beer and sets the bottle on the floor.

“I wish you’d have let me say something,” Oliver continues, rubbing a hand up and down his shin.

“What good would that do?” Lou wonders. “You already walk a fine line with all that buddie shit. I’m a big boy, Oli, I can handle it. Maybe once I stop showing up, they will too.”

“You shouldn’t have to deal with it,” Oliver mutters and there’s an odd look on his face that he can’t decipher. It’s gone as fast as it appeared, though, so Lou wonders if he imagined it.

Before Lou knows what’s happening, Oliver’s scooting up leaning over him, cupping his face in one giant hand and pressing a soft kiss to his mouth. Lou inhales a long breath, letting it out when Oliver lets him go.

“You have all the finesse of my puppy,” Lou snarks again. Oliver laughs then looks around as he sits down again.

“He’s with Shanna,” Lou explains to his unasked question. “You gonna stay?”

Oliver grabs the blanket thrown over the back of the couch, spreading it on his lap and Lou’s legs. “You want me to? I mean, someone should make sure you don’t hurt something else, you’re so damn accident-prone, apparently.

“Hazards of my usual inability to be still, according to my...well everyone," Lou says and Oliver laughs again.

“Yeah, I get it. And yeah, I can stay.”

“Good,” Lou answers, settling in. “Hey.”

Oliver looks at him, face alight only by the TV and Lou thinks he’s so damn beautiful, it’s insane. “Hmm?”

“Thanks for coming.”

Oliver pats his legs. “Sure. You’re still an idiot. Don’t ask me why right now, I’ll explain later.”

It’s Lou’s turn to laugh. “I know. Back at you.”

Oliver rolls his eyes. “Go to sleep.”

So he does.

[loving-barnes]

LOGAN HOWLETT - BETTER

A/N: Chapter six is here! And it took me quite some time. This one is shorter. Hope you like this one.

Pairing: Logan Howlett x mutant female reader

Warning: none

Summary: Things are slowly turning around. Or are they?

Please, do not read if you are under 18. This story is suitable for mature audience.

Words: 3100+

Important note: Again, Logan is a tall MF, because they fucked up in the movies. Also, Hugh Jackman!Wolverine. This is set in AU.

A TOUCH OF HOPE MASTERLIST | Chapter Five

LOGAN HOWLETT - BETTER

Logan woke her up at six in the morning. They came to an agreement to start the training early before classes. He laughed at her when she opened the door and had dark circles under her eyes and messy hair. Fortunately, she was dressed in sports clothes and ready to train. 

Y/N was surprised to see him in black gym shorts and that damn white tank top. At least he didn’t wear jeans. Fuck, his ass looked fantastic in them. Still, his big, veiny arms were on full display. At least something to look at, she thought. She needed to practise self-control. Otherwise, she’d drool all over him.

It took her a few minutes to wake up and get into training mode. First, Logan made her run through the footpaths around the compound. He stayed close, setting the pace for them. That was just the warm-up. Afterwards, he took them to the Danger room. 

Y/N was drinking water while her eyes travelled around Logan, who walked around like a lion in a cage. He was thinking about the next part of the training. She used the opportunity to eye him. Damn, that man was hot. Even with that hairstyle, it made him charming.

“We should focus on your mutation,” he announced. “You need to be able to control it as you wish. The more control you have, the more you can do as you please.” 

She put down the water bottle. “I’ve noticed a thing,” she approached the man. Her hands rested on her hiplines. “I’ve been thinking about it the whole night.” 

Logan crossed his big, muscular arms across his chest. Then he raised a brow. “Shoot.”

“I think it behaves differently every time I use it. It all depends on the situation,” Y/N explained. “When we were in Salem, and they shot at me, the bullets were absorbed into the shield. Then, I ran towards them, and it threw them away once they made contact with the forcefield. It would absorb or hurt them more if it behaved the same. Instead, it served as a barrier.” 

He tilted his head and scratched his beard. “Interesting,�� he said. “Someone else would be able to explain why this keeps happening. As the Professor said, your mutation is primarily defensive, and-” 

“I can use it as an offence if needed,” she added. “I know, I heard.”

“Exactly like it happened a few days ago. Your emotions got the best of you, and the forcefield flew right out of ya,” Logan continued. “I think you need to experiment with it. You know, try a bunch of shit to figure it all out.” 

Y/N laughed at that. “Aw, you are a great teacher,” she teased. “I have never received such specific instructions. Try a bunch of shit and figure it all out.” 

While she kept chuckling at that, Logan’s claws emerged from his skin, and he threw a punch. He would have gotten her face, but Y/N dodged it by a few centimetres. Her heart skipped a beat, and her soul escaped her body. “What the fuck?” she yelled. “Why the fuck did you do that?”

“What? You dodged it,” he smirked. He threw another punch, and she quickly blocked it. “Better,” he commented. 

“You could’ve killed me, you ass,” she spat. 

“Stop crying, princess,” said Logan with a smirk plastered over his face. “You need to expect the unexpected. Plus, I’d never hurt ya.” 

Princess? That was new, she thought. “What if I hurt you? Have you thought about that?”

“I wouldn’t stress over it. I can heal, remember?” 

Y/N didn’t wait and kicked him in the gut hard. He stumbled back and gasped from pain. He managed to stay on his feet. “Expect the unexpected,” she said to him with a big smile. 

“Will I correctly ask if I ask that you’ve learnt to fight when you were with that Mars guy?” he rubbed his belly.

She stretched while he kept his distance. “Yes. I’m not saying he made me the best fighter or anything. We had to know how to fight and escape. I know what I’m doing, but compared to you, I am a novice,” she said. 

“You are far from that,” Logan said. “Now, come on. Less talking, more fighting. You wanted me to train you and not chit-chat.” 

“Aw, come on, you like chatting with me,” she teased again. 

“Shut up and fight.” 

Left hook, right hook and then Y/N was down on the floor. She cursed and frowned at the man above her. She was panting, mad that he managed to get her down that quickly. Y/N rolled over her shoulder and went for his legs. She tried to trip him but wasn’t successful. She attempted to kick him in the knee and failed. Damn, Logan was agile. He predicted her moves. 

“Come on, Y/N, hit me finally!” 

As he hauled off at her, Y/N’s hand shot forward, and she made a forcefield. Logan collided with it and flew through the air until he hit the ground farther away. Y/N’s eyes almost fell out of her sockets. She covered her mouth and nose with both hands, gasping. “Oh my god!” 

She didn’t expect him to fly through the seven seas and more. Hell, she didn’t want to use the forcefield in the first place. He attacked, and she protected herself. It was instinct. Y/N ran to him and fell to her knees. Her eyes filled with horror. 

Logan was grunting on the floor. His white tank top was burnt in many places. The smell of burning flesh caught her nose. She found a few burns on his skin that healed before her eyes. “I’m so sorry! Logan, I’m sorry. I didn’t…” She was panicking.

Slowly, he sat up and looked down at his destroyed piece of clothing. “Shit,” he mumbled. “That hurt.” 

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” her mouth ran miles. “I wanted to use the shield to make you fly, yes. However, not to burn you alive. What the fuck was that? I am so sorry, Logan.” 

His hand pressed against her mouth to shut her up. “Breathe, princess. I’m fine.” He wrinkled his eyebrows when he smelled the burnt clothing. He grabbed the fabric with his other hand and ripped it off him. 

Holy shit, she thought. She would have said it out loud if it wasn’t for Logan’s hand over her mouth. For the first time ever, she got the perfect and close view of his toned, muscular chest. It was covered in hair that travelled down to his stomach and even further. It was hot. She couldn’t believe how much she liked it. He was a definition of a man. The way his chest rose and fell from breathing, she had to clench her thighs. 

The door to the Danger room opened. Storm ran inside. “Have you seen-” she stopped talking when she found Logan and Y/N on the floor. He kept holding her mouth while being shirtless. They turned their heads to the woman. “Y/N,” she added. “I was looking for you this whole morning. As I can see, you are preoccupied.” 

Logan let go of her mouth. “We’ve been training since six,” she said.

“I need to talk to you,” said Storm when she approached them. “Since when do you train without a shirt?” she teased the man. 

“Since someone burnt it with her mutation,” he glared at Y/N, who gave him a big, embarrassing smile. “Y/N, at least buy me a drink before you want to see me shirtless.” 

Her mouth opened wide as if she was offended by that. She couldn’t give a reply. Logan put two fingers under her chin and helped her close it. “You’re a douche,” said Y/N. “It was an accident,” she turned to Storm. 

“If you are done, can I talk to you?” Storm asked. Her voice was soft and friendly. 

Logan stood up. He helped Y/N on her feet. “We’re done. I have a class in half an hour, and I need to shower.” He noticed how the woman by his side kept ogling him. He smirked. “I’ll see ya later, Y/N.” 

Both women watched him leave the Danger room. Storm raised a brow and smirked. “You have a thing for him, don’t you?” 

Y/N’s eyes goggled. “It’s nice to look at him,” she commented. “Anyway, what do you need?” 

“I need to talk to you about everything that happened a few days ago.” 

Y/N inhaled through her nose. “Can I quickly shower? We can meet in fifteen minutes at the basketball court. Then, we can talk.” 

“That sounds okay,” Storm nodded. “I’ll see you there in fifteen.” 

. . .

Storm and Y/N walked over the school grounds, enjoying the autumn breeze. The weather was warm, even though it was October and Halloween was knocking on the door. Storm wanted to know Y/N’s story. She needed to understand what had happened before she would jump to any conclusions. That’s why they spent the last hour walking around, talking about Y/N’s life. 

“I don’t get why Scott needed to paint you as the bad guy when all of us struggled when we were teens,” Storm shook her head in disbelief. “All stories are different. You happened to have a tragic one. It wasn’t your fault.” 

“But I still did it,” Y/N sighed. “I managed to kill my sister with the ability to protect. How ironic is that?” she shook her head. “I can’t change the past. My little sister is dead. My parents hate me. If they knew I was alive, they would want me dead.” 

“So, what happened after?” 

“I ended up in an insane asylum where I stayed for a few years before I escaped,” said Y/N. “Those years are a blur. With the heavy medication and shit, I don’t remember much.” They slowly moved back to the school. “You know, I wanted to leave yesterday,” she admitted. 

“Why?” 

Y/N shrugged. “I thought you’d hate me for what I did. I hurt you all. I thought you wouldn’t want that kind of a person here, with the kids,” she explained. 

“What made you stay then?” Storm was curious. She had an idea in her mind. That idea was inside the school, teaching history. 

“A chance of being a better person,” Y/N said. “I have the opportunity to do something good. I can learn more about mutation and be there for those who require help. I want to prove to you and myself that I am not a monster.”

“Is that all?” Storm had to ask with a teasing smile. 

“Let’s not go there,” Y/N chuckled. 

“Logan is a nice guy. Grumpy but with a good heart,” said Storm. “You two clicked, you know? When I think about it, it would be a great love story. He’s literally your knight in shining armour.” 

“Y/N!” they heard a voice shouting. Both women turned to see JJ running towards them. Saved by the kid, she thought. Y/N’s eyes sparkled with excitement. She spread her arms, and the boy ran into them. They hugged tightly. “I haven’t seen you in days,” said the boy. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“They told me you were hurt,” he said. “Are you okay?” 

She gave him a smile and patted his head. “Of course I am. I needed some time to rest. How do you like it here?” 

“This place is awesome,” he said excitedly. “I share a room with two other boys. They seem nice. Oh, hey Storm,” the boy acknowledged the other woman standing by them. “They teach us how to work with our mutation. It’s so much fun!” 

“Oh, it makes me so happy that you like this place,” Y/N looked into the boy’s face. 

“I have to go, but I’ll see you later. Bye Y/N, bye Storm!” the boy waved to them and ran inside the building. He probably had another class to attend. 

“He’s a unique young man and a good student,” Storm said when the boy was gone. “Was your past also a reason you wanted to save the boy?” 

“Yes,” she whispered. 

Together, they went back inside the mansion. When they stepped into the main hallway, Y/N turned around on her heel. “Hey, didn’t I make Scott fly out of that window?” she pointed at the undamaged window. “How is it fixed already?”

“With all the mutations around, things can get fixed fast here,” said Storm with a gentle laugh. “Listen, I have a wild idea,” her eyes brightened. “Half an hour from here, there’s a bar. It’s owned by a mutant. We should all grab a drink tonight.” 

“There is a bar?” Y/N was surprised to hear that. “I’d love a beer. It’s been years since I had one.” 

The school bell rang. Silent halls turned into noisy ones. Another class was over. The students left the classrooms.

“Great. All we need is to find a babysitter and-”

Office, now. 

Y/N frowned and looked around. She heard the Professor in her head. “Did you hear that?”

Storm nodded. “Come, something’s going on.” 

They moved fast into Charles’s office. Rogue, Bobby and Kitty were quickly behind them. After entering the office, Jean, Scott, and Kurt were already there, with another man Y/N never met before. He had mid-long silver hair and a smug smile on his face. The last ones to enter were Logan and Colossus. 

“You must be the new girl,” the man pointed at Y/N, his eyes travelling over her body. After a blink, he stood in front of her. “I’m Peter,” he shook her hand. 

“Y/N,” she said, startled. “Wow, you are fast.” 

Logan approached Y/N, standing right behind her. She smelled like a coconut shampoo. It was nice. What he didn’t like were Peter’s eyes on her. Logan glared at him. “Hey, Speedy,” he greeted his friend. “Long time no see.” 

Peter moved back to the chair he was sitting on. It was faster than a snap of the fingers. “Had some business to do. Same old, same old.” 

Scott turned his head to look at Y/N. Because no one could see his eyes, they didn’t know what emotion was behind them. He wrapped an arm around Jean’s waist and faced the Professor again. 

“Why are we here, Professor?” Kitty asked softly. “Did something happen?” 

“I’m afraid I don’t have good news,” Charles started to talk. “Hank and Remy went to Washington to attend a conference. It was about Human and Mutant affairs. I’m afraid some new threads want to stop the cooperation between humans and mutants.” 

“Here we go again,” Bobby mumbled, shaking his head.

“And with Trask Industries trying to come up with a way to suppress us, I’m afraid we are on thin ice,” Charles continued. “I’ll send Scott and Jean to join Hank and Remy. We need more reasonable voices to help with the cause.” 

“Professor, this will never stop,” Rogue commented. “They tried before. Here we are again, facing the same issue over again.”

“We can only hope for the best, for now,” said the Professor. “We need to act now before Magneto and his Brotherhood will step in. And we all know what happens when they get into it.” 

“We need to be prepared for anything,” Jean said. “If the politics decide to break the treaty pact, we will be endangered again, and there will be war. No one wants that.” 

Y/N shook her head. Even though there was a treaty, humans would experiment on mutants. They would capture them and abuse them like they did her. They needed lab rats to figure out how the X gene worked. 

How am I still alive?

When the meeting had ended, everyone, except for Jean and Scott, gathered outside the office. “How about Stan’s tonight?” Storm suggested. “I need a drink more than ever after hearing that,” she pointed at the office door behind her. 

“I’m out,” Colossus said. “I don’t think I am welcomed there for a while. Last time, I accidentally destroyed two tables.”

“Because you wanted to arm-wrestle after drinking the whole bottle of vodka,” Logan glared at his friend. “I warned you. You didn’t listen, Piotr.”

Y/N bit her lower lip to keep her from laughing. Obviously, they were notoriously well-known at the bar. Her eyes met Logan’s for a brief moment. 

“So, you’ll be the babysitter then?” Storm gave him pleading eyes. 

“Sure,” he agreed. “You all have a good time. If anything happens, I’ll give someone a call.” 

“Great,” Strom clapped excitedly. “How about we meet at the entrance gate at seven in the evening?” she suggested. 

As they all started to disperse, Y/N turned around and looked at the Professor’s door. She had an idea inside her head. It was stupid, but she wanted to ask about it. 

“Are you coming?” she heard Logan’s voice. 

“Uh,” she turned her head to look at him. “I need to talk to the Professor. I’ll see you later.” 

With a single nod, Logan left her alone. Y/N knew Jean and Scott were still inside, but she wanted to speak to Charles alone. Y/N approached the door and knocked on it. Once she was allowed to enter, she did. 

Scott and Jean were already on their way out. Jean gave her a polite smile while Scott ignored her. Y/N had to roll her eyes. His behaviour was childish. 

“How can I help you, Y/N?” Charles asked. He moved behind his table. “Your mind is closed, so I wonder what you want.”

“I was thinking,” she approached the table and then seated in an armchair. “Do you need an extra teacher?” 

“What do you have in mind exactly?” 

“Uh,” she fiddled with her fingers. “English and literature, perhaps? You took me in, and I would like to repay you somehow. I was the best in class. Before my life turned upside down, I used to apply to writing competitions. I know a lot about literature. I love it.”

Charles smiled. “Anything else?” 

“Uh,” she thought back, thinking about the hobbies she had as a child. “I attended guitar lessons, so I guess music? I might remember something.” 

The man chuckled. “You can teach English and literature. It would help me with some of the classes, to be honest. I teach physics, mutant ethics and even literature. Another teacher for this would be great.” 

“And it’s okay that I don’t have a proper school?” 

“No one does. Hank, Jean and I are the only educated here,” he said gently. “Any help would be appreciated. I will look at the schedules with Storm, and I believe you can start from Monday.” 

“Really?” Y/N’s eyes sparkled. She was getting excited. 

“I have no reason to lie to you.” 

“Thank you, Professor,” she smiled at him. “This means a lot. I’m glad I’ll be able to help you. I’ll let you be. You must have a ton of work to do.” 

When she left his office, she felt more relief in her chest. At least she would be able to repay them somehow. A smile appeared on her face. Things slowly started to turn for the better.

[eunbitchh]

take a ride with me

*18+ MDNI*

word count: 2k

pairing: non!idol au, biker!ningning x fem!reader (she/her pronouns used, referred to as a girl)

warnings: fingering, clit slapping (like once), degradation, praise, orgasm denial, temp play? (cold ass rings, it’s cold outside ig), mild exhibitionism? (there’s nobody there but yall are fucking outside lol)

based off of a lyric from this song;

-

1 am gas station snack runs have become a pretty regular routine for you, the reason being so you’d hopefully get the chance to see the hot biker girl you’d seen the first time you went. you always did, she’d always pull into the parking lot when you were finishing checking out, diverting your attention from the cashier asking if you needed a receipt or not while you instead decided to check out something- someone- much more intriguing. there she was, as per usual. black denim clad legs and a leather jacket that made your head reel, removing her helmet with effortless grace that let her now helmet disheveled hair cascade over her shoulders.

the sound of the cashier clearing their throat snapped you out of your shameless staring.

“do you need a receipt or not?” the bored voice asked you dryly

“uh- no. thanks” you respond a little embarassed at having been so lost in your head while you stared at the girl outside. you grabbed your things and made your way to the door to leave, the cool night air immediately brushing over you skin causing you to shiver. you were starting to walk past the girl to go back in the direction of your house when you heard an unfamiliar voice speak to you.

“so when are you actually going to talk to me instead of ogling me from afar like a creep and i pretend i don’t notice?”

shit

“w-what?” you asked, stuttering in disbelief now turning to look at the source of the voice- it was her. of course it was. could your luck get any worse?

she crossed her arms over her chest and looked at you with a raised eyebrow. amusement? written all over her face. “you heard me” she said simply, a small smirk ok her lips now.

“i- i’m sorry for staring at you and making you uncomfortable.” you responded, white hot shame flowing through your veins while you apologized to her and turned around again to walk back home, but a hand wrapping around your wrist stopped your motions.

“i never said i was uncomfortable, you know. it’s not everyday when it’s a girl checking you out instead of some creepy old man” she was laughing a bit when she said that, amusement not made clear upon seeing your embarrassed response to her presence and her questioning.

“how about we start over, i’m ning yizhuo. you are?” she held her hand out for you to shake, you did after a moments hesitation. her skin was soft.

“y/n y/l/n.” you spoke shyly when you met her intimidating gaze.

“y/n, huh? well, how would you like to take a ride with me?” she asked reaching to pull a spare helmet from her bag and holding it out to you expectantly.

this couldn’t be happening right now

“i’d love to!” you answered all too quickly taking the helmet from her hands, holding it to close to your frame.

“great, hop on.” her tone was so husky and sultry, the invite hanging in the air while she got back onto her bike, legs straddling both sides of it while her feet were planted to the cement. oh how you wished you could be a bike right now. you blink back your thoughts and carefully get on behind her, trying not to touch her at all. she smelled so good, like strawberries.

a silence hung in the air for a few moments while you both slipped on your helmets.

“you better put your arms around me unless you wanna wipeout in the road” she warned you, you hesitated again before doing as she said feeling your face grow hot under your helmet. she drove out of the parking lot at a reasonable speed, you felt okay with the loose grip you had around her waist.. until she unexpectedly sped up, causing you to yelp in surprise and the grip your arms had on her became a lot tighter. she definitely did that on purpose.

something about riding with her was so exhilarating, the speed made it feel as though the world was dissipating into the background of the night before your very eyes. you felt a lot more comfortable the longer you rode, and the extreme tight grip you had on her loosened up a bit. you lost track of how long you were going for until she pulled into a seemingly abandoned lot and came to a stop. you both got off the bike and removed your helmets.

“where are we?” you asked her.

“my favorite spot, you can see the stars so clearly here. i’ve always wanted to bring someone to see it with me, and i’m very glad it got to be someone as pretty as you.” she said with a whisper of a smirk playing at her lips.

you could feel it was weird how you were just silently gawking at her, but who could blame you? that disheveled hair and ever so slightly smug face drove you insane.

“you still with me?” she asked playfully, pointing out your lack of response to her comment

“uh- yeah. yeah- im still here” you struggled out, trying to snap yourself out of the trance you were in staring at her.

the skin of her hand making contact with your cheek sent shockwaves through your body, the contrast of the softness and the rough callouses that littered them was a sensation you knew you could get addicted to.

“you’re always staring at me like i don’t know exactly what’s going on in that pretty little head of yours” her voice was smooth and sultry while she spoke ever so quietly to you, despite the absence of people present.

“..what do you mean?” you whispered back, despite knowing damn well exactly what she was referring to.

“oh don’t act clueless on me now, i’ve felt you eyefucking me every time i was at the gas station, or even when we were riding, and even now. if you want me all you need to do is say it” she challenged, leaning closer and closer to you with each word.

“i.. i want you.” you whispered.

she swiftly pinned you up against her motorcycle and laughed lightly at that.

“good girl.. see? that wasn’t so hard.” she spoke lowly, face merely centimetres away from yours, her eyes scanned your face like a predator watches its prey, before finally connecting your lips together.

your bones felt as if they melted from her touch, unable to stand on your own when she lifted you up a bit so you were now sat on her bike while you kissed at a feverish pace. her hands gently tracing the skin just under the hem of your shirt, brushing lightly against your waist. the feeling of the cool rings that adorned her fingers on your skin sent your head reeling.

“can i take this off?” she asked, lightly tugging at the hem of your shirt, you nodded, unable to respond as you felt her lift your top off.

“god, so pretty” she mumbled to herself, placing a soft kiss to the swell of your breasts. soft pleasured sighs falling from between your lips at the feeling of her gentle touch on your skin as you felt her lips move lower, taking a nipple into her mouth and sucking lightly, pinching the other between her fingers. your back arched into her touch, sighs now turning into moans. the way you fell apart from the simplest of touches fueling her ego evidently.

“mm such a good girl for me, wanna ruin you” she spoke lowly, peering up at you through hooded eyes. you could do nothing but moan in response to her, while her hands made quick work of roughly tugging your pants off. the cold air on your skin in contrast of the heat she was causing in your body made you feel like you were losing your mind.

“wanna eat this pretty pussy.. gonna let me?” she asked while placing gentle kisses and bites along your inner thighs, marking you up just for her.

“please-“ you whined, trying to buck your hips closer to her mouth which made her laugh breathlessly.

“so needy..” she mumbled, kissing your pussy over your panties before moving them to the side and out of her way. she hummed, satisfied at the wetness of you, the way your juices glistened faintly in the moonlight. all because of her. her fingers spread your lips apart while she licked a long stripe along your dripping hole, fighting back a smirk at the sound of your loud moan and how your body instinctively tried to move away from her but having no where to go. she hummed contentedly into your pussy, satisfied with how you tasted.

her lips wrapped around your clit, sucking it harshly. you felt almost embarrassed by how wet you were for her, dripping all over the leather seat of her bike making quite a mess for her. 1 of her hands laid on your thigh to hold you down and spread your legs apart for her while she buried her head between your thighs, the cool metal of her rings digging into your flesh. she lapped you up like you were the only food source left on earth, drinking in any drop of essence you gave her while she gingerly slipped a finger inside of your needy hole, instead of having it clenching around nothing it now clenched onto her finger.

“fuck, look at you sucking me right in” she groaned, releasing your clit from her mouth causing you to whine at the loss of contact. “is my pretty girl gonna cum on my fingers?” she asked in that cocky, teasing voice you were becoming obsessed with.

“please- wanna cum-“ you whined desperately, trying to convince her to fuck you with her fingers at a faster pace. you only whined in dissatisfaction when you felt her finger slide out of you while she laid a harsh slap to your clit that made you scream.

“not yet, not until i tell you that you can cum. understand?” she asked sternly.

“yes- i understand.. just please- please fuck me” you moaned like a needy bitch. to be fair, you were.

“good girl” she returned her finger back to its place, adding another in while she fucked your hole roughly, eyes glued to how your pussy would suck them in more and more with each thrust she made. she toyed around with the pacing a bit, knowing how close you were teetering over the edge of your orgasm. you were desperate for it, bucking your hips in attempt to make her make you cum, but she made it obvious that she was the 1 in control here, denying you of your orgasm over and over again. she kissed your clit and peered up at you again.

“you wanna cum?” she asked you, and you nodded desperately in response.

“no. beg. use your words. do you want to cum?” she asked you sternly

“yes! please yes i want to cum- please let me cum!” you pleaded with her desperately, and that smug smirk broke out across her face at your desperate pleas.

“cum for me, cum all over my fingers” she whispered, before sucking harshly on your clit again, and you did just that, cumming so hard you swore you were seeing stars.. but not those that were in the sky. she helped you ride out that orgasm as long as she could, before finally coming to a stop and carefully slipping her fingers out of your dripping hole, happily sucking the cum off of them with no hesitation.

“you okay?” she asked coming up from between your thighs to look at your face close up, cradling it gently in her hands as she assessed your current state.

“yeah.. i’m okay” you said, breathing heavily when you finally felt yourself coming back to reality, her thumbs gently brushing over the skin on your cheeks

“did so good for me, looked so pretty cumming on my hand” she praised you while gently comforting you, grabbing a clean old tee from her bag to wipe your skin and the seat clean of your cum, laying a gentle kiss to your lips.

“you should ride with me more often” she suggested, sending you a more playful smile.

“yeah.. i should” you said, imagining something like this happening again if you did.

-

not edited, if there’s any spelling mistakes etc lmk!

[ohsohoney]

When it comes to love you're just as blinded.

Part Ten

Eminem x Musician

Summary: It starts with a drunk embarrassing video, it spirals into something a whole lot more.

Note: Later than usual, sorry! But I've been busy with a whole load of shit ngl, it's just been stress:) Let me know if anyone else wants to be added to the taglist though, I realise my updating is a bit sporadic? Maybe? Just a little? Lmao, anyway here's 10, hope you enjoy!

| Set in 2014, just after the release of LP 2

taglist: @thelastemzy

Masterlist

Jacket potatoes were a fucking delicacy.

Any Brit back home would tell you that. You could top ‘em with all sorts; Chilli, Tuna, Cheese, Chicken, Stuffing, Coleslaw, Bacon, Gravy, Bolognese— some people even liked them plain. But my favourite, as well as the only real and true way to serve a jacket potato, was with an ungodly amount of butter and baked beans.

Being in the States, it was a rather hard dish to come by. But, seeing as Marshall always appeared to go above and beyond, beans (No, none of that shoddy American shit) could be found in the little basket he’d gone and gifted me the day before. A little wicker bowl full of goodies to soothe that little ache of homesickness. 

I smacked the can down onto the countertop and levelled Rosie with a long stare.

“You’re serious?” She asked me around a wary glance, extending her arm out cautiously to get a better look at the bright blue tin as though she thought the contents might just reach out to try and grab her back.

“Deadly.” I remarked, attempting to keep my smile hidden when I met her question with a raised brow, “You’ll love it.”

Rosie didn’t look too convinced about that fact and yet, she rolled up her sleeves and took a seat at the counter to watch me work, helping out with the few things that she could. 

She had waltzed in through the front door a while earlier, just a second after I’d made it up the stairs, and the grin she’d worn when she had spotted me had had my heart warming and the pair of us wandering into the kitchen, arm in arm and already talking at a mile an hour. 

I was sauteing some mushrooms in a pan after having peeled and diced them up, whilst she kept a keen eye on the warming potatoes. “So Dad’s finally found some inspiration then?” Rosie asked me after a while, peering into the oven.

I smiled when I peered over at her, seeing how the orange glow of it washed over the side of her face to softly illuminate her features. “Seems so, we got a lot done but he was on a roll by the end of it.” I told her in reply, shaking the pan again and blinking at the sizzle that sparked up, “What do you mean anyway? Finally.” I dragged out that last word in a small singsong which made her chuckle as she stood to her full height once more and turned.

“He’s been trying to write for a couple weeks now, I think. Or months.” She shrugged, stepping back to watch the mushrooms fry with a slight wrinkle of her nose, “Not sure, but he keeps complaining about it whenever he’s on the phone.”

With a small hum, my eyes flickered back over to her, then to the pan again, “He didn’t mention it.”

Rosie blew out a faint chuckle and leant back against the counter, knuckles wrapping around its edge, “Why would he? He hates jinxing himself.”

It was cute that she noticed things like that about him, something I’d begun to note in the short time I’d been staying with the two, but I didn’t know... A large part of me wished that Marshall would have said something about it before, or at least alluded to it. It made me feel a bit bad for bowing out so early now. 

Still, my mind was quickly recaptured by the task at hand and then the story that Z deemed to tell me about, apparently a teacher thought that one of her friends was a shoo in for these auditions that they had coming up soon. The familiarity of the scene made me think back to Lottie, to everything that was happening back home, and I wished, silently and not for the first time, that it could be possible for a person to exist in two places at once. 

The spuds took their time baking but soon enough they were ready and piping hot, fluffy on the inside and with a crisp exterior. Rosie gathered up the butter and cheese at my signal, face lighting up at the prospect of being able to drown her own in the latter, whilst I pinched the tops of the spuds with a clean tea towel and plated them up, spattering them with a small amount of herbs.

I was going to keep Marshall’s wrapped up in tinfoil, if only to save it from going all horrible before he had the chance to try such a delicacy, but thankfully he’d worked his way back up the stairs just in time. I wondered how he’d managed it.

“Hey, you’ve got table duty.” Rosie exclaimed as soon as she saw him bustling over the threshold, handing the cutlery she was already holding to him without a second thought, which caused Em to blink down at his hands whilst he struggled not to drop the sudden weight he'd just been shafted with.

“‘Scuse me?” Marshall prompted, brow furrowed as his gaze wandered about the rest of the kitchen. I wondered what he thought of the bubbling pot of red sauce sitting on the hob, as well as the absurd amount of butter both Rosie and I had already lumped onto our steaming plates.

“You can set the table, Dad.” Z explained as she jumped back to help me with the mushrooms, her voice edging the line of a whining lilt, “We cooked! So it’s only fair.”

Marshall stared at her for a second longer before he ultimately snorted, “Right.” He murmured, recapturing his hold on the silver he held and eyes finding mine, before he spun round on his heel and left the room once again with a small smirk. When he returned, his plate was almost ready and just about to be loaded up with– “The hell’s that?”

I withheld my snarky reply in favour of smirking when Rosie answered for me, her eyes widening in the face of her father’s obvious leery expression. “Beans, Dad. El told me it’s one of her favourite meals, she wanted to share it with us.”

It wasn’t hard to hear the undertone there, the kind that told him to keep quiet on how he felt about the bubbling bowl I was currently holding because Z obviously didn’t want me feeling disheartened in any way. It was adorable, as was the stern face she’d paired with it, the same face that her dad found hard to waver against. His shoulders slumped ever so.

“Right.” He repeated for the second time tonight, dragging the first syllable out a tad, “Looks good?” He tried. 

I had to laugh then, “That a question or statement, Mathers?”

His eyes flickered over to meet mine, but I motioned for Rosie to get a start on heaping the cheese we’d grated onto her plate, the girl’s responding grin was giant. 

“I–” Em appeared stumped for a split second before he eventually just pressed his lips together and decided to jump in on helping us. Although he did complain when he spotted the frying pan sat off to the side, “Mushrooms too?” But with Rosie’s short warning of Dad, Marshall only appeared to raise his hands in mock surrender and then moved over to grab the plates so that he could carry them off into the next room.

I shared a conspiratorial smile with the younger girl before we followed after him, the three of us settling into the same seats as we had occupied the day before. Marshall still looked wary, even with his beans being hidden beneath a thick layer of cheese that I figured he had reasoned to himself would mask whatever taste was under it, but Z, to my utter surprise, looked ready to dig in.

“Changed your tune there, lovely.” I mentioned with a sly smirk, my gaze lingering on her long enough to catch the sheepish reaction she bore before she just shrugged and dipped her head around a grin, fork already in hand.

“Smells good.” Was the excuse she used and so I softened my face into a smile too.

“Well you helped so of course it does,” I quipped easily, picking up my fork as well before nudging Em’s forearm, “Come on, you big baby. Just try it. If you hate it, I’ll order you whatever you want. On me.”

That had him rolling his eyes, but he picked up his knife and fork with a determined expression.

I bit back a round of chuckles I could feel bubbling in my throat and used my chin to getsure for the pair of them to get stuck in. Rosie was quick to tear into hers and I was silently thankful for the way the potato easily broke apart under her knife, its texture fluffy and golden.

“Oh wow, this is so good.” She blew out the second that she could, already moving onto her next bite whilst Marshall was still working his way up to trying his own. “When you first showed me those beans? I was so sure I was gonna puke.”

I snorted quietly at that image, perfectly content with the plate of home I’d gone and conjured up for us, whilst Em’s face wrinkled. “Well if you had hated it, you’d have only had your Dad to blame, he’s the one who bought them.”

“I jus’ looked up British shit, they were top five on every list.” Marshall defended before he finally took a bite, slow in the way he raised his fork to his mouth, his eyebrows raising a little as he let the taste settle in, “Shit.”

My eyes narrowed a tad around the smile that I was chewing on to keep hidden but I watched him cut further into the potato, beans and melted cheese puddling around the sides. “That a good shit or bad shit?”

“Three dollars.” Z acknowledged, voice muffled by the food she still had in her mouth.

I laughed at that and shook my head in fond amusement before I turned to Em for an answer. He took another bite, a big one, something I took to be a good sign, and just nodded. My brow quirked in hope. “So good?”

He hummed, one shoulder shrugging, “Ain’t gone die if I finish it.”

Snorting, I could only shake my head at him, hiding my smile behind my fist. “Idiot. You like it.”

Marshall rolled his eyes, though the gesture was obviously fond as he raised his fork to point at me, “Just grateful you didn’t burn down my damn house.”

Rosie’s giggles filled the room and with them we all settled in to enjoy. Marshall asked after his daughter’s day and the girl was all too happy to ramble and rant to him, face lighting up at the prospect of it. She mentioned her English lesson, the book they had started on and how her teacher had explained this one paragraph to her class, then she went into detail about the play that was set to happen just before the Christmas break. I chimed in here and there, putting in my two cents where it was worth, but in truth, I was perfectly content to simply listen and watch on. 

The clean up that followed was mainly made up of me and Z messing around and singing to the music Em had stuck on, never the type to linger in silence. The pair of us did manage to rope the man into joining us once he had loaded up the dishwasher though, something he thoroughly complained about but followed through on all the same. He was just a sucker for his kid's smile, I reckoned, went above and beyond for the girl and it was all too easy to see.

It was a lot later that we all fell into a comfortable silence around the tele, Rosie sat crossed legged on the sofa with her homework whilst I offered help whenever asked. Marshall had joined the two of us a little later, after his phone had rang and he’d stepped out to take the call, he’d padded into the room with only the explanation of ‘Royce’ before he’d fallen into the seat beside me. I’d hummed but was too distracted by Rosie’s newest question to prod him further on it.

By the time she had finished up, handwriting practically perfect, her books had fallen into a heap on the coffee table and she’d slowly but surely scootched her way further up the sofa. I kept my eyes on the tele when I’d outstretched an arm in quiet invitation but hadn’t missed the grin she’d given in turn before she’d settled into my side, head coming to rest on my thigh. I caught Marshall’s watchful stare from out of the corner of my eye but didn’t glance back over, smiling at the scene that played out on the screen whilst my hand smoothed over the girl’s hair. 

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed between us before Marshall’s quiet cough broke the peace we’d since created, but the sky was more of a hazy cast of dark blue now rather than the ruddy auburn that had lined it much earlier. I stifled a small yawn.

Rosie sniffed softly in my lap, twisting a tad to cast her Dad a quizzical glance. Throughout the duration of the film that Z had picked out for us to watch, the man had gotten close enough that he now only had to drop his shoulders to poke at her cheek.

“Bath and bed, kid.”

The scrunch that overwhelmed Rosie’s face at the order had me grinning and so I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before moving my hand to pat her shoulder. “Up and at ‘em, soldier. Heard what the old man said.”

“Do I have to?” Z huffed, just as a hand came up to rub at her eye. Marshall’s mouth ticked ever so slightly into an amused smirk, his fingers replacing mine in an effort to smooth the front of her hair. 

“School tomorrow.” He reminded her all too gently, dropping his hand lower to shuck the underside of her chin which only made the girl smile sleepily. “You know the deal.”

She sighed heavily in retort, but did eventually make the move to push herself up and out of my lap, legs stretching across the couch cushions before her feet found the floor. It was just as she went to stand that she turned to face me though, her expression a little meek but rapidly losing the residual somnolence it had just held. “Will you do my hair again for me tomorrow?”

I was caught by surprise at the question she’d asked. I wouldn’t lie, but I didn’t let the reaction show as I smiled warmly back at her, reaching out to tap a finger on the top side of her hand, “‘Course. Anything you want, lovely.”

Rosie’s little grin had her eyes squinting and forced the corners of her mouth to pinch upwards in a move that only deepened her dimples. She leaned over to give me a hug of thanks, whispering the word into my ear before she pulled away and rounded the sofa, kissing her Dad’s cheek on her way out.

“No messin’ about, Z. An early night, ‘kay?” Em reminded her, leaning against the back of the couch so that he could tilt his head far enough to see her, “I’ll be up soon.” He added, his words met by another charming grin whilst she shook her head in fond exasperation and slipped out of the room, leaving just the pair of us and the tv. 

It was a long while before Marshall disturbed the quiet once more, the film we’d been watching had finished some time ago and so now all that was playing on the screen was a couple repeats of South Park and the odd advertisement. “She’s different with you.” I heard him voice.

With a furrowed brow, I let my head turn to find him. He was perched in the same position he had been, but now with an arm stretched along the back of the sofa and a knee bent to fill the small gap that still separated us. “What d’you mean?”

When he replied, it was low and soft, a murmur if not for the sincerity behind it. “She don’t act like that ‘round nobody.” He told me, fingers jumping in a steady rhythm on the back of the cushion, his eyes peering between mine. “Me, sure. She’s a fuckin’ koala when she wants to be, but with other people… it’s something she second guesses.”

His words confused me. Or rather, threw me. “I don’t get it.”

He dropped his gaze, blowing out a small but mirthful huff through his nose, his thumb dragged along the edge of the sofa. “You known her what, three days? And she don’t think about gettin’ close to you. Sure she’ll be coy with it, sly even, but that’s ‘cause she don’t wanna overstep with you. Like that right there–” Em said, getsuring his chin out towards my lap, I followed the gesture, then blinked back up at him, remembering the way she’d approached me, “She don't do that with people.”

My face must have given away to the fact that I was still trying to process the weight of what he meant, because his smile was soft, warm even.

It made me think of Lottie, who was always so open with her affection, who gave it out without thought or focus, her smile always great, always there. Then of myself. I tended to avoid affection where it mattered, a reason as to why I’d never let many people too close to my heart, why I hadn’t had something fulfilling to divulge when Marshall and I had spoken about past exes, I supposed. It baffled me to see some of the same tendencies I’d shown growing up in Rosie, in a girl too sweet, too loving, too happy to be so aware of how to guard herself.

I looked to him again and let him have his fill, allowed him to see how his words, the sentiment behind them, had pierced through the armour I’d long since moulded around myself. 

One side of his mouth lifted and he used the hand resting on the back of the sofa to circle my wrist, leaning in a little closer, filling that previous gap. “Ro’s had her mom, her sister. They’ve been there. They love her, and she loves them. I know that. But with Kim, it ain’t always parentin’, it’s fun and games. It’s showin’ off, not showin’ up. It’s messin’ around until she finally grows–” 

He paused there, eyes flickering left and then right as his tongue swiped over his lower lip, almost as though he was resentful of the term he wished to use. 

He settled for, “Bored. Or maybe jus’ tired, you know? She’s there until it's her time to step up and do the job she’s ‘sposed to, til it's missed recitals and forgetting pick-up, that’s when she reacts. Pulls away.”

He sighed, gaze caught on his fingers, on the easy way they engulfed my wrist. His thumb brushed over the freckle that dotted the bone, and continued on through a slow exhale, “Ayla, she’s a lot older. She does her own thing, she’s got school, work, friends. Z obviously filters into all that, but there's always been a small divide. I like to think it’s just ‘cause of their ages– it’s how me and Nate worked growin’ up, you know? But there’s this whole idea that fuckin’ messes with my head, like maybe it's all down to me. Ayla’s my niece, but she’ll always be one of my own. I love that girl as much as I love Rosie. More than life itself. But I know I hurt her, havin’ her here, watchin’ me fail and fuck up whilst she was growin’ up. And jus’, maybe I can’t help but wonder if I ever let her know that enough, that I loved her, if it’s that that’s impacted her relationship with Z.”

I was quick in my attempt to soothe his doubts, the hand he didn’t hold jumping over to lay across the top of his own. “I’d call you an idiot, but I reckon you already know that.” I chuckled halfheartedly, though my smile was genuine when his eyes snapped up to meet my own, “You’re an amazing father, Em. I honestly believe that with my whole heart. And it doesn’t take much to see it either. I mean, I was here not even a day and was so quick to see the love you held for your daughter. I saw it in your reactions too when we called, when you spoke of them, however brief it was. I haven’t met Ayla but I don’t think I’d have to for me to see that your worries are just that, worries. I’m sure that girl loves you in the very same sense that I am sure that she knows you love her. That you see her as much more than just your niece.”

My thumb trailed over the back of his hand, skimming knuckles, taking in their slight discoloration, the faint white lines that could have only been age old scars. I dipped my head a tad so that my gaze could align with his shadowed blues, prompting him into lifting his eyes from off the floor.

“I’m also honoured that you think Rosie’s comfortable enough around me to mention the gravity behind it, that you’d trust me with her company, let alone her affection.” I said sweetly, gifting him another smile, it was close lipped but one that appled my cheeks. His stare caught onto it, fingers tightening around my wrist by a fraction in a squeeze that showed only his appreciation. So I squeezed back, fingers fastening over the top of his fist. “Z’s hard not to love, she’s all of your best parts and more. Sometimes…” 

I took a small breath, fretful over saying what I had intended to until Marshall met my flickering gaze once more, silently prompting me on. I swallowed thickly, feeling the force of it travel through my throat, but did follow through, “Sometimes it’s just hard raising kids, I guess not everyone’s made out for the harsher reality of it all. Of having to be a parent and not a friend. I mean, it was forced on me in a way, I’ve been raising my siblings since Danny the day came along, since before I knew what being a mum meant. What one was.” The weight of that admission had me reeling for a split second, at the truth it held. But I pursed my lips before allowing my eyes to find Marshall’s once more, “Kim, I’m sure she tries, I’m sure it’s more than my mum ever did, ever could do, but it’s okay for you to fear that it’s not enough for Z, too.”

Marshall worked his jaw, blinking for a second before he eventually spoke, voice rasping with the emotion he felt. “Kid deserves the world.”

I found myself grinning at that, the teary kind which glossed over your eyes but was strong enough that you couldn’t prevent the fluid motion of it. It was without thought that my arms came up to wind their way around his neck and I relaxed further in the gesture when I eventually felt his face come to rest against my shoulder.

“She does.” I murmured, hand cupping the back of his neck, fingers resting over the fine hair which lined his nape. “She does.” I heard myself repeat again as my eyes slipped closed. 

When we parted, I watched as Em knuckled the corner of his eye, grunting faintly to clear his throat and rid the room of any tension that then clouded us. I felt the corner of my mouth twitch, but did look away towards the tele when he started to shift once more, giving him a sense of security that he hadn’t been caught out, that I wouldn’t dig too deeply into his reaction. 

“Thanks.” He murmured after a stunted moment and it was only then that I glanced back over to him. I smiled in turn.

“Nothing to thank me for.”

When we parted ways for the night, I chose to head on up to bed, mind so full of thoughts that I found it hard to latch onto a singular one, whilst Marshall stopped at the bottom of the staircase to gift me a quiet goodnight, eyes caught on the reflection of moonlight that crept its way across my cheek, the sight mirrored on his own face.

I didn’t know it then but I would eventually, he’d never felt so inspired.

So as I’d slipped beneath my duvet, my mind stuck on the words we’d shared, Marshall was back down in the studio, writing away once more. But this time, it was for a completely different reason.

[in1-nutshell]

For the Ratchet and Drift adoption battle.  

The Lost light ends up on earth for some reason.  And trouble appears, Buddy’s birthparents.  Coming out of the woodwork demanding to see their child.  Now, depending on how long Buddy has been in the system, the state may have already relinquished their parental rights, but it does bring up another problem, by cybertron standards, Buddy is legally Drifts and Ratchets, Earth standards, less so.

This is just the start of an idea.  Maybe it's angst and the parents are a piece of shit who want the child who they abandoned back for some really selfish reason.  Maybe the parents truly do want some relationship with their child and poor buddy is just stuck in between the family that loves them and the family who they spent their life wishing loved them.

Maybe I just want the lost light to turn this custody battle into a fucking kangaro court.  They show up in their holoforms and Rodimus starts to boo whenever the birth parents try to say something.  He’s kicked out and the court goes into recess as they try and figure out how to hold him in contempt of court.  Luckily a good part of the remaining crew have assembled to always have someone audibly cough whenever birth parents try to speak.  Nevermind the fact that none of them even really need to breathe, holoform or no holoform.  And Ultra Magnus is acting as their attorney.  That's all I got.

The bio parents were done for the moment Magnus took on the case.

Hope you enjoy!

Human Buddy (Dratchet's kid) meeting their bio parents again

SFW, Platonic, Familial, Slight angst, Human reader

MTMTE

The ship had docked again on Earth for a mandatory, in-person, meeting that Buddy needed to go as liaison of the Lost Light.

It was something simple check in that honestly could have been done online but there wasn’t any harm in some sightseeing. Many of the bots on the ship hadn’t been on Earth or hadn’t been there in a while and wanted to look around.

Buddy stayed with Drift and Ratchet.

Before they headed back to the ship, Buddy wanted to show their bot parents one of their favorite parks they used to go to feed the pigeons.

Ratchet napped in the parking lot, while Drift activated his holoform to go after Buddy.

After a bit Drift started heading back to his alt mode with Buddy trailing behind after forgetting their water bottle at the bench.

Buddy walking back to Drift alt mode.

“Hey kiddo!”

“Buddy turns around and freezes as their face collides with someone’s chest.

A familiar chest.

They push themselves off the person as another person comes up too.

“Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?”--Buddy

“That’s what I’d like to know.”--Drift

Buddy looks behind them to see Drift’s holoform marching up to Buddy.

He gently places his hand on their shoulder and looks at the two humans.

“A who might you be?”--Drift

“I’m their father.”--Dad

“And I’m their mother.”--Mom

Drift raises his eyebrows.

“Buddy are they…”--Drift

“My biological parents? Yes, and I thought I’d never see you again after you put me in the system.”--Buddy

Neither of the parents get the little hint of venom in their voice.

“Well, we’re here now! And its time to take you home—”--Mom

“Take them home?”--Drift

“Take me home?”--Buddy

“That’s right Pal—”--Dad

“My name is Buddy.”--Buddy

“Whatever, we’re going home now, so if you’d just come here.”--Dad

The ‘Dad’ tries to grab Buddy’s wrist, but Drift pushes Buddy back.

The ‘Dad’ narrows his eyes at Drift.

“Are we going to have a problem here?”--Dad

Drift narrows his eyes as well.

“I think we are.”--Drift

Buddy’s eyes widen.

“Listen everyone, HE is legally my main guardian. Has been with my other guardian for a while now.”--Buddy

The ‘Mom’ huffs.

“Well until WE see the paperwork, if its not justified by the court here then its null and void for us. Now get over here and—”--Mom

“And what’s happening here?”--Ratchet

Buddy smiled at Ratchet’s holoform coming overlooking more annoyed than usual.

“These are Buddy’s biological parents.”--Drift

Ratchet’s eyes narrow and stands by Buddy’s side.

“The parents that put you in the system?”—Ratchet

“Yep.”--Buddy

The ‘Mom’ starts getting more annoyed.

“That’s in the past and we’ve already settled a court order to get Pal—”--Mom

“Buddy.”—Buddy, Drift and Ratchet

“—Back to us.”--Mom

Ratchet turns to Buddy.

“Wait in the ambulance.”--Ratchet

“But—”--Buddy

“Kid, trust me. We need to have a chat with your ‘parents’.”--Ratchet

Buddy looks at them all before walking to Ratchet’s alt mode.

Buddy wordlessly goes to the ambulance while the muffled yelling was heard outside.

They just strap themselves in the back and hug themselves tightly.

Everything went so fast…

They felt their seatbelt tighten.

It’s a heavy quiet on the drive back to the ship.

When they transformed Ratchet passed them to Drift who just holds them to his chassis.

A crew meeting was called.

“So, Buddy’s bio parents want them back because, and I quote ‘We want to embrace them once again!’. Am I missing something?”--Rodimus

“That’s about it.”--Drift

Half of the bots laugh.

“Good luck with that! Buddy’s legally Dratchet’s kid!”--Whirl

“Whirl we’ve talked about the name—”--Cyclonus

“Yeah! They’re Dratchet’s kid!”--Tailgate

“…Why do I even bother with you?”--Cyclonus

“But they did bring up a point, Earth courts and legal system don’t see Buddy as their kid. Meaning to them, Buddy’s still in the system. And if they play their cards right…”--Megatron

Drift and Ratchet stiffen at the thought.

The crew starts talking amongst themselves but all feel angry at this revelation.

“We can’t let that happen!”--Nautica

“That’s why we’re going to court to fight for Buddy’s case. Ultra Magnus has agreed to represent Buddy—”--Megatron

“Those Fleshy’s are so screwed!”--Whirl

Time to take this to court.

Buddy is put into a different home while the case gets settled.

Meaning no contact with anyone.

There had been attempts by the bots to go and see Buddy, but they complied hearing that any visit could jeopardize their position in custody.

Thank goodness Magnus was there to help with the court case and legal things.

Also to help mediate the humans and the bots ‘immature’ actions.

So many of the bots in their holoforms were making obnoxious noises (cough* Rodimus and Whirl*cough).

There were more breaks because of this.

No one of the bots are happy to see the parents when come to the stand, fuming when the pair put on an act.

Even going as far as stating that Drift and Ratchet were unfit parents, not being the same species.

Something strange happens the day when Buddy is supposed to take the stand.

Everyone is asked to come back the next day for the final verdict.

All the bots are confused and worried.

Ratchet and Drift are especially worried about what happened.

Today would have been the first time the pair or anyone would have seen Buddy, and all of a sudden, the day they are supposed to take the stand no one is allowed to see them?

Something is wrong and they can feel it.

The pair find solace in each other while riding high on anxiety.

What if the court decided they truly weren’t fit to raise their human kid?

Would Buddy have to leave the Lost Light for good?

There were too many questions going through their processors right now.

The next day Magnus is updated on what happened yesterday.

The next day the bots and bio parents come in.

Buddy is sitting behind a desk far from everyone else in the room with a guard by their side.

“Ultra Magnus and the crew of the Lost Light, in the case of the legality of the adoption document of Buddy, the jury recognizes that Drift and Ratchet are the legal guardians and will be formally recognized in the system here on Earth.”--Judge

All the bots are floored and cheer hearing the news.

Ratchet and Drift smile the happiest of the bunch.

“Excuse me? What makes these aliens even fit to raise a human child, our child Pal—”--Mom

“Their name is Buddy, Fleshy.”—Whirl and most of the bots

Magnus clears his throat getting everyone’s attention.

“To begin with, you two are charged with attempted kidnapping and aggravated assault of a minor.”—Magnus

The bots behind him eyes go wide.

The parents themselves go pale.

The police start cuffing the bio parents as they squawk in shock.

“What is the meaning of this!? Unhand us!”--Mom

“You have no right—”--Dad

“IF I may!”--Magnus

Magnus ‘clears his throat and intently stares at the parents with hatred in his holoforms eyes.

“You attempted and succeeded in breaking and entering the home where Buddy had been staying and attempted to take them to an unknown location against their will. They fought the both of you off sustaining injuries to both hands and you two fled the scene on foot back to your respected household to pretend that this ‘incident’ never happened the next day.”--Magnus

The bots behind him have a mixture of shock and anger on their faces.

Drift is glaring at the parents wanting nothing more than to punch them square in the jaw.

Ratchet is trying to look over at Buddy for any injury he could spot from where he was sitting.

Magnus looks at Buddy.

“Buddy, if you may show your hands.”--Magnus

Buddy reveals thick bandages on both arms and hands.

“I do believe that is enough evidence. The biological parents are set to a new court date to address these charges. The court once again recognizes Drift and Ratchet as Buddy’s legal guardians, court dismissed.”--Judge

With the swing of the gabble the parents are escorted out screaming and kicking, while Buddy is escorted to a different door.

Once the bots are outside, they can see Buddy running to them with arms wide open.

Drift and Ratchet open their arms as Buddy crashes right into them crying and wrapping their arms around them.

Drift is crying and ratchet is on the borderline of doing so too.

Ratchet carefully looks at Buddy’s wrapped hands.

“Those two good for nothings just wanted to get me back to get my income.”--Buddy

“We can add more charges to their case.”—Magnus

“We can jump them!”—Whirl

Buddy chuckles a bit.

“I think the grapefruit sized marks are enough for now.”--Buddy

Buddy pulls out a wrench from their pocket.

“Learned how to throw from the best.”—Buddy

Ratchet hugs them again as Drift joins in a second later.

The bots all head back to the Lost Light.

Ratchet and Drift never letting go of Buddy for an instant.

[monzamash]

Would love to see no. 13 with Daniel

holy shit those prompts are spicy

sheeeeesh, got carried away again with this one and combined it with another suggestion that was sent in because it felt too hot not to use 🔥

daniel ricciardo x you (femreader) | 900 words 18+ minors dni

prompts used — "how many times can i make you cum?" & "i’m not going to stop until you’re dripping with my cum"

It was his birthday, after all. Thirty years on the planet, making the lives of the people he loved better each and every day while appeasing the masses with his sunny disposition. It wasn’t a huge party by his calculation, under a hundred guests of his nearest and dearest, all vying for the opportunity to wish their gorgeous Daniel a happy birthday. But there was really only one gift he was chomping at the bit to unwrap.

You.

“This dress is my favourite,” Daniel whispered into your ear as his large hand slid across your abdomen, pinning you to his chest.

You hummed in response, cocking your head to the side with an appreciative smile, “Well I did wear it for you, birthday boy. You having fun?”

Daniel turned you in his grasp and wrapped you up in a tight hug, his pearly white smile sparkling under the pretty party lights above. There was something in his honey brown eyes when they connected with yours; a deviant glimmer that you knew all too well.

“I am but–” He paused, pressing a barely there kiss to your pouting lips, “I’d rather be home alone with you.”

Your eyebrow quirked with intrigue, “Oh yeah?” You weren’t surprised but that didn’t mean you couldn’t have a little fun with him while you had his undivided attention for the first time tonight.

“What could you possibly be doing alone with me, huh?”

It was a loaded question and Daniel took very little time to answer it, “You wouldn’t be wearing this dress for starters,” He whispered, fingertips trailing down the tight silk clinging to your skin – dark eyes scanning every inch of your body.

“Or whatever’s underneath it…”

The sly smirk across your lips spread as you toyed with the loose curls on the back of his thick neck, “Presumptuous of you to think that I’m wearing anything underneath…”

Daniel couldn’t control the low growl bubbling deep within as he tilted his head back, nor did he want to – his throat tightened as he imagined peeling off the thin material obstructing him from the one thing he really wanted right now. He was insatiable in your presence, greedy to see if you were telling the truth, hoping to god you were, and your words weren’t helping him – you were killing him.

“You can’t say that shit to me, sweetheart,” He snarled, tugging you even tighter against his warm body while his lips brushed down your exposed neck, "Not here."

Daniel’s mouth was heavenly and selfishly, you let yourself enjoy it for a brief moment before inching away – you were in public after all.

“Give me a list of things you want to do to me and I promise I’ll make them happen when we get home, baby. Please,” You begged with a whimper, wanting to hear all of the naughty thoughts racing through his brain; right here, right now.

Your name slipped through Daniel’s gritted with a whine as he dipped his head into the crook of your neck, swaying you both to the music so your closeness didn’t raise any alarms. His lips brushed along the shell of your ear, voice deep and low as he scolded you; ‘you are so bad, you know that?’ and of course you did. It’s how you caught his attention in the first place.

“But because you’re begging me I guess we can workshop together,” He sighed, happily giving in to your mischievous request.

“The first thing I wanna do is taste that sweet, sweet pussy and make you come all over my tongue – fucking love it when you ride my face, baby. And maybe we can see how many times I can make you come like that, huh? You’d like that, yeah?”

It was a rhetorical question but you nodded anyway, chin resting on Daniel’s shoulder as he whispered into your ear, “Thought so," and pressed a butterfly kiss to the top of your exposed shoulder.

“I’m always so fucking hard after watching you come undone like that, screaming my name so I reckon after that we just get down to it; maybe I'll fuck you from behind 'cause I know how much you love having me pound into ya, head buried in the sheets while I’m playing with your ass and overstimulating your precious little cunt too. Can’t forget about her, ey?”

A breathy moan slipped from your lips when Daniel’s tongue slid across the soft spot behind your ear. His booted foot nudged your feet apart and instinctually, your separated them as his tensed thigh nestling in-between your clenched ones. The contact wasn’t enough to ease the taut knot in the pit of your stomach but it was something to clutch onto as he moved you slowly from side to side, a low chuckle reverberating against your chest.

“You asked for it, baby; I’m just telling ya what I have in mind.”

“Keep going…” You whispered weakly, “Are you gonna let me come again like that?”

Daniel scoffed, “Course I will, honey. You’ll be seeing stars by the time I’m finished with ya,” He sweetly cooed as he guided your circling your hips into his, creating that friction between your thighs you so desperately needed.

“And I promise you that I will fuck you until you’re dripping with my cum because you take it so well, baby. And I know how much that turns you on, filled to the fucking brim while I fuck it deep inside you. God, I'm bloody hard just thinkin’ about it,” He shakily exhaled into your hair, dick stiff and twitching in his trousers against your thigh.

“You need to take me home right now.”

Daniel didn't need to be told twice.

the ol' smut muscle has been nicely warmed up after this one 🔥 — thoughts? feelings? let me know! askbox masterlist if you want to read more x

[valewritessss]

Growing up as an only child people would always like talking to me and say I’m nice and generous then when they found out that I’m an only child they’d tell me “oh so you’re spoiled and don’t know how to share?”. And it was always so frustrating because why would I be spoiled? Yes both of my parents attention was only on me but they raised me right? And I’ve met people that are spoiled and not brats, like spoiled brat and spoiled are two different things.

And I love sharing and always have bc I never had anyone to share with so I like letting other people use my stuff. One of my friends that I did so many things for all of middle school (I gave her homework answers, pencils, erasers, bandaids, some of my lunch, gum, etc) told me that I don’t know how to share because I’m an only child. We’re not friends anymore because at one point she started rushing me to do my work so she could copy and she would not let me concentrate and she wouldn’t copy my shit while I was doing it and then she’d get mad at me because she was failing. But anyway, I was a little mad because you KNOW me, but you’re just gonna say that because why, exactly? It was like people were always telling me what I should be like and telling me that I don’t understand any childhood experiences.

And then I get told I must not know how to compromise just because I’m an only child? Like what? I will do anything to please you so what the hell are you talking about.

And people go on rants saying that parents need to start having more than two children because they hate only children. I’ve seen this so many times and it makes me a little sad because my parents tried, okay? Generalizing is not cool. They’ll hate only children just because they had a bad experience with someone that happened to be an only child. And then I’ll make friends with someone and when they find out I’m an only child they’ll tell me they never would’ve guessed because they hate only children. Thanks, I guess?

“You must not have a very good family bond” uhh why? My cousins are the closest thing I ever had as siblings growing up and I genuinely don’t understand when they would say this because it doesn’t mean I can’t bond with people my age.

“You probably get everything you want” i was told this just because I bought a new notebook when my old one ran out of pages. Again, what is the thought process here because it’s not like I can ask for anything and get it just because I’m the only kid my parents have.

I would say I’m lonely and want a sister and people would get straight up mad at me. “No you don’t you’re lucky” and you think there aren’t things I want that you have too? I literally feel so alone 24/7 but I guess I’m not allowed to feel that because at least I get privacy.

They also always assume I’m rich. I am very much not rich and I did have friends that lived in bigger houses and it made me so insecure about mine. Idk what it is about assuming only children are rich. I wish being an only child came with that bc then I’d never complain again. But unfortunately it doesn’t work like that.

Anyways. This was a random rant. I just remembered that I would get so frustrated because I would literally cry from the fact that I didn’t have a best friend or someone like a sibling to talk to, and then I’d be told my feelings weren’t valid. I know this is such a non issue, but just sharing I guess.

[you-aint-gotta-pray-for-me]

Hell on Earth: Chapter 2

Masterlist

words: 2.5k

pairing: Steve Harrington x ex-friend!Henderson!reader (eventually romantic)

summary: With no word on the whereabouts of Barbara Holland, an unlikely friendship forms as a result of shared desperation and a need for answers.

timeline: set in season one right after Will goes missing

warnings: language, bending of canon, fic from reader's pov (3rd person will be there as well, will warn before a pov change if there is one)

a/n: 2nd chapter let's go!!! steve and (y/n) interaction yay, and we make a new friend so double yay to that, if you haven't read chapter 1 yet, now's the time babes. happy reading!

Reader POV

I wish I could say my night ended after I met Barb. I really do. Instead, I found my idiot brother’s bed empty when I got home, meaning he was out and about at midnight after I explicitly told him not to. I mean, I did expect this, so I don’t even know why I was disappointed. I groaned at the fact that I’d have to drive all the way back and look for him in the woods. Responsibility is kind of a bitch. Just as I was leaving my house to get to my car, I heard a window close shut. Busted. 

“Dustin Henderson. I gave you ONE job!”

Dustin froze mid-step, halfway through pulling off his sneakers. His eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights. “Shit.”

“Yeah, shit,” I said, crossing my arms. “What were you thinking? It’s the middle of the night! Where were you?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, looking anywhere but at me. “Nowhere. Just… hanging out.”

“In the woods?” I pressed, raising an eyebrow. “At midnight?”

“Okay, fine!” he blurted, hands shooting up defensively. “I don’t know what you expected me to do, (y/n),” he argued.“I couldn’t just sit here doing nothing.”

I sighed in defeat and looked away. “Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Did you find anything?”

“Nothing of importance. Just useless stuff, the usual.” Lies. Complete lies. I see right through you, Dustin Henderson. 

I nodded, faking satisfaction at his miserable attempt at convincing me. 

“Go to bed. And if I catch you sneaking around next time,” I warned, hoping he took the hint. 

“Yeah, yeah. Wait that just means I don’t have to get caught.”

“Dustin.”

“I’m out.” 

I stood there for a moment, watching as Dustin disappeared into his room, shutting the door behind him with the kind of finality that made it clear I wasn’t getting anything else out of him tonight. Typical. 

I headed to my room and locked the door, but sleep didn’t come easily. My mind was already racing with a million little things that were troubling me. No word of what happened to Will, the cycle on Mirkwood, Dustin’s terrible attempt at lying, Barb all alone. It was all too sudden, you know? It feels like a premonition. Something waiting to go wrong. I guess I’ll just have to see. 

~

The next morning at school, I was still in a fog when I rounded the corner to my locker and nearly walked straight into Steve. Of course, that’d happen, seeing how the universe loves me.

“Watch it, nimrod,” he said, walking past me and not even turning around to look at who he almost bumped into. The audacity of some people, I swear to god.

I shot him a glare and replied with the fakest sincerity I could muster. “I’m sorry, your highness. I didn’t see you there.” 

He turned around when he heard my voice. “Oh, you,” he muttered like he was finally registering who I was.

I raised an eyebrow. “Disappointed to see me, yeah?”

He winced. “No, I didn’t- wait, no, that didn’t come out right. What I meant was... I didn’t know it was you, okay? We haven’t- I’ve mis- I, uh,”

“Just watch where you’re going, Harrington.”

“Oh, we’re on a last-name basis now?”

“We’re on a no-name basis now. Leave me alone.” As much fun as it used to be, the banter and the back and forth, he wasn’t the same guy anymore. And as much as I missed him, I was not giving him the satisfaction of being in my company.

“I was looking for you,” he blurted, with a sudden seriousness in his voice while walking back toward where I was standing. Wait, what? 

I narrowed my eyes. “Are you sure you have the right person? My name is (Y/n). (Y/n).”

“Don’t- Don’t do that. Come on.” 

“I’m sorry I just thought you wouldn’t remember who I was. It’s not like we’re friends, right?” I asked, mentally shuddering at how cold that sounded. Damn, (y/n), didn’t know you had it in you. 

Steve hesitated, visibly uncomfortable with my bluntness, but he didn’t back down. “Look, I know things between us aren’t… I’m not a uh,” he hesitated, scratching the back of his neck. “But that’s not exactly what I wanted to talk about.”

I gave him a skeptical look. “Oh? And what exactly did you want to talk about?”

“Look, I know you’re mad at me and all. But is throwing my gift to you in my swimming pool really the best course of action? I mean, it’s a low blow, don’t y-”

“Back up, what?”

“Your copy of The Shining. I found it in my pool this morning.” 

Steve handed me a soggy, waterlogged book, the edges curling up like it had just been through a hurricane. The familiar cover, the same one I had given to Barb the night before, was barely recognizable beneath the damage.

My fingers froze on the wet, warped pages. I stared at him, then back at the book, trying to make sense of what was happening. “What the hell, Steve?” I muttered, still in disbelief as I skimmed through the damp pages. My mind raced. Barb. That was the same damn book I’d handed her.

“Okay, judging by your reaction I am going to guess you did not put it there, which means you either lost it, which I get, you know, common mistake, or you gave it to someone, which I have to admit, hurts a little bi-”

“Steve shut up.”

“Okay,” Steve muttered, clearly thrown off by my reaction.

The hallway was nearly empty, the only sound being the faint hum of lockers creaking and students murmuring in the distance. It felt strangely quiet, like time had slowed for just a moment. I wasn’t sure if it was the empty space or just the gravity of the situation, but my stomach tightened.

“When did you find it?”

“This morning. Why, what’s wrong?” His eyes narrowed, and for once, he wasn’t smirking or trying to play it off. Something in his tone shifted- he seemed genuinely concerned now.

“I gave this to Barb,” I said, my voice quieter this time, more uncertain. I didn’t know why, but my stomach dropped even lower. Something didn’t sit right.

“Nancy’s friend Barb?” Steve asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Yes,” I answered, frustration creeping in. “Was she there when Nancy left this morning?” My voice came out almost in a whisper, like I was afraid of the answer.

“No, Nancy left last night. Alone. I just assumed she left a bit before.” 

“Only she didn’t leave. She was waiting for Nancy.”

“Wait, Nancy mentioned something. She called the Hollands this morning.”

“And?”

“I don’t think Barb went home last night.” Steve’s response felt like a punch to the gut. Barb never came home. I swallowed hard, my throat tightening. Something was off– way off– and now, it seemed like we were all tangled up in something bigger than either of us realized.

“(Y/n), is everything okay?”

“Steve, I think Barb’s missing.”

~

I raced home after school as soon as I could. I tried Holland’s place once more just for good measure. No luck. This meant that Barb really was missing, and just the thought made me shudder. How long after I left did she go missing? Was she in danger? Could I have stopped it if I had waited a little longer? Worse, Could it have been me? 

The only way I was getting any answers was if I went looking for it, and the only way for me to do that was to start by asking someone who may already have some.

I hesitated for a moment, then dialed Nancy’s number.

“Yeah, Is this the Wheeler’s? I’m looking for Nancy.”

“This is Nancy. Who am I speaking with?”

“Nancy, hey, this is (Y/n) from school,” I said, trying my best not to sound as awkward as I felt. How are you supposed to keep it together while talking to someone you’ve never talked to before? God. I was just happy this was happening over the phone.

“Oh! Hey, how can I help you?” she asked, trying her best to sound less confused.

“Yeah, listen,” I cleared my throat. “Have you heard from Barb lately? I– I’ve been trying to reach her, but no one seems to know where she is. I just... I’m really worried.”

There was a long pause on the other end.

“No, I haven’t.” Nancy’s voice grew more serious. “(Y/n), I think Barb’s missing. I’ve been trying to get some answers, but so far everything’s a dead end.”

I felt a wave of relief mixed with dread. At least I wasn’t the only one worried.

“Yeah, I was kind of hoping you’d know something I didn’t,” I said quietly. 

“Do you know anything? When was the last you heard from her?”

I debriefed her about the notes, the pool, and the book and caught her up until this morning, and to my horror, Nancy Wheeler, who I had had a full conversation with barely 2 times before today broke down crying over the phone. I was not trained for this. Oh God. 

“This was my fault. This was all my fault. I–”

“Nancy–  Nancy, breathe.”

“I mean, what was I thinking? I forced her to come, I just– I– Oh, god. I did this. I–”

I rushed to calm her down, my heart pounding. Nancy’s voice was cracking, like it was going to break any second, and I couldn’t even begin to imagine what she was feeling right now. But I had to try. Barb was missing. That was the real thing to focus on, not guilt. Because if both of us go down that rabbit hole, there was no coming out.

“Nancy, listen to me,” I said, trying to steady my own breathing. “It’s not your fault. You had a momentary lapse. It’s fine. It happens. We don’t know what really happened yet. We’re going to figure this out. We’ll find her. Okay? Breathe.”

There was a sharp intake of breath from her end, followed by a shaky sigh. She tried to compose herself, but it was clear how rattled she was.

“I just… I should’ve told her to stay home. I should’ve done something.” She sniffled, and it twisted something inside me hearing her so vulnerable.

“You can’t change what happened,” I said, my voice firm, even though I was feeling just as lost as she was. “But you can help find her now. That’s what matters.”

There was a moment of silence, and I could hear her trying to pull herself together.

“Right,” she finally said, her voice quieter now, but still full of that underlying resolve I’d come to recognize. “Right. We need to find Barb. That’s what matters.”

“Exactly.” I took a deep breath, mentally bracing myself. “Now, do you know anyone who might have seen her? Or... anything that could help?”

“I’m trying to put the pieces together,” Nancy said, her tone more controlled now, though it still held a hint of fear. “But I need someone to help me look into it. If you’re serious about this, I could use the extra set of eyes.”

“I’m in,” I said, without hesitation. “We’ll figure this out. Together.”

“I’m glad you called,” Nancy whispered. “I don’t know what to do without someone else to help me right now.”

“I’ve got your back,” I said, my voice steady, even though my insides were churning. “Let’s go get Barb home.”

There was a pause before Nancy spoke again, her voice determined now. “We will. We have to.”

~

I didn’t get much sleep after my call with Nancy. Between replaying her words and trying to piece together Barb’s last known whereabouts, my brain was in overdrive. By the time I got to school the next morning, I was running on nothing but adrenaline and bad coffee.

Nancy was waiting by her locker when I arrived, looking just as sleep-deprived as I felt. Her eyes were red, like she’d spent most of the night crying, but there was a new resolve in her expression.

“Hey,” she said quietly when she saw me.

“Hey,” I replied, matching her tone. “Any updates?”

She shook her head, biting her lip. “No. But I have an idea.”

I leaned against the locker next to hers, crossing my arms. “I’m listening.”

“Jonathan said Mrs Byers thinks a creature took Will. Something not human.”

“That’s… concerning.”

Nancy glanced around, lowering her voice. “Get this. Jonathan was taking pictures at Steve’s party that night.”

I frowned. “Jonathan? What was he doing at the party?”

“Unimportant. The point is, we have pictures,” she said, hoping I’d pick up on what she was implying. 

“Wait, that’s great, if Barb went missing the same way Will did, that might tell us something.”

“Exactly. As soon as we piece them together, we may actually have something.”

“Why are they in pieces?” I asked, confused.

“Fine, if you must know, Jonathan took some compromising pictures of me that may or may not have ended up in Steve’s hands which resulted in, well, these,” she said, pointing to the torn pictures, “and a broken camera.”

“... My God.”

Nancy’s words hung in the air like the aftermath of a storm, her cheeks faintly flushed with embarrassment. She fidgeted with the strap of her bag, avoiding my gaze for a moment before forcing herself to look up.

“I know how it sounds,” she added quickly, her voice edged with defensiveness, “but he wasn’t being a creep. Not really. He’s just— he was trying to figure out what happened to Will. He thought… I don’t know. Maybe the pictures could help.”

The weight of her words hit me like a punch to the gut. “You really think it’ll show that thing?”

“I think it’s the only real lead we’ve got.” Her voice was firm now, steady despite the emotion flickering in her red-rimmed eyes. “But I wanted to tell you first. Before we did anything with them.”

I crossed my arms, taking a deep breath. The logical part of me screamed this was messy, risky, and wrong. But the desperate part of me, the part that wanted answers just as much as she did, couldn’t ignore the possibility.

“Okay,” I said finally. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Nancy exhaled, relief softening her features for the briefest of moments before she handed me the torn photos. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I swear, we’ll make this right.”

And as I held the pieces in my hands, I realized we were both in way over our heads—but at least we weren’t alone.

[linawritesficsies]

s.h. | there goes the strangest girl Hawkins has ever seen (one shot)

a/n: soooo, yeah. i came back to writing fanfics. i haven't done this in years so I hope i'm not rusty. you'll let me know if that's the case.

warnings: halloween themes, language, femicide. english is not my first language. some stuff may not be accurate. i wrote this at night. please don't blame me.

summary: while steve is working at family video, a mysterious girl comes to the store and he can't help to be intrigued by her so he asks her out.

steve harrington x occ.

Steve knew Hawkins was not a normal place to live in. Understatement of the century. Much to his dismay, he found out about the existence of demogorgons, the Mind Flyer and Vecna as well as the crazy scientist who used little kids for wicked experiments in a secret laboratory. 

Although…he would be lying to himself if he didn’t admit that deep deep deep down a part of himself somehow enjoyed fighting against those monsters, and also the unusual excitement that they brought to the small boring town. 

He had been working at Family Video for a couple of months now, waiting for “shit to hit the fan” as the kids said, but he had seen nothing out of the ordinary. He was secretly wishing that Vecna would have given up on destroying the world. As if, Steve thought, rolling his eyes. He didn’t want to get too into his head on that matter. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

One warm afternoon in the last week of October while he was at work, the doorbell rang and when he turned his head to look at the person entering the shop, he couldn’t believe what his eyes were seeing. There was a blond girl around his age and slightly shorter than him. She was wearing a white summer dress that had little flowers in different shades of pink on it and white sandals on her feet. She looked beautifully angelic. 

“Good afternoon, my name’s Steve. How can I help you?”, he introduced himself as he got closer to her.

“Hi, Steve”, she greeted him with a sweet shy voice and gave him a little smile. “I’m looking for a horror film. My family and I have this tradition of watching horror films during the Halloween week nights and for once they are letting me choose”, she mentioned while shaking her head and then smiling again.

“We shall not disappoint them then”, Steve retorted. Shall? Who on Earth says shall nowadays, you idiot? He pushed that thought into the back of his brain and directed her towards the ‘Horror and Thrillers’ section. “So, what type of horror are you looking for? Monsters, psychological, supernatural or ghosts?” he asked, looking at the different rows of shelves.

“Oh, no ghost stories, please. I know them all too well”, she replied while clearing her throat. He looked up to him. “Which one would you recommend?”

“Well, I’d suggest ‘Rosemary’s baby’ or ‘Evil Dead’”, he said, turning his head to look at her as well.

“Have you seen those?”

“Nah, I’ve got enough horror in my life”, he answered without letting his brain process first what his mouth has just blurted out.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, long story.” He raised his eyebrows, and scratched the back of his neck, fully ready to avoid that topic. “But a lot of clients said they were both really good so…”

“Ok, then I’ll take ‘Evil Dead’. It looks interesting but kinda gross as well’”, she grabbed the film from the shelf and gave it to Steve. Their hands accidentally touched and they both felt a rush of electricity. They looked at each other with surprise mixed with curiosity.

“How much do I owe you?”, she asked rather quickly, wanting to ignore what just happened, but also screaming inside.

Steve directed her to the register counter to tell her the price and the date of return of the film and while she was looking for her wallet on her bag, he couldn’t help noticing a subtle mark around her neck. It looked like a birthmark. It was subtle but the natural light coming from the huge windows allowed him to see it.

“Goodbye Steve, thank you for the recommendation”, she uttered after paying him and grabbing the bag with the film inside.

“My pleasure.”, he said as he watched her exit the store.

Later in the afternoon, Robin joined him at work. She had noticed the lovey dovey look he had on his face. The reason was a mystery to her, so she decided to question him about it while they were organizing the piles of films that people had rented and brought back during the last couple of weeks.

“What’s that look on your face, dingus?”

“You know? I’m still not fond of that nickname”

“But you know I won’t stop calling you that, don’t you?” Robin retorted and Steve moved his mouth, mocking Robin. “Now, talk.”.

“It’s nothing really”

Robin looked at him with her eyebrows raised so he had no more excuses to keep dodging the question.

“A really cute girl came earlier to the store to rent a film.”

“A lot of cute girls come here to rent films, Steve.”

“Yeah, but she was different, I don’t know. She had this really chill vibe and she was really beautiful.” The images of this girl came back to his head and he sighed.

“You should ask her out when she comes back to return the film”, Robin suggested.

“I’m not doing that. Keith said we shouldn’t hit on clients”

“Steve, come on! Are you really obeying Keith’s rule on that? You? King Steve?”

“I’m not King Steve anymore.”

“He makes little appearances sometimes though”.

“Shut up, Buckley.”

––––––––––––––

Steve certainly wasn’t expecting to see that girl the next day. What’s more, he wasn’t waiting to see her every day that week leading up to the actual Halloween day. She rented a different film – all horror films of course – every day to watch with her family and came back to the store to give it back the following day. She wore similar cute dresses every time and Steve couldn’t be more smitten. 

On October 31st, while she was paying for the film, he felt a sudden rush of adrenaline and decided to ask her out. He didn’t like proving Robin right but he felt he couldn’t miss the opportunity of getting to know her. He only knew her name because he saw it on the credit card she gave him multiple times to rent the film. Olivia Anderson.

“Uhm, Olivia”, he shyly called her attention while she was looking for her wallet inside her purse.

“Yeah?”, she looked at him with curiosity. “And you can call me Liv, by the way.”

“Well, Liv, I don’t want this to sound creepy, but I’d like to get to know you better. You seem really nice and I think you’re beautiful. Would you like to go out for some drinks tonight?” Steve could feel his whole body trembling. Robin’s voice popped into his brain: Since when King Steve gets this nervous while asking a girl out?

“Steve…”, she replied and he could notice some nervousness in her voice too. “I’d love that, but my parents have a very strict curfew. I have to be at home before it gets dark. I’m sorry”

“Oh, all right. We could have a coffee then? My shift is about to end and my coworker must be arriving. I won't keep you long.” In fact, he did wish to do that. A lot.

Olivia thought about it for a minute. She could hear his father’s voice in her head saying she couldn’t interact with anyone, let alone a boy, but her heart said otherwise. Especially because it was Steve asking. And she wasn’t coming to this video store and probably getting into a lot of trouble for nothing. She was really attracted to him. 

“Ok, let’s go for coffee”, she finally said with a smirk on her face.

Steve could truly jump on one foot out of the happiness he was feeling but he refrained. He also telepathically urged Robin to get here so he could finally go with Liv to their coffee date. He handed her a chair so she could sit while they waited and he took the time to organize the counter.

Robin arrived 10 minutes later and greeted both of them. She wasn’t expecting to see Steve’s mysterious girl.

“So this is the girl you haven’t shut up about?”, she remarked looking at Steve. He could feel all his blood rush to his cheeks. Liv let out a laugh. She was screaming inside at the thought of Steve talking about her to his friend.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Liv.”

“Same thing. I’m Robin.”

“And Liv and I have to go.” Steve wanted to get out of there as soon as possible so Robin wouldn’t keep embarrassing him in front of his date anymore. He couldn’t stop thinking about the fact she was going on a date with him. He waved Robin goodbye and rushed Liv to the door of Family Video. 

––––––––––––––

Once they were seated at the coffee shop, they ordered two espressos. Steve couldn’t wait to grill her with questions about her life. She seemed like the type of person that has a lot of interesting stories. However, he didn’t want to come off as desperate or nosey, so he started with a simple question.

“So, do you live nearby?”

“Uhm, yeah.. I live a couple of blocks away from here”, she replied as she toyed with her hair. She didn’t want to give away too many details about her place. “What about you?”

“My house is a bit further but I have a car so it doesn’t take me much time to get to work.”

And just like that, the afternoon has passed by, with conversations about various topics. Olivia learned a lot about Steve. Before working at Family Video, he worked at Scoops Ahoy, where he met Robin and before that, he befriended a group of kids because apparently “they needed someone to take care of them when their parents were not watching.” He also dated one of the boy’s sister, but that didn’t end up well, sadly. He didn’t have a good relationship with his parents since they were never home. And now that he has finished high school, he’s trying to figure out what to do for the rest of his life. She could tell that Steve was really sweet and that he truly wanted to take care of the people he loved.

Disobeying her parents to get closer to this boy was totally worth it.

Oh no.

My parents.

It was getting dark and Olivia needed to get home immediately.

“Uh, Steve, I’m really sorry but I have to go. My parents are going to kill me if I don’t get home before it gets dark.” she uttered quickly as she rose from her seat.

“Oh, yeah, sure. Do you need a ride?” He couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed that she had to leave.

“No, no, that’s all right. Thank you for everything!” She practically screamed since she was already at the coffee shop’s door.

Just as he was about to ask the waiter for the check, he realized that Olivia had left her bag on her chair. So he hurriedly paid the bill and rushed to the door to see if he had any chance of spotting her.

And he did. He saw her around the corner so he followed her and called her name a few times but she seemed not to hear him. Steve started getting suspicious about the amount of blocks she was walking. She said she lived nearby.

Where is she going?

Wait, why is she entering the woods?

Steve stopped himself on his tracks. Should he follow her? He did have her bag and had to return it but was that a valid reason to follow her to something that seemed private? He also could take the bag with him and wait for her to come back to Family Video to get it back. That would be the right thing to do.

But you know how the saying goes: curiosity killed the cat.

He decided to go after her. He continued walking the same straight line as she had done and came to a stop when he saw the place he arrived at.

The cemetery?

Maybe she’s visiting someone that passed away.

Steve couldn’t deny that his heart skipped a beat as he was entering the rundown place. There weren’t many people that kept burying their beloved here nowadays. A new cemetery was built nearer the center of the town so this one started to decay. 

He started looking for her around the cemetery but he couldn’t see her anywhere. In fact, it seemed that the only two people in the cemetery were the caretaker that he encountered at the entrance and himself. 

This is too weird, even for a town like Hawkins. 

Steve gave up looking for Liv after trying for a couple of more minutes. Well, she’ll have to return to the video store. He started walking towards the front entrance, but he stopped quite abruptively as one of the names on the graves called his attention.

Olivia Anderson.

This has to be a coincidence, right?

There has to be a lot of Olivia Andersons in the world. 

The girl he met at the beginning of the week couldn’t be the same. She was pretty much alive. Robin had seen her as well. He hasn’t been imagining her.

This is definitely a coincidence.

However, curiosity killed the cat twice this afternoon. Steve decided to ask the cemetery caretaker about that.

“Good evening, sir”

“Hi, kid”, the man greeted him with a smile. “Are you visiting someone?”

“Yeah, kinda. Do you know what happened to Olivia Anderson? She’s right there. I knew her from primary school but then we fell out of touch. I didn’t know she passed away.” Of course Steve had to twist the truth a bit in order to get answers. He didn’t want to seem weird.

“Yeah, I was already working here when she was brought. It was about 5 years ago.”

What. The. Fuck?!

“She died so young… Do you know what happened to her?”

“She was strangled by one of her old male neighbors. Apparently he had an obsession with her. He had been watching her every move." Steve looked at the man with fear in his eyes. The man interpreted his look as fear of how he knew about all this… Little did he know…

“My wife was friends with her aunt”, the man continued talking. “Olivia was living with her because her parents had died when she was a little girl because of an accident."

“Oh, what a tragedy. I’m really sorry for her.”

“Yeah, me too. She seemed nice.”

“Well, uh, I have to get going. Thank you, man. Take care.”

“You too, kid”

Steve started walking slowly but in reality he wanted to run away as fast as he could.

What the fuck happened today?

I met a girl ghost and had a date with her? It?

Certainly none of the weirdest shit that has happened to him before would ever compare to this.

He would also have to lie to Robin when she asks him about his date. Steve knew Robin loved him, but she would definitely make fun of him until the end of his days.

He got to his car that was left parked around the corner of Family Video and went home. When he arrived, he removed his clothes and went to sleep. He didn’t even bother to make dinner for himself. His parents weren’t home (shocker, right?) and the events that occurred during the day left him exhausted. Surprisingly, he slept like a log that night, better than he had been sleeping regularly.

He woke up the next day due to the sunlight hitting his face. He had forgotten to close the blinds last night. He checked the clock. 9 am. He felt lucky that he didn’t have to rush to work just like most mornings. He took a quick shower and after getting dressed, he went down the stairs to the kitchen in order to make himself some coffee.

He saw a box on the table with a note by its side. What could that be? Maybe his parents left him something to eat. He could feel grateful at the gesture but the fact that they didn’t even say hello or goodbye tasted bitter in his mouth. He decided to read the note. This handwriting didn’t seem like his mom’s let alone his dad’s.

Steve,

I’m sorry if I scared you off yesterday. I couldn’t give away my little secret, but on the other hand, I was dying to meet you (pun intended). I mean the following in the least creepy way possible: I’ve been watching you for some time and saw how sweet and caring you are. Could you blame me for wanting to confirm it myself?

I guess you must be wondering how I did it. Well, you’re not foreign to the fact that Hawkins is a special town, right? And also, you must know the origins of Halloween, but in case you don’t, here it is: During the last week of October, the boundaries between life and death get blurrier and blurrier so us the dead can visit our loved ones in the land of the living and make sure they are okay. We spend the night chatting and dancing. On my visit last year, I saw you. I couldn’t help being curious about you and your life, so I started observing you, even after I returned to my world. I saw how you defended your friends and ‘your little nuggets’ as you like to call them and even how you risked your life for Hawkins. So, I knew that I had to meet you on my next visit.

Again, I’m sorry if I scared you. I know this situation is abnormal, but it’s real. I promise. You’re not being delusional. I truly hope you’re not mad at me or too frightened because I hope that next year we can meet again and catch up. I will completely understand if you don’t. I’ll keep looking after you from here regardless.

Please take care.

Lots of love,

Liv.

Ps. I bought you some chocolate-chip cookies from my favorite place when I was a kid. Kinda like an apology gift for any disturbances I may have caused and also as a thank you for the coffee and for making me feel like a normal breathing girl again even if it was for only one day.

Steve sighed when he finished reading the letter. He didn’t have any other choice than to believe all that had happened.

Once the coffee was ready, he sat at the kitchen table and opened the box of cookies. They looked amazing and they were warm as well.

“I also look forward to seeing you again, Liv”, he said as if she was right there with him. He gave the cookie a bite. “Till next year.”

––––––––––––––

the end!!! were you expecting all that? this is loosely based on a myth that goes around my town, about a famous cementery.

i hope you had enjoyed it ♡

i'd highly appreciate it if you could reblog it or leave a comment saying if you liked it and what's your favorite part! :)

love,

nina.

[wordsarelife]

could you write anthony lockwood x reader? he‘s a tease and annoying the reader and she get’s frustrated about his behaviour and starts to ignore him so he tries to make up by making her breakfast every morning.

i got inspired by the scene where lockwood cuts the toast for lucy. It’s literally so sweet.

—king of my heart

pairing: anthony lockwood x fem!reader

summary: there was always this flirty banter between them, without anything ever happening. one day the reader grows tired of it and leaves lockwood to make a choice

warnings: sexual themes, mentions of sex but no smut or anything

note: everyone is grown up, it’s more an AU after the events of the first season

also: please request more!! i’m so thrilled to write!!!

“shit, you look hot” Anthony muttered, when he saw you standing in the doorway. you grew flustered at the compliment and send him a lopsided grin.

“stop looking at me like that or we have to go back home” he teased before he walked up to you and placed a lingering kiss on her your cheek, intensely looking into your eyes before he left you standing alone

the longest you remember your relationship with the agency head had always been like that. you met at training and you were the first person he thought of when starting the agency.

of course you were on board from the very start.

nothing ever actually happened between you two, but Anthony liked to say those things to you, getting you flustered. after some time you started returning the favor, but you actually meant the things you said, you couldn’t say that for him surely. the first time you had done it, you were sure Anthony was at the verge of passing out

“fuck” he had muttered upon your sight “you don’t know half of the things i’d like to do to you”

you had walked up next to him, until he was feeling your breath on the side of his head, standing on your tiptoes to whisper in his ear. “don’t be shy, baby” then you did as he always did and placed a lingering kiss onto his cheek.

the teasing and flirting was a red string throughout your whole relationship. it didn’t stop after George came along and also not after Lucy joined.

Lucy had often questioned George on the thing you and Anthony had going on. George would always just shrug his shoulders and explain that it was always like that. it didn’t take long for Lucy to grow used to your unusual banter.

it’s not that you didn’t like the things Anthony was saying to you, it actually made the butterflies in your stomach get active even more, but never did something actually happen, not more than a chaste kiss to the cheek.

after some time you grew frustrated. you put so much work in the supposedly relationship with Anthony, you had never pursued anything or anyone else for that matter. at the same time Anthony didn’t seem to grasp onto the concept that you wanted him to do these things to you, that you didn’t want himself from holding back to kiss you.

these mixed signals annoyed you to no end, so one day you finally snapped.

“hey sexy” Anthony leaned in your doorframe watching as you were reading on your bed

“not now, Lockwood” you muttered

the boy raised his eyebrows at the name. you never called him that, you never even called him Anthony. since you guys had met, you had always ever called him tony, or baby, which he found much more endearing and told you to use more often. so it actually became his new nickname

“what?” he asked confused “no baby?”

you rolled your eyes but ignored what he was saying, so he stepped into the room

“i wish i could take off your shirt-“

he stopped when he met your glaring eyes. he thought he was in for scolding, but you just stood up, walking closer

“do it, then” you said

and his breath hitched in his throat. he was used to you entertaining his teasing, but you had never looked so serious while doing so

“w-what?” he exclaimed

“take off my shirt” you stepped even closer, until you were able to grab onto his hands and bring them to the hem of your shirt, like you were instructing him what to do.

“what”

you slowly raised up his hands, that were now gripping onto your shirt, and helped him pull it off your body. this action left you standing in a black bra.

Anthony’s eyes went down to your chest, breathing slowly.

“what is-“ he was still not quite himself, the teasing had always stopped at the verge of undressing each other- well not this time

“what are you gonna do?” you asked slowly “are you gonna take off your shirt? are you gonna sleep with me? or are you about to leave, proving your words to be empty”

“i don’t-“ he muttered, still trying to grasp onto what was happening

“that’s what i thought” you nodded, grabbing your shirt from his hands and pulling it over your head. it was only than that he noticed how dressed up you were.

your make up was perfect and your hair had been curled and styled. he watched as you walked back to your bed, grabbing your bag and pulling out red lipstick, that you put on at the varsity across from him.

“what are you doing?” he asked as his eyes found yours in the mirror

“i’m going out”

“what? why?”

“look” you said stepping next to him “i’m just tired. i’m going to sleep with someone tonight and honestly, i don’t care if it’s you or quill kipps of all people”

his eyes grew big as you left him standing speechless in your room. he only realized what had just happened when he heard the front door close. he rushed down the steps, but as he reached the door he could only watch you drive away in a cab.

“what’s going on?” asked George stepping next to Lockwood

“y/n just left”

“she left? without us? how is she gonna manage-“

“not for a case, George” Lockwood interrupted bitterly

“for- for a date?” George asked slowly, noticing the dark look that had plastered itself onto the other boys features

“fuck” Lockwood growled before he send a kick towards the rapier holder, sending it flying onto the ground

George stepped back to make room for the fuming boy, that was now retracing back to his room. in the mean time, George was joined by Lucy who had sat in the kitchen and was alarmed by the sudden noise.

“what’s going on?” she asked confused

“oh” George muttered, trying to keep in a laugh “y/n left for a date”

“he’s finally getting it?”

“seems like it”

George and Lucy had noticed how you both were utterly in love with each other. while you weren’t holding back on showing it, Lockwood didn’t even seem to realize.

they watched as Lockwood came rushing down the stairs, now wearing his coat. Lucy grabbed onto his arm to hold him back.

“where are you going?” she asked

“to find y/n”

“i don’t think you should” Lucy muttered “i think she gave you a fair chance, and as it seems you made your decision, now leave her be”

Lucy, who had quickly grown to be y/n’s best friend, knew everything about the latter girls feeling. she would often find her friend crying and begging for a reason why Lockwood never seemed to actually like her. she knew that she couldn’t handle the relationship the two were having anymore, but she also knew that y/n just couldn’t give up Anthony that fast, that’s why she didn’t, that’s why she let him make the choice.

“she’s going to sleep with bloody Kipps!” he protested

“what?” muttered George

“i know” said Lucy softly

“you know?” both boys asked. well, George was confused while Lockwood was angry

“and you didn’t talk her out of it?” he bellowed

“no? why would i? y/n’s a grown up, Kipps is a grown up. he’s handsome and funny and-“

“can i stop you right there?” Lockwood muttered while looking like he was about to stab Lucy “you send her out to have sex with- with someone-”

“with someone?” Lucy asked, before she finished the sentence her self “with someone that isn’t you?”

“yes, god-damnit!” Lockwood screamed

“you had your chance, Lockwood” Lucy exclaimed without any sympathy for the boy. she had watched y/n cry too often because of him to still be sympathetic. “and you blew it, end of story. if you don’t want her, than there are lots of others who do. don’t blame this on her, because you’re the one that never did anything about what was going on between you guys”

she grabbed George’s arm and Lockwood watched his friends retreat down to the kitchen. he took of his coat, sighing, tears in his eyes, because Lucy was right. it really was his fault after all

it wasn’t until the early morning that you made your way back into portland row.

you had kept your window open, which was on the side of the house, so you could climb in easily on top of the garbage bins.

you landed onto your bed, but it was only than that you noticed it being occupied by a body. “ow” said body exclaimed when you landed on top of him.

him as in Anthony Lockwood.

“Lockwood?” you whispered, stepping in front of the bed and watching as the boy got up slowly from the mattress.

“holy hell, y/n!” Lockwood spoke “where have you been all night?”

“oh no” you said while taking off your shoes “you’re not getting to yell at me now”

“i’m not— goddamnit!” he muttered, letting his head sink into his hands “i made you breakfast” he pointed at the tray he had brought.

“the tea must be cold by now” you noticed and he nodded

“listen” Lockwood stepped closer to you “i’m actually here, because i wanted to tell you how sorry i am about yesterday” he paused “i- i was an asshole and honestly there’s no real excuse for that, because it took me until yesterday to realize how real this between us was— is!”

“Lockwood” you said but he just shook his head

“i know that you left me a chance and i blew it— totally blew it, and i understand if you’d rather go out and sleep with Kipps for the rest of your life, but—“

you broke of his rambling by shaking your head “i didn’t sleep with Kipps” Lockwood let out a relieved breath “believe me, i was close to it, but then i just couldn’t”

he nodded, glad for your honesty, before he grabbed your hands

“i don’t want to prove my words to be empty ever again” he said “i want to sleep with you, but that’s not it, i want to be with you, all the time, every day. without pointless flirting, i mean, i do want to flirt with you, but for real”

you had to laugh at his rambling and nodded “ditto, baby”

“this part can stay as it is” he smiled upon recognizing the familiar name he had missed so much in the last few hours

“of course” you nodded

“can i take you shirt off, now?” he asked, slowly letting his hands wander to the hem of it.

“obviously” you laughed, before he took it off and pulled you closer to connect your lips in a passionate kiss

[dsireland86]

There is Beauty in the Pain Chapter 3 Pt.2

Tag list: @philomenie @supersquirrel1996 @foliosgirl @angelmarie89 @fadingintothegrey @theanarchymuse95 @thisbicc @lma1986 @dominuslunae @shayzillaaaa @fadingintothegrey @an0mallly @alwaysfightforwhoyouare @mrsnoahsebastian @flowery-mess @iloveyoutodeathbutimdrowning @stardustsirenmelody @romanreigns-supreme @anything-more-than-human @into-the-grey @rumoured-whispers @myownthoughts12@sister-sebastian @nyxthedestroyerofworlds @missduffsblog

Noah: Early on in life, I came to terms with knowing all people have a darkness about them. A darkness so deep that it usually took someone or something to help them fight it because fighting it alone always ended in failure. But I was never meant to be that for anyone, instead I was the one always needing that someone or something and I found myself alone a lot because of it. The family we’d created during the whole set up and process of the band had become the only "real" family I'd ever known. Losing so much as a kid and having a lot of instability didn't make a great start to adulthood, but somehow, maybe because of God even though he and I had a lot of issues with each other, I managed to get by and succeed better than I'd dreamed when I was younger.

I wish I could say the same about Sophie. She was broken. So much of life had been cruel to her and to see her the way she was now  shattered what little hope I still had in humanity. It wasn't fair for people like her to go through the fucked up shit they were forced to and that’s why I had so many issues with God. If he cared, then why did he allow so much suffering?

The silence that fell over the bar after Folio posed his question. "Were you raped," was so deep that if it weren’t for the pitiful sounds coming from Sophie I would have said it was deafening. While Alex held her, quietly telling her things were going to be okay and that she was safe, I started to wonder if he was right or not. Was she safe? Folio didn’t hesitate to help. I watched how he interacted with Sophie, loving cupping her face and raising it to look at her, gently drying her tears with his thumbs. Her shoulders relaxed as he spoke softly to her and whatever he said made her smile appear. He seemed to make her feel at ease; safe. I was floored by it all.  It was a side of Nick that, in all the years I’d known him, never seen before, and I could tell by the looks on everyone else’s faces I wasn’t the only one surprised.  

"Sophie wasn't raped; I'd know if she was," Alex assured Folio. “What do you mean you’d know? Has this kind of thing happened to her before?” His voice raised a little higher than he meant for it to, but if abuse was a common occurrence in Sophie’s life, then why hadn’t it been stopped? Neither one of them answered Folio so I took their silence as a yes and apparently he did too. He scoffed, taking his hat off and running his hand through his hair, his frustration very evident.  “So, this Perry, he’s your ex, right?”

“Yes, he very much is now,” Sophie’s nasally voice laughed nervously. “At one time we were together; happy,,” her voice tailed off. "They were together for about three years before he left for Germany. His job sent him there, right Soph?” Her head bobbed up and down. “Yeah, that was a little over a year ago. During that whole time, how many times do you think he contacted her?” Alex posed an odd question. What did it matter? “A handful,” I answered, shrugging my shoulders. He shook his head. “None.” My mouth fell open in shock. “What? What do you mean none?” “I mean none. Didn’t call her, didn’t text her; nothing.” 

“So let me get this straight. You were in a relationship with this guy for over three years, and then one day he decides to just leave you or dump you to go to Germany and never speak to you again?” He looked at Sophie and Alex, expecting his understanding, and mine as well, to be correct. “Yeah,” Alex huffed, leaning against the bar counter. “Unfuckingbelievable. Why didn’t you call the police? Have his ass thrown in jail?”

“Because, Perry has certain guys on the police force that he's bought. He's kind of a powerful guy. No matter what he does; cheat, abuse, steal, do something illegal, he’ll always get away with it.” Alex’s face twisted into a disgusted look. It was clear he’d tried many times to help Sophie find a way out of it all, but it never made a difference.

“Yeah, I made the mistake of calling them the first time he hit me.” Sophie scoffed. “He was so angry at me; threatened me in all kinds of ways. It was the first time I questioned myself why the hell I was staying him. But by the next morning, he acted like nothing ever happened, but I was still really afraid of him. Out of the fear and love, or what I thought was love, I had for him, I stayed.” After giving Sophie’s hand a quick squeeze, Folio came and stood beside me, dragging a hand down his face. 

"You good, man?" I asked, placing my hand on his shoulder. Nick closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them giving me a heavy look. He shook his head before walking away. Something was seriously up with him and I told myself I would find out later, but at that moment, Sophie needed my attention.

Sophie sat down, letting Alex clean up her wounds with the stuff he had brought over earlier. Matt, Jolly, Nick, and I gave them some space, but I continued keeping an eye on them. "This is going to hurt like hell, but I've got to do it," I heard Alex tell Sophie. Sophie sucked in a tight breath and grimaced when he applied the cleaner to the deep gash on her cheekbone and the small ones around her mouth and on her cheeks as well. Her red, puffy eyes stared into mine, silently calling out for me to come to her, so I did. Kneeling in front of her I saw all the damage that had been done to her for the first time. It was rough. A dark bruise was forming around her left eye with colors of deep purple and blue covering the entire right cheekbone where Alex was cleaning. Welts from long fingers lightly covered her pale cheeks, the redness of them serving as a stark reminder of just how cruel humans could be to each other. It made me sick to my stomach, thinking about Sophie being in such a horrific situation and how scared she must have been. A strange urge to protect her washed over me, making me feel a little possessive about her. 

 "Soph, do you think you can tell us what happened," Alex asked, wiping the dried blood in one spot and then moving on to another one. Sophie’s eyes were heavy with exhaustion, and I worried for her. She needed rest before she would pass out from the overwhelmingness of the last few hours. Her hand reached down for mine, and I gave it to her, sighing when I felt the warmth of her small one slip into mine, locking her fingers around mine. She was trembling. I was sure her body was still in so much shock. 

“I left the concert as soon as I could to try and avoid the huge crowd. Thought that if I slipped out, I wouldn’t be stuck in a room packed with so many people who were drunk or at least nearly there.” Well, there was the explanation I wanted. I immediately felt like a fucking asshole for thinking and feeling all the things I did. She sucked in another breath as Alex moved on to the last cut, cleaning it just like the others ”When I got to my front door, I noticed it was unlocked and instead of calling you like I should've done, I decided to be the stupid head that I was and go in. I did have nine-one-one on speed dial, though.” She glanced at Alex who, by this time, was scowling at her, scolding her choice. Sophie shrugged her shoulders and continued. Folio returned from wherever he had retreated to, sitting down next to Jolly with another beer in his hand. His face was still grave.

“After a few moments of waiting, I assumed all was good until Perry came walking out of my bedroom.” “What the fuck was he in there for,” Alex snapped. He sat the bottle of peroxide on the counter and folded his arms over his chest. “I don’t know, and I’m not sure I want to. I’ll probably have to burn my bedsheets when I get back.” I chuckled, knowing what Sophie was implying. “Anyway, things were okay for a bit, but it didn’t take long for him to get all aggressive and controlling. He would calm down and put on this stupid endearing act that made me think for a second that maybe he was being honest, but then moments later he was right back to hurting me and I just hated myself more each time.” 

My forehead creased. The motherfucker sounded like a literal psychopath that got pleasure out of hurting her. He was a danger to her and deserved to be locked up. “I don’t know what went through his mind, Alex. I mean, one minute he was apologizing and really thought we were getting back together, and the next, he was just cruel. couldn’t understand why I was refusing to start over with him.” Taking a moment to wipe her face, Sophie licked her lips and continued. “There was a moment between us, in my kitchen, where I actually thought maybe he was serious about his apology; he was so convincing. But then he shoved me, pushed me so hard against the wall that pictures fell and broke, and that’s when shit went downhill.”

I laid my hand on her cheek, cradling the side of her face, grinning when I felt her press in on my hand. “I didn’t think I was going to make it out alive, Noah," she quietly confessed, bringing her hands up to wrap them around my arm. Her words almost made my heart stop. A hard pain hit my chest, making it seriously feel as if my heart was breaking. “But you did, Sophie,” I reassured her with a small smile. “You did, and you’re safe now; I promise.” She took a deep breath, wincing as she did, and nodding a little before closing her eyes and taking another one. “Alex. I can't… I don't want to…," but she couldn't finish her sentence without choking back her tears, trying to be brave. I moved, letting Alex take my place to console his friend, and went back over to the table where my friends were. “This is some fucked up shit, Noah,” Matt stated. I nodded, rubbing the back of my neck. Folio sat quietly, jiggling his leg, staring down into nothing. “Hey,” nugging his shoe with the tip of mine.” He acknowledged, but didn’t look up. “What’s wrong with you? Are you okay?”Jolly asked, leaning in closer. “It’s nothing,” Folio sniffed. “I just a, I just don’t like seeing women get hurt like this; that’s all.” Jolly seemed to buy his excuse, but I didn’t.

No longer knowing what to say, think, or even fucking do, I dropped myself down in the chair next to Jolly, suddenly very exhausted myself. It was evident I didn’t need to get involved any deeper in the situation, and choosing to drag everyone in the room into it wasn’t a good idea either. But between Folio’s behavior and the unsettling feelings I had, it seemed that choosing to back out now was a little too late. Sophie stood up to stretch a little, wincing again. A slight cry escaped her mouth. “You alright,” I asked, concerned. She threw me a quick nod. 

“Alex, I need tylenol or something. Can I get some with some water, please?” "Absolutely. I'll be right back." He smiled, walking away. Sophie turned her back to me and leaned against the counter of the bar. I walked over, taking a spot next to her. Neither one of us said anything at first. “I liked the way you flirted at the concert. It was cute.” Sophie said, breaking the silence between us. She turned and looked at me. “You have an incredible smile, Noah.”

Her confession made my insides want to explode, and I showed her that smile just because of the way she was making me feel. “Yours is just as infectious,” I admitted with my heart racing. We both went quiet again. “You know, whatever you felt back there, I’m pretty sure I might have felt it too.” Both of us looked at each other, eyes locking together. “When you came down during that last song and touched my face, it was like my whole entire world exploded. And when you came back out after the show was over and reached for me, I felt like I was the luckiest girl in the world.”

Sophie was such a simple, warm-hearted girl, and everything about her was beautiful. Being around her was like lying in the grass on a summer day or by a roaring fire when the snow was piled high outside. It made me feel peaceful. I couldn't understand why anyone would want to hurt her. She made liking her, and quite possibly loving her, easy. Even though my body responded to her in a sexual way, my mind was attached to her for other reasons too, and now that she was under my skin, getting her out was going to be difficult.

“You made me feel so special, Noah. Thank you.” She reached over and laid her hand on my chest, and out of impulse, I placed mine over it. The twinkle in her eyes made a lump form in my throat. The butterfly feeling in my chest wasn’t helping either. And fuck… the sound of my name falling from her lips made my cock so hard and twitch that I had to clench my legs together to control it. “Here Sophie, I brought you, oh,” Alex paused as he came up to us from the other side of the counter. I cleared my throat and stepped away, giving Sophie some space. Alex’s eyes bounced from me to Sophie, whose head was lowered. Alex grinned, handing Sophie the medicine and water, and I couldn't keep myself from staring at her, mesmerized by all that she was. Why was I suddenly afraid of leaving her? What was it that made the dreaded feeling sink to the pit of my stomach and scare me. And then it hit me. It showed when Alex said something that made her chuckle, and that genuine smile spread over her lips. It was that smile. The first time I saw it, I knew I wanted to see it for the rest of my life. 

The atmosphere relaxed a little, and I went back over to the table, striking up a conversation with Nicholas. My eyes may have been on Nick, but my attention was completely on Sophie. The longer she was awake, the more she looked like she would faint. Sitting my drink down, I began to make my way over to her as she stood up and her eyes met with mine. Trying to keep her balance, Sophie put her arms out beside her but couldn’t hold herself up any longer. Rushing over, I threw my arms out under her, catching her body as it fell into me, almost knocking me over.

CHAPTER 3 PT.3

[autumnmobile12]

Richter’s character…I feel like they tried to do another version of Trevor.  And that’s the problem.  If I wanted to see Trevor, I’d go back and I'd watch the original, so I wish Nocturne had given us more differentiation between the two characters.

However, the big reason why Trevor’s snarky personality doesn’t work on Richter is the circumstances of their upbringings: Richter lost his mother at nine but seems to have lived an otherwise peaceful life barring the frequent monster hunts.  He lived in a stable home and was looked after by Tera for years and seems to have a good relationship with Maria.  In contrast, Trevor lost his entire family at twelve and lived as a drifter for years afterward without that kind of security.

So Trevor earned his cynicism.  On Richter, that same cynicism just comes off as mean-spirited and unnecessary bravado.  He’s an annoying teenager. “And you just happened to stumble upon it one day while you were out picking flowers?” - That line isn’t funny.  Like, really dude?  You’re going to talk like that to the woman who raised you?  That was an asshole thing to say.

So it was a little vindicating when Olrox appeared at the end of Episode 4 and Richter freaked out and showed that he's a shit-talker. (Remember Trevor's 'killing you was the point, living was a luxury' line?)  I'm hoping this is the starting point of his character growth, but so far, Richter is the sort of protagonist I really dislike. I don't hate him, but I'm also not going to continue Nocturne for him. I'll be sticking around to see where Alucard, Annette, Olrox, and Mizrak go.