#locked in in front of my computer for three hours i need to move

[maeumverse]

WHAT, LIKE IT'S HARD? — AN OVERVIEW OF (SOME OF) THE UNIVERSITY ATTENDEES OF THE MAEUMVERSE

[ittybittyfanblog]

Error 404: (Self-Aware!AU, Sylus Edition)

Summary: A LADS self-aware!AU featuring Sylus (+ maybe the other MLs!) and an oblivious player. That’s it, that’s the plot. Tags: player!reader x sylus, fem!reader x sylus, reader x lads, maybe some suggestive language?? will add more tags as the story progresses A/N: This is gonna be a multi-chapter fic! I’m still not sure whether to do the boys in rotation, or just focus on one ML per series. Don’t take my word for it atp tho – I’m not even sure if I can actually finish a series lol.  Also, I’ve had the creative liberty of changing stuff from the actual gameplay here and there. (Except for the self-awareness. That’s most definitely real.) Hope you enjoy~!

Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3

It’s a quarter past eight and you’re still on your desk working overtime on a Friday night. 

You let out a big sigh, leaning back on your office chair after an unhealthy duration of bad posture from hours of slouching down in front of your computer. There’s nothing ergonomic about the way this job is killing you, and the ache in your lower back can attest to that. 

An irate orange tabby plops himself in front of you, blocking your view of the glaring screen and you figure that it’s time for a break. 

“Me-oow.”

“I know, I know,” You answer tiredly, standing up to dodge a stray paw clawing your way and you hear cracks in three different places that are honestly unbecoming of a woman your age. You haven’t even reached thirty yet, for god’s sake. “I’m a bad mother. But mom also had to skip dinner to make it to the seven PM meeting, so cut me some slack, okay?” 

A high-pitched “meooowr!” is the only response you get; it seems like there’s no excusing late dinner time this time around. 

As much as you’d like to hem and haw and complain, the main reason why you’re still keeping this job is because you can work remotely. If it weren’t for the fact that you’re stuck most days at home working hours past your regular nine to five, having to be on-call around the clock at all times, and that you’ve consumed more sodium than a nitrite victim with the way you live off cup ramen, then, really, it beats working in an office where you’d physically have to clock in and out from exactly nine to five. 

Your right eye twitches. No, I have not fallen in love with the system that exploits me, thank you very much. 

“Here is your Fancy Feast, your highness,” you tell the hungry feline who’s already ignoring the hand that feeds for the bowl full of white fish paté. He eats healthier than you, sure, but you work like this for him to eat like this. The life of a single mom is an uphill battle, but extremely rewarding. 

You raise your hand to pat your son’s head lovingly, aborting the gesture halfway when you hear a warning growl. Alright, tough crowd. 

After nuking a half-eaten takeout box in the microwave and grabbing a cold Bundaberg from the fridge, you hunker down on the “chaise lounge” (see: an old wingback and a rattan ottoman you’ve refurbished as a makeshift seat a few weeks back when you had guests over) for a late meal. 

You barely register the taste of lukewarm rice on your tongue, mouth moving mechanically while your mind runs on autopilot about everything and nothing at the same time. 

Maybe it’s time to check Jobstreet again

Is there like a laundromat near the area that’s open twenty four seven

Eugh, I hate cold peas

What do we feel about Chromakopia? 

I will… die alone

I really need to stock on some fresh produce this weekend–

Ping! 

A notification from your phone pulls you out of your thoughts – and like a well-trained dog pavlov’d into responding, you visibly perk up at the sight of your lock screen lighting up and the familiar banner you’ve already memorized by heart. 

Your Galaxy Explorer rewards are here. Did you put my hotel’s address as the shipping address? 

Ah, just like clockwork. 

You press on it with a quiet, bubbling anticipation, chewing on the plastic spork as you wait impatiently for the silly mobile game that’s been your short respite at intervals – for more than you’d care to admit – to boot up. 

Offhandedly, you wish that the devs would add more variations to the game’s push notifications; more random, personalized stuff like maybe a reminder to drink water, or a fun update about their day. What you’d give – pay – for a: "Less on the overtime, kitten. I miss you,” dialogue from a certain character, but you digress. 

Oh, well. Probably better this way, lest you dig yourself deeper into delusion. 

The game greets you with the usual picturesque view of a silver-haired man sitting cross-legged on a chair, looking all the bit at ease in his signature crimson and white button up. The warm ambience of the Destiny Café at night draws you in, already pulling your attention away from the never-ending stream of thoughts in your brain. 

“Before seeing you, I thought today would be another dull day,“ Sylus comments airily. The way he drawls out the words in that deep timbre of his voice never fails to make your heart flutter – just a teeeensy bit.

“Ever the charmer,” you sigh happily in return, situating yourself more comfortably on the sofa, almost horizontal from how far you’re leaning back on the cushion. “You’re looking awfully normal tonight. What, no pineapple glasses for your favorite girl?” 

Having bypassed the initial cringe of talking to yourself after literal months of gameplay, it almost comes off natural, the banter. You’ve already accepted the fact that you’re crazy about a fictional, pixelated man – what’s pretending to have actual conversations with him gonna do? It’s not as if he actually hears you yap your nonsense; there are worse things in the world than a parasocial attachment to an otome game character. 

Your little jab at the sometimes random addition to his choice of attire earns you a laugh from the man itself– or at least it looks as though it does, making you blink momentarily in surprise. Happy coincidence, I guess.

You shake your head, cracking a smile, then proceed to do the routine of completing the daily agenda and then some. 

It’s tedious business, sure. You’ve dedicated hours upon hours on this game and you’re honestly starting to feel pretty bored with some of the gameplay elements, but you *do* like the ritualistic nature of ticking off the tasks one by one. It’s almost ironic – the way you dutifully do one thing after the other in this game, just to avoid the pile of work that’s waiting for you in real life. 

It’s not as if anything, or anyone’s relying on you to do your daily log-ins, so you suppose it’s due to that lack of pressure as well. 

Pulling yourself away from the five-star Xavier memory card you’ve grinded to level seventy, you stare despondently at the sad little 2 on your remaining energy. The embarrassing amount of materials you lack to ascend the card seem to mock you, even as you exit the Memories window. Another goal for another day, perhaps.

All tasks on the daily agenda are complete, except for one that you’ve always saved for last.

You’re met with a standing Sylus on the game’s home screen, arms crossed and wearing an expression you’d almost describe as impatient, if you didn’t know any better. The sight makes you grin. 

Cheekily, you poke his crotch.

You’re looking forward to getting a playful remark, or if you’re lucky, a blush along with an embarrassed retort about your shamelessness. 

 What you get, however, is a resounding scoff. Your eyes snap back to his face – from, ahem, your prolonged staring at the area below his waist – and you do see the familiar tinge of pink on his cheeks, but what he says in response catches you off-guard.

“You spend that much resource for a card that isn’t mine?” Sylus tsks, both his voice and expression coming across as… affronted? “Kitten, I’m actually hurt.” 

Huh?

You haven’t heard that line from him before. Was there a recent update you weren’t aware of? The man in question then appears to look amused, from the way you’ve been rendered speechless by the unexpected dialogue. 

All at once, you gasp when you realize what the new response means. 

“That’s so smart,” you say giddily. You see Sylus cock his head to the side, synchronously quirking an eyebrow—expectant. “They actually added a feature that lets them know which memory I’ve upgraded last, and make you react to it. Oh, that’s so cool!” 

If you weren’t too busy being excited over what you think is a new update from the game,  you’d see the chagrined look on Sylus’ face. But when you glance back at him, all trace of the emotion is gone before you could notice anything different. 

“Don’t worry, Crow Man. You’re still my favorite,” you assure him, making his mouth tick upwards in a semblance of a smile. He looks pleased all of the sudden, his demeanor shifting into something more relaxed.

Then a pout forms on your face. You crinkle your nose in frustration as you complain, “It’s just really hard to level your cards up at this point. It takes ages and a shit ton of energy just to level you up past seventy five.” Sighing, you add, kind of bitterly, “And I’m too broke to be spending money on growth packs.” 

Checking the time on your phone, you see that you’ve already spent more than an hour on your self-imposed break time and you know that you ought to get back to work soon. With a groan, you pull yourself to sit upright, savoring the last few minutes of free time before you slave off for the rest of the night. 

You’re about to clean up what’s left of dinner when you notice the oddly thoughtful look on Sylus’ face. 

There’s a deep furrow in his brows as he brings a hand up to cover his mouth. He closes his eyes shut for a few seconds. He's never done that gesture before... Ugh, he looks really hot–

Suddenly, you see a flicker— then a weird, sort of graphic distortion happening in the background. Uh, what??

A beat; then a glitch on the screen. “Ah, shit.” 

The game crashes.

You exhale loudly as the game’s interface goes back to the loading screen, tapping your thumb impatiently as the bar slowly loads to 15%... 50%..... 81%....... 

“Maybe make sure to patch up first before releasing an update next time, jeez— Huh?” 

For a quick second, nothing seems to be amiss. But then the first thing you see on the home screen is Sylus’ figure standing before you, wearing an expression one could only describe as a cat that ate the proverbial canary. 

He speaks— and it’s another intro you haven’t heard him say, ever. 

“You should’ve told me sooner, sweetie,” he almost coos the words out, making your eyes bug out in shock. 

��Now, why don’t you go check your–” he pauses, and his mouth moves as if he’s rolling the word out, testing it. “Inventory?” 

Sylus slides his gaze towards the upper left corner of the screen, a coy smirk still ever-present on his face. 

There, you see something you haven’t noticed earlier: two notification badges. One on your mailbox, and another on the Hunter’s Info tab. Bewildered, you press on the mail icon first, despite the insistence for you to start with the latter. 

You see a new message: [For You]

A small gift, to bridge our worlds closer. – S 

Nothing is attached to it. You read it twice, perplexed.  

“You’re quite the contradictorian, aren’t you?” Sylus tuts as soon as you return back to the home screen, his gaze boring into you even when he tilts his head sideways in mock exasperation. “Mmm, I suppose it doesn’t matter. Take all the time you need, sweetheart.” 

Helplessly, you open your inventory next. 

Your jaw drops. 

“What. The fuck,” You whisper to yourself, voice wavering in disbelief at what you’re seeing, and the sheer amount of what you’re seeing. “This– this can’t be real.” 

You see that all the materials you own, from the bottle of wishes to the ascension crystal boxes, have been multiplied a hundred times over.

And on top of that–

Ninety nine thousand red dias????

You cannot believe how this– this recent… update (or is it a bug? Infold sure isn’t this generous) didn't make the news. Even as someone as uninvolved as you are with the community and the game’s latest releases, something like this for sure would’ve made headlines on Twitter (X), at least. But you haven’t heard anything. Nada. 

Holy shit. 

You feel a little light-headed, both from incredulity and excitement. Needing a moment to calm yourself down, you exit the Inventory tab in a daze.

You stare at Sylus. He stares back at you with what looks to be mirth in his eyes. 

Skeptically, you mutter, “did–did I get hacked or something?” 

Anticipating another unexpected dialogue to prompt up, you wait for a full minute without saying anything else. And for a moment, the man in front of you looks indecisive, contemplative. 

There’s something very odd, very… human in the way he’s looking at you. He looks as if– as if he’s—

His face falls back into a neutral expression. Not unlike how his idle animation usually looks. 

..

…

….. It doesn’t seem like he’s going to initiate a conversation any time soon, so you hesitantly poke him on the nose. 

“Even in the worst-case scenario, there’s no need to panic.”

You’ve heard that one before.

So he’s back to normal now. You temper the small disappointment that blooms in your gut. 

Shaking your head slowly, you try to make sense of all the stuff that just happened, but a sharp bite on your ankle pulls you out of your reverie. 

“Ow–!” The sight of your cat flopping near your feet reminds you of the time. More importantly, the backlogs waiting for you at your desk. 

“Wait, shit– I gotta get back to work.” This… unbelievable stroke of good luck (?) is gonna have to take a backseat for now.

You grab the carton box and the half-empty bottle of sparkling peach as you stand up. Making quick work of throwing the container in the trash and gulping down the rest of your drink, you rush into your room and back in front of your PC. 

Cracking your knuckles, you gingerly set your phone against the monitor. Setting the timer to one hour in Quality Time, knowing fully-well that you’re going to have to keep extending it until the wee hours of the morning – or until your battery dies, whichever comes first – you give Sylus one last look, letting out a long exhale before locking in.

“Just keep me company for the night, alright? I’ll figure out what’s going on once my shift’s over.” 

It could just be your overactive imagination, but you swear you hear a quiet chuckle from the man polishing his gun in your peripheral.

[heartfullofleeches]

Yandere Streamer + Delivery Driver Reader Blurb

"Package!"

You bang your fist against the apartment door, lock popping open after the second beat. Music floods from its cracks, leaving you curious as to how anyone heard you when another resident on this very floor couldn't hear you from their own living room. The query fades into irrelevancy as you wheel your cart closer to the opening door. The only thing that mattered was getting the job done so you could finally head home.

"Yeah?"

"Package for a uh...." You flip through your notes. "Miller?" That was definitely a new one. You've been delivering packages to this apartment complex from a local warehouse store for a few months by now to the point you almost knew everyone's name. The home owner's tired face gains an enormous grin, but not at the mention of the name. Rather, the voice behind it.

"Yeah, that's me. Sorry, thought you might've been someone else."

"I understand. From what I have here, you ordered a new surveillance camera, a gaming chair, and a set of deadbolt locks. You also requested set up for the chair. Is that correct?"

"Sounds about right. Come on in. Bedroom's to your right. Try not to take too long, I'm going live soon." You drag the cart in as Miller shuts and secures the door; chain lock clicking into place.

You park outside of the bedroom door, carrying the needed supplies inside and adding them to a plethora of boxes already situated inside. Must've just moved in, you conclude; despite all the worn posters and furniture placed around the room. The boxes were stacked in a way that they were out of general sight of a computer set up near a bolted window. Oddly enough, there was already a chair in front of it.

"New one's for my partner." Miller answers to the question you hadn't even asked, pointing at the chair. "Couples streaming seemed like a good way to welcome them home. All this other stuff is theirs too. Don't have much from their old home and I wanted to spoil them."

"When do they move in?"

"Today."

"I see.." You trail away from the conversation as you focus all your mental energy towards assembling their chair. You never got the proper training for this part of the job, but it wasn't rock science. Miller even helped you get started before they left the room, music blaring through the other corners of the house as they work on their own tasks. Three quarters of an hour down, and you've got it done. Miller had reentered the room around the time and had been working on their computer. They usher you over to bring the chair, offering you a seat for all your hard work.

"Y'know, I should be thanking you for all your hard work. You don't know how many times I've had to reschedule my order because they kept sending your coworker instead. Made no sense, but I guess you had other deliveries. It's whatever. All that's in the past now, baby."

Before you can ask what they mean, Miller puts on their headphones and presses a button on the keyboard. Your puzzled face appears on screen, blocked partially by the bill of your hat.

"Hey, guys! I'm here with my first stream with my spouse. Told you I was taken. I know I've hyped up their arrival, it just took a while to get things settled, but now they're finally home and here to stay."

[literary-motif]

OK, I will wait for your original work so you can take my money and I will be your #1 fan. I want to show my appreciation to a cute, silly, and weird nerd like you. ദ്ദി(ᵔᗜᵔ)

BTW, can you please write about my sketch of Kayson? Thank you! https://ibb.co/ZN3344m

A reply to this post, if you're curious.

Strange Dreams

Kayson x Reader

You blinked your eyes open tiredly, confused that you were awake at all before you heard the lock of the front door turn. Raising your head from the soft pillows of the couch, you sat up enough to peek over the backrest and find Kayson trying to shut the door quietly. 

Just as he had eased it back into the lock without it making a sound — turning the key to lock the door for the night quietly — he leaned against it to take off his shoes. The bag he took with him to work swung against the rack of your umbrellas in his haste, and knocked it over with a loud clunk. 

“No, fuck,” he cursed, groaning in exasperation before remembering his initial intention of trying to keep quiet.

“I’m already awake,” you called out sleepily, blinking at him bleary-eyed as his head whirled around. “‘s waiting for you,” you mumbled, resting your chin on the cushions and stifling a yawn. 

You had been working on your thesis for the better part of the day, and it left you utterly exhausted. Questions you still needed to address floated through your head, the black letters of the text on your computer screen seemed etched into your vision whenever you closed your eyes. The sentences you had mulled over for ages echoed in your mind, twisting nearly into unrecognizable monstrosities of grammar and utter senselessness.

You needed to sleep. If only your mind would shut up.

Kayson slipped off his shoes, giving you a warm smile as he moved towards the couch. “I told you not to do that,” he whispered, bending down to place a kiss against your forehead. “Don’t stay up for me. Sometimes the customers justwon’t go and I’m stuck staring at them for half an hour before I can close up. It’s already well past midnight, Prefect.” 

He let his bag fall against the side of the couch before sitting next to you. Instinctively, you scooted closer. Kayson wrapped an arm around you, gently pulling you into his side. 

“You should really kick them out,” you said, leaning your head against his shoulder. Keeping your eyes open was a losing battle, but you tried your best. 

Kayson chuckled, planting a kiss against the top of your head. “It’s against company policy,” he said, nuzzling his cheek against your hair and taking a deep breath of your scent. Having you in his arms never failed to relax him, and feeling you sink against him as you slowly slipped into sleep brought a tired smile to his face.

“Miss you when you’re not here,” you mumbled, sighing deeply as you shifted a little to get more comfortable and promptly fell asleep against him. 

Your words made his heart swell with love, and Kayson could not help breaking out into a wide smile. You were adorable. “I love you, too,” he whispered, squeezing you tighter as he allowed his eyes to close. He did not even care to remove his black bowtie, blissfully falling into the land of sleep with you tucked into his side.

Both of you would regret spending the night on the couch as you felt your aching muscles in the morning. Kayson would offer to give you a massage to soothe the soreness of your neck, and you would readily accept, telling him all about the crazy stuff you had dreamed about last night. 

It was strange. You had not even researched Cerberus, but as you told Kayson about the image of his face on the three-headed dog, you realized that it was the perfect creature to offer you a link to the mythics of the past. 

How beautifully practical that you found the answers to problems in your thesis while sleeping next to Kayson.

[fishnets-fingers]

blossoms, big changes & blanket forts

a/n - @harry-on-broadway's short 'n sweet fic challenge inspired me to write a burb from the six months universe. this takes place in the future and hints at storyline(s) for future parts. it's been a while since i'd written anything, so i hope this turned out okay. word count: 2.5k (not proofread) happy reading :)

…

Every Saturday Harry’s alarm blares at five in the morning and every single Saturday he swiftly silences it before it disturbs the other occupant snoozing next to him. This morning was no different. He quietly slips out the bed and heads to the bathroom to change into his running gear. 

A dopey smile blooms across his face at the sight in front of him. A foot peeking out the sheet, a hand haphazardly dangling over the side of the bed, and a shock of dark hair obstructing her face. 

He smooths the raven locks away from her face and leans down to kiss her sleep warm cheek. A quiet grunt makes him chuckle. 

“What ungodly hour is it?” Layla asks, eyes still closed. 

“It’s the AM,” he answers diplomatically. 

She mumbles something incoherently, turning over on her stomach, face burying into the pillow. He knows better than to ask her to clarify and jolt her from the pull of slumber. He kisses the crown of her head, pulling the bed sheet in place. 

And off he goes, running down the same circuit he takes every Saturday. He enjoys this time where their neighbourhood is slowly setting up for the day - the scratches of produce filled pallets being hauled into the restaurants, the beeps of trucks pulling into the warehouses of the supermarkets, the hum of baristas as they begin to ready their spaces, and the soft grunts of runners they start with their stretches. 

He relishes this routine; the calm after five days of scrambling around with this Masters thesis, hours in the lab, typing away on his computer into the night. Saturday mornings were his reset. The hour and a half he spends running with no distractions is just what he needs to set the tone for his weekend. The same sights, smells, and sounds.  This Saturday however he spots a moving truck along with a couple carrying boxes into the lobby of a highrise apartment and is immediately transported to a wintery evening five months ago. He was lugging bags of groceries from the car when his phone chimed. Once. Twice. Thrice. Followed by a call from Layla all the way from Chennai.

“Hi bab-” He starts before getting interrupted. 

“You are speaking to the new assistant professor of San Diego State! Well not really. I still haven’t signed but I just got the email.”

“No fucking way! Really?”

“Really! I read the email three times to make sure my brain wasn’t playing tricks on me. I did just wake up, so there’s a big possibility that I’m dreaming.”

“Congratulations, Layla.”

“Aww, thanks,” she blew out a breath. “You know what this means, right?”

“No more long distance,” he smiled into the microphone.

“Can’t wait. I love you.”

“I love you too, Lails.” 

“Say it again,” she said, and he can picture her lips pulling up at the corners.

“I bloody love you, sweet girl.”

“Thanks. I needed to hear that,” she added quietly.

He felt her conflicting feelings of anger and longing miles away. She did not want to go to India after what happened during their last visit. After weeks of trying, her cousins convinced her that she was long overdue for a sleepover, pointing out that a full time job would only make flying over more complicated. “Chennai will make me feel at home, my house is just a building,” she’d insisted but Harry had seen the hurt etched on her face on their video call from she hotel she checked into. She had forgone the invite from her relatives to stay at theirs, not wanting cause any conflicts between them and her parents. He’d wanted to go with her but his schedule wouldn’t allow him and which was convenient for her with wanting him far away from her mother. “Have you told your folks? Do you want to?” He’d asked after a pregnant pause.

She sighed. “Not my parents. I called my grandparents. They were overjoyed, obviously. They wanted to meet me for lunch but I told them I’m not coming home. So, I’m meeting them at the restaurant. I explicitly told them that I would leave if Amma and Appa (Mum and Dad) showed up.

“Anyway," she said after a while, "I think my grandparents are going to give me a fat stack of cash, like they did when I got into the PhD program.” She forced a chuckle, signaling that she was done talking about it.

So he changed the topic, “when do you have to get back to them?”

“They haven’t specified anything but sooner the better right. I’ll respond by tomorrow evening” she yawned. “I'm heading over to Chitti's (aunt - mother’s younger sister) for dinner. All the cousins are attending Carom night. I’ll ask her to help me go through the contract before I sign. I’ll have to tell them that I’ll only be coming to the US next week. I think I want to negotiate my salary a little or get more PTOs. I don't want to pass it up though. They are willing to sponsor my visa and I don't have any more offers to be in the same city, so…” She prattled on. 

He’s giddy at the thought of not having to resort to scheduling visits when their calendars permit them to. To not have their coursework making them unavailable during important moments. To not have to fit their belongings into a small cabin bag and rush to the gate to catch a flight to each other a few states away. To not have to tiptoe around Layla’s housemates, who barely tolerated each other. To not have to resort to FaceTimes when they wanted to see each other. To not be next to each other - when all they wanted was to wrap the their arms around the other - to help them wind down from an exhausting day. 

“Har,” her voice snapped him out of his reverie. “Are you paying attention?”

“Yeah yeah, contracts.”

“Not even close. I was talking about apartment hunting.”

“Why would you look for apartments?” His brows knitted together. 

“I’ll need a place to live in, won’t I?” 

“You already have a place to live in.”

“No, I don’t. What are you-,” her voice cuts off as she drew in a sharp breath in realisation. “Are you- Would you like for me to- Are you sure?”

“Of course I am. I’m almost twenty six. You’re twenty seven. We’ve been together for two years now. I’m so in love with you, Layla Sathish. Never stopped for a second since I first laid eyes on you in your Uncle’s house in Apex. Never stopped in the two years we were apart. And I don’t want to waste another second. I want us together. I want to go to bed with you next to me. Kiss you goodbye when we both leave for university. I want to complain about your makeup and skincare taking up all the space in the bathroom cabinet. I want to buy you flowers when I come back home after a run. I want your paints and brushes scattered on the dining table. I want to make space in my closet for your clothes. I want your fingerprints smeared on my laptop screen. Move in with me.” 

It didn’t skip past her that he wasn’t asking her but telling her. “I mean I do have the spare key to your loft. Might as well put it to good use,” she teased. 

He laughed. “Exactly! You can be the breadwinner of the house and I can rest easy as a kept man and work on my thesis.”

She giggled. “I love it!”

Three weeks later, they were moving her belongings into the loft. He had to pinch himself every few hours to remind himself that he had unfettered access to the woman he loved. But living together posed a few adjustments, like the time she used his coffee grinder to make gunpowder from scratch and he was about ready to rip all his hair off telling her about cross-contamination of the flavour. Living together spotlighted their different cleaning ethos - he lets the mess accumulate and then do a deep clean but soon found out that Layla could not function when things piled up. The different towels and rags of Layla’s system he needed to keep track of: the ‘nice one’ for drying the dishes, the ‘yucky one’ for cleaning the kitchen countertops, the ‘microfiber’ for dusting that needed to be dampened, and the ‘soft one’ for electronic screens. They’d argued about finances and after weeks - much to Layla’s chagrin -  they’d settled on a compromise: Layla would take care of the utilities and date nights and Harry would pay for rent, and groceries. She put her foot down about being able to pay for the two of them on their future trips to India and he agreed with the condition that all other trips would be taken care of by him. Their grocery trips were different now, Layla was so focused on giving herself a spending limit since she wasn’t paying for it. This meant standing in the middle of the aisle and calculating down to the gram to figure out what brand gave her the best bang for her buck - whereas Harry just pulled things off the shelf that caught his eye. But all of their spats and differences melt away when he sees her smile up at him, from whatever she was doing, as he walked through the door after the end of the day. 

In the home stretch he slows down and walks into the florist. It was early in the day to have the pick of the freshest of flowers straight from the delivery truck. Every single week he would pick out random bunches - today it was different coloured sweet peas and tulips. He’d wake her up with the flowers held behind his back where she’d blink up at him with sleep laden eyes and gasp when he’d present them to her. She gasped every Saturday morning, even if it had become a ritual by now - watching her put together an impressive floral arrangement while he’d make breakfast for them.

He’s surprised when he keys into the loft, usually he’s met with the quiet hum of appliances, today peals of laughter bounce off the walls of the entryway. He smiles toeing off his shoes as he spots two sets of feet - one tiny and one large - sticking out. Their couch pushed back towards the wall and the four dining chairs stood in its place acting as pillars on either side with a fuzzy throw draped over the backs of the chair, cocooning the two. 

He tiptoes slowly towards their makeshift fort to find the two sprawled on a quilt on their tummies. Layla in her power rangers pyjamas, hair haphazardly thrown in a bun, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes, her head propped on her elbows, and a curly headed girl in a wrinkled nightgown giggling with her as she points at the book that’s propped against the a cushion. Vasanth and Abi had dropped Laya off with them for the fourth of July weekend and had driven up to Temecula Valley for their long overdue wedding anniversary getaway. She was a deadly combination of her parents, self-willed and mischievous.

“Your Tamil teacher has her work cut out for her,” Layla howls.

“Miss. Muga,” the four year old replies. 

“Who?”

“Miss. Muga. She’s my Tamil teacher.”

“You're going to be a pain in Miss. Muga’s bum,” Layla breaks into giggles.

Her little body twists around, eyes widening in alarm, hands coming to cover her open mouth. “You said bum!” She sputters into laughter. 

“Excuse me, ladies, where was my invite?” Harry asks, crouching down and sticking his head into the opening, making sure the flowers were concealed behind his back.

“Harry!” The girl screams in delight, crawling haphazardly towards him. 

“Someone decided to wake up at the crack of dawn with a determination to build a fort and finish her Tamil homework in it,” Layla sighs.

Harry gives their guest a sympathetic smile. “You did promise her a blanket fort last night, baby. It’s a miracle that she slept this long, reckon she might be in Eastern time.”

“What do you have?” Laya asks, pointing at the tulip sprig that peeked out from the side.

“It’s a gift,” he tells her, shuffling into their cosy cocoon. “Can you cover Akka’s (older sister) eyes and close eyes?” He whispers loudly.

With a nod she clambers onto Layla’s back, using her hands to shield Layla’s view while she scrunches her eyes shut. A collective gasp echoes when he tells them to open their eyes, presenting them with his colourful selection of the day. Harry's body permeates with warmth from the radiant smiles coming from the two; the type of light that could rival the sun’s. The warmth makes him smile, feeling content at the sight in front of him, chuffed at the approval of his floral pick, and the singe of tranquillity from being inside the fort.

“Isn’t it pretty?” Layla asks, bringing the bouquet to her nose. “Mmm…Smells good too.”

“Mmmm,” Laya copies her cousin, burying her nose and nodding in agreement. “For me?” She looks up at Harry. 

“For the two of you,” he replies, inching closer to them. He twists a purple bloom and tucks it behind Laya’s ear. “A sweet pea for my sweet pea.” He declares, chuckling at the way Laya cheeks tinge with pink and the way she blinks up at him with a shy smile.

“Manners, Laya. What do you say?” Layla prompts.

“Thank you,” she says in a singsong voice, reaching over Layla's head to kiss his cheek.

“You’re welcome, love.” He dramatically clears his throat before picking up a yellow tulip and swishes it around before tapping his girlfriend's nose with the bulb. “And a tulip for my tulip.”

“Thanks. Laya, do you want to help me arrange them in the vase? We can do that while Harry makes us pancakes, okay?”

The little girl nods, clambering off her sister and barrels in the direction of the kitchen, remembering the empty vase she’d seen on the kitchen counter. “I guess homework’s not a priority anymore,” Layla mumbles.

She sits up to follow her cousin before she wreaks havoc but Harry firmly holds her in place with a pointed look. “What?”

“Manners, Layla,” he echoes her statement from earlier. 

“I thanked you.”

“Not properly.”

“Huh?”

“Guess you could learn a thing or two from Laya. No thank you is complete without a kiss.”

“Since when?” She smirks.

“Did you not get the memo from the blanket fort etiquette committee?” He teases with a toothy grin.

She rolls her eyes, rocking up on her knees to kiss his cheek. “Happy?”

“Very.” He sears his mouth on her, tongue languidly sweeping her bottom lip, teasing her with a promise of what’s to come. When they pull away, she’s breathless, looking up at him with her tired eyes. And he cannot resist pulling her back in for another, this time his fingers curl around the back of her head, pulling her closer than before. It’s hurried - teeth clanging, noses knocking, tongues caressing, breaths stuttering - never faltering in passion. 

“Layla Akka!”

“I’ve been summoned," Layla murmurs against his swollen lips. “Thank you for this,” she picks up the bouquet from her lap and brings it close to her chest. “And all the others.” She presses a quick peck on his lips and they make their out the fort and towards the kitchen.

.....

MASTERPOST (if you wanna read more of Layla and Harry)

[anabdaniels]

Cowboytober Day 5- Overstimulation

Paring: Agent Whiskey x Female Reader

Word counting: 1.9k

Rating: 18+

Warning: Brief alcohol consumption, oral (f receiving), desk sex, fingering, swearing, use of safeword.

Masterlist

The fact that Jack’s position as the CEO of Statesman Distillery demanded a lot from him always have been clear to you. The thing is: sometimes Jack didn’t know when to stop and put the work aside, and then you decided that it’d be your job to change his mind. Most of the time, just sitting on his lap and demanding his attention was enough for him to forget about the paperwork, but there were those times when that annoying workaholic manner showed up, those times when, after coming back home around 6 pm, he’d easily remain in front of his computer and pile of files until midnight if you didn’t stop him.

Usually, this behavior used to last only for a day or two, and was easy to take Jack out of it, but on that week, it was starting to get unbearable. It started on a Sunday night when he claimed he needed to give a last check on the paperwork for the next Monday, but then, he gave you the same explanation for the following six days, and you were getting done with all that.

Saturday, after a couple of glasses of wine, you decided that your limit had been hit. Being sitting on the couch watching a movie and drinking alone at 5 p.m. on a Saturday, while your husband was locked in his office for the last three hours was almost depressing.

Deciding to put an end to that, you walked through the hallway and entered Jack’s office without even bothering to knock on the door. When he noticed your presence, you were already sitting on the edge of his desk and closing his laptop with not much delicacy. Jack looked at you with a frown, still wearing his reading glasses, and raised one eyebrow while waiting for an explanation.

“We gonna stay on this ‘till when?” you inquired while crossing your arms.

“What are you talking about, honey?” he asked clueless, placing his forearms on the armrests of his chair

“I’m talking about the fact that seems that Statesman is your wife and I’m the third wheel here.” Judging by the silence and the tip of his tongue rubbing on his upper lip, you knew that he got what was the problem.

“Fair enough.” He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes before looking at you again “But, honey, you need to understand…”

“Don’t you dare finish this sentence.” You interrupted him and rolled your eyes “Do we have any unsolved fight that I’m not aware of?”

“No, we don’t.” he sounded confused while answering.

“What’s the matter then? Middle age-crisis? Your testosterone levels are low? Are you banging your secretary? Do you want to divorce? What the fuck is happening to you, Jack?” you narrowed your eyes when he chuckled and shook his head.

“It ain’t nothing of that, sugar.” He assured, still having a smirk on his face.

“So can I have my damn husband back or it’s time for me to go to the sex shop?” Jack couldn’t hold back a chuckle.

“Your whole problem is just the fact that we’re not having sex?” he asked with that dangerously gorgeous cocky smirk.

“It’s not just that, but this is for sure a considerable part of the problem.” You shrugged.

“C’mere, sugar.” He said while patting one of his thighs and of course, you didn’t flinch before moving and getting mounted on his lap “You’re right, okay? I’ve been an ass with you these last days.” Jack passed his arms around your waist and kissed your collarbone “But I think you can forgive me, right?” he asked while kissing your neck.

“Depends.” You said while leaning your head to the side, letting your neck more exposed to him “What am I gaining for forgiving you?”

“Y’know I’m a fair man, honeybee.” Jack kissed your neck a few times before nibbling your chin and looking at you “I’ll give you exactly what you want.” You wanted so badly to make things more difficult for him, but you never have been able to resist when he looked at you with those puppy eyes, and his hands caressing your thighs for sure didn’t help you to resist.

“Fine, cowboy.” You said while approaching your face, resting your forehead on his “I think I can have mercy on you.”

“I knew my pretty lady wouldn’t be mean to me.” He bit your lower lip softly as his hands finally reached your butt under your dress, making him smile widely with the realization that you had nothing on under it. “You’re getting too naughty, Mrs. Daniels.” You chuckled and passed your arms around his neck.

“Well, why would I bother with panties when my husband wasn’t interested in taking ’em off?” you raised both of your eyebrows and knew you had pushed the right buttons when Jack moved his hand to hold the back of your neck.

“Oh honey, you’ll regret not controlling your pretty mouth.” He didn’t give you time to think and kissed you hungrily, just now realizing how much he had missed and was desperate for you.

Jack had no hesitation while moving his hands to the buttons in the front of your dress and opening them, getting you rid of the fabric in the blink of an eye. You were about to start to work on his shirt too, but he didn’t give you the chance, sitting you on his desk and moving from his chair to kneel between your legs, laying your thighs on his shoulders.

The amount of time without his touch made you even more desperate for him when he started to kiss your inner thighs and, at the very moment his mouth was just a few inches away from your cunt, you already were soaked, needing him more than ever.

“Fuck…” you whimpered with closed eyes and grabbed Jack’s hair when his tongue finally slid through your throbbing core. You were starting to get calmer and used to that sensation, but of course, your husband wouldn’t make things easy for you and his next move was cowardly lick and suck your already swollen and hipper-sensitive clit, giving you no choice but moan audibly and squeeze his head between your thighs.

Most of the time, Jack would take it easy with you, sometimes even making you beg for more, but the situation was a bit different that time. He didn’t give you a second to breathe or try to calm down, eating you relentlessly while his hands caressed your whole body, groping your curves handful. You tried with all your efforts to hold back a little more, not even noticing when your free hand crumpled a few papers that were on the desk, too carried away to care if they were important.

You moaned loudly when finally reached your orgasm, feeling your hips moving involuntarily, and sighing softly when Jack kissed your thigh. Your eyes remained closed, but the sudden touch on your sensitive clit made you open your eyes and look down, just to see Jack’s thumb rubbing your clit while his index and middle finger moved inside you, not allowing you to calm down before making you squirm and moan again. While observing you failing miserably to try to control yourself, Jack pushed everything on his desk to the side, making a few items fall on the floor, and, judging by the noise, you could swear that his laptop was among these items.

Carefully, he leaned you down, laying your torso on the wooden surface without ever interrupting his work between your legs, making you whimper and contort, not surprisingly feeling that it wouldn’t need much more for you to cum again. Jack leaned forward and braced himself in one hand to kiss your neck, aware of the effects it would have on you. The joint of the unfairly precise move of his hand and the delicious scratching of his mustache on your skin became too much in these circumstances and you gave up trying to control your body, just letting go and enjoying the feeling of another climax.

When you felt Jack pulling his fingers out of you, you were sure that now he’d give you a moment to calm down and you couldn’t be more wrong. Before you could even process that the low noise you’ve heard was Jack’s belt being undone and his fly being opened, he already was sliding his cock inside you, making you whimper and breath heavily; you were still unable to calm down the effects of all the previous stimulation and he was giving you more to deal with. With a ton of effort, you propped up on your elbows, looking at him with a pleading expression.

“Jack,” his name was moaned out of your lips “It’s too much.” The smirk on his lips just made you sure that his intention was exactly that.

“You wanted my attention, honeybee, so you’ll have it.” He mocked while passing your legs around his hips “Furthermore,” he caressed your lower lip with his thumb while speaking “I’m pretty sure my beautiful wife can take it.” You couldn’t hold back a defeated chuckle, sucking his thumb in a teasing way.

“You’re a cruel motherfucker.” you said with your breath irregular, making him laugh.

“Maybe I am, but, judging by your state, I’m sure you like it.” He teased, referring to the fact that, once more, you were pathetically turned on and wet.

“You know I do.” You admitted with a smile, giving up on trying to argue with him.

“The answer I expected.” His cocky smile was brighter than ever “Now come here, my love.” Jack grabbed your neck and pulled you to him, sitting you again on the desk and kissing you intensely while starting to slam his hips against you, resulting in you letting out a scandalous moan. He kept one arm around your waist while kissing your neck and whispering the sweetest compliments in this world with a calm tone as if he wasn’t railing you.

His free hand moved to between your legs again, destroying the crumbs of self-control you had recovered. You allowed your body to get filled with that good sensation that was growing on your lower stomach and sank your face into the curve of his neck, passing your arms around him and pulling him closer with your legs, making him let out a hoarse moan. It was the last straw, then, once more, you felt your body succumbing to the orgasm. Jack kept his steady pace, smiling while seeing you starting to move involuntarily even more, getting overwhelmed with everything. You were feeling too much, it was too much. Even loving every piece of that moment and being unmeasurably happy for finally having your husband back, you were too sensitive and overloaded with sensation to bear more of that.

“Yellow.” You mumbled one of the safewords you two have established and Jack promptly stopped everything, looking worried at you.

“You’re okay, sugar?” he asked while making you lift your head and look at him. You nodded softly while regaining your breath and self-control.

“I just need a little break.” You said after a moment, making Jack smirk.

“Oh honey, trust me, you’ll need a few more breaks before we’re done.” He answered in his usual convinced tone and held your face gently between his hands, kissing you softly.

Cowboytober Masterlist

[edupunkn00b]

It Could Always Be Worse, Ch. 2: It Was a Bright, Cold Day in April

Butterfly universe version of Happily Ever After, Ch. 2: It Was a Bright, Cold Day in April

Prev - It Was a Bright, Cold Day in April - Next - All - [ AO3 ]

WC: 1404 - Rating: T - CW: swearing, self-deprecation, divorce, dogs

"It was a bright, cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen." -George Orwell, 1984 (1949)

Logan drove slowly down the winding road, fingers still a little cold while he waited for the heater to finally start in the old minivan. As he passed each mailbox or curbside label, his eyes quickly flicked over, searching for the right house number. He got the end of the street, peering out at the sign on the intersection. He shook his head, muttering to himself in the empty minivan. "No, that's already East 67th. Fuck. I must have passed it."

Sucking in a breath, fighting against that all-too-familiar burning tightness in his chest, Logan carefully made a K-turn at the intersection, biting his lip and wincing as he came close the the curb on the opposite street. Finally, he got his old minivan turned around so he could drive back up the street he'd just come from. Logan put the van in park and pulled up the email from the PTSA treasurer for the fourth time that morning. 5923. He needed 5923. He huffed out a little puff of air, swallowing against the growing lump in his throat. There isn't a 5923.

Logan ripped his glasses off his face, tossing the frames onto the passenger side seat next to him and buried his face in his hands. He let out a long, muffled scream into his palms. He screamed and screamed and screamed. He screamed he felt his eyes might burst. He screamed until he felt glass scraping his throat. He screamed until he was completely empty.

He took another breath and muttered to himself again. "C'mon, you dumb fuck, get yourself together. Google Maps says the house exists. The Treasurer says the house exists. You're just not seeing it. Try. Again." Logan lowered his hands and replaced the frames on his face, taking a couple of deep breaths and ignoring the burning in his eyes and the fire in his throat. He licked his lips, tilted his head from one side to the other, feeling one side crack. He shifted out of park, checked his mirrors and his blind spot, and pulled back onto the road, searching again for the proper house.

After another half-hour, Logan finally spotted tiny white numerals painted on the edge of the curb. "See, it's right fucking there," he muttered to himself. "You must have driven past the place ten times." He carefully parked on the street, turning his steering wheel against the incline of the hill, and engaged the parking break. He gathered his laptop, pen case, phone, and keys, and locked the car, racing up the walkway to the house. The front door was open, the other PTSA parents in the audit sub-committee already sitting around a tastefully decorated dining room table. The hostess waved him in and he carefully toed off his shoes, leaving them just outside the door.

The moment his foot crossed the threshold, two large dogs lunged against a gate covering the hallway next to the front door, barking and snarling at him. Logan jumped backwards then froze, breath caught in his throat. Oh my god, Logan, if you have a fucking panic attack in front of the PTSA moms...

"Oh, sorry, about that, they get so excited when people come over," the hostess called out to him.

Logan nodded, pressing a smile onto his face. He forced his feet to move forward toward the table, keeping a steely grip on his computer, refusing to look toward the dogs. He pushed up the corners of his mouth, trying to brighten his smile. "Hi, Liz, Grace. Bridgett, thank you for hosting this year." He sucked in a breath, "Sorry to be so late."

"Oh, hun, it's fine. We're just glad you're here. Now we can get started."

Grace handed Logan a large, thick three-ring binder filled with paper copies of every check and cash deposit transaction for the PTSA that year. "We had a lot of small teacher grants this year, plus the graduation yard sign sale was a big success. We've got a lot of ground to cover. Bridget and Liz will reconcile the minutes and budget updates. Will you validate that each check for reimbursements and grants matches the requisition form and documentation?"

Logan nodded, "Certainly." Opening the binder, Logan pulled out the four checkbooks-worth of check duplicates and began the audit list.

Grace looked around the table and waved, "I'm not supposed to stay for the audit but you all can call me if you have questions! See y'all later!" She skipped away from the table, petting the dogs as she left.

The three worked in relative silence for a few minutes as Bridgette and Liz finalized the short report for August. Finally, Bridgette cleared her throat, "Oh, did you hear about the Petersons?," asked Liz as they compared reports for September.

"Do you mean that they're moving or that—" Logan could feel Liz' eyes on him. He kept his eyes trained down on the documents in front of him.

Bridgette hummed, leaning closer to Liz, whispering low enough that Logan couldn't make out most of the words and the few that he could hear were easy to tune out. He turned to the next page in the notebook, confirming that the check number, date, signature, and payee all appropriately matched the requisition form.

The audit sub-committee worked this way for a few hours before, finally, Bridgette and Liz had completed their notebooks, signing off on their portions of the audit list. Logan had a few more forms to check and then he could sign off, as well. Bridgette refilled their water glasses, then turned to Logan. "So, Logan, how has Kelly been doing? We haven't seen her around much lately and it's been forever since Pete and I have had the two of you over."

Logan bit down hard on the inside of his cheek to try and stop his jaw from trembling. "Kelly is doing fine, thank you." He nodded absently, eyes fixed on the forms in front of him. He turned to the next check in the book and the next form to validate.

Bridgette sounded surprised. "Oh, well, that's good to hear." He didn't look up, but could hear the little popping sounds of one of the two mouthing something to the other.

"Are you sure she's okay?" Liz pushed. "You know, we had heard that you two had gotten a divorce."

Logan sucked in a breath, staring down at the form in front of him. "Yes, yes that would be accurate."

"Oh, that's such a shame. You had such a beautiful family," Bridgette murmured, taking a sip of her water glass. "You know, Brad and I have definitely been through some rough spots, let me tell you!"

Logan quietly nodded, trying to complete the last few pages in his book without breaking. He could feel the lump in the back of his throat growing, but he was confident that if he could just concentrate on the numbers in front of him, he could get this done and get back in his car before his control slipped completely.

Liz reached out, patting his hand. "So how often do you get to visit the kids?"

Logan grit his teeth, pressing his lips together for a moment before forcibly relaxing his jaw and answering quietly, "We have a shared custody agreement. The boys spend half their time home with me and half their time at Kelly's."

"Oh," Liz said, pulling her hand back. "I'd heard, well, I'm—"

Logan finally turned the last page in the book and snapped it closed. "Well, I believe our work here is done. With the exception of the one reimbursement for more than the request amount on check 7294, everything is perfectly in order here." Logan reached for the audit report sheet and quickly signed it. He looked up at Liz and Bridgette, "It has been a pleasure, as always." He drank the last of the water in his glass, thanked Bridgette for her hospitality and left, flinching as the dogs barked at him in his retreat.

Rushing to get in his car before they could see his face, Logan started the car, carefully backing out and driving home in the waning light. When he had gotten a few blocks away, he pulled over, leaned over the steering wheel and sobbed.

[foreveralwaysanauthor]

I know I’ve been offline for a while, but this whole month has been a rollercoaster and I feel like it's finally slowing down, so I figured I would give you a small life update before finally getting around to editing part 10! I haven’t gotten to read your new post, Eleanor, but that’s because I’ve been saving it as a reward for finishing up everything in part 11 and editing part 10 haha! I can’t wait to finally read it either later tonight or tomorrow!

Onto the more serious stuff, I suppose! Well, as I said in my last post, we started this month out getting rained on by our upstairs neighbors twice in the same week and someone damaging our front door locks (presumably to break in and steal while we were out). Great way to start February, I know! Thankfully, my brother Mike - technically, he's my sister, Honey's husband, but I call him my brother since we’ve known each other for so long - came over to fix the door and help us with our ruined ceiling tiles. Then, my great-aunt (91yo) got sick with the stomach bug and, while she is still recovering, she’s feeling well enough to not need someone with her 24/7. On top of staying with her for a while, I started three jobs in the first week of February (housekeeping and dog walking for a lady in town and PCA work for a bedbound woman in the area) only to have the first lady take my housekeeping hours away because she claims her mother could do it instead. Honestly, I was glad she took those hours back because I could barely tolerate the way that she was over my shoulder the entire time I was there. She knows that I've been a housekeeper since I was 16 and that I knew what I was doing, but I’ve come to discover that she’s a bit of a control freak in all aspects of her life, so I am more than willing to let someone else handle her housekeeping 😂

Next up, my sister, Honey, and her family got a new puppy named Vanya and she is the sweetest, most loving little crackhead in our family. She loves to snuggle and gives people dirty looks if they tell her she needs to go back inside, but she has a weakness for peanut butter and listens to whatever my niece tells her to do. Vanya isn’t even a year old and they've only had her for a short time, but I will hurt anyone who dares look at her wrong because she is the fluffiest little angel and I adore her

A small, more emotional dip in things came when my Uncle Doug came over with a truckload of all of my grandparents' and Uncle John's belongings. Uncle Doug moved into their old trailer before they passed and, since the three of them have passed away, he owns the house and wanted to see if we could go through all of their belongings since he is trying to fix the place up and has no space for everything. I don't know where he thinks we have the space for everything in our apartment, but we took it all nonetheless and used our old, practically unused computer room as storage as we went through 67+ years worth of my grandparents’ things. There were a lot of emotions for me and my mom to go through and even more things that my mom didn't know her parents and brother still held onto - my great-grandmother's high school diploma and things from her business among those items - but we really loved going through the disorganized chaos that was dropped on us on a random Thursday!

Now, onto today! After all of the chaos and stress that February brought us, I feel as though things are finally coming to a point where I'm ready to keep going with the way things had been. Today, Honey and Mike came over with my old laptop, told me to set it aside for a while, and brought me out to his truck where they showed me the project they had secretly been working on for months now: an actual PC just for me! It glows and so does the keyboard and mouse they got for me, and I just can't get over how cool it is! They told me it was much deserved because of all that I do for the people in our family, but I still don't see how even though the two of them and my mom took the time to explain it. I don't do any of the things I do for recognition or gifts, so it's very hard for me to accept such an insanely expensive gift for something I do out of love for my family and those around us. I know it certainly wasn’t cheap, I’ve wanted one for ages now and done hours and hours of research trying to find a good, cheap one. I suppose I'm still reeling from it all. It will definitely take me a while to adjust to everything, especially having a mechanical keyboard in place of my old laptop's keys, but I now have an actual desk and setup that I can write at and I couldn't be more excited to start this new chapter in my writing journey. It feels like a step in a better direction, if that makes any sense at all haha!

Anyway, I hope you aren't upset with me for taking this super long break; I really hadn't intended for it to be this long of a break, but I can't say that I didn't need it with everything else going on in my life. I should have the next part up soon after I get all of the editing done and get a moodboard made up for it. I just wanted to fill you in on all that's happened during my little break from everything on the internet. I can't wait to read your new story once I get everything finished! It should be a great reward after all the work I'll be putting into everything! I hope everything has been going well for you and that you have an amazing day! 💕😊

[aliciachimera]

Family

i don't think i could ever recover from my traumas so long as i continue to live with my family. this cyclical process of controlling my finances, the inability to say No to any of them, the lingering resentment i have against my dad.

"No? Okay, you'll do it Later."

The gate they have me open Every Single Time they want to park in or leave. Their dog that they keep having me hold so my sister can pass through the backyard. The same dog that barks and chases after me whenever my mom or aunt are present. the combination of the two where i'm pulling open a gate with a dog in my arms and they park in, and all three mom aunt and sister come out of the car and then tell me there's things to unload from their car, all before walking away leaving me to do it all on my own.

The same family who'll see me doing my laundry with their machines and proclaim that i've Scared them even if i didn't know they were there. The same family who'll lock me out of the house if I go to the store and come back in 15 minutes during the daytime on our busy street. The same family who let their dog bite and kill a stray kitten who wandered into the backyard and proceeded to lock the dog in his cage and go back inside and Making me call animal service to come collect that kitten as it was too late before it bled out and died within the hour. The same family who made me clean out this garage from its previous occupant who left mold and smeared shit on the installed carpeting, also making me paint their Entire house exterior all on my own as it took weeks for me to complete with no prior experience, ad they have the gall to ask why do certain parts look uneven and splattered.

For making me go to Mexico with my mom for two weeks straight Twice because none of our other aunts nor cousins could find the time to go help our grandma who lives on a ranch deep in the countryside, of which my mother endangered our lives as she drove a 3 day trip within Two days time, her nearly passing out at the wheel at midnight in the darkness Several times as I Felt the car jerk and shift under her hands. Her refusing to stop at a motel, or letting me (no formal driving experience) drive until we reached a safe spot to park in the darkness. For us all contracting COVID on the road and refusing to have us go to a hospital for treatment. For ignoring me time and time again when we needed to go to the bathroom and she kept driving and driving until we reached home Two hours later. and being Fine with my misery so long as they get what they want out of me.

For them demanding I pay rent like a tenant And demanding I help like a "member" of their family. For moving their dog's cage in front of my garage door for Whatever reason until I helped my mother assemble her own computer, of which my aunt moved his cage back to its original spot away from me.

For all the bitter misery they make Me apologize for, if I ever dare speak up against them.

And that's before the divorce aspects, before I talk about my older sister and father and my step-family. I wish I could be a kind person who helps people, but more often than not I need help. I've always needed help when I can't scream and I can't cry and I can't die because I refuse to die.

I am emotionally volatile and asking me to Accept that part of myself is asking me to embrace how much misanthropy I've contained in a silent bitter rage I can only express through my text or by my art but never to their deaf ears that only want to hear my compliance.

And there's no other way, if I ever want to heal from those spoken traumas and the unspoken ones, too. I don't Want to be cruel. I don't Want to hurt others. I feel like a stray animal. Lost, scared, angry, tired.

[imperfect-scrawls]

Muddy Footprints

            It had been an exhausting day dealing with problem after problem. After waking up late, I rushed to work only to be met with more and more issues. I forgot a file I needed to complete a project. The coffee pot broke in my hands as I was pouring myself a cup. My computer completely shut down and started smoking while I was working on finalizing a three-month long presentation. Things could not have been worse. To top it off, it started to pour half an hour before I got off work, and I just knew that the rest of the night would be miserable.

            That feeling only increased as I sprinted to my car after clocking out. There are times in your life where you gut just tells you something is wrong. Your stomach starts to feel strange, like its filled with bottled lightning or rabid squirrels crawling around trying to escape. Something just feels wrong. That feeling just intensified as I climbed into my car and shut the door. I didn’t know what was coming, but the unease kept creeping along my skin as I stared at the blackened sky. As lighting flashed in the distance, I felt a chill run up my spine.

            There was no use trying to plan for it now. I just needed to keep an eye out and be very careful driving home. The last thing I needed was to end up rolled over on the side of the road in the middle of the storm. The sun was starting to set as I pulled out of the parking lot, and I prepared for a slow trip back home. Twenty minutes had never seemed so long, but the rain had slowed to a slight sprinkle by the time I managed to pull into my driveway. Unease still hung over me like a cloud, and I just wanted to walk inside, lock all my doors, and sit with my lights on, a cup of tea, and a blanket nest in my living room. All that changed when I stepped out of my car.

            You hear stories about shock and fear. How some people freeze in place and other scream or run. They tell you how the blood drains from your face and you feel like you’ve been dropped into ice water. I’ve never experienced anything in my life that can compare to how it felt when I noticed the muddy footprints leading into my house.

            I think I stood and stared at the footprints for a long while. Nothing else looked different about my house. No broken windows, not scratches on the door or broken handles, but the footsteps ended at my door. and they showed no signs of leaving. Someone had gone into my home. Someone could still be in my home, and that thought finally allowed me to move.

            I stumbled back to my car and locked the doors. I scrambled to find my phone and dialed the police.

“911 what is your emergency?” the dispatcher said.

“There is someone in my house.” I whispered. I didn’t want it to be true. I wanted it to all be a bad dream, and if I had said it any louder, I would be forced to face it.

“Can you tell me where you are? Are you in the house? What happened?” the dispatcher had asked.

I once again whispered, “I’m not in my house. I just got home, but there are footprints leading to my door. I’m still sitting in my car.”

“Alright. I’m going to have you drive to a safe location and I’m going to have someone come out and look around for you,” they had said in a comforting voice. “Just stay on the line, and we’ll get everything figured out.”

I can remember sitting on that line for hours. I remember being asked to drive back home. I remember the officers telling me they didn’t find anything or anyone in my home, and that there were no footprints or mud inside my house. I remember grabbing clothes out of my closet while they were still there and going to stay at my sister’s house for a week. Then at a hotel for another. I remember finally working up the courage to go back home after the two weeks had passed. I remember my house looking the same as it always did. I can still clearly remember setting my bag on a hook in the front hallway and taking my shoes off. I remember walking into the kitchen to start making food, but the thing that I will never forget is the note I found on my kitchen table.

No one should have been in my house for the entire two weeks that I was gone. No one else even has keys. However, I read the words that will still send a shutter through my body:

Welcome back. Why haven’t you been home in a while? I missed seeing you…

[casspurrjoybell-25]

ON A NIGHT LIKE THIS - Chapter 1

*Warning Adult Content*

- Jayce -

He rubbed his forehead as he stared at the screen of his work computer.

He knew he needed to wrap up this project by the end of the day, but it was the last thing he could focus on.

Thoughts of his ex-boyfriend and the end of his apartment lease cluttered his mind.

"Jayce."

He turned, trying not to look directly at the harsh fluorescent lights above him.

His manager, Janelle, was standing at his cubicle, her arm resting on top of the beige wall.

"I need to speak with you in my office."

"Sure."

He locked his computer and followed Janelle down the hall, wondering what this was about.

Janelle checked in with everyone on a quarterly basis but he had already met with her a couple weeks ago.

When they entered Janelle's office, his mouth went dry when he saw one of the men from HR was already sitting in front of Janelle's desk.

That wasn't a good sign.

He sat down in the other chair, swallowing hard as his gaze darted between his manager and HR.

He was pretty sure he hadn't done anything wrong and last he heard there were no issues with his performance.

"As you know," Janelle began. "We're merging with one of our competitors. Unfortunately, we're not able to keep everyone. Your position has been made redundant."

An hour later, Jayce was standing outside waiting for the bus, holding a cardboard box filled with his things.

It hadn't fully sunk in yet.

He felt numb but tears began to prick his eyes and he fought to blink them back.

Redundant.

He was no longer needed at his job, just like he was no longer needed by his ex-boyfriend or by his landlord or by his family.

As the bus rambled along the streets of Seattle, he looked down at the box in his lap.

He didn't know what he was going to do about his current situation.

Even though he'd been given three months' notice that his landlord was selling the condo he was renting, he hadn't found another place yet.

He had thought he'd move in with Zach but Zach had broken up with him a week later.

"You're a nice guy, Jayce but I don't see this going anywhere."

The painful memory made him tighten his grip on the box.

He stared out the window instead, trying to distract himself.

The mountains loomed in the distance, white clouds twisting around them.

It was almost October and the rain had started again.

The idea came to him as he watched the clouds unfurl and drift, hiding one part of the mountains and then revealing another.

He could pack up his apartment, put all of his things in storage and head out to the mountains for a week.

He'd only ever been on one hike, the popular Rattlesnake Ledge but Washington was known for its scenic mountain ranges and endless hiking opportunities.

People always raved about nature and how good it was for both physical and mental health.

Maybe spending a week in nature was exactly what he needed to clear his head and start again.

After that, he could spend a few nights in a hotel while he buckled down and found a new job and a new place to live.

Three days after losing his job, all of his possessions had been moved into a storage unit and he'd completed the move-out process with his landlord.

He was now standing in the middle of the flagship REI store, looking around in amazement at the gear surrounding him.

He had no idea there'd be so many options.

He didn't have the first clue where to start.

As he looked down at his feet, he subtly nodded his head.

Boots.

He needed boots.

He'd also need hiking clothes, a backpack, a tent and a sleeping bag.

For a minute, he felt guilty about the money he was about to spend, but he convinced himself that he needed this.

A short vacation after a series of bad events was reasonable.

Picking out a couple pairs of hiking pants, shirts and a jacket was easy enough.

While looking at boots, a salesman helped him choose a pair that were sufficient for day hikes and short backpacking trips.

The tents and sleeping bags all looked the same to him.

He tried reading the information accompanying them but he quickly got overwhelmed.

He picked a lightweight tent and sleeping bag meant for backpacking and then selected a large backpack.

He didn't know anything about hiking or backpacking but he knew REI carried high quality gear so he wasn't too concerned.

Outside of the store, he placed all of his new things inside the backpack.

As he lifted it and put it on, it seemed heavy at first but after adjusting all the straps the weight lessened considerably.

He knew it would get lighter over time as he ate more of the food he'd bought.

He squared his shoulders and began walking to the bus stop.

Several hours later, he was staring up at the formidable mountain peaks in front of him.

It had been a long bus ride and then he'd had to hitch a ride the rest of the way.

He'd been dropped off at the trailhead by a friendly older man who was accustomed to giving rides to PCT hikers.

He hadn't done a ton of research online but a picture of Cutthroat Pass in the North Cascades had caught his eye.

On one side of the pass, a lake was nestled snug against the rocky mountain, evergreen trees filling the landscape around the shore of the lake.

From the top of the pass, views of mountains stretched in all directions.

That was all he needed to see to make his choice.

Since it was late in the day at this point, he knew he wasn't going to get far.

The lake was about two miles from the trailhead, so he set out with the intention of camping there for the night.

Tomorrow, he'd make his way up to the pass.

The trail was a wide dirt path with the occasional rock half buried in the dirt.

Bushes with dark red leaves lined the trail, contrasting with the forest green of the trees.

It reminded Jayce of Christmas.

Further along, some of the foliage had turned into bright oranges and yellows, with bursts of color drawing his eyes from one set of leaves to the next.

Despite how much he was enjoying the scenery, he was already a bit tired when he reached the lake.

While he definitely wouldn't consider himself out of shape, he wasn't used to hiking.

His visits to the gym three times a week only included strength training.

He found himself wishing he had done some cardio once in a while.

He set his pack down under a tree and walked out to the edge of the lake.

It wasn't huge and the shore was muddy but it had a stunning backdrop.

Rocky mountains rose high behind the lake, with green and gold trees dotting the landscape in the foreground.

It was absolutely beautiful.

Transfixed, he sat on a log near the shore.

The water was completely still and the quiet was peaceful.

After spending a half hour sitting and watching the lake, his mind clear of any of his problems, he got back up and wandered over to his pack.

Before it got dark, he needed to find a camping spot and figure out how to set up his tent.

On the way in, he had seen a sign saying camping wasn't allowed within a quarter mile of the lake, so he walked back out towards the main trail.

Once he was past the no camping signs, he found a flat spot near some trees.

He unpacked the tent and laid it out on the ground.

Fortunately, everything was color coded.

He threaded the poles through the loops on top and secured them at each corner and the tent went up easily.

Digging through his pack, he found some beef jerky and a Cliff bar.

He wolfed them down before crawling into his tent and getting in his sleeping bag.

As he lay there, he watched the sun go down, the light slowly disappearing and creating long shadows in the forest.

It didn't bother him that it was getting dark.

He felt at peace being surrounded by such a gorgeous setting, with the only noise being a faint breeze and the insects singing.

After his long day of travel and the hike to the lake, he quickly drifted off to sleep.

[song-of-the-rune]

oh my gods. Oh my god. Okay. Okay. That was a bizarre adrenaline rush. Highlights of just the combat which was only like half the session and i hadn't even prepped oh my GOD

Place is a tavern as a front for a gang. Empty barrel smashed over this random brewer's head is the start of the combat.

Fuckin. Bomber ghoul who my players never learn about and had absurd acrobatics so we just named him Green Goblin as he jumped around the brewing vats and threw acid at everyone

They pulled Green Goblin because the monk critically fumbled and shouted so loud that she deafened herself.

One of my players has Ooze lore. She did not expect this to come up at any point in the campaign and consistently jokingly asks if [insert very solid creature] is an ooze. I spent TWO HOURS saying "I am so excited for you to see what comes around this corner" because the oozes had a 10ft speed and just took that long to slither to the door.

The combat tracker was so full that it froze my computer at one point

Zombie Pied Piper and his Numerous Dogs. This Zombie buffs other zombies but he got combined with the pack of Zombie dogs. They're very hyper.

Green Goblin throws an acid flask. Crits with a natural 20. Draws a random alchemy/spell crit effect. It petrifies the paladin???

Monk, still deafened, gets blinded. Becomes one with the force apparently and hits on multiple attacks against the blinder immediately afterward despite this.

Druid casts a spell used to deduce whether an invisible enemy is in an area. Manages to get a "no" so precise that they instead deduce the exact square the invisible enemy is hiding in.

Kineticist turns the chokepoint into a mud pit just by causing so many earthquakes that it's nothing but blood and rubble.

Green Goblin goes, "oh, caster," charges kineticist, who is also a tower shield fighter, and gets knocked to the floor.

Zombie bard refuses to die. But everything he buffs dies immediately.

I started moving the bodies out of the combat area to make the field navigable. (I need them in the field to tally exp later) They kept overflowing into the combat area.

Tower shield fighter keeps trying to help her allies. Her movement speed is 15ft. She runs back and forth across the hallway for multiple entire turns.

This combat actually lasted two in-game minutes. I was reading the book as we went because I didn't even expect them to fight at this place today.

I got the paladin and the kineticist after Green Goblin and the monk and Druid locked in a room with the boss. DON'T YOU KNOOOOOW YOU NEEEVER SPLIT THE PARTY.

Paladin keeps complaining he keeps having to restore his stamina while the rest of the party barely has health left. Kineticist starts including him in AoEs. Deals paladin's first HP damage.

Multiple people went down multiple times but no one died and the party won which is the best way for combat to go.

And the session in general

Paladin critically fails his check to solve a rubiks cube and breaks it. Druid puts it back together in solved configuration.

"We're not cops. We just want to take you in for questioning. Put on these manacles."

Paid the kid selling papers an entire gold to translate puzzle hints for them.

Oh and those three players are still doing push-ups for hp damage, all three of them for each point from ANY of their characters, and "drop and give me 26" is a very fun way to say "you just critically failed your reflex save."

That was beautiful i hope it happens again next week :3

GOOD EVENING EVERYONE IT'S 1:30 AM ON A MONDAY MORNING AND WE JUST EXITED A SEVEN-AND-A-HALF HOUR COMBAT WORTH AN SECOND LEVEL UP IN THE SAME SESSION BECAUSE THESE GENIUSES COMBINED EVERY COMBAT IN THE MINIDUNGEON

WHEN THE PALADIN WENT DOWN SHUFFLE DECIDED TO PLAY ONE-WINGED ANGEL

[twjournals]

The Right Place

This is the third and final part of the trilogy. I can not thank you enough for the endless support. I did not expect to even turn this into a three-parter, but you asked and you shall receive. You guys are amazing!

So Wrong It's Right

What's Wrong is Right

Warning: dark!Peter Parker x reader, dub-con, all characters are of age, pregnancy, abuse, mild non-con touching, violence

Word Count: 5.4k

Summary: You're an old troubled friend of May's. Your life consists of being a workaholic, a party animal, and bringing home the shittest of guys for a one-hit-wonder. Just when you get your life in order, you're knocked right back into your old habits. Peter has watched you suffer long enough. He can make it all better.

Taglist: @discoverwhattheworldhastooffer

Your world was in shambles and any move you made to try and fix it only seemed to make what was left crumble. You did not speak with anyone since you had found out you were pregnant, not even May. You did not know what you could even say to her or how you could explain what was going on. You knew she would find out sooner or later, but you had planned on later. You could not even stomach the thought of telling her. It would not be easy and you knew you would probably lose her friendship in the process.

You avoided Peter as much as you could. He always messaged to check up on you, but you would never reply. You were disappointed in yourself. If you had just been the biggest person and moved on, if you had not have gotten drunk, you would not be in this situation right now.

Peter never gave up on you. He had hoped you would come around. That you would understand why your life was going in the direction it was. You needed to get away from the toxicity you surrounded with, especially Chris. You were meant for bigger and better things. You were meant to be more than a housewife. You were to be a mother, a lover, a soulmate. You deserved the world and he wanted so bad to give you it plus more.

You continued to shut him out though. You did not answer his phone calls or his text messages no matter how many times he tried. He sat outside on your fire escape many nights, listening to you crying yourself to sleep. It broke his heart to see you in this situation, but he wishes you would look on the bright side of things. Maybe it was not the greatest timing to have a baby, but it didn't mean your lives were ruined. Sometimes what we want is not always what we need. Sometimes change is required for what we need in our life and you weren't necessarily open to it.

He honestly had tried to give you your space. He stuck to the rooftop above you where you could not see him when you would finally leave the house for work. You always looked so beautiful to him, even if he knew you had been crying all night. If you would just answer his messages, he would not have to go this far.

Peter watched you many mornings on your way to work. He followed your bus all the way to the place he prayed you would never go. He kneeled on top of the building, watching as you stared sadly at the front doors of the clinic. He wished you would turn around. To save him from having to web you down before you got in the building. You were picking at your sweater. No matter the number of times you found yourself standing outside the clinic, you never could bring yourself to even reach for the door.

You were at war with yourself. Peter could tell you fought against the changes, but your heart could not bring you to stop them from happening despite how unhappy you were. It always ended with a sigh and with you proceeding to walk the rest of the way to work. Peter seemed to hold his breath until you walked away.

Work was always a drag now. You had nothing to look forward to anymore but everything in the world to worry about. You stared at your phone as it lay against the computer screen. You rubbed your face tiredly.

You knew it was time to let go of your past. You sighed deeply, taking your phone in your hands and clicking on Chris's old messages. You began typing.

Are you able to come by later?

You noticed he read your message right away. You sat your phone down, still staring at the screen when he responded back.

Of course. Just tell me when, and I’ll be there.

You told him you would message him once you got home. You were sure what time you would get off when it came to your job. You wrote a company and spent the hours necessary to do what you needed to do.

By the time your workday had finally ended, you were having mixed feelings about inviting him over. Being pregnant did not help your feelings from being all over the place. Your thumbs hovered over the keypad on your screen. You were hesitant. Even if he had said he respected whatever you decided, you knew he could not entirely mean that. You quickly typed out that you were home and hit send before you could give yourself time to think almost about it. Maybe you should have thought about it a little longer.

Peter was stuck at school for one of his night classes. He dreaded his night classes now more than ever considering your condition. He had already skipping enough classes due to worrying so much about you. He could not afford to flunk out of school now after all the time and effort he had dedicated already. As much as he wanted to keep an eye on you, he tried to give you room to breathe, to think, and process.

You pushed his bags in the living room by the door, straightening your sweater to keep it off of your stomach. You were not big to others, but to you, you worried if people can tell. You did not want to chance it and certainly not with Chris. You wanted this to go as smoothly as possible.

Your heart almost leaped from your chest at the knock on your door. You slid the chain from the lock and pulled the door open to see his face light up as soon as he saw you.

"Hey there, beautiful."

"Hi." You leaned against the door slightly as you moved out of the way for him to enter.

"I'm so glad you're giving this a second-" He stepped into the apartment, noticing bags of his belongings to the side of him and he grew quiet. "You're not giving me a second chance." He pointed out and you frowned slightly, still standing by the door.

"I think it is what's best for the both of us." Your voice was quiet and calm, but in your mind, it was the hardest thing possible for you to say.

"Is it?" His voice seemed bitter and you looked down at your feet, nodding slowly. Even without looking at him, you could still feel his eyes on you. He turned to face you fully and you hesitated to make eye contact with him.

"It is. I still want the best for you."

"Do you not believe I can change? I don't understand. What can I do to change your mind?" He pressed.

"Please don't think I haven't given this a lot of thought. It consumes my mind to no end. I just need to focus on myself right now."

"Imagine that." It was silent in the room and you glanced at him, only to find him shaking his head with a snicker. "It's not what's best for the both of us. Not for me. This is what's best for you. Can't imagine how I even thought you could be anything but selfish."

"Chris, I just want to keep this civil."

"Good for you." He pulls the door from your grasp and slamming it shut, startling you. "That's all you've ever been, hm? You're gonna have to lose that mindset if you plan on marrying me."

"I don't-"

"You will." He corrected, moving so close you could feel his breath across your face. "I put too much time into this for you to walk away from me."

You swallowed hard. The man who stared back at you was far from familiar. You tried to step around him but he only pushed you back into your place between him and the wall.

"Goddamn it, just get your stuff and go!" You raised your voice and he slapped his hand hard across your cheek. It was strong enough to make you see stars in your eyes. You yelped at the impact and held your cheek as it stung in pain.

"You watch your fucking tone." He stared down at you. He had never hit you before in the years you had been together. He never raised a hand to you, but then again, he never raised one for you either.

You could not imagine how much worse this would get. You left sick to your stomach when he grabbed your chin, tilting your head upright to look at him, stroking his fingers across your stinging cheek as his eyes flickered over your face in thought.

"Truth to be told, I think it's you who needs to change. I put up with so much from you. You had me in the beginning. Thought I was getting this wild, sex-crazed wife, oh, the fun we use to have. The drunken nights." He stiffed a laugh as he let his free hand grab the end of your sweater. "You really had me fooled, didn't you sweetheart?"

You were scared to move. Scared that one wrong move and he would hit you again, maybe worse. You closed your eyes, hoping Peter would answer your prayers. You regretted how much you ever took advantage of his kindness. How long you acted like you never noticed. You had always noticed. You felt his hand push underneath your shirt, and his gaze grazed over your stomach.

You noticed the way his hand froze against the small curve of your rounded stomach and he instantly lifted your shirt to see the problem. Your vision was blurred from your tears as he stared at your stomach with wide eyes. You could tell he was getting pissed.

"Really looks like you've been focusing on yourself." He lets your sweater fall back down over your stomach. His grip was still firm on your jaw, giving you no choice but to look at him. "You have some nerve to leave me. I could bet money it's Parker's. It is, isn't it?"

You could not bring yourself to admit it, but you did not have to.

He shoved your face from his hand, causing you to hit your head hard against the wall as he let you go. "You fucking make me sick."

You tried to keep your sobs quiet, listening to his footsteps moving away from you, listening to him jerking his bags up. "Better it's his problem and not mine." He muttered before slamming the door shut behind him.

You pulled your knees to your chest as you sat up against the wall with a sob. You didn't realize how much you needed Peter until now. You were sure he would have been successful if Peter had not have stopped. You hugged your knees as you tried to catch your breath in an attempt to calm yourself down.

After a moment, you took a deep breath as you pushed yourself to your feet. You let out a whimper quiet, feeling mild cramps in your lower stomach. You frowned as you turned the lock to the door, pressing your forehead against it as you held your stomach from the pain. It only seemed to worsen the longer you stood there. You weren't sure what was going on, but you had a feeling whatever it was, it was not good. You stood like that hoping the cramps would ease, but they never did.

It was close to the end of class when Peter's phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out of his phone slightly to see who it was. He glanced up at the professor who had still proceeded with his lecture and Peter lowered his head to answer. He knew something had to be wrong if you were calling him after all this time of avoiding him.

"Y/n? Is everything okay?"

"I think something is wrong." You whimpered quietly and he raises an eyebrow slightly.

"What do you mean "wrong"? Is the baby okay?" He looked up at the teacher who was making eye contact with him now as he talked.

"I don't know." You answered honestly.

That was all it took to get Peter moving. He grabbed his books off of his desk and tossed them in his bag while he scrambled from the classroom.

"It hurts." You rubbed your lower stomach like you always did when you had cramps before. Cramps were normal, but with being pregnant, you could never be too sure what they really meant.

"I know, love. I'm so sorry. Hang tight. I'm on my way." He reassured you as he sprinted out of the building.

---

You lay back on the hospital bed, sighing as Peter ran his hand over your bump in gentle circles. For once, you let him. Your cramps had surprisingly lessened since Peter had shown up, but he did not want to take any chances. It was better to be safe than sorry. He was so worried about you and the baby.

Nurses had been in and out of the room, doing blood work, swabbing, anything necessary to get to the bottom of this. Peter was quiet as he sat on the side of the hospital bed, focused on the massage he was giving your stomach. This was the first time he had touched you since the night you found out you were pregnant.

You could not help back to smile slightly to yourself as his long gentle fingers worked over your skin. He must have sensed your stare because it was not long before his eyes glancing up to meet your stare.

He raised an eyebrow curiously. "Is this okay? I'm not making it worse, am I?"

You shook your head. "It's fine. I'm just watching."

He smiled at you while he continued his massage to your tummy. His eyes looked toward the door when a nurse came in, rolling some equipment over to the bedside.

"Miss. Y/l/n, your lab work should not be much longer. If you do not mind, I would like to do an ultrasound to check on the baby. Is that okay with you?"

You nodded and Peter took his hands back to let her work. She rolled over a chair, taking some gel and squirting some across your lower stomach. The nurse rolled the transducer over the gel and smearing it in as she applied some pleasure in search of a heartbeat. You watched her roam your stomach, biting your bottom lip. Your eyes widened slightly when the sound of the baby's beating heart filled the room. Once the nurse got a clear view, she turned the screen to show you and Peter what she was seeing.

You looked over at the monitor, your heart fluttered slightly at the first sight of your baby. That was your baby, even if it was only a little bean now. You could not stop the smile from forming on your lips. This little bean was life was growing inside of you. This brought a whole new light to your pregnancy. It was like a light had switched on. You did not know how to explain the overwhelming feeling. It felt more real after seeing him or her.

Peter was just as taken back as you. His grin never faded at the sight of your baby. It only made him 10x more eager to be a dad.

"Look at that. Already looks like me." Peter teased and you giggled, considering he or she was not much more than a heartbeat at the moment.

"I can definitely see it." You grinned as Peter rest his hand over yours, sliding his fingers between yours. He brought your hand to his lips before pressing a kiss to the back of it. You watched him kiss your hand and shivered slightly. You did not know what to think of everything at this point.

The nurse checked the baby's heartbeat before turning to the computer behind her and check your lab results with a quiet hum as she scrolled through your charts.

"Well, it seems like everything is just fine. Your baby is certainly healthy and has one of the strongest heartbeats I have ever heard." You looked over at Peter and he only grinned. You could thank Peter for that and all of his spidey senses.

"Your blood pressure was pretty high though and considering your history, your blood pressure has always been perfect. Have you been stressed out lately?" She looked back at you and you nodded slightly.

You were ashamed at how stressed you had let yourself get. "Well, I won't ask for details but if it is anything I can help you with, I would be happy to help. If not, I would stay to keep the stress to a minimum. Your baby does feel anything you feel, so some things can be too much and really take a toll on them." She explained. "Think of this as your baby reminding you to breathe."

You smiled, feeling Peter giving your hand a warm squeeze.

"If your blood pressure does continue to be high, we will see if we can do something to help." You nodded again as she made out some prints of your ultrasound and handing them to you. "If you don't have any questions, I'll let one of the other nurses know and they can keep your paperwork ready for you to go home." She took a paper towel and wiped your stomach clean before tossing it.

With that, she gathered up her equipment before rolling it out of the room with her. You pulled your sweater back down over your stomach.

"Hear that. Now do me a favor and leave all of the worrying up to me." He looked up at you as your eyes stayed glued to your ultrasound prints. His eyes flickered over your face, landing on the bruising mark on your cheek. He reached up, moving a piece of hair back of your face to get a better look. You flinched at the contact. Peter seemed taken back by your flinch.

"What happened? How'd you get that?" You kept your head down with a small frown.

"I invited Chris over to get his stuff. He thought I was taking him back. He didn't take it well." You explained and his eyes widened.

"He hit you?!" You reached Peter's hand as he started to jump up from the bed. "I'll kill him. I swear to you-"

"Peter, please. It's over with now." You assured him, tugging his hand to pull him back to the bed to sit down again. "He's not worth it."

Peter frowned, letting out a deep sigh before leaning in and pressing a gentle kiss to your cheek. He did not want to stress you any more than you had already been. "I'm sorry he did that to you. I wish I could have been there."

"Honestly, I needed this. It made letting go of him a lot easier."

"Was that all he did?"

You grew quiet.

"Did he..."

"No, he didn't." You shook your head after he could finish his sentence. "He saw that I was pregnant and left."

Peter tried to keep his composure as his fist clenches out of your sight. He could not imagine how someone could lay a single finger on you with intentions to hurt you. He was quiet. He was trying to hold it together for your sake.

"He didn't say anything?"

You stayed quiet for a moment, rubbing your thumb across the print. "Just that he was glad it was your problem and not his." You shrugged your shoulders slightly. "Even though it's not a problem, I am glad it's you and not him. I can't imagine what it would be like to have a baby with someone that selfish."

His clenched fist loosened at your words and his eyes softened. He could not believe his ears. Were you really saying this?

His cheeks blushed a deep shade of red. "You mean that?"

You smiled at him with a nod. "I do. You're so selfless and care so much about what you can do for others. Even though I've been selfish, you still stuck by my side. I honestly couldn't ask for a better father for my baby."

His smile widened as he looked at you, resting his hand on your small bump. "Our baby."

You rested your hand on top of his with a smile, nodding your head. "Our baby." You agreed.

---

It was not long after that the nurse gave you the okay to leave. Peter had stopped to get you something to eat before he took you home. He wanted to make sure you had been fed. All of the little things like this had slowly pulled you closer Peter. You were not used to how observant and patient he was. As much as you knew how wrong your whole situation was, you could not help but to give in to it. Despite your age, Peter had treated you better than any other guy you had been with. Even better than the one you had been with for years. Peter was the blessing you never knew you needed. He was the blessing in disguise.

He held onto your hand, walking up the steps to your apartment and using the keys to unlock the door for you. He didn't expect you to let him stay. All he wanted was to make sure you were okay before he left you alone.

"Thank you for everything." You looked up at him as you both stood in front of your door.

He smiled down at you. "You don't have to thank me."

"You know I owe you."

He rolled his eyes playfully. "You don't owe me anything. You're having our baby. I consider that payment enough." He teases, his hands resting on your waist. He could not help but touch you. In every possible, he would if he could. Your cheeks blushed at his response, looking down but Peter let his finger hook underneath your chin to tilt your head back up. Your lips were barely an inch apart when the moment was quickly ruined.

"What the fuck is going on here?!" A familiar voice pulled you from your moment, making your heart sink to the pit of your stomach when the realization hit. You did not even have to look over to know it was May. Her face was red in anger when your eyes met hers. "You ignore me for weeks and when I come to check on you, you're smacking lips with my nephew?! What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Your lips parted to say something, but no words came out. You did not where to begin with explaining yourself to her. You knew this was all wrong, but it was all too late.

"I thought you were hurt, but obviously, you're perfectly fine." She was fuming.

You never wanted her to find out this way. You wished you had more time to think about it and figure out a better way, but this was it. This was the moment of truth and you were terrified to lose your best friend. You felt tears forming in your eyes and Peter frowned.

"Aunt May, stop."

"Stop?! I'm not going to stop! You're not going to use my nephew so you can get over your worthless ex-boyfriend."

"Aunt May!"

You fought to hold back your tears until you could not anymore. You felt the tears running down your face. As much of a low blow that was, you felt you deserved to hear it. "Peter, i-it's okay." You struggled to form your words. You were hurt, embarrassed, ashamed.

"No, it's not." He shook his head, pointing a finger at May as she stood only a few feet distance from the two of you by her car. "You've gone too far."

"I don't understand how you think this is okay, Y/n." She shook her head, ashamed at you.

"I didn't expect for it to be like this. I didn't mean for any of this to happen." You confessed.

"Just like you never meant for all those one-night stands to happen huh? I trusted you!" She yelled, making you flinch. You hung your head in defeat, glancing at Peter with sad eyes before going inside. You could not stomach the rest of the conversation without sobbing. You tried to calm yourself once you were inside.

"That's enough!" Peter yelled suddenly. "I am capable of making my own decisions. I don't need you to decide what is best for me, Aunt May. I'm not here against my will and neither is she."

"She's supposed to be my friend." She didn't know what to make of this.

"You're supposed to be my Aunt! You knew how hard I crushed over her. For years you knew."

"I thought it was just a crush."

He moved closer to her in the parking lot. It was never just a crush. He was head over heels for you. "I love her. I've always loved her. You're can either respect it or accept it, because it's either way, she's pregnant and nothing is going to change that." He stood by her car.

Her mouth fell open in shock. She did not know what to think. Never in a million years would have thought this would happen, but then again never would have you.

"Pregnant?" Her voice was quiet.

He nodded. "I'm gonna be a dad, Aunt May." He pulled his copy of the prints out of his wallet and showing them to her.

She was at a loss for words. He was right. There was nothing she could do about that. May stared at the prints for a moment, trying to process everything in the short time it had all happened.

"Peter... I don't understand..."

"She almost had a miscarriage today because she's been stressing herself out over Chris. You're not going to take this away from me." He looks down at her, taking the prints back from her." He looked down at her as she stared back with a small frown. "Go home, Aunt May before we both do something we'll regret. You can come back when you're ready to apologize for this." He held the car door open for her and she hesitated before slowly getting in the car.

She knew she was in the wrong for how she had handled things, but Peter did not give her the chance to even risk making things worse. Peter felt deep in his heart despite everything she would come around. She would realize how happy you made him and she would accept it, but for now, she needed to leave.

Peter walked back to your front door, knocking on the door with a sigh. After a few moments, you moved from your spot on the couch to answer the door. You opened it slightly to see Peter and you glanced behind him at May's car pulling out of the parking lot.

"How are you?" He frowned when he saw your red watery eyes.

"I feel awful."

He sighed when you finally let go of the door and he stepped inside of the apartment. He let the door close behind him. His arms wrapped around your body instantly, pulling you against mine as he hugged you, resting his head against yours and kissing the top of it. "I'm so sorry. I know it's hard to believe now, but she'll come around. Just give her some time."

"She was going to find out sooner or later. I expected that reaction. I just wasn't prepared for it right now." You pointed out as your head rested against his chest, letting him hold onto you.

You closed your eyes, listening to his heartbeat. You relaxed in his arms. Your eyes were burning from all the tears shed. Peter scooped your body up in his arms bridal style, carrying you down the hall to the bedroom. He laid you down on the bed, sliding into the bed with you as his arms naturally found their way around your waist. Your head fell to his chest as you got lost in your thoughts for a moment.

"I'm starting to think I can never make the right choices." You admitted, laughing slightly to yourself and Peter tilted your head up to look at him.

His lips pressed a kiss to your nose. "Sometimes, the wrong choices bring us to the right places." He assured you before leaning in to close the space between your lips and kissing your lips.

He was true to word. No matter how much you held yourself back, every wrong choice you had ever made in your life brought you to this moment with Peter. This opportunity with Peter to finally get your life right. It was your chance to allow yourself the happiness you knew you both deserved.

End Credits Scene

He was not sure how long he had been sitting with his wrists and ankles restrained to a chair in the middle of a dark room. Maybe hours. It even could have been days. He was not sure. His eyes blinked rapidly to adjust to the light that poured into the room when he finally heard a heavy door open.

"Oh good, you're awake." He was covered in sweat from fear and the heat of the closed-off room. He could make out bits of a red and blue suit. His eyes must have been playing tricks on him. When his eyes finally adjusted to the light, his eyes widened at the sight of Spiderman in front of him. He did not understand what was going on. Spiderman is supposed to save people.

His mouth was covered with solid webbing so he could not speak.

"I'm sure you're wondering why you're here." Peter moved closer to him as he spoke. He leaned down, ripping the webbing from Chris' mouth and making him cry out in pain from the grip it had on his skin. "You see Chris if there's one thing I hate, it's people who hurt the people I care about."

"W-What are you talking about? I haven't done anything."

"Don't play dumb." Peter gritted his teeth underneath his mask, backhanding Chris across the face before gripping his jaw. "You know exactly what you did, but that's okay because it won't happen again. You'll never touch Y/n again. I'll make sure of that."

Blood dripped from Chris's mouth from how hard Peter hit him. "I should fucking kill you for putting your hands on her." He smirked to himself when Chris starts squirming under his grip. "But I won't."

"I won't. I won't touch her again. I swear-"

"Oh, I know you won't." Peter let go of his jaw before backing up towards the door again.

"W-Where are you going? Aren't you going to let me go?" Chris started to panic as Peter pulled his mask off for Chris to see his face. He wanted this to be the last thing he saw if he died and the thing he would definitely remember if he lived.

"I didn't say I was going to let you go. I said I wasn't going to kill you." He smiled and Chris's mouth fell open slightly at the sight of Peter Parker standing before him. "I was thinking we could make a game out of this. I hear you like games. Let's see just how important you really are. I'm gonna leave you here and we're gonna see if your friends succeed with their search party if they even send one out. I can't imagine what they would care about scum like you for, but I guess we'll see. I give you about 48 hours before your body finishes you off itself. That should give you more than enough time to think about what I've said. That's if you do make it and I don't really have faith that's gonna happen, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. I expect you to get the hell out of New York. I promise to you if ever see you again, I'll kill you."

Chris swallowed hard as Peter stood in the doorway once more, the sun outlining his figure at the door. He was scared of the possibility of not being found. He was furious that a guy like Peter was capable of putting him in a situation like this.

"They'll find me and when they do, you're a dead man, Peter Parker." He pulled at the restraints on his arms with all of his might but he did not stand a chance against the webbing. Peter made it look so easy.

Peter grinned at Chris's promise. He loved the challenge. The possibility that even if someone did find him, he would have the pleasure of killing him himself. It amused Peter that Chris could even have the nerve to threaten him in the position he was in.

"Well, let the game begin." He gave a wave as he started to pull the door closed. Chris yelled to the top of his lungs until the heavy metal door ceased his screams.

[southernbell91]

Punishing a Sparrow

Punishing a Sparrow Part 2 of 2

Pairing: Frank Castle/Reader/Billy Russo

Warning: Language, Smut, Brat Behavior, Mild Dub Con?, Mentions of War and violence

Part 1

The ride to the safe spot two cities away took just under three hours, a very tension filled, stressful, silent three hours. Frank had cleaned his blood from his face and set his most likely broken nose while you packed away the computers and equipment, he and Billy stepping away to hold a very ominous looking conversation, the two of them looking back in your direction every so often, once that was done they went along business as usual either acting as if that little incident hadn't happened or you weren't even present.

The moment you pulled up at the safe house you grabbed your go bag and bolted out of the back of the SUV, leaving no room for them to try to speak to you or anything. Making your way into the house you found a room to claim as your own, hoping to shower and catch a few hours of sleep before the other half of the team arrived. Locking the bedroom door behind you, you made your way into the bathroom, the steaming hot shower calling your name.

Stepping out of the bathroom 25 minutes later in your shorts and a t-shirt you shouldn't have been surprised to see Billy sitting casually in a chair in the corner of your room sipping on a beer, his eyes trained on you.

"Frank wants to see you in the living room"

You rolled your eyes, placing your dirty clothes into the bag on your bed before dropping it onto the floor. "Frank can kiss my ass, I need sleep, matter of factly you can pucker up and join him if you'd like since you two seem to do everything together."

No sooner than the words had left your mouth you found yourself pinned to the wall nearest you, large fingers wrapped around your throat, the menacing look on Billy's face set your heart racing, something you were certain he felt with the hand cutting off your windpipe.

You attempted to glare back at him defiantly, the smirk just barely touching the edge of his lips told you that you had failed, the fear most likely evident in your eyes.

“You are a mouthy fucking brat, you know that? And Frankie and I are in agreement that someone needs to fuck that shit out of you.” With that statement he gave your throat one final squeeze before letting go, your knees giving out as you fell gasping for air, turning on his heels he exited the room barking out “Living room, Now!” not bothering to check that you were actually following.

Fuck, that one word bouncing around in your head as you watched Billys back vanish into the living room, Frank’s arm just barely visible where it draped casually across the back of the couch. You dragged in a ragged breath before finding your footing, your heart hammering in your chest.

You knew feasibly you could rush and lock the door and not entertain whatever wicked things those two had come up with, but you also knew your door was locked before your shower and it would take nothing for them to break into your room again. Part of you, the part deep in the recesses of your mind, knew that the idea of either one of them taking you is something you have toyed with since you met them, the very fantasy of one or the other even both on occasion getting you off more nights than you would like to admit. That was part of the reason you began to build this wall up between you, watching them flirt with other women, neither of them showing you the slightest interest drove you mad, your rejection and anger manifested into what they apparently classified as bratty behavior, and had possibly worked in your favor.

Frank clearing his throat pulled you from your thoughts, rolling your shoulders back. You attempted to put on a brave face as you moved one foot in front of the other towards the open door, both men only just coming fully into view. Billy was once again sitting, this time in a chair just to the side of the couch, directly across from the door to the room you occupied, Frank was lounging on the couch, legs stretched out in front of him. You hadn’t even thought about it when you saw Billy in your room but both men had changed, Billy wearing a simple T-shirt and sweatpants very casual compared to his usual look outside of his Gear. Frank on the other hand was in Jeans now and a tank top and somehow managed to make that look more menacing than his usual black cargo pants, t-shirt, and vest, the hand stretched out on the couch moved only the slightest bit, his finger beckoning you forward from where you stood in the doorway, pointing to the open spot between his legs.

You gulped, eyes darting between the two men who were now watching you intently as you slowly made your way across the room, arms crossed across your chest in a last attempt at defiance. You stepped just in front of Frank, your eyes boring into his as he watched you, no sign of emotion on his face.

"On your knees" he gruffed out, face still stoic and focused.

You couldn't help the indignant snort you let out at his command, his lip twitching slightly being the only reaction on his face. Before you could register anything else your knees were knocked out from under you, Billy grabbing a handful of your hair just as he knocked you down into a kneeling position, situated between Frank's legs.

"You've been a mouthy brat lately, especially to Frankie here. We're in agreement that it's about time you start making up for that, ain't we Frankie?" Frank nodded, his eyes still locked on you as he began to slowly undo his pants, your eyes flickering between his own face and the movement of his hands. "See I-," Billy continued, the closeness of his lips to your ear sending a shiver down your spine, "I think, this attitude of yours is a cry for attention. Ain't that right sweetheart, you've been dreaming of Frank and I doing all sorts of despicable things to you haven't you?"

You couldn't help but let out a huff at that comment, your legs instinctively squeezing together slightly as your core clenched at the idea.

"Ah, see I told you, Frankie, this one right here probably lays in her bed at night, her hands between her legs just praying it was one of us instead. Don't you sweetheart?"

You closed your eyes for a moment, trying to regain your composure when you heard the tale tell sign of Frank's zipper finally being undone. When you opened your eyes again you couldn't help but watch as he untucked his cock from his briefs and slowly began to stroke himself, his size and length more than you had ever pictured.

"Answer him, sweetheart."

Your mouth began to water slightly at the thought of tasting him, before it even registered what you were doing you nodded.

"Uh-uh, I don't think so. I wanna hear you. You've had no issue using that mouth lately, don't start now." At that, his grip in your hair tightened the pull of it beginning to sting just a little making you flinch.

"Fine, yes. Ok?"

Behind you, Billy's chest vibrated against your back as he chuckled into your ear darkly, "that's more like it."

You watched, mesmerized, as Frank spread a bead of precum over the tip of his cock with his thumb, shifting again slightly where you kneeled you could feel yourself getting wet. Billy momentarily let go of your hair, his hands working quickly to remove your shirt.

"Now, here's how this is gonna go, you be really good and make up all that bratty behavior to Frankie and he and I might make a few of those fantasies of yours come true. How does that sound sweetheart, you gonna be a good girl for us?"

"Yes," you gasped, Billy's words distracting you from the fact that he was now restraining your hands behind your back, the sound of zip ties being tightened made you jerk, your fight or flight senses kicking in, your eyes growing wide as you started to struggle.

"Hey, hey, Look at me" Frank called, drawing your attention to him as he leaned forward resting his hand gently on your cheek as Billy ran a soothing hand up and down your arm. "You know we'd never do anything to hurt you. You trust us out there, you can trust us in here too. Can't you?"

"Yes," you said trying to steady your breathing, closing your eyes simply enjoying the feel of their hands on you.

The moment of peace was short lived though as Billy reached around you, pinching a nipple between his fingers just enough to hurt, "yes what?"

"Yes sir" you ground out watching as Frank returned to his position, his hand lazily stroking himself again, bringing him back to full hardness.

You couldn't help it, you licked your lips, your mind preparing for things to come, you startled slightly at Billy's lips ghosting over your shoulder and throat, his tongue lightly licking at your skin.

"You ready to make Frankie feel all special now?"

"Yes sir," you said slightly breathless, shifting on your knees knowing with your hands tied they planned on doing as they wanted. Billy nudged you forward, his hand back on your head as he guided you towards Frank's waiting cock.

Without hesitation you leaned forward, your tongue snaking out to lick from the base of Frank's dick slowly to the tip. You closed your eyes as you savored the salty taste, your lips just barely enveloping the head. That’s when you felt the change of hands on the back of your head, the almost delicate ones of Billy being exchanged for the slightly rougher ones of Frank, a low moan coming from above you as you pushed you down making you take him nearly half way.

You worked to set a decent pace, swirling your tongue around the head as you could, Frank's light moans and grunts spurring you on. "Fuck, that feels so good"

You felt the heat rush to your cheeks at the praise as you hollowed them out, applying extra pressure trying to work more of him into your mouth. You jumped slightly when you felt Billy's fingers work their way into the front of your shorts, his hard cock now pressed firmly against your ass as he leaned over you.

He let out a low whistle as his finger dipped into your panties, running just barely through your folds. "Damn Frankie, she's soaked already."

Frank slowly pulled you off of him, forcing you to look him in the eye. "That's because this one here may be worse than the both of us, ain’t that right sweetheart?” Instead of an answer, you moaned as Billy toyed with your clit letting out a whimper when he pulled his hand from where you wanted it most.

You watched Frank's eyes as he and Billy had a seemingly silent conversation, Billy’s hands quickly moving into action, manhandling you to remove your shorts and underwear, Frank standing in front of you to remove his own clothes. You felt Billy’s looming presence disappear from behind you momentarily, the sounds of rustling clothes indicating he was removing his.

Frank reached for you, pulling you to stand between the two nude bodies.

"As pretty as you look on your knees sweetheart we want you on the couch, but first," he said, pausing to grab his knife off the end table, passing it off to billy who freed you from the zip ties, only temporarily though as Frank quickly situated your hands in front of you and attached them together with a fresh zip tie.

You couldn’t help your heart rate speeding up as you realized you were situated between the two very naked men, Billy’s erection pressing into your lower back, Frank looking down on you almost the way a predator looks at his prey. You jolted slightly when you felt Frank’s fingers slip between your legs, just barely brushing through your folds, spreading your wetness around. “Damn Sweetheart” he murmured, You couldn’t but blush at his comment. “I bet you taste so sweet too,” he added, pushing one finger into your entrance slightly, teasing you. Billy took one of his hands, which had been roaming all over your body, and grasped your chin, turning your face towards him. “While you’re having that taste, Frankie, I wanna find out just how good this mouth is. You think you can handle us both at once Kitten?” Licking your lips you went to answer Billy, just as Frank pushed his finger fully into you, turning your answer into a drawn out moan, your eyes closing on instinct. It wasn’t until you felt the light Tap on your clit that you opened them again. “Eyes open Sweetheart and Answer the question,” Billy commanded, watching you intently. Your head was spinning as you tried to focus enough to answer, Franks finger just barely giving you what you wanted, not enough to bring you to orgasm but keep you needy and wanting.

You let out a Breathy “Yes Sir” doing your best to concentrate. Suddenly Frank’s fingers were gone, bringing your attention back to him as you let out an embarrassing whimper at the sudden loss.

Behind you Billy chuckled, his hands toying with your nipples pinching them just enough to hurt, as you watched Frank position himself on his back on the couch.

“Bring her here Bill.” He said patting the Armrest behind his head. It took you a moment to put together what he had planned, mild panic setting in at realizing he wanted you to sit on his face. “Oh, we’re way past being Shy sweetheart.” He smirked at you as Billy moved you towards the couch, Frank making room for your Knees on either side of his head. “Your gonna sit here and let me have my taste, while you give Billy a special thank you for being the creative Bastard to come up with this plan. Understood?”

“Yes sir” you stuttered out, slowly situating yourself over Frank, trying not to think of just how exposed you suddenly were to him.

Once you were on the couch and in position Billy moved in front of you, dragging you down by your tied up arms, your face level with his waiting, leaking cock. You couldn’t help but let out a moan as you felt Frank’s nose brush your sensitive bundle of nerves. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to you that Billys cock was nearly as pretty as he was, not as thick as franks but slightly longer. Without hesitation you wet your lips and went to work, first teasing his tip with your tongue before taking it in your mouth, Billy letting out a huff of air, his hands going straight to your hair.

Franks tongue running from your clit to your entrance and back caused you to pull off of Billy, a gasp flying from your mouth. Billys hand in your hair brought you back to what you were supposed to be doing, your mouth going back to work, Franks tongue moving at a slow almost punishing pace up and down the same path occasionally dipping into your entrance. He moaned at your taste sending vibrations through your pussy, in turn making you moan around Billy’s cock whose grip on your hair tightened as he let out his own small moan. You slowly worked to take more and more of Billy down your throat, his hand guiding you as he slowly fucked himself with your mouth. You felt that familiar tightening in your own stomach as Frank’s tongue began to focus on your clit, his lips latching on to it, one finger easing into your entrance, you couldn’t help but whimper and moan around Billy’s cock, your hips moving slightly as you unintentionally rode Franks face.

When frank eased a second finger into your entrance you moaned again, Billy using that to push himself all the way into you, your nose brushing against his pelvis.

“Oh Fuck sweetheart, I knew that mouth was good for more than just being a Brat. Look at me,” he commanded, his hands moving to the sides of your face to hold you steady, his eyes locking with yours as he began to roughly fuck into your mouth. You felt your legs begin to quake as your orgasm crept closer, you wanted to close your eyes at the sensations running through you but knew that would be a mistake so instead, you watched as billy used you for his own pleasure, tears streaming down your face. You felt Billy’s cock begin to twitch, heavy on your tongue as you moaned around him, his tip scraping the back of your throat with every rough thrust. When Frank added a third finger it only took a few thrusts before your orgasm was crashing into you like a train, your hips thrusting wildly on Frank’s face as he let you ride it out. Before you had time to recover from your own orgasm Billy’s cock twitched, his hands holding you still as he swore loudly turning into a moan, your nose pressed against his pubic bone as he unloaded into your mouth, your throat constricting around him attempting to swallow down every last drop.

You gasped for breath when he finally pulled you off of him, your sensing feeling overloaded, you hadn’t even noticed that Frank had not only stopped what he was doing but had moved out from under you entirely his hands now running up and down your lower back and to your ass. “Atta girl,” he said soothingly. “We know how good that mouth is, ain’t that right Billy?” “damn right,” Billy said having stepped away from you taking a seat back in his chair to catch his breath. “Now I know how sweet you taste, I want to see just how tight and warm that pussy is.”

You clenched at Frank’s words, feeling him tease your entrance with the tip of his cock, running it through your folds, spreading your wetness around a little more. You couldn’t stop the whine he elicited when he finally began to push in, the angle you were at causing him to feel so big as he stretched you, Frank letting out his own groan as he worked inch by inch towards bottoming out. When you felt his hips flush against your ass, you couldn’t help but hold your breath, the stretch and fullness of him fully seated inside of you burned in a delicious way.

“Fuck me running” Frank groaned out from behind you, his hand squeezing tightly on your hip as he held you both still. Across from you, Billy chuckled, “That good huh man?” “Better, Bill, way fucking better.” at that you felt the drag of his cock inside of you as he slowly pulled out, his tip just resting at your entrance, without warning he slammed into you, his hips crashing into your ass pushing your hips hard into the armrest of the couch. He pulled back again, much quicker this time, and began to set a punishing pace, pinning your hips against the arm of the couch, leaving you no room to run. You couldn’t hold back any of the sounds you were making, most of them somewhere between a moan and a scream, forming words impossible with the feel of Frank fucking into you clouding your mind. Through the haze, though you noticed Billy, sitting and watching, a smirk plastered on his face. “Goddamn Frankie, I love to watch you work.” His eyes darting to you as you whimpered, the feeling of Frank’s calloused finger once again finding your clit, rubbing rough quick circles sending you over the edge. You couldn’t hold back the scream as your second orgasm of the night ripped through you, your legs suddenly feeling like jello. Franks grunts and moans began to get louder behind you, his movements becoming more and more erratic as he rushed towards his own orgasm, you clenched around him in a small aftershock, pushing him over the edge, the sudden feeling of warm liquid coating your insides making you both groan as you felt Frank empty into you his hips stilling as your walls milked him dry.

You slumped against the arm of the couch, your body giving up any attempt at supporting you as you tried to catch your breath and calm yourself down. It wasn’t until you felt Billy cutting the zip ties loose that you even realized both men had moved, once free he squatted down in front of you his hand gently caressing your cheek as he studied your face, watching as you came back to reality. You jolted and whimpered when you felt the cool rush of something wet between your legs, your pussy still very sensitive.

“Shh, easy sweetheart. Frankies just cleaning up the mess he made.” Billy cooed, leaning forward in a shocking gesture he pressed his lips to yours in a soft chaste kiss, something neither man had done all night.

Once he was done Frankie, with Billy’s help, moved you gently from the couch to the bed, something you were grateful for as you were certain your legs weren’t quite up to standing just yet. The look of surprise must have been evident on your face as both men chuckled, working in tandem to partially dress themselves for bed before finding something for you to wear.

Dressed and settled into the now warm bed you raised an eyebrow when each man slid into the bed on either side of you, Billy was the first to respond rolling his eyes. “Oh Shut up, we’re all exhausted.” On your other side, Frank chuckled, “Besides, we don’t have long, the others will be here soon. Tell me, how are you feeling sweetheart?”

You looked from one man to the other both of them watching you curiously, your face breaking out into a wide grin knowing your answer, “Like it pays to be a brat sometimes.”

[cipheress-to-k-pop]

Hi, I absolutely adore your writing and it’s quite inspiring and making my imagination go WEEWOO!

Could I request something for YJ With Dick? So like a headcanon or one shot (which ever you prefer queen) where the reader is quite reserved, snarky and can get angry real fast. They have feelings for Rob and they are especially snarky to him to hide their feelings, but they eventually start to open up more and during the events of episode 24 (you know, the one at haly’s circus), they open up to him and they confess? And he does the same?

Flower Language

Pairing: Dick Grayson as Robin x Reader

Warnings: Blood and injuries and plant death.

Word Count: 3.8k words

A/N: This is kind of my take on the Hanahaki disease, kind of. This was so much fun to write honestly, I didn't realize I like all this floral stuff so much. It also reminded me of another 'True Love's Kiss' trope I wrote for Dick Grayson as well. Also I changed the episode this was based on because I’ve already done something based on the episode with Haly’s circus @hanbedumbaf I really really really hope you enjoy it! Sorry it was so late, I finished it a month back but it was in my queue.

Adrenaline was a common feeling to you. A little too familiar. The life of a superhero puts you in peril more times than you would like but it was the only life you had known. You knew the familiar feeling of sweat forming on your skin and your heart pounding so loudly that you could hear it in every step you took.

However, when you heard the pounding, it was because there was a supervillain, usually hairy, chasing after you and determined to get your head on a stake.

Although, feeling your heart jump to your throat was becoming more familiar whenever you were around a certain someone. Robin annoyed you to no end, whenever he was around you couldn't help your face from growing warm and your lips from tingling to form a permanent smile on your face.

Having a crush was irritating, you couldn't think or even function without thinking of him. It was frankly humiliating, you were always so gung-ho about being bold and to the point and yet whenever you were around Boy Wonder, you couldn't help but bend your personality to something you felt like would appeal to him more.

Sometimes, you couldn't even stand yourself.

And so, as a pathetic act of rebellion, and maybe as a clear-cut sign that you had no idea how to handle emotions or anything similar to it, every time your heart got just a little soft, your tongue got a whole lot sharper. Probably not the best way to win a boy’s heart. But you weren't here for a romance story.

It was also a true sign that you had no idea how to flirt, thinking that borderline insulting witty banter was the way to go. Or perhaps it was a way of controlling your emotions, since being bitter and snarky was the thing that came easiest to you.

You seriously needed better tactics.

It was also your oblivious mistake thinking that Robin only saw what you wanted him to see. He was raised to be a detective, of course he was more observant than that. Papa (or let's be real, Alfred) didn't raise no fool.

You made the mistake of thinking Robin saw you as strong and independent and bold, just as the rest of them did. But he saw much more than that.

Robin was distressed by the number of crying faces around him, the kids were inconsolable which was understandable because of just how many things went wrong in the past couple of hours. To be quite frank, Robin was a couple seconds away from having a fit himself.

"Shh, little one," He heard distantly and his neck practically snapped. You were crouching in front of the few who were crying, with a small nurturing smile. It was the first time he had seen you out of uniform, usually referring to you as Antheia, named after the goddess of flowers, but this wasn't she.

"I know you're scared, my flowers, but I promise, we will find your parents." You soothed, gently wiping away their tears. They still looked up at you apprehensively and with uncertainty.

"I'll show you a magic trick." You began, grinning as the kids began to smile back at you. You pulled a seed out of your pocket and held it between closed hands, using a bit of your powers and felt it grow in your palms. When you revealed what you were holding, they collectively gasped.

A bud of a flower now rested in your hand. You smiled at their innocent eyes and held it to them, "Now I'm going to need your help for the next part. Everyone has to blow on the flower."

They nodded eagerly, crawling around you and on the count of three, everyone followed your instructions. And low and behold, the bud bloomed into a beautiful blossom right between your fingers.

One of the girls clamoured into your lap to hold the flower herself and you chuckled, wrapping your arms tightly around her, "You know what this flower means?"

They shook their heads, "It means faith, and hope. If you have faith and hope in us, then you'll get something beautiful in return."

For once, they look contemplatively and you chuckled, feeling pride at the fact that you managed to sow some wisdom in their minds. The girl that had been sitting in your lap turned in your grasp, with the flower in her hand and then reached up to tuck it behind your ear.

"For me?" She nodded happily and you smiled widely, kissing her cheek, "Thank you, petal."

Satisfied that you were able to calm them down, you gently placed the girl back on the floor before moving away from the group. Just as you were about to join the others, you ran into Robin. You didn't know he had just seen the whole thing.

Pulling the flower from behind your ear, you handed it to him, "You know in some cultures, this flower means to pick up the slack and stop looking like a confused chicken." You snapped.

Business as usual.

Robin looked back to the flower you had slipped into his hands, you had said it meant faith and hope, and you had given it to him. He looked back up to see you shuffling away from him quickly, a blush on your face. He smiled.

You were more nurturing and kinder than you let on, it was like it was programmed into your personality and yet you never showed it when you knew they were watching. That wasn't the only part of yourself that you were hesitant to show them.

And the more Robin observed you, the more he realized that you used flower language to depict a lot of your emotions. It was a silent way of letting them out, without having to tell other people what's really in your heart.

You thought you were sly about it, but nothing went under Robin's radar.

Everyone was watching a movie on the flat screen in the rec room. You hadn't realized you were so tired, the movie was boring, something that M'Gann had picked and you hadn't slept the night before, busy patrolling your city.

Your eyelids began to droop before you could even understand what was going on, your head lolling as you drifted in and out of consciousness.

Robin hadn't realized that he was napping through the movie until he felt a weight on his shoulder. He nearly jumped awake and glanced to his side to see you sound asleep, breathing gently. He nearly chuckled, was this what you looked like when you weren't scowling at everybody?

His heart skipped a beat, god, were you beautiful. The smell of flowers vaguely hit his nose and he noticed the red gardenia plant growing steadily in the corner of the room.

'Red Gardenias means a secret love,' Robin recalled from a book he had read, 'It's a secret way for someone to say I love you.'

He glanced back at you still sleeping peacefully, face completely relaxed and briefly wondered if your powers were taking the lead on your emotions and making gardenias grow around the cave. Or were you dreaming about something?

Something in his heart grew, here you were sleeping against his shoulder, making symbols of a secret love grow around the room. This had to be a sign of something, right?

Before he could contemplate it any further, you squirmed and then began to stir. Your eyes fluttered open, hazily taking in your surroundings before they landed on the boy beside you and widened in size, skin darkening with a blush.

"Why the fuck didn't you wake me up?" You snapped and turned on your heel to stomp out of the room without even waiting for a response from him. The others who noticed the way he was just staring at the place you were in surprise. You always do such a 180 when you're around him and conscious.

"Wow, sunshine's crabby in the morning." Wally commented from beside him. When he didn't get any response, he looked over to see Robin with a silly smile on his face.

Dick couldn't stop himself from grinning. The gardenias were still blooming.

***

"Antheia, do you think you will be able to stop the plants from growing any further?" Batman turned to face you, only to find you staring at him with a hazy, blank expression.

"Antheia?" Robin called but you didn't even flinch, your eyes were locked onto the holo-computer, seeing the thick vines that were twisting and turning. Their call was overwhelming, you could feel them grow even beneath your feet. It was like a siren was blearing through your head.

You couldn't tell what they were trying to say, it was like they were muffled. It was confused and lost, following Ivy and it was happy listening to her. And yet, it was feeling pain, the Justice League was busy pruning her as we speak. It was scared, crying out for someone to help them and you felt obligated to help. Your mind was getting heavy, throbbing with an oncoming migraine.

"(Y/N)!" Your eyes snapped open and focused onto the boy in front of you. Everyone was staring at you in concern and you blinked, suddenly not able to remember what the hell was going on. You were just trying to focus on something other than the screams and cries of the plant.

"......What?" You asked a little dumbly, noticing the concern on Robin's face. The plants were still crying. You couldn't get the painful sound of their screams out of your mind. You felt like curling up into a ball and crying.

"Batman asked if you would be able to stop the plants?"

"Oh, um, no." You answered in a distracted way that made his face pinch with worry. His hands were still grasping your shoulders tightly, keeping his face in close proximity to yours. You didn't even realize, too out of it to even notice.

Robin on the other hand felt his cheeks get uncomfortably hot the more you stared at him with those innocent, beautiful eyes of yours. If Batman hadn't been breathing down his neck, he was sure he would've kissed you in the moment.

Unfortunately for him, his dad always knew how to ruin the moment. And he would continue to for the rest of his life. Until death do them part. Even after the two of you grow up and live together, the Batman would find some way to interrupt your fun.

"Robin?"

"Huh?"

"The mission."

Oh. Right.

***

"Robin!" You screamed when one of Ivy's plants wrapped around his neck and slammed him against the trees. They didn't let up curling tighter around his throat. Fear struck you as he began choking from breath and you knew you had to do something.

Suddenly murderous intent took over you and you glared at Ivy who returned it with a smug smirk of her own. Oh, how you'd rip that smirk off her face.

"Okay Ivy, you wanna play? Let's play." You ground out, slamming your hands against the vine around Robin's neck and it began disintegrating beneath your fingers. He fell to the ground, gasping for breath and you tuned out the sound of the plant crying as it died beside him.

Ivy heard it just as loudly as you had, she screamed and more plants lunged towards the both of you.

"Go help the others! I'm about to snap this twig." You spat at Robin, using your powers to kill the roots as it reached you. It was working slowly, your powers weak to the pain of the plants around you. Even as every cell of your body told you not to, you clenched your fingers into fists and watched as the creeper feel to the marsh, dead.

You engaged in battle with Ivy. Plants were screaming for mercy all around you but you couldn't stop for even a second. Life around you was trembling but you had to keep fighting the villain in front of you because if you hesitated for even a second, many more would die.

Thorns scratched your skin, drawing blood and curled around Ivy, sinking barbs into her skin.

"Face it girlie! You're never going to overpower me!"

"Oh, I'm not trying to overpower you, just distract you long enough for Robin to get rid of the control system." You replied, just as smug as she had been at the start of the fight. Now you got to see her face melt into one of panic just as Robin jumped over her head and to your side with a grin identical to yours.

"Cover your ears!" He sang, wrapping an arm around your shoulder and ducking, covering your body with his own. You were grateful for it; you weren't sure you could even keep your body upright at the moment.

Then you heard the explosion and your heart stopped. Every single fibre of your body burned red hot fire as you heard screams and cries around you. Bile was crawling up your throat and your breathing got thin. They were sobbing a heart-broken wail and your eyes misted at the mere sound.

Without realizing it, you were gripping onto Robin's hand, brows furrowed together. The sound of the explosion cleared, the Injustice League was captured and he pulled you up to stand with the others.

It was silent for a moment. You had won.

And then the consequences of your actions hit you.

Everyone's necks snapped towards you when you let out a heart-wrenching sob. Robin, who was standing right next to you caught you just in time before your body hit the ground. Pain exploded in your chest as you began wailing against him.

"(Y/N)? (Y/N)! What's wrong?!" He panicked but you didn't respond, crying into his chest as you gripped his cape in an iron fist. Everything hurt and all you could feel was sorrow and guilt.

The other heroes crowded around you but your eyes were screwed shut, tears making your eyes sting. Robin held onto you tightly, pulling your body against his as you continued to cry.

"What's happening?" Artemis murmured, looking around to see the environment change before her eyes. Everyone else followed her lead to see how leaves began rotting, then the trees. The smell was pungent. Thorns and weeds were crawling up the dying trees, pulling them into the swamp.

"(Y/N) please, what's wrong?" Robin whispered in your ear but you couldn't hear him. The sounds of plants screaming and wailing was echoing through your mind. How they begged you to save them. How they begged you to stop.

And then it got hard to breathe, your chest constricted and you were wheezing. Robin had to watch in horror when petals and blood poured from your mouth. You were choking, throwing up and sobbing in his arms, and he was unable to do anything to help you.

"Flash get her to the Batcave." Batman said gruffly, he was shocked and worried for you but didn't say anything, not wanting to scare his son more, "Sending you the coordinates now."

"Alfred prepare the med-bay."

Dick watched with a sinking heart as he handed you into Flash's arms. It took him a few seconds for his mind to stop whirring, he was still kneeling in the swampy marsh when the team huddled around him.

"It's gonna be okay." Wally murmured, wrapping an arm around his shaking body.

"We just have to hope for the best."

***

When the others had gotten back to the Cave, you had just been moved there, after being looked over by Alfred. He joined you in the med-bay, wanting to keep an eye on you. But as of yet, you still had to wake up.

Dick wasn't supposed to be listening to the adult’s conversation, but he couldn't help himself, he had to know if you were going to be okay.

"The situation is undeterminable, sir. But as of now, the flowers that are clogging her respiratory system keep growing. If we don't find a cure for this, it's inevitable that she will suffocate and pass."

His heart stopped. Die? You couldn't die, not when he still had so many things to tell you. For so long, he hadn't told you of his feelings, wanting to keep the relationship between the two of you professional. But now more than anything, he wished he had said something.

There were so many things he didn't get to do with you yet. You had yet to give him a bouquet on your first date. He wanted to lay in bed with you, smelling fresh flowers as you told him what different plants symbolized. He had yet to see moments where you can't control your powers and make plants grow around the cave.

He hadn't even given you a flower yet.

"Rob listen, I did some research on this 'disease'." Wally said, falling into step with him, "It's called the Hanahaki disease."

"That's fiction Wal—"

"But that's the best we've got right now." Came his curt reply and Dick's heart clenched.

"Hanahaki disease is a fictional sickness that only occurs when someone is suffering from unrequited love. The victim will cough up flower petals that symbolize their love. This disease is only cured when the victim's feelings are romantically returned." Wally read off his phone before turning to Dick with a smile.

He raised a brow, "What?"

"You have to kiss (Y/N)!"

"What!?"

"Yep! You have to return her unrequired love!"

"Wally that's ridiculous, kissing someone doesn't cute anything."

"Well, it's the only thing we have. And for (Y/N), we need to try anything." He said, pushing him towards the med-bay. His voice was tight and tense, like he was holding onto his as his last hope and Dick prayed that it would work when the door of your room came into his sight.

You were asleep and if he hadn't known any better, he would've thought you were healthy. Wally closed the door behind him, leaving Dick alone with you. The only sound in was the beeping from your heart monitor and your light wheezing. It was getting harder to breathe.

Dick inched his way closer to you, watching as your eyelashes fluttered gently in your sleep. Leaning over the bed you were lying in; he pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead before moving his head in line with yours.

"God, please let this work." He whispered and your bottom lip was caught between his. It was feather-light but yet, electricity was buzzing through his veins and fireworks went off in his mind.

For a minute, nothing happened and his heart clenched in his chest before he kissed you a little harder. This had to work because they didn't have any other lead. Dick felt you exhale feebly against him and he almost gave up hope.

But then you took a deep breath, stealing the breath from his lungs and he pulled away quickly to see your eyelids fluttering open. The colour was returning to your cheeks and your eyes were sparkling up at him. You smiled gently and he blinked away tears of relief. Thank goodness.

'His eyes are blue' You thought, staring deeply into them. They were beautiful, alluring. You didn't know why but just looking into his eyes was addicting. Was this what it felt like to be so deep in love? That even his eyes were enough to captivate you?

"I'm so glad you're awake." He muttered, cupping your cheeks firmly and planting another kiss on your lips. You giggled lightly, heart overjoyed to find the boy you had been in love with for so long had returned your feelings and you responded to the kiss eagerly, placing your palms over his hands and leaning into him.

With your regaining strength, you felt a flower materialize in your hands. The stem between your fingers brought you comfort just as the scent of the flower brought you back life.

When Dick pulled away, you delicately slipped it into his hands and he turned his attention to it, blue eyes softening when he recognized this particular flower in his hands.

"It's an Aster." You whispered quietly, lips brushing against his and he chuckled. It was the only flower you thought of when he came to your mind, "Get it?"

Dick turned his eyes away from the blossom and looked at you again. Your heart jumped, noticing just how much love he held in them. Eyes you could swim in, overflowing with love for you. Suddenly you were overwhelmed, feeling adoration and attraction. You needed to be closer to him, even though he was pressed against you.

Your fingers curled into his collar and pulled him closer to you, slanting your lips over his in an open-mouthed kiss. Dick gasped against your lips, startled for no longer than a second before sinking against you and wrapping an arm around your waist to pull you closer.

Your lips moved gently against his, the blushing flower trapped between both your bodies. The smell of fresh flowers clouded Dick's mind with everything that was you. Your hair, your smile, your lips. If you kept kissing him like that, he was certain he'd forget his own name.

And then you pulled away and Dick noted that you were as beautiful as a fresh flower. Your skin was glowing with life and your tired eyes were twinkling. You smiled sleepily at him, eyes closing shut and he lowered you back to the bed. Immediately, you slipped back into slumber, exhausted from the day's events.

He watched for a couple seconds, making sure you were able to breathe without any problems before realizing he should tell the others that you were okay.

He slipped out of the room quietly, stealing a final glance of you sleeping peacefully in the bed and a huge smile grew on his face, "She's awake."

It was only then he noticed just how colourful the room had gotten in the few minutes he was with you.

The walls were covered with vines and roses of different colours, camelias and carnations of different shades. It littered the room, not leaving a single inch of the wall untouched and scattered petals all over the floor like confetti.

Different creepers hung from the ceiling, dusting all the superheroes with sparkling pollen and colourful petals. Not to mention there were stems crawling up the Justice League members, flowers hugging their ankles lovingly.

Batman looked a lot less intimidating with petals in his cape and a rose stuck behind his ear. Robin blushed at the sight of everyone giving him knowing smiles.

"We noticed."

Aster: This flower became a symbol of love when in Greek mythology it was placed on the altars for the gods. So now, when you send a bouquet featuring this vibrant bloom, the message of "Take Care Of Yourself For Me" is implied. It conveys deep emotional love and affection for someone.

Forever Taglist:

@simonsbluee

DC Taglist:

@emmacata

@p--e--a--c--h--e--s

@sometimeseverythingsucks

@sokkas-honour

@unstable1902

@lostgirlheart

@missdisapear

@tadpole-san

[happyselves]

Budapest { Lando Norris x reader one shot }

Breaking up sucks as it is, but to be dumped in an airport where you were going to a grand prix of formula 1 was worse … It was both of your dreams and he renounced it because of insecurities toward you. Admitting a “mistake” he had made with one of your commun friends, sleeping with her. You had to think fast in that airport, either you leave and go live one of your dreams or you step out of his place and go back home and cry for weeks. The answer was quickly found. You leave him and his baggage, not turning your back, deciding to not cry for the asshole you had spent so many time building a life he had destroyed in a snap of his fingers.

However the grand prix didn’t happen how you wanted it to. You had not really thought of him, too busy with the environment around you, sharing for your favorite drivers, freely wearing his merch that you had bought because you didn’t have any reason not to know that you didn’t have someone telling you off. Your now ex used to hate when you were showing your obsession and fascination toward the young driver that was Lando Norris. The dit driver had a great start but all his effort went in vain when the Mercedes driver hit the back of his car and ruined his race, forcing him to retire.

At first you didn’t know how to react, but when you saw him on the big screen in front of you, all the sadness and frustration and all the anger and hatred toward your ex boyfriend was transferred to this. You wanted to leave right away, but you stay, to support your team because Daniel Ricciardo was still in the race. You cheered as much as you could, exhausting yourself mentally and physically but it wasn’t enough and the number 3 car was too damaged to reach the point in the head. It was a shame, but that is the hard law of this sport. After this terrible race you had no heart in celebrating the win for Ocon even if you were extremely happy for him, so you went back to your hotel and went to bed.

The next day was quiet and you spent time in the city, you didn't feel great so you just walked through the city and visited stuff … alone. This time no crowd and loud car could distract you from your own thoughts. Your ex boyfriend was all you could think about now. The memories you had together, the dog, the apartment. By leaving and not facing it you were pushing the moment and you knew it will hurt even more next time you will have to face him.

It was the evening and it was getting cooler, you get your merch hoodie out of your bag and wear it. You find a nice spot on a bench in front of the river crossing the city and you put yourself in a cocoon, your legs closed to your chest and your head on your knees, hugging yourself for comfort as you watch the sunset. The tears came on their own, you were lost in your thoughts and you didn’t notice the man sitting next to you. You were so lost that you were now hearing Lando talking to you in your brain.

“You know it’s a pretty spot to watch the sunset, but not alone,” You puff a quick laugh, even your own mind was making stuff up and you didn’t know why, but you were ready to have a full conversation with yourself. At least your brain was nice enough to create someone that looked like your favorite driver. “ That’s funny, I’m that desperate that I’m talking to myself now, great, next stop the psy,” you weren’t waiting for any response, but you got one anyway. “ Well maybe your brain isn’t making this up ?” Another sound came out of you, were you ready to have a full argument with your own self. “ It wouldn’t be the first time I’m daydreaming about a handsome man talking to me out of nowhere, but I know my luck, why do you think I got dumped just before going on vacation ? I’m nothing … “ You were resigned, the tears kept falling and the pain kept coming. “ Well then he is an idiot, to let a beautiful woman, with great taste may I have, go. This man is obviously blind.” You had a great imagination to be able to hear Lando’s voice so clearly in your head that it felt like he was just next to you.

You turn your head toward what you thought the voice was coming from and there he was, sitting next to you, looking at you with fondness. Damn you really needed help if even your blurry eyes by the wet tears could recreate his whole body and face in front of you.

At any point you thought it might be true even if you were both in the same city, the odds were too big and he would probably be in his hotel room by now enjoying some games with his mates on his computer or watching netflix.

“ That’s not fair that you create this for me, I do not deserve to have such a beautiful daydream like this, seeing him this weekend from afar was one thing but to now trick me and build this masquerade in my mind to ease my pain, that’s really new brain.” You were feeling crazy and you were trying not to sound like one, you were talking to yourself and you were scared that others will think of you as someone with less sanitary than an average human being.

Yet, your fake Lando get closer to you and start touching your arm, you didn’t even flinch when you sense his touch, you know you wouldn’t be able to feel anything because if one thing you learn is that touching isn’t a sense the brain is capable of reproduction to the perfection in your brain when you are dreaming. Then why were you feeling it, why suddenly his touch felt so reassuring and real. You blind repeatedly trying to wake yourself from this sweet dream you were living because this couldn’t be real and it was starting to feel scary.

Lando didn’t move his arm from you even if you tried to gently push him away and put some distance back between you. You weren’t certain this wasn’t reality anymore because as you took his arm, you felt him, your grip on him was real. You lock your eyes on him, focusing on every detail of this creation in your own mind. You knew the shirt he was wearing and the shorts as well, you knew how he looks after running as well so that was a normal thing, but every little detail of him only a person being super close to him could imagine, that you had never experienced and yet here everything was here in front of you. He never felt so him and so real in the flesh. Your fingers found the scruff on his chin and felt the small hair tickling your palm.

That’s where you realise … Lando Norris was in front of you, in the flesh as real as you wear. You come back right back to your senses when you see the sunset and keep drawing beautiful colors in the sky. Lando was amused by the situation, you weren’t.

“ Oh sleeping beauty is coming back from the daydream ?” Somehow he arranges a lock of hair missing on your face, putting it behind your ear. You jerk at the touch now knowing that you were imagining things. You stand up quickly and try to avoid him, walking like a lunatic in front of the bench right to left. “ You know, you are the first fan I've met that acts like this, quite refreshing. “ You stop and track and look at him, really look at him.

“ How do you know I am a fan of yours ?” If this wasn’t the dumbest question you had ever asked, you didn’t know how to be more embarassing of yourself.

“ Well at first I wasn’t really sure, then I saw you on that bench, curl up in a small little ball wearing my hoodie merch, then you basically confirm it when you thought I was a pure product of your imagination,” You were hiding your face now, you bet your cheeks were red. You were mortified to ever have thought you were this desperate that your brain could be creating him, but even more when you knew he had to witness that.

“ I’m sincerely sorry, I ruined your evening run, “ You were apologizing to him, ready to take your bag and run away from this situation, to forget everything that happened. It wasn’t the best timing for you to meet one of your idols, that’s not how you had imagined things to go if one day you would have the courage to try and meet him.

As you tried to take your bag, he stopped you and took your arm. It was like the first, but this time all you could think about was the butterflies appearing in your stomach. Lando was the only person you could dump your boyfriend for … your ex-boyfriend. Before you had time to dive in your thoughts once more he spoke to you.

“ Please don’t go, I should be the one apologizing, I let you think you were insane because I was amused and you’ve made my day to be honest. I felt less alone. “ He was brutally honest suddenly and your heart shattered even more, making your recent break up put on the second plan, focusing on the man in front of you only.

It’s true that you didn’t notice at first, but he was looking tired, not only physically but mentaly. He brings you closer to him, silently asking you to sit where you were in the beginning.

You were both smiling to each other and without any of you being able to control it you end up talking a long time on that bench, not realising it was now dark. Only when Lando’s phone buzzed did you both realise that you had been exchanging your deepest secrets to each other, telling each other's life like you were best friends finding their way back to each other. You even forgot he was a famous racing driver at some point, not caring much because you were now truly seeing the man behind the helmet and you like him even more.

You sense a sort of sadness when he picks up his phone to respond to his manager. Of course they were worrying, he told them he was gone for half an hour, not three hours. You thought he would lie about where he was, being cheeky and keeping his privacy and you were ready to take that small hit behind your head that you bring you both back into your respective life, otherwise he surprised you once more by being honest and telling his manager the truth. He was smiling at you and his eyes were glued on your face with that same fondness you thought your brain had made up earlier. He hanged up and his body turn toward you.

“ So as you can guess I have to go, but I have the feeling that if I don’t ask to come with me, it would be one of the biggest mistakes of my life, so … “ He was scared to continue, evaluating the reaction on your face, but he must have seen something in you that confirmed something in him and made him continue, “ I’m not applying anything, it’s to talk obviously, but would you like to accompany me to my hotel and maybe see each other again ? I’m leaving wednesday night, of course you can refuse I wouldn’t take it bad”

Two choices were now in front of you and you could only choose one. The first one was obviously saying no and going back to England where you are from and facing the hard reality of your ex and the second one was to push your plane ticket to next wednesday and spend time with him. There was actually nothing to think about as you simply said yes to him and followed him to his hotel that night. You didn’t do anything, only talking and even meeting the whole team. You tried your best not to fangirl like a teenager but you couldn’t help yourself showing the admiration you had for everyone of them and they already knew with the hoodie you were wearing anyway. That night was one of the best in your life, you talk all night in his room and end up falling asleep on his chest. It is the first time since you’ve been alone that you finally find peace in your sleep and truly rest and somehow you felt it was the same for him. This is why he asks you to stick around with him, even for the Pirelli test. You were not only living your dream now, but you were living it with him and it was even better. You felt lucky and you were now wondering what would have happened if you had not gone to that place and kept those grand prix tickets. You could care less, Lando made you forget all the pain this ex of yours had afflicted you for the past week. You had fun and everyone was so welcoming and nice to you, explaining everything around the paddock, you even found yourself laughing with Daniel Ricciardo at some point during the day.

The looks you send to each other on the other hand were far from being only friendly, there were something more. Your body was acting on its own and he was so receptive to it. Everyone in the garage could sense something that both of you were ignoring, but they were polite enough not to make a word of it or tease the young driver for it. You were secretly thanking them to not make this moment awkward, you were already still thinking you were in a deep dream or coma, not wanting to wake up just yet.

The day went fast and ended up in a nice dinner in his room, still talking and joking. At some point it was the second night in a row you fell asleep on him, while watching something on tv. It really wasn’t your type to trust a stranger even if this one was famous and you “ knew him “. You didn’t want to live dangerously,but for sure that difficult time ahead of you was making you enjoy the best of life without thinking about the next day.

Lando was stroking you slowly as he was finishing the movie you were watching before you found Morphee, kissing your head before turning everything off and joining you in dreamland as well.

You were sure the people at your own hotel were wondering where you were,and when the next day you finally came back to it, Lando quickly behind you, you could swear you had seen a smirk flashing on the front desk woman’s face. You hadn’t expected the man next to you to find a way and arrange the plane ticket you had to take for going home, to be weirdly the same plane as him and the seat next to him. You both didn’t really want to come back to reality and go to your respecting mundane life just yet.

The last day was as good as the day before other than that bittersweet feeling you had depe down, not wanting to let this go just yet. You didn’t know how you could enjoy this little bit of life he had show you, you were already addicted to this lifestyle, to that travel, hotel and paddock life, this crazy life of him and most important you knew how fucked you were because you realise soon enough that you were already addicted to him quite simply.

Both of you were staying quiet about your soon departure from each other and until the last moment you didn’t aboard the subject, but every good dream had a end and it’s on that parking lot when you saw the whole team leaving one by one to find their car that you realise it was the end of his fairy tale. Lando had held your hand tight the whole time, you were ready to let it go and leave this mind forever when he decided otherwise and asked you where you were going tonight now that you weren’t with your boyfriend. You hadn’t thought of that of course you hadn’t, how can you think about this when this beautiful and genuine nice man in front of you had replaced as quickly as he came in your life all your thoughts. It’s like he knew right away and didn’t let you answer, your luggage was already in the lack of his car with him and you were both driving to his place. Every woman would be afraid, why weren’t you that was the question.

“ I’m not ready to let you go, I don’t want to, “ That what he said to you as he pull his car in front of his house before adding up, “ I don’t even think I will be able to let you go ever in the rest of my life, “ You didn’t know what to say to that, you were only focusing on him, only him and the only thing you could think about right now was the close that damn gap between you two and kiss him. So you did and it was even more beautiful that the fireworks on national day, the butterflies in your stomach were moving so much that you could feel yourself flying except you were still in this car with him, his hands in your hair, messing the already messy bun you had for travelling, savoring every bit of your lips for the first time, like it was the last. When you finally pull away from each other to catch your breath, your forehead finds him.

“ I’m not going anywhere. “

MASTERLIST