#like they're NICE but they're not. that nice...

[leapingbadger]

Love everything about this!

Neat how both Cody and Obi-Wan are absolute bruisers when push comes to shove. Something about being composed and professional while also having a talent for inflicting blunt force trauma. Rocking up to the Star War with nothing but your fists and winning (most of the time)

[theabigailthorn]

Hey Abi, I’ve just read about the supreme court ruling and it’s all getting pretty scary and frustrating and angering and honestly just plain depressing. This kind of thing used to make me feel angry and motivate me to speak out, but it’s starting to just make me feel helpless and tired and sad. Do you have anything that you do in times like these to stay positive, or at the very least keep the anger going rather than giving in to exhaustion?

genuinely, going to a protest is a good way to get some energy and it can also just be nice to see other people from the community, even if they're strangers, even if they're strangers wearing puppy ears and unironed trans flags as capes because is that really any sillier than a judge's wig and robes? No, in fact it's better. So I'll be at Parliament Square at 1300 on Saturday, cause it'll be good for my mental health!

[jwood718]

Ha! Nice.

Parents are LGBTQ. So are teachers, administrators, co-workers, staff, bus drivers, crossing guards, neighbors, friends, and family. Nancy Mace is a dogshit person.

The one seeking indoctrination is Nancy Mace.

[cangrellesteponme]

alois my beautiful son they could never make me hate you

[ooooo-mcyt]

It's such a shame the Secret Soulmates thing is so often portrayed as Grian being selfish or vindictive for no reason because I think the actual events leading up to Grian's decision to seek out BigB are way more interesting than just "Grian's a selfish cheater". So like, because it's not covered much, I'm just going to detail the entire narrative from Grian's pov leading up to his decision to go to BigB.

For the first part of the first episode, Grian actually really seems to be romanticizing the idea of soulmates. Multiple times, he describes his search for his soulmate as "looking for love" and he hits everyone he meets with almost excited anticipation.

The moment Grian and BigB first look at each other is surprisingly romantic? I mean, it feels like what you'd expect from someone meeting their soulmate, from someone who just knows.

BigB and Scott finish testing if they're soulmates, and BigB is mid sentence when he turns around and look at Grian, and BigB just stops mid sentence and goes "Oh", which Grian echos (also when bigb looks at grian, grian holds his shield up for a good few seconds which just gives me the image of him hiding behind it and peering over the top which is uncharacteristically shy for grian but also really cute). "Are you ready?", BigB asks, and he waits for Grian to give him the go ahead before hitting him.

And..nothing. They aren't soulmates. BigB sounds disappointed. Grian sounds almost distraught, "I was so sure- I've never had such a broken heart in my life."

Shortly after Grian's soulmate takes significant damage. Everyone present rushes to give him food, though Grian would later credit BigB specifically with the very warm sentiment of having "saved" him.

And Grian's first meeting with Scar is..different.

Grian already doesn't seem to want to be Scar's soulmate, doesn't want to be teamed again, for one reason or another. And Scar..doesn't make it easier. Grian tries to talk to him, as the realization sets in, tries to say it, that they're soulmates. Grian does say it. But Scar isn't listening. Scar actively talks over Grian to brush Grian off, walking away while Grian is trying to grapple with the fact that they're soulmates.

Scar doesn't notice. Grian said it, mind you, in plain English- "Scar I think we're soulmates"- and Scar heard him, Scar responded to him, Scar just wasn't listening. Scar doesn't look for his soulmate, and he doesn't figure it out either for the rest of the episode. Grian tries to tell him twice more, and twice more Scar isn't listening. The first time, Grian calls after Scar twice as he's running off, "Scar I need to tell you something", but Scar doesn't turn around. The final time, Grian literally forces Scar to look at him and drops dripstone on their heads. Scar somehow still doesn't see him. Grian demands Scar look at him, actually look, this time, and finally, with great effort, he manages to get the point across.

One of Scar's first questions is "do we have to live together?", and Grian responds that it would be nice to, a sentiment Scar doesn't immediately echo. Grian pulls Scar along, back to the base Grian got working on by himself earlier.

At the start of the next episode, they have a disagreement. Scar brings home some pandas without consulting Grian, and Grian reacts very negatively, making a no pandas in the house rule and prompting Scar to help him with work instead. Grian specifically delegates the job of getting oak wood to Scar while Grian continues working on..everything else..himself. And after a bit of procrastinating from Scar, he does go to do his "chores" as Scar describes them.

Except that Scar doesn't actually.

Well, I mean, he does do the "chore" Grian gave him, but while he's out, he takes a break to think of a way to punish Grian, coming up with the idea of using powdered snow to hurt Grian as a punishment for Grian not letting the animals in the house and making Scar do a "chore". Grian doesn't technically know Scar did this on purpose, but with tick damage being a very distinctive type of damage that you usually would have to do on purpose to take as much as Scar did, I wouldn't be surprised if Grian figured it out.

It's at this point, that Grian decides to go to BigB. And it doesn't feel like he's just doing it for shallow reasons or to be mean, it fully checks out.

Because Grian's not happy with Scar at this point!

Partially because Scar himself doesn't seem interested in Grian at all, wouldn't listen to Grian to the point of talking over and brushing him off when Grian tried to tell him, and didn't want to live together after finding out. For Grian, who genuinely did seem to have a rather romantic view of soulmates at the start of the first episode, it probably kinda sucked to have his soulmate look past him like that. I can't fault Scar for not being particularly interested, but just because Scar didn't do anything technically wrong doesn't mean Grian's not allowed to be unhappy.

And then there's the other problem. The one I see surprisingly few fans talk about in regards to Scar and Grian. "Why does everyone else get a real partner except me?", Grian asked shortly before deciding to go to BigB. It's a sentiment we get from Grian multiple times. He says being Scar's partner is like babysitting, like having a toddler, Scar doesn't feel like a partner, he feels like a source of emotional labor who has no interest in lessening the burden for Grian. And. Yeah. Grian has good reason to feel like Scar makes him do all the labor in their relationship. I mean, Grian needed to get very pushy to even get Scar to agree to help build their shared base, Grian had to do the job of managing Scar on what specific task to do, Grian gave Scar a very small job comparative to the work Grian was doing around the house, and Scar still complained and found a way to punish Grian (the powdered snow) for "making" him do "chores" and not wanting animals in the house.

Which isn't to say Scar is bad or malicious or something, I love Scar, hell, I love Desert Duo, I think they work very well together in a lot of cases, but I think there is very much a labor imbalance- both in actual work and in emotional labor- here and it's understandably upsetting for Grian.

And in comparison, BigB looks..wonderful, to Grian?

BigB wanted him, for starters. They both felt it, the previous day. Scar kept looking through Grian, but BigB's eyes met Grian's and they both felt something. BigB seems considerate too. Grian feels like he has to pull teeth to get Scar to help him with the house (and then gets punished for it), meanwhile BigB is the one who "saved" Grian the previous day, jumping to give him food, not to mention the considerate gesture of BigB checking in to make sure Grian is ready before hitting him for the soulmate check. And, well, Grian clearly likes BigB.

Grian wasn't just going to someone else to be mean to Scar, and he didn't go for BigB just because he wanted someone, Grian was- validly!- unhappy with Scar (who didn't seem to want to be together much either) and actively liked BigB and thought he'd be a good partner.

Also, Grian very notably announces that he's defying destiny and asserts that he has a choice in who to be with, which adds a thematic layer of personal agency to the whole thing too. You get the impression Grian was mostly with Scar because he felt like he had to be, because the universe tied them together. But here Grian considers, for the first time, the thought that maybe it's okay to be with someone he wants, and who makes him happy, instead of resigning himself to be with the one he's 'supposed' to be with just because he's 'supposed' to.

(this idea of agency in who you love is relevant to double life as a whole, as i've made many posts about, but also is relevant to desert duo specifically. as much as i think they really cared about each other in third life, grian was also with scar because he was supposed to be for most of the season. being with scar had always, up to that point, been something grian was obligated to do, something grian didn't feel he had much choice in. so grian finally asserting here to the audience that he has a choice feels very relevant thematically.)

[verdancy-hime]

There's nothing I want to do that I can't do because I'm fat.

I want to be treated like I matter and am inherently worthy of respect by every single person that I meet

I cannot make people treat me with respect and dignity by crawling into their heads and forcing them to

People treat you based on how you look.

I want to get paid 3000 dollars per week at my job and to have every man I meet be afraid to ask me out and every man that I have sex with be nice to me and not try to manipulate me into a relationship and I want to be worthy of legal rights and dignity like all the other white women get for free, and there is no use pretending that the difference between them and me isn't that I'm fat and they're skinny

really good tiktok

Transcript:

Girl, just do it fat. Don’t wait until you’ve lost enough weight. You’re worthy of taking up the space that you fill. Live your life now. Don’t wait for some future version of yourself that you think will be more deserving. You have every right to pursue your passions and dreams just as you are today. Your worth isn’t tied to a number on a scale or the size of your clothes; it is inherent in who you are. You’re allowed to be seen, heard, and celebrated in whatever body you inhabit right now. Don’t let anyone or anything convince you for too long. So go out. Do it fat! Wear the clothes you love, pursue the opportunities that excite you, and live unapologetically. There’s no reason to put off living the life that you want, waiting for a moment that you’re not even sure will come. You deserve to be happy and fulfilled just as you are, and the world needs you exactly as you are today. Everything good that has ever happened to you, happened in this body. Girl, just do it fat.

[lightgamble]

DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN | 1.09

Karen arrives.

[sumiieon]

✦ Childhood Sweethearts ノ The childhood friends trope with phainon ⸝⸝ not proofread ⸝⸝ bad english ⸝⸝ gn reader ⸝⸝ may be ooc ⸝⸝ modern au ⸝⸝ wc: 3,2k chars

ノ Phainon, The Deliverer ⸝⸝ Oh where do I even begin with for this one. I have a gut that a childhood friends trope with Phainon would begin with Phainon getting introduced to you when the two of your parents are meeting each other (that's so cliche of you fleur woo-hoo......) ⸝⸝ "[Name], why don't you go play with him? He's the son of mama's friend, it wouldn't hurt if you two befriend each other. Who knows you'd get along with him!" ⸝⸝ And then before you know it, you now have acquired yourself a light-blue haired sunshine of a boy akin to a samoyed puppy visiting you anytime he can, waving at your window with that big stupid grin of his as if inviting you to play together (you could've sworn you saw his tail wag happily as he waves at you) ⸝⸝ Hear me out please: Phainon and you making flower crowns together with Cyrene. Once you're all done, you and him would then put your flower crowns on top of each other's head. Then when you're busy laughing and giggling, cherishing the moment, Phainon looks at you with eyes that just screams.. In love with you, he just isn't aware of it........ yet. ⸝⸝ From that day on, Phainon makes it a mission to make you smile or if you're feeling generous, a laugh that always makes him lose his composure. It could range from comforting and cheering you up when you're upset, to (unintentionally) doing something stupid that fishes out a laugh from you. ⸝⸝ Once when you're not around, Cyrene decided to give into her curiosity and ask Phainon the question every person in love always dread when asked. "Hey, you seemed so extra happy around [Name]. Am I missing something here?" ⸝⸝ I see Phainon as the type to at first be a little bit oblivious to his feelings when he has feelings for someone, so Phainon denied it and brushed her question off as "[Name] is just my good friend! Whenever they're around, I feel happier and they're so fun to play with. That's it!" ⸝⸝ That statement was partially true... If, only Phainon did not fall even harder as the two of you grow with each other. What was once an answer that stemmed from obliviousness and hesitance, now replaced with little denial as well as a pinch of embarrassment. ⸝⸝ "... You like [Name], don't you??" "Don't be ridiculous, Mydei. We're just best friends!" "You look like a lovesick puppy around them, nice try though." ⸝⸝ It's not Phainon's fault! He can't help it! He can't help his racing heart as he spends more time with you, finding each of your traits, features, and you yourself the more endearing the longer he spends his time with you! ⸝⸝ Phainon can't help the blood that rushed to his cheeks when you inched slightly closer to him (unintentionally, or maybe intentionally if you caught up on what his deal is). He used to be close to you with ease, so why now that his heart is making such a big deal and fuss over it?? ⸝⸝ The deliverer is aware that he can't possibly keep this bubbling feeling of his hidden forever, and he plans to confront them to you soon (hopefully you're prepared on a random evening when the breeze is blowing softly, and a grown light blue samoyed― except instead of his usual cheerful grin, it's a shy little smile with light pink dusting his cheeks― stands in front of you with his heart bare.)

© sumiieon ― please refrain from ; plagiarizing, ai usage, repost without credits ― positive interactions are always welcome!

[oneforthemunny]

idk if he's included but i'm going to shoot my shot anyways. what's something ex-husband!eddie does for ex-wife!reader, that others would think nothing of, that turns her on & has her second guessing the divorce solely bc of how hot he is? if that makes any sense at all lolll

shoot it bc i love him lmao. he's so hot. and there's honestly nothing hotter than him just being a dad sorry!!!! he's hot at it!!!!!

contains: a little smut but nothing graphic. they're fighting ofc lol.

"Luce, where's your tap shoes?" You frown, looking around the three year old's messy room, cluttered with toys and clothes that you hadn't got a chance to clean, or supervise her cleaning.

"I dunno," Lucy hummed, dragging her stuffed elephant along her sheets towards the other stuffed animals. "I thinks Daddy has them."

"You left them at dad's?" You swallow back a huff of irritation, eyes pinching closed.

You and Eddie weren't exactly on speaking terms at the moment. After a few weeks of bliss, of you nearly caving and letting him move back in, agreeing to work it out in therapy and give it another shot, he'd done what he always had- pissed you off. A bickering that turned into a fight, that led you both back to your separate spaces. Over what? You weren't exactly sure you even remembered.

It had been four days exactly that you had managed to avoid Eddie. Not speaking at the exchanging of the kids, you'd flat out ignored his greeting to you, and now, because of a stupid pair of tap shoes, you'd have to give in and speak to him.

"Hello?" He picked up on the third ring.

"Hey, it's me." You quipped, lips rolling around your snippy tone. "Lucy said she left her tap shoes at your house."

"Yeah, she did." Eddie's tone was just as biting, matching your lack of amusement.

You huffed. "Well, she needs them. She has dance in thirty minutes."

"So come get them?" Eddie scoffed.

"Nice. Sure, Ed, I'll just go out of my way to come get them because you couldn't remember to pack them. Way to go." You snapped sarcastically, venom dripping in your tone. You hoped he could feel your glare.

"Oh? This is my- of course, it's my fuckin' fault."

"It is your fuck-" You turned, looking to make sure Lucy was still in front of the television eating her snack. "It is your fuckin' fault, you ass. You want to act like you're dad of the year, and you don't even know her dance schedule?"

"I'm not doin' this with you, alright? I'm gonna hang up if you're just going to be a bitch." Eddie snapped. You could picture him, that tone too familiar. His jaw clenched tight, nostrils flaring the way they did when he was pissed. Maybe his fists clenched, forearm veins popping out.

"Just- Can you just bring them to the dance studio by four please?" You rolled your eyes. "I'm already running late. I have to get gas and get Lucy dressed."

"Fine." Eddie snapped. You didn't get a chance to reply, the other line ending with a harsh click.

Twenty-six minutes later, you were pulling into the dance studio. Between a three year old who refused to get dressed, waiting for pumps, and the unusual traffic in Hawkins, your nerves were shot and you were cutting it close. You were glad Jude was at a sleepover at the Harrington's for the night.

Eddie was there when you pulled in, standing outside his car, smoking a cigarette. You grit your teeth at the sight of him, lips wrapped around the stick, blowing smoke. You hated how your stomach flipped with excitement.

"Do you have them?" You stepped out of the car, moving to the backseat, barely glancing over at him.

"Hello to you too, Sunshine." Eddie huffed sarcastically, flicking his cigarette to the ground and stepping on it.

You rolled your eyes, trying to soften your face when you opened the back car door to get Lucy out. "Daddy brought your shoes, so let's put them on so you'll be ready to go." You cooed gently, unstrapping her out, hoisting her on your hip.

"Eddie, can you hurry-" You stopped when he emerged, little tiny tap shoes hooked on his pinky, Lucy's pink dance bag slung over his shoulder.

"I got it, Mama." Eddie's tone was light but more of a snarl. You didn't respond, eyes rolling down his frame instead.

Your tongue rolled over your bottom lip, watching him put her little shoes on, fastening the tiny buckles. You lingered behind them when he walked her in, her little hand in his, the pink bag slung over his shoulder. You hated how weak in the knees it made you, seeing him be a dad- be a good dad. And dammit, he might have been a shit husband at times, but he was a good dad.

"Thank you." Your arms stayed folded over your chest but your tone was lighter when he came back out from dropping Lucy off. "That really saved me a lot of time."

"Don't mention it." Eddie's tone was still tight, nerves rattled with built up tension from the past days.

He started towards his car, you followed close behind him. "What are you doing now?"

Eddie turned at your tone, carefully. "What?"

You huffed, eyes rolling big and dramatic. "What are you doing now?" You repeated.

"Nothing." Eddie was cautious, unsure- even if he was sure, he was always a little unsure with you these days.

"Well, I mean, do you want to wait with me? Then maybe we can go get dinner. Me, you, and Luce? It's just us girls tonight." Your eyes rolled over his frame, his tight band tee.

Eddie squinted lightly. "Yeah? Sure. That'd be nice."

"Good." You hummed, opening the back seat. "Could you help me out? I can't get this back seat to lay down again. I think it might be stuck." It was not nearly as smooth as you wanted it to be, you never really were, but Eddie didn't mind. He swallowed back his smirk, scanning the parking lot. Good thing he'd picked the back spot, away from everyone.

He had you pinned against the seats, rutting into you mercilessly while you clawed at him, hands tangling in his hair pulling him closer and close. It was quick then, fulfilling but quick. You both had a giddy glow when you picked up Lucy, hoping the other parents wouldn't notice your tousled hair.

Later that night, after the dinner invitation had turned into an invite over, Eddie got to have you the way he wanted. Face buried between your thighs, his way of apologizing, while you shoved your face into a pillow- his pillow, trying to muffle your moans.

[lovelytsunoda]

everything everywhere all at once | ollie bearman

I’m feeling everything everywhere all at once I feel stupid and clueless like what the fuck! did I just step in some love?

summary: an influencer who's never had a boyfriend finds her storybook romance with one of formula one's most promising rookies

pairing: ollie bearman x influencer!reader

TIKTOK - YN YLN just posted a video

music - "don't look back in anger" by oasis

COMMENTS

user old honda gang unite!! these shitboxes will outlive us all

-> yn.yln i have outfitted mine with five different cds that stopped being popular in 1999 and a bath and body works air freshener. we are living the dream!

user i can't wait until she starts dating...i'll be following along like a proud mother (im only 29)

user girl which liam gallagher show were you at???

-> yn.yln montreal! tickets were cheaper there than my hometown so i drove across the border with my dad

user we need to do for her what we did for nick and cassie!

-> user oooh you know who she'd look cute with? olliebearman !

INSTAGRAM

yn.yln just posted!

liked by yourbestie, bff2, olliebearman and 600 others

yn.yln bought a cute new bikini top, its such a shame i dont have a cute boy to help me take it off

see all comments

yourbestie SLAYYYYYYYYYY

user oooooo i love that bag in the second pic! where did you buy it?

-> yn.yln just sent you a link!

user girl that caption is unhinged (and i feel it so hard)

user chat, did you see ollie bearman in her likes???

-> user no who is he?

-> user a formula one driver! he's 19 and someone on tiktok said they thought he and yn would be cute together

-> user ooo i see i just googled him and he's actually such a cutie!

TIKTOK - YN YLN just posted a video

music - "kiss the dirt (falling down the mountain) by inxs

COMMENTS

user omg!!! you look so cute girlie! i hope you have a great time

user proud mom moment (im 36 and recently engaged)

user that's such a great scent! you look good and you smell good, he'd be a fool not to love you

kimiantonelli he's so excited to finally meet you!

-> olliebearman KIMI SHUT UP

INSTAGRAM

yn.yln just posted!

tagged: olliebearman

liked by yourbestie, olliebearman and 700 others

yn.yln hey google play "kiss me" by sixpence none the richer

see all comments

yourbestie SCREAMING

yourbestie TEXT ME IMMEDIATELY

yourbestie HOW DARE YOU POST BEFORE TEXTING ME

olliebearman I had a really great time today <3

-> yn.yln me too! i can't wait to do it again :)

user damn my girl is acting up for a man born in 2005

-> user HES JUST A BABY OMGGG

-> user and so is she??? they're like five months apart

INSTAGRAM STORIES

TEXTS FROM OLLIE TO YN

INSTAGRAM

yn.yln just posted

montreal, quebec

liked by olliebearman, kimiantonelli and 890 others

yn.yln boy you make my heart beat fast, ferrari

see all comments

olliebearman babe you know i drive a haas right?

-> yn.yln doesn't flow as nicely

haasf1team it was so much fun having you in the garage this weekend! you make our boy very happy!

user god it hurts to watch other people live out my dreams

yourbestie SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP

yourbestie YOUVE GROWN UP SO FAST

yourbestie side note also thanks for inviting me and the bf along! we've both has such a great time with you guys

user chat did i pull through by getting ollie hooked on her tiktoks or what?

-> kimiantonelli actually i did that way before you did

BONUS

[puck-luck]

hi qween, could i request mocha with qh43, whipped cream = established relationship, and cold foam 💗💕💞💗💗💞 happy 1 year i love your writing :3

hi!! thank u for requesting!! since you didn't specify what you wanted with the cold foam, i used this kink prompt generator to determine the wild card.... which was sexting!

so, warnings (1.2K): sexting, slight angst (they're fighting, the mocha part is that they're making up here), mentions of ass-eating, no actual sex but lots of allusions to it, puns and double entendres about cooking/sex, quinn is persistent and dorky and stupid and i love him, reader is doing her best to not fall for his goon-ness <3

Things have not been good between you and Quinn lately. It wasn’t by any fault of yours, or of Quinn’s, but you haven’t had sex in weeks. You’ve barely seen each other with Quinn’s schedule and your work. It’s been driving both of you crazy, and you’re both stressed in your own jobs, and it hasn’t been manifesting well. 

Quinn left his sneakers in the middle of the hallway one day and you tripped over them while carrying a fuck ton of groceries inside. That had started a big fight, which hadn’t been resolved, and you’re still upset whenever you see something out of place… like the toothpaste this morning, left on the bathroom counter capless. The cap was next to the tube. How hard is it to screw the cap back on the tube when you’re done brushing your teeth?

You’d lost track of time and been late to picking Quinn up after a roadie one night, which sparked a fight on his end. That also hadn’t been resolved entirely. You know Quinn is still holding it against you because he’s driven himself to the arena every single time since you were late, insisting that he’ll just take himself so he doesn’t have to worry or wait. 

So there’s been tension lingering in the air of the apartment ever since. You’re sure that when you and Quinn have more time, you’ll be able to talk about it. The hockey season is almost over and the presentation you’re working on at work is almost due, so you both will be free in a couple of weeks. The light at the end of the tunnel is growing brighter and drawing nearer.

Quinn is at home tonight, which is nice most of the time. Over the last two years that you’ve been together, it’s rare for you and Quinn to avoid each other. Today, though, you’re staying away from each other. You’re both still upset and holding a grudge.

Quinn sits on the couch flipping through a book. You worked on your computer at the dining room table and now you’re on your lunch break, chopping up stalks of celery to toss into the pot of soup you’re brewing.

As you turn and make your way around the island in the kitchen, you can feel Quinn’s eyes roaming over your skin. You pay him absolutely no mind, keeping your head down and returning to the cutting board to chop up a few carrots.

Your phone buzzes a minute later. 

I’m starving

The text pops up from your lovely, annoying boyfriend and strikes a chord within you. Does he expect you to be cooking for him? The pot of soup is big enough for four people at least, but Quinn didn’t ask you. He just said he’s starving and expects you to do something about it. He’s a big boy; he can make his own meal. You let your screen fade to black without replying.

Another buzz:

But not for food ;)

Unimpressed, you raise your gaze to Quinn on the couch. He’s watching you with a barely-suppressed, smug smile tugging at the corners of his lips. You shoot him a glare, letting him know that you’re not budging, and go back to chopping a carrot into tiny pieces. 

Whereas you were unimpressed, Quinn is undeterred. 

Buzz.

Baby your cooking smells so good, it’s making me crave YOU… wanna add something sexy to that savory?

You squint at the text and return to your carrots, scooping them off of the cutting board and dumping them into the broth.

Buzz.

Cooking looks good on you. Making you moan is even better. Come and let me season you up properly ;)

You pick up your phone and face Quinn, staring him in the face as you shut it down entirely. You place the phone on the counter out of reach and go back to stir the pot. There’s shredded chicken and veggies in this pot, plus some spiral noodles that have been thoroughly cooked in the simmering broth.

He clears his throat behind you and starts to speak. “Hey, babe, I thought I’d give you a call since you hadn’t replied to my texts. Your hands must be full since you didn’t answer, so I hope this voicemail will be fun for you.”

You take a deep breath and press your lips together, closing your eyes. He is such a fucking dork.

“Hm, what am I up to?” Quinn fake-ponders aloud. “Nothing much, just sitting on the couch, rock-hard, and thinking about bending you over the stove.”

Your nostrils flare and you halt your movements. 

“I’m going to need you to turn off the stove and turn me on, though. I’m dying for a sample of your other delicious skills.”

You’re at your wit’s end, about to break your silence. You’re not sure whether you’re going to tell Quinn to shut up or if you’re going to fall for his silly sexting-turned-voicemail, but you’re almost at the point of saying something. 

You can hear Quinn holding back a laugh. “You look so hot stirring that pot, beautiful. Wish it was your ass I was stirring instead. Lemme grab a bite, yeah?”

You scoff, surprised and amused by his pick-up line. “I am not letting you eat my ass, Quintin.”

He chuckles and stands from the couch, his feet padding over the wooden floor of his apartment as he enters the kitchen. “Okay, not your ass. We can still skip the utensils and I’ll put my tongue on something else. I promise I’ll be thorough.” His reflection in the microwave shows you that he’s still talking into the phone. He’s close enough to touch now and he makes a point to splay his fingers over your hip, standing with his crotch pressed against your behind. “Can I serve you something hot and hard, baby?”

His breath washes over your neck, followed shortly by the scratch of his scruff as he kisses the curve of your shoulder. Instinctively, you bare the skin to him. 

Quinn drops the call and places his other hand on your other hip, holding you steady as he rolls his hips against your bottom. He kisses your jaw, then your cheek. “‘m sorry I haven’t been very happy lately. Things are tense. I don’t want them to be.”

“It’s just a difficult time right now,” you reply softly. “I’m stressed and every tiny thing that goes wrong gets on my nerves and makes it worse.”

Quinn takes the spoon from your hand and turns off the stove, moving the pot to the backburner and off the heat. “You get an hour for lunch?”

“About forty-five left.”

“I only need fifteen.”

You laugh. “It’s been long enough that I think you could do it in less.”

“Ouch, you’re making fun of my stamina?” Quinn pouts. “I’ll show you, baby. I’m a machine.”

You release a breath of a laugh, relaxing into Quinn’s touch. “Is sexting your new way of initiating?”

“Only when you’re mad at me. It’s cheesy enough that it’ll diffuse the tension, right? Did you like my lines?” Quinn asks, seeking your approval. One of his hands is unbuttoning your blouse, the one you threw on to look professional in your video meeting this morning.

“I liked that you were trying,” you confirm. “But you’re still not going to eat my ass.”

Quinn steers you toward the bedroom. “I’m perfectly content eating your pussy, baby. You’re my main course.” He scoops you up bridal-style and carries you across the apartment. Once you enter the bedroom, he tosses you onto the bed and grins at you. “Alright, spread ‘em. Gotta lick my plate clean.”

[aangelinakii]

SOME TIME FOR HIMSELF.

— of course he's grateful, but...

summary : of course damian likes that you get on well with his family, he just wishes that maybe they'd let him actually pull you away from them.

note : i always feel like my damian fics are on a whole other level 💀💀 they're so poetic

the first time damian introduced you to his family, inviting you to dinner one night, he had high hopes that you would be a crowd favourite — and he was never wrong about that.

his father had welcomed you into their abode with a tight smile, kind, of course, but rather wary as to what your intentions may be with his son; by dessert (alfred's star tiramisu) bruce was laughing at every joke and grinning at every story.

his brothers — dick, jason, tim and duke — introduced themselves with their most intimidating glares, thick arms crossed over their chests, emphasising their size, and just how much damage they could do if any came to their youngest kin; as alfred's tiramisu was settling happily in stomachs, they found themselves squabbling over who deserved to get you on their team for eight-ball pool. duke won.

that night damian found himself falling asleep quickly, a soft smile plastered to his lips, images of your smile, so comfortable, as you chatted easily with steph as you awaited your turn with the cue. you'd even managed to crack cass out of her shell a little — and it was only tonight that damian realised how big of a family he had.

even alfred had good things to say when damian purposely stayed back to help him load up the dishwasher once dessert was finished.

he couldn't help that warm pride fizzing in his chest.

but that was four months ago, and damian thinks he sees more of your avatar on wii sports than he actually sees of you.

any time you come round his, you're always whisked away by tim wanting to show you the newest issue of a comic you both gushed over a month ago, or steph dragging you up to her room to update you on some gossip she told you about that time you were here last week. sometimes even ace can't help himself wanting your attention.

he doesn't necessarily want to border you from his family, but when you live in a family so big, no one understands the definition of "personal space."

it gives damian the chances to take you out on dates, go out of his own comfort zone; the arcade, the cinema, paintballing, mini-golf. when money doesn't want to be spent, you two can go on walks, or spend your time together at the library getting studying done.

but sometimes chilling at home is nice, too.

sometimes he wants to play wii sports with you, not sit back on the couch, forced to watch you play tennis against jason; sometimes he wants to play one-on-one eight-ball against you, not stand against the wall, arms crossed, waiting for the game to finish.

so today he's going to be sneaky.

it'll be difficult, sneaking around a family of detectives and vigilantes and alfred, but damian thinks he can do it.

as he creaks open the mansion's front door, the alarm disarmed by one alfred pennyworth — the only person damian had told in advance about your being there, as he realised there was nothing you could hide from that man, even if you tried — damian scans the foyer for any bystanders. once he's sure there's no movement, he looks back at you and smiles, pushing the door wider for you to step past him.

"i say let's get some food and take it upstairs, so we have steady rations for the day," damian suggests, taking this slightly more seriously than you expected; the crease in his brow reminding you of an army general checking the bunker's inventory for the week.

with a soft chuckle, you allow damian's soft palm to take yours, his nimble fingers closing around the back of your hand, tight like he hasn't been able to hold it in a long time — and he has, he's just being dramatic.

feet careful against the marble floor when the plush carpet disappears, damian leads you into the kitchen, where a softly whistling alfred is standing with his white sleeves rolled to his elbows before the sink, drying up glass cups with a cloth.

he barely sends you a glance, though the corner of his mouth curls slightly, and his whistling ceases for a moment.

"i had to tell alfred you were coming," damian explains, his voice an undertone in efforts to not attract any adopted siblings or billionaire fathers. he heads to a cupboard and opens it, pulling out a few crackly packets of crisps and other shared-favourite snacks he claims to have gone out and bought just for today. "he knows too well when i am lying, even though i hadn't lied about anything yet — i was just scared he would find out if i had."

back from the sink, alfred's whistling stops, though the squeaking of polished glass continues. "wise decision, master damian, i'm glad i taught you early on."

now he glances back. "i would go quickly now, last i saw, master dick and master jason were on their way up from the gym. if you want to avoid them, as you say, i wouldn't dawdle."

"dawdle? we are not—"

"master damian," alfred's tone lilts pointedly.

"right." and, with that, some snacks in your grip, some in damian's, he shifts the weight of them to one arm, which seems slightly uncomfortable, and carefully takes your elbow to lead you through a passage behind the fridge.

flickering flames crackle as you ascend the winding steps to the second floor.

"i get you want to have one-on-one time, damian, but you know i really like your family," you find yourself saying halfway up. "it's not that you think i dislike them, is it?"

"no," damian's quick to respond, glancing back at you. "it is that i am beginning to dislike them. they disturb our time together. every time."

you're about to reply, saying something about how maybe time together is turning into time with them, which is okay, but a cluster of voices mutters past the suit of armour concealing you in the shadows of the passageway, and damian presses a finger to his lips.

it's certainly steph, being a girl's voice, chipper, unlike cassandra's, and a boy's voice, either dick's or tim's — but there's people there, and damian doesn't want to be found. more so, you to be found.

after a few silent beats, the voices recede, as well as footsteps atop carpet, and damian leads you out from behind the suit of armour.

just as you're coming out from thr passage, your shoulder clings against the metal elbow of the knight, having misjudged the tightness of the gap between him and the wall, and a metallic twang rings out.

in a manor filled with junior detectives, nothing of the sort goes unnoticed or unchecked, and a door opens before damian can even take your hand.

"(name)!" a voice gasps cheerfully — three guesses who — and another one groans, who you know by now is your boyfriend's.

chest torn between wanting to go along with what damian had planned, and responding to steph as she emerges from her room, your instincts respond. "steph! hey!"

"i didn't know you were coming round today," she smiles, absently taking a pack of crisps from the bundle in your arms and opening it up for herself.

behind you, damian scowls, not taking it upon himself to hide it at all. "that was the point."

stephanie doesn't seem to notice damian's tone, or, seemingly, damian's presence at all, and she places a hand on your shoulder. "you'll never guess what happened the other day," she begins, guiding you back towards her room.

"more already?" you laugh, both intrigued, yet glancing back wistfully towards damian, who's been left alone in the hallway.

"like you wouldn't believe!"

just as she's about to close the door, damian appears, hand on the wood, holding it open, the food dropped somewhere back in the corridor, thick eyebrows knitted together like a sweater. "hey!"

"oh, hey, dames," stephanie takes a break in her gossip update as she sits down at the pink swivel chair at her cluttered desk. "just stealing your partner for a sec, i hope that's okay?"

"it's not," he replies before stephanie can turn back to you and continue.

the stone in his tone is abrasive, gritty, something usually unheard of. stephanie could ignore it, but she finds herself mouth open, blonde eyebrows upturned.

"oh, i'm sorry, i—"

"no, you're not sorry," damian cuts her off again, stomping towards you and takes some of the load off your shoulders, taking a few of the snacks from your arms. "you always do this. whenever (name) comes round, you and everybody else in this house take them away from me. they're here to see me, not you. not you, not dick, not tim, not father."

"hey, that's not fair—" stephanie shoots you a guilty look as her sentence is cut off once more by your emotional boyfriend.

"what's not fair is that the time i want to spend with them is diminished by my siblings, who are not even my real siblings, who insist on being utterly... utterly stupid!"

damian storms off in a huff, off into the hallway and into his bedroom, where the door slams, causing you and stephanie to flinch.

by now she's abandoned her open crisp packet, her appetite suddenly gone, and you don't feel too normal sitting on the edge of her bed with a strange array of snacks in your arms. you want to apologise, but now you understand why damian was so intent on having a day just the two of you.

the words are on the tip of your tongue, and you want to meet steph's gaze, but you can't really bring yourself to.

"i... sorry, i..."

"it's okay, i should be the one who's sorry," stephanie dismisses your apology with a small shake of the head, not watching you either. "i think you should go check on him."

you release the bundle of snacks onto stephanie's duvet, which you don't think she minds, and get to your feet.

when you pass through stephanie's doorway into the corridor, a few heads are peeking out of doors, including duke a few rooms down holding an airpod in hand, having plucked it out to eavesdrop. you offer a smile, and he shares it, putting his airpod back in and retreating to the safety of his room.

outside damian's room, you knock lightly and let yourself in, knowing he won't respond, but also knowing no one else would be knocking on his door after something like that.

he's lying face-first on his bed, fists clutching the sheets so tight his knuckles are turning white.

the mattress sinks slightly beside him as you lower yourself down, placing a careful hand on his shoulder blade.

"damian?" you try, voice just as soft as your touch. "i'm sorry i bumped into the armour, it was an accident. i didn't mean to get steph's attention, and i didn't realise how important it was to you that we got to spend time together."

though muffled, damian's voice comes from within his navy, star-speckled duvet. "it's not your apology to give, you did nothing wrong."

he shifts and you can see half his face, eyebrows still screwed towards each other. "it's everyone else. they can be too much. they always ruin our time together."

"i don't think they realise they're ruining it," you suggest softly. "i think they think they're doing good by you, by getting to know me and having a positive relationship with me. have you ever told them it bothers you?"

the gap between your question and damian's reply is long and lengthy, stretching longer and longer, and you already know the answer, that by the time it comes you're not surprised.

"no."

your hand smoothes circles over damian's upper back. "damian..." you sigh. "how can you expect them to know what you want if you don't tell them?"

mouth squishing out in a pout, damian's shoulders shrug up beneath your touch.

"i know it's difficult, and sometimes you feel like some people should know better, but i think you should tell them."

with a sigh, damian pushes himself up to a seated position, eyebrows less tense on his forehead. "i know, you're right."

improving from that pout, damian's lips pull into a small, minute smile, and he leans forward to engulf you in a hug. "i'm sorry for overreacting," he huffs into the crook of your neck.

at the affection, you feel your lips curl in tandem with his, and one of your arms comes around his back to reciprocate. "it's okay, damian, and besides, it's not me you should be apologising to. we can go together, okay? and then you can tell steph how you feel."

damian's body soaks up into yours, and he lets out a content breath through his nostrils. he doesn't respond verbally, but you can feel him nod his head against your shoulder, and your stomach drops in relief.

[bitegore]

#this looks amazing and i want to use it but i don't understand many of the things on it#if anyone could explain the following to me i would be very grateful:#this is a kink; enemy of the state (is that literal or metaphorical? does it just mean a confrontational personality?)#flavor container; chew toy (does this mean they get whumped a lot?); little meow meow#sidekick owner; enemy of god (does this mean that they're angry about a lot of things? or maybe that everything goes wrong for them?)#i'm guessing 'evokes' refers to what you want the audience for the media containing this character to feel?#(as opposed to what other characters in-universe feel about that character)#i feel a little embarrassed admitting that i understand so little of this :( i hope people are nice about it#i am just a major sucker for character development worksheets and i want to do them ALL

hi @cosmogyros :D i'm op, i was bored so i was looking at the notes, sorry i'm late but tbh it was that or never XD sorry that this is going to get so long

also a word of apology/note - a lot of it was meant to be a little open-ended/interpretable in a few different ways for the sake of not using eight trillion extra boxes, because that makes it a little more broadly applicable. second note also that it's largely about how you feel about the character, not some objective Thing. (Tbh i'm not sure why they're talking about the things that affect the narrative in the comment above me because none of this affects the narrative; it's the character's outlook and your feelings about them XD)

this is a kink: the character is appealing directly to something you find attractive OR the character is like, sexy/sexualized in a way that's intrinsic to how you feel about them. Eg - if you are super into (random example) vampires and blood and you're writing it for like, the vampire louis from interview with the vampire, you might fill that out. alternately say you're filling it out for like uhhhh idk the vampire lestat from interview with the vampire, who is like a seductive menace aside from when he's a deeply manipulative person who appears as a, like, scary-but-romantic (narratively) figure and whose entire character is tied up in the whole "i am so cool and sexy and you still want me even though i am going to treat you and everyone around you horribly", you might want to fill that box even if you're not necessarily into it if its like fundamentally part of how you view that character. basically it just means kink or sexuality in general is there

enemy of the state: literally it means that they are an enemy of the state in the sense that they are fighting against a government. that's one possible meaning. figuratively if you break it down it's more like 'opposition of the establishment' - so like, if your favorite character is... i'm running out of examples i can think of right this second. propose a character is like, a firebrand student at a high school and they go against the grain and encourage others to do the same (i know this is a common character trope) - that COULD also be an enemy of the state, if you feel like it suits them; maybe they're not an enemy, maybe the school doesn't want to push them back into line. it's kind of a rebel sort of thing. a bad girl/bad boy, someone who breaks the rules and maybe doesn't ignore or like the consequences but certainly doesn't stop for fear of them. so yeah its not necessarily literal but it does work better for me because i don't read any stories where there's not at least a moderate amount of laws being broken lol. not necessarily a confrontational personality either though, it's specifically about like, the rules and rule-setting, usually also about having a different code of ethics/personal morals that they live by instead because honestly someone who's just a confrontationist usually isn't an enemy of the state when it comes to the traditional meaning of the term, they're like a belligerent citizen at best and not someone working to dismantle or destroy the state, you know?

flavor container: where you go to get your particular fix/proper mouthful of one particular "type" of character, where they really just exemplify the thing. So like, suppose you really enjoy a character who is just like a scheming backstabber who loves to try and take over, and then you watch transformers and discover that starscream (namer of the starscream tvtrope, for being like starscream) is like a really concentrated example of exactly that kind of character and it satisfies you soooo well for your craving for some backstabbing freak. Then starscream is your backstabbing-freak flavor container. because he is that flavor, and he's a lot of it, like some sort of gusher, or like some handful of concentrated syrup you can pour straight down your throat whenever you get a craving. no one gets flavor container so dont feel bad about it. I didn't realize it was like slang me and one other friend had basically invented until well after i made the post and started getting questions lol. it's just a really useful phrase for a specific thing i personally enjoy a lot.

chew toy: yeah it can mean someone who gets whumped a lot, it can also mean someone you personally like to enteratin yourself with by metaphorically 'chewing on'. if you like to pick apart their personality, habits, behavior, etc, you might call that picking over or mulling over or chewing over something about the character; that's also chewtoy behavior. but also like, yeah, rip tear bite kill, do you want to gnaw them to pieces and stuff? this one is particularly "how do you feel about it" though, like, i never really meant for it to be 'they get whumped a lot in canon' - it's like. do you want to bite them. do you occupy yourself when you're bored with this one in particular. are they your chew toy or are you more busy with other characters or other thoughts. you know?

little meow meow: this is an old meme that i think is out of fashion now lol. back when it was popular it came from a turn of phrase ('poor little meow-meow' is the full thing) someone had used to describe a celebrity who had been accused of doing something harmful to someone, i think? don't actually remember. point is, it was like a cartoonishly piteous way to refer to a character perfectly capable of doing bad things to other people and who is morally dubious at best, but who is also pitiable and kind of pathetic and also you like them. the patheticness is also part of the charm. so like. it's kind of the "my character is a blood-soaked ben affleck gripping the bathroom sink and i want to put cat ears on him" type deal. not sure that makes a lot of sense, tbh this one is harder to explain because it's never really been my particular cup of tea LOL

sidekick owner: the list on the side is mostly just superhero traits. if i remember right as soon as i ran out of obvious ones i just went for batman as understood by a completely secondhand posts-on-my-dashboard interpretation. so this does actually mean 'has sidekicks'. broadly i suppose you could interpret this as 'friends who specifically defer to the character's lead and/or exist only as supporting characters' but like its one of the less-interpretable ones. but if you feel like your character has sidekicks then they have sidekicks. 'owner' is just in there because i did it in sequence and i didnt want to do 'has enemies' and then 'has sidekicks' that close to each other, and besides, it's meant to be funny and 'sidekick owner' is just funnier

enemy of god: this is one with two deliberate possible interpretations because of where it sits on the slider its part of. if you're interpreting it as the polar opposite of being at peace with life, it means you are certainly not that. the reason i went with this is because i was going for like - sort of the same way that enemy of the state is XD either the character's life is terrible in such a way that it indicates the world or the powers that be (broadly: god here, because it's snappy) hates them OR the character is pissed the fuck off at the world or the powers that be and wants to destroy them. Could really be either, keeps it from having to be too many possible sliders. Worth a note here that I was mostly writing this for me and like 2 other people because I didn't expect it to get a lot of attention XD and my two fandoms at the time were Transformers (god is real, it's the planet, the leader of one army is divinely ordained, and the other one is there to Kill That Guy In Particular and is my favorite lol) and My Ocs Who I Made Up In My Brain, one of which is canonically hated by the gods of his world because he is annoying and who also hates the gods in his world because they keep putting him in situations because they think he is annoying. So like. Enemy of god generally to me implies an active grudge on one side or another, beyond "dissatisfied" and all the way through to "malice" and "acts of actual aggression", on one side or both. But you can use it however you feel like, it's not like this is being graded LOL.

evokes is supposed to mean what it evokes in you or perhaps you and others XD does the character make you doodle on tables. do they make you argue with strangers on the internet. do they make you daydream. that sort of thing. i wasn't thinking about audiences at all when i made this. you can use it for that if you want though, i just don't think it makes a lot of sense that way. you can't really decide what you evoke in people, and most of those options are like, products of a single person experiencing feelings, not something a narrative can really make you feel (as opposed to like, happy, sad, afraid, frustrated... i suppose horny, affectionate and delighted are options but i really don't recommend writing with the intention of making people fall in love with your specific ocs, it doesn't work nearly as well as treating them like gears to move a specific narrative... <- guy who has strong feelings on how to write properly and who wants people to like my ocs but they only work in the rest of their context and they're compelling best and most when they're in context)

anyway the other thing i want to mention is - 1) its cool if you don't get everything at first sight, a lot of internet language and meme-y stuff especially is pretty impenetrable. no reason to be embarrassed! but also 2) if these options aren't working for you that's also totally cool! please feel free to scavenge anything you like and replace anything that's not working. maybe flavor container is a useless category for you; maybe enemy of god is a poor descriptor for what you would put at that side of that slider. please feel free to change around any and all parts of it to work better, i think thats the way it should be :D

i made a character sheet. free to use as you wish, feel free to change whatever you want XD open source ass thing. spent all of ~maybe an hour on it.

Credit: the text in the insert-image box comes from this video, and the text for the top three lines (intense, complex, fruity) comes from this post. The actual image was made with the free NBOS character sheet creator, which is a sort of dated but free and solid text-layout sheet maker intended for ttrpg style character sheet creation.

[justauthoring]

The Man I (Unfortunately) Love.

Request: I’m BEGGING foaming at the mouth can we plsplspls have more jealous zoro (or luffy 👀 I want to see you take on that as well) Requested by: Anonymous

Pairing: Zoro Roronoa x F!Reader

A/N: I wasn't sure if you meant live action or anime so I went with anime since I haven't written for anyone else but Luffy lol. Hopefully this is in character!!

Also, I don't really know why Ace is with the crew. That fact is not important. Whats important is I wanted to include Ace and thus, jealous Zoro was born.

Word Count: 2,135

And, as usual, it's not spell-checked :)

Zoro, by nature, was not a jealous man.

At least, not overtly.

He literally dealt with a shitty cook who could not keep the lovesick act together for even a second whenever there was a woman anywhere near his presence. It didn't bother Zoro, at least not enough to do anything about it.

(Anything major).

He'd tell the cook to quit it or grunt disapprovingly but Sanji was apart of the crew and he knew that he respected yours and Zoro's relationship at the end of the day.

He could handle boys flirting with you. Honestly, most of the time they were boys (not men) and really, they're the ones who looked like fools at the end of the day. Fumbling with red cheeks and look like an idiot. Zoro didn't have any fear of you choosing one of them over him any day because really--

Could they do anything he could?

No.

And his confidence was always rewarded when you'd all but tell the boy you were interested, harsher if they were more pushier, and then would turn your back to them like they were nothing. And who would you go running to?

Him. Every time.

You'd call his name in that sweet voice of yours, face soft with warmth and excitement twinkling in your eyes. He'd watch with a smug smile as the boys face would fall and then gradually turn to fear when they got a proper look at Zoro.

Zoro didn't love being public with his affection. He was most content sharing those more intimate moments when it was just the two of you. But in moments like those, he'd be a little bit more deliberate about wrapping his arm around your waist and pulling you flush against his chest.

The flush of your cheeks and the light giggle you'd let out were added rewards.

So, no. Zoro was not a jealous man. He was confident and secure in his relationship with you.

But that didn't mean he couldn't be jealous.

-

Zoro truly did not understand what was so fascinating about Luffy's brother.

But clearly you thought he was the greatest thing to walk on this very earth.

Ever since Luffy's brother had stumbled upon the crew, explaining he was missing his dear younger brother and wanted to check in on him, you'd been absolutely glued to his side.

Zoro had been surprised, to say the least, when your face had broken into a wide grin with literal stars in your eyes at the sight of Ace. You'd exclaimed that you'd heard of the 'Fire Fist Ace' before and thought he was 'an amazing pirate' that you'd 'always wanted to meet'.

Zoro still scoffs at the thought.

Sure, Ace was... strong. He was nice, Zoro guessed. And he was Luffy's brother so that meant he was obviously... okay. But Zoro couldn't understand why you looked starstruck.

You hadn't been with the crew yet when they'd met Ace back in Alabasta. Zoro would be relieved about that fact if Ace wasn't here now.

After a whole day of the regular silliness the crew got up to, they were celebrating in their useful festivities. Normally, Zoro would be just as ramped up with the rest of the crew. Even if that only involved him simply drinking while sat with the rest of the crew.

That night though, he'd proceeded to... for lack of a better word, sulk.

He was sat in a corner, far away from the rest of the crew, huddled in the darkness (still drinking) and watching you with a heavy frown.

Normally, you spent these nights glued to his side. Not somebody else. Not... Ace. You'd dance with Luffy, Usopp and Chopper or chat with Nami and Robin while being fed drinks and food by Sanji. But, for the majority, you'd be with him.

Sitting with him. Drinking with him. Just... talking.

Zoro loved those nights.

But you'd barely glanced his way all day, let alone that evening.

The drink he knocks back is particularly soar as he watches you laugh at something Ace has said. He can't hear either of you, but your smile is wide and your laugh is loud and genuine. Ace is smiling at you too, glancing down at you with warm eyes as he indulgences in your questions.

Even Luffy almost seems out of place between the two of you. Not that he cares; Luffy seems simply ecstatic that his crew is getting along with his brother so well.

(Some more than others, clearly.)

If Zoro were a jealous man and he stooped to those sort of levels, he'd imagined he would've marched right up to you and Ace by now and made it clear who you were with. But Zoro was not a jealous man, nor did he fall privy to his emotions so easily.

Instead, Zoro sulked.

It's a few hours into the party, however, that Zoro decides he has had enough of sulking. He won't do anything but he doesn't want to sit here and watch this any longer either.

He's just about to stand up when he hears you calling for him;

"Zoro!"

The sound of your voice, light and airy in that way he loves, gives him pause. His body freezes and slowly his head turns to face you, only to see you frowning at him.

"Where are you going?" Your eyes flicker on the bottle on the floor back up to Zoro, head tilted.

"To bed," he says, harsher than he means to. "Night."

He looks away before he can see the look of hurt and shock he knows washes up on your face. Zoro knows he's being unreasonable, but the words seem to leave his lips nonetheless.

Just as moves to walk away, though, your hand is around his wrist, stopping him.

"Already?" You ask, still thoroughly baffled. (Obviously you're confused, Zoro thinks to himself, you don't know how stupidly jealous he's felt all day). "But you've been tucked away by yourself all night when we're supposed to be celebrating! Luffy's brother is--"

"I know!" He cuts in, voice pitching as you flinch in response. He turns to face you, eyes set in a mean glare. "I get it, okay? Luffy's brother, the amazing Fire Fist Ace that you think is just so amazing and strong and wonderful, is here so we have to celebrate it, right? So much so that you haven't left his side all day! I'd begun to think you'd forgotten I'd even existed."

At this point, his words were loud enough to catch the attention of the entire crew. All noise, chatter or otherwise, falls completely silent as they watch Zoro berate you.

You, however, simply stare back at Zoro. Your face has fallen from your previous excitement and the hand you'd had around his wrist has returned to your side as you take a step back.

"Zoro, I--"

But he doesn't let you say anything.

"Save it, okay?" Zoro practically bites at you. "Just go back to hanging with Ace and leave me the fuck alone."

He turns and walks off in the next second, practically slamming the door shut behind him.

-

It takes ten minutes before someones knocking on the door.

Zoro has half the mind to tell them to fuck off, but then he remember show he had done exactly that to you and the guilt eats him up. He knows what he did was wrong. He knows he'd overreacted. And what sucks more is that Zoro isn't the type of guy to overreact.

And yet he had. He'd hurt you in the process too.

When Zoro doesn't say anything, Luffy invites himself inside.

Zoro isn't sure who he's expecting. He thinks briefly it might be you, but he also doesn't blame you for the fact that it isn't. He figures Luffy makes the most sense. The look on his captains face his clear.

Pressing his head to his hands, Zoro huffs. "You don't have to say anything."

Luffy is silent. His arms are crossed over his chest, his face strangely not in a grin and rather, his lips are downturned into a disapproving frown. The look in his eyes, though, is the worst.

Disappointment.

Zoro pushes himself to a stand in frustration.

"I know, okay?" He snaps at his captain, "I know I was a dick."

"Good," Luffy finally says. "Because you were. And you need to apologize to Y/N."

Zoro sighs. "I know."

"But that's not why I'm here."

Confused, Zoro turns to Luffy, shaking his head. "I--"

"Y/N spent the whole day talking about you." Luffy says, in that way he always says things when he knows he's right. "She constantly tried to get you to come join us but you dismissed her at every point. Ignoring everything, that's not how I let my crew treat each other."

The guilt festers deeper in Zoro. A nasty feeling that eats away at him.

(Fuck. He screwed up).

"Whatever your problem was," Luffy starts, voice dark. "Fix it."

And then Luffy walks out the door, leaving Zoro to stew in his own guilt and thoughts.

-

You're not with the rest of the crew when Zoro goes to find you.

Nami won't tell him but when he turns to Sanji, the cook simply just glares at him, gesturing over his shoulder towards the crows nest with a barely concealed threat; "try that shit again, moss head and I'll throw you off this ship myself."

He also notices Ace is gone.

You're staring up at the stars in the night sky when he makes it to the top.

You meet his eyes but don't say anything and so Zoro crawls up into the small space and moves so he's across from you. He lets a beat of silence follow his arrival before he says;

"I'm sorry."

It's important he starts with that.

You scoff, rolling your eyes. "I'm sure you are."

"I am," he asserts, making sure his tone conveys how serious he is. "I was an asshole. And I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. I never should."

Finally, you turn to look at him properly. "You ever speak to me like that again, Zoro and we're through."

"I won't," he says. And he means it.

You nod, and then; "were you jealous, then?"

(Zoro is not a jealous man, but...)

"Yeah." He admits, even though it's hard to. "I was."

"Why?" You ask, hugging your knees to your chest. "You've never been jealous like that before."

"It was... different. Different than the shitty cook or random guys who flirt with you." Zoro explains, trying to ignore how uncomfortable he is. You deserve an explanation, and he's going to give it to you. "You looked so... impressed by him. By Ace. And I'm used to you only looking at me like that. It's shitty and doesn't excuse it but that's how I felt."

You frown. "Zoro," you call and your voice is considerably softer than it has been. "It doesn't matter if I think some other guy is cool, you are the only one I want to be with. You have to know that."

"I do."

"Then why?"

"I..." But he trails off, because he doesn't know.

"Zoro?"

"I... don't know," he admits. "I know it's not what you want to hear, but I don't know. I was blinded by emotions. I'm... sorry."

You nod, slowly. Zoro notices the way your nails are digging into your hands, a nervous tick of yours, and taking the chance he reaches for your hands. You don't pull away, and he lets out a sigh of relief.

(He doesn't know what he would've done if you had.)

"I love you," he whispers, "and I'm sorry."

You stare at him for a long moment. Just... taking him in.

Then, your hand squeezes him back.

"You made Ace leave."

"Next time we see him, I'll apologize to him."

You raise a brow; "that's big of you."

"I'd do it for you."

That pulls a chuckle from your lips, rolling your eyes. "I would like you to apologize to Ace because you feel bad about how you treated him."

Zoro grins, "you know that's not why I'll do it."

Letting your head tilt to rest on your arm, a soft smile curls on your lips. "I know."

"Good."

"I spent the whole day talking about you, you know."

Zoro tries to hide his smirk. "I know. Luffy told me."

"So you should feel extra shitty."

He tries to wipe the smirk off his face, it doesn't work.

"You're far too smug," you huff half-heartedly. "I should be more mad at you than I am."

"But you're not?"

"No," you mumble, voice warm with love. "I'm not."

(Because Zoro, despite everything, is the man you love.)

[secretlyazombi3]

UGHH i absolutely love ur fics! they're so descriptive n i love the way u write ♡♡ i was actually wondering if you could do a fic or drabble abt a bratty, pillow princess bimbo reader w a subby leon kennedy, preferably from re2 >_< specifically nsfw but anything else is fine too :33

Plaything ! ⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆

 leon kennedy x fem! afab! reader

๋࣭ ⭑⚝word count: 3.4k ๋࣭ ⭑⚝ NSFW!!!!, 2nd person, re2r leon, leon is a whiny pervy sub, unprotected (don't do that), missionary, oral (f receiving), multiple orgasms

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ summary: Leon can't help but be a subby boytoy for his bimbo gf :3

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ a/n: (requests r open) AAA TYSM FOR THIS REQUEST :33 this is my first time doing a request so i rlly hope u like it!!!

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Leon was home from an exhausting day at work, he'd chased down a few fugitives that were on the run, his legs were sore and dragging against the floor each time he trudged forward. The other officers teased him a bit, but it really had been a difficult run for him. 

And now he’d been fantasizing about coming home to eat dinner, which wasn’t too out of the usual. That man loved to eat.

You'd had a nice day off, you had only gone out to run some errands but used it as an excuse to dress up, but who could blame you? Your pink yoga leggings and matching cropped zip up needed to be worn out every chance you could get. 

Leon looked tired the second he came home, all he wanted was to eat and toss himself on your guys' bed - not without showering you in at least a hundred kisses, of course. 

"...'m home..." Leon called out as he shut the front door behind him, kicking off his shoes carelessly and gently dropping his duffle-bag onto the ground, leaving it there for when he left to work again tomorrow morning. 

Leon walked over to the kitchen, immediately reaching for the fridge to find some sort of snack. He deserved a little treat for himself after the day he’d had. 

“You’re eating already?” You asked as you walked into the kitchen, tilting your head to the side and pouting your lip slightly. “I was going to make dinner.” you added. 

Leon took a moment before finally pausing his adventure in the fridge, stopping his digging through the fridge to glance back at you. “I’m hungry-” he whined, stopping as he looked at you. 

“Did you go somewhere today...?” He asked as he looked you up and down, drinking in your outfit with his eyes. “I went grocery shopping.” you answered simply. 

“Wearing that?” Leon asked, raising an eyebrow. He wasn’t trying to shame you or anything, it was just… unusual to him that you’d dress up that good to go get some groceries. Seemed like a waste to him. “Why, is that a bad thing?” you responded. 

“No, I-I mean it’s…” Leon started, stumbling over his words as his cheeks dusted a light shade of pink. His eyes stopped trailing over your outfit - how the pink clothes perfectly complimented your skin tone, how the fabric hugged your body perfectly - and they got stuck on your chest.

His eyes were glued there, he was staring at the small amount of the skin on your tits he could see, beneath the cropped jacket that was slightly unzipped and pressed tightly beneath a white tube top. 

Stop staring. Leon mentally repeated to himself, but he had to repeat it more times than he’d like to admit for the message to finally go through in his head.

“It’s just weird to dress up that much for the grocery store.”  Leon finished, swallowing hard, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. That wasn’t the detail that gave it away, it’d been dead obvious he was just staring at your tits for the past thirty seconds. His body language made it painfully obvious. The growing bulge in his pants didn’t help much. He was so pathetic; he was getting hard by just glancing at your tits. 

You furrowed your brows slightly and glowered a bit more. “Quit being so pervy.” you scolded him as if he were a misbehaving puppy. 

Leon hated when you talked to him in that tone - well, to be more honest, he hated how much he liked it when you spoke to him like that. All serious and demanding. He hated how weak in the knees it made him feel. 

“Sorry!” Leon apologized, his face turning from a light shade of fuchsia to a deep crimson. Guiltily, he let his eyes drag back down to your chest. He couldn’t help it, they were like magnets, like bees to honey, his eyes were just naturally drawn there like some sort of instinct. 

 “I just… I can’t help it when you’re dressed like that!” Leon whined. He really wasn’t trying to shame you for dressing like a bimbo to the grocery store, but he couldn’t help the jealousy that arose in him whenever he thought about you going out alone dressed in such a way. 

You got to shop all alone, no indication to others that you were taken with a boyfriend, all while showing off your body to strangers. He didn’t want anyone else to see your chest looking all perky and pretty, practically begging to be sucked on. Those were for his eyes only!

“How rude!” You replied to Leon’s comment. He didn’t say it directly, but he was essentially slut shaming you for dressing that way. Couldn’t he just understand that you just liked the clothes, not the attention from other men? You didn’t care if anyone at the store stared at you, you just cared about fashion!

Leon softened his expression a bit, not wanting to argue, especially since his words came out so wrong. He knew he was the erroneous one, he knew better than to question your decisions. 

“I’m sorry, I… I didn’t mean it like that.” Leon apologized softly, not liking you being mad at him. He was always quick to bend over to you, he was a softie, he never wanted to be the one to upset you. 

“That’s fine. You just know how I feel about comments like that.” You mumbled as Leon pulled you in to wrap his arms around your waist which was exposed thanks to how short your top was. It was silent for a moment before Leon spoke again. “Had a rough day at work.” Leon grunted into your neck as he inhaled you roughly, bathing in your scent for a moment. Your perfume always helped him relax. “Yeah?” You asked as you brushed your fingers through Leon’s hair as he clung to you like a baby. Leon looked at you with his big puppy eyes, he’d been humiliated by his coworkers earlier and had come home and gotten you upset…. All he wanted was to be in your arms. 

Leon placed his hand on your cheek, batting his eyes at you a bit before pulling you in for a kiss. He was so desperate for you at this point… and your little outfit just made him lose his control. 

The kisses started slow and soft at first, a bit romantic, but each time he pulled away to breathe in some air, he’d come back more aggressive, sloppier, until it was nothing but open-mouthed sloppy kisses.

Leon gently lifted you up by your hips and set you down onto the kitchen counter. He only gave you a second to breathe before grabbing you and kissing you again, harder and more desperate with each kiss, not allowing you to pull away. 

His hips move a bit on their own, grinding against you and humping your leg like a damn dog in heat. He should feel shameful, and part of him does, but it just feels so good. He feels the shame slip out of his body with each little piteous hump.

You squirm a bit feeling a hard bulge prodding out of Leon’s pants rubbing against your clothed legs. You have to practically pry Leon’s face off of yours by tugging on his hair. A small string of saliva connects your lips even as Leon’s lips are forced away from yours. “Wha...?” Leon asks you breathlessly. 

“You’re humping me like a dog!” You sniveled. Leon stops his movement; he looks embarrassed that you actually acknowledged what he’d been doing. 

“S... sorry, I just… I need you…” Leon said breathlessly as he gave you those stupid puppy eyes again. You just can’t bring yourself to deny anything when Leon’s looking at you like that. 

Leon’s hand travels down his baggy uniform pants and into his boxers. He lets out a little grunt as he pumps his fist around himself. He was being so pervy, but he couldn’t help it. 

He pulled his pants down and let his cock adjust to the cold air all while you sat there on the counter, doing nothing but looking pretty for him. “Let me have you… please?” Leon begs you sorrily, his voice whinier than ever. 

You let out a little sigh as you breathed heavily as Leon gently pushed your legs apart for him, sliding off your pretty pink leggings and pushing up your top so he can free your tits and stare at them as shamelessly as he wanted.

"Only if you give me head first. I'm not going to let you just do missionary, that's so boring!" you replied. You knew Leon had a long day at work, but that wasn't an excuse. He'd still be putting in the work.

Leon looked at you pathetically, his lip pouted out slightly. Not being able to fuck you when he so desperately wanted to was probably his punishment for him perving on you earlier. 

Still, he gently flicks his tongue against your chest, kissing your nipple before lowering his kisses to between your legs. He starts off with a few kitten licks. Soft, quick licks like he doesn’t know what he’s doing. But he does know, and you know he knows. He’s done it before. He’s just being stubborn. 

“Is that the best you can do?” You asked Leon, your tone slightly bratty. He needed to actually put some work in if he wanted to be able to fuck you. 

Leon frowned when you asked him that, but he wasn’t one to argue (even if you were being a brat). Leon buried his face between your legs, nose touching your clit as he licked you long and rough. 

His hands, which were gloved with those fingerless gloves he wore every damn day, rested on your thighs. As his tongue traced your entrance, your knees buckled slightly, and Leon didn’t want you to trap him with your thighs. “Don’t crush me with your thighs…” Leon mumbled as he glanced up at you. 

Leon continued working his tongue, occasionally pushing it inside your cunt, making him whine thinking about how good it’d feel to put his dick in you. Why did you have to be so cruel? He worked all day, and you wouldn’t let him just use you to blow off some steam.

Leon groaned a bit as he continued eating you, shamefully getting a bit pussy drunk. You tasted so damn good, better than anything he could’ve found in the fridge.

He glanced up at you again, you looked so good at this angle, and being able to see your exposed tits like this was… God, Leon could come from just staring at you like this. Not to mention your beautiful moans. You were audibly enjoying Leon’s mouth, and it just made Leon even hornier. 

Leon’s tongue moved to your clit, tracing circles around the nerves. Leon heard you gasp a bit and suddenly your breathing became much choppier before bringing your knees together, practically suffocating Leon between your plush thighs. 

Leon pushed them away again desperately, pursing his lips. “I told you not to do that.” he bitched as he gave your clit some more gentle kitty licks. 

“Sorry.” you replied, but your tone made it clear you didn’t feel any actual remorse. 

You always did this - disobey Leon. He hated it, he wished he could punish you. Refuse to let you cum or put a leash on you and walk you around like a damn dog to embarrass you. But he didn’t have it in him to be anything but obedient to you. If anything, he’d let you do those things to him. 

You moaned as Leon continued savoring your pussy with his tongue, lapping it between your folds before continuing to stimulate your clit. You leaned your head back, letting your hair drape behind you as he gently grabbed Leon by his hair. You were close, and you didn’t want to let him stop for any reason. 

Leon kept flicking his tongue against your clit before removing his right hand from the inside of your thigh, gently pushing two of his fingers in. His saliva coated your pussy; it was easy for his fingers to enter. 

You squirmed a bit as you felt Leon’s fingers slide in and out of your cunt all while Leon was still desperately eating your pussy, suckling on your clit. Leon groaned a little as he ate you out. 

“Mm, fuck…” You breathed, furrowing your brows as you felt a heat pool in your lower abdomen. You knew you were about to come; you could feel that knot in your stomach only getting tighter with each thrust of Leon’s fingers and lick of his tongue. 

Leon felt you get tighter around his fingers, which was how he knew you were about to come. You dug your nails a bit into Leon’s scalp, throwing your head back even more as you squealed from pleasure. 

“Leon!” You yelped, moaning like a porn star as you forced Leon’s head down on you, not letting him escape as you came. After a moment of gasping for air from the aftermath of your orgasm, you let go of Leon, his pretty boy face covered in your juices. 

“Fuck...” he breathed as he looked down at you, his hand moving to his stiff cock. Once your breathing had returned to a mostly normal pace, Leon grabbed your hips and pulled you close. 

“Can I put it in? Please?” he asked you, practically begging, which made him feel pathetic. But he was desperately horny and had no choice. He positioned his dick against your cunt, gently rubbing his tip, which was now an angry-reddish tint from being hard for so long, against your folds. 

“You said you’d let me if I ate you out…!” Leon added, whining excessively as he looked down at you. 

Your eyes were still half-lidded; you were recovering from that orgasm still as you looked up at him. You inhaled deeply as you nodded a bit. “But only the tip right now, I’m sensitive.” 

Leon pouted at that. He ate you out and made you come, and he only gets to let the tip in? Leon slowly pushed his tip in; it was better than nothing. He let out a few grunts as he felt your cunt squeezing around his tip. Fuck, it felt amazing. 

Leon leaned forward and kissed your neck gently before burying his face in your chest. “You’re so cruel.” Leon complained as he pushed his tip in and out. No matter how much he wanted to just slam into you, force you to take his whole dick, he couldn’t bring himself too. 

“You’re such a baby.” You replied, brushing your fingers through his hair. Leon hated how he always gave you multiple orgasms only for you to give him the bare minimum in return. But he also knew he was a pathetic mess; he could probably cum just having the tip inside you.

He gently placed his hands on your hips as he continued pushing the tip in and out gently. He looked up at you, chin still resting between your tits, batting his eyelashes all pretty at you. 

“Can I…” Leon started, grunting a bit as he kept grinding his hips. “Can I push in more? Please? Please, I… I’ve been good.” Leon begged.

  He was pitiable, really. All his coworkers would just drag him harder if they found out that he was this submissive to his girlfriend. He was already being called a pretty boy by every other officer he worked with; this would bring him even more ridicule. Good thing they didn’t have to find out. 

“Mph. Fine.” you answered him. “I guess you earned it.” It only took Leon a single second to grab you by the hips and force his entire cock inside you. You gasped a bit feeling him push his dick in so roughly, he was acting so feral, like he didn’t have any decency. 

You grunted at first feeling his first few shallow thrusts, but those grunts became loud, desperate moans as he began slamming his length in and out of you. 

Leon’s eyes were struggling to stay open, fluttering open and close with each thrust. He leaned his head back and let out quiet moans and whimpers, too embarrassed to be that loud. 

“Shh, quiet down, you’re… you’re so loud…” Leon complained between little grunts and gasps of air. His cock was practically being choked by your walls, it was hard for him to think straight. Your pussy was practically cutting off his circulation. 

“Make me.” You spoke stubbornly, looking up at Leon with a bit of a cocky expression. You knew he wouldn’t. 

“You… you...” he breathed out as he kept grinding against you, using his hand to part your thighs even further so he could really submerge his dick inside you. 

His eyebrows were furrowed, and he was clearly sulking, but he couldn’t make himself punish you, his brain immediately returning to being filled with fuzzy nonsense. He just kept fucking you at a swift pace. 

“That’s what I thought.” you spoke again, your tone snarky, Leon still looking annoyed at you acting so damn bratty. He wasn’t even that annoyed with you at this point, more annoyed at himself for letting you walk all over him. He didn’t have the balls to tame you. 

“Mm… shut up…” Leon grunted as he closed his eyes, biting his lip desperately to try and silence his needy moans. But it was impossible to hold it back, so he let a few loud slutty moans slip from his lips. 

You just rested back, letting Leon do all the work as always. You weren’t scared to let your moans out, even if it was loud, even if the neighbors could hear. If anything, you wanted them to hear. You wanted everyone on the floor to know that you were getting absolutely piped by your cute boyfriend and they weren’t. 

Your knees try to buckle together but can’t, so you just decide to let your legs hug Leon’s waist as Leon keeps pounding you. Sweat was dripping down his forehead at this point, he’d been working so hard while you'd just been sitting there and taking it. And that’s what you expected, nothing less than princess treatment. 

Leon was getting sloppier with each thrust, you noticed, you knew he was close. “Rub my clit, baby.” you said to Leon, who was clearly lost in the moment. 

“Wha? I… Fine...” Leon replied, not liking having to think about anyone beside himself. He just wanted to be selfish this once and use your pussy like a personal flesh light. But of course, you’d never allow that. 

Leon placed his hand on your lower stomach and began gently rubbing your clit with his thumb. Slow, antagonizing circles around it. You whined a bit, feeling Leon tease you. “Faster.” you pouted. Leon grunted, but he obeyed, slowly increasing the pace of his fingers. 

Leon kept his ruthless pace with his hips, you knew you were close to getting a second orgasm. 

“I…” Leon breathed as his eyes clenched shut. “I… ‘m gonna cum, I’m gonna-” Leon panted desperately, his tone somehow the whiniest it’s ever been. “Inside… let me cum inside… please, please, please-” Leon begged you. 

“Fine.” you answered, only agreeing so he’d stop it with the begging, and because you felt more pleasure when he filled you up. 

Leon’s hips stuttered and he let out a gasp before shooting loads inside you, his brain completely turning off. You felt yourself climax at the same time, feeling his warm seed in your pussy was overwhelmingly pleasurable. You leaned back and moaned loudly, sounding like a damn porn star as you did. 

Leon was panting harder now after shooting such a big load into you than he did after running today. He didn’t care to quiet himself at this point, letting out loud cry-like whines as he desperately tried to recover from such an intense orgasm. 

Leon pulled out and watched you drip his semen from between your legs; he watched it drip down the counter. You two had made a mess. Leon knew the kitchen would need to be cleaned after this (and he also knew that’d he’d be the one cleaning it; you were probably going to complain about being sore soon.)

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

It was almost midnight now; Leon had finally stuffed his mouth full of that dinner of yours he’d been dreaming of for hours now. He’d showered and now he was resting in bed, letting his tender body get engulfed by the fluffy blankets. 

You came into the room, hair still damp from a shower, wearing a little pink robe as you got in bed beside Leon. Leon glanced at you, visibly a bit exhausted. You simply smiled at him and tilted your head like a dog. 

“Ready for another round?”

[butmakeitgayblog]

cruel intentions anon here 🥹 can u share something with us? like a small snippet or a scene you've scraped or idk just some ideas? I've read the fic twice but I fear I'm fr addicted to them 😭

Well I'll admit I don't have too much since I've started focusing on only one project at a time, but I have a bit of a oneshot that goes with this pic

Set a few weeks after the, ahem, conclusion of The Bet. Nothing smutty posted here unfortunately, but it will be. Oh it will be smutty. Clarke does not leave Lexa looking like that for no reason 😌

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You're whistling.

Honest to God, actually whistling. 

A jaunty little tune devoid of melody and structure. Nothing more than a slow sling of notes that doesn't really have any direction in particular, because the point isn't the song itself. 

It's the mood.

And that mood is… happy.

So, so fucking happy. 

Terrifyingly, unmitigatedly, euphorically fucking happy.

It's weird and you hate it, and it's embarrassing to even think about, but you wouldn't trade this feeling for anything. 

And really, who could blame you. Not when life has never been this good. All rose colored glasses and kiss-filled memories that dance like bubbly champagne around the empty space in your head.

You genuinely don't think anyone has ever been as blissful in the existence of the world as you are right now when the doors of the elevator slide open, and you swagger your exceptional ass into your penthouse's bottom floor. 

You drop your purse on the bench and toss your keys on the countertop, praying it leaves a scratch for your stepmother to have a stroke over. Just for the hell of it. You undo the clip and feel your hair untwist in tousled ringlets draped sensually across your shoulders. 

You whistle a few more notes, and contemplate grabbing something to eat, before deciding there's nothing else in the world that you need.

Because you're in love. 

And it's that love that keeps you smiling as you walk down the hall, adding an extra click in your steps just to hear the crispness reverberate off the walls you don't pay for. It's that same love that makes your heart race as you slam the antique handles down and throw open the parlor doors with a flourish, lightheaded and so goddamn euphoric you would fucking hate the chipperness for them if it were anyone else.

It's that love that makes you so stupid that you don't even bother to look around before your eyes land on her. Beautiful and formidable as she stands behind the bar. Her lips purse at the shotgun bang of the doors, but she doesn't even jump, and her control next to your chaos makes you love her even more.

“Miss me?” you burst in with a deep chested purr.

Because you're in love and you love her and you absolutely want her to know it.

You just… don't know how to fucking say it.

Not yet.

Grey-green eyes widen like a warning shot, darting from you to the corner of the room and right back again, so quickly you would've missed it if you hadn't been staring quite so hard.

“Not particularly, no,” she snips in that contemptuous drawl of hers without missing a beat, and pops the cork back on a bottle of gin that costs more than your semester's tuition. 

You, belatedly, follow her eyes to the corner of the room and see your housemaid diligently running a duster across the frame of your great-grandfather's portrait. 

Fuck.

Your heart drops right down to your asshole, but you send up a silent prayer of thanks because at least you hadn't tacked on the pet name ‘lover’ like you'd been using so much as of late. 

That's been the closest you could get.

But Sherri doesn't seem to have heard you. Or at least she doesn't pay you any mind, not having paused from her work for even a fraction of a second at your grand entrance and social faux pas.

You stand frozen, staring at Lexa still working her magic behind the bar, adding a splash of something red to a drink before taking a sip and grimacing at its taste.

She smacks her lips and shakes her head and sets the drink back down like it's personally offended her. 

You frown at the whole display because you know she's not even a gin girl.

“Sherri,” she calls in that sweet little voice she reserves for the people she actually cares if they like her. 

“Yes, Miss Lexa,” your faithful maid answers, immediately stopping to look over.

Huh.

Apparently her hearing is just fine.

Delicate fingers discreetly land on your stomach as she passes, trailing down to your hips and snagging the bottom hem of your sweater, yanking just so to send you stumbling several feet away from the door and out of the way.

“You should take the evening off,” Lexa says once she's left you off-balance in her wake. “Go enjoy life for a change.”

“Oh, I don't think—” Sherry starts but cuts off at the soft tisk from Lexa's lips. 

“No. No. Now, there is simply nothing to think about, because that was not a suggestion, my chérie.”

You smile at the lilt of her teasing. Always in awe, because for the life of you, you'll never understand how she manages to be such a condescending bitch while still sounding so innocent. So warm and pleasant. 

And to be fair, it really hadn't been a suggestion. 

You stand forgotten in the late afternoon shadows and watch as she closes in on your maid like a huntress. All sculpted calves and four inch heels. Hands tucked daintily behind her back.

“But your mother—”

“Will never know,” Lexa whispers, bringing one long, sexy finger up to press against the pout of her smile. “I can keep a secret if you can…”

Sherri sighs in her defeat and shakes her head with the fondness of an exasperated mother, and you wonder if there's anyone this girl can't charm off their feet.

Lexa preens.

“Good. Now, a little birdy told me it was your birthday this weekend.” She pauses just long enough for your maid to nod in surprise. “And, well… I guess I just couldn't help myself.”

You cross your arms and make yourself comfy by settling a shoulder against the wall. More than thrilled to just sit back and take in the show as this fucking magician pulls out a bracelet from goddamn nowhere. 

She hushes the woman's flustered coughs, ignores hands slipping through greying red hair and automatic dismissals of, “no, Miss Lexa, this is—I couldn't possibly.” She soothes it all with honeyed words of reliability and sacrifice and devotion to our comfort, all while clasping the understated but opulent chain to an overworked wrist, connected to a woman who doesn't seem to quite know what to do with herself. Nimble fingers twist and turn the apparently well-thought-out gift so it lays perfectly in place, admiring her own exquisite taste in jewelry more than anything, you already know.

You wonder when the hell she got so thoughtful. 

She ushers the woman out with a firm, guiding hand to her back, mouth tipped in a demure smile as she assures her, this is exactly what she wants. 

The parlor doors close much more gently than when you'd entered through them, and she spins gracefully on her heel, looking so fucking pleased with herself.

You hold her eyes. 

Uncross your arms.

And slowly, loudly, begin to clap.

“Well aren't you made of sugar and spice and everything nice, Miss Lexa.”

She pinches the sides of her skirt and fans them out, dipping into a mere suggestion of a curtsey.

You move as though to reach for her because it's been six hours too long since you've had your hands on that body, but her pleasantries drop away as she sends you a scowl and slips just out of reach. 

“Next time, have a touch more decorum when entering a room,” she sighs over the authoritative clack-clack of her heels. “I had just gotten that bracelet. Didn't even have a chance to wear it out yet.”

Ah.

Now that makes more sense.

Fuck, you love how good she is at thinking on her feet.

“No one told you to kiss her ass with jewelry, for fucks sake,” you mutter despite the efficacy of her brilliance because really, she always had to be so damn extra about everything. 

“It was all I had, and thanks to someone,” she says with a pointed edge, “I didn't exactly have time to figure out another distraction. And since I'm fairly certain she at least already knows we're sleeping together, I'd much rather stay in her good graces. I can handle losing a bracelet in exchange for…”

She trails off and vaguely gestures to the air between you. 

The thought alone of someone else knowing makes you want to vomit. 

You cross your arms tighter. 

“Why do you think that she knows?”

That evil fucking brow of her flits up when she looks at you like you're an idiot.

“Because you're not quiet, and she's not stupid, and half of Greenwich knows what you sound like when you come.”

You grit your teeth and wonder if it's worth reminding her who came on your fingers while loudly calling your name last night, but when she struts her perfectly bubble shaped ass back over to the bar, you ultimately decide that, no, it is in fact not worth it.

Apparently done with the minor complication of your eagerness and the conversion as a whole, she picks up the drink you'd all but forgotten and holds it out at arm's length, letting it dangle from the mere tips of her elegant fingers. 

“For you, my darling.”

You still haven't figured out exactly what she's playing at when she calls you that, because you know she is never sweet for nothing. You know there has to be a barb in there somewhere. Some sort of slight on your character or something. She shouldn't just call you ‘darling’ for no reason… But for the life of you, when she looks at you like this - like you're the only thing that matters in her broad and expansive world - you can't figure what it could possibly be.

“Gin and… cherries?” you ask when you take the glass and give a tiny sniff of the drink. 

She smiles indulgently and twists away to retake her place behind the bar, and suddenly her grimace from her sip before makes sense.

She hates sweet drinks.

Well.

Unless she's kissing the taste of them from your lips. 

“So is this what we're doing now?” You examine your drink closer. It doesn't look poisoned anyway. “It's this what we've become?”

She hums in question as she picks up a second shaker and stirs the contents. You watch her grab a martini glass and begin to pour her own crystal clear drink and, yes, that's much more her style.

You truly are fucking a master mixologist. Which you suppose is bound to happen considering she's been making drinks for one person or another since the tender age of thirteen…

“My kingdom for some context, darling,” she murmurs when you're too enamored to answer, popping an olive into her glass and taking a healthy sized pull, moaning at the taste.

You down half your bramble in one go and traipse yourself around the back of the bar.

Setting the drink down at her side, you put your empty hands to much better use. Drift your fingers across the soft dip of her back and trace her hips, holding her steady as you press in and drape yourself along the length of her.

“Acting like a vintage married couple,” you clarify in a whisper. You reach up and pull her hair aside to expose the delicious expanse of her neck, and you wonder in what lifetime you actually managed to do something good enough to deserve the way she tips her head to the side to give you more access. 

You mouth slow, wet kisses along the sensitive spot just behind her ear as she sighs, “Is that what this is?”

“You tell me, pretty girl.” You smile against her skin when she shudders at the name. “Waiting for me to come home to you. Having a drink ready. Did you make me a special little dinner to eat as well?”

And you're still getting used to this.

This thing with her you've been playing at for the last couple of weeks. This truce or whatever it is that leaves you so off balance you never know which end is up.

Because you've never had something like this. 

Because where you expect a scoff and a rebuff of your entire charade, she only presses harder into you with a sensual groan. Where you expect her to fling your hands away and shove you off of her entirely as she would have before, she merely sets down her glass, and kisses your lips, and covers your hands with her own.

"Not in your wildest dreams, my love," she whispers with an adoring grin, and kisses you deeper again.