#lost phoenix event

[apotelesmaa]

I do desperately want another nene 4* because I only have one but I’m not pulling for the valentines event because I also want another emu 4*. I cannot have more 4*s of tsukasa and rui this is a horrible loss for feminism. Saving up for the happy Phoenix event and I swear to fucking god if I only pull tsukasa I’m killing someone.

[moondancediner]

Love of my Life

summary: the dagger squad meets hangman's best-kept secret

jake seresin x reader

word count: 1490

warnings: no editing, fluff

a/n: this popped into my head the other night... enjoy! also this gif makes me CHOKE ohmylord

song rec: love of my life - harry styles

masterlist

It wasn’t on purpose. Nights when you and Jake ended up at the same bar were never planned, mostly because your friends from work always wanted to go somewhere downtown, and Jake’s friends from work always wanted to go to the Hard Deck so there was never a chance for the two groups to intersect. 

Tonight, however, your friends had enough of hearing about all your nights at the Hard Deck with your fighter pilot husband who drops by work every once and a while with lunch or a gorgeous bouquet of flowers. They decided to venture out to the Hard Deck tonight for your monthly get-together and you weren’t going to miss an opportunity to ogle at your husband from across the bar while he played darts and pool with his Dagger Squad friends who just so happened to be in town visiting. 

And that’s exactly where you found yourself on this lovely Friday night. Your friend walked over to your standing table with another drink for you and you thanked her with a smile. She immediately started diving into some workplace gossip, keeping her voice quiet since so many of your colleagues had managed to make it out tonight. You half-listened to her go on how bad the break room refrigerator smelled the other day but your real focus was on Jake who was playing pool with Phoenix, Fanboy, and Bob. He had Bob on his team and you were surprised to see him actually give the man a chance to play without correcting or coaching him. 

You knew all about the Dagger Squad, when Jake was first sent out here you followed him, even knowing this wouldn’t be a permanent duty station, and he talked about everyone he was competing against non stop. From the moment he came home after training you were getting a full rundown of the days happening (you were sworn to secrecy of the top secret events, of course). You learned quickly who was who, even if you never got the opportunity to meet them. 

After the mission, you were pulling out boxes and getting ready to move what little belongings you brought over to the island when Jake came home and surprised you to your core. He accepted a teaching position here on the North Island and you were staying for the foreseeable future. 

You were shocked but over the moon. Jake would be in one spot for at least a couple years and wouldn’t be off on deployments and missions so often. You could start a family and he could actually be there for all of it. 

“Hello? Anybody home?” A hand waving in front of your face brought you out of memories and a trance you hadn’t realized you were in. You laughed and smiled at your friend, but not before catching the eye of Phoenix, who totally caught you staring at Jake. 

“Sorry, sorry, got a little lost there.” You waved her hand out of your face and took another sip from your drink. 

“I’ll say,” she laughed, “I mean, I get it.” Her eyebrows wagged and you laughed heartily, throwing your head back. She was always complimenting your choice of husband and you had to agree with her, he was fine as hell. 

“Fuck, I think one of his friends just caught me staring,” you said once the laughter died down. 

“Remind me again why he doesn’t tell them about you?” 

“It started off as a joke,” you start, “he wanted to see how long it would take one of them to notice, and now it’s just an ongoing bet we have.” 

“A bet I am about to win, by the way.” Jake suddenly appears behind you and you’re happy to see him until his words sink in.

“You’re not allowed to interfere!” You point at him and he just laughs. 

“No interference, I promise.” He leans on the table you two are standing at and you almost forget about the bet for a second because his green eyes still captivate you even after all this time. 

“Well, what are you doing over here then?”

“See now, that’s where it gets interesting because someone caught you looking at me,” he tips his beer over in the direction of his friends, who scatter like chickens when you turn your head to look at them, “and they bet me $20 that I couldn’t walk over here and get your phone number.” 

“Hmmm, seems like fair play to me.” Your friend interjects, looking contemplatively between you and your cheating husband. 

A noise comes out of your mouth, somewhere between disbelief and betrayal. You only had one month left before the bet was yours and you could claim your prize and now this happens, the perfect opportunity falls right into Jake’s lap. 

“Did none of them notice the giant ring on my finger?” You hold up your wedding rings, which glint even in the dim bar lighting and Jake takes your fingers in his hand, bending them towards himself before placing a kiss on your knuckles. You swoon. It’s impossible not to. “Don’t try to distract me, you’re in trouble.” 

“Come on darlin’,” His hand fell away from yours but moved slyly around your hip, where it curled around the belt loops of your shorts, and just then, while his face was inching towards yours, your wedding song came on. 

“When did this song get added to the jukebox?” 

“I may have put in a special request.” His smile did you in. You met him halfway and when your lips met that familiar kaleidoscope of butterflies took flight. Jake pulled away just to smile at you some more before pressing a few quick kisses to your lips. When he backed away enough, you took the chance to look over his shoulder and see what his friends thought. 

The entire group was standing around, completely gobsmacked at what just occurred and you could only imagine what was running through their minds. 

“After you, Mrs. Seresin,” Jake whispered in your ear. You gave him the best glare you could but he just laughed and grabbed your hand to walk you over to the group of people you already felt like you knew. 

Jake chuckled as you got within ear shot. “Everyone, I’d like you to meet someone,” he pulled you under his arm and you automatically slid your own across his back, “this is my wife.” He said it with genuine pride, a stark contrast to his usual cocky tone everyone was used to. 

“Wife?” Rooster repeated, dumbfounded.

“Pick your jaw up off the floor, Bradshaw.”

You ignored Jake and introduced yourself to everyone with a quick wave. “It’s nice to finally meet you all.” 

There was a beat of silence while you watched everyone process what was happening, but Phoenix broke it with a laugh. “You’ve been holding out on us, Bagman!” 

“Yeah, what the hell, man!” Rooster seemed downright offended that Jake would keep such a secret from them and you couldn’t help but laugh. 

“It’s not all Jake’s fault,” You come to his defense, “we had a bet going, which I just lost.” 

“What bet did you two have?” Bob asked, coming forward to introduce himself to you properly. 

You shook his outstretched hand, smiling. “We wanted to see how long it would take for someone to figure out he was married.”

“You… you don’t wear a wedding ring?” Rooster seemed to be having the hardest time with this revelation and it was cracking you up. 

Jake pulled his dog tags out from under his shirt, proudly turning them around to display his gold wedding band that perfectly matched the one around your finger. They both belonged to his grandparents and he was so proud to give you his grandmother's band on your wedding day. 

Phoenix studied the two of you for a moment, watched the way you started to sway to a song and Jake immediately joined in, watched how his attention always drifted back to you, and how his entire cocky dimenor melted away as soon as you were near. 

“So, what’s the story? How did you manage to bag Hangman?” Natasha asked, leaning her hands on the pool cue in front of her. 

Jake pretended to be offended. “I’m not that wild.” 

You roll your eyes affectionately before diving into the story of how you and Jake met. It was nothing spectacular or anything you would want to make a movie about, but it was a whirlwind romance that ended in the two of you married in the Seresin family’s backyard three summers ago. 

When you finished your story, all smiles for your husband, Rooster raised his beer in a toast. “Welcome to the family, Mrs. Seresin.” 

Jake couldn’t help but smile. It felt good to let the team in on his best-kept secret, even if he was gonna pay for her losing the bet later on tonight. 

---

thanks for reading ily

Requests are open 🫶🏻

[stayallnite]

[roosterforme]

Stateside | Rooster x Reader

Summary: Bradley made a mistake last summer when he left for his deployment without ever asking you out, and then he thought about you a lot when he was gone. He was stateside again for less than a day when the other guys coerced him to help with a fundraiser at the Hard Deck. A friendly wager with the squad might not be the only thing he wins by the end of the night.

Warnings: Fluff, angst, drinking, swears

Length: 4500 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female Reader

Check out my masterlist for more. Banner made by @thedroneranger Written for Pick Your Poison

Bradley had barely been stateside for twenty four hours when he woke up in his bed at noon to an array of texts arriving all at once. Five months on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with nothing much going for him left him surprisingly exhausted. It wasn't that he didn't want to see his friends, he just needed a full day to himself to readjust. 

He groaned and rolled over after glancing at his phone and seeing the words Hard Deck in a message from Jake. He closed his eyes again after tossing his phone aside, but about ten seconds later, he cracked them open again. If there was one thing he had consistently thought about over the course of those five months, it was you. Your bright smile, your perfect laugh, your navy blue tee shirts that said The Hard Deck across the front.

When he reached for his phone and checked the message from Jake, he sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. Maybe this could be an excuse to see you again sooner rather than later.

Hangman: Hey, we need you to come to the Hard Deck tonight. It's the annual charity event, and Bob can't make it. We're short a bartender. And don't try to bitch out of this, Phoenix told me you're home.

Bradley covered his face with his hand and thought long and hard about this. The real bartenders would be there to help which meant there was a chance you'd be one of them. If he volunteered for this, then maybe he'd find himself in close quarters with you for a few hours instead of the other Naval officers he'd been stuck with for months on end. Just the idea of accidentally bumping into you while pouring a beer had him texting Jake back.

Yeah, I'll be there.

Even though he was still pretty tired later in the afternoon, Bradley took a shower and then spent some extra time on his hair before dressing in his lucky shirt. That five month deployment was the reason he didn't ask you out during the summer, and now he was nervous to see you again. He had good intel from Penny that you'd been single the last time he saw you in August, but what if you had a boyfriend now? Or worse, what if you didn't even acknowledge him when you saw him?

He groaned as he looked in the bathroom mirror. Hours, possibly even days... that's how much time he'd had you on his mind while he was away. And for what? A crush on a girl who was probably too young for him? A cute bartender at the Navy hangout who definitely got asked out nightly? Shit. He was a lost cause. 

And now he was going to be late if he didn't leave right away. He grabbed his keys, and headed out to his Bronco which he had missed dearly. So if nothing else, he'd get to cruise around later after the event. But on the ride to the bar, all he could imagine was how you'd look in the passenger seat, smiling at him at every stoplight and singing along to the radio. 

"Fuck," he grunted as he parked next to Jake's truck before heading inside. He let his heart fill with hope as he strolled in to find Penny, Jake, Javy and Reuben behind the bar with two bartenders. But neither of them were you.

"Rooster!" Reuben cheered, and soon he was being clapped on the back and high fived by the guys he hadn't seen in months. It was nice, but he couldn't help but think that his smile would have been more genuine if you were here.

Jake smirked. "So glad you left your perch and joined us."

Bradley laughed as he gave Penny a hug. "Come on, man, I literally just got home."

Penny smiled up at him. "Thanks for filling in. It'll be great." Bradley really wanted to ask her about you, but then Penny patted him on the cheek before turning to reach under the bar top. "This will be a breeze for you guys," she said, handing matching shirts to the four of them. "Just a basic bar menu tonight. No super fancy cocktails. Just beer, wine, some pre-made sangria, and a few different kinds of shots."

Bradley started to unbutton his lucky shirt before pulling the new one on in its place. He smoothed his hand along the front of the blue shirt that said THE HARD DECK FIGHTS CANCER, and he noticed the two bartenders glancing at him. They were both cute but decidedly not what he had been hoping for tonight. 

"Hey," he asked them with a nod. They smiled in response, so he decided to just go ahead and ask them about you.

"She quit a few weeks ago," the first one told him. "After she graduated from law school."

"She moved, too," said the second one. "Left San Diego."

Shit. He was too late after all, nodding in response to them as he pressed his lips together in a firm line. He'd never been any good at this kind of thing, which was why he always fell into casual relationships. What should he have done? Asked you out, gone on a handful of dates and then tried to persuade you to wait five months for him? Just for him to get deployed over and over again? That wouldn't have been fair to you.

But he didn't feel like it was fair to him either, because right now he was having a hard time even remembering exactly how pretty you were and the precise tone of your laughter. Probably for the best. At least he only needed to do this event for a few hours before he could leave and go for a long drive. He swallowed down his disappointment and turned toward the guys who were in the middle of conversation. 

"How about a side wager?" Javy asked, tossing a bottle of vodka up into the air and catching it over and over again. "You know, for the charity?"

"What did you have in mind?" Bradley asked as Penny went to peek outside. "Because I doubt Penny will let us strip for charity again after last year. The two of you scuffed up the bar top," Bradley added, gesturing at Jake as well.

They both started laughing like idiots before Jake said, "Nah, let's give Penny a break this year and just tally up our tips at the end of the night. Whoever donates the least amount of tip money to the charity is the loser."

"Oh, that's a great idea," Javy said as he ate the orange slices and cherries that were meant to garnish the drinks. "What's the punishment for losing?"

Reuben smirked and said, "Loser has to report to the tarmac on Monday in his underwear. Instant push ups from Mav."

"Deal," Jake said.

"Absolutely," Javy agreed.

Three pairs of eyes settled on Bradley, and he slowly said, "Okay." If he strolled out of the locker room in just his underwear and boots on his first day back from a long deployment when he was supposed to sit down with the admirals and Maverick and have a debrief, he'd probably earn a greater punishment than just a few push ups. But it was for the charity, so he'd do it.

But he soon learned he'd made a mistake after Penny called out, "Let's get started," and propped the doors open. The first person through the door was Reuben's wife, followed by Javy's fiancee and Jake's girlfriend. And all of her sorority sisters. 

"Shit," Bradley grunted. "Did you make me come here just so I would lose?"

Javy was handing out pint glasses that they could use as tip cups as he smirked, and Bradley was wondering if there was any way he could actually stuff his discreetly with cash from his own wallet.

"You'll be just fine," Jake drawled as the jukebox came blaring to life. But even the music was mocking him as Slow Ride started to play, and Bradley had people in front of him expecting him to make them drinks. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Jake's girlfriend open her purse and start stuffing Jake's tip cup full. "I feel like that's considered cheating," Bradley told her, and she rolled her eyes and smirked before tucking five dollars into his cup as well.

"Don't tip Bradshaw, Sweets," Jake complained. "We made him come here as a buffer!"

"I knew it was a setup!" Bradley groaned as he listened to someone ask him for some wine and some beer. That was easy enough. He knew how to do that. Or at least he thought he did, but then one of the bartenders who had volunteered for the night told him he poured too much wine into the glass.

Then a woman asked him for a green tea shot, and he stared at her blankly. He leaned closer to Javy and asked, "What the hell is in a green tea shot?" 

"I don't know," he replied as he poured two pints at the same time. "But you better figure it out, because your tip cup is still practically empty."

"Shit." He was scrambling to flag down the young bartenders again when he froze. He only caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye, but he knew it was you simply by the way you moved and the color of your hair. And then you sat down in the only empty stool left at the bar and smiled at him, your voice drawing his eyes up to your perfect face. 

"Rooster. You're back."

The little thoughts and fantasies he'd indulged in while deployed had nothing on the real thing, and he knew he was blushing as you smiled and waited for him to respond. But it had been months since he'd been this close to you, and now he was really beating himself up for not trying to make you his sooner. Because if you were his, he could do all the things he wanted to do right now. Like kiss you.

"Rooster," you repeated with hesitation in your eyes, your voice softer, nearly drowned out by the jukebox. 

"They said you quit," he blurted out as he leaned on the bartop, curious as to why you were here tonight. "And that you moved."

Your eyes went a little wider as you nodded, your smile still soft. "I did. You asked about me?"

"Can you make me a green tea shot or not?"

Bradley begrudgingly switched his focus to the woman next to you and sighed. He was about to tell her he didn't even know what that was, or that maybe she should fuck off so he could talk to you, but then you reached out and ran your fingers along the back of his hand. 

Your touch was brief but intentional, and all of the irritation seemed to ease out of his body as his gaze snapped back to yours. "Yeah," you told the other woman as your finger grazed his knuckle one more time. "He can make you a green tea shot."

"I don't even know what's in it," he told you, with a helpless smile, trying to fight the urge to reach for your hand. 

You kind of shrugged as you said, "I do. I'll talk you through it."

Bradley's smile grew which left you giggling as he said, "I'm kind of helpless back here. Nothing like you."

"Well, you can learn from the best," you told him, reaching out to squeeze his wrist before pointing to the many liquor bottles behind him. "Irish whiskey and peach schnapps," you told him, leaning on the bar now, so close that he just couldn't bring himself to turn away from you. 

"Okay," he said, memorizing the exact color of your eyes. "Thanks for doing this."

You bit your lip and smiled up at him, and when Bradley moved just slightly closer, he thought he heard you whimper. Your eyes were full of emotion that reflected his own as you said, "Focus, Rooster. Irish whiskey and peach schnapps."

He nodded once and then finally moved away from you as he scanned the bottles and grabbed the two you told him. "Good," you said, pointing to the mini fridge and saying, "now get the sweet and sour mix. It's in a pink jug. Yeah, you got it. Now you need a half ounce of each."

Bradley listened to you explain how to use the shaker while he gave you another helpless look. "I'm just a simple beer or bourbon drinker," he said as he strained the drink that his customer had been waiting several minutes for into a shot glass.

You laughed and said, "I know you are, and it's kind of endearing that you don't know what you're doing. Now top it off with a splash of Sprite." 

Bradley grabbed the soda gun, pressed the little green button and then looked up at you again. "This is endearing?" he asked, finally sliding the shot to the annoyed woman who unenthusiastically put a dollar in his tip cup and turned away.

"Very," you promised him. "And now I want you to make me a kamikaze shot."

He gave you a bland look, but his heart was pounding. "Are you joking right now?"

Bradley was hyper focused on your lips as you said, "Not at all. You can handle it. It's vodka, triple sec and lime juice. I prefer Finlandia. Impress me, and I'll leave you a nice big tip for the charity."

Then he groaned. He had forgotten about the wager and the other patrons looking for drinks and just all of it. He raked his fingers through his hair. "Thanks, but I'll probably still end up in my underwear at work on Monday morning." 

When he pushed away from the bar again, your eyes dipped down to his jeans before snapping back up. "Underwear?"

"Yeah," he grunted as he reached for the type of vodka you liked best. You told him how much to use, and he dumped it in a shaker. "The guys coerced me into volunteering tonight. I literally just got home from deployment, but here I am... their scapegoat," he said, arms held out at his sides. "They threw out a side bet based on tip money, and next thing I know, all of their wives and girlfriends show up with a bunch of cash."

While he shook your kamikaze shot, he watched you turn first to your right and then to your left, eyeing up the overflowing tip cups in front of Reuben, Javy and Jake. Your lips parted, and you gaped at Bradley, but your eyes looked a little devious now. "You know, all of this makes a lot of sense since the guys made me come tonight."

Bradley carefully poured out your shot and asked, "What do you mean they made you come?" He realized his voice sounded annoyed, but how did they all have your phone number anyway? He'd been standing here thinking about asking you for it, but they were apparently already texting you. 

You accepted the shot and took a small sip to taste it. "They kept messaging me earlier today, saying I absolutely needed to be here tonight. They said it was important I made it to the charity event." Then you tipped your head back, and Bradley was treated to the soft looking expanse of your neck as you swallowed down the rest of the shot he made. When you were done, you set the glass down and licked your lips as you dug some money out of your pocket. "That was delicious."

While you loaded his cup with all the cash in your pocket, Bradley tried to ask you where you lived now. If the guys were bugging you earlier today, you couldn't be that far. But before he could get a word out, you pushed yourself up so you were kneeling on the bar right in front of him, and he looked up at you as you grinned down at him. 

"Don't worry, Rooster," you said as you ran your fingers through his hair. "I got you." Then Bradley was reaching for your hips. He didn't fucking care if the place was packed, he was ready to haul you off to the back hallway and ask you if he could kiss your pretty lips. You beamed at him as his hands met your body, but you just cupped your fingers around your mouth and shouted over the music, "Come get your drinks from Rooster! He knows how to make everything! But kamikazes are his specialty! And he's hot!"

His eyes went wide as you slipped out of his grasp and back onto your stool while an influx of mostly women queued up in front of him. "What did you do?" he asked, trying to mentally process an order for a cosmopolitan while stumbling over you calling him hot.

"I'm helping you not embarrass yourself at work. Keep the vodka out. Grab the Cointreau and a martini glass. We're about to show the guys what's up."

Bradley struggled through drink after drink as quickly as he could, but you never gave up on him. Occasionally you'd slide things out of his way or point out where he could find something he needed, and at some point you grabbed a second pint glass for his overflowing tip money. And all the while, he stole as many glances at you as he could while he worked. 

When Penny eventually walked behind him, patted him on the shoulder and said there was less than an hour left of the event, she also shared a smile with you. But there was no hope. The other guys were already working on their third tip cups each. "I don't think I can make up the deficit," he groaned, pulling up the hem of his shirt and wiping his brow with it. 

"Oh, that's a great idea," you mused, leaning across the bar and pulling his shirt up higher. "Take it off."

He stared at you as you tugged on the fabric. "Take it off?"

You nodded, the moevent exaggerated as you said, "Absolutely. Take your shirt off." As he looked around awkwardly before pulling his shirt over his head, you cupped your hands around your mouth once again and said, "He has six pack abs!"

Now the guys were glaring at him. "So do I!" Reuben complained.

"Don't you dare take your shirt off!" his wife told him, pointing at him in warning. 

Bradley knew his cheeks were flushed, and all he really wanted to do was talk to you and hopefully kiss you. And he really wanted to do all of that with his shirt on, because he felt a bit like a stripper now as you reached for a third tip cup. The cash was filling it up quickly, and he smirked as he thought about Reuben, Jake or Javy in their underwear instead of him. And it was all for a charity after all. 

"Make him use the shaker!" you urged a woman who looked like she was in her seventies and holding a crisp fifty dollar bill. "Make him flex."

Bradley groaned your name which sent you into a fit of laughter, your second empty shot glass still in front of you. "This isn't right," he complained half heartedly as he shook the older woman's Mai Tai with flexed abs and biceps. 

"It is so right," you told him, and he appreciated that you were scoping out the other guys' tip cups instead of looking at him right now. "Keep going. It's going to be so close." And then that fifty ended up in Bradley's cup when he handed over the cocktail, and you said, "Or maybe not!"

"Last call for the fundraiser!" Penny shouted over the crowd, and Bradley almost sighed in relief when the last few people ordered beers and a glass of wine. And then it was all over, and he had a huge amount of cash in front of him along with you. But he didn't care about the tips as much as he did getting to finally talk to you. The fundraiser was technically over, and you were looking at him the same way he was looking at you.

When he took a breath to suggest you and he go for a walk, he felt a hand on his bare back. It was one of the young bartenders who was helping out, and she said, "I can count up your tips for you," with a smile.

"Nope," you said, reaching for his cups yourself and shooting her a glare. "I'll do his. You go help Coyote." You didn't move again until her hand slipped off of his back and she walked away, and then you looked at Bradley and asked, "What are you going to do for me if you win?"

He watched as you quickly sorted the bills into efficient piles as he pulled his shirt back on and leaned against the bar. It had quieted down significantly, and now Penny was taking a few drink orders while everyone else seemed to move to the tables. He felt like he had a moment of privacy with you as he said, "I guess that depends. Apparently you moved away, Sweetheart."

"I did," you confirmed with a smirk as you counted up his twenties. 

"But you came back tonight."

You rolled your eyes, still smiling as you moved to the pile of tens. "I'm not too far away. I took a full time job and moved to Del Mar. The guys told me I needed to be here tonight for a special surprise. They said something I had been missing was returning. So I came down."

Bradley's fingers flexed on the edge of the bartop. "They did?"

You looked a little vulnerable as you stacked the bills in one pile and said, "Eight hundred and seventy one dollars." 

He nodded once and pushed the money aside without really looking at it. "You'd been missing something, Sweetheart?" he pressed gently, heart pounding in his chest. 

You bit your lip as your eyes drifted closed when he rubbed his thumb across your cheek. "I guess I must have asked the guys one time too many if they knew when you'd be back from your deployment."

"Oh," he rasped as you looked at him again. "You missed me?"

"Yes," you whispered. "I was going to ask you out, but then you were just gone. And they told me you were deployed, and I thought I really missed my chance. And I didn't even know if you were single or not, so I-"

Bradley had heard enough, so he kissed you. Just a soft press of his lips to yours, but you practically crawled onto the bar to get closer to him. And it was better than he spent the last five months imagining it might be. He could taste the vodka and lime on your tongue as it met his. Your fingers gently combed through his hair again, and he moaned, "I missed you too, Sweetheart."

Your laughter was soft and sweet as your nose brushed against his, and then he jerked back a few inches as Reuben shouted. "Yo, Rooster! There's time for that later, man! How much tip money did you make?"

"Eight hundred and seventy one," you replied as your fingers trailed down his scarred cheek to rub his mustache before you pecked him on the lips. The three guys groaned in unison, and Bradley watched your face light up in a beautiful smile. 

"This is not why we told you that you had to come tonight!" Jake whined, pointing at you and pouting. "You were supposed to distract him, not help him win! He was just supposed to turn into a bumbling mess and admit he has feelings for you!"

You turned away from Jake, and you asked Bradley, "So, do you have feelings for me?"

He huffed out a laugh before he hopped up to sit on the bar, swung his long legs over to the other side and hopped down again. You jumped from your stool and into his arms when he said, "I thought about you the whole time I was away, Sweetheart. I wanted to ask you out in the summer, but I didn't think it was right to hope you'd wait almost half a year for me to be stateside. For us to be together again."

"Bradley," you moaned. His hands found your hips just like earlier, and this time he pulled you snug against him while your fingers teased through his hair. "If a guy is worth waiting for, then I'd wait forever."

He kissed you again, tasting and nipping the lips that he'd dreamed about. Inhaling all of your sweetness that his mind didn't do justice to when he'd been away. Feeling your smile against his lips for the first time.

"Let me ask you again," you said, pausing between kisses. "Since I clearly helped you win the bet, what are you going to do for me?"

"Anything you want," he said immediately as you started to push him toward the door with a grin. 

"How about we go for a long drive? And we can talk about how the next time you're deployed, your girlfriend will be waiting patiently for you to return?"

Bradley scooped you up, sending you into a fit of laughter as he carried you directly to his Bronco.

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

Bradley was exhausted on Monday to the point where the travel mug of coffee you sent him with did nothing to keep him from yawning out on the tarmac at 8:00. But every yawn ended with him smiling as he thought about how perfect the weekend had been. In the very early hours of Sunday morning, you'd agreed to be his girlfriend. And now he was waiting for the cherry on top of it all.

He didn't have to wait long as he stood between Reuben and Javy, the three of them looking nearly identical in their matching flight suits and boots, standing at attention in front of Maverick. Then Jake came strolling out, and Bradley instantly started laughing. 

Maverick turned, took one look at Hangman in his boxer shorts and combat boots and said, "I don't even want to know what's going on here, I just want five hundred push ups."

Jake's eyes looked like they were going to bug out of his face as everyone else tried their best to hold in their laughter. Bradley took his phone out as discreetly as he could and snapped a picture of Jake panicking on the tarmac before he dropped down onto the ground and started on his punishment. 

"Everyone else to your jets," Mav barked, and Bradley didn't stick around to hear him say it again. Instead he texted you the photo of Jake along with a short message.

Couldn't have pulled it off without your help, Sweetheart.

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

The way I would die of this man just casually started calling me his Sweetheart. I love that he swept the guys to win the bet! Thanks @mak-32 and @beyondthesefourwalls

@hotch-meeeeeuppppp

@chassy21

@solacestyles

@daisyhollyxox

@wintercap89

@blog-name6996

@bcon24

@chaoticassidy

@avada-kedavra-bitch-187

@katiebby04

@marantha

@averyhotchner

@abaker74

@heli991113

@k-k0129

@noz4a2

@tallyovie

@shanimallina87

@little-wiseone

@ccbb2222

@lilyevanswhore

@xoxabs88xox

@thedroneranger

@cherrycola27

@fanboyswhore9

@xomrsalliej4787xo

@desert-fern

@sylviebell

@wkndwlff

@horseslovers2016

@gennyanydots

@mattyskies

@hookslove1592

@blahehblah

@sadpetalsstuff

@local-spidey

@schoollover

@lex-winchester

@magicalmorg

@nicole01-23

@jessicab1991

@happyrebelruins

@samsgoddess

@ughthisisntright

@bellaireland1981

@sagittarius-flowerchild

[arijackz]

PICK A CARD: Your Fall Awakening

✧ "I loved watching the base of those thunderstorms, the billowing tops of the cumulonimbus, the lightning that effortlessly lit up the lake and the sky. It was gorgeous, so energetic. I was in love." - Ginger Zee

Disclaimer: This is a general reading, take what resonates. This is a gender-neutral reading, change any pronouns to apply to you. Also, the tense changes from past to present to future, I hope this doesn't make the reading difficult.

Also! Thank you so much to everyone who put in a paid reading request, when my life stabilizes, those will be on the top of my priority list. <3

p1 → p2 ↙︎ p3 → p4

Pile One (King of Cups, 5oC, The Sun, The Knight of Cups)

This energy feels sudden but fated. This year’s eclipse season has been insane and you were always destined to reach a cosmic juncture of complete renewal around this time. The scales are tipping in your favor and this is your season to receive. 

This is my emotionally attuned pile. You were a sensitive child—a walking bundle of warmth and acceptance—until people took advantage of your gentle soul. You could have been the typical sunshine kid always giggling, easily making connections, and being a bright energy people were easily attracted to. Whether or not you were aware of it, people saw your capacity for love and happiness as intimidating and “fake”. Their reality did not shine as bright as yours so they could not fathom your authentic happiness.

That doesn’t mean people did not try to take advantage of your gentleness. Society associates friendliness/happiness as weakness and sees you as an easy target to get over on. Being trusting isn’t naivety, it isn’t your fault that you extended your time and resources to greedy people, it is their loss that they ruined a genuine connection because they were too far gone in their own misery to recognize a helping hand out of the shadows. 

This is a general reading so the details of what happened vary greatly, for most of you, there was a series of traumatic events involving your interpersonal relationships that scarred your heart. I visually see a wilting flower or a chest caving in on itself. 

Betrayal, cheating, abuse, years and years of lying, bullying, isolation, being ignored, and just overall feeling less important than the other people in your life.

But we don’t need to get into the nitty gritty of that bullshit. That chapter is closed, burned, and a renewed phoenix is rising from its ashes. 

To any other person, these events would have turned them rotten and nasty, but you never passed this hurt onto others, you just held onto it and kept holding on until it slowly drained and left all the cavities in your body empty and numb. You’re used to depletion, giving and giving, but being left in the dust after everyone else gets their fill and moves on.

Listen to me, you are stepping into your rainfall- the world revolves around you- era. You’re being rewarded for your resilience and “the cycle ends with me” attitude. A hurt person hurt you and you turned that into further reason why you would never be so cruel to another soul.

You got the sun, the best fucking card in the deck, right in the middle of your spread. With the lies you’ve been fed over the years, at some point on your journey, you got lost in the illusions of lack and fear. Fear that you weren’t enough and less than the magnificent being you truly are.

But this juncture is like a lightning strike of clarity to your consciousness, you are realizing that this journey is just that… a journey. A life lesson circling you back to your power so you can acknowledge just how fucking desirable your heart actually is.

People tried to rob you of your happiness because they wanted it. People tried to squash your kindness because they wanted it. People abused your time and energy because they yearned for it but could never have it. Think about it, if you had nothing of value, they wouldn’t have plotted on the resources you offered. 

We’ve all heard the saying, “You don’t know how good you have something until you lose it.” Life put you on this course of being on top, hitting rock bottom (deep depression), and then climbing up again so you can cultivate the strength to have a sensitive soul and defend it against all the greedy hands who want a piece. 

This journey taught you discernment, who to trust and who not to trust. It taught you how to pick yourself up and dust off. You learned to be stingy with your time and treat yourself as high value. Most importantly, you experienced your first full cycle of rebirth, where you learn that even your lowest of lows are temporary and it is universal law that all things eventually come to an end to be reborn bigger and better. 

True strength is seeing the world’s ugliness and not letting it taint you. You’ve been the victim of cruel actions and you wouldn’t dare enforce those on anyone else. The universe honors people like you. You were always meant to experience this upcoming win fall.

If you’re reading this, you’re already beginning to feel it. Shifts like this happen internally before manifesting externally. You step outside and the world looks more… romantic.

You can feel it in your bones that you are about to receive your fairytale life. The moon is smiling back at you and the stars are spelling out your name.

Embrace this Knight of cups energy and follow the whims of your heart, they’re leading you to your new timeline. Fall in love with yourself and acknowledge the battle you not only survived but won. 

P.S. Little you is so motherfucking proud of who you are and what you stand for. They knew you would make it back to them. It pained them to see you lost in other people’s lies but they never doubted your capability to see love in life again. Your kid self lived and breathed this joy and they knew nobody could truly take it from them. They are happy to see you realize it too.  

"Sometimes, the strongest roots grow in the softest soil."

Pile Two (King of Swords rev., King of Pentacles, 10oW, Queen of Wands rev.)

YOU ARE MORE THAN ENOUGH! There is no fucking reason to fixate on changing yourself when you are already perfect as it is, sugar plum!

You carried your family’s burdens up a verrry long mountain. You were trekking through life with a generational weight strapped on your back. Your greatest devil was expectations. 

You were told who you should be, what you should do, how you should act, what you should believe in. 

There weren’t many loving voices in your home, your efforts were met with harsh critiques and a heavier load on your plate. This is the classic case of being pushed beyond limits no child should have to reach. In your upbringing, it was perfection or nothing. Not only did you have to excel academically, you had to be attractive and have a thriving social life, do extracurriculars, and anything else that exemplified you as a model child and citizen. 

And even then, when you did all those things, you didn’t get the proper acknowledgment or congratulations you deserved. Lots of you just got higher expectations set after you proved you could reach an already unrealistic standard. God forbid you didn’t reach those standards, some of you got shunned or abused. 

Sometimes you felt more like a project your people flaunted rather than someone they authentically loved and cared for.

This fucked with your young psyche. I mean… what's the point!? You jump through all these hoops to barely get a pat on the back? Yeah, you seemed perfect on the outside but internally, you were teeming with self-hate and the contempt of not being enough for anyone. 

I am getting frustrated just channeling this message, damn you deserved so much more! 

(Do you get migraines or tension headaches?)

This is my pile of people who did not get the privilege of choosing their own career path. Your guardians told you to study to become a doctor, engineer, scientist, artist, or whatever the hell they wanted to flaunt as an extension of themselves. 

But get this, your people didn’t do that shit either! They push so hard for you to be someone they’re not because they’re projecting their (fear of) failure onto you. 

For some (those who were not ignored or abused), it wasn’t malicious. They pushed you to be great because they wanted the best for you, but the way they handled it was fucked up.

There was a lot of fear about falling short of expectations and disappointing the people around you. Creating this mindset that you had to perform for affection and needed to prove that you were of value to people in order to be loved.

Some of you heavily rebelled against this authoritarian force in your life. Explicitly, through using sex to satiate your desire to feel loved. Like with your family, you viewed love as transactional and went into “relationships” with people who disguised their lust for you as love but only truly wanted to exploit your vulnerable state.

I am sorry you did not deserve that, you are better with those energies out of your life. 

BAAABBBYYYY, this season is rinsing out all that gunk between your ears and pushing the weight off your back. Can you feel your spine unfurl?

This season you’re letting all the bullshit go. You’re garnering strength the rest of society only talks about. You’re looking at yourself in the mirror and saying that nobody’s expectations are worth living a life you don’t want to live. Those people were empowered by you not recognizing your own capability, they were the only measurement of how worthy you were and the only source of the approval you craved. 

(why won't this center???^)

You’re awakening to just how much of a bad mf you truly are! You’re the king of pentacles- you’re your own empire! You’re reclaiming your power and acknowledging that with all the time and effort you put into building someone else’s dreams, you have the strength to build your own!

With every challenge thrown at you, YOU BODY THAT SHIT!

I’m getting chills, I feel like a hype man lmao. I’m your biggest fan fr. I want you on my team! You’re an irreplaceable asset that anyone would be blessed to work with. 

All the pressure you faced has forged you into a one-of-a-kind gemstone and you are shining brightly! 

This journey taught you the power of control and how to take the reigns of your own chariot. You will never allow another soul to take your will from you again. 

*Clears throat* Don’t tell anyone I said this but… expect your life to blossom in ways you can’t even begin to fathom.

Your 5th house: leisure, pleasure, romance, creativity, and your 10th house: higher self, your image, and how you carry yourself once you leave the shadows is getting a major activation.  

The dreams of your future that you wouldn’t dare whisper to the people in your life are being heard by Source and they’re being packaged (with a cute lil bow) behind the scenes, ready to be delivered at your feet. I am not kidding, your oracle cards are: 10th house, 5th house, Venus, fated meeting, and “Blessings you couldn’t even dream of are walking to your front door”.

There is a special emphasis on your creative endeavors, unleash the side of you that was shunned, and allow it to garner the love and attention that has always been meant for you! It is your time to live life the way you’ve always wanted to. 

P.S. People don’t want to hear it because getting your expectations high is a “bad” thing or whatever, but you will meet someone. It’s a fated meeting and you two are meant for each other. Royal love. You got all court cards and while I was typing, “one-of-a-kind” autocorrected to “one-of-a-king”. 

Pressure Reveals Our Brilliance

Pile Three (10oS Rev., 10oW, 8oP, Queen of Swords, Emperor)

Growing up, my mom always told me that when we feel like we’re wandering aimlessly, we’re actually slowly inching closer to where we’re meant to be.

I pass these words of wisdom on to you because you know the pain of wandering all too well. When you were younger, your energy was unadulterated and you dreamt big without any doubt creeping around your skull to sully your aspirations. You are naturally a very ambitious person with a killer drive to get shit done.

However, something shifted. I don’t think it was a specific event, it happened over time. The wrong people and painful situations slowly chipped away at your spark for life until your body lost its will and you slowly staggered to the ground with all ten swords in your back. 

There was a dense fog around who you were and what you wanted. You questioned your desires and your ability to achieve them, growing more frustrated with your own confusion. Until eventually, you stopped dreaming. Anything to curb the painful disappointment of feeling like a person coming from a broken mold. Or a human without an outline, just an indistinct blur melting into the background. 

I feel static in my bones. I see that your shadows locked you in place- paralyzed. Limited only to the realms in your head as you watch the world evolve and move on without you.

This pile struggles with the most intense anxiety. Have you seen Inside Out 2? There is a scene where the anxiety emotion goes into overdrive and can’t remove herself from the control panel and Riley has an ongoing panic attack. For a huge chunk of your life, your anxiety couldn’t release itself from the command center. Your whole life has felt like you’ve been holding your breath, waiting for the panic attack to subside. 

You’re a nervous nelly, I’m afraid. Not to be offensive, but I imagine a nervous, wet chihuahua shaking like a leaf (haha, been there).

Something about your friendships and the negative influence of others is important. The ten of swords is typically a betrayal card. These situations left you with an aching sense that you didn’t have control over the direction of your life, so you spent your days worrying about everything that has and will go wrong.

Maybe people told you that you weren’t capable? Maybe you felt like you didn't measure up to the people around you who had direction in their lives.

You have a lot of energy, pent-up energy. It is actually one of your blessings, you have an abundance of energy to achieve all that you set your mind to. But these traumatic events locked up this vitality and prevented it from being properly expressed. It didn’t go away, it got transmuted into mental energy and you “thought” yourself to death. 

It’s funny—you probably daydream about taking action and doing the everyday things that others do without a second thought. For them, it’s normal, but for you, it’s a wild dream. 

This is my late bloomer pile. The things people your age typically do, you haven’t gotten around to because you can’t seem to get your body and mind on the same accord. 

You had restless energy, your body was always on but not in motion. Think of a tightly stretched rubber band aching to be released anywhere but stuck in this moment of tension. You felt the pull, the urge to leap into action, yet something held you back—whether it was doubt, hesitation, or simply the weight of expectation. Each day was a reminder of your potential, a constant yearning to break free and finally express that energy in a meaningful way. But, the second you went in for the kill, your bones locked up and left you stagnant.

I want to cry writing this. Your wishes are so simple and you will get them tenfold, quote me. 

This season you are getting the key to freedom from your mental prison- clarity. Clarity on just how possible everything is. You are awakening to the world at your fingertips and the very road map woven into your heart.

It sounds silly, but you dream of work! You want to go out and create without paralyzing fear looming over your shoulder. This is your deepest desire because you are meant to do it. You’re the fucking emperor AND the queen of swords. Your name is meant to be plastered on a building somewhere, and no amount of fear or doubt is going to keep you from that. 

This journey taught you how to build mental fortitude and define yourself. You won’t listen to any voice that prevents you from living the life you want to live, not even your own. The next time you get stabbed in the back, you won’t even flinch and you sure as hell won’t stop your motion. 

You don’t need to think, just be. Your feet will take you to where you need to go.

(Shoutout to my Rahuvians!)

Your wildest dreams have been heard and answered, and you’re beginning to find your direction again. I know it’s hard to believe, especially after spending so much of your life in an illusionary prison—a mental construct that felt all too real. But take a deep breath and allow those bars to melt away. Remember, this chapter is just that: a chapter in your life. You are ready to turn the page and embark on a new adventure, one that could be your very first! Embrace the possibilities ahead, and tell any lingering fears to shut the fuck up and kick rocks.

This next phase in your life is anything but slow, it’s a complete 180 from what you’re used to. Get ready to be a busy bee and in high demand. Your mind and body will be sharp, focused, and honed in on your craft. You are mastering something and achieving great success. “Blessings you couldn’t even dream of are walking to your front door.”

P.S. I know that was a long, agonizing, period in your life but jump for joy now that it’s over! I promise you, it truly is!! Don’t stress about the past or worry about what you should or could have done differently. You did everything perfectly and you were always meant to be where you are right now. 

I know this might sound cliché, but the situation was out of your hands. The lesson was about learning to surrender control and trusting in the only constant in life: change. Nothing lasts forever, your pain is temporary. Trust that this experience has shaped you, and now you have the opportunity to step forward with newfound strength and resilience. Embrace the future—it’s waiting for you!

She's Using the Colors of Her Aura to Define Her Being

Pile Four (2oP, 7oW, 4oW, 90P, Clear, Third Eye Chakra, 1st House, Pluto)

Hmmm, pentacles (earth​ = stay and grow, grow, grow) and wands (fire = go, go, go)… “Should I stay or should I go?” 

Nobody wants to hear it, but you’re being pushed into hermit mode. But fear not! ☝🏾 This will be your last and most peaceful retreat. You’re caught in a battle between the urge to slow down and prioritize your wellness and the temptation to jump up and grind. Embrace this time for reflection and self-care—it’s essential for your growth. When you take the time to recharge, you’ll emerge stronger and more focused, ready to tackle whatever comes next with renewed energy. Trust that this phase is necessary for your journey.

The right answer is a blend of both. Make a steady meditation and fitness plan you can rely on where you feel productive yet kept to yourself. Your energy is sensitive at this time and people are going to try and purposely trigger you because they can sense that you’re getting ready to pop out and do your mf jig!

You are crazy intuitive and are awakening to this fact, but just like the start of any journey, you’re trying to find a balance between your intuition and judgment.

Spoiler alert, they're the same thing! 

ESPECIALLY for you. Check to see if you have Pluto, Ketu (south node), Jupiter (Sag or Pisces), Mars (Aries or Scorpio), or Moon (Cancer) in your first, fourth, seventh, or tenth house. Or literally anything in your eighth house.

You are blessed with the ability to see beyond the veil of illusion and are meant to nurture and refine this gift. Embrace it as a powerful tool for understanding yourself and the world around you. Trust your intuition and allow it to guide you through challenges, helping you uncover deeper truths. 

This season is bringing changes to your physical body and immediate environment, you feel most vulnerable to the weather changes and are probably having trouble sleeping. You are likely feeling tension between your eyebrows and are seeing images that aren't actually there. 

You’re experiencing a third eye awakening and a major karmic clearing, this is my most spiritual pile by far. If you’re not into these types of things, this isn’t your pile. Actually, this group really stands out from the others, I don’t have advice for you per se; this message is to assure you that you’re not delusional. 

I am here to tell you to trust what you’re seeing. You’re right! Whatever you think is happening… is happening. If you think great things are coming, they absolutely are. Conversely, if you feel that something shady is going on behind the scenes, then that’s exactly what’s unfolding. Trust your instincts; they’re guiding you toward the truth.

Here’s a secret about intuitive judgment: If the thoughts are causing anxiety and plaguing you with fear, they’re not true. On the other hand, if your instincts provide insight into a situation and help you feel more in control, you’re on the right track. Even if the truth is harsh or painful, knowing it empowers you to make informed decisions about your next move. 

The truth is enlightening, even if it leads to a tower moment where everything you thought you knew comes crumbling down. Lies may feel comforting at first, but they can slowly trap you, binding you to a life that isn’t truly yours. Your soul craves deep transformation and healing. It may sound cryptic, but this is your season to die and allow yourself to be reborn anew. Embrace the intensity of Scorpio season; it’s a powerful time for you to shed old skin and welcome a higher version of yourself. 

Who is this higher version? You have been cultivating them bit by bit with every trial thrown your way and it is finally time for them to rise to the surface. This version embodies your resilience, wisdom, and strength, shaped by your experiences and the lessons learned along the way. Embrace this transformation and let your true self shine. You are ready to step into your power and create the life you’ve always envisioned.

(Any Mula natives in the chat?)

I am excited for you, it’ll be tiring and unpleasant but the world waiting for you on the other side is one of bountiful harvests and celebrations! Hang in there! 

Embrace the slowness and allow yourself to relax while it's here because this next chapter is TURNT. 

P.S. You’re hot—like really, incredibly sexy. Your gaze is piercing, and people feel as though you see straight through them into depths they aren’t even aware of. You don’t have to do much to unsettle others; they’re easily triggered because they can’t hide behind the safety of their masks when they’re around you. Your authenticity and intensity shine through, making them confront their own truths. Embrace that power; it’s a gift that not everyone possesses!

She Follows the Blueprint Woven Into Her Flesh

[misshoneyimhome]

500 FOLLOWERS FESTIVAL

"If you cross her, then you cross me” I Matthew Knies☆

Requested: yes/no

Summary: After weeks apart, Matthew Knies finally sees his girlfriend again, his heart racing with anticipation. Yet, the sight of bruises on her arm brings a sharp reminder of why he hates being away from her.

Tropes & warnings: Matthew Knies x reader, established relationship, boyfriend!Kniesy, protective!Kniesy, no real harm (bruise), Smut 18+; Oral sex (f receiving), fingering, unprotected sex (p in v), cum inside;

Other notes: So, we're at the final stop of our Followers Festival, and I can’t express enough how grateful I am for your input! Writing like this is always so much fun and thrilling, as it's pushing me to explore new challenges 🤗 Thank you so much for joining my little celebration and for reading my work ❤️ Lots of love!

Word count: 2.9K

➼｡ﾟ

You and your boyfriend, Matthew Knies, had been apart for far too long.

_

Almost a year ago, your life had taken an unexpected yet wonderful turn, where it all started on a crisp autumn evening when you decided to attend a charity event organised by your company. You hadn’t particularly been enthusiastic about going, but it was for a good cause, and as the newest (and youngest) hire, you felt obliged to make an appearance.

The venue was a beautiful old mansion converted into an event space, filled with elegantly dressed guests, soft music, and the hum of polite conversation. And almost lost in your own thoughts, you casually wandered around, occasionally mingling with colleagues and sampling the delicious hors d'oeuvres, when you suddenly spotted a tall, handsome man across the room. He had a relaxed confidence about him, and you couldn't help but notice the way he smiled as he chatted with a group of people.

Then feeling the need to hold onto something for comfort, you made your way over to the refreshment table near where he stood. And as luck would have it, you both reached for the same glass of champagne at the same time, where the tall man simply laughed, a warm, genuine sound, and motioned for you to take it.

“Looks like we have the same taste,” he said with a grin.

You smiled back, feeling a spark of something you couldn’t quite identify. “I guess we do.”

“I’m Matthew, by the way,” he introduced casually, extending his hand.

“I'm y/n,” you replied softly, shaking his hand in a polite and friendly manner. His grip was firm yet reassuring, and you found yourself immediately at ease.

And from that small moment, the conversation flowed effortlessly. You discovered that Matthew was a professional hockey player, currently enjoying some downtime before the new season began. He was charming and down-to-earth, with a passion for the sport that was infectious. You shared stories about your jobs, your interests, and your families, finding common ground in unexpected places.

So, as the evening progressed, you both found yourselves gravitating towards each other, enjoying the easy banter and undeniable chemistry. When the event then started to wind down, Matthew hesitated for a moment before asking if you’d like to grab a coffee sometime.

“I'd love that,” you replied, feeling a flutter of excitement.

And so, your relationship began. The first coffee date turned into a series of outings—dinners, walks in the park, movie nights—each one bringing you closer together. Matthew’s schedule was hectic, but he always made time for you, and you quickly found yourself falling for him faster than you had ever thought possible.

By the time you reached the six-month mark, you knew this was something truly special. Despite the challenges of his demanding career and your own busy life, the bond you shared only grew stronger. The time apart was hard, but it made the moments together even more precious.

_

The off-season brought you nothing but more joy and excitement into your life. Matthew had invited you to spend a few weeks in his hometown of Phoenix, Arizona, where you were introduced to everyone. 

And those weeks in Phoenix were nothing but magical, filled with warm, sun-soaked days and cool, starry nights. You visited his favourite childhood spots, hiked the stunning desert trails, and shared countless meals with his family, where his parents welcomed you with open arms, treating you like one of their own.

Matthew took you to some of his favourite local hangouts, where you met his old friends who regaled you with stories of their younger days. And you could easily see the deep bonds he had with them, which made you feel even closer to him. The evenings were your favourite, spent on the porch of his family’s home, sipping cold drinks and watching the spectacular Arizona sunsets.

Those quiet moments, where you could simply enjoy each other's company without any interruptions, were what you cherished the most. 

But as wonderful as those weeks had been, reality eventually intruded, and you were called back to return to work. Matthew stayed back as he was busy with off-season training, his days then filled with rigorous workouts and team meetings, while your own days were consumed by the demands of your job. 

Though you both tried to keep in touch with nightly video calls and sweet text messages throughout the day, it was never quite the same as being together. The screen could never capture the warmth of his touch or the comfort of his presence.

The nights were lonely, and the days felt endless without him. The ache of missing him settled deep in your chest, a constant reminder of the distance between you. You threw yourself into work, trying to fill the void, but it was a poor substitute for the man you loved. Weekends were the hardest. You'd find yourself aimlessly wandering the apartment, lingering over the photos of the two of you scattered around, each one a painful reminder of what you were missing.

And sensing your melancholy, your friends decided to cheer you up. So, they dragged you out one night, determined to lift your spirits. They took you to a lively bar downtown, where the air was thick with the scent of alcohol and the sound of loud, pulsing music. And for a while, it worked. The drinks flowed, laughter came easily, and the music helped drown out your thoughts as you danced with your girlfriends, trying to forget how much you missed Matthew.

But then, amid the flashing lights and the thumping bass, a man approached you. At first, he seemed harmless, just another person looking to have a good time. But as the night wore on, his behaviour became more insistent. He moved closer, invading your personal space, and his touch lingered on your arm longer than was comfortable. You tried to signal politely but firmly that you weren’t interested, yet he didn’t seem to take the hint. At one point, his grip even tightened around your wrist, and though you managed to pull away, the encounter left you shaken.

Nothing overtly dangerous happened, but his touch left you feeling unsettled. You felt a surge of anger and frustration, not just at the man who had crossed the line, but at the circumstances that had left you vulnerable and alone. You wished Matthew had been there, his presence a shield against the world.

_

Fortunately, only two days later, you stood at the airport, your heart pounding with anticipation. The noise of the bustling crowd, the rolling of suitcases, and the constant announcements over the intercom all faded into the background as you anxiously scanned the throngs of people for a familiar face. Every second felt like an eternity. But then, through the sea of strangers, you finally spotted him. Matthew’s tall frame and broad shoulders were unmistakable.

Your heart leapt as your eyes met his, and you saw his face break into a wide grin that mirrored your own. And without a moment's hesitation, you dashed towards him, your feet barely touching the ground. When you reached him, you threw yourself into his arms, feeling the solid warmth of his body against yours. And effortlessly, he lifted you slightly off the ground as he hugged you tightly, burying his face in your hair.

“Missed you so much,” he murmured into your ear, his voice rough with emotion.

“Missed you too,” you replied, your voice muffled against his chest. The relief of being in his embrace after so long was overwhelming, washing over you in waves. You could feel the tension of the past weeks melt away as you clung to him, savouring the familiar scent of his cologne and the steady beat of his heart.

So, with no intention of wasting a single moment, you grabbed his hand and headed straight for the car. The drive to your shared apartment was filled with stolen glances and soft touches, the air between you crackling with anticipation. And by the time you reached your place, the need to be close to each other was almost too much to bear.

As soon as the door closed behind you, Matthew’s lips were already on yours, the urgency of your reunion clear in every kiss. His hands roamed over your back, pulling you closer as if to make up for the lost time. Meanwhile, your own hands fumbled with his jacket, eager to feel his skin against yours. You barely made it to the living room before clothes began to come off, a trail of discarded garments marking your path to the bedroom.

And once in the bedroom, Matthew’s hands explored your body, rediscovering every curve he had missed. His touch was both tender and demanding, his fingertips tracing the lines of your body with a familiarity that sent shivers down your spine. The kisses grew more passionate as he explored your skin, each touch igniting a fire within you.

He knew your body like a map he’d charted himself, but his touch faltered when he encountered a mark on your arm—a bruise that hadn’t been there before. So, he pulled back slightly, his eyes narrowing as he examined the bruise.

“Who did this to you?” His voice was rough, filled with concern and barely-contained anger. His jaw tightened as he looked at you, his protective instincts flaring up.

“It’s nothing, Matts,” you said, trying to downplay it. “Just some guy at a bar… it’s not a big deal.”

“No, this is something!” His eyes were fierce, the protective side of him coming to the fore. “A guy touched you? And bruised you?”

“It looks worse than it was…” you began, but he cut you off with a gentle but firm grip on your chin, tilting your face up to meet his gaze.

Matthew’s face softened slightly, but the anger in his eyes didn’t fully dissipate. “I don’t like thinking about someone else touching you.”

You sighed, reaching up to cup his face, your thumb gently stroking his cheek. “I’m alright. I’m here with you now. That’s what matters.”

His gaze remained intense, but then he leaned in, capturing your lips once more in a deep, passionate kiss that stole every bit of air from your lungs. His hands were rough yet tender, conveying the love and longing that had built up over the past weeks. And the kiss was an attempt to claim you, to remind you of his presence and devotion, and you could feel the intensity of his emotions in every movement—how his lips pressed against yours, how his hands held you close. It was as if he was pouring all the missed moments and unspoken words into that one kiss.

And then, Matthew’s focus shifted to ensuring your pleasure, his touch expert and attentive. He started by exploring your body with his mouth, trailing kisses down your jawline and along the valley of your breasts. He lingered briefly at each nipple before continuing downward, moving past your belly button to your core.

Light moans escaped you as he settled between your legs, his arms wrapped around your thighs. He then kissed around your needy centre, his touch both deliberate and tender.

“Please, Matts. I need you,” you whimpered softly, your hand finding his brown locks, as if to pull him closer.

But Matthew just smirked against your skin, tightening his grip before he finally indulged in the craving he’d been holding back. Skillfully, he licked up your folds, drawing moans from you—sweet music to his ears as he savoured your tasty honey.

“Oh yes,” you breathed out, your head sinking deeper into the pillow below you, your fingers gripping his hair. “Mmm, more…”

And your plea was his command. He licked you several times, making sure to explore all of your sensitive areas, before focusing on your sensitive clit. Sucking and nipping, he wasted no time in drawing louder moans from you. And as he sensed your light squirming under his touch, feeling the power he held over you, he worked his skilled mouth with determination.

“Mmm, taste so fucking delicious, baby,” he hummed huskily into your core as he ate you out you like a starved man getting his first meal in months.

“Fuck,” you cried softly as you felt the arousal build within you, a familiar wave of pleasure coursing through your body. You were approaching your climax, and the ecstasy intensified as Matthew continued to suck on your sensitive bead of nerves, making you shut your eyes tightly. And when he then added his long fingers into the mix, it didn’t take long before his skilled tongue pushed you to your first orgasm.

“I’m gonna cu—Matts, I’m coming!”

The sensation was intense, a welcome relief from the tension of your separation.

And as Matthew looked up from between your legs, urging you to meet his gaze, a satisfied smirk played on his lips. “It’s good to be home.”

You couldn’t suppress a smile either, the rush of your orgasm still lingering as he gently moved to hover over you. Feeling the need to shift positions, you then signalled for him to lie on his back.

And Matthew naturally obliged. He always enjoyed when you tried to take charge—emphasis on *trying*, as you both knew that even when you were on top, he was still the one truly in control.

Yet, as you positioned yourself on top of him, you led with fervour and passion. His length was larger than any man you’d experienced before, but whenever he was inside you, it felt like your bodies melded perfectly together. You rolled your hips smoothly, his hands guiding you gently, as your palms pressed firmly on his muscular chest, giving you support to increase your pace at his unspoken command. Then with his thumb pressing insistently against your sensitive clit, Matthew helped you reach another peak. Arching your back and clenching around him, you let his name slip from your lips in a deep moan.

It was a blissful moment as you reached your second orgasm. However, as the rhythm of your movements built, Matthew’s own desire surged. So, with a swift motion, he turned you around into missionary, where he effortlessly took control and began pounding into you with primal intensity. His movements were relentless, driven by his need for release. 

It had been too long. Too long since he had felt himself inside you, too long since he’d climaxed under your touch.

His breathing was erratic, mingling with the sounds of your moans and the echo of skin slapping against skin throughout the room. Your nails dug into the back of his shoulders, and the force of his thrusts pushed both of you to the brink, each touch and movement designed to make the experience as overwhelming and fulfilling as possible.

“Fuck baby…. Oh yes,” he groaned deeply as he spilled his release into you, gasping for air. Matthew knew he finished sooner than he’d usually do, but given the time apart, it was no surprise to either of you.

Besides, you were already satisfied with your own rather quick orgasms he’d caused you. 

You both panted deeply, surprised by how intense and satisfying the reunion felt, more so than you had anticipated. And as you lay tangled in the sheets, the aftermath of your intimacy left both of you spent but content. Yet, you could sense something lingering in Matthew’s demeanour—a worry that hadn’t quite been erased.

“What’s wrong, my love?” you asked softly, tuning slightly to face your incredibly handsome boyfriend, with his Arizona tan. 

But Matthew just brushed a strand of hair from your face, his voice tender and sincere. “I just don’t like thinking of someone else touching you.”

“Then don’t think about it,” you replied, resting a hand on his chest. “Nothing happened. I’m here with you now.”

“But still… if someone crosses you, they also cross me,” he said, his tone resolute and protective. “And I’m not going to let it go. If I knew who it was, I’d…”

“You’d what? Risk your career by punching a stranger in the face?” you chuckled lightly with a cocked brow. 

“No,” Matthew breathed out softly. “I just wanted to make them pay for doing anything like this to you…”

You couldn’t help but smile up at him, touched by his fierce loyalty. “You’re wonderful, Matts. But I can take care of myself when you’re not here. You don’t need to go around and punch people for me.”

“I know you can,” he said, gently pulling you even closer. “I just… I love you so much. I’ve never loved anyone like this before. And… I don’t want to lose you.”

“You’ll never lose me. Not now, not ever.” You pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, reassuring him. 

Matthew’s arms tightened around you, a final, tender embrace as the two of you settled into a peaceful slumber. In that moment, all the fears and uncertainties of the past few weeks faded away, leaving only the certainty of your love for each other.

Well, Matthew, of course, couldn’t let it go completely. So, he interrogated your friends, pressing them for any information about who might have done this to you, earning light chuckles from all of you. However, as weeks passed, the bruises fading, and the hockey season began, the incident faded into the background.

[bloodofgrapes]

since I received so many incredible and kind comments on this comic, I'm gonna finally post a small detail that got lost in the texturing and lighting of the original

To my mind, Phoenix has often bucked or subverted a lot of masculine stereotypes, but he still remains an average "every guy" to a degree, in that he tends to bottle up his emotions, present himself brusquely, and won't talk about himself much. However, I think if any event in the entirety of the aa series could get him to weep, I think it would be letting it all out post 2-4

[p0orbaby]

For a Good Time, Call… (2)

summary: waking up groggy and confused in an unfamiliar house, you try to piece together the previous night's drunken events

warnings: alcohol consumption, suggestive themes

a/n: this took an age, i’m sorry

word count: 3k

part 1 | part 3 | part 4 | epilogue

-

There’s something so categorically degrading about waking up with a hangover.

Even on a basic level, it’s a pure, unadulterated betrayal. Your body, the very vessel you trust to carry you through life itself, turns into a traitor. You can almost hear it whispering, “Oh, you thought dancing on tables and singing karaoke off-key was a good idea? Well, here’s a headache and nausea combo for your troubles”.

Waking up is a gradual ascent from the fiery depths of hell. Satan himself has seemed to take a liking to pounding on the inside of your skull. You’re hot, you ache, and why is it so damn bright in here? You reach out a weak, shaky arm for the lamp, desperately craving the solace of darkness, only to be met with no lamp at all and curtains so wide open that the morning light shines an accusatory beam bright enough to burn your retinas.

Life is so cruel.

You drop your hand and groan at the effort of having moved for no reason. And you contemplate burying your face back into the pillows, but you opt against it when you feel how dry your mouth is. Water. You need water. So with the grace of a rudely awakened sloth, you peel your eyes open.

Well then, it appears you’ve been involuntarily thrust into a theatrical production of ‘Regret: The Morning After’. The decor around you doesn’t match your last memory of home, and unless your furniture recently acquired a taste for avant-garde minimalism, you must admit you are, in fact, not in your own flat.

The bed feels suddenly unfamiliar, and the sheets are the kind of thread count that screams someone else’s good decisions. You’d normally appreciate waking up in luxury, but the pounding in your head and the revelation that you’ve become an uninvited guest dampens the joy somewhat.

A quick survey reveals a room that’s both meticulously organised and lacking the warm chaos of your own living quarters. As your faculties slowly return from their hangover-induced sabbatical, some important questions arise: Whose residence are you dishonouring, and where exactly did you misplace your own good judgment last night?

Hesitantly you sit up, the sheets cascading down exposing not your anticipated nakedness but a fully clad form. The dignity you deemed lost and laying dead in a gutter now resurrects itself, a phoenix from the ashes, offering unexpected relief and a silent cheer for your redemption.

You don’t even care that you can’t find your phone. The contents of it will probably make you want to call your therapist anyway, and who needs that? Not you, that's for sure. You need water, asap. Because if you don’t get it soon you honestly think this random room in this random house will be the last thing you’ll ever see.

So, on legs as shaky as those of a newborn giraffe, you stand from the bed and stumble towards the door that’s keeping you safe from the rest of the house.

Your plan? Find the nearest water source, some footwear, and the exit. Preferably in that order. It should be simple enough, unless you’ve somehow made it all the way to Timbuktu throughout the course of the night. In that case getting home may be more of a struggle than originally anticipated. But at least Mali has water.

Dehydration is making you lose your marbles.

You open the door and three things happen in very quick succession. The smell first. Bacon. Your stomach rumbles automatically and you briefly wonder when the last time you ate was. Second, the sound of running water. And in your mind that only means one thing. But your brain is currently running at the same rate as Internet Explorer and has trouble realising that water doesn’t just run on its own accord within a household.

Revelation number three you ask? Hang in there, it's a kicker.

-

“What is wrong with you?”

“What? No, nothing. Nothing's wrong”

“You know you’re like, a super bad liar?”

“And you know you’re like, super weird following me into the toilet?”

Kyra just rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at you. She’s just like that. Immature, like a little sister, but way more annoying.

“So you’re the only one who’s allowed to piss now then?”. It was your turn to roll your eyes, locking your phone and tucking it back away into your bra. “You didn’t answer my question”

“I did. I said nothing’s wrong”

Kyra huffs, crossing her arms defiantly. “Well, your face says you’re constipated or something. Seriously, what’s up with the permanent frown”

You sighed, realising trying to get out of this was going to be more effort than it’s worth. “It’s just… life stuff, you know. Relationship problems”

“I didn’t think you were in a relationship” Kyra questions with a frown of her own.

“Exactly. It’s complicated”

Leah gave you the green light to reach out again, and yet, you find yourself stuck in a loop of doubt. The ball is in your court, and you’re juggling excuses instead of taking the shot.

She catches your eyes in training sometimes and shoots you a look as if to say, “come on, make a move already”, yet all you can do is stand and stare at her like a deer in headlights.

“Sounds it” by Kyra’s tone you can tell she’s not convinced by your answer, but she enters a cubicle and thankfully leaves it at that. “I think we should do shots,” she says through the door.

You sigh, because that’s the single best thing you’ve heard her say all evening.

-

“Laura”

Your breath catches when you see her emerge from the bathroom. At least you’ve laid eyes on someone you recognise.

“Hey! Good morning!”

Oh god, she was so nice. She wasn’t even out last night. How on earth have you dragged her into your mess?

“Hi- I. Do you-“

She looks you up and down and chuckles a little at your disheveled state. You don’t feel exposed or uncomfortable under her gaze, but you do feel disjointed. Untethered.

“Nice shorts”

“I-“ you choke on your words again and she stares at you expectantly. “I’ll wash them”

Her expression changes instantly. Her small smile makes way for a downward turn of her lips and a furrow of her brow.

“I’m sorry?”

“The shorts” you blurt out. “I’ll wash them for you. God knows what I’ve done to them”. She raises her eyebrows at your words and you panic. “Not that I’ve done anything bad, like piss in your bed or anything. I’ll wash that too. Your sheets, if I’ve pissed I mean. But the bed was dry when-“

“Jeepers, you did drink a lot last night didn’t you?”

“I’m so sorry”

You have no idea what you're apologising for. Everything perhaps. She’s not your mother, you don’t have to justify that you went out and had a good time.

“For what? It’s not my sheets you’ve ruined”

You blink at her in confusion. “You mean-. This isn’t your…”

“House? You think this is my place? Gosh, you must’ve drank the place dry”

Not for the first time this morning, you were completely lost. There were too many unanswered questions clunking around your throbbing head to even make sense of what was going on.

“Right, well I’m going to go. The bathroom is right there” she points dramatically at the room behind her, as if you couldn’t find your way five feet in front of you on your own. “I’d get yourself in front of a mirror before you head downstairs”

She gives your shoulder an affectionate squeeze when she brushes past you. “Mirror, got it” you mumble as you shuffle towards the toilet with great effort.

Laura was spot on – a mirror was your morning lifeline before subjecting anyone else to the sight of you. You weren’t just rough around the edges; you were a walking exhibit on the brink of a hangover apocalypse. Death warmed up? More like the undead, straight out of a zombie flick.

Your hair. Well, it was doing its own thing. A rebellious, unruly dance that had nothing to do with your input. It screamed “I partied all night and regret nothing”

And your makeup? Let’s just say it was on a journey of crude self-discovery, smudging and migrating in stubborn ways around your eyes. Big, bold mascara smudges teaming up with the remnants of a night that involved more tossing and turning than beauty sleep.

“You’re a fucking mess” you tell your reflection. “Jesus Christ”

You run the tap, gather some water in your palms and sluse your face to try and salvage at least a smidge of self esteem. The water feels like heaven against your skin, and you almost cry when your tongue darts out to catch the drops running over your lips.

-

“We thought you fell in”. Katie says when the two of you find yourself back with the group. “We almost sent out a search party”

Without missing a beat, you shoot back, “We’re getting shots. They’ve got a deal on Sambuca”. A smirk plays on your lips when Caitlin’s eyes light up.

Katie folds her arms, giving you a look of disapproval. “No way. I don’t trust you. Not after last time”

Kyra, leaning against the side of the booth you’ve all acquired, chimes in, “come on. Y/N’s practically depressed. Shots are the only way she’ll stop moping into her phone”

“Yeah, Kyra’s right”. Sort of. “I need shots to cope with the existential crisis that is being caused by my tragic life”. You don't, but you need to play along if you’re going to get your way.

You want to get to that sweet spot of intoxication. Where everything feels like it’s in soft focus, and you’re floating through the night on a cloud of liquid courage. You've already had a cocktail, or three, so you’re certain a few doses of clear spirits will get you there.

Even in the dimmed light of the bar you could see Katie narrow her eyes. She was thinking about it. Weighing up the options. Last time you all did shots she, honestly you can’t quite remember what happened, but she turned up late to training with a bruise blooming over her left brow and limp.

“I’ll buy them! Please Katie, for me” you plead, pulling out your best puppy dog eyes.

You see her physically deflate when she comes to her decision. “Okay! Alright! But if I get another late fine, you’re paying it”

-

You followed the sound of music and the hiss of bacon hitting a hot pan. Unfamiliar territory, yet your feet led you to the kitchen, guided by a primal hunger for anything salty.

Confusion still lingered like a heavy fog in your hungover mind. Too many questions and not enough answers. Until you stepped into the morning glare of a sun beaming through patio doors, then a series of mental gears clicked steadily into place.

It started with the song. The one that floated through the house on the back of the crackle of bubbling fat. It’s one you’ve heard many times before. A pre match staple that you loathe due to it being horrifically overplayed by its lover. Country music was never a bandwagon you wanted to get on the back of.

Then the subtle recognition of the athletic back turned towards you. The way the muscles moved under the taut skin with each flip of food. A mental Rolodex of faces spun, landing on a particular blonde's distinctive silhouette.

“I can feel you staring”

Well, you were. It was hard no to when you're faced with a chiseled physique clad in only a sports bra and a pair of training shorts.

“Why am I here, Leah?” You croak out. Voice horse from its dryness despite the water you just guzzled from the bathroom tap.

“For breakfast, I presume. I made bacon”

You roll your eyes at the back of her head. She knows full well what you mean but she’s choosing to be aloof just because she could.

“Think about it” she says as she finally turns around.

And you would think, but your brain has short circuited.

Christ on a bike she’s hot. It’s nothing you hadn’t seen before, of course. Being teammates and sharing locker rooms and ice baths and physio slots. But that was a professional setting. The way your eyes lingered was for science. To improve yourself. A personal physical goal.

Abs

Biceps

Cleavage

Your eyes shoot to the ceiling in an attempt to be respectful.

“Why do you think you could be here, Y/N?”

You swallowed hard, you were torn. If she’s alluding to what you think she’s alluding to, then damn, you’re actually pretty annoyed at yourself for not remembering it.

Before you can say anything, she places a plate of steaming hot food on the kitchen island you're keeping yourself upright against. Maybe you were still a little drunk. Maybe your peanut brain was trying and failing to act composed around a pretty girl in her underwear.

“Eat up. Then I’ll drop you home”

-

Is it possible to miss your bed after just one night?

Yes. Yes it is.

Leaving the comfort of your own mattress, cozy blankets, and the reassuringly familiar creaks of your bed frame is a betrayal you wholeheartedly regret when you find yourself splayed against the duvet an hour or so later.

Suddenly, you’re grappling with the harsh reality that not all beds are created equal. No matter their feather count, there’s nothing like your own bed.

But you can’t help but let your mind wander to the one you woke up in. And whose house it was situated.

The car ride back felt charged. Lingering Stares at red lights and small touches when Leah changed gears, or grabbed something out of the glove box. Maybe she was just playing games. She didn’t actually say exclusively that you’d slept with each other. But why would she lie?

And why else would you be there?

Your mind was reeling, caught in the aftermath of a night that seemed to have shifted the dynamics of your relationship with Leah even further than before. But the ghost of something remained unanswered, and you don’t think you’ve got the energy to figure it out.

You’re about to resign yourself to ignoring the nagging feeling, ready to fall into a well deserved sleep when your phone finally flickers to life. It had been dead for god knows how long and charging it seemed like the responsible thing to do.

You regret it instantly when you reach for it and see the barrage of notifications and texts from your friends filling the screen.

-

Amidst the relentless beats and a dance floor resembling a disorganized chaos of limbs, your friends seemed to have vanished quicker than a magician’s assistant in a puff of smoke.

Fucking amateurs.

You supposed that's why your phone kept buzzing in its place within your bra. A customary ‘Lost in the crowd, where are you?’ Or ‘Wanted nuggets, get home safe’ text. Though unexpectedly, it was Leah’s name that illuminated the screen instead.

Brace yourself for a probable lecture about your irresponsible choice of extra curricular activities. Not everyone is as disciplined as you Williamson!

You unlocked your phone with liquor numb fingers, ready to clumsily type back a response about personal space. Yet what you laid your eyes upon was certainly not something you’d be writing a scathing review about.

To say you got an eyeful would be the understatement of the century. Not that you could complain, because you really couldn’t. Who would when a full frontal picture of an extremely hot woman in lingerie is gifted to them on a plate free of charge. Not you. Definitely not you.

You squinted at the screen, half-wondering if the club’s DJ had spiked your drink with a dash of hallucinogens. Especially when a written text follows.

‘My place?’

Oh, and a google maps pin to the address of her flat as well. How convenient.

Who would’ve guessed it? The England skipper herself, the picture of professionalism, delivering a bold invitation with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer through a window. Regardless, it had you weak in the damn knees.

As the relentless bass thumped around you, you found yourself pondering the options laid out before you like some bizarre choose-your-own-adventure. Should you head to Leah’s for a morning that could redefine interesting, or persist in your quest for the lost tribe of friends in the dark, clammy wilderness?

Fuck your friends, you wanted to get laid.

‘I’ll get an Uber, be there in 10’

Thank god for auto correct.

-

Your mouth goes dry and your stomach falls out of your ass.

It all starts to make sense now – the glances, the static atmosphere. You ditched your friends for a booty call, and the evidence is now uncomfortably displayed on your screen, a vivid reminder of the unexpected turn your night took.

Just as you’re contemplating each increasing level of chaos, a single fresh text lands itself serendipitously in your inbox.

One guess as to who it’s from.

You want to scream.

‘Afternoon slugger. If you’re reading this you’re probably having a panic attack whilst looking at my nipples. You’re welcome. I want to clear something up. Unfortunately for you, we didn’t sleep together. Necrophilia isn’t my thing. So, congrats on surviving the night with your dignity intact. Your move, baby. Impress me’

You stare at Leah’s message, your jaw threatening to set up a permanent residence on the floor.

She played you like a damn fiddle. She seized the opportunity to mess with your head while you were too fragile to navigate the situation yourself. A cunning move, you have to admit.

It sparked something in you. A realisation that not only did she reach out, but she thought about you enough to ask for a booty call. And she’s put the ball back in your court, probably out of impatience. The fire in your belly she left there the day in the gym gew even hotter.

You would play along. Maybe even bend the rules like she did.

There was nothing wrong with a little game of cat and mouse, after all.

[whorediaries-09]

tempt;

"I left a calling card so they would know that it was me."

☆ EVENTS ☆

'tis the damn season (closed)

you can meet me at the hotel; (closed) [kinkotober masterlist]

put your life out on the line" (closed)

got the wine for you; (closed) [false god (masterlist)]

maybe it's a blessing in disguise; (closed)

music got you lost; (open) [masterlist]

✧ ONE-SHOTS ✧

Peppers Sirius Black X Reader. Fuck buddies to lovers. Modern AU!. 18+ content

Delicate Sirius Black X Reader. Friends to lovers. TW- Self harm, angst, hurt/comfort, fluff.

Night We Met Sirius Black X Reader Set During Order of The Phoenix. Mention of major character death(s).

New Year's Day Sirius Black X Reader Set during Order of The Phoenix. Fluff and low humor.

Cardigan; Sirius Black X Reader. Hurt/Comfort.

Sure Thing; Sirius Black X Shy!Reader Fluff.

Oh Children; Sirius Black X Reader Angst.

Million Dollar Man; Sirius Black x Camgirl!reader 18+ content, drinking.

Daylight Flowerist!Sirius Black X Barista!reader Fluff.

Consume; Dark!Sirius Black X Muggle!reader. 18+ content, cemeteries, dark themes.

Born to die Cult!leader Sirius Black X Reader. Mentions of murder, gore, dark themes.

Afterglow; Felix Catton x Reader Hurt/Comfort.

Dancing with our hands tied; Sirius Black X Reader. Hurt/Comfort, injuries, blood. (potential part two)

Maneater; Neighbor!James Potter X Reader 18+ content, stalker behavior, darkish themes.

She just hit my heart; James Potter X Reader Fluff.

Don't blame me; Priest!Remus Lupin X Reader Alludes to sex, dark themes.

Pick your poison, babe; Sirius Black X Reader Suggestive Content, fluff.

Try me; Ravi Singh X Reader Cigarettes, hurt/comfort.

ψ SERIES ψ

The Seven Lives; Please read chapter warnings on top of each chapter. Status- On going (PAUSED)

No Time To Die (Status - Completed)

The hurricane with my name on it. Please read chapter warnings on top of each chapter.

Love to think you'll never forget. Please read chapter warnings on top of each chapter.

⨴MOODBOARDS⨵

Poison Ivy From my fall event (close)

Heartbeat; From 'the seven lives' series.

§ ASKED AND ANSWERED §

Call It What You Want Sirius Black X Reader. Post Azkaban Sirius. Hurt/Comfort. Fluff. Touch sensitivity.

Indentation in the shape of you Sirius Black X Reader. Post Azkaban Sirius. Fluff, bad humor.

Now I'm Covered in You Sirius Black X Reader. Post Azkaban Sirius. 18+ Content. From my fall event (close)

Trying To Keep The Water Warm James Potter X Reader. Professor James AU! Fluff. From my fall event (close)

Dark Red James Potter X Reader Set during the Marauders era. 18+ content.

Womanizer Sirius Black x Reader Set During the Marauders era. Angst, 18+ content, drinking, hints at sexual assault.

Meddle About; West Coast; FDad!James Potter X Reader. 18+ content, mentions of alcohol, age gap.

Maroon Sirius Black X Reader ex to lovers, drinking, alludes to sexual assault, hurt/comfort.

The great war; Sirius Black X Reader ex to lovers, angst, hurt/comfort. Part two to Maroon.

Do I wanna know? Rockstar!Sirius Black X Reader. 18+ content.

Dusk till dawn Sirius Black X Lestrange!Reader Hurt/Comfort, dialogue heavy.

Smoke on my clothes; Rockstar!Sirius Black X Popstar!Reader Fluff, 18+ content, use of y/n.

Into You; Ron Weasley X Reader 18+ content, porn without plot.

Wherever I go; Remus Lupin X Reader. Making out, suggestive, fluff.

Blue Jeans; Professor!Harry Potter X Reader 18+ content.

Getaway car; Sirius Black X Desi!Reader 18+ content, sexual tension, substances.

I think he knows; Ron Weasley X Reader 18+ content, mentions of war, fluff.

Gorgeous; James Potter X Reader 18+ content.

House of balloons/glass table girls; Sirius Black X Reader 18+ content.

You're in love Policeman!James Potter X Baker!Reader Fluff.

Can't you see, you're meant for me? Bsf!Dad!James Potter X Reader Suggestive content, fluff.

I'm gonna make you my wife; Sirius Black X Reader Banter, fluff, silly teenagers in love, kinda shy reader, alcohol, 18+ content.

This place will burn you up; Sirius Black X Reader 18+ content.

❁ ODE TO FANFICTION ❁

Hall of morals;

I'm running back home to you;

[wisteria-lodge]

I LOVE the version of Lucius in your fic Prison of the Phoenix. He's different from a lot of portrayals I've seen. Why did you decide to write him how you did?

A lot of the fun of writing a book-accurate fix-it fic comes from taking the events of the book, and removing JKRs (simplistic, misleading, sometimes just weird) narrative framing. Slytherins = baddies, Gryffindors = goodies, you know. 

This is especially fun with Lucius Malfoy, who just like… isn’t very evil? Chamber of Secrets is his most villainous book, and I’ll get to that, but otherwise? He tries (unsuccessfully) to get the animal that attacked his kid killed. He donates to hospitals (but in like, an evil way.) He is a hilariously incompetent Death Eater, and then he's Voldemort’s punching bag. 

That’s kind of the point of Lucius. He looks the part. He commits to the aesthetics of the thing, with the hair and the peacocks and the snake-wand-cane. He likes the mystique of walking into a room and knowing that you know (but can’t prove) he’s a dark wizard. It allows him to be… kinda lazy. He can coast on his family name, money, reputation, privilege. I really think that if you sat Lucius Malfoy down and asked him to walk you through all the wizard-supremacy talking points he wouldn’t be able to do it. He’ll toss around words like “mudblood” and “mudblood-lover” no problem, but in the end he doesn’t really care. Lucius is not a true believer. The way the world is set up benefits him tremendously and he doesn’t want Voldemort back. That’s just text:

“Use your brains, Ron,” said Bill. “If they really were Death Eaters… I bet they’d be even more frightened than the rest of us to see him come back. They denied they’d ever been involved with him when he lost his powers, and went back to their daily lives… I don’t reckon he’d be over-pleased with them, do you?”

Lucius and friends had too much to drink at a sporting event, put on the old outfits (again with the aesthetics) and started levitating muggles. Which obviously isn’t GOOD, but they’re not killing or torturing, or furthering any kind of agenda. It’s important that Barty is so insulted and pissed off by the way they’re basically playing Dark Wizard that he casts the Dark Mark to “show [them] what loyalty to the Dark Lord meant, and to punish them for their lack of it.” Which kicks off most of the events of the book. 

Prison of the Phoenix is going to have a companion, parallel fic told from Harry’s POV (tentatively titled Harry Potter and Malfoy’s Suspicious Interest in Werewolves.) Lucius does show up in that one, and I was honestly surprised by how much more frightening and intimidating he is when filtered through Harry’s perspective. Because with a Severus POV… when Severus is used to spending time around Voldemort, Greyback, Bellatrix, honestly Dumbledore and Sirius Black…. Lucius is not scary. Lucius wants to buy presents for his son, go to high-profile events with his beautiful wife, and wear a variety of snake-themed accessories and extravagant hats. 

I wanted a kind of college-roommates-who-stayed-friends feel for the Severus + Lucius relationship, because they are friends. Sirius calls Severus Lucius’ “lapdog,” and Narcissa calls him Lucius’ “oldest friend.” Lucius is also part of the welcoming committee when Severus is first sorted into Slytherin. He’s five years older (I think Jason Isaacs is the only Harry Potter adult the same age as the character he plays), which would have affected the dynamic between him and Severus a lot in school. Personally, I think it makes sense for Lucius to be a little protective of this brilliant half-blood kid with no money. And as an adult, there’s some guilt mixed in there as well. Severus probably would not have been sucked into the Voldemort thing nearly as deep or nearly as fast if it hadn’t been for Lucius, and the war kind of destroyed him. Lucius remembers a younger Severus who was modding potions, inventing spells, coming up with cheeky nicknames for himself, and that person is gone. That’s a big part of the reason he’s so invested in the Severus/Remus relationship in Prison of the Phoenix. Something about Remus has managed to wake up parts of that younger Severus, and Lucius thinks that’s fantastic.

I also think Lucius might be the character who knows Voldemort the best. He’s one of the only Death Eaters who Voldemort calls by their first name (Bellatrix, Severus, and Draco are the others) and he’s weirdly familiar with his “slippery friend” Lucius, addressing the whole speech about how/why he returned to him, for some reason? Anything that helps Voldemort make sense as a person I’ll take, and to me it makes sense that young Tom Riddle charmed Abraxas Malfoy, Lucius’ father, first. The dates are right, and he’s exactly Tom’s type - rich, pureblood, probably easily flattered (let’s be honest) and sitting on a pile of magical artifacts. It’s very Hepzibah Smith vibes, is what I’m saying. And rich, posh, popular seventeen year olds don’t join cults. But if Lucius’ father was already in a cult… 

It also makes sense to me that Tom Riddle got sort of stuck when he killed Marvolo Gaunt, and made his first horcrux at sixteen. He has this fascination with sixteen year old pureblood wizards (so Barty, Draco, and Lucius would have fit this profile.) He sort of wants to be them, but also sort of wants to break them? It’s messy, and complicated. It’s creepy and compelling, that Lucius is aging but this spectre that’s dominated his life isn’t. 

And so when Lucius gives Ginny the diary in Book 2… it makes sense that he’s just trying to get rid of it. He was just at Borgin and Burkes selling dark artifacts, but knows that the diary is worse. He needs to make sure it can’t possibly be traced back to him. So he gives it to the daughter of the head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office. (It is an enchanted muggle artifact, after all.) If Arthur Weasley finds it and deals with it, fine. If Ginny is discovered with it in a way that blows up in Arthur’s face, also fine. If it does get to Hogwarts and does open the Chamber of Secrets - well Draco is going to be fine, and it might undermine Dumbledore. If it was really important to Lucius that the diary rid the school of muggleborns… he would have given it to Draco had him use it. Or given it to Draco, and told him to leave it somewhere for an enemy to find. But Lucius doesn’t do that, because he doesn’t want Voldemort back and his politics just aren’t that important to him. 

The one trait I did give Lucius that doesn’t go back to the books is just being madly in love with Narcissa. Lucius is an unrepentant wife guy. (And I mean… it doesn’t contradict anything. There isn’t anything in the books to suggest that he isn’t a wife guy.)  I honestly did that for structural reasons. I’m writing a romance with Severus, who has the emotional awareness of a stack of roofing tiles. He just really, really needed a friend he could ask for relationship advice. 

[tip-top-cloud-surfer]

The Danger Zone (Part 2) - Hangman

Pairing: Hangman / Fem!Bradshaw!Reader | OC

Word Count: 3.1k

This work, all my works, and my entire blog are 18+ ONLY

Warnings: Unplanned Pregnancy; Secret Relationship; Angst; Undefined Relationships; Overprotective Family; Background Relationships; Use of "You," No Use of Y/N, No Set Physical Description

Summary: It's Phoenix and Coyote's wedding. Also known as the day that Jake Seresin reached his limit.

Series Master List

Master List

You slowly smoothed down your dress in the mirror for maybe the thousandth time, convinced that you could see a very noticeable bump there. Penny assured you that even if you had an actual bump now, it wasn’t noticeable, but your brain still fabricated that image. Part of you worried that someone would make a comment about your appearance, but there was nothing that you could do now.

“Are you okay? You look really nervous,” Emma asked, causing you to look away from the mirror.

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” you mumbled, looking down at the ground as you tried to come up with a white lie to cover your ass. “Just nervous about my speech later. That’s all.”

“You were great at my wedding. I’m sure that you’ll be fine.”

“Thanks, Emma.”

“Anytime,” Emma replied with a bright smile. Squeezing your hand supportively, she turned to head over to the room that Phoenix was getting ready in. “I’m going to go check on Phoenix. But did you need anything else?”

“No, I’m fine. Thanks, Emma.”

You watched as Emma walked off before slowly turning back to the mirror. Resting your hand over your abdomen, you let out a breath to steady yourself.

After you took the pregnancy tests and probably cried to Penny about it for about a half an hour straight, you knew that you needed some time to process everything before talking about it with anyone else. And then there was the whole subject of Phoenix’s wedding, which you didn’t want to upstage in the slightest.

So, you just kept it to yourself. Well, yourself and Penny.

You went to work in the morning, came home, made yourself dinner or picked something up along the way, and just hibernated. You didn’t go to hang out with anyone else outside of the wedding-related events. You just stayed home and got lost in your thoughts.  

Jake texted you every day, but you always made up some lame excuse to get out of whatever plans he tried to set up. The truth was simple—you were terrified of what Jake’s reaction would be. Sure, the two of you had been messing around for several months now—almost a year technically, if you counted all of the months that he was deployed.

But the two of you weren’t together. You weren’t a couple. And you didn’t plan this.

Would Jake even want a kid? Were kids in his life plan at all? Did he even see a slight future with you in order to make it work? Would he dump you on the spot? Would he want to be heavily involved? Would it all go up in flames?

You had no idea. And it wasn’t like you could look at Jake’s childhood for any indication.

He was absolutely tight lipped about his upbringing and you had never been able to crack him. All you knew was that he grew up in Texas and that the slightest mention of his dad got him to shut down. And that was about all you knew about Jake Seresin’s life before the Navy.

It was a recipe for disaster and you were not ready to handle it. So, you avoided him.

And, of course, you were also totally convinced that when you finally sat him down to talk about it, you were going to cry and cause a scene. And that wasn’t taking into account whatever his reaction was going to be. So, you pushed it off. You cared too much for Phoenix and Coyote to even risk interrupting their wedding in the slightest.

But tomorrow, after the wedding was wrapped up, you would tell Jake. You would tell Jake that you were pregnant with his baby.

~~~~~

Jake stared down at his phone for a moment, scrolling through his last few texts to you. He texted you last night after you spent the entirety of the rehearsal dinner avoiding his presence. And Jake just automatically assumed that he did something to upset you, so he sent you a generic apologetic text. But all you responded with was some bullshit about being stressed about the wedding and that was it.

Jake Seresin wasn’t used to being the one who was more attached in a situation-ship.

He never had been. His job and his personality combined ensured that. At a moment’s notice, he could be sent to the other end of the world, which didn’t exactly give him much time to build strong bonds with his partner and inevitably led to strain. And then there was the fact that he was just an asshole who pushed people’s buttons easily.

He had left a long train of relationships—though perhaps he was using that term a little too liberally—in his life that blew up because he was an asshole who ran his mouth when he was pushed to be vulnerable. He had his career to propel him forward and he didn’t need any of the additional bullshit that seemed to come with every relationship, so he just didn’t put up with it.

But this relationship—whatever you wanted to call it—with you wasn’t bullshit. That was real shit. And Jake was growing more and more annoyed that you were dodging his texts and his presence. He was the desperate type, but he really could have used a text back from you. Or just an answer about what he did wrong to piss you off.

Was that really asking too much?

“Why do you look so pissed?” Rooster asked, causing Jake to quickly pick his head up.

Sliding his phone into his pocket, Jake cleared his throat as he turned to face Rooster. He wasn’t too worried about anyone seeing the texts between the two of you. After all, you were saved in his phone as ‘Honey B,’ so it wasn’t like anyone would see your name. And it had been about two weeks since you sent him a sexy photo anyways.

“Nothing. Just want to get this started already,” Hangman lied, adjusting his dress white jacket a bit.

“Right,” Rooster replied, eyeing Hangman curiously for a moment. “Is Javy ready?”

“He’s been ready since like five this morning,” Jake dismissed, glancing back at the room where Javy was by himself. “He wanted to be alone to fix his vows.”

“Again?”

“For the twelfth time,” Jake replied, shaking his head. “He wants to make sure that they’re perfect.”

“Well, Javy’s the type to only get married once. I get where he’s coming from.”

Jake knew that Rooster didn’t intend that as a dig, but he still took it as one. After all, Rooster was setting up to live that picket fence life with a wife and a house and probably a gaggle of kids and a dog or a cat or both. It’d be like a postcard for the perfect family.

And Jake knew that Rooster didn’t think that he was that type to do the same. And Jake also knew that Rooster was probably right about that. And Jake was also pretty sure that him repeatedly hooking up with Rooster’s little sister wouldn’t help Rooster’s image of him. Especially if Rooster ever found out that the first time that they ever hooked up was at Rooster’s wedding.

But he was an asshole, remember?

Rooster was about to add something else when his phone started to buzz. He pulled it out and Jake immediately spotted your name on Rooster’s screen. Ignoring the way that his chest contracted against his will, Hangman listened in as Rooster answered the phone call.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Phoenix wanted me to make sure that Javy was alright,” you stated, sounding amused. “I think that she’s worried that he’ll get cold feet.”

“He’s fixing his vows, according to Hangman,” Rooster responded to you.

“Oh,” you replied, in a way that made Jake wince. “Can you just make sure he didn’t climb out the window or anything like that? Please?”

Hangman nodded and walked over to the room that Javy had taken shelter in. Knocking lightly on the door, Jake opened the door to find Javy fixing his suit in the mirror. When he saw Jake standing there, Javy turned and practically radiated pure joy. Hangman turned back to Rooster, who passed along the message to you.

“Great. We’re going to be on time. Don’t be late, Brad Brad.”

“I think that we can handle it,” Bradley assured you, rolling his eyes lightly. “Bye.”

Jake watched Bradley hang up the call, letting a rock settle in his stomach. Pursing his lips together, Jake pushed all of his thoughts about you to the back of his mind and turned to face Coyote, who was already walking over to him.

“You ready?”

“I was born ready,” Javy returned, grabbing Jake’s shoulder with a tight squeeze.

~~~~~

You could feel Jake staring at you through the entire ceremony. You could feel his eyes on you when you walked down the aisle with your bouquet. You could feel his eyes on you when you stepped forward to take Phoenix’s bouquet and fix her dress. You could feel his eyes on you when you stood behind Phoenix, supporting her as she said her vows to Coyote.

And when Coyote and Phoenix walked down the aisle together, hand-in-hand for the first time as a married couple, you and Jake locked eyes across the altar. And the fact that you were standing there with a bouquet and he was in his dress whites and the tiny detail that you were pregnant with his baby was just a little too much for you to take.

Jake offered you his arm, and after swallowing some nervous bile, you looped your arm through his and started walking down the aisle together. You looked out through the crowd and quickly spotted Penny and Maverick. Maverick waved to you before going back to clapping, blissfully unaware of the situation. And Penny shot you a supportive look that you needed to get your breath back into your lungs.

You could do this. You could make it through one more day.

Jake didn’t say anything to you as you walked down the aisle, probably sensing that it wasn’t an appropriate time to discuss your relationship. But once you were out of the view of the crowd, he gently pulled you to the side. Jake called your name softly, causing you to turn to face him properly.

“Look, I know that it’s been crazy and everything, but I was hoping to talk to you about . . . everything,” Jake spoke softly as the rest of the wedding party walked into the atrium behind you. “Please.”

Gripping your bouquet even tighter, you looked around the atrium for prying eyes and listening ears before turning back to Jake, who looked far more desperate for your attention that you were used to seeing him. And that realization made your heart break just a bit more, since you knew that you were the person who did that to him.

But you couldn’t do it. Not today. Not here. Not at the reception. Tomorrow. It had to be tomorrow.

“Tomorrow,” you stated, a bit firmly. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“Come on, we’re going to miss them,” Emma encouraged, grabbing your hand and pulling you along.  

Jake watched you go with a slightly stunned expression, almost as if he was slapped in the face, as you walked away from him like he was just some random guy. But just as soon as you slipped out of his grip, he put up his usual mask when he spotted the wedding crowd starting to file out.

He expected you to be a bit skittish, but not that skittish. And that made his mind wander to the worst possible situation.  

~~~~~

“One for you and one for you,” Bradley stated, handing you and Emma a glass of champagne each.

After a very awkward photo shoot—at least as far as you and Jake went—everyone moved onto the reception hall for drinks and dinner. But given the information that you found out a few days ago, you stared down at the glass of champagne with a slightly panicked expression. How the hell were you going to spend the whole night dodging alcohol? It was a fucking wedding. A Navy wedding too.

Shit, you didn’t think this through.

“Thank you,” Emma mused, pressing a loving kiss to Bradley’s lips.

“Yeah . . .” you trailed off nervously.

Looking around for somewhere to dump the alcohol, you let out a breath when you spotted Penny and Maverick walking over to you. Penny saw the glass in your hand and nodded discreetly. While the five of you chatted and caught up, Penny switched your glass with her half-empty one.

“Thank you,” you whispered to her, causing her to smile softly.

“Don’t mention it. And you just have to wait for everyone to get through their first few drinks and then no one will notice,” Penny assured you, giving you that maternal support that you desperately needed in that moment. “Worst comes to worst, just dump it.”

“I just need to get through my speech and then I’ll be fine,” you sighed, glancing around the room.

“Ooh, are you looking for Javy’s friend from back home?” Emma asked, causing you to turn to her. “You know, the one who was flirting with you last night?”

“Who?” Bradley questioned, causing Emma to shoot him a look.

“She’s not a teenager. Let her live a little,” Emma scoffed, bumping her husband with her hip before turning back to you. “And I thought that he was really into you.”

“Who is he?” Maverick inquired, earning a look from Penny.

“Oh, don’t you start either. You’re far from a saint yourself, Pete.”

“I’m not looking to meet anyone tonight,” you stated, trying to end the conversation then and there. “Just trying to get through my speech, get a slice of cake, and toss these stupid heels out the window as soon as possible.”

“I have an extra pair of flats in my bag, if you wanted them,” Emma offered, causing you to perk up.

“And that’s why you’re my favorite,” you joked, dragging her away from your brother.

“Love you too,” Bradley scoffed, shaking his head as he watched the two of you walk off.

The reception got going shortly after that. Phoenix and Coyote made their grand entrance, dinner was served, and then it was time for your speech. Everything went smoothly, since you spent the entire week memorizing it. And then Jake gave his speech, during which you alternated between staring at him with damning intensity and hiding from his gaze in a dizzying cycle.

When the dance floor opened up and everyone started to break into their own separate activities, you slipped away to grab a drink. Ordering a ginger ale, you made your way out onto the back balcony where it was nice and cool. Resting your head in your hands, you took a moment to compose yourself.

You were exhausted. Emotionally. Physically. And now that most of the wedding was done, your mind was only focusing on the inevitable conversation with Jake that was fast approaching whether you wanted to have it or not. Mostly because Jake watched you slip away and took his opportunity to speak with you alone.

“Are you alright?” Jake asked quietly, causing you to pick up your head.

“I’m fine,” you insisted, gripping the railing tightly. “Why do you ask?”

“Because for the last week, you’ve been avoiding me,” Jake pointed out, moving to stand beside you. Staring into your eyes, Jake frowned when you immediately broke eye contact. “And now you won’t even look at me.” He called your name, causing you to pick your head up. “What is going on?”

“I can’t talk about it right now,” you stated softly, glancing back into the reception hall. “Can we talk about it tomorrow?”

“Why can’t we talk about it today?” Jake countered, causing you to purse your lips. “What’s going on?”

“I . . . it’s not right to talk about it right now.”

“Why not?”

“It’s Javy and Nat’s wedding. It’s not our event,” you pushed back against Jake stubbornly. You would never forgive yourself if you somehow ruined this wedding and you weren’t even going to approach the subject with Jake until after the wedding was all wrapped up. “And I’m not going to cause a scene at their wedding. It’s not fair to them.”

“How are we going to cause a scene? We’re just talking.”

“We’re both tired,” you pointed out, reaching for your ginger ale. “It’s been a long day.”

“Are there any other excuses that you’d like to use?” Jake asked, causing you to turn your head sharply to shoot him a look. “I mean, is there a list that you’re checking off?”

“Are you seriously giving me that attitude right now?” you shot back, standing up for yourself.

“Well, apparently there’s no other way to get a reaction out of you,” Jake returned, causing you to look away from him.

“Why can’t we just talk about it tomorrow?” you replied with a false sense of calm.

“Because after the last couple of days where all you have done is avoid me and dodge my texts, I’m not convinced that you’ll actually talk to me tomorrow.”

“Well, I’m not talking about it right now.”

“Then I guess we’re never going to talk about it then,” he stated, causing you to whirl around.

Jake shot you one last hurt expression before turning and walking off to rejoin the reception. You thought that he was just trying to call your bluff but when he ignored your calls for him to come back, you knew that he was serious.

“Jake,” you called one last time, but he was already gone.

Turning back to the landscape, hot tears started to roll down your cheeks. Did you just ruin everything? Was Jake done with you forever now? Should you have just fucking talked about it? Should you have just yelled it after him when he stormed off?

Feeling another wave of nausea roll over you, you sought refuge in a dark corner of the balcony. Leaning against the wall, you slowly slumped down and let out a quiet, pitiful sob.

Tags (PRETTY PLEASE have your AGE on your blog or message me about it to be tagged--thank you!):

@mrsjobarnes @wishiwasacasualfan

[kazvha]

Hi! May I request headcanons of Yoru, Gekko, and Phoenix (separately) trying to confess their romantic feelings to VP agent![Reader] [Gender Neutral], but some situations kept blocking their attempts to do so like last minute missions and other chaotic events that happen at the Valorant Protocol; then towards the end, they finally confess their feelings to them?

Summary: They want to confess to you, but they get interrupted.

Including: Phoenix, Yoru & Gekko.

Notes: Hi and thanks for the request! I'm new to the Valorant fandom and this is also my first time writing for it. I had some trouble bc of that, but I hope it's alright?👉👈 Enjoy!

Phoenix

• He's so down bad for you

• When you joined the Valorant Protocol the two of you instantly clicked, mostly because of his social and welcoming nature

• Since he was way longer in the Protocol, he showed you around and taught you all the different stuff

• It didn't take long until he fell for you after you spent so much time together

• And as impatient as Phoenix is, he wanted to confess his feelings to you as soon as possible

• But every single time, the odds were against him

• For example, one time you were in the common room in the early morning, eating your cereal when Phoenix joined you on the couch

• The room was deserted and you were in a good mood, which made this moment a perfect time to confess.

• This man got so nervous all of a sudden and asked you some random question instead of saying the three words. "Yoo, is the cereal tasting good?"

• You gave him a side glance and hummed because you had the cereal in your mouth

• Phoenix wanted to say more, but Jett walked into the room and started a conversation with you, ruining his opportunity

• He was losing his mind the more time passed

• So eventually, he decided to confess to you in front of your room in the middle of the night

• Before anything could happen he blurted the words out as soon as you opened the door. "I like you. I like you more than a friend."

• Instead of watching your reaction, he looked around as if he was waiting for something to happen.

• When nothing happened, he whispered a silent "Ohh yeah baby, I won this time!", which only made you more confused

• "So what's your answer?" He ran his fingers through his locks and gave you a professional smile

• "Phoenix, please, it's 3 AM. Ask me again in the morning, I'm too tired to think straight." You closed the door on him

• But after thinking about the things Phoenix said for a few minutes, you opened the door to give him a positive answer

• To your surprise he was still standing there

• "I like you too."

Yoru:

• It was how you treated him seriously and genuinely heard him out compared to the others

• When he first realized his feelings for you, he suppressed them. What good would come out of this?

• But he couldn't stop thinking about you. Every little thing reminded him of you. And it didn't help that you often had missions together.

• These bottled-up feelings would hinder his performance to the point he would panic every time on the inside when you faced an enemy

• It couldn't go on like this

• He tried to confess to you on the flight back from a mission. The others were in the front and you were the only two in the back

• "Listen, I-"

• Yoru couldn't say more since Brimstone had another mission for you

• "Mirrors have been sighted in that area. We have to get there quickly. Yoru, [A/n] make yourselves ready."

• A heavy sigh escaped him

• Next time he tried to convey his feelings to you in the range. However, Killjoy and Raze interrupted your moment to test out their new machines and bombs

• Even if they left you two alone again, you wouldn't be able to hear Yoru because of the ringing in your ears😭

• At this rate, Yoru got the feeling that he would never be able to find the right moment. This noticeably soured his mood for a few weeks. The other agents thought he lost a bet or smth

• In the end, he said it in the middle of the battlefield. He was done waiting, and you needed to know. So, before everyone went to their positions, he walked up to you

• "Hey, you're the person I like. So don't die on me now. I need to hear your answer later."

• With burning cheeks, Yoru fastly teleported to his position and left you with a surprised Pikachu face

• You also came clean after the mission. "Hey, I didn't die!", you smiled, "and I have feelings for you too. Possibly more than you can imagine."

Gekko:

• When Gekko joined the Valorant Protocol, he stuck to you and Neon like glue

• In addition to being assigned to various missions together, you three also spent most of your free time together

• When there was nothing to do, you hung out in each other's room, went to a boba place, sparred together, etc.

• You three and Gekko's little buddies, quickly became close friends

• With time, Gekko developed romantic feelings for you. Of course, Neon noticed this fact which resulted in you and Gekko spending more time together because she gave you two some space

• Whenever he was near you, he felt giddy and nervous. Even his little crew became more touchy with you

• He wanted to confess to you when you two were drinking boba in a cafe. He waited till you finished your drink. "[Name], I gotta tell you something big."

• You shifted your attention to him, curious about what he was going to say. But suddenly a man who passed your table spilled his coffee on your shirt

• Let's just say, it got heated between you and this stranger, and Gekko had no moment to confess

• Next time, you were chatting with Neon in the common room, and Gekko wanted to ask you if you could speak in private. However, Phoenix dragged him off, so that Gekko could see his new moves. "Pheonix can't you show me your moves later, I'm reaaaaally busy right now..." He dramatically reached his hand out to you, but you didn't see him

• At this point he lost all hope

• But, Wingman came to his rescue!

• When Gekko's bored, he draws in his sketchbook. This book had tons of sketches of you (with lots of hearts😏). Wingman ripped out a drawing to give it to you

• When Gekko realized this and ran after him, it was already too late. You looked at the paper with surprise in your eyes then you turned around to Mateo, who was a blushing mess

• "Did you draw this?" "Yeah..." He gathered up all of his courage and finally told you his feelings with a nervous grin. "You know, I liked you for a very long time now, haha."

• "I kinda noticed that because I feel the same. Let's go out?"

[project-sekai-facts]

Since the start of the game, it has been heavily implied, if not outright stated, that Minori has a crush on Haruka. To a lesser degree, it has been implied that Haruka has feelings for Minori.

In chapter 17 of MORE MORE JUMP!'s main story, when Minori performs a show to give Haruka the hope she needs to perform as an idol again, she tells Haruka that the first time she received fanservice from her was the first time she ever felt the happiness of falling in love with someone (altered in official translation).

In Minori's self-introduction, she flubs a line towards the end, but Haruka insists that they keep it in because "it's so Minori". Meanwhile, in Haruka's self-introduction, Minori thanks Haruka's parents for bringing her into the world and allowing them to meet. Haruka then says that she should be the one thanking Minori's parents, for letting her meet someone like Minori, causing Minori to become extremely flustered. Minori thanking Haruka's parents for giving birth to her is also referenced in 4koma #6 and her menu voiceline for Haruka's birthday in 2021.

In the side story for Miku's Stage SEKAI 2* card, she blows a kiss to Minori during a show. Minori then imagines Haruka blowing her a kiss, causing her to blush and think that she was about to have a heart attack.

In her 2021 Valentine's menu voiceline, Minori became extremely flustered over finally having the opportunity to give Haruka chocolate. Haruka comments that Minori getting all red in the face will make her embarrassed too. Even Airi comments on Minori's bold decision to give Haruka chocolates.

In their White Day menu voicelines from that year, it was revealed that Haruka gave Minori a return gift. Minori says that she will treasure it forever.

There are multiple instances of Haruka looking fondly at Minori. Perhaps the most notable is both her untrained and trained You Deserve It 4* card.

Minori passed out when Haruka wished her a happy birthday in 4koma #41. Haruka insisted on performing the birthday show for Minori even though Airi had warned her about what would happen.

In Airi's Unyielding Indomitable Spirit 4* story, it is revealed that while Airi and Shizuku went to the picnic with Ena and Mizuki, Minori and Haruka went to Phoenix Wonderland together. Their trip is shown in Luka's Fairy Lantern ♪ 2* story.

Minori's Passionate Call untrained 4* card speaks for itself, being the first time she was depicted with 'heart-eyes' around Haruka. This card is from Haruka's first event, Break Time for the Hardworking You!, which featured the commissioned song Ai no Material, which is explicitly a love song. While Haruka and Shizuku took the duo centre of the song, Minori was the only character to receive an Another Vocal for it.

The future that you were gazing at, I don't know if I can take you there. I hope I can support you, and keep walking with you.

In Haruka's Someday, I'll Deliver Colorful Festival 4* story, it is mentioned that MORE MORE JUMP! played a game called "No Blushing - Smiling Staring Contest!" on their stream that day. Minori lost the game because she couldn't keep a straight face whilst looking at Haruka. Minori later adds that Haruka's smile has the power to "make anyone's heart race".

Haruka's fragment SEKAI is born from her reminiscing about the idol that inspired her and was able to make her smile when she was younger, and wishing she had the chance to meet this person. Haruka thinks she spots her idol in amongst a crowd, and proceeds to chase her throughout the SEKAI. Although she keeps losing track of her idol, she is determined to tell her about how she inspired her. While thinking to herself, Haruka remembers Minori telling her how she was her inspiration to become an idol. She continues to think to herself, remembering how she was genuinely happy when she met Minori and was able to get on stage again because Minori gave her hope. This makes her more determined to find her idol and tell her how much she was inspired by her.

When she runs into a dead end again, she finds a dove with a clover in it's beak. It gives her the clover and then leads her to a house filled with more doves. While it is dark inside, she thinks that she recognises the room. She feels compelled to open the windows and let all the birds fly free out of the darkness, just as her idol did for her. She then notices that all the birds have clovers in their beaks that they want to deliver to other people as they did with her, and she frees them. Haruka's idol then appears behind her and talks to her. Haruka recognises her voice and tries to talk to her, but the SEKAI disappears before she gets the chance.

It is heavily implied that the idol that Haruka was chasing around the Fragment SEKAI was Minori. From her remembering Minori's message of hope while she was trying to find her childhood idol, to wanting to tell her childhood idol about this event, to the doves that were carrying clovers (MORE MORE JUMP!'s symbol that will bring hope to their fans, that was Minori's idea). Not to mention the fact that the dove gave Haruka a clover and led her straight to where her idol was. The woman who appears in the SEKAI even looks like Minori with longer hair.

However, it could be argued that Haruka's childhood idol just heavily resembles Minori, seeing as Haruka recognises the voice as nostalgic and identifies the woman as her childhood idol instead of Minori (it was in a crowd though). However, after returning from the fragment SEKAI, Haruka only refers to the mystery woman as "her", adding to the ambiguous identity.

Minori and Airi covered the song Ren'ai Saiban, a song about someone who is trying to win back their lover after an unspecified incident. The 2DMV for the cover plays up the "winning back the lover" aspect, since at the end, after Minori and Airi free themselves from their handcuffs, they free Haruka and Shizuku as well. Miku seems to approve of this ending despite trying to sentence them for the first three and a half minutes of the MV.

In Buddy Funny Spend Time ♪, the two go on a "double date" with An and Kohane. While ultimately it is treated as platonic and Minori and Haruka are not considered to be in a relationship outside of or even in the event, An at the very least does seem to consider her half of the date as romantic (Peak Excitement 3* story), with said interpretation being supported in later stories (such as Kick it up a notch).

Still on the topic of BFST, in chapter 1 of the story, An says that Minori really likes Haruka, and that Haruka feels the same way. Later on in the event, Minori relates to how flustered Kohane is around Haruka, saying that Haruka is really cool and cute, and her heart raced when Haruka first called her by her first name. She also relates to Kohane's jealously over An and Haruka's close friendship later on in the story.

At one point during their outing, the four girls go shopping for street style clothes. Minori doesn't think she fits the look, until Haruka tells her that she suits the clothes and she decides that she will keep them forever. The event 4koma also shows that Minori is very attracted to Haruka's street style look.

At the end of the event, Minori confesses to Haruka that she doesn't know much about the real, non-idol Haruka, and that she had been trying to get closer to Haruka during the event by trying to please her (such as going on a rollercoaster when she didn't want to). Haruka tells Minori that she likes her just the way she is, and that she doesn't need to force herself to do things she doesn't like.

Haruka's trained A Street Style Idol!? 4* card from this event can be seen at the top of this post, depicting Minori and Haruka with their arms linked.

In 4koma #92, Kohane tries to understand the emotions that An an Akito felt while watching RAD WEEKEND, although she can't get a clear image since neither of the two can express it in words. Minori chimes in and explains that she understands not being able to put feelings into words, describing "emotions swirling inside of her" while she thinks of Haruka. Shiho remarks that what Minori is feeling is not the same as what An and Akito felt at RW.

Minori's Enthusiastic Talk! untrained 4* card depicts her holding a drawing she did of a costume for Haruka. The drawing is surrounded by pink hearts and one of the annotations reads "cute!".

Minori's 2022 White Day menu voiceline reveals that Haruka gave her chocolate for the holiday, causing Minori to get extremely flustered yet again.

In a flashback during the Dear Me, As I Was Back Then event, we see Minori attend an ASRUN concert, during which she shouted out her love for Haruka. In Minori's untrained Beyond the Spotlight 4* card from this event, you can see Haruka watching her in the background.

In Scream!? Welcome to the Wolf Forest!, Minori is comically blinded by Haruka's cat cafe costume. She says that she can't look at Haruka because the cat ears suit her so well, but at the same time she really wants to look, and feels like her head is going to get torn off.

A similar instance of Haruka's presence 'blinding' Minori was shown in 4koma #61.

Minori's 2023 Valentine's Day menu voiceline reveals that Haruka gave her Valentine's chocolates, rather than the other way around. Although Minori wants to eat it, she isn't sure if she wants to sacrifice the gift.

For that White Day, Minori gave Haruka three times the amount of gifts that Haruka gave her for Valentine's Day as her return gift. Haruka suggests that they eat the sweets together, since she won't be able to manage them by herself.

During MORE MORE JUMP!'s 1st live, during one MC game, Haruka tells Minori that she loves her, causing the latter to nearly faint.

Haruka: Thank you. I love you, Minori Airi: Woaaah! Knock out! Shizuku: That's amazing, Haruka-chan

The second set of birthday cards show the gifts that each character was given by the other members of their unit. In Haruka's card, you can see a handwritten letter, with an opening line that reads "I lo-lo-lo-looove you, Haruka-chan". Minori's card features a letter from Haruka in return, as well as some ASRUN photographs.

In Haruka's card, you can see that Minori also gifted her a T-shirt that matches the otter one that she wears for training, only this one has a penguin, Haruka's favorite animal, on it as well. In 4koma #15, Minori picked out a similar shirt for Haruka, featuring only the penguin.

Minori also keeps a collection of Haruka merchandise in her room.

[stayallnite]

nowplaying Under a Glass Moon (Live in Phoenix

[starhvney]

𝐒𝐔𝐁𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝟑 | 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟎: 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐒 𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐓

𝐂𝐖: very crude language and shit talk from ivy, paranoia, threats of violence, reader nearly spirals into an anxiety attack, implications that reader has anxious attachment tendencies

𝐀/𝐍: hey guys! meant to get this chapter out earlier today but i had too much caffeine and made myself sick oopsies! anyways i hope you guys enjoy this one! we're getting back to that good old drama

𝐖𝐂: 6,000+

𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐎𝐑: @arienic (thank you nics!)

𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 ☆ 𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐓 | 𝐀𝐎𝟑 | 𝐅𝐈𝐂 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 | 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐒

“this is so exciting!” teony grins, clapping her hands from where she stood next to you and katelyn. “i care more about academics than athletics, but i honestly love the sports festival! it’s so much fun!”

you hum happily in agreement, eyes drifting around at the school’s outdoor scenery. honestly, it's insane how beautiful of a spot it was placed in, with phoenix drop’s mountain range and tall forest trees spanning right from the school’s backyard. the whole student body is packed in the area from the soccer field all the way over to the baseball field, everyone in their athletic uniforms and the colorful wristbands that indicated which class they were in.

glancing behind you to check on aph and nana as the little freshman chat away, you catch a glimpse of ivy’s minions and aaron, who is a short way away, talking by the stairs. the tall junior seemed like trouble just from his looks alone—and you were pretty opposed to him already just from aphmau’s complaints of the boy all year—but his seeming compliance with lily’s flirtatious giggling set your opinion in stone.

your attention shifts back to your friends next to you, a sense of comfort relaxing the tenseness that had begun to build just from the glimpse of those people. after talking about everything with aphmau, you both had decided to come clean to all of your friends about the issues you’d had since day one with both ivy and gene.

you’d almost felt silly for hesitating so long to tell them, especially with how defensive and fired up they had gotten. lucinda’s reaction was definitely the funniest, the redhead immediately offering to slip a potion that would make someone throw up slugs into all of their lunches. you’d denied the offer through your laughter, as tempting as it was, and you have to stop yourself from giggling again at the thought of gene or ivy pale in the face and spitting out snail slime.

katelyn snorts, pausing in her warm-up of one-legged squats—an impressive feat you had unashamedly been staring at her do for the past five minutes—to look over to the academia queen herself.

“of course it’s fun!” she energetically hops in place with a fiery and determined look on her face. “i’m gonna own the juniors in volleyball this year.”

teony raises an eyebrow and tosses her hair over her shoulder as she looks at you, lips pursed in amusement. “our class lost to that class when they were sophomores last year.”

you nod in understanding, giggling when katelyn pumps her fist angrily into the air.

“and the only reason we lost to them was because i had won all the events prior,” she defends. “i was completely exhausted from the heat.”

teony’s hands are on her hips, eyebrows raised, and expression like a scolding mother. “so then i hope you learned your lesson for this year, right?”

she scoffs. “oh, i definitely have!”

“good, i’m glad. now you know—”

“i’ve been training all year to carry the team completely on my back.”

teony groans, leaning against you as she rolls her eyes. “kate, sweetie, that is not the lesson! it’s teamwork.”

“uh-huh, yeah that too, whatever,” katelyn responds, and from her distracted expression you’re not even sure she truly heard what had been said. instead, she grabs onto one of your arms and one of teony’s, dragging you both off into the track field. “now let’s go crush some classes!”

“wh-hold on!” teony laughs, turning back to wave at aphmau and nana as they stare at the three of you like abandoned puppies—or in nana’s place, a kitten. “good luck my darlings!”

“i’ll catch you both later! good luck!” you call after the two, sparing a wave as katelyn bulldozes her way through the grass.

she at least also spares one last look over her shoulder, though instead of a shout of encouragement, it’s a competitive laugh and grin. “pray you two don’t have us as an opponent this year. i won't go easy just cause we’re friends!”

teony sighs as the three of you make it closer to your classmates, lolling her head over to give kate an unimpressed stare. “i get your competitive and all, but i don’t think intimidating those two cuties was necessary.”

grabbing a stray volleyball from the ground, she scoffs and rolls her eyes, walking a ways from you both and tossing it up to start preparing. “oh, whatever. they know it’s tough love.”

teony looks to you with a disbelieved shake of her head, giggling at the blue haired girl’s antics.

“you know, you—woah!” she stumbles back, barely receiving the ball that kate had spiked down at her and sending it straight past her legs.

there’s a thunk of ball meeting shoulder and a familiar yelp of pain, before you see travis crumpling down to the grass and dante sprinting off while cackling. 

“what the—?! why were you sitting right behind me, dude?!” katelyn questions, seeming more bewildered than anything.

teony’s eyes drift from the scene ahead to you from the corner of her eye.

“were they…?”

“…i think so…”

“uh, sorry!” travis quickly stutters, stumbling up to his feet and waving his hands with an awkward braced smile. “i was just—dante, don’t leave me!" his voice comically cracks at the end as he sprints after his friend, the two looking like clowns as they run away.

“uh, what’s going on here?” a smooth voice breaks your stunned silence.

“oh, hey garroth. i don’t know, actually.”

the baseball captain is standing right next to you, blinking in confusion between the two boys as they run away and the three of you. he breaks out in an amused little grin at your deadpanned words, scratching the side of his head.

“well, okay then. are you excited to compete?”

you shrug with a nod, looking up at the boy. “sure! gets us out of class, so that’s enough for me. are you?”

“yeah… but i still can’t believe they haven’t set up a baseball portion for this competition.” he sighs. “like, we have kickball, but no baseball? not cool.”

you can’t help but giggle at the dejected look on his face, his love for the sport honestly endearing.

“well, baseball is a hard sport for normies like us to play, you know? gotta leave it up to the professionals like you,” you muse, nudging his side with your elbow.

a cheeky grin forms on his face, and you swear you see the tips of his ears turn a bit red in color. he opens his mouth to reply to your compliment before another loud thud–this time off in the distance–catches both of your attention. a soccer ball is rolling away from aaron, while aph seems to be telling him off with clenched fists. 

“hm?” garroth frowns, and you’re already walking over to the scene.

he catches up just a second after, tilting his head in concern as you both speed-walk over to the girl. you make it to nana first, raising an eyebrow in confusion to the pink-haired meif’wa who stood awkwardly distant from the two. she shrugs at the both of you with a pout on her face before you can even ask, golden irises darting at the taller boy as he seems to mockingly laugh at aphmau while walking away.

garroth shrugs at you before walking forward first, while aph continues to huff with clenched fists and muttering under her breath.

“how dare he just… ugh!”

“aphmau, are you okay?” the blonde asks in concern, and the girl whips herself around, eyes a bit wide in surprise.

“oh, it’s you two, hey,” she says, clearing her throat and fixing her hair with a flustered expression. “um, i’m fine, it’s just…”

“you should stay away from that guy,” garroth says suddenly. “i’ve heard he’s nothing but trouble.”

your eyes stay narrowly trained on the delinquent in question, as he walks through the field towards the concession stand with his hands shoved in his pockets. 

“oh trust me, you don’t need to tell me that twice.” aphmau crosses her arms with a scoff. “he’s in my werewolf class with me, and he’s nothing but a huge jerk.”

garroth nods with an understanding hum, before his eyebrows snot up on his forehead. “wait, you’re a werewolf?!”

aphmau and you glance over to him, before bursting out in giggles.

“oh! no, i’m not! i thought i told you what happened, garroth.”

“huh, laurance reacted just about the same, now that i remember,” you recall, covering your mouth as you recover from the small laughing fit. 

garroth sighs, his deep voice bordering on a whiny tone. “how come you guys always tell laurance everything but never me?” 

aphmau’s eyebrows raise, and she quickly waves her hands. “it’s not that i didn’t want to tell you! it just never came up!”

“yeah, garroth,” you coo, leaning over to wrap an arm around his side and pat him soothingly on the back. “laurance just knows more 'cause he yaps more and asks more questions.”

garroth snorts.

“…don’t tell him i said that.”

“oh, i definitely will.”

aphmau chuckles drily. “so to make a long story short, garroth, my registration was all messed up and i couldn’t change out of the werewolf class even though i didn’t sign up for it and i’m not a werewolf. and i’ve been stuck with sitting next to that aaron jerk all semester.”

he hums, eyebrows furrowed. “oh, i see. well i’m sorry you have to deal with tha—”

“garrith, there you are!” a high-pitched, nasally voice pierces right into your ear from behind you, making you flinch away from the friendly side hug you still had the blonde in.

aphmau stares at you with a tense half smile, eyes darting behind you before you turn yourself. carmine hair bounces against ivy’s shoulders as she tilts her head, giving an—in your opinion—eerily forced smile up at garroth. 

oh, nah. it is 9:30 in the morning.

garroth offers a smile in return, taking a small step back from how close she had bounded up to him. “oh, ivy! it’s good to see you.”

so laurance clearly has not told him yet. 

ivy tilts her head in seemingly innocent wonder. “what’re you doing talking to this freshman?”

and apparently you’re not here. cool.

garroth turns to the two of us, the unaware “prince” gesturing to the girl as she burns holes into our figures with her bright eyes. “have you two met ivy? she’s a friend of mine.”

she quickly latches onto his words, quickly adding on before you or aphmau can open your mouths. “yes, i’ve been his friend since we were freshmen.”

you resist the urge to side-eye aphmau, instead keeping your composure as she speaks up first.

“oh, i see… so you've been friends for a long time, then.”

“yes, we have,” she preens, her smile sharp as she looks between you two with a satisfied twinkle in her eyes.

garroth nods politely. “yeah, ivy’s really sweet.” he looks over to her while gesturing to you. “i’ve been friends with these two since we were little kids.”

it takes everything in you to not smile in your own satisfaction when her eyes just about bulge out of her head for a split second, her smile tensing. “oh, really…! that’s so… cute!”

garroth chuckles. “isn’t it?”

“yeah, isn’t it?” you can’t help but chime in, and ivy’s eyes flock to you with a flare of barely veiled annoyance.

“it sure… is…” she says through gritted teeth.

man, she’s losing it. you’d almost feel second hand embarrassment for her if you weren’t reeling in the satisfaction of it. 

“so! i meant to ask,” aphmau chirps, doing a very good job of ignoring her history with ivy’s wrath. “where’s laurance at?”

“he’s already playing a soccer match. his team went first against… the junior class, i think…”

she blows her bangs away from her face. “oh, so the competition has already started, huh?”

“speaking of which, garrith, we should go warm up! our team is next!” she glances over at you, eyes darting down your figure and back up to your face. “you’re not on our team… are you?”

“…nope.”

“ah, unfortunate. she’s pretty good at sports,” garroth says, throwing a small smile your way. 

“thanks, garroth. i’m sure you guys will do great.”

“okay, come on garrith!”

garroth’s smile falters as he awkwardly looks over to her. “oh, right. but, uh… ivy? it’s pronounced gar-roth.”

“i know, garrith, but we really should go!” she insists, grabbing onto his wrist and tugging him along with her.

he keeps his smile though it falters into an uncomfortable and slightly forced one. letting her guide him along, he looks back at you two with a wave.

“see you both later. good luck.”

“yep! you too!” aphmau grins, and you wave back with a smile yourself.

the two walk off toward the sophomore class’s flag football group.

you look at aphmau.

she looks at you.

“...a mess.”

“for real.” aphmau agrees, sighing and rolling her eyes.

“well, i’m gonna go to the restroom. you up to play?”

“yep, i’m on the team for soccer. what about you?”

“ooh, i bet you’ll crush it. kate’s having me play for the volleyball team. good luck!”

aphmau smiles, waving excitedly. “you too!”

thankfully the school has some restrooms outside, making your walk much shorter. by instinct you walk down to the furthest stall, clicking the door shut. before you could even turn around the door swings open again, ivy’s shrill voice bouncing off the concrete and tiled room.

“who the fuck do those two think they are?!” she snips, her tennis shoes clicking against the floor as she pushes on each stall door to check inside.

“they think they’re hot shit,” a more mellowed voice says. was that lily? or the alex girl that rarely talked…?

ivy’s feet stop just before your stall, spinning around to pace over to the sinks. “i thought i saw her come in here… whatever. i came in here to fix my hair anyways. ugh. i thought i told them to stay away from him! those… whores!”

you suppress the urge to scoff.

“well… you did tell them, and then she gave you a black eye.”

ivy makes a seething noise. “that bitch! she didn’t even show anything! i know i broke her nose!”

“whatever. if gene still has those pictures like he says he does then it doesn’t matter. we can ruin their reputation within a day.”

shit.

this seems to calm her rage. just slightly.

“yeah, that’ll get them away from him. plus if we circulate the other rumors around like we talked about then garrith won’t even want to be near them.”

“oh, yeah. that reminds me… i heard that those two were hanging out with garroth at the fall festival a couple of weekends ago.”

“what?! from who?!”

“gene.”

“there's no way! that's just gene trying to get under my skin! i thought he was on our side!”

“whatever. we just need him to be enough on our side to get those pictures out. and even if he doesn’t, we can still spread rumors.”

“yeah! yeah… i’m sure they sleep around anyways. with how they beg for garrith and that laurance’s attention it’s pretty obvious they want that kind of attention. they’re so pathetic, especially aphmau. that little cunt is just begging for one of them to—”

hell no.

your hand races forward to click open the lock, and you throw open the stall door against the wall. it clangs before creaking and wobbling in the now pin-dropping silence of the bathroom as you slowly walk out of the cubicle. the three girls are standing there, looking a bit shocked and surprised at your appearance.

well, ivy and lily, at least. alex looks as blank-faced as usual.

without a word you walk to the door, eyes glued to ivy’s while you resist the urge to punch out her other eye. cracking open the door you pause, looking back to the girl once again and taking in a rageful breath.

“you better fucking hope i don’t catch you alone, ivy.”

you turn out of the bathroom and slam the door shut, teeth clacking together and fists clenched as you walk towards the temporary volleyball court set up near the soccer field.

damn. you forgot you had to pee.

“woah, you look pissed.”

travis appears by your side, looking genuinely concerned with raised brows and curious eyes.

“kinda hot.” dante appears on your other side, biting his lip and waggling his brows.

the brace-faced boy sends a scorning glare to his friend. “dude, not her!”

“chill! i’m just messing around… sort of. besides, gene’s mentioned her a few times, so i know she’s cool. can’t blame me for shooting my shot.”

you sigh and shake your head, some of the tension leaving your shoulders as you fall victim to the goofy antics of the dorks next to you.

“gene’s mentioned me, huh?” you ask, glancing at dante. “i forgot he’s your brother.”

you press your lips together. that’s right, maria. guess she still thinks you’re “friends” with gene.

he grins. “yeah, he’s pretty cool. he talks about you to my mom sometimes. you both hang out often?”

your eyes dart to travis, who is looking at you nervously.

“…we haven’t lately.”

“oh, that’s too bad, i guess,” dante hums.

“you’re sure you’re not mad? it’s not at me from earlier, right?!” travis worries, cutting off the topic of gene to your relief. 

“huh? no, why would i be?”

he deflates in relief. “uh, nothing! never mind, never mind.”

“…alright. well, what sport are you two heading to?” you ask, rolling your shoulders back.

“well… we actually are the refs for the volleyball match.”

you raise an eyebrow. “both of you are? how’d you manage to get out of having to compete?”

“we both signed up as volunteers, just like some kids are doing the concessions,” dante says rather smugly, lifting up a candy bar and waving it in the air.

“great… you two wouldn’t have any ulterior motives here, would you?” you narrow your eyes, looking over to travis. “perhaps with a certain captain in mind?”

“what?” travis stutters. “you’re the second one to accuse me of that! i’d never purposefully screw up the scorecard to get her to yell at me!”

“…uh-huh…”

the principal’s voice cuts through the stadium speakers. “our 3rd round of events today is soccer and volleyball! for soccer, we’ll have the freshmen versus our juniors, and for volleyball, we have sophomores versus seniors! good luck out there!”

you spin on your heels, walking backward onto the sand court and motioning towards the two boys with your fingers in an 'i’m watching you' motion. katelyn—to no one's surprise—is already there and fired up, hyping up teony to do her best as she stretches her arms. her head whips to you when she catches your figure from the corner of her eye, rushing forward to grab you.

“dude, where were you? come on, the game’s gonna start. you’re the outside hitter, okay?” she says, and you simply nod along as your previous anger seems to bubble up and surface again.

this should be a good way to release some steam.

teony gives you a strange look before getting in position at the back of the court. you must not have been hiding your expression as well as you thought you were.

the match went pretty well, and once katelyn realized you were putting your full force into your spikes she consistently set the ball towards you, leaving your dominant arm sore and chest heaving.

“hey! good job!” laurance calls from the sidelines, grinning brightly. his face was sheened with a layer of sweat, strands of his caramel hair stuck to his cheeks and forehead.

garroth stands next to him, looking out of breath like he had just sprinted across the campus field. he grins, holding up two big thumbs up at your team.

“um, that wasn’t game point,” travis pipes up, making all of you turn your heads to the boy.

immediately he looks nervous, tapping his fingers together and waving the flimsy score board in his hand. oh, travis. that’s one way to get your crush’s attention… that’s for sure.

“what?! there’s no way! let me see that!”

deciding to stay out of…whatever was going to go down there, you jog over to the boys with a smile.

“hey! how’d you guys do?”

“decent. i’m not too into football, and my teammates didn’t seem as into the game, either.” garroth shrugs.

“not too bad for me, either. you know i love soccer, so it was just like a fun practice for me.” laurance says, glancing over to the field. “the game aphmau was playing just ended, she did pretty good too—especially against that aaron guy. it was kinda funny seeing her zip around him.”

you chuckle at the thought. “yeah, i bet.”

“what a close call for that soccer game! but the winner of the soccer match is the freshman class! the mvps of this match are aaron from the junior class and aphmau from the freshman class! man, i can't wait to see what else goes on in this tournament today! it is such a heated rivalry!”

you look over to the field, watching as little aph herself shoots a sassy look to aaron and walks off with attitude in her steps.

“there she goes!” garroth muses.

“baby’s first medal?” laurance adds, and you whip your head to him with a wide smile.

“baby’s first medal!”

“baby?” garroth questions, looking lost as ever as he looks between you two.

katelyn’s shout and a loud thud meets your ears.

“this judge is bogus! he’s clearly blind!”

“katelyn! you can’t just hit people with volleyballs when you’re upset! i’m pretty sure you’ve hit travis alone on three different occasions!”

“i don’t care, this is stupid!”

travis groans from the ground, and teony sighs as she helps him to his feet. “…i’ll take you to the nurse. kate, go… walk it off while they figure it out.”

“…that’s katelyn for you,” garroth murmurs as she stomps over to you three. “you alright?”

“yeah.” she puffs out her lips in annoyance. “i kinda feel bad for blowing up on him, but it’s like he was keeping the wrong score on purpose!”

“well, it’ll be fine. you did really good regardless, kate!” you say, very carefully choosing not to say a word about travis’s intentions.

“yeah, both of you did,” laurance chimes, eyebrows raised with an impressed stare. “i just kinda was able to catch the end of the game, but you didn't look like you were holding back on those spikes at all.”

katelyn nods, crossing her arms.

“yeah, i’m for sure forcing her to join the team next year. she’s good.” she glances over to you. “but you did seem a little off. you good?”

shrugging, you awkwardly cross your arms. “uh… about that…”

“did something happen?” garroth frowns.

“i had a run-in with ivy in the bathrooms.” you admit. “she was saying really nasty stuff about me and aph… and i think she’s planning on spreading some rumors around about us.”

“…what? are you sure?” his frown deepens. “ivy wouldn’t do that, would she?”

kate and laurance look over at him with blank stares.

“did you not tell him, laurance?” katelyn scoffs.

“tell me what?” garroth asks impatiently.

“not yet… ugh…” the brunet groans, grabbing onto garroth’s arm and beginning to drag him away. “let’s talk, man.”

“okay?” he stumbles along, the lost look in his eyes still highly apparent.

“great, now i’m even more mad!” kate seethes. “where is she?!”

“woah, woah!” you wave your hands before steadying them on her shoulders. “just chill for a second. i already threatened her today, let’s not get into any trouble.”

she sighs. “fine. but if i catch her by herself it’s not gonna be pretty.”

“that’s what i said.”

“oh!” she suddenly yanks your arm, pulling you along like a woman on a mission towards the track. “there’s lucinda! we’re telling her right now!”

☆

“are you serious?” lucinda scoffs, legs crossed as you all sit at the top of the bleachers. “look, i know you rejected the potion in the food idea, but an overdose on laxatives is an option, too.”

you rub your eyes, glancing down to the track where aphmau was warming up for her race. “as tempting as it is, i want to let her destroy herself. she thinks because she’s more popular than we are that everyone will have to believe her. but as long as you guys and the rest of our friends know the truth, her rumors won’t mean anything and she’ll destroy her own reputation.”

“leaving it up to karma, huh? that’s fair.” lucinda sighs, leaning back on her arms. “i guess. still wanna make her shit her pants, but to each their own.”

“lucy!” you laugh, leaning into her shoulder.

“no, no, she has a good point,” katelyn says, before leaning forward. “oh, there’s prince charming.”

you glance down, garroth’s golden curls coming into view as he hops his way up the bleachers stairs to your direction. his eyebrows are pulled together as he keeps his eyes trained on the metal steps.

kate stands with a sigh, pulling lucinda up with her. “come on. i think they need to talk alone for a second. plus, i want some chips from the concessions before my next game.”

“fine, i could go for a snack, too.” the redhead sighs, waving her fingers at you and squeezing your hands. “bye, my love!”

you wave the two girls off, before shooting over and patting the seat next to you for garroth to sit. he slinks down into the spot, sighing and leaning forward on his elbows while staring out at the track.

“hi.”

“hey.”

he straightens up with a deep breath, turning to you with a troubled expression. “i didn’t mean to sound like i didn’t believe you earlier, i was just surprised.”

you smile at the genuine guilt in his eyes. sweet garroth.

“i know. sorry i didn’t tell you about everything sooner.”

“it’s… okay. laurance explained it all.” he frowns. “i just feel bad.”

you intake a breath to reply, but he cuts you off, raising his hands up.

“not because i think it’s my fault. trust me, laurance lectured my ear off about that.” he leans back, sighing. “just… i feel like i could’ve, like, protected you a bit from all of that if i had known.”

“garroth…”

“promise you’ll tell me if you’re having trouble from now on?” he grabs onto your wrist, looking pleadingly into your eyes with his own. “please promise me. you’re one of my best friends.”

“i promise.”

“good. i promise i’ll tell you everything, too.” he leans forward, pulling you into a hug. “i know we don’t remember much from our childhood, but we’ve been friends for a long time, right? i promise i care way more about you than whatever anyone else at this school has to say about you.”

“…thank you,” you whisper. something about his genuine care has you blinking back the urge to cry, gulping from the surge of emotions that gathered in the base of your throat.

you both pull back from the hug, and garroth smiles that stupidly dazzling smile. “of course.”

the track’s starter gun startles you from the heartfelt moment, making you both jump in place as you look down at the relay race below.

“wait… is aphmau going against aaron at the end? who the heck thought that was a good idea?” garroth blinks, staring at the two in bewilderment. “the guy’s over a foot taller than her!”

you hum in equal confusion, slowly standing and making your way to the stairs. “yeah, that is weird… c’mon. let’s get closer.”

the teams are already on their third hand off by the time you’re both at the bottom of the bleachers, the two runners making their way to aphmau and aaron before handing off the batons. instead of the taller boy completely leaning aph in the dust, he surprisingly keeps her pace before seeing to a stop in the middle of the track.

“huh?” garroth murmurs, and it seems aphmau carries the same sentiment as she slows, turning to aaron with a baffled look of her own.

they’re too far from you to hear what they were saying, but based on his smug look and her peeved expression, his act of stopping seemed more like a taunt than an act of sportsmanship.

aphmau sends a sassy remark to aaron and that seems to stop their strange standstill, as the six-foot-something junior takes off sprinting towards the finish line. she turns, amber eyes wide and mouth agape in shock as she stands in place and watches as he passes the finish line in seconds.

“i can’t believe you fell for that,” he snickers, seeming to deeply relish the look on her face before turning and waltzing away with a smug look on his face.

aphmau’s face contorts from one of bafflement to one of absolute infuriation, and she takes a few steps forward like she was about to go try and tackle the guy herself.

“wh—you! i’m gonna—!” she fumes, unable to even get a sentence out in her frustration.

“woah, aphmau! stop, it’s over!” garroth calls out, trying to calm her as he waves his hands while you both jog over to her.

“he tricked me!” she insists, nose wrinkled like she’d swallowed something bitter.

“...i'm not sure what happened there, but you both ran a good match.” he rubs the back of his neck, chuckling. “well, until the end, that is.”

aphmau deflates, tensely laughing away the rest of her frustration. “yeah… thanks garroth.”

he nods proudly, crossing his arms. “you’re welcome.”

the rest of the festival flies by, with thankfully not many more appearances from ivy’s group or even sightings of the shadow knights. after freshening up in the locker room, you’d waited thirty minutes on the bench, occasionally sending aph a few texts.

you: are you coming to the locker room before walking home?

delivered, 3:42

you: hello?

delivered, 3:55

you: are you okay??

delivered, 4:00

when ten more minutes had passed with no response, you’d felt the anxiety you’d been suppressing come in full force. with hands jittering and head a bit dizzy, you pushed through the girls locker room doors, beginning your search of the now empty school.

from each of the classrooms you knew she had classes in, to all of the bathrooms, and even the cafeteria, she wasn’t anywhere in any rooms of the school you searched. you even ran back outside, searching the outdoor bathrooms—and even briefly looking in the boy’s restroom in your desperation—to no avail.

calm down. you’re on campus, there’s no way something awful happened to her on campus.

hands shaking, you pull your phone out again, attempting to call her phone one last time. staring at a spot in the grass, you listen to the dial of the phone ringing while a faint buzzing in your ears blocked out any other ambient noise.

“your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system. at the tone, please recor—”

ripping the phone away from your face, you hang up and catch your breath that you didn’t realize you were holding.

it’s okay. it’s okay. she probably walked home and her phone died or something. you can walk to her house and check with sylvanna, and if she isn’t there… then you can panic.

quickly you find yourself super walking down the sidewalk to your house, eyes drifting to each black vehicle that passed on the road and steps stuttering anytime one of them seemed to slow.

you hate this feeling. the one you felt anytime you went anywhere back in your old town. the weak shakiness of prey stuck in a hunter's trap desperately trying to escape it but unable to find the strength, and unknowing of when the hunter was going to come find you. it was a sick, nearly paralyzing rush through your nervous system, crowding your head and making you both aware of everything and too dizzy to focus on one thing.

did they find you again?

were you risking your friends’ lives by being around them?

did they get aph?

did you kill her when you chose to be her friend?

“wait for me!”

you almost faint from how quickly you turn around, eyes wide as you focus in on aphmau clumsily running after you—face red and hair frazzled.

“o-m-g, that was so embarrassing!” she heaves, stopping in front of you. “sorry i didn’t respond to your text! you won’t believe what just happened to—oh—!”

you reach forward, pulling aphmau into a tight hug. suddenly you hear the birdsong in the trees again. the rushing of cars on the street next to you. your blood is suddenly swirling in your head.

“woah… are you okay? you’re shaking, like, really bad…”

a second passes before you pull away, taking in a gulp of air. “yeah, i’m fine.”

“and you’re really pale,” aphmau says, thin eyebrows pinched together before she gasps. “oh, did i worry you? i’m so, so sorry! i can explain what happened on the way, okay?”

her eyes are full of a worry you hadn’t quite seen before. did you look that upset?

“okay, yeah. i’m fine. i’m fine.” you reassure, wiping away the cold sweat from the back of your neck with a grimace.

aphmau hums, the noise shaky and unsure, before reaching out to take your free hand. “okay. maybe you can come have dinner with me and my mom tonight! i think she said she was going to make empanadas tonight. you know what those are, right?”

“yeah…”

“great! well, my mom’s empanadas are the best, so you can try them! oh yeah, i was gonna tell you what happened, right? so…”

you don’t mean to, but your focus drifts from aphmau’s actual words to just the sound of her voice, eyes drifting to the sidewalk ahead. the feeling of her smaller hand holding yours was somehow comforting despite how it gently and barely seemed to even squeeze yours.

you still feel high-strung, but as the initial adrenaline finally leaves your body you feel a wave of exhaustion and… a bit of embarrassment. it seems a bit dramatic, what you just did. after all, aph is perfectly fine right here. you were acting like an overly anxious parent or older sister, and the two of you aren’t even related to each other.

“…and she shoved me in the locker! can you believe that? what kind of girl fake cries in the boys' locker room and then traps another girl in there?! i thought she was really in trouble!”

“wait, what?” you blink, whipping your head over to her as you process her words. “who did?”

“ivy! she shoved me in the locker! and i didn’t have my phone 'cause it was still in my bag, so i just had to wait there until—guess who?!—aaron let me out! she stuck me in aaron lycan’s locker!”

a wave of anger resurfaces, sending black spots into your vision. once again, another problem caused by that insufferable prick.

“i’m gonna fucking kill her.”

“what!” aphmau laughs, squeezing your hand. “woah, your face is scaring me! calm down!”

she swerves you off the sidewalk and into her yard, pulling you closer to her front door. “let’s think about empanadas instead! mhm, mhm! and pepsi… and ice cream… and we can watch a movie or episode of something before we have a very calm and peaceful rest for school tomorrow.”

“…okay.” you sigh, pulling in a tense breath. “okay. that sounds nice… let’s do it.”

“yay!”

©starhvney, 2024. please do not steal or repost my works as your own.

tag list: @orinlin @pain-in-the-ashe @youmake1mistake @arienic @wasting-away-on-the-internet @angelhyperfixates @remiechu

[unformula1]

everything's falling apart (CL16 x reader)

everything’s falling apart (CL16 x reader)

part 2 (everything fell apart) | part 3 (everything's gone) series masterlist- everything (you're losing me)

synopsis: you can't find a pulse, your heart won’t start anymore. you and Charles’ relationship go downhill!

“I don’t understand!” Charles waves his hands in the air, infuriated.

“I know you don’t.” You say, holding back the tears threatening to spill out all at once.

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

pairing: charles leclerc x reader

word count: 1135

a/n: i sure do love some angst. was meant to be a ‘you’re losing me’ based fic but gave up on that lol!

masterlist

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

“I love you.” Charles says.

“I love you too.” You reply, with a wide smile on your face.

Who knew how quickly that would fade, like a lost moment in time, gone with the wind. Within weeks of your newly found love (or so you thought), reality came crashing down, swinging at you in full force.

Love wasn’t easy.

It never was.

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

“You really cannot be expecting me to do all this.” Charles says, leaning on the couch.

“All I’m asking is you try to be nicer when talking to me.” You rephrase your thoughts for the millionth time.

“Why?”

“Because some of the things you say hurt like hell.”

“I thought you were a phoenix rising from the ashes.” He quotes you, almost mockingly.

“Well, I try.”

“Try harder.” He deadpans.

“What?”

“I try hard too. I try hard to get where I want in life. You’re expecting it to be served on a silver platter.” Charles says nonchalantly.

“I try really hard too.”

“To do what?”

“Get a career? Be the perfect love?”

“It isn’t working then.”

“What?”

“You’re jobless and a hopeless romantic.”

You hesitate responding, nothing comes out. You try saying something else, but it doesn’t want to be said. The cat’s got your tongue. 

“I’m right, aren’t I?” He scorns.

No. The words refuse to come out. A wave of sadness washes over you and you feel extremely horrible, your throat is getting clogged.

You would give everything for Charles.

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

“Are you ready?” Charles says coldly, adjusting the tie in the mirror.

“Yea.” You reply, putting on your rings and adjusting everything.

He turns to look at your outfit, giving it a really cold glare.

“What? Is it not nice?” You worriedly ask.

“Change.” He doesn’t answer your question.

“What? But I like this-”

“Change… now.” He says, pointing to the closet.

“Why?”

You didn’t know why Charles was being so rude about it; it wasn’t like him, but he’s changed, so what even is ‘him’ anymore? 

You and Charles stare into each other's eyes, his eyes cold and unreadable, as if he never wanted to be here. You look at him, not breaking any eye contact whatsoever.

“You have to change.” He says, sounding a bit more agitated this time.

“Why?” You repeat, increasing in frustration as well.

“Just please, go-” He says, looking away, his fingers rubbing his forehead.

“I won’t. I like this.” You stand your ground unlike most other times. You’re done with this. You’re not going to be pushed around.

“It’s… because… this outfit has too much… skin showing.” He says unconvincingly, “People will do weird things.”

Bullshit.

You look at the time, you two are already on track to being late to the most important event of both of your lives. After a long pause, a sigh, you change out and quickly put on another outfit. 

You hate this. You were supposed to stand your ground, but here you were, giving in again.

You would give everything for Charles.

But would he give you everything?

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

“I don’t understand!” Charles waves his hands in the air, infuriated.

“I know you don’t.” You say, holding back the tears threatening to spill out all at once.

Both of you stand in the living room with a fair distance in between you two, it’s ironic, how much you loved this room. The warm orange-yellow light latched onto the wall was turned on behind him and it made him glow as if he was in the evening sun . You used to love it, seeing him smile while the light made him glow. He was perfect. Everything was perfect.

Now, there’s nothing perfect or beautiful about this. The light made him flash an angry glow, painfully dark red. His eyes glowed in fury, the lights made it ever so obvious. 

“Mon Dieu!” He says, throwing himself onto the couch, “I think you’re being dramatic.”

You might’ve bothered listening to what he had to say, if he didn’t proceed with a loud, disgruntled sigh and burying his face in his hands, letting out more grunts.

You’re done with this.

You turn around and storm into your room. It’s dark. You don’t bother turning the lights on and just sit on the edge of your bed. The tears start streaming down. 

It’s dark. It’s cold.

His hands wrap around your body, filling it with warmth. The tears don’t slow down, still streaming. He hugs you tightly, holding you in.

“I’m sorry.” He whispers into your ear, wiping the tears from your cheeks.

“I’m really sorry.” He says again, much softer this time. You feel his warm breath on your skin.

He continues hugging you tightly, keeping you within his embrace as you sob quietly.

“I didn’t mean it.” He says again for the 100th time.

Does he mean it?

You don’t know and it’s eating at you. He says this all the time after every single one of his outbursts. The pain doesn’t go away, it never does. He could hug you and shower you with gifts but the ‘you’re useless’ and ‘you’re being dramatic’ never leaves you. 

He’s sorry.

But is he?

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

“Again?” You ask, trying to give off a little bit of disappointment.

“Yes. Again.” Charles says, adjusting his suit.

“You’re going out again? For the fifth time this week?” You ask, attempting to bring across a point.

“Your point?” He shoots it down almost instantly.

“Stay at home? Maybe spend time with me?” 

“I see you all the time. I see these people too little, I’m seeing them more.” Charles says.

“Yea but-”

“It’s a special time for me.”

“I know… it’s just I was hoping we could spend some time together.”

“Next time.”

“But-”

“I promise.”

“Fine…” You reluctantly say.

“Call me if you need.” 

He says and gives you a quick smile before kissing you on the cheek.

You love Charles. You really do, but lately it’s disappearing. It’s fading. 

You can’t lie to yourself anymore, this definitely isn’t going to work out and there’s only a matter of time before your relationship implodes, but you love him so much, you can’t let him go… not yet.

You love Charles.

You’re on borrowed time.

He doesn’t love you back.

It hurts. Your heart and mind conflict, you would never think in a million years you’d have to be thinking about this. Charles was supposed to be your prince charming, your Mr Perfect, your everything but here you were, on the brink of tears because of him.

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

You needed someone right now, maybe to come over and hang out with you. Someone to share your sorrows with or someone to cry on; seeing as Charles had no intent of giving you the necessary attention, you turned to your next best source.

“Hi.” He finally picked up.

“Hi Arthur.”