#like back when i worked retail i know you have to push stuff but please after 1 decline just let it go

[imperiuswrecked]

I do not want to sign up for rewards, I don’t want shopping points, I don’t want to give you my email, or phone number, or my soul, or anything else besides the money I have for the product I wish to buy.

[keikikait]

𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕤! 𝕪𝕠𝕦'𝕧𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕘𝕚𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕒 𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕣 𝟚 𝕤𝕦𝕓! choso x f!reader

pairing: camboy!choso x f!reader (both are early to mid 20s)

word count: 879

summary: living in tokyo is tough, and it’s hard to make ends meet. while you took the more traditional route, working a fulltime job in retail, your boyfriend took the more…alternative approach, not that you minded. word got to his fans about his pretty little girlfriend, and suddenly you find yourself working with him.

warnings: cam stuff, (kinda mean)dom!choso, sub!reader, porn with literally zero plot, fingering, spanking, clit slapping/pinching (lightly), spitting (oop), use of ‘cock’ and ‘cunt’, dacryphilia (kind of), edging, slight degradation/name calling [bitch (just once), whore, slut], pet name use [baby, sweetheart]

a note: i’m gonna be pumping out some fics for a while since i have a lot of ideas. that being said, requests are open!

please reblog and like, it means a lot! let me know what you think!

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ*:･ﾟ✧

[NEW MESSAGE FROM: deathpainting150]

{hopping on soon, this time with a special guest :-). remember guys, minimum donation of ¥200 to avoid spam! <3}

Choso was sitting with his back against the wall, long legs straight out in front of him with you bent over his lap, your cute ass right in frame, spread out for about 15,000 people.

You grip the bedsheets tight as his thumb swirls on your clit over your panties. There’s an obvious wetspot, he’s been playing with you absentmindedly as he was setting up the stream.

“Relax, baby.” He says, pressing his thumb down a little harder. “Wanna show everyone how good you are for me.” He pulls your panties down, the lace sitting around your knees.

Choso grips your asscheeks and spreads them. “Fuck.” He angles his head to get a better look at your spread cunt, still making sure to keep his face out of frame. “Fuck, baby. You’re so wet, cunt’s so pretty and puffy…fucking hell.” He leans forward a little and spits on you, dribbling down your slit and dripping onto the bedsheets.

You whine and wiggle around. “Choso, please!”

He laughs, rolling your clit between his fingers. “What, baby? Come on, use your words. You know I don’t like it when you whine.” He pinches your clit for good measure, just to get his point across.

Your eyes roll back into your skull and your cunt clenches around nothing. “Please, fuck, please just touch me! I wanna cum so bad!” 

Choso ignores you, continuing to roll your clit around and occassionally pinching it. He loves having you like this; spread out over his lap, dripping everywhere, completely fucked out. Maybe if you were a good girl he would let you cum, too.

A loud dading! sounds through the room, signalling a donation.

[virtualpeaches has donated ¥1,000! “tease her a little bit more. make her cry.”]

Choso chuckles as he reads the donation aloud. “Oh, trust me, she’ll cry.” He rubs your clit with his thumb, occasionally dipping into your cunt just to tease you.

Another dading! sounds through the room.

[academicsallow has donated ¥5,000! “make the bitch beg 2 cum.”]

You barely even hear the next donation as Choso continues to tease your clit, barely even grazing it with his thumb. You get antsy and push your hips back directly onto his thumb, grinding your clit against it.

He laughs and presses down even harder, giving your asscheek a slap. “Fucking whore. Couldn’t even wait your turn, huh?” He lets you grind against his thumb, finding your neediness so adorable. 

He moves his other hand, draping his arm over your back and sinks two fingers into you. “Such a needy little thing. Grinding on my hand like I’m a fucking sextoy.” You push your hips back to meet his thrusts and he pulls his thumb away from your clit to spank you. “Who’s in charge here? You or me?”

When you don’t answer, he grips your hair at the root and tugs your head back. You finally stutter a response. “You! You’re in charge! ‘m sorry, Choso!”

“Yeah? You’re sorry?” He coos at you, his voice condescending. “Fucking act like it.”

You nod pathetically and he lets go of your hair, bringing his thumb back to your clit. Your head drops onto the matress and you grip the sheets. More and more donations are coming in, and you can only wonder what they’re saying about you. Maybe Choso will show you after, just to humiliate you a little bit more.

That familiar feeling builds in your tummy. “Fuck, Choso, please-shit! I’m gonna cum!”

He chuckles, applying more pressure with his thumb. “Yeah? Little slut’s gonna cum for me, hmm?” 

You nod again, pushing your ass back towards him, and right as you get to the edge-

Choso stops.

He completely pulls his hands away, gripping your hips to keep you in place.

You whine and wiggle, your cunt clenching around nothing. “Choso!” You ball your fists and tears of frustration run down your cheeks.

He laughs, unable to take you seriously. “Shush, baby. You’ll get to cum soon.” He grabs your chin and tilts your head up to look at him. “God, you look so pretty when you cry.”

“This isn’t fair!” You whine. “I’ve been a good girl!”

“I know you are,” He says. “But you aren’t in charge here, sweetheart, I am.” He lets go of your chin and goes back to rolling your clit between his fingers.

He straightens up a bit and reads through the chat. “If we make it to ¥60,000 I’ll let you cum, does that sound good baby?”

You shake your head. “I wanna cum now!” He ignores your protests, continuing to play with your clit. “Choso, please!”

He spanks you again. “Shush. Don’t make me gag you.”

You whine but lay there, like a good girl, as he continues to play with you.

Another dading! sounds through the room, and Choso reads this one aloud to you.

[sixeyedsatoru {tier 1 sub!} has donated ¥80,000! “Make her cum. I’ll donate another ¥20,000 if you use your cock.”]

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ*:･ﾟ✧

short n sweet, just how i like them. send in requests, por favor, give me some ideas.

pt 2 here

[catchyhuh]

do any of these bitches respect personal boundaries

leave these fuckers ALONE. but know they won’t be leaving you alone,

lupin:

lupin is very much the most touchy, and probably the most okay with being touched in general. and if you AREN’T good with being touched? lol. good luck around this fucker

its not even a conscious thing he does, because if it was, by god, he’d have FULLY weaponized it by now to annoy EVERYbody

it’s comfortable for him, more than anything. he’s on his feet for HOURS at a time, y’know, and the poor thing’s never had to work retail, so leaning on another person kinda gets that weight off anyway

however, he does recognize like, everybody ELSE has personal boundaries, so he catches on when anybody stands a bit too close, or leans over his shoulder to see what he’s looking at. by habit it makes him trust the other person less, or, if it’s somebody he already trusts (i.e. jigen or fujiko) then he KNOWS they’re trying to mess with him

jigen:

voted number one easiest (and cheapest!) way to get your head blown off! do not touch him

he’s not going to start yelling at some random person for leaning on his arm or anything, but he doesn’t waste any time pushing them off, with varying degrees of  the gentle “i know you don’t mean to make me uncomfortable but do not do that again” guiding them away push, and the “don’t wanna cause a scene but if you try that again you’re going to be a stain on the wall in 2 seconds” harsh shove

as you probably guessed, the only person who HALFWAY gets away with it is lupin. he usually just leans forward or backward out of the way if he sees it coming and he’s not in the mood, which has the bonus of getting to watch lupin fall flat on his face if HE wasn’t paying attention. the only person who fully gets away with it is, as you also probably guessed, goemon because he… rarelyACTUALLY we’ll get into it when we get to goemon anyway

however, jigen DOES dish out the boundary breaking bits on occasion, usually (if not always) to gloat or establish that he’s winning in this particular situation, and he’s GOING to make YOU uncomfortable about it!

fujiko:

reasonable about it. fujiko, like lupin, is great at reading people, but he just doesn’t really think too much about the fact that people usually don’t like you all up in their grill. fujiko, however, does, so there’s a great tactical balance

she’s not just touching random strangers, but she IS aware of the positive and negative pressure stuff like that has. so like you may have noticed with a lot of things with her, miss mine WEAPONIZES the comfort/discomfort that comes with touch in different situations

fujiko is a naturally touchy person with the right people, but that’s more for her sake than anything else. and i’m not bullshitting this part either-- if you watch anything where they actually try to write her with a personality beyond hehe sexy lady, fujiko is always putting a hand on someone’s shoulder, hugging them (and meaning it!), kind of gently guiding people back away from things, kissing cheeks when she’s excited, IT’S ALL REALLY CUTE AND NOT JUST RESERVED FOR LUPIN! 

goemon:

goemon is… a strange example, because mentally, he’s even more resistant to his boundaries being broken than jigen is, but rather than simply draw his weapon, he tends to freeze up a bit. like oh, um. mhmm. yeah you’re welcome. please get the fuck off of me at your earliest convenience

it’s (as a lot of things are) likely a holdover from his training/general lifestyle. physical touch leaves you susceptible to being attacked, or even worse, pinched, because lupin and jigen and fujiko KEEP DOING THAT JUST BECAUSE THEY KNOW HE GETS STANDOFFISH,

HOWEVER, like we halfway established, jigen always has full permissions, and vice versa. mostly because in the event goemon is truly, actually upset and not just (somewhat) jokingly threatening to gut him like a fish, jigen can read the signs before goemon has even said anything, and leaves him be. but really, all the times that goemon has really TRIED to make jigen uncomfortable by getting in his space could be counted on one hand. goemon has other, STRONGER methods for getting back at that motherfucker :)

all in all goemon is hands down the most likely to leave you the hell alone, exclusively interacting with you from a safe, yet not rude, distance. he only ever gets touchy on very, very specific occasions with people he knows very, very well, so unless you are literally inches away from getting cartoonishly crushed by a piano two feet in front of him, he’s not going to just be grabbing you

zenigata:

it depends very much on the mood you catch him in. if he’s just like, doing whatever, having lunch or something, and he accidentally bumps into you, he’ll apologize and step away. if he thinks you know even a fraction of information about lupin however,

it’s the same kind of slidey scale with his comfort on having HIS space invaded too. it’s more a matter of weird pride that he gets kind of stiff and grouchy when certain people get up in his space and start touching him, but again, if it's just some polite stranger unrelated to anything that just taps on his shoulder and leans into his space trying to ask for directions or whatever, he’s not that bothered

the main takeaway here is that upon a casual meeting, he might not immediately, actively grab you by the shoulders so hard that your spine pops twice and get so close to you that the brim of his hat is touching your hair, but the chances are never, and in fact FAR from, 0!!

[gayleviticus]

there are many weird reactionary ways in which people fetishise discipline/consequences of kids as like, giving them what they deserve, or necessary for 'toughening them up', but at the end of the day a healthy philosophy of 'discipline' is basically just about setting and maintaining boundaries

as adults, there are a lot of rules, whether as law or in the workplace or in public spaces, that we kinda just accept nobody really cares about. the reason wacky articles about how it's illegal to flush a public toilet in public in Missouri or whatever inspire laughter rather than horror is bc we know these laws are so patently absurd nobody would enforce them.

on the other hand, there are lots of placrs a few years ago, that would be plastered in posters advising you to wear a mask and social distance, and yet because they had absolutely no follow through from anyone only ever remained at the level of polite request. today there are places that still have these posters up, but because there's no follow through everyone assumes they're just a relic of the past and not an actual ongoing request.

that follow through doesn't have to be punitive. it could be simply having someone who reminds visitors to wear masks and socially distance (altho the question is then how to escalate if this doesnt work). but for anyone, adult or child, setting an expectation and then not following through on it communicates that you don't care.

that's true in many contexts. you can tell shitty parents their behaviour is unacceptable, but it's a total bluff unless you actually enforce those boundaries. it's all well and good if a retail store has posters up saying please don't abuse our staff but if management don't have your back when abuse happens then it's obvious what their real priorities are.

and for kids it's even more of a thing that they can discern as easily what's a real expectation you actually care about, and what you're just saying. it can feel confusing and unfair if you give them a list of rules and then only enforce the ones you really care about. it's like you have some arbitrary secret set of rules.

contra the discipline fetishists, the severity of the punishment isn't really a central issue here. some level of proportionality helps to communicate how strongly this expectation matters; it makes sense that interrupting someone else would get a talking to and pushing your sister down the stairs would get a time out. but consistency of following through, imo, seems far more important in teaching kids pro social behaviours than severity of consequences.

often from people who are pro prison abolition you see mixed feelings abt stuff like, say, killer cops getting off without a jail sentence. but I think it can be true both that people can be opposed to prison as a concept, and also that, in a world where 'prison' is our main go-to for communicating 'we consider this behaviour unacceptable', letting serious crimes off without jail time ends up conveying the message 'this is OK'. and the frustration is not so much that prison abolitionists think that murder inherently deserves jail, so much as that by the standards of the system of consequences the world runs on, the judicial system is saying 'police brutality is fine.' not about the severity of the punishment per se, but the follow through

[kichikumaboshi]

Hey everyone! I know I said I'd be around here and there, and then promptly didn't proceed to do that, so lemme give ya'all a quick recap of what's been going on, but the tl;dr is I've been sick for most of a month, and was ridiculously busy before that.

So, pretty soon after my last short stream, I had a LOT of work happen at once. To be fair, this is partly my fault. I had offered to go for an activity a few weeks ahead of time. This happened to line up badly. I won't go into details (as I've said, no talking about work details publicly for both my coworkers' and students' safety), but long story short, I had a mad dash of work stuff that kept be busy for about 2 weeks before things evened out again. (Worth noting, this was not unfair. I was properly compensated, and part of it was due to a choice I actually made myself, so do not think the school forced anything on me please.) This left me with close to no time, so no stream during that period.

So then what? Well...I had bad sushi that's what. I was out for 3 days with food poisoning. Then then the next week my throat and nose decided it was their turn, and I was out for most of that week too. Though my dead voice recovered, and I could breathe more easily, so I could work the next week, the cough and runny nose have persisted, and I didn't want to stream like that and push my throat harder.

Today I've gone to the doctor over trouble breathing, and have been told my lungs are clearly inflamed. Tests have shown I don't have COVID or flu, so they are assuming it's a dust allergy, but I have only ever had a reaction anything close to like this once when I was working unloading the truck for a retail store. (That dust is real bad guys!) If I'm having a reaction like this, there must be something causing it. They still have tests that are gonna take time to give results, so I will see how those come back next week, but as is I am in no shape to stream. Even walking across my apartment sometimes has me gasping for breath. They've given me meds, which hopefully will help out, but for the time being, expect me to still be low activity till I recover...whenever that is.

Anyways, sickness aside, I have really enjoyed my time here, but I'm not gonna lie that this sickness is testing the limits of my patience. We will see how things go from here!

In the meantime, I may do some posts with pictures to show you all some of the cool things I've seen and places I've been, as I can do that without straining my throat, so keep an eye out for them!

[yelenabelovasbxtch]

Shopping (But Spicy)

A/n: sorry I’ve been so inactive lately :(( I have some friends that have been helping me (encouraging me) to write more again and I think it’s working. Hopefully with the end of the summer nearing I’ll be able to put out more content! In the meantime, enjoy, share with your friends and Lmk if you want to be added to my taglist!

Summary: You make Yelena go bra shopping but it turns into something much more fun.

Warnings: smut!, 18+, fingering, eating out, public sex

Word count: 1755

Taglist: @yelenaslyubov @youreatotalposer @jeyramarie @flosbelova @bridgecitybrad @justthis-stuff @chloe7076 @ailenepuff @3xbyrn320 @thorya22 @ravenclawbitch426 @mellowladyangel @wandanatvoid @amcg0605-blog @kassies-take @yelenaswife1996 @wandanatchick

“Yelena…come on. You need at least one bra that doesn’t have a sports logo on it.”

“But whyyyy, they’re so comfy and the other ones are so uncomfy plus the stupid wire is always stabbing me, if I wanted to be stabbed I would just go spar with the greasy one, whats his name?”

“Loki?”

“Yes! Him. I would spar with him.” Yelena says with a not so amused face as she stares you down.

“Yel…c’mon…it’ll be fun I promise. Plus you’d look sooooo good in lingerie…” You reply with a cheeky grin.

“LINGERIE?” Yelena blurts back in response. “I agreed to one bra, not lingerie.”

“SO YOU AGREE! GERAT!” You say with a huge smile grabbing her wrist and yanking her towards the garage where Tony keeps all his expensive cars that you like to drive.

“How about we just go to one of those fancy stores you like and I’ll buy you anything and everything you want…but we don’t go to the underwear store.” Yelena says from the passenger’s seat.

You roll your eyes and chuckle as she’s looking at you with the most serious expression on her face.

“Lena, relax, you have nothing to worry about.”

“I know I just don’t want to do this.”

“I’m here with you, you’ll be okay.”

The two of you pull up to the mall and head inside. You’re practically dragging her through the mall like she’s a four year old.

“Hi! Welcome to Victoria’s Secret! Is there anything I can help you two with today?” An overly eager employee asks.

“No we’re go—“

“Actually yes!”

“My girlfriend here needs a real bra and she’s never been sized before.” You say with a smile and a wink thrown in Yelena’s direction.

“Not to worry! May I?” She asks, holding up a measuring tape in her direction.

Yel nods uncomfortably as the pretty retail worker wraps her arms around her, bringing the measuring tape to her front as she glares over the woman’s shoulder giving you dirty looks for putting her through this.

“Okay…it looks like you are about a 34B, follow me and I can show you where you can start!”

You hook your arm around Yelena’s as you pull her towards the direction the lady was walking.

“Alrighty, here we are. Take a look around and please let me know if I can help you with anything else!”

“Thanks so much!” You reply.

As you turn back and look at your girlfriend she’s giving you the nastiest stare down.

“What?”

“I hate you a little bit right now.”

“Yeah right, you don’t have a bone in your body that could hate me.” You reply with a cheeky grin and a kiss on the cheek.

“How about these?” You ask, holding up two bras, plain black and plain beige.

Yel gives you a disapproving face when she glances over.

“Lena, you’re not making this easy now are you. Look, take these, go to the change room and try them on.”

“I have to try them on? What was the whole point of her taking my measurements if I still have to try them on?”

You just stare at your girlfriend as you lightly push her in the direction of the change rooms which she drags her feet walking towards.

“How do they feel Lena?”

“My boobs look stupid.”

You let out a small chuckle, “i'm sure they look great, love. But remember, this is just so you have proper support!! I don’t want to hear about how your back hurts anymore.”

“Yeah yeah whatever.”

“I’ll be right back. Make sure you try on both!”

You pop out of the change room area for a second to the lingerie section and scoop up the first thing that sticks out to you. Black has always been her colour, she’s going to love this.

“Knock knock Lena, can I come in?” You say slowly pulling the curtain to the side.

You walk in and close the curtain behind you, pulling the black one piece lingerie from behind your back.

“No. Absolutely not.” She says. “Y/n, come on. I’m not putting on that thing, whatever it is.”

“Please baby? Just for me? Just this once?” You reply with the puppy dog eyes.

“No, no way!”

“I’ll take you out for ice cream if you try it on. You don’t have to buy it, I just want to see it on you.”

“Fine, but i'm getting a double scoop cone.” She says with a huff as she pulls the hook out of your hands.

“Look away”

“W-what? It’s not like it’s nothing I haven’t seen before Yelena.” You say folding your arms.

“Turn.”

“Ugh, fine.”

You turn around with an eye roll as Yelena undresses again.

“Ready yet?”

“Almost, this thing isn’t easy to put on you know!”

“Okay done.”

You turn around to see your drop dead gorgeous girlfriend in the hottest and sluttiest piece of attire she’s ever worn.

“Fuck— Lena.”

“Great, you’ve seen it, now let’s go.” She says trying to pull one of the straps.

“Wait— stop.”

“What! I put the stupid thing on what more do you want.” She says in an irritated tone.

You were too busy trying to pick your jaw up off the floor to answer her. You slowly start walking towards her while butterflies flutter around in your stomach.

“Y/n what are you—“ you cut her off with a forceful kiss to her lips, pushing her against the wall behind her.

Although she wasn’t pleased with what she was wearing, Yelena leaned into this kiss, and maybe wouldn’t verbally admit to you but fuck did she start to feel hot.

As you continued to kiss her your hands came down to just above her waist, squeezing her, pulling her tightly against you. Your hand slowly inched down, grabbing her ass as she bit your bottom lip. As you come up for air you mutter out a few words, something along the lines of “fuck you’re so hot in this” and “all I want is you” but Yelena could barely make out what you were saying as you said it in short breaths in between kisses. Your mouth starts sucking small patches on her neck as she lets out really quiet moans and squirms beneath your touch. As your mouth continues to leave little bruises along her neck, your one hand wanders over to her front, feeling the mess she made in the one piece. You’re rubbing small circles over the very thin cloth, feeling just how soaked she is through the material. You smile into your kiss as you feel her cheeks blush with slight embarrassment.

“Is this all for me baby?” You whisper under your breath. She nods in response as you slowly pull the fabric slightly to the side revealing her throbbing clit underneath. Your finger starts to draw tiny circles causing Yelena’s knees to just about buckle under your touch. Her head gets thrown back against the wall in pure ecstasy.

“F-f-f-fuck.” She mumbles out

You can’t help but smile seeing how she’s unraveling because of your touch. So, you decided to slowly insert on finger into her pussy. Holy fuck was she wet. As soon as your full finger entered her, you heard her let out a moan that was maybe a little too loud. Your other hand immediately came up to her mouth to cover it.

“Be a good girl and stay quiet for me, okay?” You whisper to her.

Yelena just nods her head in compliance as your hand stays over her mouth. Your finger starts pumping in and out of her and her eyes are practically rolling back into her head. You insert another finger as you watch her squirm.

“How’s everything going in there?” You hear from outside the curtain. Yelena’s eyes widen as they lock with yours and you slowly remove your hand from her mouth. You wink at her and nod your head towards the curtain, gesturing for her to respond. But as she’s about to you increase the pace that your fingers are moving at, inserting a third, making her life as difficult as possible.

“They’re all good!” She croaks out trying to not let a moan slip through.

“Ok! Let me know if I can get you another size or anything!”

“O-okay! Will do!” Lena responds.

You hear the footsteps of the employee walking away as you continue your face pace, pounding your fingers into her pussy.

“Baby— I think I’m gonna cum soon.”

“Not yet princess.” You mutter as you pull all three of your fingers out of her pussy.

You get down on your knees, lifting one of her legs and placing it on the stool in the dressing room. Your tongue starts drawing figure eights on her pussy, making her let out soft moans as you slowly reinsert two of your fingers. You suck on her clit as your fingers pound in and out of her. The pace of your tongue movements increases as you feel her legs start to shake from under you and her hands are running through your hair trying to grip onto anything. As she pulls your hair tighter, you can feel her nearing her climax.

“Fuck— y/n can I please— can I please cum?” She grunts out.

You look up at her and nod your head as your tongue continues to flick her clit and fingers pumping as fast as they can. You feel Yelena’s knees buckle as you grab onto her thigh trying to support her with one hand and also let her ride out her high on your face. Her head is thrown back trying not to let out an incredibly loud moan. As her hip thrusts into your mouth slow down you pull out your fingers and smile looking up at her.

“Well, looks like we have to take this home now love, you made a mess of it.” You say with a wink gesturing towards the one piece.

Still trying to compose herself Yelena just stares at you and lets out a small giggle.

“There’s that beautiful smile I’ve been waiting to see.” You say as you deliver a soft kiss to her lips.

“Tell me love, do you like tasting yourself on my lips?”

She smiles and nods in your direction still feeling high off her orgasm.

“Get dressed beautiful, I’ll meet you at the checkout.” You say with a wink and a small smack on her ass as you leave the change room.

— the end —

[ransprang]

Hello! Could I get matchups for Fullmetal Alchemist, HxH and OHHC pls? SFW and NSFW. I'm female and have a male preference. My hair is dark brown and tends to brighten up in summer, making it look a bit red-ish. I never dyed my hair because I think that's kinda cool. I prefer to wear comfy and practical clothing. It's usually black or green. I love being outside and exploring lost places, taking walks at night. I like the calm and quiet and I am usually calm and collected, but if you push the right buttons, I can get pretty angry. Archery is my main hobby. It's really relaxing to me for some reason and I'd say I'm very good at it. In my free time I also like to watch movies or just chill and listen to music. I'm alone most of the time, being a lil aloof. The few friends I have are very dear to me though and ppl better not mess with them. I can get pretty protective. I'd like a partner who can be protective and someone I can spend time without talking too much. Long philosophical talks at night can be nice sometimes, but I wouldn't say I'm the most talkative person. Just spending pleasant, quiet time together is fine to me at times. Maybe reading together or something. I have a thing for fantasy and sci-fi novels. Jealousy can be a huge annoyance to me. PDA is not rlly my thing. In private I can be a real cuddlebug though. I'd say I'm more vanilla and it would take time until I rlly trust someone to try something out of my comfort zone. When it comes to my job, I'm a locksmith. Never expected to end up in a job like this, but it's a lot of fun to me. We work with security systems, offer lock and key services and sometimes I go out to fix ppls door locks and stuff. Before that I had a job in retail, but the customer service was just too frustrating. I hope you can work with this. Thanks a lot! :)

Hiii thank you for the request!! We hope you like your hxh & fmab match ups :D Your lock & key, admin sar & san

Your HxH match up is.........Chrollo!!

SFW

The two of you would meet at your favorite bookstore. He'd be in the philosophy section and see you holding [insert cool philosophy book]. Since you both read through books quickly you'd both end up at the bookstore frequently and walk past each other and sometimes make eye contact.

The more Chrollo sees you at the bookstore, the more intrigued he is to find out more about you. One day, he'd strike up a conversation about the book you're holding. Then like a gentleman, he'd ask if you'd like to go to a cafe nearby and talk more. Please ask him about the tattoo on his forehead.

Chrollo admires your intelligence and your expansive knowledge about various philosophy theories. He loves taking you on walks at night to pretty places and talking with you about his theories and books he's been reading.

He thinks that your locksmith skills are amazing! He tries to get you to join the phantom troupe missions since your skills would be very helpful.

To get into the phantom troupe the rite of passage is to defeat an existing member. He makes you beat up Uvo's corpse :)

He likes lying down on your lap while reading books.

Chrollo is a very protective man and will do anything to ensure you're never harmed. With him being a phantom troupe member, he knows that if enemies found out about your relationship with him you'd be in danger.

He isn't a PDA sorta guy so you have nothing to worry about. He's also not used to showing romantic affection, if you hug him and kiss him he'll eventually warm up.

He enjoys giving you forehead kisses and hugs from the back. But don’t give him forehead kisses or you’ll end up with ink in your mouth.

N/SFW

He would totally make you read one of his books out loud while eating you out. If you stumble or mispronounce a word he'll edge you.

You love a man who can read, but Chrollo be reading a bit too much. You can get his attention back on you pretty easily by rubbing certain areas of his body ;) like his ankle or his balls..on his ears

Chrollo isn't a jealous man really, he is the leader of the phantom troupe so he knows his shit. However, if anyone tries to hit on you he'll laugh at them. He'll mark you in bed later that night to make sure everyone knows you're his.

Your FMAB match up is..........Van Hohenheim!!

SFW

Hohenheim is a man who appreciates the value of not talking since he’s got thousands of voices in his head chatting at all hours of the day. He would really appreciate spending some peaceful time with you in companionable silence

You and Hohenheim could take trips around the world since he loves travelling and is a well-travelled fella. He would show you his favorite places including a trip down memory lane to the ruins of Xerxes. Together the two of you could explore the wider world too and make new memories.

Overall Hohenheim’s a pretty chill dude, with his heart in the right place most of the time. He may not make the best decisions but he’s fiercely protective of his friends and family, and would sacrifice being with them if it meant their lives were in danger.

If you like long philosophical talks at night Hohenheim’s your man. He’s had hundreds of years to understand and study people and alchemy so he’s quite knowledgeable about both. He’s quite intelligent too 

Hohenheim’s a bit of a loner too so you guys would definitely get along.

You could leave him alone for a few days too whenever you needed the space. The friends in his head are all he needs <3

Hohenheim isn’t the PDA type either but would definitely be a big cuddly bear in private. 

N/SFW

You could handcuff him to the bedpost without fear since if he accidentally got stuck you could pick it with your locksmith skillz

It would be fun to pull on that ponytail while you peg him (he seems like he’d be into it)

He loves to fuck you in the sun because when your hair catches the light it looks reddish-brown. It reminds him of Trisha Elric and he gets hyped up 

Hohenheim has the sexual urges of all the people of Xerxes in his head, so when you’re fucking him you’re fucking a nation <3

[wish-that-i-was-buckys-girl]

Dad’s Best Friend

Summary: Your Dad’s Best Friend, Lee Bodecker, is a close family friend who helps and protects you at all costs. But all he is is a family friend, right?

Warnings: Mentions of a Peeping Tom, Smut, Daddy Kink, choking, perverted comments, maybe slight dub-con?

A/N: Hey everyone! This is my first time writing on tumblr, so I hope you enjoy! This story is also on my ao3, but I saw how much love Lee was getting on tumblr, so I decided to make a blog for fan fictions. Please be gentle with criticism, this is my first time writing smut. However, don’t be afraid to voice your opinion! This is a modern day AU. Lee is soft in this one, there are no dark elements. If you squint maybe it’s dub-con, but I don’t see it that way. However, I added it to the warnings just in case. If there are any more warnings I need to add just let me know and I happily will. This is a learning experience for me! If this receives enough love, I left it open for it to make it a mini-series, or maybe do more drabbles about it. I hope you enjoy!

________________________________________

(Not my gif)

You moved to Knockemstiff when you were 6 years old. Your mother, a local politician, got hired in the little town of Ohio 15 years ago. She began working as a town council member, eventually working her way up to being the mayor.

Being the mayor’s daughter had some perks. You always got complimentary food at the local diners. The business owners wanted to get in good with your mother, for whatever reason. You weren’t sure what your mother had to offer that could help them, but food is food and free pancakes are free pancakes. You never really understood politics yourself. You understood federal level and a little bit of state, but local politics (although some claim it to be the most important) bored the shit out of you.

You even knew the town police. You grew close to Deputy Howser. He was a little older than you, but you got along well and frequented drinking together on the weekends with some of your other friends. Your father, however, got close with the Sheriff. Your father was a stay-at-home dad, your mother bringing in all the money you could ever need. They both didn’t mind, and it was easier growing up to have at least one parent at home. Although Sheriff Bodecker didn’t think being a stay-at-home dad exuded masculinity, he was still your fathers’ friend, nonetheless. They bonded over shitty beer, sports, and candy.

The Sheriff, although you didn’t hang out with him, was another authority figure in your life that you always had to worry about. You couldn’t go out with friends. You knew this because of one mishap you had with your friends. Everyone was home from college, meaning there would be a huge party. You and your friend, Jenny, we’re only 20 at the time. You went, got extremely drunk, and the cops were called.

Of course, you had to be laying on the couch, shirt off, when Sheriff Bodecker arrived. He picked you up by your waist, bring your limp frame against his sturdy body.

“Do I need to tell your father about this darlin’?”

You whined against his chest

“Nooooo, don’t tell my daaaddddyyy”

His cock swelled at the word.

Daddy

He didn’t understand why and just tried to push it deep down.

“Well, doll, I think I can keep this secret for you. Just this once though. If I see you in this state again before you turn 21, I’m going to have to take you in. I can’t show favorites in this town.”

You looked up and smiled at him groggily

“But aren’t I your favorite, Sheriff?”

This wasn’t the only instance in when you ran into the trouble with the Sheriff. You also had a habit of smoking, and more frequently, eating illegal substances.

“Hey darlin’, you’re looking a little tired today,” he said entering your kitchen, “do you need to take a nap or somethin’?”

You reacted slow.

You looked up to him with half-open eyes.

“.....what?”

He knew. He knew from the moment you looked at you.

He just smiled. He wouldn’t snitch as long you were safe. You were in your house, and he and your father were there to protect you if anything happened.

“Go take a nap sweetheart. I’ll go get you when the takeout gets here.”

You smiled and nodded. Before going upstairs, you leaned in to give him a hug.

You whispered, “Thanks Lee.”

______________________________________

Deputy Howser walked into your place of work, a retail store.

You spotted him from the back, where you were steaming shirts to put out on the rack.

“Hey!” you shouted at him from across the store.

“Hey!” He stated walking towards you, “You gonna be home tonight?”

“I suppose I should be, why?”

“Well, I might advise against it” he said worried.

“And why is that?”

“Well... as you know it’s poker night, and all the guys from the station are gonna be coming over to your house to play.”

“Yes, I do know this, and what about it?”

“Well, I just, I know how some of the guys down at the station can get when they start drinking, and I’m not so sure I would want you in that environment.”

“I have to ask again, why is that?”

“It’s just... it’s just that you’re a young woman, a beautiful one at that, and they might make certain comments that would make you feel uncomfortable.”

You scoffed. “I think I’ll be fine David. I can hold my own yknow.”

“I know, I know. I just, I don’t wanna see you get hurt or see you uncomfortable.”

“I promise, I’ll be fine. I’ll see you when I get off work, okay?”

“Okay.” He said with slight hesitation. “See ya then.”

______________________________________

You walked through your front door, yelling to your father that you were home.

“Dad! I’m home! Sorry, I got out a little bit late tonight.”

“Hey sweetheart, I’m in the dining room with the guys. Come say hi.”

You began to walk back to the dining room to say hello.

You immediately regretted it.

“Hey baby, come here often?” One of them joked.

“You wanna come sit down sweetheart? You look like you’ve had a long day. I gotta spot waiting for ya” another stated, patting his lap.

You awkwardly smiled and waved at them. Your father, David, and Lee all had angry expressions plastered on their face. They didn’t say anything as to not upset the men. They needed almost every single one for a successful poker night. It was just easier to not start anything.

“It’s nice seeing you all” you said through gritted teeth, not meaning a single word.

“I’m gonna go upstairs now, and if you gentleman would stick to the downstairs bathroom that would be great.”

You needed to take a shower, but you weren’t going to announce that to a room full of drunken men, who were obviously having too much fun as it was.

You turned on your heel and scurried up the steps. You ran into the bathroom immediately, locking the door behind you.

God, I hate poker nights.

You stared at yourself in the mirror before stepping into the shower. You didn’t even understand why they were hitting on you so much. In your eyes, at least, there wasn’t much to look at, or even desire. You were insecure but tried not to show it. There were good days, and bad days. Today just happened to be a bad day.

You poked and prodded your every insecurity, hoping that this would remedy the issues and make them disappear.

It wasn’t successful.

You finally decided to get undressed and get in the shower. Your turned both nozzles on, waiting for the water to get warm. Once it was a comfortable temperature you stepped in the shower, letting your mind wander.

You never knew why, but your mind always wanted to think about the sheriff. His muscular figure, with his big belly to give him some cushion so he was soft enough to lay on. His cute nose. And his uniform. He looked so stern and yet soft at the same time. Ready to kick someone’s ass but also ready to protect you when he needed to.

You were pulled from your thoughts as you heard a slight chuckle coming from the doorway. You pulled back the curtain to reveal the door was cracked. No one was there, but you could’ve sworn you shut and locked it upon entering just moments ago. You were leery but decided to let it go. You continued to wash your body and your hair. You heard the chuckle again. You didn’t hesitate this time, pulling back the curtain as fast as you could, but still covering your body.

You made direct eye contact with another man from the office. You couldn’t think of his name in that exact moment, being too mortified to even let your thoughts process what was going on.

You screamed. You screamed as loud as you could prompting Officer Dowd to begin sprinting down the stairs. Fortunately, your father and Lee were up in a flash hearing you scream. He was caught.

Lee shoved Officer Dowd against the wall as you wrapped yourself in a towel and made it halfway down the steps.

“Looks like we got a peepin��� Tom. You like looking at girls in the shower huh? You like it when you get to stare at them with their clothes off?”

He didn’t let Officer Dowd answer the question. Lee gave him a swift punch to the face before another breath escaped his body.

Officer Dowd landed on the ground with a thud. Lee got on the ground and spoke to him lightly.

“Now let that be a warnin’. If I catch you anywhere near Y/N again, I’ll put you in the damn ICU. And that is a promise you bet I’m keeping. I know we’re playin’ poker, but I ain’t bluffin’.”

Lee stood up abruptly and say your father holding you as you sobbed into his chest.

He hated to see you cry.

Lee remembered the first time he ever saw you extremely distraught. Some local high school boys were making fun of how you looked. He knew that sort of stuff normally didn’t bother you, but he could tell what they said was more than a few insults.

You came through the door absolutely sobbing. Lee happened to be over at the time, concerned something worse may have happened to you. You explained some stupid high school boys were just harassing you and you shouldn’t be as upset as you were. He held you for two hours that day trying to get you to calm down. He had never felt a pit in his stomach like that before in his life.

He loathed that people made you feel this way.

Your father finally spoke “I think it’s safe to say poker night is over. If you have any issues, I’m sure Bodecker would love to speak to you right now.”

______________________________________

As the men cleared out, Deputy Howser and Lee stayed to make sure you were okay.

They waited until your father calmed you down.

Deputy Howser came in first. He totally wanted to say “I told you so” but he didn’t. Thank god. You think you might have punched him if he did. Instead, he just told you how his wife would bake you your favorite cookies tomorrow and he would bring them over after work. You thanked him, finally leaving. To be honest, you just wanted to be alone.

That was, until you saw Lee come into your room to check on you. You didn’t even know he was still here. You knew he cares about you, but not to this extent. Deputy Howser was your best friend, and obviously your dad cares, but Lee was only a family friend. You saw him all the time, but this was different.

“Hey darlin’, how ya feelin’?”

You smirked “How would you feel if you caught a grown man trying to spy on you while you were taking a shower?”

He smiled back “Fair ‘nough”

He closed the door behind him and sat down on the bed next to you.

It was silent for a moment. You appreciated it, but it was still awkward. You decided to be bold.

“How come you stuck around to check on me?”

Lee was taken aback by this question. He just punched a man for you, why would he not stay to check snd make sure you were doing okay?

“Sweetheart, I just socked the man who was tryin’ to do you harm. Why wouldn’t I stick around to make sure you were okay?”

You thought for a moment.

“I just didn’t think you cared about me that much.”

Again, Lee was shocked. How could you be saying this?

“Y/N, if I didn’t care about ya, your dad would’ve known about all your shenanigans a long time ago. Course I care about ya. You mean a lot to me.”

Your stomach started to turn. Not in a queasy way, but more nervous. You didn’t know why.

“Lee?”

“Yes darlin’?”

“Would you, would you mind if you gave me a hug before you left? I just, I need to be held right now.”

He sat there and thought for a moment. About what, you don’t know, but he finally nodded and opened his arms. You took it upon yourself to sit in his lap while he wrapped his arms around you.

You could hear his heartbeat and breathing. It was soothing. You needed that after the day you had.

Something in the air felt off though. You weren’t sure what, but you knew it felt different.

You looked to Lee for a response but all he had to offer was a soft smile. Your faces were dangerously close to one another. He caressed your hair, lovingly while you continued to stare into each other’s eyes.

You decided to be bold.

You leaned in quickly for a kiss.

At first, Lee resisted, confused as to what was going on, but eventually gave into your soft lips.

You held them there for a moment, enjoying the touch. You began to deepen the kiss as time went on, sucking on his lower lip while he sucked on your upper lip. You stayed that way for what felt like an eternity. Lee began to dip his tongue into your mouth. You accepted it and continued like this for even longer. The passion in the way he was kissing and holding you was unreal. Unlike your ex-boyfriend Lance, he seemed to care that you were enjoying it too.

You finally pulled apart and made eye contact.

He smirked.

“This isn’t what I thought was gonna happen when you said you needed to be held.”

You smiled back

“Just shut up and kiss me.”

You went in for another kiss, but Lee quickly spun you around and pinned you to the bed.

“I know ya got a mouth on ya doll, but I call the shots. Talk like that again and I’ll have to spank your ass.”

“Yes, Sheriff.” You said coyly.

“Although I love you calling me Sheriff, you’ll address me as daddy.”

Your pussy throbbed at the sound of calling him that.

“Yes, daddy.”

He smiled.

“How bout we get these clothes off?”

You nodded eagerly. He ripped off your clothes in a flash, with no time to waste. He had already been in your room for an uncomfortable amount of time. Your father might come in at any moment.

“Can I touch this pretty pussy, babydoll?” He stated, hovering over your mound.

You nodded again, almost breathless at the thought of him touching you.

He slowly entered you with two fingers. A soft moan escaped your lips, grabbing onto his other arm that was propping him up.

“Fuck, you’re so tight darlin’, can’t wait to put my cock in you.”

He pumped in and out of you at a slow pace. He didn’t know how much experience you had, trying to be as gentle as possible.”

“Daddy go faster.”

“Daddy go faster, what?”

You rolled your eyes.

“Daddy go faster, please.”

He grabbed the sides of your throat lightly to assert dominance. You assume it was because you rolled your eyes. Damn your attitude sometimes.

“Now, we don’t roll our eyes at our daddy, do we?”

“No, I promise I won’t do it again daddy. Please go faster.”

He obliged and starts pumping his fingers in and out of you at a rapid pace. A louder moan escaped your lips again, this time Lee shot his hand up to cover your mouth.

“Shhh, we have to be quiet darlin’. Wouldn’t want your old man to find out what we were doin’. I don’t see it endin’ well for either of us.”

You nodded as you rode his fingers. Your walls fluttered around his fingers. You felt the right coil in your stomach, preparing yourself for an orgasm.

Just as you felt the wave of pleasure coming, Lee pulled his fingers out of you.

You looked up in confusion, only to see Lee with his pants pulled down and holding his cock.

Wow.

He was huge.

He began stroking it.

“You ready sweetheart?” He whispered into your ear softly.

You nodded again, just wanting to get back to the wave of pleasure you were about to experience.

“I don’t usually get to it this fast but considerin’ the circumstances I don’t wanna get caught.”

He began to press his head into you. He could feel you squeeze around him, driving him absolutely insane.

“Goddamn darlin’, I ain’t gonna last long if you’re this tight.”

You smiled, glad to make him feel good.

He leaned down to kiss you as he slowly started to pump in and out of you.

You moaned against his lips, unable to keep yourself from being quiet. His lips thankfully muffled your moans. He continued to pump in and out “fuck baby, tell me how bad you want it.”

You whispered against him “I want it so bad daddy, please go faster. Fuck me as hard as you can.”

Lee couldn’t control himself. He picked up his pace and began pounding into you, careful not to make too much noise with the bed frame.

“Oh fuck, daddy, oh god don’t stop.”

“You like this baby? Huh? You like how your daddy pounds your pussy?”

You nodded, almost completely incoherent and responded with a soft “yes daddy, god yes.”

The coil in your stomach came back, making you arch your back, also allowing Lee to fuck you deeper.

Lee began speaking again “Who’s pussy does this belong to?”

“It belongs to you daddy!”

“Keep sayin’ it, keep telling’ me who owns this pussy”

“You daddy, oh god it belongs to you!”

The wave of pleasure began to wash over you as you climaxed.

“That’s it baby, cum all over my cock, fuck yeah just like that” Lee whispered back.

Lee could tell you were about to moan, so he covered your mouth just in time for you to cum. Only seconds later did Lee let out a similar moan, muffled by his head being buried in your hair. He pulled out of you abruptly and began stroking his cock. He came all over your stomach and tits, making a mess of your body. He quickly got up and put his clothes on, also grabbing tissues to wipe off your body.

You laid on the bed, left breathless of what transpired.

Lee laid down next to you, only for a little bit. He didn’t want to fuck you and leave. He was better than that. Well, at least he thought he was. Other women might not agree.

You slid over to lay on his chest, still completely undressed.

You laid like this for a little while before looking to Lee.

“Lee?”

“What sweetheart?”

“Can we add this to the list of ‘shenanigans’ you won’t be telling my father?”

[orange-waterfalls]

...Happy New Year?

Darkiplier x gn!reader x Wilford

A/N: I am so disappointed and surprised that I haven’t written anything poly yet are you KIDDING ME. Does it take me 5 months to write a single fic? No. Might take me that long to find motivation and SINCE I don’t wanna be an ASSHOLE who takes requests and then DOESN’T WRITE THEM I’m probably gonna take a bit to think and figure out what I wanna do here with the blog. Uhhh reader is a retail worker who’s just. Tired and stressed. Dark and Wil decide to comfort them because good boyfriends are good! TW: mention of weed. And suggestive phrases? Also cursing. That’s it. Rated T. Enjoy and have a happy New Year everybody!

Word Count: 2.7k

--

“Do you have to?” Wilford all but whined when you got ready for work. Except he did not whine because he does not whine because he is Wilford Warfstache, thank you. “It’s New Year’s Eve!”

“I’m fully aware what day it is, hon,” You said in a very soft voice because you knew Wilford had to be let down gently or he’d be grouchy for the next few months. “That’s why I’m not working overtime. Hopefully. Maybe I can get Sara to take over my shift, she’s not doing anything tonight. I wish I could’ve taken the morning shift, I do.” Darkiplier appeared next to Wilford, looking just as desperate.

“Can you not just… not… go?” Dark suggested, trying not to sound too needy. He knew that he failed by the look you gave him.

“I have to work, boys.”

“Do you though?”

“Wilford...”

“I can get you money.”

“Are you suggesting illegal activities, Mr. Warfstache?”

“We are not… besides stealing.”

“Wil.”

“We could pawn off Mark’s stuff, it’s probably worth a lot!”

“Both of you, stop it!” You said in a stern voice. They both looked like kicked puppies and you felt a little bad about it. “I’ll get home when I get home. You know I love you. If I never had to leave you, I wouldn’t. But I gotta, ok?”

“Kissies?” Wilford asked, tapping the tips of his fingers together. Darkiplier looked at the motion and back at his own fingers, seemingly trying to replicate it. You stared at his hands for a moment, watching the struggle with a resigned sort of curiosity. Wilford also stared at them until he couldn’t take it anymore and just put his hands over Dark’s.

“Just-Just… stop.” He said gently. Dark lowered his hands and they both looked back to you. You shook your head.

“I’ll be back before midnight. Order some takeout, please.”

“Sure thing, boss!” Wilford saluted.

“Goodbye, darling.” Darkiplier gave a little bow. You smiled warmly, walking over to the two. Darkiplier turned his head and you kissed his cheek. You tried to do the same for Wilford, but he turned his head back at the last second to catch your lips in a kiss. Additionally, he grabbed your face to keep you there. You pulled away and gently smacked his cheek before heading back to the door. Darkiplier glared at him a little. He stuck his tongue out in response.

“Bye! Love you!”

“We love you too, babes!” Wil called, wrapping his arms around Dark’s neck and leaning against him. Dark waved a goodbye to you. You shut and locked the door behind you. 

“Wil?” Dark said after they stood like that for a while.

“Yep?” Wil responded with his cheek squished to Dark’s shoulder.

“If you’re gonna cling to me we could at least lay down.”

“Cuddle time?”

“Sure. Cuddle time. Come on.” Dark tried to walk to the three’s shared bedroom, but Wilford wouldn’t let go. He quirked an eyebrow at the reporter. “Wil?”

“Yes?”

“May you… let go?”

“No.”

“Wil.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Wil…”

“No.”

“We can’t cuddle if you don’t let go.”

“Lies. Deception.”

“Wil, please, work with me here.” They looked at each other. Wilford slowly removed his arms from around the other man’s neck. Dark caught one of his hands, bringing his palm to his lips and gently kissing his hand.

“Someone’s feeling affectionate!” Wil exclaimed. Dark intertwined their fingers and gave his hand a squeeze before finally walking to the room.

The bedroom had mostly shades of black, white, and blue decor, apart from the fluffy red pillows you just had to have, along with a few stuffed animals. Darkiplier had his office with his red and black velvet and Wilford had his own… wherever he hung out, so they didn’t mind you choosing the colors. Anything to stop Wilford from painting the walls yellow of all colors. 

Wilford turned around and pulled Dark in by his waist, swaying in a little dance. 

“What are you doing?” Dark tried and failed to conceal his smile and laugh.

“Dancing with my lover, what does it look like?” Wilford nuzzled their noses together.

“I thought you wanted to cuddle.”

“I do.”

“Then why are we dancing?”

“Can’t we just dance for a bit?” Darkiplier pulled back and looked at Wil, who was currently avoiding eye contact. He sighed.

“Feels a little weird without Y/N?” He asked. Wilford hummed, still not looking him in the eye. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“I do want to.”

“We can wait until they get home, it’s really not--”

“I do want to…”

“But?”

“Mm…”

“Want to prove you aren’t absolutely whipped?”

“Excuse you?!”

“It’s not a bad thing.”

“I am-- You-- Wilford Warfstache simps for NOBODY!”

“Says Mr. Hundred Dollar Pillows.”

“Listen here you son of a bitch--” Wilford backed away and held up a finger to explain exactly why he was no simp. Dark took the opportunity to push him onto the bed. “Ooh! Frisky!”

“Shut it.” He climbed into the bed next to him. Wilford draped himself across Dark’s chest, nuzzling into him. They sighed contentedly. 

“Dark?”

“Mm?”

“What did I do to deserve you two?”

“Me? You were nice and accepting. I still don’t believe either of us deserve Y/N.”

“Oh, come on, there has to be something.”

“Wil, both of us have killed multiple people. I think whatever good we’ve done will get canceled out.”

“...right.”

They lay like that for a bit, enjoying just being there. Suddenly, Wilford picked his head up.

“What’s happening? You have a look? What is that look?” Dark furrowed his eyebrows.

“I have the best idea!” Wilford jumped up and ran to the closet.

“What?” Dark sat up.

“We are surprising our lover with romance!” He threw Dark’s suit at him, picking out his own at the same time.

“...and suits?”

“Yes! Well, your suit. It makes you look sexy.”

“Wil.”

“Their words, not mine!”

“Why are we--”

“It’s New Year’s, Dark! They’re stressed! They’re tired! They deserve a surprise! Where the Devil are my suspenders?”

“Wil, I don’t think--”

“That’s right, Dark. You don’t think. You can just sit there and look pretty while Wilford Lovemaster Warfstache plans it out!”

“Lovemaster?”

“I was due for a new middle name anyways. Chop chop!”

Dark hesitantly put on his suit while Wilford looked for his suspenders. He looked in the mirror, deciding whether he looked… “sexier” with or without a tie. He eventually decided without, even popping a few buttons of his dress shirt. Wilford walked back in, wearing a hot pink button up, yellow suspenders, and a blue bowtie.

“...hot!” He said before walking up next to Dark and taking a selfie of the two. Dark looked over his shoulder and watched him send it to you with the caption ‘your two special boys!’. He caught a look at some previous messages.

“Wil, what’s poggers?”

“New-fangled lingo, don’t worry about it. Do we have roses? Ask Illinois to bring us roses.”

“Wil, what is happening.”

“ROMANCE!” He yelled, exasperated. “Romance is happening, Dark.”

“Romance… right.”

“And suits, precisely. Come on, order Chinese from that place they like.”

“...is this a good idea? Suits and chinese?”

“It’s a fantastic idea, now order the goddamn food.”

--

Darkiplier and Wilford sat on the couch in your apartment, reading a book they’d found. Wil was leaning on Dark’s shoulder with one leg draped over his. There was a little time until New Year’s, and they really wanted to spend it with you. Dark would never admit it, but he missed you. Quite a lot, actually. You’ve weaseled your way into his heart and now he’s a little dependent. Wil would proudly scream it to the world if he could. Dark would never let him.

Dark glanced up at the clock, seeing the 11:00 time. He scowled, closing the book and tossing it to the other side of the couch. He leaned his head back and sighed. He debated calling you with Wilford beforehand, maybe even just to hear your voice on the voicemail, but he was sure that would be too needy of him. He has a reputation to uphold, thank you very much.

“Miss your other lover, Darkipoo?” Wilfor teased.

“Obviously. I’m used to two heat sources, not one.”

“Oh, am I not good enough for Mr. Darkiplier?”

“I never said that.”

“You were thinkin’ it.”

“You can’t read minds, Wil, stick to your interviews.” He said in a faux-mocking manner. They smiled at each other.

Dark shot up from the couch the moment he heard your key in the lock. He adjusted his suit, squared his shoulders, and cleared his throat. He couldn’t help a smile as he held a white rose, Wilford doing the same as he held a pink one.

So, of course, they jumped a little when you slammed the door behind you.

“Uh. Darling? Are you--”

“I fucking hate EVERYTHING!” You yelled. Dark blinked. He glanced at WIlford, who looked just as surprised. You paced around the living room, looking like you were about to commit murder. He shuffled closer to Wilford, and leaned in.

“Wil, what are we supposed to do?” He whispered.

“Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.” Wilford said in a voice that told Dark he was quoting something.

“Wil, I don’t know what the fuck that is.”

“It-It’s a meme-Do you just not go on the internet? Ever? Nevermind, just follow my lead.” He grabbed the roses, putting them in a nearby cup of water. He walked over to where you were and gently grabbed your shoulders. “Here, darling, sit, tell us about it.” 

He led you to the couch and sat you down, sitting next to you. He snapped his fingers at Dark, pointing to your shoulders. Dark hesitantly walked over and started to massage your shoulders. You sighed a little, relaxing. Wil nodded and gave him a thumbs up.

“There were so many assholes today, man.”

“Mm-hm. Tell Wilford about it.”

“There was this guy who kept asking where this one thing that we didn’t have was, this lady kept insisting her coupons were not expired, don’t even get me started on Jared and Melissa.” 

“Who are Jared and Melissa?” Dark asked.

“Oh, FUCK Jared and Melissa!” You suddenly got to your feet again and started pacing again.

“Y-Yeah, fuck Jared and Melissa!” Wil agreed. “Who are Jared and Melissa?”

“Hell if I know, just go with it, I’ll get the takeout.” Dark patted him on the back.

“Angel wasn’t even there to talk to today, God, I miss them so much already.”

“Angel is the coworker who…”

“Oh, they have the cats, Socks and Mittens.”

“Oh, so Angie--”

“Angie is Angelo, and he smokes weed in the back. He’s cool too. He was too high to fucking function today, though.”

“So, uh, where was Angel?” Wil looked back into the kitchen and saw Dark loading up their plates with the food. Wil suddenly remembered that he was wearing a pink shirt. He didn’t know whether the stains would be prominent and he did not intend to find out. He snuck away into the bedroom to change. Suits were a bad idea, he should’ve listened to Dark. 

He changed into a T-shirt with the design of a suit and some grey sweatpants and somehow made his way back to the living room before you’d finished your first sentence. You noticed this, because you stared at his change of clothes.

“...weren’t you wearing a suit? Like an actual one?”

“No.”

“But-”

“I wasn’t.”

“You sent me a picture.”

“The, uh… suits were… part of a different… situation…” He said, not knowing what the fuck he was actually saying to you. You seemed to get something from it because you said:

“Ah. I see.” Before going back to your rant. Wil looked at Dark as he walked into the living room. He wasn’t wearing the suit jacket, only the black dress shirt. He also had black pants instead of the white ones.

Wilford nodded and whispered “Good choice.” Dark nodded and whispered “I told you so.”, so Wilford flipped him off. Dark sat the plates down while Wil pushed you down by your shoulders. You buried your face in your hands and groaned. Wil rubbed a hand up and down your back while Darkiplier poured drinks. You rubbed your face before leaning back and letting them drop. You looked down at the food. Then at Wilford. Then at Dark.

“Am I… missing something?” You said in a small voice.

“Hm?” Wil tilted his head at you.

“I feel like something was supposed to happen. Did I ruin your plans?” You frowned, starting to feel guilty. 

“No, no, darling, you couldn’t ruin anything.” Wilford shifted closer to you and put his arm around your shoulders, rubbing up and down your arm.

“You sure? It feels like something I could do…”

“You could never because anything involving you is perfect.” Dark whispered after he gently took your chin in his hand and turned you towards him.

“Booooooo.” Wil called.

“Wha?”

“That was so cheesy, Dark.” You smiled.

“So sappy. Disgusting.” Wil agreed.

“Shameful.” You both shook your heads.

“Both of you can fuck off.” Dark huffed and crossed his arms. You kissed him, gently holding his face in your hands, making him smirk.

“Hey! How come the edgy one gets a kiss kiss!”

“You tricked me this morning, no kiss kiss for you!”

“Dark! Tell them!”

“You heard them, no kiss kiss.”

“Wh-”

“Hey, I have an idea! Why don’t we eat and watch shitty rom coms!”

“Don’t you wanna watch the clock?” Dark asked.

“Not particularly…” You looked down and the smile left your face. Wilford and Dark gave each other a look before they each took one of your hands and squeezed them.

“Ok. We can do that.”

--

The three of you laid in bed, you and Wilford cuddling into either side of Dark. Countdown forgotten, already passed a while ago. Dark still had his dress shirt and you were still wearing your work clothes. Dark stared at the ceiling, focusing on the sounds around his. 

The fireworks outside.

The clock ticking rhythmically.

The soft and constant breathing from his two favorite people.

He took a deep breath and tried his best to push down all the bad and intrusive thoughts.

What if I hurt them? What if they decide I’m not good enough? What if I’m not good enough?

No. No ‘what if’s. That doesn’t matter. What matters is they love him and he loves them. 

He looked down at you, your soft face squished into his arm, and he smiled at the warmth that bloomed throughout his chest. He looked over at Wilford and sucked in a breath when he found him staring at Dark.

“...can’t sleep?” Wilford said in an uncharacteristically quiet voice.

“No, I just…” He took a deep breath. “I just…”

“Wha happened?” You slurred, waking up. Dark flinched.

“Both of you should go back to sleep.”

“Why’re you awake then?” Wilford challenged.

“I was just… thinking.”

“About?” You yawned.

“About… how much I… love you two.” Both you and Wilford froze and Dark’s breathing sped up, scared he’d done something wrong.

“Awww, he wuvs us!” Wil giggled.

“How much do you wuv us, Dark?” You crossed your arms on his chest, resting your cheek against them and looking at Dark.

“...a lot.” He monotoned, staring at the ceiling.

“Do you wuv us soooo much?” Wilford batted his eyelashes.

“I’m starting to love you less and less.” Dark growled.

“Awwww he does!” You laughed

“Go. Back. To. Sleep. Please.” Darkiplier begged because Darkiplier does apparently beg, who would’ve thought.

“Yessir…” you said, another yawn taking over the word. You got back into your previous position, your arms gripping his and pressed into his side. Wilford took a similar one, just a little further up. You fell back asleep after a little bit, but the other two stayed awake.

“Happy you have both of your heatsources back?” Wilford whispered, a smile evident in his voice. Dark sighed, closing his eyes and focusing on the feeling of both his loves holding onto him like a lifeline. A ghost of a smile crossed his face.

“Yes. I am.”

[x0401x]

Jeweler Richard Fanbook Short Story #17

Feel free to message me about possible corrections, and please consider supporting the creators by purchasing digital copies of the official releases: Novel || Manga || Fanbook. In case anyone is feeling generous: Ko-fi | PayPal. ( ╹◡╹)っ’･*

← Previous || Index || Next →

Play of Color

Shaved ice.

A summer that everyone, from kids to adults, knew about. But how to say this in English? I’d never been taught that. Could I even say it to begin with?

The beautiful man responded clearly to my offhand doubts, “‘Shaved ice’. Other options such as ‘ice frost’ and ‘snow cone’ also go into the category, but if you are to to regard the context of ‘ice that was shaved’ as important, then I believe ‘shaved ice’ is appropriate.”

“I see, so it’s a direct translation for ‘ice that’s been shaved’. Got it... A-Aaah! Didn’t you put too much syrup? Ah—”

“I will add more ice.”

A rattling sound echoed through the jewelry shop, where there was nobody but the shopkeeper and his employee. Sitting on the tabletop was an ice shaving machine. As one would expect, we couldn’t commit the barbarianism of placing it directly on a glass table, so three cloths were stacked under the machine’s legs. It wasn’t the manual and nostalgic type but an electric one.

A customer had come over with a paper bag from a famous home appliances mass retailer and bought a glittering yellow diamond that they had reserved, but on this occasion, they ended up forgetting the bag from the electronics retail store. The shopkeeper immediately noticed it and contacted them by phone, but they were in the Narita Express, going straight to Bali for vacation. Apparently, they would only be coming back in the beginning of autumn. What luxury.

The customer who was heading to the southern island had casually said, “You can use it if you’d like—actually, please use it and tell me how it went”, then bid goodbye to Richard with a lighthearted voice and hung up. Inside the paper bag was a brand-new ice shaving machine. It also came with small syrup bags. Seven types of them. The mango, ramune, cola, lime and peach ones were a shock to me, as lived in a world of strawberry, melon and lemon ones. So people could enjoy even things like the pleasure of actually visiting stalls at home nowadays?

That was how we decided to choose at our own discretion a time on the following day when there were no reservations, and began holding a shaved ice party for just the two of us. However, when I said in a joking tone that I honestly never thought we’d really get to be the first ones to use something that a customer had forgotten, Mr. Richard Ranashinghe de Vulpian sighed grievously.

“After what happened yesterday, he contacted me to inform that he had arrived in Bali. He posted on social media, ‘I forgot my ice shaving machine, so I asked an acquaintance to try it out. I’m looking forward to it’, so it seems we need to take a video of the shaved ice as fast as possible. Think of this as also a kind of service.”

“There’s all sorts of jobs out there these days.”

Marketing that introduced new products on social media wasn’t something uncommon these days. But I heard that this sort of business was strict about many things, such as obligations and deadlines, so it might be serious stuff in its own way. I thought up until this point, but then my head whispered, “No, hold on” to me. If this was really the case, then bringing along an ice shaving machine immediately before going to Bali didn’t make any sense. Could it be...?

“Did that person leave this here on purpose? It’s clearly something that you can’t bring into an airplane and would get in the way during the trip.”

“That is possible. But it is not something for a single jeweler to judge. There is a possibility that they thought they would be able to enjoy shaved ice at a beach resort but were mistaken, and are now feeling down. Oh... oh, mgh...”

“Ah, the ice turned into water. Didn’t you put a tad too much syrup?”

“Nonsense. From the market price, it is obvious that the more syrup, the merrier.”

“You told that wholesaler who came to buy a ring with lots of decorative diamonds the other day that ‘more doesn’t equal better’, though.”

“Those are two different things,” he said in an eloquent, beautiful Japanese that sounded like it had been cut and trimmed, at which I prostrated myself with a “hahaa”.

Despite the force in his eyes being certain, he seemed to be having trouble putting an appropriate amount of syrup. When he put an abundant amount of the mango, ramune, cola, lime and peach ones all together, the ski slope-like white canvas turned into a color that looked like that of Shinjuku’s gutters during a downpour. Richard would surely call this shade of gray “smoky quartz” or something like that. The fluffy pile of ice was gone, leaving a sleet – or just plain water – in the glass bowl. It would’ve been fine if he had added them little by little, but on second thought, I was thinking this way because I was Japanese, so I was used to the way we added shaved ice syrup to some extent.

As the jeweler, not discouraged, put his bowl under the ice shaving machine, pressed the button and added more ice with crunchy noises, I called out to him, “Hey. Can you lend me that for a bit?”

“I do not mind.”

I took the bowl of water in my hands, adding the syrups of each type little by little. I felt like the jeweler was staring fixedly at me, like, “You’ll only use that tiny little bit of them? Seriously?” but I ignored him. As they said, the last drop makes the cup run over.

The result was...

“Tadaaah.”

A snowy mountain had changed its form into a richly colored shaved ice. I thought it was pretty good, if I could say so myself.

His eyelashes fluttering as he blinked for a moment, the gorgeous jeweler whispered, “Hoo. Excellent. Beautiful.”

“Well, being told that by someone who’s like an incarnation of the concept of beauty is flattering.”

“Ahem. Anyway, this color is extremely tasteful. It bears a close remembrance to ammolite.”

“‘Ammo... nite’?”

“Not ‘ni’, ‘li’. ‘Ammolite’. Ammolite is a gemstone that derivates from living creatures, of which the components obtain an iridescent effect during the many years of fossilization.” Saying this, Richard opened a video on his phone and handed it over to me. I exchanged it for the bowl of shaved ice as if it were an assembly-line system.

What appeared on-screen was a cross-section view of the ammonite. It was split vertically like a CT image taken at a hospital. The contents were a rainbow-colored stone that sparkled brightly. A gradation of red, green and yellow. It changed depending on what angle you looked at it. A while ago, when I heard about the opal, it was revealed to me that this kind of effect was called “play of color”. Still, to think that the inside of a shell could go through such a transition. There was too much depth to the things that happened in nature, and they were immeasurable.

“So can this be called... a stone too...?”

“This would be something that happened about forty years ago, but it was classified as a ‘gemstone’ by the Gemological Society of America. Of course, I do not think it should be pushed through, even if the costumer themselves happen to say that ‘this is a fossil’.”

It apparently depended on how you thought of it. Thinking back, this applied even to the general idea of gemstones.

I flicked the phone’s screen, head-over-heels for the prism-like shells that showed up one after another. Some people used them as pendants or brooches by processing the glittering part with gold.

“How pretty. Hey, do we also have ammolites here in Etrang... eh?”

“There is a possibility that we will one day. Something the matter?”

The beautiful jeweler had been scooping the shaved ice with a tiny spoon and eating it. He wasn’t eating it in a rushed way at all, but half of the iceberg was already gone. With perfect moderation, so that the proportion of the colors of the syrups that I had added one by one wouldn’t crumble.

“D-Did you like it that much?”

“I have never eaten shaved ice at Japanese stalls. Having a frozen desert in a refreshing place like this has a nostalgic air to it.”

He had never waged shaved ice at a stall. Did that mean he had eaten shaved ice at some fashionable shop? Probably not, I thought. A normal Japanese person wouldn’t eat shaved ice at that pace. The reason went without saying. This pace was – how should I put it? – dangerous.

“Richard, hey, listen well. Shaved ice is—”

“Why are you coming close?”

“I’m telling you something important. You have to eat shaved ice at a high pace.”

“But why are you shortening the distance between us? You are too close.”

“Don’t get hung up on minor stuff. More importantly, you already ate a lot of this shaved ice, right? Aren’t you tired of it? I can eat the rest.”

“It is terribly disconcerting to hear this from the father of this work of art, but I do not see any reason for that whatsoever, thus I humbly decline.”

“Aah! Don’t gulp it down! I said don’t gulp it down!”

“I am not. I do not eat that way.”

“Like I said, that’s not what I’m talking about...”

“It is impolite for me to eat by myself. Hurry and make yours to eat as well.”

“Whatever happens got nothing to do with me...”

Glancing backwards at the jeweler as he gave me an aloof nod, I began making my own shaved ice.

Later on, after Richard pleased the customer by sending them pictures of the shaved ice, he reported back to me. He probably reported because the pictures he had sent to the customer was of the shaved ice that I had made for myself, on which the colors were scattered in the form of a whirlwind. I smiled back, replying that I was glad, and not saying anything else. I also didn’t tell him that, by the time he remembered we had to do a photo shoot of it, the beautiful jeweler was making a face that looked like a boy having a worrisome migraine due to some anguish towards the meaning of life and death.

Summer was not yet over. We also didn’t know yet whether or not the customer in Bali would come to retrieve the ice shaving machine. Etranger wasn’t that big, so Richard was probably troubled that it was left there. But if they didn’t come to get it, I might be able to enjoy eating shaved ice with Richard in the summer every year for a while, I thought. And each of these times, I’d be sure to make a shiny mountain of ice in the colors of a rainbow, just like an ammolite. Just like the sparkly smile that Richard showed, I thought that it’d be great if such a summer came around and was looking forward to it.

[ilovefandoms102]

Part 6-Shape of My Heart

Pairing: Rudy Pankow x Plus Size Reader

Summary: Falling in love with someone you can never have is the worst feeling in the world...

Taglist:

@jeyramarie​ @drewswannabegirl​ @teamnick​ @jiaraendgame @agirlwholovescoffee @outerbongs @jaxxandcomet​ @velyssaraptor @baby-pogue @they-write-once-in-a-blue-moon @must-be-a-weasley-92 @kaitieskidmore1 @ma10427 @ifilwtmfc @lasnaro @justcallmesams @judayyyw @lonely-kermit @gviosca @iamaunicorn4704 @jellyfishbeansontoast @fernweh-fangirl @runway-to-my-aid @eb15 @hurricane-abigail @tangledinsparkles @fandom-phaser @sunwardsss @http-cherries @bibliophilewednesday @evaporatedrosepetals @thetomatosaucee @tomatosauceagent @redosmo @ilikealotofpeople-younotsomuch @obx-direction-sos @mxltifandoms06

Part 5 Part 7

Note: Big shout out to my friend @jeyramarie​ for helping me edit this! She’s the best, make sure to go check her page out! I’ll be putting out more prompt requests tonight as well!

=========================================

The girls decided to take me out shopping, wanting to get out of the house for a little bit. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t avoiding Rudy after the events a few days ago, our almost kiss still engraved thoughts into my brain. There was more to the story than what I provided the Maddie’s and Mo with the other day...

Let me provide a bit of back story:

I was 11 years old the first time I was called ugly. I had developed a crush on one of my cousins best friends, asking him if he could possibly give me his number. When I asked why he wouldn’t he said ‘you’re ugly and fat’. I was struck with sadness, crying the rest of the day. I hated the way I looked from that moment on, no matter what I wore, how I fixed my hair, or how much makeup I put on...I still felt ‘ugly’.

Then came High School, the years of broken hearts. I stupidly fell for the senior bad boy, falling into his trap. I had finally mustered up the courage after about 6 months of us texting and hanging out to admit my feelings for him. He shot me down immediately, saying that he ‘wasn’t ready for commitment’. I was crushed, putting off boys for good.

My freshman year of college, I met a boy named Nick. He was my age, and we worked at the same retail establishment. Nick did some damage, scaring my mental mind. We became good friends, having the same personality and liking a lot of the same things. A few months in, he started to express romantic interest in me. He would hold my hand, call me cute nick names, play with my hair, and ya know stuff that would make anyone think a guy is interested. 

I had told one of my co workers about our situation, her advising me to shoot my shot. I had planned on telling him that night how I felt, until he came and found me before I had got off work. He told me that he never felt any romantic way towards me, that it was all a game to make the fat girl fall for him so that he could crush my heart. I was floored by this, wondering what I could have possibly done to deserve that.

When I met Rudy, I couldn’t help but fall for him. His natural sense of humor matching mine made me feel things I didn’t think I could ever feel again. I pushed away those feelings however, it wasn’t worth the risk. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship because of a silly crush.

=======================================

I was startled from my thoughts when Rudy appeared to my side out of nowhere, taking my hand in his. I smiled as he intertwined our fingers, waving out locked hands back and forth dramatically. 

We shopped ‘til we dropped, Chase now starting to complain about agreeing to come. Our stop at Sephora was the best though, the boys walked in with confused looks on their faces. Rudy trailed behind me as I walked each aisle, picking up random stuff to ask me what it is.

“Baby, what’s this? Why does it look like a marker?” he inquired, holding up eyeliner.

“That’s eyeliner, that’s what I used to do this.” I explained, pointing to my winged liner. An employee came up to us, both of us turning to smile at her.

“I just have to say, you two are the cutest couple.” she grinned.

“Oh we’re not-” I started, my eyes widening.

“Thank you very much.” Rudy said, grinning at her.

I eyed him as she walked away, rolling my eyes at his cute grin. He hugged me from behind, kissing my head soundly. I giggled, pushing him away playfully. I walked up to the counter, laying my stuff on the counter. I was digging through my purse for my credit card when I heard the telling sound of the receipt printing, looking to see Rudy putting his wallet back in his pocket. I glared at him, thanking the cashier as we walked away.

“You asshole, that was probably $100 worth of shit.” I huffed, digging out some cash to give him.

“I wanted to buy it for you.” he stated, shrugging his shoulders. I tried to hand him the money, but he ignored me.

“Rudy,” I snapped, shoving the money in his back pocket.

“Woah babe! If you wanted to touch my ass, all you had to do was ask.” he winked, smoothly putting the money back in my purse.

“Do not buy me anything else, I mean it.” I said firmly, stomping out of the store.

“We’ll see about that.” he smirked, holding the door for both of us. 

==================================

I had bought a new outfit for the house party we were having tonight, actually feeling confident in myself for once. I had bought a lilac cropped halter top and paired it with some ripped jean shorts, topping it off with some white and black Adidas sneakers. I touched up what makeup I was wearing, Maddie B and Mo coming in. I smiled at the couple, twirling in my outfit for them.

“Dang girl look at you!” Mo cheered.

“Y/n, you look STUNNING!” Maddie B gasped, her hands crossing over her heart.

“I’m happy you pushed me out of my comfort zone, I feel pretty for once.” I said bashfully, my cheeks flushing from their compliments. Maddie C poked her head in, her eyes and mouth popping open.

“Oh my god y/n! Rudy for sure is hittin’ it tonight sister!” she praised, coming over to hug me.

“Oh please,” I scoffed.

“I saw how you guys acted today,” she raised her brow.

“He was just being friendly Mad,” I sighed.

“Who’s being friendly?” Rudy asked, the girls piling out of the room the second he came in. 

He walked further in the room, his eyes widening when he took a full look at me. His gaze burned my skin, feeling it crawl over every inch. I looked down at my feet, shuffling them as I couldn’t take the heat. I felt my face burning, no doubt red as a tomato. 

“You-....you look-” he stuttered.

“Bad?” I asked.

“God no! I...I’m speechless.” he laughed.

“Did little ole me make THE Rudy Pankow tongue tied?” I taunted, his cheeks beginning to match mine. 

Rudy came closer, taking my hand in his. He held it up so I could twirl, a low whistle coming from his lips. I giggled, beaming at the man in front of me. He pulled my arms around him, his going to my hips. I felt the tension in the room rise as we gazed intently into each other’s eyes.

“You look amazing, beautiful.” he whispered, his blue eyes sparkling. 

“Thank you,” I murmured, tilting my head down. 

“Hey, these shots are going to drink themselves!” JD yelled, causing both Rudy and I to cackle. 

I was a few shots in, feeling a bit tipsy already. Rudy had talked me into being on his team in beer pong, facing off against Chase and JD. I hesitated only because I hadn’t played since the last time I saw them.

“Babe come on please!” he begged.

“Yeah BABE!” JD said dramatically, earning a glare from Rudy.

“I guess it won’t hurt for me to give it a go.” I caved, picking up the ball.

We were in the middle of the game when Elaine walked in with Drew and Austin, my mood dropping slightly. She hugged everyone hello, saving Rudy for last. He side hugged her while she threw herself in his arms, both of them stumbling slightly. They laughed as they pulled away, and she laid a sloppy kiss on his cheek. I felt my heart crush a little, turning back to the game. 

Rudy and I won surprisingly, double high fiving with the winning shot. The girls were tired of the boys, so they stole me to take me to the designated dance floor. Since it was just us girls, I let go, and danced without a care in the world. Elaine entered the room, sending a glare my way. I already had so much to drink from the shots and beer pong, I didn’t even pay attention to her. 

Rudy entered the room, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. I saw him do a double take, staring right at me as I danced. I smiled, winking at him. His mouth dropped, taking his cig out. I turned my attention back to Maddie C who had until now been my dance partner, Chase having stole her from me. I pouted as she mouthed an apology, but I soon felt a presence behind me. Rudy pulled me flush against him, his eyes a shade darker than normal. 

He turned me around so that my back was to his front, rocking me to the beat. Tension was thick in the air, our bodies sensually moving together. I got a wild hair and pushed my ass harder against him, a grunt being heard from him. I giggled, pretending like I didn’t know what I did. He gripped my waist tighter, his fingers digging into what skin was showing. 

“I’ll be right back,” I spoke, smiling as I walked away towards the bathroom. I walked to the bathroom in my room, reapplying some lip gloss. I fluffed my hair a little, and adjusted the girls to make them pop a little more. 

I was looking down as I walked out, adjusting the pockets of my shorts when I was suddenly pinned against the wall. Rudy stood in front of me, his eyes wild as he stared into my eyes. 

I gasped when he smashed his lips to mine, my heart soaring through the roof. This was my first kiss, and I got to share it with Rudy. I followed his lead, moving my lips with his. I assumed I was doing alright since he hadn’t pulled away yet, hands starting to explore everywhere. He touched his tongue to mine, and I hesitantly copied his movements. 

Our movements soon picked up, the kiss becoming more heated. Teeth and tongues fighting to discover every inch of each other’s mouth. I had to pull away, becoming dizzy from the lack of air. Rudy moved his mouth to my neck, kissing the skin there. I moaned quietly when he bit down on my skin, leaving his mark. He smirked against my skin, taking his tongue to sooth the bite. 

“Oh my,” I panted, gripping his shirt.

“You’re so pretty baby, I love this little outfit.” he said, running his nose up my neck and pulled back to face me.

“Rudy, what-” I started.

I didn’t get to finish since his lips came back to mine, silencing my inner thoughts. He walked us back towards the bed, sitting down with me in front of him. His hands grabbed at my ass, grinning when I let out a shaky breath. He pulled me sideways so he could flip on top of me, crawling up the bed with me. I reached out to grab his face, feeling the slight stubble that had formed. 

It was when his hand reached under my shirt my inner thoughts came back, my eyes popped open. 

What was I doing?

Was I going to give myself to Rudy?

We’re both too drunk for this...

This can’t be real...

He doesn’t even like me, what the hell was going on?

“Wait,” I breathed out, his hands stopping immediately.

“What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?” he asked, his eyes worried as they met mine. 

“What is this? Wh-why did you kiss me?” I questioned.

“I thought that was obvious...I-I really like you, like a lot.” he confessed, scratching the back of his head.

“No, y-you can’t possibly...I-,” I stuttered, shaking my head vehemently. 

“What do you mean no? Baby, I’ve given you every sign known to man that I like you. Do you...do you not feel the same?” he muttered, his eyes full of distress.

“I-I can’t do this.” I croaked, pushing myself off the bed. 

“Wait y/n, please don’t go.” he pleaded.

[rinnahtheskinchanger]

Alright, who wants some scalding hot, real life tea?

Okay, so I work in a retail store, and in the second highest position in that store. I worked my way up from the very bottom, and was always given a higher position when it opened because of my drive and work ethic.

I'm currently the Visual Operations Manager, which was held by my younger (18 months) sister until she was offered the same position at a higher volume store for a heck of a lot more money. (I currently get $21/hr, and she gets $30/hr)

While we worked together, it's understandable that we occasionally butt heads, and it's of no surprise, and it wasn't entirely a problem. We were family, for one, which usually leads to this every once in a while. Secondly, she knew what I was capable of, and never let me perform with anything less than perfection. It was a lot to shoulder, but I was also the only one who would really listen to her.

So, I learned everything she was willing to teach me, and eventually was given my own section of the store to perform floorsets and updates in. I made a few mistakes at first, but very quickly I was doing work that she didn't have to correct, and I could send pictures of my work directly to the District Manager. I put all my effort in, and took all the criticism so that I could be the best that I could be.

-flash forward to current day-

Once my sister had left (and I was only given two weeks of dedicated training, since the move was so quick) I was saddled with a LOT more responsibility. I was in charge of so much, and could finally understand her stress. Here's a list of my duties:

- Planning and executing floorsets every other month (1 full week for womens, and 1 full week of Mens/Plus/Non Apparel)

- Planning and executing updates every other month (same as before, just alternate months)

- In charge of all marketing throughout the store, as well as checking in, organizing, and executing (including changing price points as items were replaced)

- Executing window setups; which includes clings, mannequins, and banners

- Changing and maintaining all mannequins throughout the store

- Pushing product

- Processing product (sensoring and hanging)

- Doing register and recovery and go-backs as needed

- Change orders and filing

- Teaching visual (but i have no time to do so, nor anyone actually willing to learn)

- Performing lead tasks during my segment of the day

How many of these tasks do you think are exclusively my own? Answer is none, actually...except for the planning and teaching/guiding.

How many of these tasks aren't mine at all?

Marketing, change orders, and filing (Basically Ops stuff)

I'm currently doing the work of 3 manager positions, including my own. Other managers are not given responsibility because my manager, as the new district manager puts it, is a management hog. However...my manager has failed to realize that she's actually put more responsibilty on me than herself. I honestly didn't know that all of this wasn't my sole responsibility.

Anyway, moving on.

There are two managers who have refused to maintain more professional relationships with sales associates who they were friends with before being promoted. Not saying they have to be jerks, but they shouldn't just let their friends do whatever they want every day, and choose not to work. They all talk shit about me, and think I am a horrible person because I've asked them to follow policies which are set in place by the company. Things like coming into work on time, and not taking excessive amounts of breaks when not on lunch.

They also hate that I leave notes around the store. The notes are non-accusatory reminders, and were left because I didn't know who was doing/not doing things, and I didn't want to go around asking. It hasn't gone well in the past.

(These notes are simple things like "Please put all receipts that need to be signed into the clear pouches, including employee purchases" or "please only place accessory sensors in the accessory sensor bins")

The worst thing that's been happening recently is the just general pettiness that's been happening. I am head of Visual, but one of the other managers talks down to me all the time when I'm trying to talk with her about the non-apparel sections she works on for floorset. (Non-apparel floorset is once every other month, with no updates) She gets upset when I tell her that she can't take fixtures from other parts of the stores to put in those rooms because we have a very limited amount of everything.

-flash forward to Thursday-

I worked 8 straight hours on thurs, 7-3 in order to set up a launch, change window set ups, and perfect clean the entirety of the women's sections so I could take Update pictures to send in for the deadline. I had move a fixture into the Shoe room to get it out of the way, and had planned on moving it back after all the pictures were done. After all that time and work, I understanably forgot. So, what happens?

Rude manager decides to take the fixture that I put in mens (and had explained to her could NOT be taken out of that section) and she switched it with another, much worse fixture that wasn't allowed in the section at all. She waited until I left to change it all around, because she wanted four of the same fixture in the Shoe room

-onto Friday-

I come in, and find my fixtures move around, and am pissed because I now have to move everything back. I tell my manager what happened, and EXPLAINED TO HER why the fixture couldn't be moved again. We also had written a couple of BS affirmations on a board for when the District Manger came to visit. My manager had written just three of them. You remember the group of 4 I mentioned earlier that hate me? Yeah. They had all been on Thursday night, and decided to write a bunch of affirmations on the board. One for everyone who worked in the store, all labeled with the recipients name. All except for me.

That fucking hurt, and I know it shouldn't have upset me, but it did. I cried that morning, and my manager, and the only other decent manager comforted me, saying how messed up that was.

-and now, today-

my manager texts me randomly today, asking if they could move the fixture i told BOTH HER AND THE RUDE MANAGER, couldn't be moved. I said no, it can't move because it's the only way to have Mens accessories out. Manage says that she'll make an accessory moment on the wall, and I have to tell her that she can't because the walls only have 4 faceout bars. It's literally written in the Visual Guide that you can't do an accessory moment with less than 5.

she doesn't respond, so i text her asking for confirmation that she hasn't, and won't move the pegboard.

she sends a picture of what she wants to do, to which I again respond that she is not allowed to do it. she then says "but there's a lot more sandals than mens accessories", and I say no, again

I came up with a VERY viable option for getting out all of the sandals. There are two walls with inset pegboards within the shoe room. Currently, there are literally only 6 pairs of long boots hanging on them. I say that they can easily pull those off, and just fill those ENTIRE WALLS with sandals. it's completely reasonable, and gets more out than moving the pegboard.

Manager then texts me that the rude manager is CRYING because she can't move the pegboard.

I'm just like...so it's not about getting the sandals out, then. It's about her getting her way, and only caring about what that room looks like, not what the ENTIRE store NEEDS.

After all the shit that happens, THIS is apparently the thing that makes my manager realize that we need to have a manager meeting. So that's happening on Tuesday, and by god am I fucking ready for it. I will be respectful, but honest.

And? If things go bad? I have the District Manager's number, and can call her for help. The District Manager already told my manager that she has to start really managing, and if she lets those two bad managers go off on me? Oh, it won't go well for any of them.

[daydream-believin]

The Never-Ending Roadtrip (kmart’s haunted)

Summary: (part 1) Reader has joined Douxie on the quest for Nari’s safety. He’ll need company. (part 2) - Missouri 1     (part 3)

Warnings: swearing, very light spooky?

Word Count: 2245

A/N: so we’ve established that Doux wasn’t the one who burnt the bookstore, but they don’t know that. look, have you been in a Kmart recently? its apocalyptic. also, you know that post about people repeating their default work greetings by accident? yeah

“Do you want me to split the bill or?” The waitress asked, not sure if the group at the table was a young couple and their child or just three college kids hanging out. It was kind of hard to tell. On one hand, that one kid was so small, wearing a little deer costume, and had been helped to order. The other two radiated the energy of an old married couple and talked mainly to each other. But on the other hand, college kids are just like that sometimes.

“Nah, I got it.”

“What? No. I’m paying for us.” Douxie insisted.

“I have the cash, Doux.” (Name) turned to the waitress. She put some honey in her voice. “Just bring us one bill, please.” The waitress nodded nervously before heading off.

“No. I don’t want you paying for too many things while we’re traveling. You’re unemployed.”

“And who’s fault is that Mr. Mephits-Are-Vulnerable-To-Fire? You fucking burned down the store and put us both out of work here.” Nari was squirming at the negative vibes going on. It helped that she didn’t exactly understand what was going on.

“It was magic fire!” Douxie interjected in outrage. He looked so cute when he got defensive.

“Yeah, okay, sure.” (Name) shook her head, looking up to the ceiling. She let out a huff, “look, I invited myself onto this trip, Douxie. I want to pull my own weight. You’re going to have to let me pay for something eventually.”

“We’ll see about that, Love,” he said as he grabbed the ticket from the waitress’s hands as quick as lightning, tucked his card in and gave it right back before (Name) could further protest.

“Ugh! FINE! Then I’m getting the tip.” She pulled out a tenner and slapped it onto the table. She glared right back into Douxie’s hazel eyes. He glared right back into hers with a matched intensity. Nari looked back and forth between the two and whimpered. (Name) broke the standoff to assure Nari that they weren’t actually angry at each other so she shouldn’t be worried. That seemed to ease the forest child a bit but not by too much. She could still feel the weird aura they were putting off.

“Okay! So here’s your check back and here’s that lox bagel you ordered to go.” The waitress handed (Name) a doggy bag.

(Name) took the bag gingerly. A big fake smile spread across her face as she was momentarily possessed by that good spirit of customer service. “Thank you! I hope your experience was spellbinding! Have a magical day!” (Name) said on autopilot in that high-pitched voice and winked exaggeratedly. It was like she was an NPC and her talk button had been accidentally pushed. The waitress laughed forcibly and scurried away to the kitchen. Douxie cracked up.

“You do know that when I told you to say all that stuff after ringing people up, I was hazing you, right?”

“Oh yes, I am completely aware, Doux. Did you think I’d not pick up on how ridiculous that sounds? But I still say it to spite you.”

He shook his head. “Of course.”

***

Archie scarfed down his bagel sandwich with almost disturbing speed. It was like watching the void consume, well, a bagel sandwich. It just disappeared. Down his furry maw and out of existence. Being a dragon works up an appetite, after all. (Name) was a bit baffled and asked him if she should go get him another bagel. He assured her that the one was just fine and said something about trying to catch some birds later. She leaned back on her elbows against the boat’s railing, trying and failing to not think about the details of that.

Douxie cleared his throat. “So,” He folded his hands together for emphasis, “Since the subject of money came up earlier, I think we should also discuss the topic of our accommodations.”

“Well, you two obviously cannot afford lodging every night.” Archie snarked, flicking his tail.

“Thank you, for that, Arch. No, I was thinking more along the lines of a tent.”

“A tent?” the cat asked incredulously.

“Oh, that could work.” (Name) pointed at Douxie animatedly, “keep us close to nature for Nari. And also could keep our possible property damage bills down. Good idea, Doux.”

“Thank you,” Douxie puffed up, “see Arch? Someone appreciates my ideas-”

“Wait. That’ll be a short-term solution. We’re just barely into September. It’s going to be much, much colder in about a month. By October it’ll be too cold to bear. Even if we all huddle together like penguins.”

Doux looked away to hide his blush at the suggestion. “That is a problem. Okay, um-”

“Maybe we could just cross that bridge when we get there? Who knows what could happen between now and then. We could find so temp work in a little town somewhere.” (Name) shrugged, smirking at Doux. She didn’t want to admit that ‘we could be dead by then’ was also definitely a possibility on the table, so she tried to further distract from that thought. “Maybe we’ll find a creepy abandoned cabin in the woods we can squat in. Maybe some nice trolls will take us in as novelty pets. Maybe my rich Aunty Josie could just suddenly die under some ‘mysterious circumstances’ and leave her lavish fortune to her beloved niece,” she smirked at Doux, “I dunno, just spit ballin’ here.”

“I’m electing to ignore that you just suggested we ice your aunt because you were onto something there.”

“I was?” Her tone was a mixture of sarcasm and disbelief.

“Yes! New Jersey!

“New Jersey?” The wheels turned. “Oh! New Jersey!”

Nari looked confused. “What is special about this ‘New Jersey’?” she asked

Both Douxie and (Name) turned to her, “Trolls.” They said in sync.

***

(Name) stood there with her hands in her pockets. Somehow this Kmart was still standing, out here in The-Middle-Of-Fucking-Nowhere, Missouri. She was standing here, in a Kmart. It might as well have been 1986. There was barely anything on the shelves. Half the shelves themselves were missing. The floor had a layer of grime to it, in spite of the wet floor sign along with the shiny patches that said that it had clearly been mopped recently. The air smelled like something (Name) couldn’t quite place, but it was nostalgic. A strange scent that took her back to her childhood. Or at least she thought it was her childhood. It had to have been. Taking deep breaths, she couldn’t quite get enough of it.

Continuing that vibe, a muzak 80’s tune played over the speakers. Funny enough, despite (Name)’s brain seeming to recognize that it was playing a song from the 80’s, she just couldn’t quite put her finger on it as to which. Every time she thought she’d figured it out, she’d hear a few notes that would somehow change her mind. It was a pop song at least, to narrow it down. It’d been going on for about six minutes now. Must be one of those extended tracks.

She’d ask Douxie what he thought the song was. She turned her attention to him and noticed he was still just staring at that same shelf like he had been for, what, ten minutes now? Even though this fucking Kmart barely had any shelving in it, by some miracle it not only had exactly what they were looking for but an entire aisle of them. How lucky was that.

Douxie was taking very careful consideration into this tent purchase. This was going to be their new home, after all. He just couldn’t decide which one was best. They all had fancy camping terms on the packages that meant nothing to him. He’d been trying to decipher the code. The secret outdoorsman code. Nari shifted uncomfortably in the basket.

“Hisirdoux, you should maybe, hurry this along?” She sounded strained.

But she was right. He should just pick one already. It’s all a gamble anyway. He decided on a dark green one that boasted a water-proof material. Good natural color, not easily spotted, and it wouldn’t soak through with rain. That should work well enough, he figured.

“I’ve hurried along. Sorry Nari.” He casually tossed the box into the cart next to her. She sniffed the box and nodded to him.

Now that they had their goal item, the quest party started for the checkouts. Douxie could have sworn that it had been on the side of the store they were in. They had passed it when they came in. Now it was completely across by the other door. Did he get turned around? Or maybe they did come in from that side of the store. He actually couldn’t remember.

As they walked, a few things caught (Name)’s eye. They passed a display of dark leafy plants in oddly shaped pots, a table stacked high with various books and a clearance sign, a knife case that had been left open, a candle display with a few that had already been lit and were dripping wax, a bargain bin of CDs, and lastly a sad box of no-longer-in-season pool noodles. There was a sale on bloodmeal apparently. Perfect for perking up those roses after the summer heat.

They arrived at the checkout after what felt like an endless journey. (Name) hadn’t noticed any other customers the entire time they had been there, and yet the line for the only check open had seven people in it. She grabbed a couple bags of red licorice from the impulse shelf to add to their cart while waiting.

Nari was really interested in that checker. (Name) took her in. The teen was taller than most and had very, very long blonde hair that cascaded down her back like a shiny golden waterfall. Her cheeks were slightly sunken in. Must be going through a diet phase. Poor girl.

The young woman was obviously not one for small talk. Name couldn’t blame her. Retail sucks. Her perfect red fingernails clicked against the keys of the register in a practiced beat. She turned around and told them their total in a bored monotone. As Douxie fiddled with his wallet and payed, (Name) found herself staring right into the cashier’s eyes. They were such a light icy blue, they were almost white. It was striking. (Name) was almost in a trance. It was broken as the cashier turned around swiftly to rip off the receipt off the machine, and, in an uncharacteristically cheery voice, told them to have a nice night. Night?

They returned the cart back to the stack, grabbing their one singular shopping bag and helping Nari out. Of course Nari could easily just jump out herself, but that wouldn’t be something a human child could do. They didn’t need to draw any unnecessary attention to themselves here. They made their way to the automatic sliding doors that lagged so that they didn’t open until you were standing right in front of them. This allowed Douxie time to catch a glimpse of the reflection in the glass. The reflection of the store was completely devoid of people. Not even the checker was at her station. He sucked in a breath. After walking through those first doors, he stopped. He took a moment to turn back. There she was, right where she should be, checking out another customer with three more in the line.

Douxie hurried along the doorway to catch up to (Name) and Nari. It was darker outside than he expected, and he was taken aback. He found them right outside the store, waiting for him. In one hand, (Name) was holding Nari’s, in the other, the plastic shopping bag. Her head was tipped up to the sky, transfixed by the moon. He came over, grabbing her shoulder as he pulled her along, in an attempt to urge her away from this place. She looked back at him, eyes wide with distress. He tried to convey that he understood with his eyes. All three of them instinctually knew not to say anything more why they were still in this parking lot.

It had barely been half past noon when they had started this little Kmart side quest. It was now at least seven by the looks of it. They had spent six and a half hours in a Kmart? How had they spent six and a half hours in a Kmart. There went their entire travel day. But no time to dwell on this, they needed to get back to Archie and the boat as soon as possible.

As they walked back towards the ship, (Name) and Douxie both took one of Nari’s hands so that she was in the middle, like how those couples walk with their children. The streetlights glared up at them in the slick pavement. Apparently, it had rained while they were in shopping limbo. Poor Arch. (Name) let out a puff of air.

“Well. That sure was something.”

Douxie nervously chuckled, “If we had stayed in there any longer, I think we might have died.” (Name) mirrored that nervous chuckle.

“Oh, no, dying would be much simpler than what would have happened to us.” Nari said sweetly, like what she was saying was somehow better. Nari liked being helpful. (Name) put on her best fake smile.

“Thank you, Nari.” She tried her best to sound as sincere as possible to spare the veggie lady’s feelings.

[artificialqueens]

Just Below the Surface (Taywhora) - Phryne

A/N: Hello all and welcome to the shark fic, an absolute labor of stupidity, a half-processed thought come to live in the middle of the night. This fic is inspired by @incorrectdruk’s post. Please comment and like if you’ve enjoyed; it means the world! Also a shout out to my wonderful girlfriend, @scarletenvy, who reviewed and supported me throughout this fic. All my love to you. 

Tayce tries to get Aurora out of a design funk by taking her to the aquarium for some inspiration. Aurora has never actually seen a tiger shark in real life—she gets a rude awakening about sharks, and imminent failure.

When her drab little apartment is getting her down, with its peeling pre-war paint and hard water stains; when the rain no longer feels soothing and mesmerizing and sleek; when Aurora finds herself tapping her pencil against her face instead of against her sketch pad, Tayce insists on a change of scenery, even when sheets of rain are splattering against their windows. 

She comes up behind Aurora, spreading her fingers over her shoulder. It’s a risk, knowing that Aurora might startle and throw her head back into Tayce’s nose, but she kisses the crown of her head anyway. “Not going good, is it?” 

Aurora groans, but nonetheless leans into the touch. “Looks that way, doesn’t it?” She holds up her sketch pad with nothing more than the model on the page. 

“Reckon you can’t send nudity down the runway, love?” Tayce laughs, digging her thumbs into the base of Aurora’s neck. “Though I’d call off work to model that one for you.” 

Ignoring the quip, but for quirking a brow, Aurora shrugs out of the touch and continues. “I’ve got nothing. No inspiration. No real idea. No thoughts about structures or colors or fabric I’d like to work with.” She slams the pencil down. “I’ve started from every square one I can think of and I’ve still got nothing. I’m supposed to put more of myself into these designs but myself is giving me nothing useful.”

As much as Tayce understood the classic Aurora ‘I’m not amounting to anything, everything I do is dull and boring and meaningless, but, insert forced laugh here, if I give up now I can still be your sugar baby, right?’ speech was coming, and would typically be chased by a reminder that she was only a couple years younger, exceedingly talented, and a retail worker’s salary could never sustain both of their tastes, Tayce decides to cut off the monologue before it even starts. 

“Let’s go.” Tayce says, releasing Aurora’s shoulders and giving a hearty clap. “Grab your slicker, we’re going to the aquarium.” 

Aurora hums before letting the request fully sink in. “Why are we going to see a bunch of scum covered fish?” She pauses, pushes her hair out of her face and tries again. “It’s a lovely idea, but I don’t have much time for a date right now. I need sketches and fabric samples by Monday.” 

But Tayce ignores her, taking the pencil and pad from Aurora’s hands and stuffing them into her purse. She continues absently, “There’s a new tiger shark exhibit that I think—” 

“A fucking tiger shark?” Aurora turns around, resting her arms on the back of her chair, glancing up at Tayce and speaking through that Cheshire Cat smile of hers. “You’re telling me we’ve got a tiger shark now?” 

Tayce feels herself brighten along with her. “It looks rather interesting, world’s greatest predator and all—” 

“Of course it is, it’s a tiger shark. Like, just try to think of something more fierce than that.” Aurora punctuates every word as she hauls her purse into her lap and sweeps the contents of her desk inside, zipping the top even as her fuchsia and forest green pencils stick out from the corners, muttering on about the world’s greatest predator, how it’s an absolute destroyer. 

Tayce takes Aurora’s sudden disinterest in organizing her pencils into their case—by most to least used—as her cue to leave and slip on her boots, already wearing a pleased little smile. 

*

They settle into the tube, Aurora securing her umbrella before sitting down next to Tayce. It’s easy to find a seat, the car less crowded than usual, likely thanks to the weather. Aurora thinks she’d like to stay inside with the rest of London, put the kettle on, and work in the living room where she can see the damp landscape before her and Tayce on the couch beside her, but that wasn’t working before. So here she is, wet blonde hair plastered to her forehead, the thought of seeing the tiger shark still coursing through her, lighting her like neon. 

“Concept: a tiger shark suit,” Aurora poses, just as Tayce holds her hand out for Aurora’s purse. She obliges and continues. “A little shift on the color forecast. Instead of yellow and grey—so bloody industrial, I’m thinking orange and grey. Would need a poly to get that wet-look of vinyl though…” 

Aurora tends to work like this, rambling off her ideas in a whirlwind, usually tearing apart the flat for the nearest pad of paper to get it all down before the idea’s lost forever and she’s left pouting while Tayce is trying to work as well. She’s become used to the smattering of Post-It pads around the house, reminding Aurora to dig the pens out of her pockets before running the wash, cheeky grins as she pulls pencils out from Aurora’s frantically done bun before properly lying down for bed. It’s endearing though, the chaos Aurora works in, the way Tayce’s chaos stabilizes Aurora’s.

So Tayce digs around in the tote until she pulls out a little baggie with her croissant, and Aurora’s notebook, pleased at how she’s taken to the leather bound folio Tayce gifted her for their last anniversary. She hands it over before picking at the almonds atop her croissant, adding, “bitch to make though, isn’t it?” 

Aurora knows what Tayce is referencing and almost shudders at the thought of more vinyl after her Spring/Summer 19’ collection. She spent hours on end cursing the fabric, trying not to tear the tissue between, which she used to help the panels float smoothly under the presser foot as she sewed them. On an industrial machine, no less, which was a bitch to haul up into their flat. It was a disaster to get an invisible zipper into the gown, the damn thing ripping itself out with every try-on. And at the end of it all, she had to sew Tayce into the finale catsuit not fifteen minutes before the show, which meant she had to cut her right out of the garment at the end of the show, with her girlfriend’s reassurance that it was “bloody sexy” and “what’s a little bit of scissoring between two lesbians?” doing little to sage her qualms about ruining hours of work in a snip. 

“Maybe some treated leather.” Aurora nods solemnly and writes notes wildly, not sure she’ll even be able to read anything besides the “SS19” with an angry cross over it when she reviews them later. “Either way, I’m thinking it’s going to be fierce, especially if I can figure out the movement; move like the tiger shark, no? To get that floating through water feeling.” 

Aurora doesn’t expect an answer, seeing that Tayce is occupied with picking almonds off of the pastry. She holds her hand out for them, throwing them back in one shot before taking half the pastry as well. “Why get the one with almonds if you just got to pick them off?” 

“The taste, the flavor,” Tayce says through a bite. “And I know you prefer them, so…” 

Aurora gives her a light shove before pulling her back in by the crook of her arm. “You’re soft,” she taunts, capping her pen and sticking it in her hair. 

“We can’t all be tiger shark ladies, babe.” She gives her pastry a deep bite, raising her brows at Aurora as she does so, if for nothing but to catch a chuckle from her, from what was a miserable day. 

Aurora shakes her head, but nonetheless shifts closer, taking a bite and swallowing quickly. “Stupid, absolutely dense—” 

“—The idiocy, the dullness, dimwittedness, superficiality of it all,” Tayce continues, brushing the crumbs off of her black trench jacket, picking a couple tricky ones out of the red stitching with her nail. Head resting against Aurora’s still damp shoulder, she adds between a cheeky grin, “We gotta finish up; Waterloo’s in just a bit.”  

*

By the time Aurora gets her things gathered and finds the umbrella, Tayce is taking her hand and leading them to the exit. They schlep along to County Hall, Tayce holding the umbrella high above them, Aurora wrapped around Tayce’s arm, bundled up against her, pressing her bag flush against her side. She’s practically buzzing by the time they reach the aquarium, her childish enthusiasm endearing, and Tayce feels it bubble up in her as well. It’s contagious really, Aurora’s joy. It practically travels through the air, filling the room.   

“Here, let me,” Aurora says, fishing for her wallet as they approach the ticket counter. “Since I’m spending our date looking at a shark.”

“Tell me what you really think of me, why don’t you,” Tayce quips back, laying on as much annoyance as she can while still holding a grin, studying the exhibit poster in front of them. 

Aurora takes her card back, muttering as she stuffs it back into its slot. “It’s the world’s fiercest predator, babe. I don’t know what to tell you.” She hands Tayce her ticket before taking her hand, dragging her to the queue. “It’s me in animal form, though I wouldn’t typically pair black and orange, especially for spring.” 

Tayce breathes out a laugh. “Then what am I?”

“Dunno. Maybe a squid.” 

This time, Tayce fully cackles. “A squid?” she asks, and she feels the rest of the queue turn to look at them. She shakes her head playfully as Aurora eyes her long legs and arms before she shrugs, already moving on, focused on a poster next to the queue. 

“Or maybe an absolute hound.” Aurora pokes Tayce’s side before wrapping herself around Tayce’s arm, tugging them forward. 

“Shark fact,” Aurora continues, reading off the line-marker. “Tiger sharks have a near completely undiscerning palate. Some tiger sharks have eaten sting rays, birds, squids, old tires—even other sharks.”

“Sounds like you, A’Whora,” Tayce teases, pulling her in closer, draping an arm around her shoulder. 

Aurora rolls her eyes and pats Tayce’s forearm. “I obviously only go for the finest of squids,” she says, before glancing up and giving a pronounced chomp. 

“Babe, please don’t bite my pussy.” 

Aurora doesn’t get to respond, finding herself right in front of the ticket scanner, who’s shifting around a bit in his uniform, unable to look at the two women in front of him. Not that Tayce or Aurora particularly care about offending some greasy twenty year-old boy at an aquarium with the concept of pussy. He scans their tickets and gives them a nod, so they walk off toward the exhibit, breaking into laughter once they clear the lobby. 

The hallways are lined with fish, of all different colors and sizes, flitting in and out of coral and anemones and grasses. There’s a reception class gathered around a circular tank, trying to find the Nemo, but to no avail. Tayce knows that usually, Aurora would stop by the tank and help the kids out, wholeheartedly join this hunt for the orange and white fish. She’d remind the kids that the little clownfish might be taking a break in his anemone, just like he did in the movie, but that he’ll surely come out, especially if they’re kind and patient. And usually, Tayce would stand back a few feet and watch the scene play out, heart swelling in the process. 

Today, however, Tayce’s heart is going double-time as Aurora takes her hand and pulls her through the crowd. Aurora’s on a mission, weaving in between strollers and other couples, skirting behind tour guides as they explained how algae grows, following the signs pointing toward the tiger shark exhibit with a cutting precision Tayce hadn’t seen since last year’s Arlington sample sale. 

Aurora breaks free when she sees the tank, running up to it and practically smashing herself up against the glass, with no care for the second years or the family of four next to her. 

Tayce catches up. “Love, you don’t gotta press your tits up against the glass, he knows you got them,” she breathes out, wrapping an arm around Aurora’s waist, pulling her back in the process. 

“What the fuck,” Aurora whispers. The look of wonder she once carried is replaced with shock, her face fallen, a dangerous pout forming. “That’s not a tiger shark.” She trains her eyes to the tank and speaks quietly, pointedly, like she’s jabbing the shark with each syllable. “That’s just a shark.”

Tayce gives her a moment, her own lips pursed as she studies Aurora, then the shark, then Aurora again, searching for the disconnect but unable to find it. She was so excited to see it, but in a moment, something had gone exceptionally wrong. 

She gives up, drumming her fingers against Aurora’s waist, before pointing to the sign. “We went to the right place, babe. The sign says it’s Oliver the tiger shark and he’s 17 years old…today.” Tayce turns Aurora toward the sign, but her feet stay firmly planted, her eyes trained on the shark. Nonetheless, she continues. “It’s his birthday, love.”

“Fuck his birthday,” Aurora grumbles, head following the shark as it passes by them. “He doesn’t look like a bloody tiger shark to me. Why’s he gray? Where’s the stripes?”  

“Aww, he’s old. That’s why he doesn’t have any stripes.”

Aurora shakes her head like Tayce doesn’t get it, and frankly, she doesn’t. As far as Tayce sees, it’s a perfectly good shark, swimming about, living his life, being as inspirational as any shark can be. But Aurora’s miffed, her mood as clouded and dreary as the weather outside. 

She hikes her purse up her shoulder and leans forward again, her nose and two fists pressed right against the glass. “You’re a filthy liar, Oliver.” 

“Babe, it’s a shark—”

“I’ll still fight an old bastard like you. You’ll pay for your lies.” 

Tayce takes her by the shoulders and spins her around, marching them out of the exhibit. “Ok, you can’t fight a shark so it’s time to leave him alone. Time to find some other inspiration in the…” Tayce looks up at the next exhibit’s sign as they walk. “…sea spiders.” She shakes her head. “Christ.” 

As they walk away, Aurora softens, though she’s still dreary and listless. The spiders, of course, aren’t helping—they’re disgusting little heathens, what with their spindling legs and radioactive green backlight. Even Tayce has to admit that. But as she pulls Aurora in for pictures, she finds her limply pressed against her side, disinterested in the pursuit, even though in one of the pictures, it looks like the spider’s balanced on Aurora just so, like it’s woven itself into her waves, made a nest atop her head. Tayce quickly sets this as a new background; Aurora only gives a hum in response. 

They continue with the deep sea creatures, with their dark tanks and neon blue tint, stopping at the octopus and its inky purple light, all spread out against the wall of its tank, its orange tentacles sticking and peeling periodically. Tayce again insists on a picture, “for memory’s sake, even though he looks like a bollock, all pruned from the bath.” Reluctantly, Aurora lets out a breathy laugh and gives in. Tayce counts this as a win, even though her pouting resumes once they move on.

At the next tank, Tayce is amused by the little round fish that dips in and out of its hole, its mouth forming an “O” as they approach it. Aurora cracks a smile, but for a moment, when Tayce pulls her in by the shoulder and makes the same face, jaw slack and nude-painted lips rounded like the fish’s. Aurora claims she’s not going to kiss “fish lips over here,” and yet she does, giving Tayce a peck. Tayce snaps a picture of her now smiling girlfriend, the red light from deep within the fish’s hole haloing her. 

Aurora needs a bit less prodding in the stingray exhibit, sticking her hand in the open tank as soon as she’s given the go-ahead. “He’s a velvet pancake,” Aurora comments, petting the flat beast, its mouth flap opening and closing as it moves through the tank. Tayce reaches for Aurora’s folio prematurely. 

“Velvet is super 2018. I’m bored of it,” Aurora explains, drying her hands before taking Tayce’s. “Thank you though.” She says it quietly, but Tayce knows she’s appreciative from the way she tightens her grip, by the way her thumb lays on top of Tayce’s as they walk into the next exhibit.  

“Look at all these fucking sharks.” Tayce glances upward, dragging Aurora’s hand with her as she points, full of awe, glued to the shark gliding above her, cutting through the water seamlessly. “Look at them go. Absolute beasts they are.” 

Aurora sees it’s clearly Tayce’s turn to be struck with wonder, and at the sharks no less. So, she tries to wipe the pout off of her face, smooth out her furrow, and take in the moment. Take in Tayce, arms spread before her. How the blue light reflects off of her cheekbones. Her still rain-slick hair and jacket. And the sharks passing above her are beautiful, with their milky white bellies and steel body, their rounded faces and sharp fins. There has to be something inspiring about them, she’s sure. Maybe in the shapes, or the colors? She could play with the sharp and round structure, surely. Or work in grayscale. Imitate the leather-y touch of their skin. She rests against the wall, pulling out her folio, clicking her pen aimlessly. 

Tayce continues with the sharks, pointing at them one by one, asking each, “let’s be having you? And you? And you?” with a silly point. She takes pictures with a few.

But when Tayce returns, suggesting they head out and have lunch while the weather’s clear, Aurora finds her paper blank yet again, more and more sure that she has nothing left to give. 

*

The cafe Tayce picks out is splendid and quaint, though Aurora wouldn’t expect anything less. The server wipes down their seats and the metal table before they take a seat, hands over the menus, and gives them a moment to look them over. Aurora doesn’t even bother looking, knowing she’s too  upset to eat much at all, instead laying her head against the cool metal, trying to focus. Or, rather, pull her focus away from her imminent failure and toward Tayce’s new story in the saga about the lady who orders all these clothes online, and every single week, comes into the store, three shipping bags in hand, demanding that everything be returned. 

“They’re not even nice clothes.” Tayce adds, dipping a chip.  “We sell some nice shit, but she keeps buying garbage and complaining that it’s garbage.” 

Aurora hums, ripping at the bits of lettuce hanging out of her sandwich. 

“So she comes on in, throws her shipping bag onto the counter, whips out this polyester blouse, and sticks her hand through it and starts ranting on about how see-through the top is.” Tayce sticks her hand up, wiggling her fingers around. 

“She shouldn’t have bothered with a polyester Zara shirt to begin with.” 

“Shouldn’t have bothered buying a top labeled “sheer” to begin with,” Tayce threw back. “I thought she’d stop her nonsense after I took her around the store, pointing out everything that was good, would look good on her, would fit her enviable work-life-balance, but she still comes back, every Thursday with more shit.” Tayce takes the now ketchup-soggy chip out of the ramekin and sticks it in her mouth. “Even if we didn’t go to the aquarium, I would have called out today. Like I just couldn’t look at those shirts anymore without frying my mind.” 

“Couldn’t have that, could we?” Aurora tries at a laugh, finding it coming up faint. 

Tayce tilts her head, analyzing the situation in front of her. She opens her mouth, like she’s got something to say, before stealing one of Aurora’s chips. 

Pointing the chip at Aurora, she doesn’t ask if Aurora’s okay, or if she’s still disappointed by the aquarium, or if she’s still racking her brain for a sliver of a design idea. Instead, she asks “Well, Whora, what did you think a tiger shark was?” 

Tayce always cuts down to the bone, even when she’s not meaning to. 

Aurora throws her head into her hands, speaking through her fingers. “Fuck if I know, something fantastic and inspiring and shiny and fierce and—”

“Orange?” Tayce laughs before popping the chip into her mouth. 

“Fuck off,” Aurora mutters, raking her fingers through her hair. “I thought it’d all just hit me, babe, and now I’ve got no idea what to do.” 

Aurora looks up, blinking rapidly. Her nose starts feeling peppery, and she knows soon her face will become red, blotchy, and streaked with tears. 

But Tayce reaches over and takes her hand between both of hers. Aurora dares a glance at Tayce, before resting her gaze on their hands. 

“Look, I know you’re not going to tell yourself this, but you’re brilliant and talented, and your brain is, like,  dancing so fast, even when your feet aren’t moving.” She gives Aurora’s hand a squeeze. “You’ve got so many ideas up there, and I’m sure you’ll have the work to show for it soon. And those ideas are surely better than a tiger shark pantsuit, promise.” 

Wiping a stray tear, Aurora breaks into a chuckle. “It was like, my dumbest idea.” 

“Not your dumbest, no.” Tayce says. “But a dumb one.”

*

When they get home, Tayce all about shoves Aurora into her office, throws a can of Fanta in behind her, and tells her to look through the pictures from today, get inspired by nature, sort it out, and come back when she’s got a design. 

“Can I at least get a kiss for good luck?”  Aurora shouts through the door.

“How about one for good work?” Tayce quips. And before Aurora can fire back, she hears the faint sounds of the Mortal Kombat theme through the crack in the door, and thinks better of disturbing Tayce when she’s in the zone, getting out the stress of Polyester Blouse Lady on Johnny Cage. 

So, Aurora picks the Fanta off of the floor, sets it on her desk to rest, and settles into her chair. She moves around in her seat, trying at least a dozen positions before taking a deep breath, flipping to a fresh page. 

She pulls out her phone, scrolling through the pictures Tayce sent her today. There’s a few of the two of them on the tube, Tayce resting on Aurora’s shoulder. Anyone who didn’t know Tayce better would think she looked ready for a nap, with her closed eyes and relaxed lips, but Tayce wasn’t one to rest in the middle of an adventure. 

There’s another of Aurora, taken from behind, stood in line, bouncing on her heels, a neon wave floating above her head, as though she were under the water herself.  

There’s Aurora, plastered against the tiger shark tank, her face blue tinted by the water and the lights in the tank, her gaze steely as she watches that shark—who is an arsehole, she might add. 

And then the next series of pictures—the two of them again. Painted in neon green, a sea spider nesting in Aurora’s hair. Then in purple, shocking purple, the octopus behind them looking ready to strangle them both, it’s tentacles plinking off of the glass like pennies into a well. Then they’re kissing in front of the little fish that kept opening and shutting its mouth, forming a perfect “o,” bathing them in a bloody red tint. She’s not sure how, but Tayce managed to miss all of the miserable faces Aurora knew she had on throughout the aquarium. But when she thinks a bit deeper, she’s not sure when she’s ever looked truly miserable around Tayce. 

She nearly puts her phone down when she comes across the next picture. She couldn’t even remember the moment; Tayce must have asked someone else to take it. 

It’s Tayce, resting against the far wall of the shark exhibit—the tunnel-style tank, with the sharks swimming all around them—glancing off to the side with a lazy grin, eyes vigilant, wild. And the neon blue all around her, bouncing off the shine of her slicker, hitting her cheekbones and her collarbones just-so, filtering through her hair. 

Tayce cackles from the other room, the metallic clash of swords following. 

Absolutely radiant. Aurora chews at her pencil, studying the picture further, the way the light bounces off of the wet jacket…

And Aurora’s scribbling, the model she sketches nothing more than a handful of lines, led by memory, as she’s working desperately to draft the design. The pencil sweeps, once, twice, three times, as she sees the fabric floating. But it’s floating over something tight, sleek, but still soft and shiny. And there has to be a shimmering quality to it, or course. It’s not opaque either, no, much more sheer. She’s going to have to work with chiffon, damn it to bits, but it’ll give her the look she’s after, the wet shine she needs. And in a moment’s time, she’s flipped over to another page for another design, one that drapes lightly. She glances once more at the picture, before following the tempo of her pencil, this time switching it out for a light blue. 

In a blink, she’s filled four pages. 

So she grabs her folio and runs out into the living room, knowing from the sound of the TV that Tayce is still there, and still ripping Polyester Shirt Lady a new one, mentally. 

“I’m here for my kiss,” Aurora announces smuggly, throwing her folio into Tayce’s lap. 

She’s smart enough to pause the game right as Aurora makes her presence known, surely anticipating her dramatics after all this time. 

Tayce flips it open, staring Aurora down like she’s about to rip her designs apart, though she knows Tayce would never, or really, wouldn’t have the reason to do so. It’s that serious look Tayce has, though Aurora knows it only shows up because she’s serious about Aurora’s designs. “And I’m here for some good fashion, love.” 

Aurora falls beside her on the couch, pulling her legs up on the seat and curling in against Tayce. She’s warm. It’s comforting. 

“So I’ve got this one, like the octopus tank. And it’s got this iridescent purple that just flows off of the pantsuit, like it flows right off of it,” Aurora explains, leaning in further, pointing out the details. “I’m thinking Bim for this one.” 

“I can definitely see that. Definitely. With all that movement, ugh.” Tayce runs a finger over the design, outlining where the fabric would trail off steaming behind the model, like the wind’s carrying it, like it’s suspended in mid-air.

“Okay flip,” Aurora instructs, pressing her cheek against Tayce’s arm. Aurora continues, answering questions about fabric, structures underneath the garnments, styling. Tayce slips the pencil out of Aurora’s hand at some point, jotting down answers as she rambles on and on, far too excited to manage writing it on her own. So Tayce scribbles down her directive to add wirey jewelry around the wrists, heels with lacings up the calf, everything looking like it’s floating just below the surface. At some point, the Xbox powers off, until all that’s lighting the room is the standby logo. 

Tayce reaches over the couch, turning the lamp on. 

“So, which one are you thinking of for me?” Tayce pokes at Aurora’s side, her voice trailing into a whine. 

Aurora takes back her book, flipping through the pages aimlessly. “Oh, you know, the first one. From this morning…” 

“You didn’t even have—”

“…Absolute nudity.” Aurora curls in closer, a devious smile forming. “Or maybe full vinyl?”

“I thought no more after last time?” Tayce begins flipping through the book. “I guess I’ll just have to find it on my own, now won’t I?”

“Gimmie that,” Aurora takes it from her hands and flips to the page easily, holding the design close against her chest. “And you look good in the vinyl, is all I’m saying.” 

She plops it down in Tayce’s lap. “You’re obviously getting the finale gown, moron.”

Tayce scans over the page, over and over, tracing along the outline with her finger, as though she can feel the slip of the iridescent blue chifon layered over black organza, how it gathers at one hip, falling down in crashing waves, with the other side draped cleanly, softly. 

“It’s supposed to be murky, like you’re coming out of the depths of the ocean where all the weird spindly things live, that have, like five eyes and spikes and stuff.” Aurora bristles for a moment. “At least that’s what I was thinking. But really, you could wear any of them if you wanted, it’s all inspired by you,” she says, soft, feather-light, like she’s letting the words float on down from the surface. 

They continue on in silence, Aurora watching as Tayce scans over the design, mouth agape. Tayce swallows and mutters, “lil ol’ me, the finale?” She turns to Aurora. “It’s just gorgeous. So, absolutely gorgeous.” 

And Aurora smiles, closing her eyes, breathing in the moment, the relief, the momentum of the collection. She places the folio on the coffee table and sets her sights on Tayce. 

“So, did I earn my kiss?” 

Tayce rolls her eyes playfully. “If you insist,” she says, not leaving Aurora much time to think before pulling her in closer, thumb stroking along her cheek. Their lips meet comfortably, knowingly, in a way that would seem commonplace if not for love. 

They break apart, Aurora resting in the crook of Tayce’s neck. 

“You did an amazing job, love,” Tayce says, quietly this time, as though the moment deserves quiet. And the two hold the silence, open palmed, soaking in the golden, still light of the lamp.   

*

“Oi, you!” Aurora taps on the glass, sure she’s the subject of a few wandering eyes, and the reason why the aquarium security tests the receiver of their walkie a few times. But she doesn’t care. She has some unfinished business, business that’s been keeping her up at night, making her toss and turn right into Tayce’s spread-out, sleeping form, ever since she began production on her collection. 

So she’s returned to Oliver the tiger shark. This time, she’s bearing gifts. 

Aurora points at the shark as it passes, hoping in vain it’ll stop for her, just as she’s stopped for him. She tries again, snapping at him as he passes by once more, before giving up, feeling lucky Tayce wasn’t around to mock her attempts. Aurora continues on regardless. 

“We’ve had our differences, but I must thank you for the inspiration…” Aurora trails off, spotting the shark stopped on the other side of the tank. She scurries over, hoping she can get a good view of him, maybe take a reprieve from looking like a lunatic, talking to nothing. 

“But thank you, Oliver the shark,” she says to him, before he swims off again, practically to the spot Aurora was just standing. 

She huffs and hauls herself back to the other side of the tank. 

“You’re a right dick, you are.” Aurora breathes in deeply before digging into her bag, pulling out her phone, pressing it against the tank, as though he’ll look at the picture and have any idea who she is. “It was really her, my girlfriend here who did the heavy lifting, and she got more than a thank you for it all.” 

Aurora bites at her lip a bit, locking her phone, muttering, “sex, obviously, but you don’t get it, you’re a dumb, heterosexual shark, so…” into her purse as she plops her phone in. 

“But I figured giving you some thanks would earn me back some ocean karma points—” The shark swims to the back of the tank, facing entirely away from Aurora, and she has to remind herself not to stomp like a petulant child. 

She settles for muttering a “fucks sake” under her breath. 

“Anyway,” she hikes up her purse. “Have a good one, Oliver the tiger shark.” 

She gives a half-hearted wave before walking away, dividing to give that funny, little, perpetually surprised fish a visit, hoping he’ll appreciate her company more. 

[thotsforvillainrights]

~Pivitol~

Summary: Life is good when you do good, or when you see good. When you act in good...put good in, get good out. However, the devil has a funny way at sending temptation right to your doorway. Unfortunately for Kai, he answered that call.

Chapter: 12

Warnings: None

“Are you going to stand around all day and watch me dust pictures and shelves?”

“Oh well...no but...”

“But?”

“Uh nothing. I suppose I just don’t feel like going back to work when you’re around. Honestly having you here feels like a mini vacation for me.”

“I’m glad you think that way about me but I don’t think Pops will be so happy to know his successor is slacking off on the job. If the yakuza is anything like the books and the movies, you should be out running the streets and doing gangster stuff by now haha!”

“Yeah but the times have changed.” He leaned against the walls and watched you go to town with the duster, never missing a single inch or corner. “Lately we were struggling to keep afloat upon staying relevant with the coming age of heroes and villains. At one point, the Hassaikai was almost nothing. Given some time and effort, I’ve just barely managed to drag us from the shadows with other groups following our path as well. It doesn’t even feel like we’re gangsters anymore. The only thing we do now are shakedowns and such. Sometimes it comes with the occasional turf war here and there. A few groups still push product here and there...yknow...drugs. But us? We’re damn near a charity organization now. I do a shit ton of paperwork and taxes. We donate to parts of the city and make sure the streets we own stay clear of any unfamiliar threats. I can’t say I enjoy the philanthropic changes but anything is better than letting the organization sink. Besides, Pops is pleased to know we’ve changed direction nowadays too.”

“You know, I’m glad too. Now please go to work.” He just barely dodged the playful jab at his sides. He smiled, bid his goodbyes, and headed down to the lower part of the base as usual. Upon entry he was already greeted by Chrono with a suitcase of what he assumed had to be either money or more paperwork. “Overhaul, you’re a bit late for once huh? It’s usually me haha.” Chrono joked and Kai sighed. “You’re rather bold to comment on my time frame when you came in an hour late last Friday under the excuse that you were stuck in traffic.” He spoke and walked, grabbing the suitcase and mentally taking note of it’s weight.

Money this time. How delightful. Perhaps he could buy you a nice gift to thank you for always spending time with him?

“Hey! I’ll have you know that I wasn’t lying about that traffic dude. It was absolute ass the entire drive. Well anyway, there’s some guy waiting on your line. He’s been waiting for you for almost 30 minutes. He said it was something important about a business proposition or whatever? Anyway, he must be telling the truth for him to actually stay on the line that long.”

“And why didn’t you link him my cellphone line then, if it was so important?”

“Pshhh, and risk having you on my ass for giving out your personal number? No way in hell. Anyway, let me know later what it is. I’m going to be heading out with Hojo, Tabe, and Setsuno today to make peace with that group on the west end of the city that keeps threating our men. Catch you later.” And just like that, Hari was gone and on his way out of the hall. Kai took a second to gather himself and placed the suitcase down next to his desk before answering the phone. “Hello, is this Chisaki Kai?” 

“This is he. Who are you and what can I help you with.” He mentally groaned at the incoming conversation. One could only hope it’s not another bum looking to get in on their terf, or some sort of tax collector from the IRS. “Glad I can finally make your acquaintance Mr. Chisaki. This is Tado of the Matsufuda branch. I was actually hoping to come and meet you in person but one of your main men told me now wouldn’t be a good time seeing as the old boss is out on business and you’re all alone.” The man chuckled and Kai squinted his eyes in speculation. “What is that supposed to mean then? Did you figure I couldn’t balance things without Pops being here? Need I remind you who you’re talking to?” He started to heat up until the man on the other line laughed. “Now now, no need to get testy so soon boy! The suitcase, do you have it?” Kai paused and looked down at the case in curiosity. “Yes. Was it you that sent this?” He asked, eyeing the case intently. “Correct. Inside that case you will not only find a gift from us, but you will also find it to be a wonderful new business venture as well. I have the utmost confidence it will double the Hassaikai’s monetary wealth in no time while also producing quite a bit of street credit.” The man rambled on while Kai was cautiously opening the case. 

Not money on the inside but...pills???

“What the hell is this supposed to be, a joke?”

“No joke Mr. Chisaki! It’s the future is what it is! My organization has developed a new drug and we predict it will be the craze among the youth around here. After creating it, we sent it on a trial test run throughout the nearby city. Our plan was to sell for more than it had cost us to make the drug. The money we got was outstanding in return. Just from the test trial alone, we gained almost triple back in funds. More money than we’d ever make following this new peaceful ‘grey area’ path your group has set in stone. What I’ve included in the case is more than enough of the new drug for your group to distribute on your end of the city. Charge more than retail, get us our percent of the money and you guys keep the rest. It’s genius! What do you say?”

“...I’m sorry...I don’t deal drugs anymore. You’ll have to ask a different person for this.” Just before he was about to hang up the phone, the man stopped him. “WAIT! Just hear me out. How about this eh? What about you keep the suitcase full and keep ALL of the profit you make from it then? It will be like a free sample of course. Once you see how much it benefits you, then you can contact me for a new run. How is that?” A long pause with no answer. Was he really sitting here and thinking about this right now? He had only been clean from selling drugs and such for a month or two. In that time, it was you that made him want to stop all of this. Since the moment he met you, he slowly began to change his path...his very steps. Yet...here temptation was knocking on his door. He paused to do the math and there was no question that the money that would come in would be more than they could make in a month on their own. It would be a nice little bonus in the pockets of his men as well. “Just get back to me when you run out. Tell me what you think then.” The line hung up and went idle. Kai mindlessly hung up the phone but his eyes never left the case. He stared at the tiny pink pills for what seemed like ages before finally snapping out of it.

“Just a weeks worth of pushing it. We’ll see where it goes from there.”

»—————————–———————————————————–✄

TIp Jar: https://cash.app/$YuTakeyama

[amlovelies]

Lies

pairing: Mason/f!oc (Serena Willis)

rating: M some light smut and cursing. also this is angsty 

words: 1.5k

This is part of “Just Another Liability” my Wayhaven AU. This scene would take place between Liability and Somewhere between hope and pride 

              I’m surprised when I wake up in Mason’s bed. I’ve drifted off there before, and he’s always woken me so I could stumble on unsteady legs back to my own bedroom. It was an unspoken thing. We didn’t spend the night together. It would be crossing a line.

               There was that morning when I caught him leaving at 7am, but part of me wonders if I just imagined the sound of my door closing. Imagined or maybe I only wished for it.

               A new routine had been established in the wake of the kidnapping. Under Adam’s orders I’m confined to the warehouse unless I can get someone to accompany me. I could usually depend on Farah, but with myself off the patrol rotation, and Nate spending most of his time with Dinah, she’s been too busy.

               I hadn’t seen much of Mason either, which I was grateful for. I’m not sure how to act around him anymore. I wish I had just sucked it up and stayed in my room that night. I can’t help but feel like something shifted between us then. That’s not entirely true, I know something changed. What terrifies me is if it was just for me.

               I hate this feeling, this weakness. I find myself gathering evidence. As if this was a case to solve: the mysterious disappear of all of Serena’s sense. Maybe if I wasn’t stuck in the Warehouse all day, I could distract myself. I try going to work with Dinah, but that provides little relief.

               She still feels guilty about what happened. It doesn’t matter how many times I tell her that I don’t blame her, I can still see the weight of it on her. Sometimes bad things happen. It would just be great if she could stop looking at me like I’m some delicate broken thing. I’m fine. I’ll be fine. I’ve always been fine before.

               I spend time in the training room. Punching things is nice. If I could have afforded a fancy gym back home maybe I wouldn’t have gotten so stressed working retail. Decembers would have been a lot more bearable.

               After weeks of long patrols and little down time, Adam had finally caved to Rebecca’s suggestion of having Unit Alpha pick up some of the slack. With his first evening free in weeks, it had taken Mason disgustingly little effort to get me into his bed.

               I can hear his quiet breathing next to me; he must have fallen asleep. If I let myself lie there for a few minutes just enjoying the warmth of a shared bed no one needs to know.

               As I start to slip out from under the covers, an arm snacks out and pulls me back against his chest. He doesn’t say anything, just pulling me flush against his warm body. He mumbles something under his breath which I don’t understand and presses a soft kiss to my shoulder. I figure he must want to go again. After all it has been a few weeks since we were last able to find time. I wait for his hands to begin to roam, for a hand to cup my breast, to caress over my waist, to delve between my legs, but it never happens. His arm stays wrapped around my waist holding me in place loosely.

               This is new and dangerous, but god it feels good to be held. I convince myself it’s just a dream, and I let myself fall back asleep.  

               The next morning, I’m woken up to a testing hesitant caress down my arm. My body moves almost on its own accord pushing back against Mason’s body. He chuckles as his caress as his caress gains more purpose and direction. A hand grips my chin and tilts my head back so his lips can find mine. I sigh into the kiss as it deepens and he rocks his body against mine. When the kiss breaks and I open my eyes, there’s something in his gaze that I can’t stand. I have to shut my eyes, but I can still feel it. His attention moves leaving hot wet kisses down the column of my neck and chuckling at the goosebumps that erupt in his wake.

               We take our time with each other, bodies still warm and languid with sleep. There’s no frantic pulse of lust pushing us forward, but rather a slow almost lazy exploration. Somehow his voice is even gruffer, but the way my name sounds on his lips might be my favorite sound.

               After, as we lay side by side in the afterglow, legs still tangled together his hands making small circles and patterns against my skin, I can’t take my eyes off him. He is so beautiful. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a man as captivating as Mason. I think I could spend the rest of my life studying his face. I’ve been denying it to myself, but in this moment, I know I can’t any longer.

               I want this. I want lazy mornings in each other’s arms. I want him more than I have ever wanted anyone before. Oh, I’ve thought myself in love before. I recognize this swelling in my chest. This feeling like your heart wants to escape, and I guess it does, because it doesn’t belong to you anymore. It belongs to them. And could I have chosen someone worse?

               Mason’s lived for a hundred years and never wanted a relationship or anything serious in all that time. In a hundred years with hundreds of lovers, he has never felt more. Am I really so arrogant to believe that would change with me? I’m not. As much as I’ve tried to gather evidence to try and convince myself that maybe just maybe he feels more for me, deep down I know that I’m wrong. There’s nothing so special about me that would make him a different person.  

               “What’s wrong?” he asks as if sensing my changing in mood. He probably did, stupid vampire super senses.

               “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.” I say with a smile as I push myself up to a sitting position. I avoid looking at him.

               Maybe a dumber Serena would confess, open her dumb mouth and ask for more, for clarity. Maybe she would call him out on the lingering glances and the tender way he touches her. Maybe she could convince him with her evidence and her sincerity, but I’m not her.

               “I know you’re lying.”

               “I lie all the time that’s nothing new. Why do you care?” I ask, my tone defensive, as I slide out of the bed and grab my clothing off the floor.

               “I don’t.” He says with a scoff.  

               “I know.” I respond and I can’t keep the resignation out of my voice. I pull my clothing on quickly. He’s still in the bed, but I can feel his eyes on my back. I can’t bring myself to look at him.

               This isn’t going to end well for me. As much as I may try to just pretend nothing has changed, that I’ve wrestled my feelings under control that’s just another one of my lies. It hurts to hear him say he doesn’t care, to confirm it. I can’t think of any version of this where I won’t end up hurt, won’t end up looking foolish.

               Before I can stop myself, I say, “we can’t do this anymore.”

               “Do what?”

               “This. Whatever you want to call this. Hookup, fool around, fuck.” The last word seems to echo in the quiet dimness of his bedroom.

               I stare at the door waiting for his response. I want to take it back, to not lose at least this little piece I do have, but it’s too late for that.                

               “Fine by me, Sweetheart” he says with a growl.

               If some part of my mind hoped he might say that what’s between us is more than, that he doesn’t want this to end, that he wants to be with me, well, that would be really fucking dumb.  I’m not that stupid, this was always just going to be something physical for him.

                I nod swallowing down the bitter disappointment, “I’m glad we agree. I’ll see you around Mason.”  

               I don’t fall apart until I get back to my own room. The tears are hot and bitter as they fall down my face. I know that this pain is only a fraction of what it would have been if I’d let it continue. It’s better this way, to leave before he can get bored of me, before I lose even more of my heart to him. I tell myself this over and over again as if my words can drown out the hollow ache of my chest and the fear that there is nothing left to lose. I left it all with him.  

tagging: @lord-king-saint @tracing-freckled-constellations @lilyoffandoms, @agentnatesewell, and @mrs-raleighcarrera (if you’d liked to be tagged/not tagged for the AU stuff please let me know)