#like my eye is twitching really bad ok goodnight

[evergreen-endo]

quick thing before bed. ow <3

[myherowritings]

Hey There, Roomie

— After being set up on a bad date with Ushijima, he insists on walking you to your doorstep. Not wanting him to know where you live, you lead him to Iwaizumi’s apartment and pretend Iwaizumi is your roommate. 

pairing: iwaizumi hajime x reader word count: 4.0k genre: college/university au, fluff warnings: mentions of drinking, language, secondhand embarrassment, suggestive comments at the end, oikawa is meddlesome, awkward but cute confessions™!!

a/n: ur bad date is with ushiwaka ok i’m sorry he’s a nice guy but i had to make it someone HDJSJS,, also this is based on real life events except my friend who lived in an apartment near me isn’t cute like iwa-chan :( LMAOOO i hope u enjoy reading!!! xx sof

「 hq masterlist 」

“I assure you, you don’t have to walk me to my apartment.”

“It’s not a bother. I insist.” 

“No, it’s fine.” Although you tried to keep a smile on your face, you were certain it looked more like you were baring your teeth at him. “Really. You don’t have to do that.”

Ushijima shrugged. “I told you, it’s no big deal.” 

Your grin turned into a grimace as you stepped outside the car and headed towards your apartment complex. You managed to grit out, “Great. Thanks.”

A friend from your class had told you they had a friend of a friend who saw an Instagram post of you and thought you were cute. After they showed you a picture of him, you said the same. Little did you know it would lead to a mess of a date set up by said friend. 

The date was at a karaage chicken place and it was filled with the most uncomfortable silences you had sat through since office hours with a professor who you were sure hated you. Ushijima was nice enough and it wasn’t the worst date ever, but the two of you just did not click. You figured it was partly your fault for agreeing to meet with him despite not having a single clue about his interests and never having talked to him once, but it was too late to undo it now. 

He was a gentleman, at least. Offered to pay, held your seat out for you, drove you to your apartment complex, and, now, was trying to walk you to your doorstep. 

The thing was, you did not want him to know where you lived. 

You didn’t get red flags or feel threatened by any means, but having a guy you went on one uncomfortable date with know your exact address wasn’t really something that sat well with you. You’ve heard enough college horror stories to be wary. But, you didn’t have the heart to tell him explicitly not to walk you home… So the only solution? 

Head to your friend’s apartment in the same complex instead.

“Do you know where you’re going?” asked Ushijima, examining you as your eyes darted around from building to building. 

You’d been to Iwaizumi’s apartment before, but that didn’t stop you from looking lost and confused in this maze of houses. And it didn’t help to have Ushijima’s semi-condescending gaze on you the whole time. The worst part was, you were almost certain he didn’t even mean to be condescending— He just was. To you, at least. It definitely rubbed you the wrong way during the date. 

“Yeah,” you laughed, walking past your apartment, “of course I know where my own apartment is.” 

Iwaizumi’s place was just a few buildings north of yours, which you were quick to remember after catching sight of your place. You briefly wondered if he would be home on a Friday night, but quickly decided it wasn’t important. It’s not like you would be entering his house anyway. In fact, if all went well, he might never even know you were outside his apartment to begin with. 

The plan was to have Ushijima drop you off at the doorstep (since he so unwaveringly insisted that he had to and it was no trouble for him to do so), tell him goodbye, fumble with your bag to “look for your keys” as he walked off, then—when he was out of sight—dash to your apartment and lock yourself in your bedroom for the remainder of the night. 

A foolproof plan. 

“Well, we’re here!” you chirped, standing outside Iwaizumi’s door labeled 237E. You whirled around to face Ushijima. “Thanks for walking me. See you around!” 

“Of course.” He nodded but made no move to leave. 

Your smile wavered. Was he waiting for you to enter your house safely? If he didn’t seem so innocent, it would’ve been incredibly creepy. 

“Err,” you drawled, ruffling through your bag. “I’m just finding my keys. You can leave now; I don’t want to keep you any longer!” 

“It’s not a problem.”

Your right eye twitched. What did he think could possibly happen in the time it took you to unlock your door and enter? While it was sweet—in a very suffocating way—it wasn’t what you wanted. After the bad date that was disappointing for the both of you, you expected him to eat his food and dip. Not see you all the way into your house despite the fact that, deep down, he’d much rather be in his own home. It was domineeringly kind.

Didn’t he understand how stressful this could be for someone? His obliviousness was overbearing, but you supposed you couldn’t blame Ushijima when you didn’t verbalize your discomfort to him. 

“Everything okay?” he asked for what felt like the fifth time that night. 

You chuckled nervously. “I guess I…can’t find my keys?” Looking at him sheepishly, you scratched the back of your head. “But, my roommates will probably be home soon! Or, they might be here now. I’ll just ring the doorbell when you leave!” 

Ushijima blinked. “Why not ring the doorbell now?” 

“R-Right,” you stammered, unsure whether you wanted to rip your hair out or cry in frustration. Maybe both would be good. “That’s smart. I can do that.” 

He looked at you expectantly. 

You winced, bringing your pointer finger to the white button of the doorbell. Before you even had the time to gather the courage to press it, the door swung open suddenly, startling you enough to let out a small yelp.

“Ah—! Iwaizumi!” you cried, eyes wide as you stared face to face with your very confused-looking friend. He glanced between you and Ushijima with a questioning expression, but you rambled on before he could say anything. “Hey there, roomie!” You batted your lashes, pleading with him to play along. “I forgot my keys again.” 

Iwaizumi’s face displayed a look of pure confusion and you were certain he must never have gotten any acting awards when he was younger. His expression became even more puzzled when you wiggled your way inside the door, standing snugly next to his side. 

After an awkward silence, you continued again, “Well, thanks for walking me Ushijima-san! And thank you for the date. Maybe I’ll see you around.” 

If he noticed anything suspicious going on, he didn’t show it. Instead he simply nodded and wished you a goodnight. 

Yup, there was definitely no chance of Ushijima wanting to ask you out on a second date. Not that you were complaining. 

You shut the door—the door to an apartment that wasn’t even your own, mind you—and let out a sigh of relief. With your eyes closed and your back resting against the wall, you momentarily forgot you were standing in the entrance of Iwaizumi’s living room. That was, until you started feeling his heavy gaze on you. 

Gulping at the intensity, you cracked your right eye open ever so slightly. “Yes?” you asked innocently.

“Yes?” repeated Iwaizumi incredulously, voice raised in exasperation. “You want to explain what just happened here?” 

You had a sudden interest in your shoes as you shuffled in place. Iwaizumi was your friend and someone you considered yourself semi-close to— Comfortable enough to hang out with regularly and talk with almost every day, but not someone that you confided in with no qualms. And definitely not someone close enough for it to be normal to show up at his place unannounced. You were much closer to his best friend, Oikawa, but that was largely due to him finding out you had a big crush on Iwaizumi a number of months ago and feeling the need to tease you endlessly. Apparently, nothing brought people together like relentless goading. 

“Another bad date,” you answered with a noncommittal tone. “A friend set me up with that guy you saw, Ushijima, and the date was so awkward.” 

He folded his arms across his chest, pulling his white t-shirt snug around his biceps. You tried not to let your eyes bug out of their sockets at the sight. “And yet you let him bring you home?” 

“I couldn’t say no! I tried dropping hints but he just didn’t get it.” You looked up, a sheepish half-smile on your face. “But I was smart enough not to bring him to my apartment. Hence why I came here. Roomie.”

Iwaizumi let out an exasperated half-chuckle, half-sigh as he motioned for you to come further inside. You slipped off your shoes at the doorway and followed him into the living room, taking a seat on the couch next to him. He rested his arm against the headrest of the sofa and you were consciously aware of his hand mere inches behind your head. 

“Are your other housemates here?” you asked, curious as to why there wasn’t the usual amount of chatter and rage gaming from inside their respective rooms. 

He shook his head. “They’re all back at their hometowns for the weekend.” 

“And poor Iwa-chan is home all alone on a Friday night instead of out partying with friends?” you teased, reaching over to pat the top of his head mockingly. 

Glaring at you for the nickname, he lightly swatted your hand away. “You’ve been spending too much time with Oikawa. His shittyness is rubbing off on you.” There was the slightest hint of amusement in his voice to let you know he was only joking. “And being home alone is better than being stuck with a bad date.”

“Ouch,” you cried, crossing one leg over the other and sticking your tongue out at him. “Yeah, sure, I would rather have been curled up in my bed than go on that date— But you didn’t have to call me out like that.” You pouted. “At least I got free food, I guess.” 

He rolled his eyes with a snort. “If you were uncomfortable, you could’ve called me to come pick you up.”

Despite his gruff voice, there was a look of concern on his face. His eyebrows were furrowed and the corners of his mouth were downturned. Iwaizumi’s offer made you feel warm in the stomach, even if you were sure he was just saying it out of courtesy.

“Or better yet,” he continued in a murmur, “don’t let your friends set you up on dates with guys you barely know, dumbass.” 

“Hey! Aren’t you and Oikawa the ones always telling me I need to go out and date more in the first place?” you said, huffing at his insult. 

They told you your college years were your prime dating years and you might regret not going out with a variety of people now. When else would you have the free time and the patience to date, anyway? That was part of the reason you agreed to blind dates and set ups, after all. If Iwaizumi was insisting you date around, that most certainly meant he didn’t reciprocate your feelings for him. Meaning, you had to get over him somehow before the hurt could kick in, even if that somehow included less than ideal fraternization. 

“I never said that,” he grumbled, shaking his head. “Why would I tell you to go on dates with other people? It was just Oikawa who said you should.” 

You blinked in confusion. “But you were there and you nodded in agreement.” 

He shifted his body to get a better look at you, a scowl on his face. “I did not. You were drunk and you probably thought my head was moving when it wasn’t.”

“Well, you were drunk too! Maybe your head was moving and you just didn’t know.” The lines between his forehead deepened and you laughed, unable to stop yourself from tapping the wrinkles with your ring finger. “Don’t think too hard; you might hurt your brain.”

“You really have been spending too much time with Shittykawa,” he said with a defeated sigh. “But whatever you think I said back then, it’s probably not what I meant. You shouldn’t date anyone unless you want to.” 

The thing was, you did want to date someone. Iwaizumi. You were just under the impression he didn’t want to date you. 

You shrugged. “What about you? Have you been dating people you don’t want to?” 

He shook his head. “No. I haven’t dated anyone recently,” he admitted, averting his gaze from you for the first time that night. “I actually...am interested in someone, though.” 

Your stomach dropped. Oh.

“But I don’t think they like me.” 

Trying not to show him the crestfallen expression on your face, you looked down at your lap. You had been mentally preparing yourself to accept that Iwaizumi didn’t have a crush on you like you had on him—you were ready to face the harsh reality—but you were not expecting him to tell you he liked someone else on top of that. That was just a double blow to your gut.

You forced out a laugh, hoping it didn’t sound too strained. “That’s silly. Of course they like you.” 

“I didn’t even tell you who it was.”

“Don’t need to,” you said diffidently, fingers toying with a loose thread on the blue sofa. “I already know. There’s no way someone wouldn’t like you back.”

Iwaizumi snorted disdainfully. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that. Them going on dates with other people and telling me about them after seems to be a solid indicator that they don’t.”

You froze, letting go of the string you accidentally pulled from the couch. Now, you wouldn’t say you were an overly optimistic person, but you still couldn’t help but think the situation he described was oddly familiar to yours. There was a large chance he was referring to someone else, but with the way you felt his smoldering gaze on your body, you wondered if maybe, just maybe, he could be talking about you. 

“Maybe they think you don’t like them so they’re going on those dates to get rid of their crush on you— But only because they thought you told them to do so! And, honestly, the dates probably aren’t helping at all on getting rid of the crush; it just makes it get even bigger and bigger as they realize they can’t like anyone the same way they like you and now they don’t know what to do,” you babbled, unable to stop the word vomit.

After processing the words that you had just uttered, you slapped your hands over your mouth to shut yourself up. That was a little more than you had originally wanted to say… Okay, a lot more. You winced. You wanted to subtly hint that you were talking about yourself, not be so obvious as to yell it out with a megaphone and have a blinking billboard pointing your way. 

Idiot, idiot, idiot.

You could only hope Iwaizumi was oblivious enough to let this whole thing go and assume that you were only speaking hypothetically. But he was smarter than that. You knew it. He may be a little dense when it came to romance, but even he couldn’t be dumb enough to misunderstand your conspicuous slip up. 

Your stomach churned as you awaited his response.

“So,” he spoke slowly, keeping his cautious regard on you, “Oikawa was right?” 

You blinked. That wasn’t the response you were expecting. But things just didn’t seem to go as planned today, you supposed. “What do you mean?”

“You do like me, then?”

“W-What? When did…” You gaped, trailing off as your throat tightened. “He told you that?” 

“A month ago, he told me he thought you might like me,” Iwaizumi admitted, a rosy red darkening the apples of his cheeks. “But that was before you started going on those crazy dates, so I figured he was wrong.” 

A cry of indignation escaped your lips as you heard the news. “Seriously?”

He nodded.

“No way!” you sputtered in disbelief. “He found out I liked you months ago— At the beginning of the school year! And then last month, Oikawa told me I should to get over you by going on a bunch of dates.” 

Your brows were furrowed and arms folded as you glared into the sky, wishing Oikawa were there so you could yell at him for making a fool of you. Iwaizumi caught your gaze with a disgruntled look of his own. 

“What on earth?” you groaned, burying your face in your palms.

“I’ll kick his ass the next time I see him,” Iwaizumi vowed.

“Please,” you muttered, a thousand thoughts racing through your mind. 

Oikawa knew you had a crush on Iwaizumi. Why would he tell him behind your back? And was Iwaizumi’s response negative? Is that why Oikawa told you to date to get over him? Trying to understand Oikawa’s thought process was enough to almost give you a headache. 

“But, wait,” said Iwaizumi quietly, effectively interrupting your train of thoughts. “Months?” 

You peeked at him through the cracks between your fingers. “Huh?”

“You said you liked me for months now? Since the start of this school year?” 

The heat rose to your cheeks in embarrassment. “T-That’s not the point—!” 

“Because I’ve liked you for a few months now too,” he interrupted before you could deny anything. Your eyes shot open as you stared straight at Iwaizumi, just now noticing the serious expression on his face. 

Was this a confession?

“Ever since that night we ditched our friends to stay inside and watch Godzilla instead of going to the party.” He shared a small, slightly sheepish smile with you as he recalled the memory. 

In the beginning of the year before classes had started but everyone had already moved into their respective apartments, Oikawa decided everyday of the week leading up to the first day of school would be a good day to get shit-faced drunk. It was fun for the first three days, but by day four you were getting worn out, and by day five, just the thought of consuming one more jello shot made you shudder. 

So when Iwaizumi—who you had then only recently realized you had a crush on—suggested you two sneak away to his empty apartment and watch some movies instead, you were more than happy to oblige. 

“I thought you looked...cute that night,” Iwaizumi managed, his voice gruff and tentative. “It was funny how you were scared by the movies even though it was hardly even horror.” He snorted at the recollection, hints of a grin playing on his face. “And I may have realized then that I had already started liking you.”

You bit the inside of your lip to keep your face from splitting into a beam. Your eyes were wide open, almost as if you were in a daze and were only dreaming the events of this night had happened. Iwaizumi shoved his hands in his sweatpants’ pockets, ducking his head to hide his delight at this situation.

“You like me too?” you asked breathlessly. There was still a tone of disbelief in your voice. 

He nodded. “Have for a while now. But I didn’t tell Oikawa about it until last month. And that’s when he said he thought you liked me back.” 

At his words, you visibly relaxed. So Oikawa didn’t blab about your crush on his best friend— Though, in all honesty, maybe if he had, you could’ve had a relationship with him sooner. You leaned your head back against the headrest of the couch with a sigh. “Then if he knew you liked me, why did he tell me to date other people that night we were all out drinking together?” 

“To piss me the fuck off.”

You laughed in surprise, not expecting Iwaizumi to sound so furious. 

“He probably wanted to get me to disagree with him, that dumbass,” he hissed, a scowl forming on his face. Even with his nose scrunched and forehead crinkled, you thought Iwaizumi was as handsome as ever.

“Maybe Oikawa thought you wouldn’t confess without his help so he wanted to push your buttons and make you jealous by seeing me date other people,” you said, chuckling at the audacity of this situation. 

Iwaizumi apparently didn’t share your amusement, since his scowl deepened. “I would’ve confessed without his unwanted help,” he grunted. But you knew he wasn’t too annoyed by his best friend. Oikawa never had any ill-intentions towards the two of you, and you both were aware of that. “I was a little jealous, though,” he admitted with flushed cheeks. “And I may have gotten a bit happier every time you told me afterwards that you didn’t like your date—especially tonight.”

You smiled shyly at him, only mildly embarrassed by the routine you two had picked up. Go on a date (usually prompted by Oikawa), wish your date was Iwaizumi the whole time, go home, message Iwaizumi about your bad date, repeat. But in today’s case, you went to him in person instead of texting. 

“But I was dreading that one night you’d message saying your date went well,” he said, hands balled up into fists and gaze downcast. “Or worse— Not message that night at all.”

Your expression turned somber as you realized that while you were casually dating around to try to get over Iwaizumi, he was there watching you go out with other people. A feeling of guilt spread through you as you bowed your head slightly, wishing you had taken the chance to tell him your feelings instead of trying to toss them aside. 

“Iwaizumi, I’m so sorry,” you said. “I didn’t even think about how it could be affecting you.” 

“Hey, it’s okay.” He placed his closed hand on the top of your head, making you look up at him. He nodded once. “You didn’t know. And Assikawa was the one pushing you to go on dates you didn’t want,” he said wryly, though his tone was more amused than bitter. “But maybe now you don’t have to keep going on those bad dates anymore.” 

Your heart skipped a beat at his words. Was he offering—?

“Y’know,” he said, “if you… If we…”

“Went on a date?” you completed, hesitant but hopeful. “With each other, I mean.”

“Yes. With each other.” He held his breath. “What do you think?”

After a beat of silence, your face split into a grin. You practically jumped off the couch in excitement, bouncing towards Iwaizumi to tackle him into a hug. He let out a surprised grunt, but caught you in his arms nonetheless.  

“I think you could’ve saved me loads of wasted nights if you had asked a month earlier!” you laughed, burrowing your face into his chest— His very strong, very muscular chest that had no business being this comfortable. “To think all this time I could’ve been going on dates with you instead of random people I end up blocking a day after?”

His right hand rested between your shoulder blades while his left was lightly cupping the back of your head. He chuckled and you felt the vibrations through his thin t-shirt. 

“We’ll have plenty of time to make up for it now,” he said, voice warm and inviting. “We can catch up on dates this whole weekend. Or just rewatch all of Godzilla again.” 

“That sounds like the perfect date weekend.” The grin on your face never left as you stayed tangled in his arms. “And your roommates aren’t back until Monday, hmm?”

He titled his head down at you to see your expression, the corner of his mouth quirked upward as he smirked. “Yup. They’ll be gone all weekend.”

You two exchanged knowing looks, causing you to wiggle your eyebrows suggestively and make him laugh. His ears turned red and when you pointed it out he got even redder. You smiled at each other as you held him even tighter. 

It didn’t matter what you two would be doing this weekend. All you cared about was getting to spend more time with Iwaizumi.

“Then we most definitely have a lot of catching up to do.” 

[forthehpfanboys]

Under the Stairs

Pair: Sirius Black x Reader; he/him.

Summary: Sirius has about 0 control over his hands during dinner. That's about it. Oh, and sex by the stairs.

Warnings: SMUT (MDI), kinky, dirty talk, exhibitionism, kinda and bad writing. If I missed any please dm me.

Notes: It's gay, man. And I am so, so sorry for how long this took. This took so long, I’m sorry.

~DO NOT REPOST ANYWHERE~

-

“Sirius!” You smacked his hand away from your thigh for the fifth time that night. You were just trying to enjoy your dinner surrounded by your friends and family and Mr. Grabby Hands next to you was making it hard to do so. Like, couldn’t you eat in peace? Was that so much to ask for? 

Sure, you missed the animagus more than anyone could understand, but Merlin’s beard, he was exceptionally grabby tonight and it was starting to get on your nerves, especially since Harry was just across the table with his best friend's family. All nine members and then some, but did Sirius care? No, not at all. Did he ever care? Nope. Once, he fucked you against the wall separating your shared room and Lupin's room. He truly held no shame.

“What?” He turned to look at you, his head tilting to the side. “What’s wrong, love? I thought you missed me.” He grinned at your red cheeks. Godric, you wanted to pull on his hair. You tried to act like your trousers’ weren’t just a tiny bit tighter than when you first sat down.

“I missed you, not your left hand.” You hissed out, smacking his hand away again. “There are actual children!” Your eyes darted around the table. No one seemed to notice what was going on between you two, thank Merlin.

Your nostrils flared when Sirius let out a chuckle, his hand running through his fingers before he nodded. You audibly squeaked when he tugged the side of your chair so you were shoulder to shoulder with him. You smacked his chest, hoping he got the gist with a final glare.

“Fine, fine. I got the message. I’ll be good.” Sirius placed his hand on your knee this time, his thumb running along the fabric of your jeans while he engaged in the conversation with his old friend.

You let out a quiet thank you, your head filled with doubt, before going back to eating. You eyed the hand under the table when you felt it shift. He was shifting the ring on his finger so the jewel was in a more comfortable position before it went still again. 

It wasn’t until you were bringing your cup to your lips that you felt the hand move quickly to the space between your legs. You jumped when his palm grinded against your hardening flesh through your jeans, your thighs clamping around the hand. You slammed the cup down, your other hand catching the dribbles of water that escaped. Your head snapped over to him just in time to see him winking at you while raising his own glass to his smirking lips.

The hand that was now free from the glass grabbed his wrist while you wiped your face down. You bit down on your palm when he began to grind against your bulge. Your eyelids fluttered for a second but you snapped out of the state when Harry turned to you, a smile on his lips.

“I’m sorry, what?” Your voice cracked in the middle and you played it off like water went down the wrong pipe with a fake couch. Harry just waved off the excuse and scooted closer, the smile as bright as ever.

“I was just wondering if Hermione, Ron and I could check out a muggle shop in town tomorrow? We really wanna show him other ports besides quidditch.” 

“Quidditch is the only sport that matters!” Ron shouted at Harry, causing you to snicker. You borderline forgot about the hand caressing your dick and the man basically sitting on top of you.

“Sure, if Molly let’s the twins go with you. You need some form of an adult between you there and Hermione needs a break.” You let out a laugh when the twins began to argue with Harry, something over products and quidditch being the only thing that matters and Hermione shouting a loud ‘thank you!!”. Honestly, at this point you were losing your train of thought. The palm against your pelvis was adding pressure, making you bite your tongue. 

“I say, love.. For someone who protested so hard, you sure got hard very quickly.” Sirius’ sultry voice whispered in your ear, causing you to shiver and flush a bright pink. You put a hand on his chest and pushed him back against the spine of the chair.

“Shut it, Black.” You mumbled through a clenched jaw. Your hips jumped forward when his hand slipped into your pants, palming your flesh. Your toes curled against the wooden floor, a needy whine leaving your throat. 

You barely registered when everyone began to say goodnight and flee from the dining room in the same chaotic mass they came in as. Once you heard the last floorboard creak and the last door shut, you let your forehead hit the table, a whimper leaving your lips.

“Finally!” Sirius laughed out, his hand now gripping your cock in your pants, his hand moving slowly up and down. “I thought they’d never go upstairs, didn’t you, love?” He paid special attention to the head, using your pre as lubricant to make it easier. He chuckled louder when a moan escaped your lips.

“Fuck you.” You mumbled into the table cloth, your hands grasping at the wooden table for stability. Fuck, he may have been gone for 12 years, but he still knew your body like the back of his hand.

“Oh, I fully intend on us fucking tonight, doll.” He smirked when you twitched in his hand. He knew how much you loved pet names. “How about we finish this elsewhere, hmm?” 

“But Lupin just went off to bed. I’d rather not get caught tonight.” You gave him the side eye as he pulled his hand away from between your legs and stood up. His eyes glanced down at you, a chuckle causing his shoulders to bounce up and down.

“I never said we’d do it in the bedroom, love.” He offered out his hand, a dirty smirk clear as day across his lips, causing you to blush. He sure did love his sneaky sex. “Of course.. Why would I assume we couldn’t just use a silencing charm and have a grand time behind a locked door.” You grumbled out, taking his hand and standing up. You were even less surprised when Sirius led you away from the dining table and to the living room, swiftly pulling you against him. “But no, we always have to experiment.” You put your hands on his shoulders when he pressed his face into the side of your neck. 

“You know you love being dirty like this, love.” His breath fanned over your neck, leaving you to shudder. He gently led you back against a wall, his hands pressed into your hips. 

“Don’t put words in my mouth.” You whined out, leaning your head to the side allowing the man to pepper open mouthed kisses along your skin. You licked your lips, your mouth dryer than any desert on Earth. 

“I’m not!” Sirius was laughing against your skin, one of his hands traveling south. “I just know how you get, you do have a pretty solid tell.” His hand ran across your bulge, leading your squeak to echo in the dark room. “See, love? This tells me everything.” His mouth worked its way around the front of your throat, licking a warm trail right across your bobbing adam's apple. You tossed your head back against the wall, giving the male more room to ravage you. 

You looked up to see the wall he’d pressed you up against wasn’t much of a wall at all. It was the door belonging to the cupboard under the stairs. If anyone walked down the stairs and bothered to glance down at their feet, or over the railing, they’d see you two easily. It was kinda a turn on. His hand unbuttoned your jeans before pushing them down to the floor. 

“Sirius, come on.” You whined out, your own hands going to unbutton his shirt. You shuddered when he chuckled into your neck. 

“Ok, Ok. I got it, love.” His lips finally met yours in a kiss as your hands pushed the shirt off his shoulders, allowing it to flutter to the floor. His fingers slid under your shirt, his cold hands moved up across your chest before sliding the shirt off your shoulders. Once he’d successfully thrown it across the room, he pressed his lips to yours again, his hands going straight for the underside of your thighs. “Jump.” His raspy voice was back in your ear again.

Once you were sure your arms were wrapped securely around his neck, you jumped up, allowing him to maneuver your legs around his waist. With your ankles locked against his lower back, his hands moved down your thighs and straight to your ass. This man always held back absolutely nothing during your private times together, so of course this time was no different.

Sirius let out a moan when you began to grind against him. To retaliate, he grabbed the elastic of your boxers, pulled it off of your hips and made it snap back against your ass. He ignored your squeak and began to cast a few basic spells- cleansing, maybe stretching- you weren’t sure. All too quickly, he was whispering against your ear again. The stupid tease.

“Don’t tease me, lovie. I will not hesitate to make you scream my name loud enough to make the walls shake.” His hand tugged your boxers down past the swell of your ass, but made sure the top covered you, in case someone did happen to come down. Sirius was risky, but knew literal children were sleeping upstairs. 

He balanced you on his hips with one hand and used the other to tug himself free. He stroked his dick, his tongue gliding across his bottom lip as weak pleasure filled his nerves. Your eyes were automatically drawn to the precum dribbling from the swollen head. At the sight of it, you felt an insatiable itch form in your stomach and a whine left your lips as the white liquid rolled over his fingers and dropped to the floor. 

“Sirius, come ON.” You urged, your hands moving to his long hair. He grinned at how needy you were despite your attitude earlier. He always loved when you’d throw away the pride, the worry, and finally give into him. Sirius gave you a soft peck on the lips and chuckled.

“Alright, pup, alright.” His eyes twinkling with mischief and a quick wink was sent your way. Sirius planted his hands firmly against your ass, spreading your cheeks while mumbling a few spells to prep you. He enjoyed the squeak you made when the lubrication spell kicked in. “It’s cold.”

“No shit.” You griped out, teeth digging into your bottom lip while your heel dug into his lower back, begging Sirius to actually do something. “Babe, I’m wilting like a flower.” You tried to use your legs to tug him forward.

“Aw, I’m sorry, lovie.” He spoke while finally easing into you, and he continued to speak over your moan. “Feels good, huh?” He chuckled, raising a hand to cover your mouth. “Gotta be quiet, darling, or else we’ll have to stop. And you don’t want that right now, do you? We’ve come this far.” Sirius was just teasing you. Such a surprise. 

You grabbed onto his wrist, your eyes almost rolling to the back of your skull when he began to move his hips against you. He couldn’t help but smirk at the whimpers and cries and whines leaving your lips. The wizard was definitely grateful his hand was covering your lips because when he picked a harsh rhythm, and began to rock you higher up the wall with each thrust, your moans raised in volume.

“I do wish you could see how needy you look, stud. It’s breathtaking.” Sirius’ eyes noted how your eyes slowly turned glossy and your cheeks turned hot against his hand. “Absolutely amazing.” He breathed out. He moved his hand to brace the wall allowing him to raise the intensity of your pleasure, but also tuck his head against your neck and trail the skin with kisses. "Try to keep quiet for me, pup."

With that demand, he began to push into you harder and deeper, purposefully dragging a sound out of you despite his demand. You released a whimper loud enough for it to echo in the silent house and his hand smacked against your ass, leaving a louder echo behind. His chest dug into yours, allowing you to feel every shallow breath that left his lungs. It almost felt intimate despite the lustful evening. 

 You bit your tongue, ignoring the taste of iron as you rested your head against his shoulder. With ease thrust, stars were dancing across your vision and your body was sliding higher up the wall. Eventually, you got sick of the taste of your own blood so you sunk your teeth into his shoulder. The sound of skin slapping skin was almost deafening, but the worry about the noise waking anyone was far from the front of your thoughts. 

“You close?” Your voice was rough and crackly, even through the short sentence. You were. Your own cock was throbbing and leaking between your legs, it’s only stimulation being your husband’s stomach rubbing against the underside.

Sirius nodded his head, his hips coming to a stop before he was shifting his arms again. One twisted around your waist, propping you up while the other wrapped around your dripping cock, causing you to toss your head back against the wall with a thud and suddenly you were putty in his hands.

“Oh, shit, Siri.” You bit down on your bottom lip, your back arching off the wall when his thumb grazed the underside of your head. Your hands tangled in his hair, pulling at the curled roots as a reflection of his hand dragging up and down your cock. You weren’t sure if it was moaning his name, or your walls twitching around his cock, but he was teetering on the edge.

“Where do you want it?” His hips slowed, allowing you to actually think and to postpone his orgasm. His hand around your leaky dick, however, did not stop. 

“Oh, fuck, in me. We can shower after this.” You let out a weak giggle, your toes flexing behind his back. He raised his head from beside your neck, revealing his dark eyes, mischievous smirk and tongue sticking out.

“I knew you were dirty. Merlin, I love you.” He purred out, his nose booping yours before he picked up the rough pace again. He wanted to see your eyes rolling back, your mouth hanging open and the beads of sweat on your forehead dripping down your skin. It didn’t take long for him to cum inside you, his lips pressing against yours hard enough to bruise. He had to hide his cry of pleasure somehow. 

Your hands moved from his hair, to his cheeks, keeping him close during the kiss. You always loved his kisses. His lips were between soft and firm, and he poured his passion into every single kiss and it just made your heart flutter. His hips lost rhythm before coming to a stop. He pulled from the kiss, but didn’t move far away. Sirius still wanted to see you finish.

“Come on, love. You can do it.” He smiled, his eyes filled with admiration. The marauder’s hand never stopped jerking in rapid motions, quickly bringing you over the edge with a cry. He pressed his lips against yours a second too late. He didn’t stop until you were trying to wiggle away from his moving hand and whimpering against his lips. “Amazing, lovie.” His voice was breathy and soft and amazing.

“Thank you, Siri. You were amazing, too.” Your voice was closer to nonexistent at this point and it filled Sirius with pride. You ran your hand along your forehead, wiping the extra sweat away from your skin.

“Don’t you mean ‘amazing like usual’?” He giggled, kissing your forehead and kinda smushing his cheek against yours, pulling a matching chuckle out of you. He just kinda held you close, cuddling you into the wall.

“Are you two done?”

Both of you looked up at the same time to see Remus leaning against the railing. He looked about the same amount of disappointed as usual. Sirius waved up to his friend, a grin spread across his lips. He pulled out of you and tucked himself away, doing the same to you as he spoke to his friend.

“Oh, hey Moony! How long have you been up?” Sirius set you down gently before wiping his hands off on his jeans. He was still smiling like a teenager coming back from spring break to their best friend.

“Enough time to know you two are disgusting. Go to bed. There are literal children here.” He grumbled, rubbing his eyes as he turned and went back up to his bedroom.

“Oops. I think he’s mad at me.”

“I’m sorry for your loss of his happiness, but can we shower now?”

“Of course, but I’m going to need time to grieve.”

“Do it in the shower.”

[seokjinsdisciple]

Tease

jaemin x reader (smut)

Word Count: 1.2k

Warnings: cock-warming, somewhat public sex, dirty talk, language probably, degradation, use of the word cumslut, kitten, princess, teasing jaemin, the dirty talk in this is insane, mentions of getting caught, renjun watches?, idk man im probably missing something just lmk

You hated your boyfriend. You sat on the couch, horror film flashing on the tv screen in the dreamies dorm. You couldn’t help but clench around Jaemin’s cock as a ghost popped onto the screen, whimpering into his chest as he gripped your hips. You were absolutely dripping around him, buzzing with arousal that he had been teasing you with for hours. 

“Stop moving, love,” his breath ghosted over your ear, “You’re only making it worse for yourself.”

“You know I hate horror movies,” you whined, barely fighting the urge to grind down on him right there. 

“Stop being gross,” Mark whined from across the living room, throwing a piece of popcorn at your head with surprisingly accurate aim. 

“Sorry,” Jaemin smiled at him easily, ignoring your death grip completely, “You know she gets scared of horror movies.”

You glanced haphazardly at Mark, grinding your hips down when his gaze returned to the tv. Jaemin’s hiss was barely audible, but his grip on your hips was so tight it could’ve bruised. 

“You’re acting like such a little slut,” he growled in your ear, “Trying to get me to fuck you in front of all of our friends? Want them to see how bad you are?”

“I-” you started, flinching as another scary scene played on the tv, your pussy throbbing around Jaemin’s cock. 

“I’m not afraid to fuck you in front of them,” he added, thrusting up gently as if to prove his point, “Is that what you want, huh? To be caught?”

His smile only grew at the way you tightened around him. If you hadn’t been so turned on you would’ve hit him at the way his smirk taunted you. Have you mentioned recently that you hate your boyfriend?

“I hate you,” you whispered, shifting so your head was no longer buried into his chest and facing the tv again. His only response to your admission of hatred was a simple chuckle and a peck on the top of your head. 

You willed yourself to focus on the movie, not the throbbing in your clit and the desperate need to come. You stared intently at Jeno’s silhouette, praying that you would think of anything besides your boyfriend's cock that was buried deep in you. To say that it didn’t work was an understatement, and now you had Jeno’s curious gaze on the two of you as well. 

“Is she ok?” he asked, throwing a gaze from your face to Jaemin’s. The squeeze of Jaemin’s hand on your hips barely enough warning before he made you grind down on him. 

“She’s fine Jen,” Jaemin reassured him, hands gently urging your hips to grind lightly against his. You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding when Jeno accepted Jaemin’s claim, forehead hitting his shoulder as you continued the movements of your hips. 

“Knock it off, kitten,” Jaemin warned, holding your hips still as best as he could, “We had a deal. Unless you’re already too desperate to think? You are dripping in my lap.”

“Shut up,” you groaned, continuing your ministrations as subtly as you could. 

“Uh uh,” he hissed, pausing your hips with his threatening tone alone, “You’re the one who is acting like a little whore in front of all of her friends. Should I take care of you right here, princess? MAke you take my fucking cum like the little cumslut you are?”

“Jaemin, please,” you whined, shooting a glance towards where Chenle and Jisung sat on the floor, completely focused on the movie. 

“Oh, don’t pretend you don’t love this, kitten,” Jaemin smirked at you once again, meeting your desperate grinding with subtle thrusts of his hips, “I can feel how you tighten around me every time you think we are caught.”

“You’re acting like I can’t feel you twitch every time you talk to one of your members,” you whispered back, “I think you’re enjoying this a little too much Jaem.”

“Stop,” he grunted, halting your hips forcefully with your hand, “Renjun’s looking.”

You tried to wait a few moments before glancing Renjun’s way, heat rising in your body as you met his eyes. He simply raised an eyebrow at the two of you, eyes flickering from where your crotches met underneath the blanket and back up to your faces. 

“Fuck you just got so tight,” he groaned, resting his head against your shoulder, “You really like the idea of being caught don't you, kitten?"

"I like anything when you're this deep in me, "you say,  biting your lip to hold in  the moan threatened  to leave your mouth.

"Oh kitten, you want him to watch don't you? " Jaemin asked, "Go on then, put on a show for him." 

You didn't hesitate to listen, your hips lifting from his gently before slamming back down. you could feel Renjun's eyes on you, but at that point you didn't care. You were a mess. You were Jaemin’s mess. You rut your hips against his as harshly as you can without drawing extra attention to yourself. You were desperate, but you weren't desperate enough to get caught. You almost let out a loud whine as Jaemin forced your hips to stop once again.

"That's enough now, kitten "Jamin added, "it'd be a shame to miss the movie we put on. It is one of my favorites you know.”

“You’re just jealous,” you whined in his ear, trying desperately to lift your hips again. He wouldn’t let you thought. 

“I have nothing to be jealous of babe,” Jaemin laughed back, “You’re mine, only mine. And Renjun knows that.”

You smiled softly as Jaemin let out a pleased hum at the way you tightened around him. He knew exactly what to say to work you up. 

“Will you two shut up?” Jeno groaned, shooting you daggers as he shifted further away from you on the couch. 

“Sorry Jen,” you whispered, genuinely sorry that you had interrupted him. He softened his gaze slightly at that, probably feeling bad for taking away your source of comfort. 

You rested your head back on Jaemin’s shoulder, once again trying to calm yourself down enough to just cock warm your boyfriend. 

Before you knew it, the credits of the film were rolling.

“Sungie, LeLe,” Mark called softly, “Movie’s over guys it’s your bedtime.”

You waved softly at them as they grumbled at Mark. Smile toying on your lips at their antics. When they were fully out of the room Mark glanced at the two of you, nose crinkling in disgust. 

“Please don’t fuck on the couch again,” he groaned, “You guys are disgusting and now it smells like sex.”

“Oh shut up, Mark,” Renjun cut him off, “Like you haven’t fucked Hyuck on that couch.”

The six of you left let out a loud laugh, Hyuck smacking Renjun lightly as an indisputable blush covered Mark’s cheeks. 

The rest of the boys left first, eyeing the two of you warily before calling out their goodnights. And if Jaemin ended up fucking you on that couch while Renjun watched, while that was for the three of you to know.

[sequinsmile-x]

Day-to-Day

Chapter 4: Aaron

Words: 5k

Warnings: None 

Read over on ao3, or below the cut.

Please let me know what you think <3

December 2009

He’d convinced her to go. Aaron had seen her hesitation as she stood at the front door of their temporary apartment, the twitch in her fingers when Amelia almost immediately reached out for her after Aaron took her. The way she bit her lip when Theo asked her, again, if she really had to go out.

She did have to go, despite how much she would deny it. He knew she needed some time with her friends, and Penelope and JJ had practically begged for a girls night. The 6 months Emily had been gone long and drawn out for all of them. She talked them down to dinner, not wanting to spend too long away from her family that had been so delicately stitched back together. Getting a table at any restaurant so close to Christmas had been difficult, but being the daughter of an ambassador had its advantages, and for once Emily hadn’t been hesitant to use them.

Aaron had sent her on her way with a kiss to her cheek and an assurance that they would be ok without her for a couple of hours.

He was now slightly regretting that decision, but he would never tell her. Their children were feral. Jack was in a mood. His teenage angst was out in full swing this evening, the anger he had experienced shortly after Haley’s death coming back to the forefront in the fallout of the situation with Foyet. He was hiding out in his room, playing a video game and ignoring his father.

Theo was asking where Emily was every few minutes and when she’d be back. He tried to placate his son with his favourite tv show and pizza, and it wouldn’t do. Theo was sitting in the living room, sideways on an armchair as he watched the front door intently. Aaron knew he was going to have to have a conversation with Emily soon about the attachment issues, but it was not the time yet, knowing his wife wouldn’t take it well either. That part of her loved that their son constantly sought her out.

Amelia was cranky. She still didn’t fully trust him, but things were better than they had been when she first shied away from him a few weeks ago. He knows that Emily nursed her before she puts her to bed, that it’s a treasured part of his wifes daily routine, so in the hope that a snack will help he grabs a small yoghurt from the fridge and places her in her high chair.

He feeds her, and although just under half of it ends up on her face, she does calm down a little whilst she is eating. He cleans her up, but she starts fussing again almost immediately.

As soon as Emily walks into the apartment he breathes a sigh of relief. Theo jumps out of the chair and to his mothers side, immediately hugging her.

“Mommy, I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” She kneels down to hug him properly, kissing the side of his head. She pulls back to look at him, thumb worrying over the now mostly healed cut on his forehead that he had acquired during Aaron’s final showdown with Foyet. She looks over and sees Amelia crying in Aaron’s arms. “It’s late, why don’t you go to bed and I’ll come say goodnight in a bit?”

Theo nods, hugging her again before bounding off, throwing a goodnight aimed at his father as he runs down the hallway.

“You were right.” She says, happiness pouring off of her as she removes her coat and shoes at the door. “I really did need that. Pen kept trying to convince me to drink wine even though I told her I’m still nursing.” She says with a laugh in her voice, she turns to him and the smile slides off her face as she takes in the sight of him, and he realises how stressed he must look.

Ameila tries to turn in his arms at the sound of her mother’s voice and starts to cry harder as she reaches out for Emily. Aaron transfers her with little fanfare, knowing that whatever was wrong with the little girl was something only his wife could fix.

“What's this all about, baby?” Emily says as she holds her daughter tightly, her lips pressed to her forehead as she rocks her. “Has she been like this since I left?” She asks as she looks up at her husband.

“The past hour.” Aaron says, watching as Emily gently bounces Amelia in her arms as she attempts to settle the 11 month old. “I’ve been struggling to calm her down.”

The sympathy on his wifes face makes frustration flood his veins, another reminder of something Foyet had taken from him. His relationship with his daughter was still fragile, the way she was still unsure around him a punch to the gut every time she frantically reached out for her mother. Emily looks at the high chair and frowns when she spots the yoghurt pot still sitting on the tray.

“Did she eat that?” Emily asks, her hand rubbing delicate circles on Amelia’s back.

Aaron looks over before turning back to his wife. “Yeah, she was cranky. They all were. I thought a snack would help tide her over until you got home.”

Emily hesitates. It’s fast, almost undetectable, but he catches it.

“Aaron.” Her voice is soft, gentle in a way that was usually only used on the children when she wanted them to know they weren’t in trouble. “She’s lactose intolerant.”

The memory hits him suddenly. Emily curled up next to him in the hotel room they had stayed in when they were first reunited, filling him in on anything and everything to do with the kids. He remembers her telling him that the doctors had got to the bottom of Amelia’s bad stomach, and that she was dairy free herself because she was still nursing her. She’d lamented missing chocolate and cheese, and joked it was her biggest sacrifice as a mother so far.

“I’m sorry.” He stutters, not sounding like himself as it dawned on him. “I’m sorry.” He repeats as he runs his hand through his hair.

“Aaron, baby, it’s ok.” She says, her hand on his arm. She has Amelia on her hip, one arm securing their grumpy baby to her. “It happens. I should have reminded you before I went out.”

“I should know what my daughter can and cannot eat without being reminded.” He seethes, his anger aimed at himself. He tears his arm from under her hand and takes a couple steps back. He watches as she tries to placate him further, useless reassurances on the tip of her tongue. “I’m going out.”

“Honey-”

“I need some air.” He grabs his keys from the side table and leaves the apartment before she can argue any further, the door closing a little too harshly behind him.

Emily sighs and closes her eyes. Amelia buries her head further into her mothers neck, whining as she did so.

“Oh, sweet girl. I know you feel icky.” She kisses the side of her daughter's head and rubs her back. “Let's go see what your brothers are up to.” She kisses her head again and walks through the apartment in search of her sons. ________________

She feeds and settles Amelia before reading with Theo for a bit, smiling as her son drifts off to sleep against her side. She quietly slips out of his room, well practised at the quick and silent exit, and gently closes his bedroom door. Jack gives her a small wave and a grunt when she pops her head into his room, his grumpiness obvious the second she lays eyes on him.

Emily washes her face, blowing out a breath as she takes in the sight of herself in the bathroom mirror. Any joy, any relief she felt after spending an evening with her friends had wilted as quickly as it had bloomed in her chest. The lightness that JJ’s laugh, and Penelope’s overly personal questions about Emily and Aaron’s reunion, had brought was torn away by the devastation in her husband's eyes just before he left the apartment.

Everytime they made progress, every step away from what Foyet had done to Aaron, to their family, it felt like they were thrown right back into it. Emily was exhausted. She missed the version of them that had existed before she had come home to find her husband missing and his blood staining their hardwood floor.

She wondered if they’d ever get the old them back, or if they would slowly build something better. Emily was hopeful that the move to the new house would help, that it would give them new foundations. Somehow even stronger than the ones they had before.

She’s finishing up getting ready for bed, pulling her pyjama shirt over her head, when she hears the front door open, and her husband’s familiar steps throughout the apartment. She hears their bedroom door open and close quickly. She takes a deep breath before she walks out of the ensuite and she sees him sat on the end of the bed, his head in his hands. She sits next to him, purposely keeping her hands to herself despite how much she wants to touch him, to assure him everything was ok. A slight clench in his jaw is the only indicator he has even registered that she's there. She waits him out, knowing he needs to process this himself before he’ll speak to her.

“I should have remembered.” He finally says, removing his head from his hands but not looking at her.

“Aaron-”

“Don’t.” He interrupts, finally looking at her. There are unshed tears in his eyes that make her heart ache. Thoughts about how she could find a way to bring George Foyet back to life just so she could kill him herself burning through her.

“Don’t what?”

“Tell me that it’s ok. Because it isn’t.” He shakes his head at himself. “I gave our little girl…” His voice falters and he clears his throat. “I gave her something that’s made her sick.”

“And so did I.” She reasons, and she grabs his hand. “For the first almost 5 months of her life she was getting it through my breast milk. You did it once. Give yourself a break.”

“I should have remembered.” He says, repeating himself.

“Baby.” She says, moving her hands to grasp his cheeks. “Please stop this. She’s going to be ok. She is ok. She’s fast asleep next door.” She leans her forehead against his, her thumbs stroking his cheeks. “We’re all ok.”

He starts to cry, sobs escaping him that he hadn’t set free since their ordeal had ended. Emily had been waiting for it as he processed everything at his own pace. She pulls him towards her, his head resting on her chest as she wraps her arms tightly around him, one hand in his hair as she presses fierce kisses to the top of his head.

“I’m right here.” She kisses the top of his head again, unsurprised when she can feel her own tears on her face. “You’re ok. I’m here.”

She comforts him like she does their children. With tender words and soft touches, the whispering of nonsense against his hair as he slowly calms. The grip he has on the back of her shirt loosens ever so slightly.

Aaron sniffs as he pulls back, a shaky smile on his face as she wipes his tears away with her thumbs.

“I’m sorry.” He apologies, his voice cracked and torn open by the months of repressed emotion he had let out against her skin.

“You have nothing to apologise for.” Emily says tenderly. “I’m your wife. This is what I’m here for.”

Amelia’s cry through the baby monitor visibly undoes some of the work she had done in calming him down, some tension returning to his shoulders. Emily kisses his cheek before she stands up.

“You get ready for bed, I’ll go see what's up with her.” She says just before leaving the room, crossing the hallway into the small bedroom serving as Amelia’s temporary nursery. Most of the baby's things are boxed up ready for the move to the new house. Emily smiles as she approaches the crib, Amelia already standing with her arms reaching out for her. “What’s wrong, sweet girl?”

She picks up her daughter, settling her on her hip as she kisses the side of her head. Amelia almost immediately settles, her crying quietening down as she presses her face into her mother’s neck.

“You just wanted to cuddle, huh?” Emily says, pacing the small room. “I think your dad could do with a cuddle too.”

Emily walks back into their bedroom to find it empty, but the tap running in the ensuite calms any nerves that he had left again. She settles into bed and lays Amelia on her chest, the baby snuggling down, her fingers grasping at her mother’s shirt.

When Aaron leaves the ensuite he falters slightly at the sight in front of him. Emily catches it, the small hesitation before he climbs into bed. Amelia is already half asleep, the discomfort she had been in when Aaron last saw her gone, and Emily watches the tension leave him as he sees with his own eyes that the baby is ok.

“See, she’s fine.” Emily says, smiling at him as he lays down next to them.

He kisses the top of Amelia’s head, which makes her open her eyes. She reaches out for him and he carefully takes her to settle her against his own chest. Emily smiles as she moves to be closer to them, her head resting on Aaron’s chest next to their daughter. He presses a kiss to the top of his wifes head.

“My girls.”

“Yeah.” She replies. “Your girls.” ________________

April 2021

Aaron sighs in frustration as his phone rings, distracting him from his lesson plans. Emily often teased him for his interpretation of retirement, the profiling classes he taught at the academy taking up a fair amount of his time. He turns from his computer to pick up his cell phone, frowning when he sees a number he doesn’t recognise as he answers.

“An inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville, New York is calling you, to accept the charges please press one.” An automated voice says through the phone.

The name of the prison makes him freeze, there is only one person he knew who was in prison in New York. He presses one and puts the phone back to his ear, waiting for the call to connect.

“Aaron?” He hears down the phone, the voice on the other end of the tinny line was unsure, nerves easily showing through.

“Sean?” ________________

The rest of the day goes by in a blur and the next thing he is truly aware of is the front door opening, Amelia and Theo bursting in, both of them animatedly talking about their days.

“Hi Dad.” Theo says as he passes through the kitchen where Aaron is sitting, grabbing a snack and leaving the room almost immediately. “I’ve got loads of homework, back in a bit.”

“Hi Theo.” He says, a small smile on his face as his ever studious 18 year old is already out of the room, his mind clearly on whatever work he was assigned that day.

“Dad, do we have any antacids?” Amelia asks as she joins him in the kitchen, grimacing as she walks in with her arms wrapped around her stomach.

“Are you ok, sweetheart?” He asks, frowning, pulling her into a quick hug she only protests slightly as she walks past.

“Yeah, just a bad stomach.”

Before he can ask any more questions the front door opens again, and Emily’s voice soon follows.

“Hi.”

“We’re in the kitchen, Em.”

She joins them, a wide smile on her face as she kisses his cheek.

“Everything ok?”

“Everything is fine.” Amelia answers far too quickly.

“Mills has a stomach ache.” Aaron says, and he can’t help but smirk at the way she narrows her eyes at him.

“Traitor.”

“Amelia.” Emily says, her hand gently grasping her daughter's chin to tilt her head, sighing when she sees the hives on her neck. “You had the cheese fries for lunch again didn’t you?”

The 12 year old sighs, knowing lying to her mother, to either of her parents, is pointless. “Yes.”

“Baby, you’re lactose intolerant.” Emily chastises as she tucks some of Amelia’s hair behind her ear.

“Mom, it's cheese fries. Totally worth it.”

Emily sighs, knowing that the slight grimace on her daughter's face is nothing to do with her rebuke, but the discomfort she knows she is in.

“There is some Pepto in the medicine cabinet in our bathroom. Go take some and go lie down.”

Amelia smiles gratefully and starts to make her way out of the room before she turns back. “I’m not going to find anything gross in there am I?”

“Amelia.”

“What?” She says, throwing her hands up. “I’ve caught you guys making out way too many times not to check. I’ve been burned before.”

Emily raises an eyebrow at her. “Go. Now.”

“I’m going.” Amelia says as she leaves the room, something a bit too close to a curse word muttered under her breath.

“That girl will be the death of me.” Emily says as she turns to Aaron, his silence throughout her exchange with their daughter, the lack of quips about how similar they were, now only striking her as odd as she takes in the look on his face. His gaze fixed in the distance, not focused on anything in particular. She frowns and takes a step closer to him, placing her hand over his on the counter. “Honey, are you ok?”

He looks at her, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Sean called me.”

Emily doesn’t cover her shock, her hand tightening over his. It had been years since they had heard from Sean. The supposed truce the brothers had come to in New York, when a rare family vacation had turned into a case, had fallen apart as soon as Sean was formally sentenced. Aaron had tried reaching out at the beginning, attempting to visit his brother, but it had always been radio silence on the other side.

Over time he stopped trying, his attempts at calling Sean getting further apart. His requests to go see him stopped. To anyone else it would look like Aaron had accepted it, that he simply was no longer going to be a part of his brother's life. Emily knew better than that.

“What?”

“He called from prison. He wants me to go see him.”

“Oh.” She replies, taking a second before she joins him at the kitchen island, linking their fingers together properly as she settles next to him on one of the stalls. “Are you ok?”

“I think so.” He answers, looking at her, uncertainty all over his face despite his answer. “No.”

Emily places her spare hand on his thigh. “What do you want to do?”

“I want to see him.”

She nods, squeezing his leg in comfort. “Then we’ll go.” She smiles when he turns to look at her, his brows furrowed.

“You don’t have to come with me, it’s fine. I know work is busy.”

“Aaron.” She replies firmly, leaving no room for argument as she moves her hand from his leg to cup his cheek. “I’m coming with you.”

“What about the kids?”

“We’ll be gone one night. Theo is sensible enough to look after Amelia, and Jack lives 20 minutes away if they need him.” She pulls him towards her for a kiss. “Stop arguing with me, it never gets you anywhere.”

His lips twitch, a brief smile taking over. “You think I would have learnt that by now.” _______________

It takes a couple of weeks for them to get things lined up, so that the quick trip to New York wouldn’t disrupt their day-to-day lives too drastically.

Amelia was unimpressed when they told her that Theo was in charge, rolling her eyes at the thought that she needed babysitting, but when they come to leave her attitude fades when she sees how stressed her father was, how on edge he seems as he checks they have everything before they set off on their drive.

She doesn’t remember her Uncle Sean, she had only met him once when she was 3, and she knew enough from what her brothers and parents had told her about that trip to New York to know why she had never seen him again. Another seemingly life changing moment they went through as a family that she had no memory of, relying on hearsay from her brothers and the toned down version she knew her parents told her.

“Please behave for your brother, Amelia.” Emily says as she hugs her daughter.

“I always behave.” She replies, rolling her eyes when she sees her mother raise her eyebrow. “Ok fine, I’ll be good.”

Aaron hugs her next, and Amelia doesn’t miss how he holds her a little tighter than usual. She hugs him back, smiling when he kisses her forehead as they pull apart.

She feels bad for her dad, knowing how much he values his family tells her how much it would hurt him to not be in touch with his brother. Amelia considers how it would feel to not be speaking to Jack or Theo, and despite how much they both annoy her frequently the idea makes her heart clench.

“Call if you need anything, ok?” Aaron says and Amelia nods before pulling him back into a hug.

“I love you, Daddy.” She says, using the moniker she dropped a couple years ago and it makes her chest fill with happiness when he smiles into the top of her head.

“Love you too, Amelia.” ________________

The drive is long, and quiet, and by the time they pull up to the prison Emily is grateful to see it. Aaron had insisted on driving and she’d let him, knowing it would ultimately be worse for him to not be occupied on the trip here. She was planning on taking over when they left for their drive back to the city, but she hadn’t mentioned it yet, knowing that he would already try and argue that point.

They get through security and are shown to the visiting room. They take a seat next to each other and Emily turns to him, trying to read her husband’s face.

“Are you ok?”

He chuckles. “Ask me later.”

A buzzer sounds and a door opens, prisoners walking out and greeting their family and friends. Towards the back is Sean. Emily thinks of the first time she met him. He wasn’t much older than Amelia was now, and already damaged by the things he had been exposed to in his young life. She remembers how he had been nervous around her, a crush on her that he barely concealed.

“Aaron, Emily.” He says as he makes it to the table. Aaron stands and hugs him, and then Emily does the same.

“Sean, how are you?” Aaron asks as they sit down.

“As good as I can be considering I’ve been here nearly 10 years.” He says, his eyes fixed on his brother. He looks at them both. “You guys have hardly changed. How are the kids?”

“I have a picture.” Aaron says, pulling out his wallet and removing the photo of his family that he keeps in there. It was taken on Emily and Theo’s birthday the year before, her 50th and his 18th, all five of them and Sara together and smiling. It was one of his favourites. He slides it across the table to let his brother look at it.

“Wow, they look grown up.”

“It’s been a long time.” Aaron says, the conversation stilted. The awkwardness cloying, making the air around the table feel thick.

“Jack is 28 now, and married. That’s his wife, Sara, in the picture with us” Emily says, trying to break the tension. “Theo is 18 and Amelia is 12.”

Aaron is staring at his brother, profiling him as he listens to Emily talk about the kids. He watches as she explains that Jack is a resident at Georgetown, and that Theo was going to Cornell in the fall. He watches as his brother listens to her stories about Amelia, their wild thing of a daughter who kept them both on their toes. He recognises his brother's expression, it’s one he perfected when they were young, a way to get what he wanted from their mother. It clicks in his head, and he wonders why he didn’t think of it sooner.

“What do you want Sean?” He asks, interrupting the conversation between his wife and brother.

“Aaron-” Emily begins to say, uncertainty in her voice.

“He wants something. That's why he asked me to come here.” He looks back at his brother, and Sean chuckles slightly.

“You don’t miss anything do you? I’m up for parole soon.” Sean explains. “My lawyer said it would be good to have someone upstanding talk at my hearing, and I don’t know anyone more upstanding than you.”

“You want me to talk at your parole hearing? That’s why you got in touch?”

Emily feels how tense her husband gets next to her, the disappointment he clearly feels at Sean only getting in touch because he needed something palpable. She grabs his hand under the table, providing the best support she can in the moment. He lightly squeezes her hand in a silent thank you.

“Yeah. I told my lawyer what you do for a living and he said it was perfect.” Sean says, missing the way his brother sighs, the brief closing of his eyes as he tries to cover his disappointment. “So will you?”

“Of course.” Aaron replies, clearing his throat as he does. “Get your lawyer to send me the details.” He turns to Emily. “Excuse me for a second.”

He gets up and walks towards the bathroom. Emily turns her attention back to her brother-in-law.

“Are you kidding me, Sean?” She says, exasperated.

“What?” Sean asks, his face screwed up in confusion.

“It’s been 9 years.” She explains. “9 years and you reach out because you want something.”

“It’s thanks to him that I’m in here in the first place.”

“You know that’s not true, Sean.” Emily implores, and she stares at him until he relents and nods. “He’ll do it for you because he’s your brother and he loves you. But when you get out you will work on your relationship with him. I won’t let you use him for this and then disappear from our lives again.”

“Are you...threatening me, Emily?” He asks, an eyebrow raised at her in a way that reminded her of Aaron.

“Very much so.” She says seriously, before she smiles. “I’d also like you to get to know my kids better.”

“I’d like that too.” ________________

When they get to their hotel in the city he barely looks around the suite they have for the night before he goes into the bathroom. Emily sighs as she puts her bag down and goes to the mini bar, grabbing a drink for each of them.

She feels his arms wrap around her from behind, his chin resting on her shoulder.

“Did I ever tell you that you’re my favourite wife?”

‘I’m your only wife.” She chuckles, turning to give him his drink.

“That works out well then.” He leans down and kisses her. “Thank you for today.”

“You don’t have to thank me.” She cups his neck, and strokes her thumb over his jawline. “My place has always been by your side.” Emily kisses him quickly. “Lets go sit down.”

She leads him over to the couch in the room, leaning against him as they get comfortable. They sit in silence for a while, having their drinks whilst his fingers trail up and down her arm.

“I let him down.” Aaron says eventually, making Emily turn to look at him, a curious look on her face. “Sean. I’ve been letting him down since we were kids.”

“Honey, you know that's not true.”

“It is. I left when he was young, I left him in that house with the ghost of our father and our shell of a mother.” He says bitterly, throwing back the rest of his drink.

Emily stares at him for a second before she takes his glass out of hand and places it with hers on the table next to the couch. She settles herself over his lap, straddling him in a way that makes him raise an eyebrow and place his hands on her hips. She cups his face in both her hands.

“Listen to me, Aaron. You are not to blame for any of this. You were a kid yourself, Theo’s age, and you wanted to start your own life. You are not responsible for your parents and what they did or didn’t do. Or for the decisions that Sean has made that has led him to where he is.” She looks directly into his eyes, looking for some understanding or agreement. “Ok?”

“Ok.” He nods his agreement, and she can tell he isn’t completely convinced, but it’s enough to placate her for now.

She still wants to cheer him up, so she changes tactics, moving her hands so she’s cupping the back of his head instead before she leans down to kiss him. She presses herself closer to him, signalling her intent, she smiles against his lips when he pulls her closer, his grip on her hips tightening.

“Let's go to bed.” She says, slightly breathless as she pulls away.

“I like the way you think, Mrs Hotchner.”

[shewillreadyou]

Me before You: Chapter 2- For Real

As always. I hope that you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing.

A/N: This is a TRR AU. Liam is already married, but see’s Riley and wants his cake. If the readers are receptive this might turn into more than a mini series.

Disclaimers: Most characters are property of Pixelberry

Warnings: Language, adult content, mild sexual innuendo. 

Word Count: 2458

Catch up: Haven’t met you Yet

Prompts: @theworldofprompts​ 

“Name one thing you regret in life?”  

“Well, for starters, I married you.” will appear in BOLD.

Pairings: Drake & Riley

Song inspiration: For Real- Amel Larrieux

Be Kind: Hit the heart button, leave a comment or reblog. It makes a writer so so happy. 

“I now pronounce you man and wife. You may salute your bride.”

Savannah and her groom shared a modest kiss. 

“It is my pleasure to present to you for the very first time the Duke and Duchess of Ramsford. Bertrand and Savannah Beaumont of Cordonia.”

“Cordonia?” Riley whispered to herself.

“So I’m not crazy. Drake said he is from Cordonia. The Liam look-alike could really be King Liam of Cordonia. The matron of honor could actually be Queen Carsyn. This is insane.” 

Her thoughts raced as she tried to make connections. 

“There will be a cocktail hour in the barn,” an older woman announced.

The barn was decorated in a rustic theme, Tim McGraw’s, “I like it, I love it” played in the background and there were servers with appetizers everywhere. Quickly, lines formed for the open bars. Mack held on to Riley’s arm as they waited.

“So let me get this straight? The guy you met in New York, was Drake? Drake Walker? Like Savannah’s brother Drake? No fucking way. The world is not that small.”

“Yeah, apparently it is, he is the man I saw at the airport, the guy from the bar, the guy I’ve been texting and now he’s here.”

“Sounds like fate.”

“I don’t know if I believe in fate. More like dumb luck.”

“Miss Riley?” a server interrupts their conversation. 

“For you and your guest.”

He offers a whiskey sour and an old fashion, the signature drink to she and Mack.

“Compliments of Mr. Walker. My name is Caleb, I have been personally assigned to you for the duration of the evening. You don’t need to wait in lines. I can bring you whatever you need to eat or drink.”

“Wow, well thank you Caleb. That’s very thoughtful.” 

She tries to tip Caleb and he refuses. 

“No thank you Ma’am. Mr. Walker has already compensated me handsomely. Please let me know if there is anything else I can get for you.”

Later

The wedding party joins the guests in the barn before the bride and groom have their first dance. Riley watched from her assigned seat wondering who would end up seated next to her. The seat went empty for the first part of the afternoon. 

“That was a beautiful ceremony. You know, I have seen pictures and heard tons of stories about Drake from Savannah, but he has really grown up. He is a hottie.”

“He’s ok.”

“Wow, just ok? Huh? I’m wounded.” he says in a raspy voice. 

“Drake!”

Mack and Riley blush furiously.

“Raye. It’s good to see you again.”

“That’s one way of putting it,” she smirked.

“Sorry! Drake, this is Mackenzie, Mack this is Savannah’s brother Drake.”  

“Don’t listen to her. She was definitely pleasantly surprised,” Mack said as she extended her hand for Drake to kiss. 

Riley elbowed Mack and Drake laughed as he shook her hand. 

“Good thing I get the honor of keeping you company tonight. My seat was moved next to yours.”

He smiled and Riley’s heart melted just a little bit more. He leaned over to hug her and she immediately flashed back to their dance on the rooftop. 

After their first dance, all the guests were invited to the dance floor. “At Last” by Etta James started to play.

“May I have this dance? And please don’t tell me that your feet still hurt.”

She stood, unsure of what to do in the presence of royalty.

“Your Majesty, we have to stop meeting this way. Shouldn’t you be dancing with your Queen?”

Before he could answer, Drake slipped up behind Riley snaking his strong arm around her waist. Pulling her into his embrace.

“Beat it Li!”

“Miss me yet?” 

“Perfect timing. Small world. You didn’t say that your Mom and sister lived so close to me.”

“I didn’t think it was pertinent information at the time,” he said as he led her in a slow dance. Riley watched Queen Carsyn over Drakes shoulder, as she shot daggers at King Liam. 

“Is he always like that?”

“What?”

“Liam? Is he always so tactless?”

“I’m not at liberty to comment,” he chuckles.

“Question asked, question answered.”

“Enough about Liam. Have I mentioned how stunning you look?”

“No, but thanks for the compliment anyway.”

She smiled, getting lost in his eyes as they swayed to the music.  

After sitting and watching Drake and Riley dance and flirt for hours Mack was about ready to go.

“Ri, I’m about ready to head out.”

“Riley reluctantly said her goodbyes to Drake, not knowing when she’d see him again. 

After a short drive back to her place they arrived to see a red Jeep sitting idle in front of her door waiting. Riley looked at Mack and shrugged her shoulders. When she had said goodnight to her friend, she headed to the door. The window of the Jeep lowered, “Hey, could you tell me where to get something good to eat in this neighborhood?” 

“Drake! What-- how did you know where I lived?”

“Guestbook.”

“Well, that isn’t creepy at all.” 

“I’m hungry and thought you might be hungry too.” 

“So, where to?”

“I don’t know, I have only been here a few weeks.”

“I know a place.”

Drake gets out of the truck and walks around waving at Mack, who is still watching from her car. He opens the door for Riley and grabs her by the waist helping her into the truck.

“Really? Such a gentleman.”

He smiles as he heads back around. Mack lowers her window and says, “I took a picture of your license plates just in case she doesn’t make it back.”

“Noted.”

“Thank you. So where are we going?”

“Whataburger. I can’t get that in Cordonia.”

“What the what?”

“You’ll love it, promise and it’s on me. Seat belt.”

“Let me ask you a question?”

“Just one?”

“God no, I have a million questions.”

“Ok, I will try my best to answer them.”

She thinks of what she wants to ask first.

“What did you honestly think when you saw me today?”

“That I am not this lucky.”

A blush crept across her face as she awkwardly shifted in the seat.

“Why do you live in Cordonia if your Mom and Sister are here?”

“Work is there. Besides, I have never had a good reason to come back.”

“I see.”

 Her face betrayed her, she was feeling conflicted and defeated and it showed. They drove along the dark road quietly for a few minutes.

“So, uh, you must do important work in Cordonia for you to stay there instead of here with your family.”

“If you want to know what I do for a living Raye, just ask.”

“You told me not to and I respect your wishes.”

“Well, some would consider it important. My family won’t be here for long, Sav and my nephew are moving to Cordonia this week. I’m the lead for the King’s Guard.”

“You mean you protect Liam?”

“Yeah,” he says as he rubs the back of his neck.

Just then they pulled into the parking lot. The line in the drive thru was long so they headed inside. He held the door open for her and when they stood in front of the counter he stood directly behind her as they both looked up at the menu. He rubbed his hands up and down her arms when he noticed her shiver. 

“Cold?”

“Yeah, a little. Also, overwhelmed with this menu. Order for me?”

A mischievous grin crept across his face as he placed his suit coat around her shoulders. 

After an hour of probing conversation, many laughs, and eating a deliciously greasy burger, heavenly fries with as Drake called it “fancy fucking ketchup,” they headed back to her place. 

“Drake, I’m not ready for tonight to end,” she confessed.

“I know the feeling.”

“Come upstairs with me?”

“Riley Elizabeth Raye! What kind of guy do you think I am?”

“The kind who steals people’s personal information out of wedding guest books.” 

“Checkmate.”

“Besides, I have had these shoes on since this morning. My feet! Anyway, we can watch a movie and chat for a little while.”

“I have been told I give a mean foot massage.”

“Are you offering?”

He licks his lips and bites his lips. Her center twitched.

“Don’t do that.”

“Do what? Why are you looking at me like you want to climb in my lap?

Her cheeks flushed red.

“You wish.”

“Enough about that, let’s talk about our first real date.”

“Who said I wanted to date a guy with no real reason to come to Dallas?”

“Whoa, that was before.”

They headed up to her apartment. He stood so close to her in the elevator that she could feel his body heat. They had a staring contest that she lost. She definitely looked away first. It was like he was staring into her soul. The sexual tension was thick and she felt relieved when the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. 

“Long distance dating is not exactly something I want to pursue.”

“Understandable. I’m here now. Let me take you out tomorrow.”

“What would that look like?”

“Dallas Jazz fest is tomorrow.”

“And you just happened to know that off the top of your head?”

“I might have done some research on my phone when I learned that a certain lady whom I’d like to impress was within my grasp.”

She chortled, “you like jazz?”

“No, but if I get to spend time with you it can’t be that bad.”

“You’d do that for me?”

They step inside her place and he makes a face. 

“What is it?”

“Your place smells exactly like I expected, fruity.”

She invites Drake to sit as she kicks her shoes off. She moves around the counter and opens the fridge grabbing a couple bottles of water, a bottle of Glenmorangie, and a couple glasses. 

“Raye, this is the good stuff. It’s really expensive. Sure you’re sharing?”

“Completely, pour me one too? Be right back,” she says as she headed into her bedroom to change and freshen up.

When she returned, Drake cleared his throat at the sight of her barely there clothing change. 

They settled on the soft couch as Drake passed her the tumbler of whiskey he poured for her. She eyed the drink as he stared at her. 

“What are you looking at?”

“Your umm, outfit? Comfy?”

“Yes. Very. Should I drink this? I didn’t see you pour it.”

“Good grief, switch with me.” Drake says before raising his glass.

“Cheers, to the best reason I ever had to come back to the States.”

She bit her lip trying to contain her smile.

“Well then, after a toast like that you get to pick the movie.”

She later regretted being so generous. Drake chose FACE OFF. They started off good, he pulled her aching feet into his lap and rubbed them until she was sure she would orgasm. She pulled away crossing her legs in a twisted attempt to save her panties. 

She loved the movie but knew she couldn’t get through any of the scenes when they ran their hands down the others face to wordlessly say, I love you. So as much as she tried she sat with tears running down her face for much of the movie. The first time she cried Drake pretended to ignore it. She wiped her face on her. The next time she cried he looked at her with a raised eyebrow and the final time he pulled her into his arms and wiped her tears.

“You definitely get to pick a movie that won’t make you cry next time.”

“Next time? You really want to go out with me, huh?”

“I thought that was clear by now.”

  “Drake, can I be honest?”

“I’d prefer it.”

“I have never dated a white guy before.”

He feigned shock. Then laughed. 

“We have that in common because I haven't either. Is that all?”

“No, I didn’t expect to like you this much.”

“Have you dated a black woman before?”

“No.”

“Are you ready for family and friends to turn their backs on you? For strangers to shoot us dirty looks in public? For all of the things that come along with dating me?”

“I guess I never really thought about it. But I’d like to think that it would be a small price to pay to be with you.”

 They chatted until they both fell asleep. The sunrise plucked him from his slumber. She had fallen asleep in his arms. He watched her for a few moments fighting the urge to kiss her. He untangled himself from her and used her restroom. When he returned, she was awake. 

“I thought you finally came to your senses and left.”

“I don’t scare easily. I’m headed back to the ranch. I’ll pick you up around 6pm.”

She stood and they shared a long embrace as she secretly sniffed him trying to memorize his smell before she let him out.

Back at the ranch

“You stayed out all night. Did you get some trim?”

“No.”

Figures. You wouldn’t know what to do with all that ass anyway.

“And you do?” Carsyn interjects.

“Carsyn, I didn’t realize you were back from your morning run.”

“I knew that you wanted to fuck her. I saw the way you were looking at her at the wedding.”

Drake stands, “This seems like a personal conversation. Call me later Li.”

Liam shakes his head and turns to his wife. 

“You are always making a big deal out of nothing. I have given you everything. You knew who I was before you married Me. You are the queen. Why are you so insecure?”

Tears filled her eyes. 

“Name one thing you regret in life?”  “Well, for starters, I married you.”

Liam stormed out of the room to find Drake in the hall on the phone with Riley. When Drake sees Liam he ends the call.

“Drake Walker. Your nose is open. I know you think you like her but, do you really want to start seeing a black woman? They can be a lot.”

“Don’t be an ass Li, any woman can be a lot. But it’s different with her. She is so chill. Like it’s easy with her.” 

“If it’s so easy, why didn’t you close?”

“I said that it’s easy to be with her. Not that she was easy you, prick.”

“Just be careful Drake. You know what they say… Once you go black…”

“Li! For fucks sake.”

“I’m just saying. I’m going out tonight so if you need a trial run Carsyn will be here alone.”

“Did you just give me permission to fuck your wife?”

“Sure, everyone knows I’m not.”

“Hard pass.”

@txemrn​​​ @pixie88​​​ @secretaryunpaid​​​@khoicesbyk​​​ @blackkingliamstan​​​ @mom2000aggie​​​ @shannonwrote​​​ @hopelessromanticmonie​​​ @fanjessfic​​​ @rideordiechronicles​​​ @lucy-268​​​ @dcbbw​​​ @darley1101​​​ @maurine07​​​​ @sfb123​​​ @bbrandy2002​​​ @kingliam2019​​​ @schnitzelbutterfingers​​​ @lem-20​​​ @choicesficwriterscreations​​​​ @theworldofprompts​​ @no-one-u-know​​

TRR: @twinkleallnight​​​  @bebepac​​​ @mainstreetreader​​​ @romereadingshop​​​ @romewritingshop​​​ @lem-20​​​ @texaskitten30​​

[butmakeitgayblog]

maam we’re all down bad for demon lexa of course we want a sneak peek

Ok but be kind because it's still rough 👉🏻👈🏻

Snippet of Demon au Ch. 6

//////////

"God help me," Clarke sighed as she turned back toward the stairs, flippantly making peace with the inkling that she'd somehow just signed her own sexual death warrant. "I'm going home."

"Hang on there, gorgeous. Even if you're not gonna stay, I still really don't like the thought of you riding the train at…," Lexa's voice trailed off as she reached over to turn her alarm clock around, "twelve-thirty at night."

Clarke's eyes widened as she halted and wheeled around to look out the window at the far end of the room, truly registering the thickness of the dark that had descended outside. "We've been fucking for eight hours?!"

Lexa shot her a lazy smirk and shrugged. "Technically only five, if you don't count travel time and our little nap… Like I said, you're very talented with your hands. And I think we both had a little bit of… pent up energy to get out."

Sucking in a lungful of the smoky scent that mixed with the twang of arousal that lingered in the air, Clarke thought over the evening again. The glimpses of a blood-orange sunset serving as a backdrop to rose colored lips, the heavy hang of angry looking clouds rolling at the periphery of swirling green. She thought of thunderous moans and lightning sparked orgasms. But for the life of her, Clarke couldn't think of how so much time had slipped through her fingers.

"You really could stay," Lexa said, breaking Clarke out of her reverie. "Just to sleep, I promise."

"No," Clarke sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "I'd still need to go home and shower and all that… Damnit."

"But I don't want you taking the train in this weather. Or this late.."

"The trains aren't running anymore anyway," she pointed out, letting her hands fall to her sides with a slap. "It's fine. I'll just call a ride."

Clarke watched as Lexa's jaw twitched, visibly biting back an argument as she stayed silent, then nodded. 

Awkward and not sure of exactly what to do with her hands, Clarke gave a tight-lipped smile as she bid a soft 'Night, Lex' and moved to start down the stairs--

"Clarke."

Turning at the sound of her name, Clarke's eyes fell to the woman lounging in her bed, the sinews of porcelain skin practically glowing against the midnight plumes of black.

Lexa's hand rose from her side, her index finger curling twice in a beckoning motion. Clarke felt powerless against the pull of such a siren's call, her feet moving her away from the staircase and back toward the bed. 

She swayed as she reached her, swallowing at the dryness clinging to her throat as she bent down at Lexa's silent urging, her hands coming to rest at either side of Lexa's hips. 

Fingers laced through the wispy hair at Clarke's neck, Lexa's hand holding her in a light grip and guiding her down. Clarke let herself fall into the kiss, mouth opening at the coaxing of a velvet slick tongue. 

The kiss was all shades of glitter and lust-drunk gold, every touch and heady lick, Lexa deepening her movements from the very first touch of their lips. The feel of it shot through her as she yielded to Lexa's gentle intensity, fists and toes curling as she kissed Clarke deeper. It was sensual, and far too filthy than any 'goodnight' kiss had any right to be.

Final moan rumbled through Lexa's chest as she finally pulled back, leaving Clarke entirely breathless and panting above her.

"Goodnight," Lexa whispered, that goddamn smirk finding its way back to swollen lips as she settled back into the pillows. 

Clarke groaned, smooshing one more angry kiss to full lips before pushing up and stomping back toward the stairs. "Fuck, I hate you sometimes."

"Mhm. Text me when you get home."

"Yeah, yeah," Clarke said, tossing a half-hearted scowl over her shoulder as she started her way down. "You just… remember our deal. Discreet."

"Of course, gorgeous," Lexa smiled with a demure wag of her fingers. "Nothing but discreet."

/////

Lexa is a fucking liar. 

A filthy one at that. 

The tentative truce to keep things private completely shot to hell within barely twelve hours of its inception.

And really, Clarke knew how naive it had been to think the woman would actually keep her hands to herself. 

But standing in the breakroom, mouth shouting muffled exaltations of panted sin into the palm of Lexa's hand as the other worked between her legs, she truly hadn't anticipated that this was the method Lexa would've chosen to break her resolve. 

"You gotta be quiet, gorgeous," Lexa hummed with a lick to Clarke's ear. "Don't want anyone to hear us, do we?"

Clarke could feel the stretch of Lexa's smile as two fingers fucked her in lazy strokes, the maddening lack of urgency to her thrusts causing Clarke to nearly collapse in the arms wrapped around her from behind.

She mumbled Lexa's name in a holy cry of desperation. Hips followed her buck for twitching buck as Clarke yanked the hand away from her mouth to hiss out her prayers for mercy. 

"Lexa, please. I can't--"

A chuckle vibrated against the skin of her neck, teeth followed by tongue giving way to hotly whispered words.

"Aww. What's the matter, Clarke?" Lexa asked, the click of the 'k' feeling like a punch to the gut. "I thought you said I could touch you when we're alone."

"Godammit," Clarke grunted as she reached back and laced a hand through wild curls to yank her closer. "You know this isn't what I meant."

"No?"

Clarke's thighs shook and breath caught as Lexa thrust as far as she could go, her fingers bending in a wicked hook before pulling out completely. A groan died in her throat as two fingers pressed over the swell of her clit and rolled in tight circles. 

Lexa's breath came in pants as she rested her forehead against Clarke's temple, her free hand sliding up the length of Clarke's waist to massage her breast through her blouse. "Are you sure?... Because I think you're liking this."

"I think you could come just from the thought of it. Sweet, little Clarke, getting fucked in the breakroom." The gritty sound of Lexa's voice had her whimpering, the words and visions playing through her head catapulting toward the edge. "God, can you imagine?... Someone walking in while I'm inside you? Seeing you right as you fall apart for me."

"Oh fuck yes--" 

Voice high-pitched and straining as images crashed through her mind, Clarke flung herself into the surge of her orgasm as the world exploded around her, gripping the fistful of brunette tighter and pulling Lexa into a sloppy kiss. She could barely hold the pieces of herself together as they each struggled to swallow the hallowed sounds of her pleasure. 

Arms flexed and held her close as she slowly came down, her lips detaching with a satisfied sigh as her bones turned soft and spent. The cradle of Lexa's shoulder caught her head as it lulled back, a delirious sort of chuckle rumbling up from deep within her chest at the euphoric feel of it allo. Their bodies rocked in a lazy sway as the final echoes of release coursed through Clarke's veins, the soothing pattern of Lexa's kisses along the column of her throat helping Clarke find her way back down to Earth. 

"I am gonna kick your ass for that…" Clarke murmured, eyes closed and face still turned toward the heavens. "Just as soon as I can feel my legs again."

/////////

Ok. All I have left to write is the end portion (which is smut because I apparently have a problem) and then it's off to the beta 😘

[fagundescamila]

Power Couple #6 (Severus Snape x Reader)

It took me too long to post this, I know! Sorry, but I was overloaded at work this last couple of weeks... As always, english is not my first language, so please be kind. Hope you all like it!

Tagzzz: @lizlil @misselsbells06 @mitchiesdungeon @sleepiesapphicxoxo @severuslovebot (if you asked to be tagged and weren't, it's just because I didn't find your blog - I'm basically an old lady when it comes to using the internet and stuff -, so send me a message if that's the case!)

"It was great!" Remus said with a wide smile as the last student left the Hall.

"Not bad at all, ahn?" Y/N confirmed, actually surprised by how smoothly the class went. "I have to confess I was a bit worried… I mean, a duel in front of a bunch of teenagers, what could possibly go wrong?” She asked sarcastically. "I don't know how you guys deal with it everyday…" 

"One crisis a day." Severus said. 

Y/N laughed and Remus gave a surprised chuckle. 'Now Snape is making jokes?', he thought, already planning on telling that to James and Sirius on the very next meeting. 

"Y/N, are you free tonight?" Remus asked and tried not to theorize about Snape's reaction to his question. Remus could swear he saw Snape's eyes twitching.  

"Well, it depends on what you're suggesting…" She teased. 

"I'm suggesting you stay for dinner!" He said. "I'm sure Dumbledore would be ok with it and you get to enjoy Hogwarts a little longer." 

"Sounds like a plan!" She said. 

"Now tell me, you're relieved I didn't ask you out on a Hogsmead date, aren't you?" Remus joked, trying to find ways of proving Snape's interest on Y/N by measuring his discomfort or possible jealousy.

"I'm sure Tonks would kill us both before that thought even crossed your mind, but anyways… Are those still a thing, really? Hogsmeade dates?!" She asked in shock. 

"You'd be surprised." 

"Gezz, it was already tacky when I was a student!" She made a slightly disgusted face. 

"Oh, come on! It was… Cute." Remus said. 

"Cute?!" Y/N exclaimed. "No, Remus, sorry. It was never cute. It was cheesy." 

"Cheesy? Y/N, it was romantic if you consider it's a teenager thing." 

"Romantic?!" Her pitch was even higher. "Oh my god, Remus, you're hopeless. Come on, help me out here, Severus, I'm in a lack of words to describe what a horrible experience Hogsmeade dates are!" She turned to him. "Come on, there's cheesy, tacky, what else?"

"Pathetic?" He added.

"Wow, harsh! But we can use it, yes! Pathetic, Remus! There you go!" 

"Oh, okay! I see it's pointless arguing with you two! You guys clearly did it wrong back in the days! You know what?" Remus smiled wickedly while thinking that he was about to make his friends proud. "It's friday night, you should probably go out and maybe this time really enjoy the Hogsmeade dates' possibilities. It would do you both good!"

Remus almost regretted implying what he just did the moment he said it. He could not only see Severus' eyes getting even darker, but he could also feel his rage in the thickness of the air. 

Fortunately, it all dissipated in less than a second. Y/N laughed and softened the mood instantly. 

"Okay, Remus! I'm pretty sure that if Severus and I were to go out on a date it wouldn't be at Hogsmeade!" She turned to Severus for confirmation. "I mean, we would go somewhere fancier, right?"

Severus' eyes went wide and he was speechless. Remus had to fight the urge to laugh, but he knew better than to laugh at Severus' disbelief. 

Again, it was Y/N's chuckle that softened the mood. "Don't worry, you don't have to answer that, I was just kidding." She reassured him. 

Severus' didn't have the time to react properly to any of the things that were said. He didn't have the time to agree with her about Hogsmeade dates' cheesiness, didn't have the time to scold at Remus when he had the courage to suggest that he and Y/N could go out together and also wasn't able to confirm that he would never ask her out on a date at such a childish place. Not that he would ever even consider asking her out… Well, maybe not a date, just a… meeting. And definitely not at Hogsmeade, but where? And how?

No, he was not considering that. And anyways, as told, he didn't have the time to do so. Just as he was thinking about the absurd of the situation, Dumbledore was arriving at the Hall, already setting the place for dinner and making sure the tables were back in place. The headmaster greeted the three of them with that smirk that always seemed to imply that he knew something was going on. 

Dinner went on smoothly and right after that Y/N had the time to catch up with her former teachers at the staff room. They were all gathered in a lounge area she didn't even know existed. And it was odd to talk to them as an equal, she wasn't exactly used to them showing interest on her like that. 

"So tell us, dear!" McGonagall asked. "How long have you been working at the Ministry?"

"Oh, I applied for a position as soon as I graduated. It was a position as Moody's assistant." She told. 

"Were you that desperate for a job?" Remus teased. 

"Well, it was the easiest way of becoming an auror, so yes…" She chuckled. "And it wasn't that bad, I did learn a few things by working with him!"

"I bet! All I heard today was the kids talking about how amazing the duel performance was!" McGonagall smiled. One could dare to say she was proud.

"It was nice, yes!" Y/N confirmed smiling. "I thought it would be a disaster, but fortunately, I was wrong. I was also sure I'd embarrass myself by miserably losing." The teachers chuckled. 

"You're saying I embarrassed myself by miserably losing?" Snape asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"Oh, no! Definitely not!" Y/N smiled at him. "You lost graciously, actually! I wouldn't be able of such elegance if it was the other way around!" She was teasing, of course, and they were all laughing lightly at the interaction, but there was some percentage of that admiration that was real. 

"Thank you." Severus said sarcastically. 

"Anytime!" She smiled again. Dumbledore and McGonagall shared a knowing look. "Oh, I just remembered! Did you have the time to read those essays?"

"I did, yes." He confirmed. 

"Yeah? What did you think?" 

"There were some interesting points on most of them…" He started and then felt the glances from all the others at the staff room. Y/N, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice and was waiting to hear his remarks. "We can discuss this further at my office." He said and almost immediately regretted. "I mean, if you…"

"Absolutely!" She said excitedly, already getting up from her seat. Severus smiled discreetly and also got up to lead the way to his office.

Y/N said goodnight to the rest of the teachers and followed Severus. As they left, McGonagall sighed.

"They seem to get along so well..." She wandered on. "What a great couple they would be!"  

"Right?" Remus laughed. "I wonder if they realize that… I don't mean to gossip, but Severus seemed pretty stunned by her this afternoon…"

"Do tell!" Flitwick chuckled. "That's something new!"

"I wonder if we should give them a little push…" McGonagall said smirking. 

"I think we should all just wait and see…" Dumbledore said. "After all, they do seem to be doing just fine without our help… I believe we should just be patient."

"I just hope it doesn't take too long!" Remus added smiling.

[yikesharringrove]

ok so i think we've all felt undervalued by a friend or like you're not a priority to them while they're your first priority (or am i just petty? maybe.) i want to know how you think steve would act if he felt undervalued by billy (friends or dating) i rlly like your writing sorry i'm asking a lot.

don’t apologize for requesting stuff! I love getting these.

Also it’s big projecting time

-

“You wanna go out tonight?” Billy was hopping as he tugged on his jeans.

“Can’t tonight. Goin’ out with some of the guys from the shop.” Steve bit his bottom lip.

Billy had started working at the autoshop down by Family Video, the owner had taken him under his wing, and Steve was glad Billy had made some friends, had some positive men in his life.

And he was excited that Billy had made friends in this town when Billy announced he was going out with them after their Friday closing shift.

But then he kept going out with them, and started hanging out with them more than Steve.

“Have fun.” Billy swooped down, kissing Steve on the forehead before booking it out of their little apartment.

Steve huffed, slumping back onto the bed.

He kinda felt like he could cry.

He and Billy hadn’t gone out together in weeks.

Billy was barely home for dinner these days.

It made Steve feel like when he was in high school, with parents that were never around and friends that didn’t give two shits about him.

He called out of work, couldn’t really bear to be seen or interacted with today.

He stayed in bed all day, counting down the hours until Billy’s shift was over.

He watched the clock, the blanket pulled up so just his eyes were peering out.

He watched as the clock kept ticking, as an hour passed since Billy’s shift had ended.

And then two hours.

And then three.

Steve did start crying at the four hour mark.

It was getting late, and Billy still wasn’t home.

Steve got out of bed for the first time today, locking the bedroom door.

Billy can sleep on the fucking couch for all he cares.

He had move past sad now, had sped right into seething.

He slammed himself back into bed.

He sat there, arms crossed, pouting at the locked door.

He put everything into his relationship with Billy. Everything.

He barely had any friends, spending all of his time with his boyfriend who fucking ignored him.

But no, he can’t be mad at Billy for making new friends. It’s not his fault Steve has no fucking social skills, no fucking friends his own age.

But even the kids had been pulling away.

Dustin hadn’t radioed him for a ride or to hang out in like, a week.

And he was right back sad.

but then keys were scraping in the lock of the front door.

Billy’s boots were heavy in the entry hall.

Steve could hear him stumbling around, and dove back under the covers, peeking out from underneath them.

The handle jiggled. Steve’s breath caught.

Billy knocked on the door.

“Hey, Stevie,” His voice was deep and raspy, just a little slurred. “The door’s locked.”

“That’s because I locked it.” Steve popped out from under the covers to talk back, scooting back under them afterwards.

“Um, why?”

“Because I don’t wanna see you.”

He could feel Billy sigh through the door.

“Baby, can we not do this tonight?”

“We’re not doing this tonight. We’re gonna do it in the morning. After a nice sleep apart.” Billy sighed again.

“Fine. Goodnight, I guess.”

Steve felt a little vindictive at the sound of Billy walking away, the sound of the couch groaning under his weight.

And then he just felt like shit again.

He sat on the bed, chewing at one of his cuticles.

He should go talk to Billy.

But Billy was drunk, and talking to Billy while drunk is talking talking to the world’s horniest brick wall.

He slumped back onto the bed.

He missed Billy, missed him so fucking bad it hurt.

There was a soft rap on the door.

Steve glanced at the clock, Billy had been home for an hour and a half.

“Sugar, I don’t like it when you’re mad at me.” Billy sounded miserable.

Steve huffed, getting up slowly.

He unlocked the door, retreating back to bed.

Billy opened it slowly, found Steve sitting nestled in their bed, his eyes big and bright.

“Talk to me, Goose.” He perched on the end of the bed.

Steve wasn’t looking him in the eye. Bad sign. Fucking bad sign.

“It’s stupid.” Worse sign. Even worse sign.

“Baby, it’s not stupid if it’s makin’ you feel bad.” Billy had chucked about two gallons of water before this talk, trying to sober himself up for this.

“It is stupid.” Billy reached for his hand, and Steve pulled his out of the way. Oh God. Oh God. Code red.

“It’s not. Please tell me what’s on your mind. Please, Pretty Boy.”

“Do you still love me?”

Sirens were fucking blaring in Billy’s head.

This was fucking bad.

“Of course I still love you. What’s this about?” Steve shrugged, still looking at the duvet covering his lap.

“I just feel like you’ve been ignoring me.” Billy took a deep breath.

“Can you tell me why you’ve been feeling like that?” Steve huffed, one of his eyebrows twitching up.

“Because we haven’t been on a date, or, or eaten dinner together, or, or had sex in like, a fucking month, and it makes me feel like shit, Billy, because I’m happy that you have friends, and people that take care of you, but I-I” Steve’s lip was trembling, tears pricking at his eyes. “Nobody cares about me anymore and, I don’t think they ever did, and I’m unlovable-” he was openly crying, letting everything flood out.

Billy was panicking.

He tugged Steve’s shoulders, pulling him into a tight hug.

“You are not unlovable. You are so loved. I absolutely love you. I’m sorry I’ve made you feel forgotten. I’m gonna work on it, okay? I’ll be home for dinner, and we’ll go out again, okay? I promise.”

Steve was heaving in his arms, wailing into Billy’s chest.

“Nobody cares.”

“So many people care. So many.”

“The kids don’t need me for rides anymore, and you have other people in your life, and my parents were right.”

That was the final straw.

Billy took Steve’s face in both his hands, making him look up at him.

“Your parents were not right, about anything. Not a damn thing.” Steve was still crying, Billy kissed his teary cheeks. “You are just made of love, Sweet Thing. You’re loved by so many. And the kids are just growin’ up. Going through that phase where they’re too cool for their parents.”

Steve gave a watery little smile. Progress.

“I’m sorry I made you feel bad.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“But it is. I mean, I love spending time with you. And I should’ve been more available to you.”

“But I can’t fault you for making friends. It’s not your fault I have none.”

“You’ve got Robin. I’m sure she’d be down for a night of wine on the couch.” Steve huffed a laugh. “But I’ll stop going out with them.”

“No, I don’t want that. I just, we need to find a balance. Like, have a set date night that we can’t miss. Or, or, something. You have friends and I want you to keep having friends. Just maybe, we gotta make time for each other.” Billy nodded seriously.

“You feelin’ any better?” Steve nodded, gave Billy a tiny smile. “Good. Can we go to bed now? Talk some more in the morning?”

“Yeah. And you can sleep in here. I’m sorry I locked you out.”

“I’m just glad you let me in.” Billy rolled over Steve, making him laugh as he put all of his weight on Steve.

He scoot up behind him, pulling Steve close to him.

“Wait, is that-”

“Sorry. I’m still kinda drunk, and apparently working shit out like grown ups makes me horny.”

“Oh my God, Bill. You’re a menace.”

[ilovefandoms102]

Part 3

Summary: You confront Sirius about his childish behavior, and some Slytherins happen to overhear your arguing. 

Taglist:

@judayyyw @bannerbubble

Part 1  Part 2 Part 4 Part 5  Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11

Note: As always let me know what you guys think!

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

“I can’t believe you,” I sneered once Sirius and I made it out to the hallway.

“What?” Sirius asked, obviously getting agitated with me. 

“You’re a hypocrite that’s what you are Sirius!” I shouted at him, walking faster to get away from him.

“What the fuck do you mean?” Sirius shouted back at me.

“You and James pick and pick at Severus, and that’s exactly what your family does to you! And do you like it? No, you came to live with us!” I yelled, spinning around to face him once we got to a quieter space.

“That’s different Jags, and you know it.” Sirius whispered, looking at the ground.

“No it isn’t Sirius, it’s still bullying. You need to stop the childish nonsense. There is no reason you should be so cruel to Severus, he’s done nothing to you.” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. 

“He hangs out with bloody Mulciber and Avery, and you know what they’re apart of,” he whispered.

“Even if they are death eaters Sirius, it’s none of our business unless they actively hurt someone because of their influence.” I said angrily.

Someone cleared their throat, we turned to see who it was. Well, speaking of the devil himself. Mulicer and Avery, along with several other Slytherins stood in front of us. 

“Relationship troubles Black?” Mulciber asked, walking past with a few fellow Slytherins.

“Wouldn’t be any of your business if I was Mulciber.” Sirius scoffed, pulling me with him to get away from them. 

The group stepped in front of us, some of them going behind us. We were surrounded. I grabbed Sirius’s arm, clutching my wand that was in my robe pocket. These Slytherins were ruthless, it was rumored that they were death eaters. People who were following a dark wizard to wipe out muggle borns and half bloods. Sirius’s family was in the sacred circle, or his parents were anyway. This dark wizard only inviting blood supremacists to join him. I stood on the other side of Sirius so my back was to him, ready if the people behind us tried to attack.

“Going somewhere Black? Potter?” Avery asked, whipping his wand out.

“Are you that threatened by us Mulciber that you had to bring all your little friends?” Sirius taunted, no doubt making the situation worse. 

“Sirius shut the hell up!” I gasped, watching as the boy in front of me pulled out his wand. I acted before he did, not letting him get the upper hand.

“Expelliarmus!” I yelled, flicking my wand. 

The boy in front of me, Lucius Malfoy, snarled at me. He retrieved his wand before firing a nonverbal spell at me. I blocked it with ease, both of us firing spells back and forth. I could feel Sirius’s movements at my back, him and Avery in a duel while Mulciber sat and watched. 

“Can’t even fight your own battles can you Mulciber!” Sirius laughed.

“Sirius are you trying to make things worse!” I yelled at him, but that split second I turned was the worst mistake I could have made.

“Crucio!” Lucius yelled.

“NO!” Sirius screamed.

I screamed loudly, the other Slytherins laughing at my pain. In that moment I was terrified, I was completely immobilized by the severe pain the spell had caused me. It felt like every bone in my body was breaking, I could feel each string of pain flowing down my body. I fell to the ground, twitching and convulsing from the pain. Lucius stood above me, his wand pointed at me. He had a sinister grin on his face, the image haunting. 

I now knew why that spell was apart of the Unforgivable Curses. I wanted to curl into a ball and die right then and there, tears were pouring down my face. My head fell to the side, my eyes trying to make sense of my surroundings. I could hear shouting, but it sounded as if I were in a tunnel. The sounds echoing in my ears, a ringing sound drowning every word. Then Sirius appeared in front of me, his form blurry as I was on the verge of passing out.

“Jags! Can you hear me? Sweetheart can you hear me?” he asked, pushing some hair out of my face.

“P-Pads I-I...it hurts” I croaked, barely managing to get the words out.

“I know darling, I’m going to take you to your room ok? I’m going to carry you.” Sirius said, hoisting me up before I could protest. I grunted as he adjusted me in his arms.

“I-I-m s-sorry Siri,” I whispered, burying my face in his neck. 

“What for love?” he asked quietly.

“What I said e-earlier, I like that you live with us..I didn’t mean that in a bad way.” I mumbled.

“I know my darling, I know.” he sighed.

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

We got to the common room, the rest of our group already there. My brother jumping up from his spot beside Lily as soon as we walked in. Remus looking at me with concerned eyes, Peter’s eyes widened from his chair across from Remus.

“What the fuck happened?!” James demanded.

“What in the world?” Remus gasped.

“We were in a duel with Mulciber and Malfoy” Sirius grunted, setting me on the couch. Lily wrapped me in a blanket, grabbing some tea for Sirius and I.

“Sis, are you ok?” James asked, bending down to be in front of me.

“He used the Cruciatus curse on me James, Merlin’s beard I never want to go through that ever again.” I sobbed, Sirius setting on the arm of the couch by my head to stroke my hair. 

“That son of a bitch!” James yelled, standing up and pacing to the door.

“And just where do you think you’re going?” Lily asked, standing to her feet.

“I’m going to find him, and kill him.” James gritted through his teeth.

“James no please, I don’t want you to get hurt!” I cried, Sirius laid a kiss on the crown of my head before going towards my brother.

“Come on mate, I already took care of it. Don’t upset her even more.” Sirius spoke softly to James who was still breathing heavily. 

“Prongs, you can’t just go out willy nilly, you have to think this through. If someone catches you-” Remus piped up from the table he was sitting at. 

“That bastard hurt my sister!” he shouted.

“Yes James, but you can’t just go by yourself!” Lily exclaimed. 

“Watch me Evans,” he sneered, walking through the portrait.

“James Potter don’t you dare!” Lily yelled, charging after him. 

We could hear their bickering as they walked down the hall, all of us frozen in our spots. I rubbed at my temples, a headache starting to form from how exhausted I felt. I started to get up from the couch before Sirius stopped me. 

“Woah now, take it easy Jagsy.” he said, taking hold of my arms when I almost toppled over. 

“I’m fine, I think I’ll head off to bed now. I’m exhausted.” I mumbled.

“Goodnight Jagsy, glad to see you’re alright love.” Remus said, smiling at me.

“Night Moony,” I said, smiling back at him.

“Goodnight guys,” Peter said.

“I’ll see you all later,” Sirius said, starting to follow me.

“I’m ok Sirius, stop hovering over me.” I sighed, starting up the stairs to my room. I heard footsteps behind me, turning to see Sirius behind me. I gave him a quizzical look.

“I want to make sure you get in alright,” he said, catching up to where I was on the stairs. 

“Pads,” I huffed.

“I’m not taking no for an answer Potter.” he said firmly, taking my hand as we walked to my room.

We made it to the room I shared with Lily, Sirius taking a seat on my bed. I gathered my pajamas, and other stuff I needed to get ready for bed. Sirius laying back on my bed, putting his hands behind his head. 

“Making yourself comfortable eh Pads?” I laughed.

“Your bed is much comfier than mine love, I’m staying with you from now on.” he sighed, closing his eyes.

“I don’t know how Lil would feel about that.” I said hesitantly. 

“So you wouldn’t mind me staying here if Evans didn’t room with you?” he asked, cracking a smile. 

“Ok. I’m going to get ready for bed.” I said, embarrassed that I walked into that. 

He laughed as I walked to the bathroom down the hall. I sat my stuff on the counter, taking a moment to process what happened today. I had never been in a duel that made me fear for my life. I could have died if Sirius hadn’t of been there with me. I thought about that war that’s upcoming, it disturbed me that people here at Hogwarts were joining the evil side. I shook my head, ridding myself of the thought, I got ready for bed. I walked back into my room, Sirius still laying on my bed. He had moved himself under the covers, his shirt laying on the floor.

“Are you spending the night Siri?” I chuckled, moving towards the bed. 

“I’m so comfy I don’t want to get up.” he mumbled, reaching his arms out to me. 

I snuggled close to him, burying my face in his neck. I inhaled his scent which calmed me more than my shower did. I was so in love with this man, I wished more than anything that he could be mine. I wish I could read his mind, see what goes on in that curly head of his. 

“Sirius,” I whispered, pulling back to look at his handsome face.

“Yes darling?” he asked, opening his eyes to look at me.

“I was really scared today...I-If you hadn’t been with me-” I whimpered, tears resurfacing.

“Shhh now darling, it’s all over now. I won’t ever let anything like that happen to you again. I don’t like you being hurt...” Sirius whispered, wiping away my tears with his thumbs.

“You won’t always be with me Siri,” I sighed.

“I could if you wanted me to baby,” he smirked, a playful gleam in his eyes.

“I would kill you if you were attached to me 24/7 Pads.” I chuckled.

“We’re in most of our classes together this year darling, better start getting used to it.” he smiled, kissing my nose.

We talked for a little while longer, most of it was Sirius cracking corny jokes to make me laugh. My spirit feeling much lighter than it did before. All because of this man beside me. My best friend, partner in crime, and the love of my life. The last part something he will never know. I got sleepy to the point I could barely hold my eyes open, struggling to stay awake.

“Go to sleep love,” Sirius whispered.

“Night Siri,” I yawned.

“Goodnight sweetheart,” he whispered.

[btsslowburnfic]

Chthonic Love Chapter 7

Series Summary:  A Greek Mythology AU featuring Yoongi/Suga as Hades and reader as Persephone. Olympian ruler Namjoon has delivered you, Persephone, as a gift for his brother, lord of Death, Yoongi

Previous Chapter here

The hours passed quietly. You had sketched out both the garden and the shore. Occasionally you walked over to the window and looked out for reference.

You heard Yoongi scoot his chair back and you looked up. He was stretching his arms. His gravelly voice broke the silence, “You can stay here if you like. It's almost time for the next reaping.”

You found yourself yawning, “Actually, I think I'll go and find Lethe.” You said as you got up from your comfortable pile. “Thanks for the day.”

“Of course.” he said, looking down at your drawings as he walked over. “Those are really good.”

“Thanks.” you smiled, proud of your artwork. “Where should I put them?” you asked, picking the papers up.

“Here. For now...” he took the sketches from your hands and placed them in one of the chests.

“Great. Thank you.” you said. “Oh. Hold on.” You removed the cloak you were still wearing and fastened it around his neck. Yoongi momentarily forgot how to breathe. “There.” You looked up at him and smiled.

He felt a blush creep across his face. What the hell is this? he wondered while he reached to open the door for you.

You walked past him, keeping your own head down as you suddenly felt very shy. You immediately ran into Penthos. “Ahhh!” you shrieked out a bit. “Sorry, you surprised me.”

“I work here,” he said bluntly.

Behind you, you heard Yoongi clear his throat. “What was that Penthos?”

“Pardon me Lady Persephone. I was just coming to give Lord Yoongi a daily report.” You saw the barely noticeable eye twitch that occurred as he answered.

You tried your best to maintain your pleasant demeanor. Honorifics were never really your thing, but it seemed as though Penthos was usually all about them; just not with you.

“Well then, I shall leave you to it. Good evening gentleman.” you awkwardly maneuvered around Penthos and went down the stairs. Your mood was slightly soured by the interruption. You weren’t quite done saying goodnight to Yoongi. You pouted as you traveled through the great hall and kitchen looking for Lethe. You realized that you didn’t really know that much about the Obsidian Palace. You decided to ask Yoongi for a tour tomorrow. You looked in your room. No Lethe. Garden? Nope. You sigh. Was there anyone else around here?

You go back to the Great Hall and find one of the random servants dusting something. “Excuse me. Have you seen Lethe?”

The woman looked at you like you are the most terrifying thing ever. “Ok. Sorry I asked. I’ll just go.” you backed away slowly. Another servant came over, “Sorry milady, Aida is new here. She’s still adjusting to being dead.”

“Oh,” you put your hand over your mouth. “I’m so sorry I had no idea. This must be very hard for you Aida.” She nodded her head slowly and resumed her semi-dusting activity.

“Is there something I can help you with?” the other woman asked.

“Yes. I’m looking for Lethe.”

“I think she is in the laundry room. Let me fetch her for you.” she started to leave.

“Please take me with you. I would be very interested to see where the laundry room is.”

“You can’t be serious milady. It’s a laundry room.”

“Well you see I have never seen a laundry room before. Ever.”

The woman laughed, “Alright, come along then.”

You followed her through several hallways and arrived at a small door.

“Lethe?” she yelled as she opened it. “Lady Persephone is looking for you.”

“Alright I’ll be right there.” you heard Lethe shout.

You walked through the door. “No need Lethe, I came to find you.”

“Did you need something?”

You turned to the woman who had brought you here, “Thank you so much.” She curtsied and left. “No. I’m just bored.” you admitted.

She laughed. “Well I suppose compared to the mortal realm there isn’t a lot to do here.” she stirred a large cauldron full of clothing.

“May I ask you something highly inappropriate?” you said, completely catching Lethe off guard causing her to stop stirring the clothing.

“Umm...I suppose but if it’s about Lord Yoongi I feel like I shouldn’t say anything given that he’s so powerful and in charge of my contract and…”

“It’s not about Yoongi.” you quickly cut her off.

“Oh. Ok. Then what? Is it about being dead?”

“No.” you took a deep breath, “Why doesn't Penthos like me?”

Lethe resumed stirring the clothes. “Who says he doesn’t like you?”

“Goddesses can tell when people are lying.” you bluffed. “One of our lesser known abilities.”

She sighed, “Penthos is one of the few people who chooses to be here. He's not just a dead human like most of us. He’s a demi-god who cares deeply for Lord Yoongi. He’s been here for centuries.”

You cocked your head to the side, “I still don't understand. I've been nothing but kind to Yoongi. I mean, I screamed a lot at first but I feel all things considered I’ve taken this kidnapping pretty well. “

“Maybe that's part of it. In a few days or weeks or months at the most, you'll be leaving here. Lord Yoongi will still be here. Forever. He can't even leave the underworld for more than a day or so or else there would be chaos in the mortal realm.”

“Pshh even when I leave I would still come back and visit if Yoongi wanted me to.” You said as you folded some random clothing.

Lethe raised her eyebrows in surprise, “You would? Stop doing that.” She scolded you.

“I can’t just stand here and do nothing.” you responded.

“Fine. Fine. I suppose I shouldn’t argue with you.” she finished stirring the laundry and started pulling the pieces out. “I don’t suppose you have any magic for lifting things or drying laundry?” she asked.

You created a flower in your hands, “Nope, life magic only.” You smiled. “It’s been useful at times, but there are definitely more practical abilities that the Pantheon possesses. What powers does Penthos have?”

Lethe paused and thought, “I’m not entirely sure. I know he has the ability to move objects without touching them. And he can combine solid matter, like the orb you arrived in and a large portion of the Obsidian Palace was crafted by him.”

“Interesting,” you mused. Demigods were always a question mark when it came to their abilities. Some were immensely powerful and others barely registered any abilities. Regardless, it was good information to have. You picked at your flower petals. “Soooo anything else interesting? Cursed rooms? Labyrinths? Secret mistresses?”

Lethe laughed, “Nope. The catacombs are a bit treacherous but Lord Yoongi keeps those locked up. Like I said, life here is quiet but boring. It’s one of the reasons we are sent here: quiet time to reflect on our poor choices.” She sighed sadly.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring that up.” you quickly felt bad.

“Oh no, you didn’t. It’s just one of those thoughts that’s always on my mind. I can relate almost anything to it, to be honest. But let’s see. What’s something interesting…? Hmm...I mean seriously you are the first guest we’ve had in the fifty years here so there’s just not a lot to say.”

“Really? That’s sad.” You remade your flower again with a different color.

“Well, the trip is a little dangerous.” She said as she hung the clothing on a line in front of the fire.

“Not for Olympians. Please. That’s just an excuse. They travel to Olympus all the time for parties ands stupid stuff. It’s just rude.” you scoffed.

She paused thoughtfully, “Well milady, forgive me for pointing it out, but you never visited either until you were brought here.”

You mused for a minute, “I suppose that’s true. But I don’t go to Olympus either. I have a general distrust of other Gods. Clearly I was right seeing as how I was transferred like chattel. Anyways. I have visited the ocean realm because of the animals there. Are there any animals in the Underworld?”

Lethe shook her head, “Monsters. And some are nice, but most aren’t. It’s not really safe to leave the palace.”

You walked over and started hanging up clothes alongside her, “Ah that’s too bad. I was hoping there were secretly Stygian Sharks or something.”

Lethe had given up on scolding you for helping. “Can’t you create some?”

“No, I can sustain animal life and create plants. I could create an animal but it would die before it could live a real life, my powers are technically life magic, not creation magic; that’s Gaia.” you smiled, “I wish I could create some Stygian Sharks. I’d totally do it. And some Sorrow Scorpions for the desert. Moonlit foothill fainting goats.”

Lethe started to laugh, the kind of laugh that comes from the stomach and makes the sides hurt. This caused you to laugh even more, imagining your strange animal creations. It continued for a while with the two of you making up absurd animal creations. “I can’t remember the last time I laughed like that,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes.

“Me either, my throat hurts a little.” you said as you hung the last sock.

“Let’s get you some tea then.”

“I won’t argue with that,” you replied as the two of you left the laundry room.

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

“Sir have you received any word from Hoseok?” Penthos asked as he followed Yoongi down the stairs.

“No. But it’s only been a day. It takes time for things to reach the mortal realm.” he responded nonchalantly. “I need to go speak with Arachne before the reaping. Is there anything else for this evening?”

Penthos was taken aback slightly, “Sir, you just saw Arachne yesterday. Is everything alright in the catacombs? I can investigate if there’s been any trouble.”

“No. No trouble. Persephone needs a warmer cloak.” Yoongi said as though it was the most obvious thing ever.

Penthos tried to hide his confusion. “Will she be staying long enough to need one?”

Yoongi involuntarily flinched and stopped walking. He looked over at Penthos, truly assessing him for the first time in years. “I don’t care if she’s staying for one night or forever. I don’t want her to be cold while she’s here.” he said tightly.

“Yes sir.”

“Another thing?” Yoongi asked.

“Yes?”

“Go check on the golems. Just make sure they’re in working order.”

“Sir?”

Yoongi looked down and walked closer to Penthos, resuming eye contact once he was within inches of his face. “I’m getting tired of your questions this evening Penthos. I have indulged several based on our years together. Check the Golems.” he put his hands in his pockets and turned back towards the catacombs.

“Yes, sir.” NEXT CHAPTER

[sillyrabbit81]

Her Heavy Cross

Summary: Three years after tragedy hits, Lana she decides to start dating again. She meets Will through a dating app and they begin an online romance. After months of constant requests, Lana relents and agrees to meet and go on an irl date with Will. But is Will who he says he is? Lana is quickly pulled into an intense relationship forcing her to confront her tragic past. Will Lana face it or will she close her heart forever?

Pairing: OMC x OFC

Word Count: approx 3.6k

Warnings: smut, swearing

Authors Note: The story started as a Henry Cavill fanfiction but I changed it to be an original character, but shades of Henry are still there. Hope you enjoy the story and thanks for reading.

Part 13 Part 15

Part 14

Liam helped me get ready for bed. I was nearly asleep standing up by this stage. He undressed me and got my nightgown out of my bag. The white satin shift was far too sexy for how I felt, but it was all I had brought with me for bed. Liam said nothing about it. He didn't try to touch me inappropriately either as he undressed me, even when he took my bra off. I was thankful for that. He looked, though. A lot.

"Do you want to sleep here with me, or would you rather sleep alone?" He asked.

I was hurt for a minute and then thinking about all the horrible things I said to him, I understood why he asked. "I didn't mean those things I said to you."

"Yeah, you did. I deserved most of it."

"Yeah. I suppose you aren't that attractive." I joked.

"That's my girl." He said chuckling. Then he stopped, realising what he had said. "You were right. I am pushing too hard. I keep calling you my girlfriend and ignore how you feel about it."

"I am, though. Your girlfriend." Liam looked surprised at my admission. "You were right about that. If I didn't want to be, I shouldn't have acted like I was." I took his hand and said, "I acted like I was because I wanted it too. I didn't want to admit it to myself." I tried to smile at him but yawned instead. "Come to bed with me?" I asked.

He raised my hand to his lips and kissed it. "Always, Sweetheart."

We got into bed, and I laid down in Liam's arms. I don't even think I said goodnight to him before I fell into a dreamless sleep.

I woke up feeling stiff. It seemed like it was barely dawn. The room had only a faint glow of warm light. I stretched out, my muscles were tired. Liam was still in bed, and his hand was resting on my hip. I rolled over to look at him and found him looking back at me, a lazy smile on his lips.

"Good morning." His voice was gentle.

"Morning," I said, reaching out to caress his cheek, enjoying the feeling of his sharp beard against my skin.

"How do you feel this morning?"

"I'm glad I stayed." I was. Waking with Liam felt good. I felt stupid acting like I had last night. I had fought so hard against getting too close to him despite how natural it felt, how good. I had to stop punishing myself. But it was hard to turn off three years of carefully built barriers around my heart.

"Me too." He said. I thought he would hug me, but he didn't. So I hugged him. I pulled myself in closer until our bellies touched, and I wrapped a leg around his hip. I felt his sex hard against me, and I tightened my leg pulling him closer. He made a face of pain and moved his hips away.

"Sorry," I said. "Are you still upset about last night?" He shook his head, giving me no more than that. "Tired?" I tried again. Another shake of the head. "Does my breath smell?" He chuckled and shook his head a third time. "You don't want to?"

"I do. I really do."

"So what's the problem?"

"I don't know if you'll want what I want."

"It can't be that bad."

"It's not bad at all."

I was getting frustrated, "just tell me!"

"I don't want to fuck you. I don't want to hurt you, or smack you or bite you or any of those things." His lip twitched, "Well, I do, but not right now. Right now, I want to hold you and kiss you. I want to be slow, take my time, make love to you. But I don't want to scare you off." I looked away. "See, you don't want to. And that's ok. I'm not going to push you anymore. I'll wait." He did hug me back then. Just gently, keeping his hand on my back, away from anywhere sexual. "I'm happy, just like this."

We laid there, and I thought about what he said. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted it too, realising I needed it from him. I needed to let my guard down, to show him that I did care about him. I did like slow and gentle sex as much as rough and dirty. But rough and dirty didn't touch your soul the way slow and gentle did. I liked both, but only with a guy I could give both to. I had only had that with Andy. It's part of what made him special to me, that I loved it just as much when he fucked me until I couldn't walk as when he took his time, loved me and cared for me.

I didn't know how to tell him I wanted it too. After last night, the things I had said and how I had acted, I needed to know it was ok. I needed to know that we had confronted those feelings and knocked down those walls. I knew they weren't gone forever, but I needed to know we were in this together.

"I want to, Liam." He didn't look like he believed me. "I really do." I kissed him gently, my lips soft and teasing against his. He moaned and kissed me back just as soft and gentle. If I had any doubt in my mind that this was what I wanted, the warmth that came over my body quickly dispelled it.

He rolled me on my back, his weight on top of me. His mouth didn't leave mine. Our kisses seemed to last for an age. Our bodies shared air until it seemed like our breathing had become one. His hands caressed me. He didn't squeeze at me. Instead, he felt his way over my body as if he were savouring every curve, every valley and every rise.

I felt along his back, down his spine, feeling it bend and curve with his careful movements. I reached his pants and slid my fingers under the band, feeling his bottom's muscular curve. My body continued to warm. Every part of me feeling sensitive. Every touch felt like electricity coursing over my skin and into my core.

"Liam," I whispered through our kisses. I needed more. I craved more of him.

"I'm here, Lana," came his reply. "I'm here."

Liam sat up quickly and took off his pants before leaning back into me. He kissed me as he fumbled in his bedside draw. I cursed that we hadn't talked about other contraception. I had a birth control implant in my arm. But we didn't have time for that conversation now. I would take him as I could get him.

He sat up again, putting the condom on, then he leaned down and kissed my thigh. He lifted my leg and kissed me behind my knee. His stubble tickled my delicate skin, and I giggled while I  pulled away. He let me go, smiling at me and kissed my other thigh. He took off my underwear, moving them slowly down my legs. Liam lifted my shift, exposing my most private place and, for once, I didn't want to look away in shame. He ran his fingers tantalisingly slowly down my sex, parting me as he went. I was more than ready for him. He kissed my tummy near my belly button, and I ran my fingers through his curls. He looked up at me between kisses with a sweet smile on his.

My heart leapt in my throat. Liam's care and attention made me feel emotions I wasn't sure I was prepared for. His kisses trailed down to my hip bone, and he playfully licked at the crease above my thigh before Liam brought his body back onto mine.

I sighed as I felt Liam's weight, heavy but comforting. He adjusted himself with his hips until he was at my core. I held his hand, our fingers entwining as he entered me. He took his time, and each movement was almost agonisingly slow. He kissed my lips again as he fully entered me. The relief was bliss. Then he moved, and I moaned, all my senses aflame, the sensations threatened to overwhelm me.

He rolled us both over, and I was on top. I sat up, and he put his hands on my hips, guiding my movements. I moved around on him until I found the spot I wanted. I cried out his name when I did and rocked, each gentle sway of my hips finding my place. Liam reached up and pulled the tie out of my hair, my locks falling freely down my back. I moved my hands down his chest, my fingers tickled by this thick hair, damp from his sweat. I kept them there, enjoying the warmth beneath my fingertips and the texture of him.

He lifted my shift off, sitting up as he did. He went to lay back down, but I held him up, wrapping my legs around his hips and my arms around his shoulders. I kissed him, and he kissed back, more demanding now and deeper. Then he kissed my neck, his tongue licking at me, his teeth grazing against my collarbone, and he whispered my name into my skin. I arched my back, finding my place again. His arms came around my waist, and he caught my rhythm, rocking his own body into mine. Liam leaned his head down and took my nipple in his mouth, sucking gently. I watched him suckle at me, and fresh waves of pleasure rippled over me. I rode him harder, throwing my head back as I held his head against my chest.

One of his hands left my back, and I felt his thumb against my nub. I removed his hand and put it on my hip. He looked up, questioning. How could I explain I didn't need to orgasm to enjoy this? I leaned forward and kissed him. I looked into his eyes and said, "I don't need that for this to feel good. It already feels wonderful."

I kept looking at him, letting him search my eyes, so he knew I was telling the truth. He nodded and said, "Are you sure? I won't last much longer." I smiled and kissed him again, trying to hold him tighter. He seemed to lose his control, and his slow and gentle movement became harder. His arms suddenly crushed me as his whole body tensed and pushed me down hard against him. I cried out as thickened inside me, stretching me a moment before Liam swore and called my name, his shout of release echoed through the room. He thrust up into me with each of his final throes. I watched him as he came, his body majestic, his arms tight like thick cords around my waist as he gathered me to him.

I stroked his head when he finished. Liam laid his head against my chest, and his forehead was wet from his exertion. His breath slowed, and I climbed off his lap. He laid down, eyes closed, and I put my chin on his chest so I could look at his face while relaxed. He opened an eye and saw me looking. He closed them again and said, "What are you looking at, Sweetheart."

I breathed deeply, happy at that moment. I smiled and said, "Just looking at my boyfriend."

He smiled wide, showing all his teeth and opened his eyes. He chuckled, put his head to mine and kissed my nose. "I like the sound of that."

We went downstairs and had breakfast. Liam surprised me with a jar of Vegemite. I clapped my hands like a child and asked if he had tried it yet. He said he had, but he preferred marmite. I scrunched my nose at him and mumbled something about "stupid pommies." I made my toast because I was a freak and liked heaps of Vegemite. Like a lot. No butter either.

Liam was shocked, "That's disgusting! You put that much on?"

I nodded. I dipped the knife in the Vegemite. I scooped out a huge helping and popped it in my mouth, licking it all off.

"Oh, my God!" Liam covered his eyes. "It's not Nutella!"

"You're right. It's better."

After breakfast, Liam asked if I wanted to take Cole for a walk. I hesitated, my thoughts instantly going to more pictures and articles. I shook away the thoughts. I'd made my choice, and I was going to go for it and see how it plays out. We got dressed and headed off.

Cole was a very well-trained dog. He walked well on the lead and mostly ignored other dogs and people. A few kids wanted to pat Cole, and Liam would get down with Cole and pat him with the kids. He got recognised only once by a bloke who drove past and yelled at him, "Oi Cross, where's your sword?" He just waved at the guy who took off laughing. Part of me wished he'd grabbed his pants and yelled 'right here' as he did in the movie the guy was quoting. But I guess the internet would have a field day with that one.

"Hey, what's it like to be a meme?" I asked.

"How do you mean?"

"Like you're online, in a forum or something, and suddenly there's some person who uses your face as a reply."

"It's not bad," he said. "They're usually pretty funny. I'd much rather see that than see made up stories about me." I nodded. "Worse are the true stories. The ones I thought were private that end up in forums. We've all done stupid things or been rude to people. Most people shake it off and try to do better next time. I have to worry if there was a camera or if the story will end up going around the internet. I'm not necessarily complaining, but it's one of the downsides of people knowing who you are."

"Yup, told ya before, your life isn't normal."

As we walked, the houses gave way to cafes and small boutiques. I window shopped my way along the street. Liam noticed and said, "If you want to go in and look, I don't mind waiting."

"Yeah, Nah, it's ok. I'm just looking." I smiled at him, "we don't have a lot of shops like this out west." I snuck my head under his arm and put my arm around his waist. He put his arm around my shoulders, kissed the top of my head, and we walked side by side a few blocks before starting to head back to Liam's house.

Although yesterday's fight was awful, I had to admit that everything felt better with Liam today. My guard was lowered, and I didn't feel fear or shame to reach out and touch him anymore. In fact, I couldn't keep my hands off him. I always wanted to hold his hand or simply sit next to him with our shoulders or our thighs touching. It was like he was the sun, and I fixed in his orbit, unable to stay away. I was already sad about having to go home tomorrow. But I did miss Perrin. An idea occurred to me, and I asked Liam what he thought about it as we neared his house.

"What are your plans for next weekend?"

"For Easter? Well, we have half of Thursday and then Friday to Monday off. Then shooting starts Tuesday, so I was planning on lazing around at home with you before the crazy hours start. How does that sound?"

"It sounds great. But..."

"But what?"

"Well, on Sunday, I usually spend the day with David, Lucy and the kids. Depending on the weather, we usually go to a park and do an Easter Egg hunt and have a BBQ." I laughed at a memory. As we went back into Liam's house, I told him about the Easter it was 38 degrees and all of the eggs melted. Poor Charlie cried because he had no eggs to eat.

Liam smiled at my story. He must be thinking of his nephews because his smile appeared to be tinged with sadness. He said, "that's okay. Can you spend Thursday, Friday and Saturday with me?"

"Well, I was wondering," my nerve left me then. Was it too soon? But I reckoned that if he was happy for everyone to know we were together, maybe he should meet my family. I took a deep breath and quickly said, "if you'd like to come with me on Sunday." Liam let Cole off his lead, and he ran to the kitchen to have a drink. Liam got up slowly and put his arms around my waist.

His fucking lip twitched. "You want to introduce me to your family?"

"No, don't worry about it," I said saltily. But, I felt my lips twitching. Had Liam given me some kind of disease that caused a tick?

"Yes, you do!" I rolled my eyes. Liam pulled me in closer until our hips met. "I'd love to, Sweetheart."

"Ok, then." He smiled broadly. I wiggled and tried to escape his arms, but he wasn't letting me. "It's not a big deal."

"I think its a big deal." Liam kissed me.

When I pulled away this time, he let me go, his mouth still held in a goofy grin. "I was thinking a few other things on our walk," I said.

"Go on then." We went into the kitchen, and Liam got us some water, and we sat on the lounge. I sat facing him, my legs curled up underneath me and my knees touching his thigh.

"I don't like leaving Perrin alone, and I can't ask Dave to have him every weekend, so would it be ok to bring Perrin next week? See if he and Cole get along? It would make things a lot easier."

"Absolutely," Then he shook his head. "You're different today." Panic gripped me. Great, I let my defences down, and five hours later, he doesn't like it. I started to move away from Liam, but he stopped me. "No, Sweetheart, it's a good thing." He took my glass out of my hand and put his glass down before he lifted me onto his lap. "You're thinking ahead, planning things for us. You've never done that before. It's always been me pushing for the next step."

"Too much?" I asked, still feeling unsure.

"Not at all."

"Good," I said. Then I smiled, trying to sound casual, "so what exactly does the girlfriend of one of the worlds most sought after actors wear to a film premiere?"

"Really?" Liam asked incredulously. I nodded, and Liam planted big sloppy kisses all over my face. I squealed and tried to pull away, but he tightened his grip. My shrieks turned into giggles as his scratchy beard tickled my neck. He eventually stopped, his face getting serious. "No? Really? Do you want to go? If you don't want to, it's fine. There will be other occasions to show you off."

"No, I do. I'm in this now. Committed. I'm willing to go because I want to be in your life, and going to things like premieres and award shows are part of that."

Liam smiled and kissed me again, sweetly this time. "Thank you."

"I have conditions, though." Liam indicated I should continue. "Other than saying we're together, I don't want you to say anything about our relationship in interviews or anything. I don't want photos of me on your Instagram. If it's for some special occasion, maybe, but I'd rather avoid it." He nodded. "Two, I know actors sometimes take off to LA or Rome or Manila for awards or premieres. I probably wouldn't go with you to those because I'm not just picking up and leaving during the school term. Outside of that, I'm open to negotiation."

Again he nodded and said, "Fair. Anything else?"

"Two more things." his eyebrows lifted at that, but he stayed silent. "Sarah can confirm our relationship if you want. If we just say we are together, people won't make as much fuss as they would if it was left in the air. If we say nothing at all, it will keep the story going longer than necessary."

"Do you know, that's exactly what Sarah told me?"

"If this teaching thing ever goes wrong, maybe I'll have a career change." I winked at Liam to tell him I was joking. Fuck dealing with celebrities and scandals all day.

"So the last thing," I said.

"This was a very productive walk."

"Yes." My cheeks suddenly felt hot. I didn't know how to say what I wanted to say.

"This will be good," Liam said, noticing my blush.

"Shut up, and let me say it." I took a deep breath. "I have a contraceptive implant in my arm. I've been using them for a while. At the moment, the one I have is good for five years, and I got it three and a half years ago. I basically don't get periods anymore. If I do, they're very short. Anyway, all I'm saying is if you are committed, we don't have to use a condom."

"Where in your arm?" He asked. I found it and got his fingers and showed him where. "Oh shit. That's great. Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

I shrugged. "I didn't know where this was going or how serious you were. I wanted STD protection. You Hollywood types have terrible reputations."

Liam chuckled, "I suppose that's true. But I am serious about you. I thought you knew that from even before we met."

I shrugged. "I wasn't sure."

"But you are now?"

I nodded. Liam hugged me tightly. "Ok, good, condoms are out." He gave me a peck on the cheek, "Hungry?" He asked.

Part 15

[a-libra-writes]

Could you do ⛅ 💎 💥 💤 and 🌸 with Aberama Gold? You can delete this if you want to cause idk if I sent this beyond a deadline. And if you do it you can choose one of the emoji, I liked them all lol so I'm fine with whichever one you want. Thank you so much, I love how you write for Aberama so it would mean a lot if you do write the headcanon. Not that I'm trying to guilt trip you into doing it, not my intention at all. I just really live your writing and wouldn't be hurt if you didnt write it.

aaghh sorry i took so long with this!! stupid work grumble grumble save me. I hope u didnt think I deleted it haha, I like Aberama a heckin lot. Glad you like how I write him! OK LETS GO LONG BOI

⛅ Sunset HC

He loves watching the sunset. Once you got to know him, this didn’t seem so strange. As the afternoon began to end, you’d notice him glance toward the sky no matter where you two were, and he’d be a little more distracted if it was an especially clear, beautiful day.

Getting such pretty sunsets wasn’t too common in London,  or any city, which is why he preferred being out in the country. 

Aberama used to think by himself during these times, but he began to like it when you joined him. He’d have you sit on his lap and chat with him - and if that was too embarrassing - at least sit beside him. During the colder months he’d wrap his jacket around you (and probably put the hat on you too, because you’re too cute).

When he’s feeling particularly sentimental, he’ll tell you all about how beautiful you look with the golden and red colors shining on your eyes and skin. He’ll sweet talk you until the moon comes up.

His favorite sunsets are the fiery orange and red ones that are scattered with clouds. To him, they look like a glimpse of heaven... he often thinks these are the only looks he’ll get of that place.

💎 Marriage HC

It was obvious when he was smitten with you, and more obvious that he wanted something more long-term. He’s actually quite a romantic man, in spite of his occupation, and he wanted to make a life with you. He thought you were just perfect.

And yes, he was a bit into the age gap.

Your wedding was modest, but surrounded with family and the reception is lively. Plenty of dancing, drinking, music and laughter, and his family put together a new wagon that was decorated in flowers and vines, just for you. Aberama couldn’t keep you out of his lap or his arms the whole time. 

Depending on your preferences, you either had a small cottage in a village or you stayed with his family in the wagons. Due to his jobs, Aberama would disappear for days at a time, sometimes a week or more. He’d come home, tired and a mess - sometimes injured - but he always gave you a kiss and hug before washing up. He preferred to be clean and in a change of clothes before holding you again.

He doesn’t discuss his jobs with you, period. He doesn’t want you getting tangled up in them, and he’s expressly forbid his men and Bonnie from discussing it with you. Even if it frustrates and worries you, he doesn’t budge on this decision.

If you didn’t know Romani, he’d gradually teach you. Since he wasn’t around all the time, Bonnie and his daughters would help.

He’s very delighted that you get along with his children, especially the younger girls, who don’t remember much of their mother. As much as he’d love children with you, he’d understand if his were more than enough. 

Bonnie sees you as more of an older sister figure than a mother - since he still remembers his mom - but you two still get along great. You’re usually patching him up after a boxing match or cooking him filling food. He’s glad you made his dad happy, but could you two please stop being so sappy in front of him and his friends? Thanks.

Once Tommy meets you and realizes how much Aberama dotes on you, he makes a point to invite you to gatherings together. He hopes you’ll calm the man down or act as a pacifying presence. It ... sort of works. While he is in a better mood with you on his arm, he’s also far more likely to bash the teeth out of any man who disrespects you.

He’ll bash the teeth out of his own men if they dare the same thing, and that’s if they’re lucky. Bonnie doesn’t tell you, but he’s seen his father send more than one man to a ditch for insulting you and your family (especially if you were non-Romani).

No matter what, he’d be protective of you, but it would happen behind the scenes. He wouldn’t want you to feel like he was being possessive or suffocating, so he’ll have a guard or two quietly watch your home when he’ s away, and he’ll deal with the before mentioned troublesome men on his own.

This has led to situations where you go to him in a panic, saying a strange man has been following you and standing around the house. He grabs his gun and investigates and ... it’s one of his idiots. “Be more careful, would you? Just go the fuck home, I’m here anyway.” 

When he comes back he acts like he chased off some scary robber and you play along and give him plenty of kisses.

Basically, you two have a very loving, sappy marriage that makes people forget he’s one of the deadliest guns-for-hire in England. 

💤 Napping HC

Aberama hardly ever naps, but he can fall asleep anywhere. You have no idea how he does it. He can do sitting in a horse, leaning against a wall or standing up. 

His “technical” naps are when he gets back from a job in the middle of the afternoon. He’d been up for days at that point, and he collapses on the couch and tells you he’s just going to rest his eyes for a few moments. You eventually gently wake him.

Still, he much prefers to fall asleep next to you. After staying up for an ungodly amount of time, he’ll let you drag him to bed, only if you promise to lie down by his side. 

When he sleeps, he reminds you of a cat with how he tucks his head down and curls into himself. Often his face twitches with expressions, but only for a moment.

💥First Fight / Making up HC

Your first fight is also what your subsequent fights and squabbles have been about: The danger of his jobs, and what little you know about them. Aberama wouldn’t give in, curtly telling you there was zero reason for you to be involved.

You knew about these “jobs” while he courted you, and you didn’t delude yourself into thinking he’d stop after you married. But this time he came home with two bullet wounds, and he was gone for two weeks. Couldn’t he at least have sent a man to tell you he was alright? Or where he was? That he was hurt? At least that?

Aberama just dismissed you, which he so rarely did, as he was just as tired and frustrated... Not to mention the wounds. He hoped in the morning, you’d understand, and both your moods would be better.

It wasn’t. You were still pissed, so he left, insisting he’d be back.

You fumed, but began to worry. What if you were too harsh, especially since he was in such bad shape? Maybe he didn’t want to worry you, or maybe someone was on his trail and he didn’t want anything coming back to you. He always kept you and his daughters out of his messes. Maybe ...

Your mind began to race, and you were feeling frustrated and emotional all over again. You decided to go look for him, it wouldn’t be hard. Right as you opened the door, Aberama was walking up to the doorstep. He had bought your favorite flowers and he quickly pulled you into an embrace. 

While he still thought he was doing what was best for your safety, he understood your worry and recognized he was dismissing your concerns. He said all this, giving you plenty of kisses and apologies.

He wanted to make love to you to show you how truly sorry he was but those bullet wounds were kind of, you know, painful as all hell. Aberama was still gonna go for it but you insisted “cuddles until that’s healed”.

🌸Kissing HC

There’s no such thing as chaste kisses or pecks unless he’s truly in a hurry. He feels so much for you that those just seem inadequate displays of affection.

Whenever he kisses you, he wants to properly show his love, although it never does seem like enough. He’ll hold the small of your back and bring you closer, because you always have to be close when he does this. If there’s not many people around, or better - none - he’ll start at your neck and work his way to your lips.

The kisses on your lips are always deep, and you feel yourself pressing back against him. If he has to say goodbye, he’ll make sure it’s longer, and he’ll promptly kiss your cheek and promise to be back soon.

Even when you’re just parting for a few hours while he goes to the boxing ring or you leave to town, he’ll pull you into his embrace and give you a firm kiss. “Behave yourself, dear.”  “Aberama, I always tell you that.”

It’s kind of nauseating to anyone who watches, Bonnie has long learned to just walk away 

To be sure, it’s very jarring for some of his men to see their terrifying boss turn to his wife, give her a sweet kiss, then turn to them with a sharp gleam in his eye, like he’s daring them to say something.

At home, he often gives you stray kisses on your neck, your cheek, your hand, whatever suits his whims at the time. In bed, even if you aren’t making love, he wants to give you several kisses goodnight. When he walks into the house and you’re already asleep, he’ll give gentle kisses that won’t make you stir. He hopes you can feel them in your dreams.

[notquitecanon]

Like a Good Neighbor // Bucky Barnes x Reader

A break from your regularly scheduled crossover. 

Fluff with a side of hurt/comfort, and a sprinkle of angst

TW: mentions of a break in, gun mention, blade mention

_________________________

“Thanks, sorry, what was your name again?” The mysterious dark-haired stranger asked, blue eyes avoiding yours. His buff body and defensive stance looked almost laughable holding your ‘welcome to the floor’ cookie platter. Nevertheless, you smiled sweetly resisting the urge to be nosy and look past him into his apartment. 

“Oh, sorry, I never told you. I’m (Y/N) (Y/L/N), I’m two doors down. The dead ficus marks the spot.” You joked, nodding down the hall where the dilapidated plant sat beside your own door. He cracked the smallest smile, icy eyes lifting to yours. And for a split second, it felt like he was scrutinizing every molecule that you were made of- a shiver went down your spine, which you filed away to psychoanalyze later. For the moment you ignored it though, smiling softly at him, “I’m sure all the women living alone will feel a lot better with you around.”

He ran his free hand through his long, dark hair before nodding again. You sense it was time to excuse yourself, “Well, I’ll get out of your hair and let you get settled in. If you need anything- a cup of sugar, laundry detergent, best takeout phone number- just knock on my door!”

“I’ll, uh, keep that in mind.” He smiled dryly again, watching you until you got back to your doorway. His experienced eyes softened slightly at your happy smile before you waved one last time, closing your door. 

It had been a long time since anyone had looked at him so softly. Besides Steve, everybody looked at him like he was a criminal, or at the very least like he was a ticking timebomb. He knew he deserved it, but it didn’t mean that the glares and wary side-eyes didn’t hurt.  

Once your door shut, he backed into his own home, locking his door behind him. His metal-hand dug a cookie out from under the plastic wrap as he made his way into the kitchen. The apartment wasn’t much, but every “specialist” decided that living on his own was essential to rehabilitating.  Steve’s first idea was setting him up in a house next to Sam, which both men immediately shot down. Maybe having you as a neighbor wouldn’t so bad.

_________

The next time you saw your mysterious neighbor, you were running after and shouting, “Hold that elevator! Please, hold the door!” 

Bucky’s ever-so-fast reflexes easily caught the sliding doors before the shut, watching you bound up the elevator. You slid to a stop right in front of him, shuffling beside him in the metal shoebox. Despite your heaving chest, you still grinned at him while adjusting your grip on the brown paper sacks in your arms. 

“Thank you very much, neighbor!” You beamed as he pressed the button, “Sorry, you never gave me your name so I’ve just been referring to you as a neighbor.” 

He watched you ramble as the elevator shook to action, he knew why you were so determined to catch the same elevator. It was the only one and it took forever to get up and then back down to the lobby again. “Sorry, ma’am, my name is... my name is Bucky.”

“Well, very pleased to be on first-name basis, Bucky. And don’t call me ma’am.” You corrected, emphasizing his name. He decided he liked how it sounded when you said it. He smiled, a slight up twitch of the corner of his lip. Finally, the elevator shuddered to a stop, the pause between stopped movement and the doors sliding open was just long enough to cause Bucky to feel claustrophobic. 

Like a gentleman, he motioned you out first and once he thought you couldn’t see, he glared at the rickety lift. But, soon figured out he was busted when he heard you giggling. You watched his cheeks redden while you jiggled your key in the lock- but in your distraction, the groceries that had been precariously balanced between your hip and the door toppled on the floor. You hissed, “Shit.” 

“I didn’t know you had such a dirty mouth.” Bucky smirked, crouching beside you and helping collect the runaway vegetables. You huffed playfully.

“Well, there’s just a lot of things you don’t know about me.” You smiled, blindly reaching towards a box of mac&cheese as you tucked some hair behind your ear. The casual movement was interrupted by you becoming acutely aware of your hands meeting. It was juvenile, but the split second of lingered contact sent butterflies into your stomach. He jerked away before you even flicked your eyes to your hand. Not knowing what else to say, you just softly sighed, “Your hand is really cold, you should eat more spinach.”

His eyebrows furrowed, confused, but he just stammered, “Oh, alright, I’ll, uh, try to remember that then.”

You chuckled at his confusion, grabbing the last runaway grocery and shoving it in the paper bag. You slowly stood, and he did the same, picking up the other two grocery bags, easily hefting them up as he muttered, “I can carry these in for you.” 

“And they say chivalry is dead.” You mused, propping the door open behind you. Bucky quietly followed behind you to the kitchen, eyes glued to the floor as if he wasn’t allowed to look at your home. Finally, he set down your groceries on your counter. You thanked him happily, watching as he backed out to the doorway. 

“Have a good night, ma’am.” 

“Good night, neighbor.” 

__________

There were a dozen little run-ins like that. Bucky would run out of coffee, and your apartment had a shorter line than Starbucks. One of your light bulbs would go out, just out of your reach- and Bucky would be there a lot faster than maintenance would. Bucky’s wi-fi would go out-he knew Steve wouldn’t know how to fix it, and he didn’t want to deal with Sam’s mockery. You would have a scarily persistent admirer follow you home after a night out, one call to Bucky and he’d lurk in the lobby doorway to scare him off. 

Within these run-ins, there were a hundred micro exchanges. And though neither of you said it, you each treasured each and every one. 

________

It was a rainy Sunday the next time Bucky held the elevator for you. It was late fall, and the sun was already down, creating a rather bleak evening. Nevertheless, you laughed as he wrung out his baseball cap, adding to the puddle of raindrops dripping off your raincoat. 

“You blew out your candles before leaving right? You’re bad to leave them burning.” You asked, subtly teasing him in the process. He lifted his eyes to you, that smirk growing on his face. You didn’t know the details of his past, you never cared to ask or research, but the gain in confidence always warmed your heart. 

“Doll, one day that mouth of yours is gonna get you into trouble.” He chided as the elevator groaned to a halt. You threw a playful wink over your shoulder, as always he let you go first. He stopped at your door, waiting for you to safely make it inside. 

“I’ve got more eggs than I know what to do with,” You started, as usual, the lock putting up a fight as you jiggled the key, “Come by tomorrow before you’re run and you can get some free breakfast.” 

Finally, the lock gave way allowing you entrance to your own house as Bucky nodded, “Sounds like a date. See you tomorrow. Lock your door.”

As usual, you playfully rolled your eyes as you shut the door. He waited until he heard both locks click into place before calling through your door, “Goodnight.”

He waited by your decaying ficus, waiting for your echo on the other side. But it didn’t come. He waited a few seconds, his minds automatically jumping to the worst. He didn’t want to come off as crazy, but he had a bad gut feeling so he waited outside your door for another moment. 

Meanwhile, inside your apartment, you locked your door to appease the man outside. You moved to your kitchen to drop your keys in the bowl on the counter, opening your mouth to call back but movement in the corner of your eye distracted you. Your mouth closed, eyebrows furrowing as you went to investigate. 

You found the culprit, curtains fluttering from the wind of an open window- one you knew you didn’t leave open. You suddenly became painfully aware of every sound around you, stomach dropping and heart leaping into your throat. Quickly you began to stride towards the door, but a strong arm caught you by the waist and then a hand clamped onto your mouth- silencing your scream. 

You immediately reverted to base instinct, wildly thrashing against your captor. In your efforts to escape, a stray flailing limp knocked over a lamp which in turn knocked a glass dish off your coffee table. The sound was loud enough that the man holding you cursed, but you didn’t stop fighting until cool metal clicked against your face. 

From outside, you heard Bucky’s muffled voice, “(Y/N)? You ok?”

The man holding you placed the gun over your lips, “Shh, nice and quiet, don’t want to bother your neighbor.”

You whimpered, your scream dying in your throat. Bucky was a big dude, but you didn’t want to put him in danger. The man holding you kept the gun against your head but flipped open an old cell phone. “Yeah, sir, we had the wrong information. This is a civilian woman’s apartment, she walked in before we could get out. No sir, no sir, yes sir. I know sir.” 

 All you could hear was squabbling on the other side. “I thought that if we, no sir, I just didn’t want to attract unwanted attention, yes sir, I’ll take care of it.”

You knew what ‘take care of it’ sounded like, and in that moment blind instinct took over. One hand pushed the gun away from you, his finger catching the trigger. Your eyes were ringing as your other hand reached for anything in reach. Your fingers clutched a glass candle jar and slammed it into his head. He growled in annoyance as you scrambled away. Ears still ringing, you were vaguely aware of Bucky yelling on the other side of the door and his incessant knocking (verging on beating). You shouted some gibberish back as you stumbled into the kitchen. Your assailant caught you by the leg, sending you to the floor.  

Suddenly, you heard the resonant sound of solid contact and then wood splintering. But you were focussed on the man who was hunched over you, trying to getting his hands around your throat. You saw a flash of silver as the man was ripped off of you, Bucky’s hulking form following him as the assailant tried to getaway. Bucky was a lot larger than the bald man who now held fear in his beady little eyes. Bucky, however, had an almost a scary amount of focus and disguised anger in his icy blues. 

“Who are you and what the hell are you doing here?” He demanded. The assailant flashed his gun, but Bucky’s hand- shocking how you never noticed how silver it was- simply wrapped around the barrel. Three rounds were fired into his hand, earning a concerned yelp from you. His eyebrow twitched but he didn’t lose focus was crushed bullet casings tinkled on your hardwood floors. Smoke swirled around the two men as you watched from your crouched position on the floor. 

“(Y/N), call 911.” Bucky called from you, easily deflecting a punch. Just as easily, he took the assailant by the collar and held him against your wall. You were too shocked to move. His voice was softer this time, “(Y/N), go wait outside. Please.” 

Nodding, you scuttled out of your apartment, phone in hand. Dialing 911, you paced up and down the hall. The operator went through all the usual questions which you answered shakily. Finally, the operator asked if you were safe, which you answered yes too, so she hung up telling you cops were on the way. You took a few shivery breaths to calm yourself, but it caught in your throat when another hand wrapped around your mouth. 

“Sshhh, don’t want to ruin the asset’s surprise.” A voice hissed in your ear. You stiffened, when would this night end? You tried to thrash against the person’s hold but he stopped you by slamming your head into the mantle. Your vision was blurry as Bucky walked out of your apartment. His stance was scarily defensive, shoulders squared making his seem even larger than usual. 

“Soldat, I’ve missed our time together.” Your captor started, a Russian accent becoming evident as he brought a blade to your throat, “I’d keep your distance. She seems like such a good neighbor, but it seems she has you distracted.  But I need the asset right now.” 

“HYDRA is dead.” Bucky growled, eyes settled on the blade against what you didn’t know was a vital artery. The man holding you chuckled. 

“You know what they say about HYRDA’s, cut off one head... well I think you know the rest.” The man holding you trailed off, adjusting your grip. “Now let’s begin, attack and she dies. Even twitch towards that door, and she dies.”

“желание.” It was a word, guttural, you assumed Russian, but had no idea. But Bucky seemed to recognize it. He got even tenser, if that was possible. His eyes flitted towards the door, but he didn’t move a muscle. 

“pжавый” He continued, voice inflecting on certain syllables. The look of fear of Bucky’s face broke your heart, but seemed to be distracting your captor. 

“семнадцать.” He went on, the blade loosening at your throat. Bucky, however, flinched, metal hand-winding into his hair. You made a split decision, you didn’t know what was happening, you were scared, but whatever was happening to Bucky- you weren’t going to let it happen. 

“Девя-” Mid word your foot slammed down on his, and then your head bucked back into his nose. Without support, you collapsed to the floor. The distraction was all Bucky needed, and before you knew it Bucky slammed the strange man into the wall. The knifed man slid down, unconscious. Bucky bent down, unlacing his shoe and using the lace to makeshift cuff him. Your eyes flitted down and checked his other shoe- no lace. He must have cuffed the other guy. 

Bucky backed away from his handiwork as cops raced up the stairs. A tall blonde was behind them followed by a slightly shorter black man. The black man was talking to some police officers, and the blonde raced to Bucky. 

You braced yourself against the wall as you tried to stand up, but nearly fell over in the process. You didn’t realize how much your body hurt until that moment. Bucky was at your side in an instant, and as easily as he threw the other man into the wall, he lifted you in his arms. The blonde, who you now noticed as Steve Rogers from the news, watched on curiously, but Bucky redirected your attention to him. 

“It’s over now, Doll, I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” He whispered. You peeked over his shoulder at the policemen dragging the first assailant out- he had a bloody mouth that he hadn’t had before. Bucky effortlessly unlocked his door, “Steve, can you check the back, just in case.” 

The blonde-Steve- nodded, starting off down the hall as Bucky sat you down on his couch. Your fingers trailed over the soft black material of his flannel, one hand tangling into a red blanket. Steve came back, nodding to Bucky as he motioned himself outside. “(Y/N), you’re completely safe here, but I have to talk to the police. I’ll be right outside.”

As much as you hated being talked to like a toddler, the softness of his voice eased the edge off your nerves as you nodded. Watching as he stepped out, you caught his soft smile as the door closed. With the door shut, your mind whirled with all the recent memories, eyes stinging as you thought of all the times you were nearly killed. Russian words, HYDRA agents, guns, knives, what had you gotten into? Fingers trailed to your neck when you could swear there was still a knife pressed to your throat. 

A soft knock sounded at the door, you eyes flitted up to see Bucky. You forced a smile, “You don’t have to knock on your own door, you know?” 

Kneeling in front of you, he smiled back, chuckling softly, “Yes ma’am.” 

Finger’s reached up to your hair, and Bucky frowned, eyes narrowing in, “He got you good didn’t he.” 

You winced at the touch, smiling awkwardly as he got up to retrieve first-aid kit, “I’m really sorry you got tangled up in all that sweetheart.” 

‘All that’ flashed through your memories like a movie, “Bucky, what exactly is all that?” 

“Everything from my past that I thought was over.” He sighed sadly, preparing the first aid supplies and dabbing at the bleeding wound on your forehead, “What you did was really brave. Stupid, but brave.” 

You couldn’t tell if he was comforting you or scolding you, so you just ducked your head, which didn’t do much. Bucky wordlessly used his pointer finger to pick your chin up as you answered, “I’m not going to pretend to understand any of this, but Bucky you looked scared. Those people weren’t ever after me, were they? They were here to hurt you.” 

“Fending off assailants isn’t in the neighbor job description. You could have called the cops and not looked back.” His thumb ran across your cheek, but you were surprised that it glided wetly. You never even noticed you were crying. 

“I was under the impression we were more than just neighbors.” You whispered, leaning into the touch. Maybe it was the adrenaline or maybe it was the shock, but you were tired, and you were tired of beating around the bush. His blue eyes widened before his smile slowly grew. Your hands were still shaking when you grabbed his cheeks, pulling his lips to yours. 

He was hesitant at first, but soon his metal hand came up cup your cheek- the cold a stark contrast against your wet, feverish cheeks. His other hand rested on your thigh as he returned the sweet kiss. Bucky broke off the innocent kiss before it was no longer innocent. 

“You need to get some sleep. You can take my bed tonight and we’ll clean up your apartment tomorrow.” He decided, tucking some hair behind your ear. The touch was warm, relaxing. You nodded, not having the energy to argue or come up with a witty comment. 

With a warm hand on the small of your back, he led you back to a ridiculously neat bedroom. He stopped by his closet, pulling a large flannel shirt and a pair of boxers out, offering them to you with a quirked eyebrow. You nodded with a yawn, letting him motion you into the bathroom. 

Finally, you exited the bathroom to find that Bucky had already turned down his comforter for you, “I’m gonna take the couch. This alright?”

You nodded, perching on the edge of the bed- you could already smell the scent of cologne coming off his sheets. “Hey, Bucky?” 

He stopped in the doorway, looking to you, “Yeah, sweetheart?” 

Your cheeks reddened, fingers fiddling with the hem of his sheets, “Could you stay with me? At least until I fall asleep?” 

“Of course, doll.” 

____

no one asked for this, and its the bad™️

[aalissy]

Kitten Noir

Day 27 is doneee!! Kind of a longish chapter today haha :D. I hope you guys like it! Chat is certainly happy to be a cat dad lololololol :'). Lemme know what you think <3

AO3

Marinette gasped with awe, slowly picking up the small, black cat and cradling her to her chest. She looked around her surroundings, wondering how it had managed to climb up onto her balcony. Gently running her fingers along the kitten’s back, she cooed at it, “What are you doing here, little kitty? How did you even get up here?”

The black cat merely blinked up at her with bright, curious green eyes. Its head tilted cutely as it mewed up at her. Squealing, Marinette cuddled it closer to her before carefully ducking back inside of her room. Once she was inside, she gently placed it onto her bed, noting the lack of collar on the small creature.

“Marinette?” Tikki called out to her, “How did you find a kitten?”

“I don’t know,” she grinned at her kwami, “She was just on my balcony upstairs. I’m not even sure how she got up there.”

Turning her attention back to the small cat on her bed, Marinette noticed how its eyes seemed to hone in on Tikki. The kitten slowly stood up on all fours, her butt wiggling some before she pounced on the kwami floating next to her. Luckily, Tikki gasped and flew up and away from the small cat’s swatting paws. Her kwami huffed down disapprovingly at the kitten.

With a quiet snicker, Marinette reached for the black cat before it could do any lasting damage to Tikki. Once again, she scratched it gently, watching as it opened its mouth into a small, quiet yawn. Smiling down at it adoringly, she grinned before sighing quietly, “You’re the cutest thing ever. I almost hate to let you go. But I’m sure your owner is missing you very much.”

Tapping the small cat’s pink nose with her finger, she giggled once again as it sneezed, wiggling her nose back at her almost in annoyance. Laughing at the kitten, Marinette scooped it up again, carefully climbing down her ladder before placing her in one of the empty boxes she had lying around. Watching it curl up contentedly, she gave a soft smile before cooing at it, ”I’ll see you soon, ok, little kitten? I’ll be right back, I’m just going to get you some food and water,” turning to Tikki happily, she asked, “Can you watch her for me? I don’t want her getting out and causing a mess.”

“Of course,” Tikki nodded, “Just don’t be too long, alright?”

“I won’t be,” Marinette grinned back over her shoulder before ducking downstairs into her kitchen. Looking through some of the cupboards, she grabbed out a tiny bowl before filling it with water. Humming quietly to herself, she pulled out a few slices of ham, chopping it into small pieces for the little kitten. Placing the pieces on the plate, she carefully climbed up the stairs into her bedroom. Slowly, Marinette crept towards the box she had left her in. Curiously, she noted Tikki’s absence but shrugged it off, calling out to the little kitten, “I’m back kitty. And I brought dinner.”

When she got to the box, though, her eyes widened in disbelief. The cat was gone, and she searched her room with alarm, terrified Hawkmoth had found out her secret identity and taken both her kwami and the cat. Her mouth falling open, Marinette called out desperately, “Tikki, are you still here?! Are you alright?!”

“You named your cat Tikki?” an almost smug voice called out to her and she snapped her eyes up in a panic, only to see Chat Noir leaning on her bed, cradling the kitten to his chest. He stroked the cat’s back, peering into its bright green eyes, “I was much more partial to Kitten Noir, myself.”

Heaving a deep sigh of relief, she realized that Tikki must have hidden away when that disastrous cat snuck in. Glaring up at the superhero on her bed, she crossed her arms, “Chat, you just gave me a heart attack! What are you doing here?!”

“I was only dropping by to see my favorite purrincess,” he pouted at her innocently before he grinned down at the cat in his arms, “But then I heard little Tikki over here meowing and I couldn’t stop myself. When did you get a cat, Marinette?”

“I found her on my balcony this morning, surprisingly. Oh, and her name’s not Tikki,” Marinette added almost unconsciously before placing the bowl and plate down on the floor.

“She’s not?” Chat’s head tilted at her, “Then why did you call out for a Tikki earlier?”

With a quiet wince, she looked back up at him. His eyes were narrowed some in suspicion and she cursed quietly in her head. This is not good! Chat met Tikki before when he changed into Mister Bug. With a small gulp, Marinette waved her hand in the air, chuckling nervously, “I was um... trying out names! Yeah! I was hoping one of them would be her real name. The one her real owner calls her. You’re right, though, Tikki doesn’t fit! Guess I’ll just have to come up with another one.”

Chat’s eyes lit up as she realized he bought her lie, “May I suggest Kitten Noir once again, then?”

With a quiet giggle, she rolled her eyes at him, climbing up the ladder to face where he was lying on her bed, “I highly doubt her owner calls her Kitten Noir.”

“You don’t know that!” he said almost defensively, “Don’t listen to her, Kitten Noir. I think your name is purrfectly pawfect!”

Shaking her head at him slowly, Marinette carefully scooped up the cat from his arms, ignoring his indignant squawk and the cat’s small, almost protesting mew. Carefully, she climbed back down the ladder and placed the cat in front of the plates she had previously brought up. Almost instantly, she went for the water bowl, lapping up the delicious liquid inside. With a quiet coo, Marinette pulled out her phone, snapping a picture of the adorable creature.

She heard Chat also breathe out with awe and she turned to him startled, not having heard him make his way off of the bed. He nudged her with his elbow, “She’s adorable, purrincess. You’ve gotta keep her.”

“Chat...,’ she trailed off before he shushed her.

“I can help too! I’d be a great cat dad!” he puffed up with pride, “And I’m sure your parents will let us keep her.”

Marinette’s lips twitched at the use of the word us before she looked at him solemnly, “I’m sorry, but Chaton, it’s not up to me. She most likely has an owner already and I would hate to take her away from them.”

Chat’s pout deepened as he blinked his wide, green eyes at her pleadingly, “And if she doesn’t?”

“Then I’ll ask my parents,” she sighed quietly before turning to the kitten who was now happily chewing on the small slices of ham, “But she is really cute!”

Chat practically cheered, wrapping her up in his arms as he hugged her tightly, “Thank you, purrincess!”

Giggling, Marinette hugged him back as she shook her head at him, “Don’t get your hopes up, kitty.”

“Mhm,” he nodded with a bright grin as he nuzzled closer to her.

Eventually, she blinked down as she felt something cuddle up against her leg with a small purr. Smiling brightly down at the black cat, she scooped her into her arms, “Did you finish your dinner, little one?” she scratched her head softly.

The kitten mewed at her before yawning sleepily once again, burying her face into Marinette’s arms as her eyes closed. Cooing down at the precious thing, she looked up at Chat Noir who was also looking at the small kitten. The superhero sniffled, brushing a hand lightly over the kitten, “I’m so proud of our little Kitten Noir.”

Snickering at him, she rolled her eyes, “We’re not calling her Kitten Noir!”

“Why not?” he whined at her.

“Because it’s almost as bad of a name as Chat Noir,” she teased him, winking playfully.

“Come on Marinette!” he whined louder.

Giggling, she slowly placed a pillow and blanket into the box she had left the kitten in before. Fluffing the warm objects, she carefully placed the sleeping kitten into the makeshift home, trying to avoid waking her. With a bright beam once the kitten was safely in the new spot, she turned back to Chat, shaking her head, “I can’t believe I have to deal with two strays now,” she whispered at him. 

“Aw, but we’re both adorafur,” Chat grinned teasingly at him.

Placing a hand on his chest, she pushed him back up to her ladder, speaking softly, “You need to go now! I don’t want to wake up Kitten Noir.”

“See, you do like the name,” he smirked down at her.

Rolling her eyes, Marinette spoke sarcastically, “Yes! It’s the best name ever!’

“Well that’s purrfect,” he purred at her before bidding both her and the sleeping kitten a goodnight as he ducked out through her trapdoor.

“Goodnight, Chat Noir,” she called fondly after his retreating figure.

[mochilici0us]

One New Message | jjk (4)

➳ 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: angst, thriller, stalker au

➳ 𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀: Skye realizes she has to deal with a ruthless stalker when the messages she’s constantly receiving are getting more and more threatening. A stalker that makes her recall memories of the past she swore she would never rake up again

➳ 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁: 2,5k

prologue, part one, part two, part three, part four

April 2013

''Skye can you pass me the milk please?'' my father kindly requests while we enjoy our breakfast. They enjoy to be exact. I can hardly take part in their conversation, my mind is away.

My eyes can't stop following her skinnier, exhausted figure moving from the kitchen to the dining haul and serving breakfast.

Something's up these days, she avoids eye contact with me at all costs, we haven't even talked properly. She's acting cold towards me just muttering a few weak goodmornings and goodnights. Yeah, those are the only words I've exchanged with my ''best friend'', not even a little talk to catch up with each other's news.

''Ruby can you fetch me some honey?'' my mother yells so that Ruby listens from the kitchen. A few seconds after she appears holding a jar of honey. Even her walk is stiff, I'm genuinely concerned about her health.

''Here you are'' I'm sure she can feel my burning gaze as she leaves the honey on the table and finally after a week our eyes meet.

Shit, she looks so pale, dark circles under her red eyes, chipped lips, I can even practically see her facial bones. To my surprise she doesn't look annoyed or angry. She just glances at me tiredly, as if she had quit living.

My piercing gaze on the other hand is anything but calm and sympathetic. She's clearly sick, something's eating her alive and instead of sharing her concerns with me she stays away?

Our eye contact lasts only for a few seconds but it's strong enough to show my restrained rage.

She realizes it immediately, averts her gaze and leaves like the coward she is.

''This weekend I'm leaving on an unexpected business trip'' my father announces and takes a sip of his coffee right after

''Again? You were on a business trip last week'' my mother fires back

''Do you think it's up to me? For your information I'd rather stay home and relax with my family''

''I don't mean it's your fault I just...''

''You make me feel terrible every time I have to tell you about a businesstrip. I can't talk to my family without restrictions anymore Christen''

''Ok I'm sorry don't get mad'' my mother lowers her eyes and apologises quickly before my father gets more angry.

Sometimes I admire my dad. He's so manipulative but not in a bossy way, he always prevails upon my mother with sensible arguments, voice laced with sweetness.

He's so diplomatic, no doubt he has built such a great career

''Darling why are you not eating?'' my mother remarks as I fiddle with the spoon. The bowl of granola cereals is untouched.

''I have no appetite. I have to go to school anyway, I'm late'' I pretendto study my watch and stand up

''Do you want me to come with you?'' my father suggests

''Nο it's ok I can walk''

''Skye are you sure everything's ok?'' I hear my mother's voice as I head towards the living room to grab my backpack.

''I'm fine mum I just didn't sleep well. See you later''

As I'm about to exit alone Ruby appears out of nowhere. Her body posture screams nervousness.

''You didn't eat your breakfast'' she speaks quietly biting her already chopped lips

She's been avoiding me for a week and now she pretends to be a thoughtful friend. She made me feel depressed, cry myself to sleep thinking what the hell I did wrong and now she plays dumb?

I just stay still without answering, my intense eyes glued to her wandering ones. She doesn't even dare to look at my eyes.

She clears her throat ''Here''she takes a fresh hand-made sandwich out of her pocket and extends her hand. I eye her hand without moving an inch.

''You can eat it instead. You look like a sceleton'' I spit my venom and walk out of my house without sparing her a glance.

It was too late when I realized what I had said.

''I love spaghetti but my mother never cooks. My dad says she cooks terrible but that's a secret'' Grace's friend Lisa whispers and pretends to seal her lips. She's so cute.

''Don't worry your secret is safe''

She nods and digs into her food again. Under other circumstances I wouldn't have cooked but today Susan picked up both Grace and Lisa so I couldn't disoblige her. Her puppy eyes gave me enough courage to get up and cook even though I'm still in a cast.

The three of us are sitting in the dining table and enjoying my home-made bolognese spaghetti. I was never good at cooking, I couldn't cook to save my life to be exact but I had to learn how for Grace. So I practiced and practiced till I reached my goal, I didn't want to become the new master chef, just learn how to cook some basic things so that Grace eats home-made food. In the beginning I would constantly fail but practice makes perfect.

''Eat your veggies as well girls'' I gesture at the bowl of salad.

They both nod like good girls and do as I say. They're so freaking adorable. Lisa has short black hair with bangs and chocolate brown eyes. She's small but taller than Grace. She comes by often, most of the times I pick her up from school as well since Grace and her are classmates.

Her favorite foods are spaghetti, steak with baby potatoes and vegetable fried rice. Let's not forget my signature fruit smoothie which I always serve with vanilla frosting cupcakes.

We always sit and eat together, exchanging news, telling jokes. I really enjoy their interactions, they look like two tiny dumplings.

"What did you do in school today?" I ask intertwining my fingers

"We drew our dream gardens, mine has a huge swimming pool" Lisa hurries to answer

"Mine has a plenty of colorful flowers and a big telescope on the center to admire the stars. And the Sky. Sky as we say Skye" Grace jokes shyly, puffing her flushed cheeks. Lisa bursts into a laughter once she gets the joke.

"Good one Grace" I wink at my little sister who resembles a puppy waiting for a praise.

After a while we're finally done with the food. I really missed cooking and eating my own food, Susan cooks pretty decently as well but I was craving so bad for some of my spaghetti.

''Did you enjoy your meal girls?'' I eye the empty plates

''Yeah!''they both cheer

''Go to play now while I prepare your fruits''

The two small kitties obey and walk towards the room wiggling their small butts. I can't help but chuckle at them.

My eyes land on the dirty dining table as I sigh disappointed, washing the dishes is definitely the worst part of cooking and eating. No matter how much I enjoy preparing food and trying new recipes, the process of cleaning after is terrible. I'm going to wash the dishes later I think and slowly proceed to my big kitchen to cut fruits for the girls, my hands holding the crutches tight.

Being on my feet isn't the best idea whatsoever but tomorrow I'm having my cast removed so my ankle is pretty much healed.

I go for strawberries, bananas and pears and also pick two colorful bowls.

As I already mentioned tomorrow I'm having my cast removed. My stomach twitches in anticipation. Will he be there? Two weeks have passed but I still find myself thinking of him before sleeping even though the picture of him is blurry and distant. Just a memory, a distant picture of him is enough to keep me up at night...

I brush away these thoughts and throw the fruits into the bowls, adding some honey on top and voila! A quick and healthy sweet fruit salad.

"Girls come on" I yell and wait for the two little ones to arrive, trying to distract my mind from unwanted thoughts.

What I know for sure is that tomorrow is a big day....

"You're finally able to walk again, I'm so happy'' Susan cheers and hugs me tight as we exit the hospital. Unfortunately I didn't have my cast removed by the pretty doctor, he didn't even appear to be exact.

Disappointed but not suprised

The young cute nurse was there though, she recognized me and even greeted me, I was THIS close to ask about him but my pride didn't allow me.

''How are you feeling?'' Her hand strokes my back

''Weird'' I respond eyeing my healed ankle ''I was used to walking on crutches''

Indeed last 2 weeks I would only walk using my crutches, they had become a part of my routine. I certainly feel better now though, well-rested,healthy, ready to return to reality.

''Let's go, I'm treating you to brunch.. There are so many things we have to catch up on after''

''W-what do you mean?'' I stutter scared because I have a feeling that I already know her answer

''Shopping therapy of course''

Oh no...

''Susan are you kidding I just removed my cast''

''Sweetheart you know I wouldn't drag you along unless I had a reason. Next Tuesday is Yoongi's birthday party, we have to get our outfits''

''Yoongi's birthday...'' I scratch my sculpt looking at her sheepishly''I totally forgot, I'm sorry''

''It's ok, you're coming anyway''

''What about-''

''Taehyung's gonna take care of your sister don't worry'' she cuts me off as if she had read my thoughts

I nod, it's rude to deny the invitation

''Yoongi's friends are really handsome and some of them are single so don't think you're getting off. We have to find a cute outfit for you as well... now let's eat'' I roll my eyes but agree rubbing my stomach that hasn't stopped rumbling and finally get in her car .

''It's stunning'' I examine the purple midi dress Susan's holding. The material is silk, it appears glamorous, expensive and the embellished straps detail completes the look.

''Should I try it on?'' she hesitates

''Of course, purple looks amazing on you'' That's true, the contrast between her ginger hair, green eyes and the purple colour is definitely unique. Purple flatters every single of her characteristics.

''Let's find something for you'' her eyes wander around the store

''I gained weight these days so I should go for something baggy''

''No Skye, you should go for something sexy yet sick that emphasizes your cleavage. Your boobs got bigger, thankfully'' she whispers the last word and rolls her eyes

''Susan'' I whisper yell covering my breasts with my hands ''Did they?'' I rethink my friend's comment. Indeed I've noticed a slight development. This whole weight gaining story had a positive result at least.

Once I realise where my hands are and how the rest of the customers look at me probably thinking I'm a horny pervert I instantly lower them and grab the first dress I lay my eyes on.

''This one is perfect yes'' Susan practically runs towards me ''It's very elegant and the lace detail makes it sensual. You're definitely trying it on''

I take a closer look at the dress I picked out on random. It's certainly cute, off shoulder, midi, black with lace but tight as hell

''Isn't it way too tight? I think it's gonna accentuate every single bloated part of my body''

''Try it out you have nothing to lose. Besides the party is in 5 days, you have plenty of time to search for a dress''

''There's no way I'm going through this again. It's either today or I'm coming wearing my Pjs'' I announce and make my way to the fitting rooms determined. I can hear Susan mumbling a few curses, probably blaming me for being grumpy and stubborn.

''Excuse me'' an assistant approaches us

''There's only one fitting room available. I'm afraid you have to wait for a while''

''No problem, Susan you go first''

''Are you sure?''

I nod and sit in the comfortable blue chair that matches the rest of the decoration and furnishings of the store.

This showroom is excellently designed, the minimal yet eccentric blue décor casts an air of originality as the majority of stores follow a consistent pattern. No wonder it's Susan's favorite showroom, modern decor, excellent service and the clothing here is feminine, figure-friendly just like the dress I'm holding.

I'm so absorbed in gaping at the interior decoration that I don't notice my friend standing in front of me.

''Hey, earth to Skye'' she wiggles her fingers in front of my face

''Sorry'' I take my time studying her figure. ''I really like it. It's ideal for your body type and the colour is gorgeous''

The violet silk dress looks perfect on her, the semi tight fit shows up her toned silhouette, the swarovski embellished spaghetti straps together with the V neck flaunt her beautiful collarbones.

''I think it looks lovely too'' the cheerful, helpful assistant comments

''Yeah I like it'' she stares at the mirror

''You can use that fitting room'' the girl gestures at an empty room smiling. How are they always so kind and happy?''It's free now''

''Thank you'' I smile back and give a long sigh standing up from the soft chair.

Reluctantly I undress myself and wear the cute midi dress. It's tight but not as much as I expected. Well it's not that bad after all, I still need Susan's opinion though and a closer look in the big mirror. A few seconds later I'm out and heading for the mirror.

''Wow'' Susan talks ''It looks... stunning''

The dress hugs my body flawlessly, emphazising my curves. The off-shoulder design is very cute but sexy at the same time because my cleavage is shown off perfectly and I'm not even wearing a push up bra. I never thought I'd look that attractive in a dress.

''It fits you like a dream. You're definitely buying it'' Susan insistsand the assistant agrees

It's elegant yet sexy. Sexy in a non provocative way since it shows off only the right places.

''I think I'm getting this one'' I finally decide and Susan winks excitedly

''Hurry up we have to go for heels as well''

''Heels? Ha''  A humorless laugh leaves my lips

''You're laughing? What are you planning to wear with this dress then?'' she crosses her arms.

Her question catches me off guard but I act cool ''Flats? I don't care, anything but heels''

She laughs sarcastic lifting a shaped eyebrow ''Flats? If you plan to wear flat shoes on my husband's party I inform you that you're not invited''

I simply pout, my eyes pleading for mercy

''Come on Skye it's a party, a bussines kinda party you don't have to walk or dance. You can deal with heels under these circumstances I'm sure''

''Okay'' I sigh defeated meeting her gaze. There's no point in agruing, she's right I need heels with the apparel I chose.

''Hurry up then'' she scolds and enters the fitting room.

Have I mentioned how much I hate shopping with my best friend?