#love how when I finally see my good for nothing relatives in a few day’s they’ll mock my misfortune and degrading appearance

[samwisefamgee]

lmaooo the high is 7 degrees today and people keep messaging me like “omg I hope you’re ok don’t get too cold 😭🥺 uwu” yeah I’m not ok and it is extremely cold and also everything else is bad but thanks anyway

[yanderefarm]

yandere cultist but its omegaverse

cw; religion, cults, yandere themes, omegaverse

ill post the introduction for him later too. ive had this idea for a minute i thought it was fun. u always see yandere cult leaders wheres the yandere followers who act the way they do because they're following what they were told. wheres the yandere cultists who have been convinced that you're their chosen soulmate and will do anything to prove it to you.

also i got the dominant thing from a yaoi manhwa i dropped i don't remember what it was called but im sure this trope isn't original to the verse i just put my own spin on it

you're what's called a "dominant" alpha, it's not anything to do with your role in the bedroom and more the strength of your traits. rut inhibitors and scent blockers have no effect on you while you struggle with interest in typical omegas. but because of the rarity of the condition it wasn't often taught about in schools. trying to find a "dominant" omega on normal dating apps was practically impossible.

that's why you turned to more conservative dating apps. less likely to find people who thought dominant omegas meant strap ons and muzzles and more likely to find people who thought the term dominant omega was a sin. while you don't agree with them an omega is a whole lot easier to reason with.

thats how you met him. he was a beautiful boy with long blue hair and lovely floral dresses. all his pictures were either clearly church pictures or candid shots of him working on a farm. all you really needed to see was the marked off dominant omega trait at this point but him being a cutie was a bonus.

you checked to make sure he was what he said he was and then you two hit it off immediately. he was shy but he used the cutest emojis, lots of hearts and sparkles. you found yourself talking to him every second of every day, completely enamored by the sweetheart he was.

so when you asked if you could finally go on a date in person you were surprised to find your stark differences reared their head. you had to meet his dad before you could go on a date. sure. he's made it no secret that he's a sheltered religious boy. the comment he also added about ensuring his purity was intact was unneeded but you could get past it. he's a good person.

he's a good person who happens to live in the same Happy Homes compound you had just watched a video essay about. you were surprised... and horrified. still as creepy as the place was you were too attached to him at this point to just abandon him here. if he couldn't be convinced to leave that's one thing but you hadn't even tried yet.

his family was warm and welcoming, a few uncomfortable comments and his eldest brother wouldn't stop glaring at you but that's not unique to them. it was a relatively normal farm house surrounded by identical farm houses. what could go wrong?

you had dinner with them and they even invited you to church with them. you knew you weren't about to be convinced to join the cult so you agreed. his father let you borrow some nice clothes and you ended up taking your boyfriend, his mother, and one of his sisters in your car.

the sermon was. boring. nothing uniquely offensive that you wouldn't find in any conservative religious church. the surprising part came with the announcements. the pastor, a beta dressed in white ushered your boyfriend and 4 other omegas onto the stage.

he talked about a plan, a calling each of them had from god. they were each supposed to bring wayward alphas to the church to join them in the house of god. yeah, you could get the gist and before you could even try to stand up one of the other boyfriends did so. he was talking about how this was bullshit and he didn't buy into this crazy crap. and then he collapsed. you watched as 2 others joined him in either death or unconsciousness.

the pastor ushered you onto the stage and your boyfriend's brother dragged you up by the arms. your heart was pounding in your ears and the lights above were glaringly bright. you barely noticed when your boyfriend's arms wrapped around your own.

"and you too shall enter the happiest homes. may god bless you."

you felt your mind go numb and the next thing you knew you were on the floor.

[justlookfrightened]

Warm greeting

Filling a prompt from @shygryf: Tater and Bitty are papped and speculation abounds (can be pre or post cup)

Jack laughed when he first saw it.

He was at the St. Martins’ house, having a cup of coffee with Marty and Thirdy, listening to the girls play in the den while Gabrielle was at work, wondering what it would be like to have a house and a couple of kids.

He’d never really thought about that, not before this summer. Now, though, he was out of the closet — could never go back in the closet — and Bitty had been living with him since May, and it was … delightful.

Sure, it had been an adjustment. The condo felt crowded sometimes, with all of Bitty’s things everywhere, but that had gotten better when Tater had finally given up the guest room and taken his 6’4” body back to his own condo, and then, a couple of weeks later, back to Russia to see his family.

And sometimes Bitty chattered on, usually about nothing, or about baking, when Jack was craving silence.

But they’d gotten better at communicating what they needed when they needed it, and Jack had found his thoughts turning to a future that maybe … just maybe … included a family. With Bitty, who was already so good with kids. Marty and Thirdy’s kids all loved him.

He should really talk to Bitty about it before he got carried away. They’d never talked about having kids. Why would they? Bitty was so young, only a few years from being a kid himself. He still had two years of school to finish before they could even think about getting married.

Or maybe … Jack had known other players who married women who were still in college. It worked, they said, because the academic year roughly matched the hockey season, so they were busy at the same time.

Jack also knew a lot of players who got divorced after a few years.

“Earth to Jack.” 

Marty was waving his phone in front of Jack’s face, trying to call him out of his daydream.

“Looks like Tater got back okay,” Marty said, once he had Jack’s attention.

The phone showed a picture of Tater at the airport in Boston, arms wrapped around Bitty and lifting him into the air. It was from a local news site, and noted that training camp was around the corner.

The sheer joy that Jack read on Bitty’s face made him laugh.

“Yeah,” Jack said. “I had a meeting with my agent this morning, so Bits went down to pick him up. I know he was a little worried.”

“Tater?” Thirdy asked.

“No, Bitty,” Jack said. “Well, he said Tater was worried, too, but … I didn’t see it.”

“About what?” Marty asked.

“About Tater going back to Russia,” Jack said. “After the Cup. Or, I mean, after I kissed Bitty. Because people knew Tater was staying with me … staying with us … and the way Russia has been cracking down on gay people. That’s why Tater didn’t do a statement in support of us or anything.”

Tater had wanted to, Jack knew. Bitty had talked him out of it, after a long phone call to his old skating coach in Georgia, who apparently still knew people in Russia. She didn’t actually know Tater’s family, but Bitty said they had friends in common.

“Figure skating’s a small world,” Bitty had explained. “Even smaller than hockey.”

“I was surprised by that,” Marty said. “I never thought he’d be homophobic.”

“No, he’s not,” Jack said. “But his mother and sister are still in Russia, and he wanted to see them, and he was already staying with me. So he decided to have his Cup day there, like it was important for him to bring it home to them, and then work on getting things in place for his mother and his sister to move here this year. He just found out last week that their visas were approved.”

Jack didn’t say how much work had gone on behind the scenes, with George, with his American mother, with the U.S. State Department to make sure that Tater’s closest relatives would be admitted.

The next time Jack saw the picture, it was on the phone Bitty was holding out across the breakfast bar while Jack did the dinner dishes that evening.

Tater had come for dinner, full of plans to look for a place for his family to live in Providence, to have everything ready when they arrived. 

“They’re not going to live with you?” Jack asked. 

“No, no,” Tater said. “Me, I’m keeping my bachelor pad. Anyone I date, they need to get along with my mama, yes, but not over the breakfast table. You understand?”

He left, wiped out from traveling, as soon as the meal was over. Bitty was sitting at the counter and scrolling through his phone when he sat up, eyebrows at his hairline, and said, “Really?!?”

Now the picture was on what Jack recognized as a gossip site, and the caption underneath said, “Moving on? The man seen greeting Providence Falconer Alexei Mashkov at Logan Airport sure looks a lot like Eric Bittle, who Jack Zimmerman said was his boyfriend after kissing him on the ice following the Falconers’ Stanley Cup win. But Zimmermann and Bittle haven’t been seen in public together for weeks. Did Mashkov steal this puck bunny away from his teammate?”

Jack almost dropped the plate he was holding.

“Puck bunny? Osti de tabarnak!”

He set the plate down and took the phone from Bitty to read it again, saying as he did so, “I’m calling my lawyer. I’ll get them to take it down.”

But his phone was already ringing.

Shitty.

“What the fuck, brah!” Shitty started. “Did you see —”

“We saw,” Jack confirmed. “I’m calling my lawyer. Puck bunny?”

If Jack was furious, Bitty was incandescent with rage.

“How could they do this!?! This could ruin everything! I have to call Tater.”

Bitty tugged his phone out of Jack’s grip and looked at the post again. 

“After everything Tater did all summer to smooth everything over. I mean, maybe I shouldn’t have hugged him, but I was so glad he made it back okay … and I didn’t even see anyone with a camera. Fuck, it’s my fault. What if his family can’t come anymore?”

Bitty was almost wailing now. Jack knew he was upset — Bitty didn’t usually use casual profanity like that — and he knew that he shouldn’t call Tater in that state.

“It’ll be okay,” Jack said. “You really think the Russian government looks at trashy gossip sites from Boston?”

“You really think they don’t?” Bitty retorted. “And I don’t know what your lawyer’s gonna do.”

“Tell them to take down the caption?” Jack said. “Sue them for defamation?”

“For what? Implying that I broke up with you and started dating Tater?” Bitty scoffed. “I love you, but the media law class I took last year — you know, for my blog? — I don’t think that’s actually defamatory.”

“Puck bunny?” Jack said in disbelief. “I mean, I saw the photo before, but it was one of the news channels talking about training camp. I didn’t think anything of it.”

“Once again, you might see the caption as derogatory, but … they’re gonna say it was intended to be humorous. And we were in public, so no expectation of privacy. I hate it as much as you do, Jack, but you know they can take photos on public property.”

That, in fact, was why Bitty and Jack had not been seen in public together for weeks. Bitty had had a minor breakdown over not even being able to go to the grocery store without photos ending up online.

“But they still might take it down if they get a call from a lawyer,” Jack pointed out. 

“Yeah,” Bitty acknowledged. “They might. I’m just kicking myself for not being more careful. I’ll call Tater.”

Jack went to the closet he called his office to call the lawyer while Bitty called Tater.

“Tater? I’m sorry to bother you — I know you’re exhausted,” Bitty started.

“I’m fine,” Tater said. “You need something? Forget something?”

“No — I, um, I have to give you some bad news,” Bitty said.

“You alright?” Tater asked. “Jack’s alright?”

“No, we’re fine. It’s, well. It’s that there was a picture taken. Of us. On the sidewalk at airport.”

“Yes?” Tater said, sounding a little mystified. “I saw the photo hours ago. You look very cute. I look very strong.”

“Well, yes, but some other place posted it, and the caption makes it sound like you ‘n’ me … like we’re dating,” Bitty finally managed to say.

“Okay?” Tater said. “I know that is not true. You know that is not true. I’m sure Jack knows it is not true.”

“But what about … you don’t think it will cause problems for your mother?”

“Mama? No,” Tater laughed. “Mama — she told the people in Russia that she needed to come to the U.S. to — how to say — set me straight. That I was forgetting the ways she taught me and she and my sister must come so I remember.”

Tater paused.

“Don’t worry, she can’t wait to meet you! She just said that so they would let her come here. I saw the photographer and I thought the picture might help, yes?”

Bitty thunked his head gently on the kitchen counter.

“Tater, are you sure about this?”

“Of course I am sure!”

There was another pause.

“They called you puck bunny!” Tater shouted.

“Just saw it, huh?” Bitty asked.

“They should not say that about you!”

“Yeah, Tater, Jack is on that. As long as you’re okay?”

“I’m fine, Little B. Going to bed. Maybe tomorrow you, me and Jack all go out together?”

[dreamersparacosm]

austin butler - clumsy

warnings ; none

prompt ; in which your celebrity crush causes you to become a flustered, blubbering mess.

a/n ; a little something fun i wrote during the fall but never published! it’s basically anxious!reader and honestly how I imagine myself reacting to meeting aus so enjoy xoxo

Okay, don’t panic.

Do not panic.

It’s just a man. A man with blonde, curly locks, blue eyes, over 6 feet tall… but still, a man. Nothing special. You could probably find ten of him walking down Rodeo Drive.

Except that’s probably not true either.

It is Austin Butler, after all.

You hike the tail of your dress higher as you descend up the stairs to the red carpet, inhaling as much oxygen as possible to tame your nerves. It does nothing for you beside provide a placebo effect of calmness. Your publicist, Jane, stands next to you with her eyebrows furrowed in permanent worry, a crinkle she’s had since the day she took you on. “[Y/N], did you get a chance to look at your seating arrangement?”

“Uh, no, not yet,” You respond slowly, wincing slightly as you brace yourself for her reaction. She sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose before turning towards you.

“You know what, that’s fine, sweets. Just go stand on the carpet so we can take these pictures,” She goes back to her clipboard full of tedious things like timing and interviewers and stupid seating arrangements, and you’re trying to stay focused, but how can you do that when Austin Butler is standing 8 feet away from you, posing on the red carpet?

You’re pretty sure you’re drooling.

Whoever keeps leaving his shirts unbuttoned is a menace to society and needs to be locked away for endangerment to the general public.

This whole idiotic schoolgirl crush began relatively long ago, when he was still deeply in love with Vanessa Hudgens and playing a teen heartthrob on The Carrie Diaries. You weren’t even famous at that point, just a mediocre commercial actress trying to get her big break. Once you finally booked your first big role, the crush faded away (only the tiniest amount) but that all came crashing down like an avalanche when you saw Elvis with your best friend.

They probably could’ve posted the entire movie on a porn website and made the same amount of money. And, thus, your crush ensued, full throttle and invading your every thought at the worst moments. Including this one.

Jane kicks the back of your leg, cursing under her breath as you tear your eyes away from him. You’re not new to this scene, you’ve been in major leading roles and you’ve been nominated for Oscars. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that at your core, you are a complete and utter mess. A klutz. A loser with some money in the bank.

So, you take the pictures, with not too many mistakes as you expected, just a few shots of you blinking while smiling. You’re sure they’ll end up on Twitter where your fans will laugh about it while saying how much they love you.

This part always goes by fast. It’s camera flashes, smiles that are strained under the bright lights, talks with interviewers that always go far longer than expected, and then before you know it, you’re being ushered into a tight room with celebrities you had only dreamed of seeing in real life. Jane is glued to your side as you wait for your turn to enter the theater.

Despite the cool temperature of Los Angeles, you’re somehow drenched in sweat. You’ve done this before, you know that. But that doesn’t stop your entire body from going into fight or flight mode, teetering towards flight.

“What’s the hold up?” You hear a female’s voice yell out, and you almost think it’s Jane before you hear her chuckle beside you.

“Speak that truth. I am so sick of these fucking Oscars dimwits wasting my time,” Jane says loudly enough for the girl to hear it, and before you know it, they’re enthralled in a full-blown conversation. If you weren’t trying to fan your armpit sweat, you might’ve joined.

Maybe it’s a good idea to find out where you’re sitting. Probably will need to know that before you enter. You can only assume they’ll sit you next to your last co-star, Timothee Chalamet. What a delight that would be (and that’s not sarcasm, he always smells like cashmere and some type of forest.)

You turn your body slightly, eyeing Jane and the girl she’s talking to. She’s a redhead, also wearing a suit and clearly another publicist that has been in the position for far too long to enjoy it.

Out of the corner of your eye, you notice a male figure standing next to the redhead. Hm. A black suit. Your eyes trail over his body, a soft black lace shirt that is half-unbuttoned peeking over the hem. How nice. You love that look on men.

Oh, fuck.

Oh, fuck.

Your body freezes. Mouth runs dry. Sweat shrivels back up into your body only to start forming at impossible speeds. Heart palpates so quickly you think you might be going into cardiac arrest.

In front of you, is Austin Butler. And he completely, totally, entirely, caught you checking out his entire body, head to toe.

There’s a smirk on his face that is undeniably directed towards you, eyes glimmering with amusement. You can’t even believe that you’re looking directly at him. He can’t be real, he has to be a figment of your imagination.

“Come here often?”

You did not just speak.

No, you didn’t. That couldn’t have been real. That couldn’t have been what you just said. After years of dreaming about this moment, that can’t have been what your brain and tongue agreed on.

He chuckles, a deep one that rumbles through his chest, and says, “I try not to make it a habit. You?”

You entangle your fingers with each other, hoping the sweat that has gathered on them just slides right off. “Me either. Trying to cut down on my presence and all that.”

He raises his eyebrows quizzically, that soft smile that curves upon his lips widening a little, “Well, can’t say the Oscars is the best place to do that.”

“Yes, well…” You trail off. Thoughts empty. Brain just a shallow void with nothing but dirty, filthy fantasies about him floating around. Oh god, get a grip.

And he should end the conversation right there, then back around and not acknowledge the weird girl who clearly hasn’t had enough media training. But, he doesn’t. Instead, he sticks out his hand for you to shake, and says, “I’m Austin. Austin Butler.”

“I know,” You say almost immediately. His facial expression contorts into something unreadable, and your lips flap again to try and salvage the rest of your dignity. “I’m [Y/N].”

You shake his hand, praying to some otherworldly creature above that he won’t feel the sweat on your hands. It’s a little weird, when you touch his hand. Feels like you’re envisioning yourself with him, like you’re some kind of wizard that can tell it won’t be the last time you see him. It feels a little like something out of a rom-com, with the electricity zap and the sounds of your hearts beating erratically.

You both pull your hands away, smiling to the ground. You really, really, really hope he’ll keep talking to you.

“Nervous?” He asks, taking note of the way your thumbs twiddle and the sidestep you keep doing with your heels.

“A little. Kinda. Maybe,” You let out a sigh of relief. “I’m not really the most organized.”

“Hm. Well, I’m sure you’ll be great,” His grin widens just enough to show off his pearly white teeth that glimmer under the remaining sunlight that California has to offer.

“Thanks,” You smile back. “How about you? Nervous?”

“Always,” He responds, almost taken aback by the transparency he’s having with another celebrity. He’s never had a conversation about nerves, never felt validated enough by someone to open up about the fear that comes along with being at this level of fame. “It’s my first Oscars.”

“Right,” You say, “Well, I’ve been to a few, and honestly, I’ll let you in on a secret. Even Leonardo DiCaprio shits himself a little when the nominees are announced.”

He lets out a laugh, a real one, one that sounds like all good things in the world and you would be more than happy to capture it in a jar and keep it on your bedside forever. “Somehow, I don’t doubt that,” He switches gears, shifting his body around a little. “What afterparty are you going to?”

It’s a simple question, one you’ve been asked numerous times by other people in the industry. It usually offers a sense of dominance over who got the better invite. “Er, yes, that would be a question for my lovely publicist, Jane, because I don’t have a rat’s ass idea of where I’m supposed to go.”

He laughs. Again. Part of you is enthralled, part of you is confused as to why he thinks you’re a comedy show. Maybe he thinks you’re a joke. Yes, that makes good sense. “That honestly makes me feel better because I don’t really know where I’m going either,” He admits.

“Are you kidding?” You ask incredulously. “You look like that and you don’t know where you’re going? I think the President of the Academy Awards has a personal invite waiting for you.”

Okay, maybe you shouldn’t have said that. But really, it has to be blamed on the fact that there are a swarm of murderous bees flying around in your stomach that are making you feel woozy.

His cheeks turn a crimson glow, “Like that?”

“Oh, you know…” You trail, slowly laughing to brush off the fact that you basically just admitted your undying love to him. “Just…. That’s a great black shirt. I’m gonna buy one for my brother.”

His lips curve upwards a little more, blue eyes sparkling like little oceans. “Thanks. And, you know, you don’t look bad yourself.”

You blink twice. Did he just say that?

Before you even whip up a flirty comment, or even a funny one that’ll have him doubling over in laughter and proposing to you by tonight, you feel Jane gripping your forearm tightly. “Stop dicking around, [Y/N]. We need to go in.”

“Right, yes, totally,” You smile awkwardly over to Austin, and he returns it. You feel soft and warm and glowy inside, like you might levitate off the floor.

And then you really are levitating off the floor, because your feet miss the step and you’re falling before you even have a chance to stop yourself. Your arm extends to try and delay your inevitable fall, but it doesn’t work and you’re really sprawled out. Immediately, Jane rushes down to try and drag you up, hurriedly asking if you’re okay.

You nod slightly, balancing yourself on your knees. Thankfully, you think the vast majority of people have entered the theater and missed out on your embarrassment of epic proportions.

Well, maybe not everyone.

Suddenly, like a light peeking from beyond the clouds, you see an outstretched hand to your right. It’s tan, a male’s hand for sure. You look up to see who could possibly be nice enough to help you up. Maybe it’s God telling you it’s time to pass away.

It’s Austin. And he has a really worried look on his face that you’re shocked by, but his expression falters once he sees the look on your face. You’re smiling, a real big goofy one, because it’s so ridiculous and he’s so ridiculous and you’re pretty sure one of your heels is broken.

You place your hand in his, and his other hand wraps around your waist to help you up and steady yourself against him. Once you’re finally standing, he grins, leaning into your ear, “Remember, even Leonardo DiCaprio shits himself at the table.”

You don’t even realize his arm is still wrapped around your waist until you notice the absence of it. You giggle lightly, biting your lip. “Of course. And I think I saw Brad Pitt throw up in the bathroom last year.”

“Austin, we gotta go,” His publicist grabs his hand, and you feel a pang of disappointment. You almost think he does too, his blue eyes turning grayish as he looks back at her.

“Right,” He clears his throat. “Well, good luck tonight, [Y/N]. I hope you win.”

“You too,” The smile on your face is probably permanently tattooed on. You feel Jane’s hand on your back, slowly moving you away from him although your feet beg to stay.

“Oh, and [Y/N]?” You turn back around to face him, “Big fan of your work.”

With that, he turns away with his publicist to go and find his seat amongst the crowd. You watch him disappear, an indescribable feeling washing over your entire body. You’re also being whisked away to your table, greeted by familiar faces and friends. But it’s pretty clear that’s not the reason why you’re smiling.

Some part of your brain decides on one thing: this won’t be the last time you see him.

▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓

You decide that you like California. Not a whole lot, but enough to make you sign a contract for a new film. Normally, you believe that Los Angeles and all its surrounding cities are a dreadful structure that encapsulates all the worst features of privileged Southern California lifestyle. But the food is undeniably tasty, and your new apartment is decorated with high ceilings and well-lit rooms, so you’ll make do. You’ll be filming in sunny Calabasas, where the houses are painted a perfect shade of white, where time stills a little and every cloud is just the right amount of fluffy.

The Oscar’s had came and went, and you won, to no one’s surprise but your own. With that accomplishment came offers. People really, truly wanted to work with you, and although it baffled you, Jane was having the time of her life coordinating auditions and interviews.

Everything was truly perfect.

You flip through the pages of your fresh script, your manicured nails turning through the warm pages, the black ink bleeding onto the sheets. Jane sits across from you, feverishly scribbling something, negotiating your pay for your new film. She’ll deliver. In the end, she always does.

She hangs up her call, sighing from relief. You’re about to ask her how it went, if you got the price you wanted, before her phone blares again with that god awful ringtone she refuses to change. She answers it, a cheerful tone in her voice, “Kate? So good to hear from you! What’s going on?”

You tune out of her conversation, focusing your eyes back on the mass of paper in front of you. A new story to be told. A new character to embody. A new chapter of your life. It’s all very emotional and sappy and you almost want to cry tears of happiness, but you’ll save that for later, once you get home and crack open a bottle of wine.

You hear Jane place her phone down, and your eyes flicker back up to her. There’s an expression on her face that’s unreadable, and you’re unsure of how to process it. Oh, no. If you didn’t get the price you wanted, that would suck. Or, maybe you did and she’s just unsure on how to process emotion. You always thought she was a robot.

“I just had the weirdest phone call,” She finally speaks, scratching her forehead quizzically.

“What’s up?” You ask mindlessly, certain she’s going to tell you something personal like her cousin getting married to a farmer.

“That was Austin Butler’s publicist. She said he’s been asking about you since the Oscars.”

There’s no fucking way. She’s pranking you. Any second now, Ashton Kutcher is going to pop out behind the doorframe and say “You’ve been Punk’d!” and then maybe he’ll also bring out Austin to further your embarrassment.

“Excuse me?” You blink.

“Yeah,” She seems just as baffled as you are. “She said he’s been trying to find a way to get in contact with you, but turns out, you guys don’t have a lot of mutual friends.”

Well, that makes sense.

She continues on, “Anyway, she gave me his number and then said he wants to ask you on a date. So, do with that what you will.”

She unlocks her phone, slides it across the table to you, and you see a phone number typed into her notes. Your hand trembles as you pick up the iPhone, copying the number into your own contacts. You feel woozy, just like you did on that red carpet, just like you did the moment you locked eyes with him.

“Right, well,” You clear your throat. “I’ll just step outside and call him real quick.”

She nods, raising one eyebrow. There’s a small grin that appears on her lips, a knowing one, and you slide out the door into the hallway.

You don’t know what comes over you, or what demon compels you, but you click the number. You hear the ring. There’s a pause. Your heart drops as you think that he might not answer.

And then you hear him. His voice.

“Hello?”

“Uh, h-hi. Hi. This is, um, [Y/N]. Your publicist gave me your number.”

It almost sounds ridiculous.

“[Y/N]. You know, I’ve been trying to get ahold of you but turns out you’re not an easy person to reach,” You can hear the smile in his voice.

“Well, you know me and my presence. All time low,” You say sarcastically, and he chuckles.

“Right. Well, congratulations on your win. Very well-deserved,” His voice is deeper than you remember. There’s a slight desire that pools between your legs for a moment before you snap yourself back into reality.

“You too. Some would call it the performance of the year,” And you can’t even believe it’s happening. You’re really flirting with him.

“Thank you,” He says so softly, so charming. He’s always grateful and humble, and it makes you even more attracted to him. If that’s even possible at this point. “So, do you think there’s a chance you would allow me to take you out to dinner? Somewhere lowkey, you know, for your presence and all?”

The question is so unbelievable that you can’t even take it in. You make a few sounds, splutter over your words and trip over them like you did your own two feet at the Oscars. Your heartbeat travels up to your eardrum, pounding with every ounce of blood that travels through you. “U-uh, umm… well, you know, let me go ahead and check my schedule.” There’s a pause. You cover the reciever and scream a silent yell into the void, jumping a few feet high.

Clearing your throat, you say, “Hm. Seems like I’m free tomorrow.”

“You can’t do tonight?”

The question takes you aback. Surely, he can’t be asking that because he wants to see you. “Oh, why? Are you leaving California tomorrow?”

“Not at all,” You hear him shuffle. “I just really want to take you out.”

“Right, yes, of course.” You let his question hang in the air. You know your answer, but you like letting him think there’s a possibility you might reject him.

“I am free tonight.”

“Great,” His voice is upbeat, a newfound excitement peeking through. “Well, text me your address. I’ll send a car to pick you up.”

“Yup, totally. Super duper cool. Looking really forward to it,” You babble on, pacing the hallway you’ve trapped yourself in.

He lets out a low laugh, “Me too. I’ll see you tonight. Bye, [Y/N].”

You say your goodbyes, leaning against the wall for stability before you collapse into a puddle. Later, a janitor might come to find your lifeless body glued to the wall. Cause of death? Man built like a Greek god asks woman on date.

But, everything is fine. You’ll somehow make it.

There’s a ridiculous feeling in your heart, a warmth that spreads to your toes and fingers. Now, everything is perfect.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

masterlist + request

[nicoline1998enilocin]

Purring with love

PAIRING || Sugar Daddy!Tony Stark x Sugar Baby!Fem!Reader

WORDCOUNT || 4.5K

SUMMARY || As you're walking to your car through the pouring rain, you suddenly spot a completely drenched cardboard box in the bushes. As you peek in, you find an abandoned little kitten who is only a few weeks old at most, so you decide to nurse it back to health, creating a strong bond between you two in the process.

RATING || Mature (M)

TAGS || Sugar Daddy AU. Sugar Daddy!Tony Stark. Sugar Baby!Reader.

WARNINGS || Unspecified age gap. Use of nicknames (Sugar). Mutual pining. Idiots in love. Overheard love confession. Animal abandonment. Animal rescue. Light sexual tension. Sexual content.

A/N || This amazing story has been brought to life with love and support from my bestie @ccbsrmsf1, for which I'll forever be grateful! Thank you for proofreading, loving, and supporting me because this wouldn't have existed without your help! Eu te amo 3000 💙

EVENTS Masterlist || @avengersbingo || Clothes sharing Masterlist || @fandom-free-bingo Wild || 'Hoping for more good days'

Banners: @nicoline1998enilocin || Divider: @rookthornesartistry || Photo: @ccbsrmsf1

Main Masterlist || Tony Stark Masterlist || AU Masterlist

You sigh as you look outside from your place in the library, where you have been holed up all day to finish a few assignments. As soon as your alarm goes off, notifying you that it's time to go home, you quickly pack up your stuff to get to your car before the rain worsens.

Seeing how the clock is already creeping closer to 7 p.m., it is relatively quiet on Campus, except for the few evening classes that are still being taught. As you go to the door, you adjust your jacket and put the hood on, hoping to shield you from the rain for as long as possible.

With a last deep breath, you swing open the doors leading to the parking lot while inwardly scolding yourself for parking your car so far away today. With a bit of a jog, you make your way to the entrance of the lot, and you can already see your trusty car when your attention is suddenly pulled away.

Right next to the parking lot entrance is a small box that is half open. The rain is steadily pouring inside as you go over to see what is in it and throw it away if it's nothing important. When you crouch next to it, you forget all about the rain as you see a tiny, pitch-black kitten lying in a rapidly growing puddle.

The first thing you do is take off your jacket, rain be damned, and pick up the kitten to keep it warm inside. It's clear that it's still alive as their chest moves with every breath, but as you run to your car, you can't stop the tears from flowing, thinking about how anyone could even begin to think about doing something cruel like this.

As soon as you're dry in your car, you look for something to keep it warmer, suddenly remembering the blanket you have in your backseat. You wrap up the kitten safely, and it doesn't take long to stop shivering in the warmth.

Meanwhile, you find your phone at the bottom of your bag, and with tears streaming down your face steadily, you call the first person who comes to mind: Tony.

It only takes him two rings to pick up, and the worry on his face is immediately visible when he sees and hears how distraught you are.

"Who do I need to hunt down, Sugar?" Tony asks, worry laced in his voice as he sits down. He is technically in the middle of a meeting, but when he sees you calling, he drops everything and answers immediately.

"I-I don't k-know," you stammer out between sobs, tears constantly wetting your cheeks the second you try and wipe them away. "I-I found a-a kitten in a b-box in the p-pouring rain." More sobs make their way through your body as you look down at the kitten on your lap, your camera now aimed at them as well.

"Oh, poor Sugar," Tony whispers, his brows knitted together in concern.

"Are they still alive? Can you take them to a nearby vet?" he asks, and you nod, finally calming down a bit now that you're talking to Tony. His voice always manages to calm you during moments like these, and you wish he were there with you now, but the FaceTime call would have to suffice right now.

"Y-yeah, they're still breathing. Do you think I can keep them if they're okay? I can't abandon them in a shelter, and maybe I won't be as lonely in my apartment if they're around as well," you ask, your tears and sobs having reduced to sniffles now.

"Absolutely, you can, Sugar. Please keep me updated about their well-being, okay? I will ensure they have the best medical care and at-home care," he says, and you feel the butterflies in your stomach fluttering wildly at his words.

"Thank you, Tony. And I'm sorry for interrupting your meeting," you whisper, guilt creeping into your gut.

"Please, there's no need to apologize, Sugar. You know you can call me no matter what, and I'll be there for you, alright?" he asks, and you nod. After your last goodbyes, he returns to his meeting as if nothing happened, and you look up the directions to the closest emergency vet.

Luckily, it's only a 15-minute drive, and as soon as you're there, the vet will immediately see you and the little kitten.

"So, what happened to them?" the vet asks, but you shrug.

"I found them in a box near the college, so I figured I'd give them a fair shot at life and bring them here," you say, tears welling up in your eyes again as you swallow away the lump forming in your throat.

"Alright, I'll check them out, and you can wait in here for now. I'll be back within 20 minutes or so," the kind man says. You nod before turning around and sitting down, ready to update Tony. When you unlock your phone, you get his incoming call and pick up on the first ring.

"Hi, Sugar," Tony says as he sees your face, this time with fewer tears. Warmth spreads through his chest as you smile at him and greet him back. For a moment, everything is right with the world again.

"How's the kitten doing?"

"We found out it's a he. The vet took him for some exams, and he should be back in about 20 minutes, so... All I can do now is wait," you say with a shrug and an unconvincing smile. At this moment, Tony decides to stop everything he's doing, as he needs to be with you tonight. You may not ask for it outright, but he can tell you shouldn't be alone, at least not on the first night.

"Do you have a name for him?" he asks, and you nod.

"I'm thinking of calling him Moon. He's a beautiful pitch-black cat with the most stunning blue eyes, and the name really seems to fit him well," you say, a smile now tugging at the corners of your lips as you think about the little kitten.

"I can't wait to meet little Moon," Tony replies as he allows himself to sink back into his office chair. There's a comfortable silence between you two for a short moment, and neither of you feels the need to fill it. Eventually, you two make some small talk until the vet returns, and you have to say your goodbyes.

"How is he?" you ask as you quickly get up from your seat, your heart going a mile a minute right now. You reach out to the kitten, petting his head gently with the tip of your finger, and he feels so soft.

"He's surprisingly doing well. I think you found him not long after he was left, so apart from his hunger, there's nothing wrong with him. Over the next few weeks, you will need to bottle-feed him until he can start eating regular food, and I would like to see him once a week for the next three or four weeks to keep an eye on him," the vet says, and you nod in understanding.

"For now, I'll give you enough supplies to last you a day or two, but you need to get more soon," he says. With that, he shows you how to feed little Moon, and you're on your way home quickly. With Moon sitting comfortably in a carrying case in one hand and the supplies in your other hand, you go out the door and back to your car.

"It's time to go home, Little Moon. Are you excited?" you ask him, and he lets out a squeaky noise that resembles somewhat of a meow, making your heart race as you hear it. As you take off, you can't stop thinking that you have officially adopted a kitten and won't be as lonely anymore in your apartment.

"Welcome home, Moon!" you tell the little kitten as your front door swings open. The first thing you do after closing it again is put the carrier and supplies down on your dining room table so you can put on something a bit warmer. It's a good thing he's asleep in there right now, so you quickly grab one of Tony's old shirts and a pair of sweatpants, changing with lightning speed.

Your hair is put up in a messy bun, and you decide to trade your contacts for your glasses, which makes you feel even more comfortable, especially since you have quite a long night ahead of you.

The moment you're back in your dining room, you look inside the carrier, and he's awake again, which is perfect timing for feeding him. His bottle is prepared within no time, and you wrap him up in the softest blanket you could find, which has pink and yellow flowers on it.

Moon latches on to the bottle without a problem, his eyes curiously looking around as you feed him. Just before you have the chance to sit down, you hear a few knocks on your door, and you make your way over to see who's on the other side. As soon as you peek through the little peephole, you see it's Tony, so you take a step back to call out that it's open.

"Tony, what are you doing here?" you ask, surprised as he's holding a duffle bag in one hand and some food in the other. He made the educated guess you still needed to eat dinner, and he was right.

"I figured my Sugar could use some extra help now that you have a baby to take care of," he winks, and your cheeks warm at his words. He leans forward to place a soft peck on your lips, and you happily accept it as you smile into the kiss.

"Thank you for coming over; I cannot even begin to explain how much I appreciate it," you sigh, and he nods.

"So, this is Moon, huh?" Tony asks after putting down the bags he is holding, and you nod.

"It is. I have enough supplies to take care of him for a day or two, so I have to go out and buy more tomorrow. Luckily, the vet gave me a list of everything I could possibly need to make sure he's happy and healthy," you tell Tony, who's now carefully petting Moon between his ears.

"He's beautiful," Tony whispers, and you agree.

"How about this: You sit on the couch and continue feeding and loving the little guy, and I get you a plate of food? I have a hunch you haven't had dinner yet, and I could use some food as well," he says, to which you happily agree.

"That would be amazing right about now. Thank you, Tony," you say, sitting on the couch with your legs crossed, looking down at Moon with a broad smile.

Tony can't stop smiling as he prepares a plate for you both. As he takes in the way you look in a pair of sweatpants and his shirt, combined with your glasses and your hair up like this, he can't help but fall in love with you just a little more, and he knows he can't hide it much longer. But for now, he will have to keep to himself, as there are other priorities to take care of.

"Who's ready for some food?" Tony asks as he walks into the living room with two plates of food, and the smell immediately invades your senses. He got Chinese take-out, and it smells divine.

"I'll just go put him down for a bit in his carrier; he just fell asleep again after finishing his bottle, so I'll be right back," you tell Tony. Before you know it, he's in the carrying case you brought him home in, but you decide to take off the top so you can keep an eye on him.

"Alright, I believe it's time for dinner!" you say excitedly as you walk back into the living room. As you stand before the couch, Tony extends his hand, and you take it, only to be pulled onto his lap with a soft shriek.

"Now I can finally say a proper hello to you," he whispers before leaning in to kiss you, his hands lying on your hips while your hands are gliding through the hair on the nape of his neck, your nails softly scratching over his scalp.

Your lips glide against his effortlessly, your bodies fitting together like puzzle pieces. Your hearts match each other's rhythm as they speed up, and the moment is perfect. You're held by the man you love, and even though neither of you wants to admit it, you're both entirely sure about it.

You're both head over heels in love with one another.

During dinner, you and Tony watched a cheesy romantic comedy that happened to be on; even though neither of you paid too much attention to it—you were too busy teasing one another to even care about the movie—there were still a lot of laughs shared between you two over it.

"I can't believe people enjoy these movies, and even more so that people think a happily ever after like that exists," you sigh, thinking back to your awful past and why you moved to the other side of the country.

"I don't know, I quite like the idea of having a happily ever after with someone. To love someone so deeply that you would go to the end of the earth for them without a second thought. I guess I like the idea of having someone to grow old with and someone to come home to after a long day of work," he says, though his eyes are trained on the coffee table instead of looking at you.

"I mean, when you put it like that, I think I might want it as well, as long as it's with the right person," you say softly. You look at him from the corner of your eye, trying to see his reaction. His cheeks are turning a familiar pink tint, making you smile at his cuteness.

Without saying a word, Tony grabs your hand and interlaces his fingers with yours, squeezing softly as his gaze is now focused on the TV again. You cuddle into his side more, your head leaning on his shoulder as you sigh softly.

Just as Tony has finally gathered the courage to tell you what's on his mind, your next alarm goes off, letting you know it's time to give Moon some medicine. It has to be given a few hours before he's fed again, so it's a good thing he's nearby. You can easily take care of him this way.

Reluctantly, you untangle your lips from Tony's and give him an apologetic smile as you get up. He also smiles at you, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes this time, and he's left with an empty feeling in his chest.

Moon is taking the medicine like an absolute champ, and before you know it, you're back on the couch with Tony, who has now wrapped his arm around you to pull you against his side, and your hand is tracing figures on his thigh as you're both watching another movie.

A shiver runs down your spine, and Tony pulls you closer to him, but to no avail.

"Tony? Can I maybe borrow your sweatshirt? I'm starting to get a little chilly over here," you ask, but he has a better plan.

"I brought you something even better," Tony says as he grabs a hoodie from his duffle bag. He wore it yesterday while working in his lab, so even though it's gotten a bit dirty, it smells like him, which you can never get enough of.

"Oh my god, thank you!" you say as you immediately slip it on. You pull Tony in for a hug, which he happily reciprocates. It feels good to be held by one another, and you two stay like that for a few minutes as you bury your nose in his neck.

"Thank you for being here, Tony. You didn't have to be, but I'm grateful you did," you tell him after you pull away. Your eyes look at his deep brown ones, and you can see a shimmer of happiness in them as he smiles.

"I know I didn't have to be, but I couldn't leave my girl alone after what happened," he tells you, and a deep red blush covers your cheeks. The thought of you being his girl makes you feel excited, but before you can say something stupid, you pull him into a kiss.

It started slowly at first, but when you moaned softly as he pulled you against him, Tony immediately slipped his tongue into your mouth. As you two explored each other's mouths for a while, you could feel yourself clenching around nothing, and he was also definitely getting aroused as well.

Just as Tony's hands wandered down your body and to the hem of the hoodie you were wearing, another alarm went off, but this time, it caught you both off-guard as you jumped apart.

"It's time for another feeding. Do you want to do the honors this time?" you ask, and he agrees after you give him a few more pecks.

"Alright," you say, and you get his bottle ready while Tony gets Moon ready, and he's all wrapped up in his little blanket. While Tony is feeding him, you take your time to snap some photos of Tony taking care of the black kitten, as it melts your heart, and you want to remember this moment for many years to come.

"Do you mind if I go take a shower? Now that you're here, I might as well make the most of the situation, especially after the rain earlier," you ask Tony after you've snapped enough photos to fill a few books.

"Course not, Sugar. You go take care of yourself, and I'll take care of him, okay?" Tony says softly, and you smile before turning around and heading towards your bathroom. As soon as you're in there, you grab a tight hold of the sink and suppress the scream that wants to leave your body.

Tony showing up for you like that and being so loving and sweet has the butterflies in your stomach in complete disarray, and you can't believe you have gotten so lucky as to have met someone like him. You thought you would never find love again after moving away, but he has shown you it's possible, and you're more than grateful for it.

The shower is quick but very refreshing as you finally get to wash away every last worry that has crept its way into your mind and body, making you refreshed and a little tired at the same time. The amount of relaxation you feel now is something you haven't felt in a long time, and you breathe a sigh of relief as a smile tugs on the corners of your lips.

Once you're done, you slip into a comfortable pair of underwear, sweatpants, and Tony's hoodie, which you bring up to your nose as you take a whiff of his scent. It envelops you completely, and it feels like coming home after a long day.

As you walk back to the living room, you hear Tony talking to Moon, and you can't help but wait on the other side of the door, partially because you're curious about what he's saying and partially because you don't want to interrupt their conversation.

"You're very lucky to have an amazing Mommy like Sugar, you know that? She'll take amazing care of you and love you so much. And maybe one day I will be your Daddy as well, making us a big, happy family," Tony says with a soft sigh, the idea of you two being together forming more and more in his head.

"I'm already so in love with you, you know that? And with Sugar, too, but I don't want to admit it just yet—I don't even know if she likes me like that as well," he tells Moon, his voice trailing off near the end. If only he knew you had fallen head over heels for him as well.

After a few more moments, you swing open the door, and you see Tony cuddling with Moon in the blanket and his bottle empty on the table.

"How did he do?" you ask as you sit beside Tony. You both look at a sleepy Moon as he's curled up in the blanket's warmth combined with the heat of Tony's body.

"He ate like a champ, just finished his bottle, so I figured I'd cuddle with him for a bit so you could see him too. He's so cute when he's sleepy," Tony says as he looks at you with a fond expression.

"You're cute when you're sleepy, too," Tony says as a yawn escapes, and you can no longer hide your tiredness. It's already been a long day, and now that you have little Moon to take care of, staying awake is only getting more challenging, as it's all taking up so much of your energy.

"Do you want me to stay tonight, Sugar? I can help take care of Moon, so you won't have to get up every time," Tony offers.

"Oh no, that's okay, I don't mind," you quickly respond, but he shakes his head.

"I think it's best if I stay; you need your rest tonight as well,'' he tries again, and this time, you agree. Once Moon is done feeding, you carefully put him in his bed again before taking him to your bedroom so you can keep an eye on him if needed.

After you and Tony have gotten ready to sleep, he sits on his side of the bed, his legs spread and arm held out. Both of you are fully clothed, but that won't be for long if it's up to Tony.

"Let's get you out of these clothes, hmm?" he asks with a raised brow, and you agree. With a few swift motions, you're left in nothing but your bra and panties, and Tony can't help but place a few soft kisses on the exposed skin of your belly.

"So beautiful," he whispers as his hands glide over your thighs and the flesh of your butt, where he squeezes as well. A giggle escapes your lips as he does, and it doesn't take long for him to be left in nothing but his boxer briefs as well.

As you crawl into bed, you're quickly followed by Tony, who, instead of lying next to you, crawls over your body to cage you in with his large frame. His broad shoulders and thick thighs cover quite a large portion of your body, and you can't help but bite your lip at the thought.

"What's going on in that brain of yours, Sugar?" Tony asks as he noses along your jaw and neck before placing soft kisses over the column of your throat that have you moaning ever so softly.

"You."

"And what are you thinking about exactly?" he asks, and a deep red blush spreads over your cheeks again.

"How good it feels when you slide that thick, delicious monster of a cock inside my tight, warm pussy," you whisper, and his eyes go wide at your words. With those words, Tony doesn't take long to do just that.

Your legs are spread perfectly for him as he gets comfortable between them, his bare cock resting on your thigh as he takes his time with your nipples first. Tugging and suckling on them to pull soft moans from you is one of his favorite activities, and he can spend hours doing just that.

When he's had his fill, and he's happy with how red and perky they are, he lets his hand glide to his cock, which he pumps up and down a few times before lining up with your entrance and pushing in every so slowly.

Your breaths mingle with every soft and careful thrust, your moans becoming one as he bottoms out, and your bodies working in a perfect rhythm together as you both roll your hips together. Your hands are linked above your head while Tony kisses you softly, and this moment feels nothing short of perfect.

Making love to the man you love is the best feeling in the world, and falling over the edge at the same time while your foreheads are connected has never felt more intimate. The way your pussy clenches around his cock, milking him for everything he's worth, has never felt this good, and neither of you ever wants to stop.

Neither of you wants this moment to end while you're wrapped in your little bubble. There is not a single care in the world, just you, him, and your love. Once Tony's finished inside you, he pulls out to clean both of you up, grabs some fruit from your fridge, and comes back to bed to be close to you again.

"Here, eat this so you can regain some of your strength again," he whispers, followed by a kiss on your forehead. You happily munch on the sweet fruits as you're cuddled against his side.

"I still can't believe you adopted a little kitten today," he suddenly says with a chuckle, making you laugh, too. This was not part of your plan at the start of your day, but at the same time, you wouldn't want it any other way.

"Neither can I, but despite finding him in a little box, it has been a good day. Meeting Moon has been the highlight of my day, and all we can do now is hope for more good days," you say, to which Tony agrees.

"As long as all three of us have each other, I think every day is great, Sugar. And maybe, some of them may even turn into perfect days if we're really lucky," Tony tells you, and you nod in agreement.

After that, it doesn't take long for you to fall asleep, and the first time your alarm goes off to give Moon his medicine, Tony gets up so you can get some more sleep.

"It's okay, Sugar. I got him," he whispers as he kisses your forehead.

"Thank you, Tony, for everything," you tell him, and he smiles at you in response. After another soft kiss, he gets up to help Moon, who is still asleep in the blanket he was wrapped up in. The medicine is administered quickly, and Tony's back in bed with you before you know it.

Your head is on his chest, your hand covers his arc reactor, and your leg is draped over his. This is something you can get used to and something you will look forward to in the future as well.

[strawberryspence]

They both have different stories when asked, “When did you first meet?”

Steve says it was in school, along the hallways with freshman Steve Harrington and sophomore Eddie Munson locking eyes for the first time. Eddie says it was in a party, drinking beer and selling drugs, a transaction.

Wayne Munson knows the truth. The truth that way before monsters, way before creatures from games came true, way before the end of the world, way before everything, that Eddie and Steve have already met.

Wayne remembers that day so clearly. A social worker coming to his work in the middle of the day looking for him. Something about Wayne being the closest relative, about his brother going to jail and his mother running away.

Eddie's been living alone for two weeks. Two weeks. Cooking and cleaning for himself, the only reason it got suspicious is because he didn't go to school and one of his teachers called home.

He watches as Eddie swings himself at the empty playground. He brought Eddie here because— where do you bring children? Playgrounds are perfect right? He doesn't have the slightest idea as to what he's doing.

Sometimes in the morning, Wayne doesn't even have clothes to wear because he forgot to do the laundry. It's the same reason he doesn't have a wife and children. If he can't take care of himself, how could he take care of a whole other human being?

Out of nowhere, there's a kid running to the playground. Stopping just in front of Eddie and introducing himself with a bright smile.

His nephew stares at the boy for a few seconds before answering, "Hi, I am Eddie."

Wayne listens to them chatter for a few more minutes, before the boy asks if Eddie wants to be pushed.

Eddie's still giving the other boy a look of disbelief, before he finally says yes.

The boy's guardian sits beside Wayne. She looks better off, with an expensive looking coat and purse. But there's a warm, comforting smile on her face.

She turns to Wayne, “Is that your son?”

Wayne turns to her, pursing his lips, “I— Yes— No— It’s complicated.” He sighs. He doesn't even know what Eddie is to him now. “He’s my nephew. I just got custody of him today.”

“Oh.” The woman breathes out. Wayne turns back to the kids, Eddie's laughing now and it's music to his ears.

Wayne spills his heart to the random stranger, some part of his heart knowing that it will be safe with her.

“I don’t know what I am doing. I can barely take care of myself, let alone a child.” Wayne starts, “But he’s never got a good home and I want to give that to him.”

She smiles at him, "Just the fact that you want to give him a good home is telling me that you’ll be just fine. Don’t overthink it, life’s too short for that.”

It hits Wayne straight to his chest. He still doesn't know what exactly to do, but he feels better knowing that he has a chance to give Eddie the home he deserves.

“Thank you.” Wayne says, smiling at the woman as they watch the kids giggle and play.

“Steve’s your boy?” Wayne asks.

She beams back at him, answering without missing a beat, “Yeah, he’s my boy. Not my son, just my nephew. But I love him like he’s mine.”

Oh. Well, isn't that just perfect? Wayne softens and thinks— huh— she does understand.

When the time comes, Wayne watches as Eddie says a tearful goodbye with the other boy. There's daisies in his hair, like it grows right with his hair and Eddie has one tucked between his ears. It's intimate, the picture perfect to describe puppy love.

Eddie stands and waves at the boy's moving car, until he can't even see it anymore. And then, Eddie looks at him, "Where do I go now?"

Wayne stoops on his knees to see him eye to eye, "You're coming home with me. But before that we're gonna go get some milkshakes, does that sound good with you, Ed?"

Eddie looks at him curiously, brown eyes staring at him, "Do you have money for that?"

It floors Wayne, how grown up this child is. Eddie deserves to know nothing about this. In his age, he should be thinking about playing and making friends and being a child. No, Eddie is concerned if Wayne has enough money for a fucking milkshake.

"Of course, I have money for that, Ed!" Wayne laughs, patting his head. He stands, hoping it'll hide the pain in his eyes.

"Okay." Eddie answers. Wayne offers his hand for him to take, Eddie stares at it.

"Let's go?" Wayne asks, and Eddie nods, finally taking his hand, "Let's go."

From that day on, Wayne swears to protect Eddie, give him the home he deserves. He changes his shift to the evening one so he can stay home with him, gave him his room so he can have the privacy he deserves. Wayne loves Eddie like he's his own.

Even when Eddie finally comes out, that love didn't falter, "Hey, Wayne?"

Wayne turns to him. Eddie's bigger now, curly hair growing into longer wisps. He's wearing a vest with patches, they sewed it together months ago. "Yeah?"

"Remember that boy? In the playground with daisies in his hair? The day you took me home?" Wayne hums, nodding.

Eddie stares at him, arms crossed like a shield, "Yeah, he was my first love."

Wayne blinks at him.

"And I think— well— I know. I am gay."

Wayne nods, "Alright."

He turns to turn off the stove. Sits down and talks to Eddie, makes sure he knows that he can't be out because it's too dangerous, makes sure he knows that there's nothing wrong with loving another man.

And at the end of the night, Wayne tucks him in, just before he goes to work, kisses his forehead and says him, "I love you, Ed. Nothing will ever change that."

-

It's not until years later that he sees the boy from the playground again. Wayne's pretty sure he saw him in a few of the local papers, but he wasn't really sure, the pictures are too blurry, too small.

But this— this is the clearest picture Wayne has ever seen and he's damn sure that the boy sleeping beside Eddie's hospital bed is the boy with the daisies.

Wayne coughs, and the boy immediately springs back to life. It's odd. It's the same boy, only older. But there's so much weariness in his eyes, the same look Wayne has seen on war veterans. He still has brown hair, smooth and golden.

Eddie wakes up right after him, eyes bleary, with a small smile as soon as he sees him, "Uncle Wayne. I love you."

It's the first thing Eddie's said to him after a week of missing. Wayne chokes with tears. He moves closer to hug Eddie, tears in his eyes.

There was a time that he thought he'd never be able to do this again, that this was the end. Wayne was ready to burn this whole town, the whole world even, for whatever they've been doing to his pure, innocent nephew.

But he's here, alive and awake in front of Wayne and he thinks he can finally, finally breathe again.

"Never do that to me again, Ed. Never."

Eddie chuckles, "Alright. I promise."

"I love you too, okay?" Eddie nods.

They separate and for a few solid seconds, they all just stare at each other before Eddie speaks again, "Oh, uhm, Uncle Wayne, this is Steve. Steve, this is my Uncle Wayne."

Steve immediately stands up, shaking his hand earnestly. Wayne stares at Eddie, waits for any indication that he knows, remembers that this boy was his first love.

Nothing.

Nada.

After breaking every NDA he signed and telling Wayne every little tidbit of his crazy week, Eddie finally falls asleep again with the help of a handful of drugs.

Wayne takes his chance, just before Steve goes to go and check on their other friend, the Mayfield kid.

"Hey, kid?" Steve stops on his tracks, before facing him.

"Sir?"

Wayne scoffs, "None of that Sir stuff. Wayne would do. I just have a question."

"What is it, si— Wayne?" Steve blinks at him, lips pursing at the obvious mistake.

"Do you have an aunt?" Steve looks visibly taken back, eyes widening.

"Yes. I have." He blanches, "I did."

Oh. Oh, no.

"You did?" Wayne asks; he knows what the answer is but he still wants to know what happened to that woman from the playground that day. The same one that he still thinks of when he has a tough time.

Wayne has always thought that they'll meet again someday, that he'll get to thank her for that one conversation. He missed his chance.

"She died when I was a kid. Cancer." Steve answers, his voice quivering for a split second, "Why do you ask? Did you know her?"

Wayne shakes his head, "No. I don't think so. You just reminded me of someone, and guess I got it wrong."

Steve nods his head, accepting his answer wholeheartedly, "Goodnight, Wayne."

And Wayne watches, as the door closes shut behind Steve, "Goodnight, daisy boy."

-

Steve and Eddie, Wayne thinks, are utter idiots.

First, they dance together for ages before they finally get their act together and date. Wayne might've as well held a white poster paper with "KISS" written on it behind them.

Second, they fight over when they first meet and none of them are even right. Wayne is exhausted, listening to them argue about it day and night.

Third, they're blind. Literally blind.

The day of their wedding, Wayne hoped that the two boys would finally realize that they've met that day on the park. He asked that nice girl, Nancy, to pick some daisies and to put it on Steve's hair for the ceremony. While, Wayne went out to pick one to tuck behind Eddie's ear.

As Wayne watched as the two boys proclaim their love for each other in front of their family, with daisies tucked in their hairs just like the day they first met; he's overcome with the feeling of joy and happiness over the fact that the two boys still found each other even after everything.

It's ridiculous watching them not recognize each other, so Wayne finally decided to end their (his) misery.

Eddie clinks a glass with a fork, "Uncle Wayne! Speech!" There's a flurry of clinking before Wayne finally stands up.

"Alright, alright. I'll do it." They laugh, putting down their glasses.

It's a small backyard wedding. The Hopper-Byers has decked the yard with bright lights that brightened the whole night. In the middle, there's one long table to fit all of them. On the end of the table, side-by-side, is Eddie and Steve.

"Alright, I have a confession to make." Everyone straightens up in anticipation.

"I know it's been a running debate between Steve and Eddie, as to who's right about where and when they first met." Wayne can hear Eddie saying, "It's me obviously!"

"Settle down, boy." Wayne says, making them laugh.

"The truth is they're both wrong. You both have been very blind to the truth." Eddie makes an appalled noise as Steve laughs.

"The truth is I know when they first met." Eddie squints at him, confused. Steve whispers something to his ear that Eddie answers with a shrug.

"Steve and Eddie first met as kids. It was the same day I got custody of Eddie. I bought him to the park after that, let him play, you know? Out of no where, this kid—" Wayne chuckles.

"This kid comes up to Eddie, introduces himself and asks if Eddie wants to be pushed. His aunt— his aunt was very kind to me even though I was a complete stranger spilling my guts out to her."

"When it was time to leave, Eddie says goodbye to this kid, and it was so intimate. I remember thinking it was the perfect picture for puppy love. The boy goes home with daisies tucked in his hair, while Eddie goes home with one in his ear."

"It's not until years later, when Eddie came out to me that he tells me that the same boy with the daisies was his first love. And it's not until a few more years later after that, when I first meet the daisy boy again, sleeping beside Eddie's bed in the hospital."

Wayne turns to Steve and Eddie, there's pure surprise in their faces as they watch and listen to Wayne's speech.

"I could never really forget about that day and that boy. The way he made my nephew happy on one of the worst days of his lives. And now, he gets to make Eddie happy for the rest of their lives." Wayne sniffs, hiding it with a fake cough.

"Love is iffy." Wayne says, causing everyone to chuckle, "But what you guys have? It's been set into stone way before you knew each other. That's as true as love can ever be and I hope you nurture and care for it for the rest of your lives."

There's no dry eye in the yard. Wayne's heart is full and content, because he's sure that his son will be happy and taken care for, for the rest of their lives.

Wayne raises his glass,

"A toast to the daisy boys."

-

→ Annalyn's POV | BONUS

(thank you for the overwhelming love for Annalyn's POV! i am so glad y'all liked it. 💗)

TAGS: @7-starboi @emly03 @a-new-kind-of-blue @leather-and-freckles @tiny-enthusiast @cherrycolas-things @the-redthread @lady-silkwing @ancielsol @sunshine1066 @lifeisnotsobadonceyoustopcaring @makewavesandwar @hunterbow04 @resident-gay-bitch @swimmingbirdrunningrock @bidisastersworld

[roseykat]

hard thought part 2

This is part 2 to a hard thought that a lovely anon sent me not too long ago x

A/N: tagging @lyramundana who’s the usual instigator of my Minsung thoughts. I also have no idea how long this is lol

(if you haven’t read the first one, you don’t need to but for context it might be good)

Reader couldn’t have asked for a better experience when Minsung took her virginity. And although they’ve taken her ‘V card’, she’s still relatively inexperienced yet potently eager to do more. Almost like a puppy with unlimited excitement. That excitement stems from finally understanding that there’s more to sex than just sex with another person (or people in her case). It’s the temporary sting when one of either of their cocks stretch her open, the out of body orgasms they bring her to, the slow, sloppy kisses, the aftercare too. She enjoys every single bit of it and is damn near just about running Minsung dry as they try to keep up with her.

They could never lie about how hot and slightly cute it is to see her wanting to jump on their dicks at every chance she gets. Unintentionally so, they’ve managed to turn her into some cock-dumb slut. But it’s not her fault that she just loves being filled up by her two significant others🩷

However, it could be better, if they let her take them both at the same time, which at this stage, they won’t and for a few good reasons.

She’s been pestering them for a while now about how they should let her do it, but as they keep reminding her, she’s not ready yet. Yes, she might being having a lot of sex with them, but double penetration isn’t your every day sexual activity that people have the pleasure (literally) of doing. But that’s for people who aren’t in a relationship where there’s more than two and don’t always tend to explore.

In saying that, they love her so much and they know it’s a possibility for her at some stage in time. There’s nothing more either of them want other than to just slip their cocks into her holes that are for them to fill, and only them.

So they all decide to sit down and devise some type of plan to help train, prepare, and ease her towards the full experience. Not to mention to ensure that she is as comfortable as possible throughout everything. They first take into consideration that she has never done anal before. On top of that, it would take her some time getting used to the overwhelming sensation that comes with being stretched out by two things at once.

Therefore, Minsung thinks it’s best for her to start with anal training. Both Minho and Jisung are obviously pretty experienced in that realm before they met her so they have the knowledge and research on where, when, and how to start. The pair of them head to a sex shop to purchase a few things. They would’ve brought their girlfriend along but they also want to surprise her with these new items.

They buy her an anal training kit that contains a variety of small to big dildos for beginners, a pink jewelled, stainless steel butt plug, anal beads, a dildo specifically for anal, and even a wireless vibrating butt plug too that can be used outside of the bedroom. Some would probably think it’s all unnecessary or over the top even, but Minsung just wants to go all out for their princess and are as enthusiastic as she is. Not to mention, they want to properly prepare her and give her some experience leading up to it.

Minsung would come back to show her all the new toys they bought for her resulting in her fawning over them immediately. She’s intrigued by everything - the plugs, the beads, and what not. So with some preparation, Minsung suggests that they could probably start soon but take into consideration of everyone’s moods on when to do it.

Jisung, being the horny bastard that he is, is keen whenever and wherever. Minho doesn’t get as horny as him, but when someone else is in the mood, he never misses an opportunity to lay it down in bed with his two lovers. Reader on the other hand, ever since she’s started having sex, all she wants is cock. That’s all.

That’s her not so hidden agenda.

So when the right time arrives, Minsung pulls out the training kit first that contains the smallest dildo out of the lot of toys they purchased. Beforehand, they make sure she is well aroused. Jisung lets her suck him off, but only for a little bit because they want to make it about her since again, this is her first time with anything anal-toy related which isn’t to be confused with the experience of having anal sex with a real person. She would get around to that eventually.

She allows Minho to go down on her, edging her until she’s leaking and wet but doesn’t actually let her cum. His theory is that they need to work her up enough without making her orgasm. To fluster her. Once she’s prepped for the small dildo and fully adjusted, only then will he make her cum to distract her from any discomfort she may feel. In the end, his theory proved right.

First they’d get her onto all fours before Jisung would assist in lubing up her hole, circling his fingers around the tight muscle just to stimulate it. He’s so badly tempted to sink his finger in but puts a leash on his irrationality. But as Minho gently rubs her clit with his fingers, Jisung has the task of slowly and carefully inserting the small toy. He lets her know when he’s about to start so that there’s no surprise and begins pushing at snails pace.

It’s a new sensation for her. Uncomfortable at first with a tiny bit of a sting, but that’s what she was expecting anyway. It’s almost similar to her first time having sex with them previously. Both of them constantly check up on her, letting her know that she can stop or rest at any time she wants. But with the help of them giving her proper foreplay, she’s aroused and wants to keep going. Jisung would sink the smallest dildo into her ass and slowly pull back out until it reaches the tip, then he would cautiously push back in. He does this a few times just for her to get used to the feeling.

Minho would be filling her up with praise, telling her how much of a good girl she is, how well she’s taking it, how gorgeous she looks all the while gently swiping her hair out of her face, kissing her on the cheek, and what not. Jisung uses his other hand to smooth delicately over her asscheeks and down her back. They do this until they start getting a different sort of reaction out of her. When they see her expression go from contorted and slightly pained to more relaxed and soft, they know that she’s starting to enjoy it.

Jisung would keep her in that position - face down ass up, still carefully and slowly fucking her with the dildo while Minho picks up a vibrator to use on her clit. Having not cum before, her mind was instantly taken off anything uncomfortable that still lingers and made to focus on cumming. Which she does - effortlessly around the small yet highly effective length as her pussy leaks down the vibrator.

Minsung watches her legs tremble as she cums quietly from the pleasure. They’ve never seen her do that. Usually she’s vocal and always announces that she’s going to orgasm. Not this time. She just does it and they both find it so mesmerising and hot to watch her wet pussy clench around nothing. Minho and Jisung can only imagine what the next few sessions in the future are going to look like which arrive in the few days ahead.

The second time around that they’re in the bedroom, they repeat the process. Only this time with a dildo that’s the next size up in width and length. They follow the same steps; foreplay, fuck, prep, and the main act.

The third time around, they use the beads. While they maybe be slightly smaller in girth, the length is noticeable. It also makes it a decent apparatus to use while one of them is fucking her. They take turns using her pussy and working her up even more with the beads. Minho is the first to bust a hot load inside her, giving Jisung the chance to fuck it right back into her. Just a little bit after she starts to cum, like a split second when she tips over the edge, Jisung pulls his cock out first and slowly draws back the beads whilst she’s orgasming.

They both made a note how how much she screamed and shook from how fucking good it felt despite contracting and cumming around nothing, giving a whole other meaning to what an orgasm should always feel like. She quickly adds it to the list of things they’re all going to retry in the future.

The next step in training her are the butt plugs which also quickly become a favourite, main reason being is that they could incorporate it in public. She dared to use the vibrating one first which was a huge mistake, especially when the app resides on the phone of a trigger happy person like Jisung who kept increasing the intensity and speed about three times every minute. It had her clutching onto Minho, warning him that she was going to cum. Minho had to tell him to slow down otherwise she wasn’t going to make it through the rest of their weekly shop at the supermarket.

It doesn’t take her long to wanting to transition into some form of double penetration, like a warmup or taste test as to what she could expect from being fucked by her two partners simultaneously. Just to practice, they use dildos on her. Not too big, but not entirely small either. After a lot of foreplay and prep, Minho takes one dildo and Jisung takes the other. Each of them using her holes like their personal fuck toys.

As time progresses, she’s finally built up a tolerance to the point where she’s more comfortable with anal. Minho’s even caught her trying to finger both her holes at the same time which gave him a bit more of an indication to suggest that she was ready. Although it would still take some getting used to their actual cocks and nothing artificial, she knows what to expect even more.

When the day finally came, Minsung set it out similar to how they did when they first took her virginity. Slow, steady, and again - a lot of foreplay and prepping her. Jisung makes her sit on his face until she’s cumming and dripping down the sides of his cheeks. They needed to give her at least one orgasm to relax her muscles and open her up a bit. Minho would then have the pleasure of prepping and stretching her out for one of them to fuck her, which ends up being himself since Jisung fucked her first last time.

They get her into a position where Jisung is lying back so that she can sit and sink down on his cock before leaning forward over him a bit, presenting her ass for Minho. With a bit more lube for added glide, he presses his tip against her hole. He lets her know when he’ll start pushing before he slowly inserts his dick. Reader would whimper at some of the sting that Minho’s cock brings with it, a reminder to her that he is far from small but wouldn’t have it any other way.

Below her, Jisung would be playing and sucking on her tits as a distraction. The odd sensation of the pain and pleasure would make her dizzy and inevitably make her want more of it.

Minho would still push himself in, getting halfway up his length before he notices that she’s trying to fuck back onto his cock. But he’d still her by the hip with his hand and tell her that as much as she wants to be filled out by him, she needs to take it slow. She’d accompany a response to that with a long whine and sob before burying her face into Jisung’s neck.

They’d also repeatedly instil confidence and praise in her. She needs to know how hot her body looks with two cocks inside it, how they can’t resist fucking her senseless like this - something they have to refrain from doing until she’s fully used to it at some point in time. For now, they go slow.

The pair of them end up burying their cocks to the hilt, garnering as much pleasure as she is when they start thrusting. Despite the fact that it’d be slow and not as brutal as they can be, they make her cum faster than they’ve ever done since she’s started having sex. Not once do they pull out to give her a rest because they want to fuck her through all of her orgasms that they give her and until they themselves start to give out. They want to see both of their loads drip out of her when they’re done.

Her first experience with double penetration has changed the trajectory of their sex lives. Words can’t even come close to how animalistic and ruthless it is once they’ve fully broken their babygirl in. She becomes nothing but two holes for them to use as they please, a personal cum dump for whenever they feel the need to fuck something.

But again, it’s their fault for corrupting her that way. They wouldn’t have suspected that their cocks could turn her from their innocent, unassuming, sweet and kind doll who had never been touched the way they touch her - to a cum hungry slut that needs to be filled up at least once a day to be satisfied.

[qwimblenorrisstan]

Just Surviving | StepDad!Price & Reader

Summary: Price’s relationship with you, his wife’s daughter from another partner, isn’t the greatest, but he’s willing to try, and after a rough day at school, it seems he’s got a chance.

Word Count: ~1.7k

Warnings: mentions of cheating, infidelity, bad best friend, school sucks, anxiety, panic attack, mentions of fist fighting bears?? THIS IS FULLY PLATONIC

A/N: I wish I had a price to be my father figure😔

Requests are open!

Captain John Price had settled down during his mid-40s, finding a pretty missus his age, courting her for a few years, and marrying her.

It was soon into their relationship, that he realized he couldn’t keep a woman and the military in his life at the same time. He had to make a choice, so he finally retired, a stern word from Simon about “appreciating good things that come to him” putting the final nail in the coffin of the entire ordeal.

But after the marriage, came a teenager. A teenage girl, to be exact.

The child of an old boyfriend of hers, his stepdaughter now, he knew. He hadn’t known what to think at first.

He wasn’t a jealous man, he didn’t see you as a symbol of your mother’s past relationships or an accident or mistake, no, he just wasn’t sure how to handle teenagers. They were loud, brash, and not to mention emotional. Always thought they knew the best for themselves, when in reality, they were hardly even bordering on self-aware most of the time.

Being in the military at a relatively high rank in a specialized position meant he didn’t have to deal with many teenagers, all of whom were just recruits who’d just arrived and probably realized how much of a mistake they’d made by enrolling. But it didn’t mean he liked them.

There were the rare few who were respectful, but in general, all the emotions, and for girls, the hormones and drama, he didn’t really know how to handle it. Gaz was better with all the gossip than he was by far.

He’d tried to reach out, to make an effort to include you in his daily activities and habits. He knew your father was a total douche who didn’t care much about you, and he wanted to make up for it, even if it wasn’t his fault, or really his problem, either. He made breakfasts for you, invited you to watch shows with him, and tried to show you how to fix up a flat tire or how to work with wood in the garage, but you always seemed mildly disinterested, just trying to pay attention to not be rude.

You were in almost the same boat as him. You’d never seen a man who looked like the stereotypical dad, a little beer belly, muscles hidden by fat, and a scruffy beard with crinkles in the corners of his eyes. Your real dad was nothing like him, looks wise or personality-wise.

He was the provider type, you could tell. And you weren’t too sure how to handle it, considering you didn’t want to come off as needy.

You called him ‘John’, and tried to pay attention to him, if not just giving little awkward smiles, but at the end of the day, he was just that-guy-your-mom-married. She loved him, she was happy, and if she was happy then you would be happy for her.

It all changed one evening when he was sitting on the couch, sipping on a cuppa tea, with a dash of cream just how he liked it, watching a show about surviving in the wilderness for weeks on end with no outside help when you arrived home from school.

You’d gotten home a few minutes later than usual. He’d noticed.

Your eyes were red around the rims, and a bit puffy as well. You sniffled, hands shaking a little bit around the strap where you held your backpack. A smudge of what he assumed to be mascara was under your eyes, as if you’d wiped away a lot of it. You were visibly upset and unsteady, breaths a bit shaky as you let your backpack drop to the floor with a thud, going to walk to your room, right past him.

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

He asked, sitting up, and putting his cup down as his brows pulled together in a worried, confused expression. Sure, you two weren’t the closest, but he wasn’t going to let you go to your room and comfort yourself. You needed a father figure at the very least, and he wouldn’t let you go without one.

You stopped, glancing at him, swallowing almost audibly as you opened your mouth, then closed it, a sniffle coming out as you just began crying.

“Come here,”

He spoke, standing up with an abruptness you didn’t even know he’d had in his sore joints and bones. You sniffled again, little gasps coming from your throat between silent sobs. He walked over, gently letting his arms just hover beside your body for a moment, until letting them close around you in a warm embrace once he was sure you were fine with it.

You stiffened up at first, pausing a moment to just breathe before the sobs began again and you melted into him.

“I—my, my boyfriend, he—“

You hiccuped, and he made a gentle hushing sound like one would do to subdue a baby, letting his hand rub soothing circles against your back. He slowly moved you over to the couch, sitting down first, and patting the spot next to him in invitation.

You hesitated, before sighing and plopping down. He hardly had to do anything until you were leaning against him, arms curling around your own torso.

“What happened?”

He finally asked, voice smoothed over with a practiced calm as he wrapped an arm around your shoulders, holding you close until you moved to lean your head against his chest on your own accord.

“My boyfriend cheated on me.”

You almost whispered, sounding scared to say it, as if scared to confirm it as true. And as you said it, a few fresh tears began flowing, which he quickly wiped away with the calloused pad of his thumb.

“‘M sorry, hon. Some people in life just aren’t good, can’t blame yourself for it.”

He’d hardly ever heard of your boyfriend, only the sparing little things your mom would pull out of you. He’d seen him pick you up before in an old beat-up van, and seen him knock on the door before and ask where you were. You had been texting him constantly, calling him too. But Price hadn’t heard much of the lad other than what he managed to overhear and see.

“A-and, my best friend knew, and she didn’t tell me, ‘cause she said she didn’t want to hurt my feelings.”

That made him angry more than anything.

Cheating was a betrayal of trust in your partner that you’d shared almost everything with, but your best friend was objectively worse. You’d shared everything with a best friend, the good, the bad, the ugly, and they weren’t as easy to cut off as a partner. He could see how devastated you were and held you closer.

“That’s awful.”

He murmured, trying to soothe you as he saw your breathing pick up again, bordering on panicking. He’d been there before, and seen his men get to that point.

It wasn’t pleasant.

“I’m gonna have to see them every day, and she’s my partner for my science project—and I’m already behind on my science—and I have an entire essay that I haven’t even started on and I still need to research for it—and, and—“

Your sentences trailed off into incoherent mumbles as you couldn’t help but almost cry from the pure anxiety you were experiencing. John remembered how much he’d hated school when he’d been a kid, which was why he’d joined the military as soon as he was eligible. The school system was fucked, and it wasn’t helping that you had a shitload of responsibility placed on you so young.

“Hey, listen here. I’m gonna email your counselor, or whoever I have to, and you’re taking the day off tomorrow. We can work on your essay and projects together and finish ‘em, but for now, let’s just relax and leave all that for later, alright?”

He kept his sentences simple and short, taking proper care to enunciate each word clearly in his British accent, watching as you slowly began breathing deeper, nodding as if to convince yourself that what he was saying was true.

He pulled you just a bit closer into his chest, letting your entire body weight lean on him, one hand sneaking up to lightly run his fingers through your hair, which greatly resembled your mother’s. He grabbed the remote, and hit the play button for his survival show, watching, but more focusing on you.

He saw how you zoned out quickly, that glimmer of worry remaining, so he gave you a little nudge, jerking his chin to the TV.

“You think I could survive all that?”

You refocused, taking a good long look at the man surviving alone in the Alaskan Wilderness, squinting your eyes to see (he made a mental note to ask your mom about getting your eyes checked later), before replying.

“Yeah, probably.”

You said, letting the words hang in the air for a moment, before adding onto it.

“I could last longer, though.”

He raised his brows, a grin forming on his face.

“Yeah? How you planning on doin’ that?”

He didn’t bother mentioning that he was a former SAS Captain and would absolutely last longer than you in the wilderness. He’d rather you at least talk to him and get into a better mood, even if by making fun of him.

“I’d steal all your stuff, then make you fist fight a bear.”

He let out a low chuckle at that. It was an answer incredibly reminiscent of something Soap would say, or Nik, on second thought.

“I think I’d win.”

You raised a brow at him, a look of clear doubt on your face, before you both burst into little fits of giggles. When you finally managed to refocus on the show, he grabbed a blanket from the side of the couch, pulling it over both of you before taking a sip from his cup.

You both slowly got comfortable, eyelids growing heavy as you yawned quietly. Before falling asleep, you managed to murmur one last thing.

“Thanks, John.”

And maybe it wasn’t the ‘Dad’ he’d been hoping for, but that would come with time, or maybe not at all, and he found that he didn’t care as much as he initially thought he would. He’d finally realized that not all men who were fathers were called ‘Dad’, and that was just fine with him, as long as you were safe and comfortable.

[hanhonymous]

The Trainee’s workplace authenticity

One of my favorite things about workplace TV shows is when the characters actually do work. AND when the details of such work are not only relatively accurate, but also essential to how the characters relate to themselves, the world and each other. So far, "The Trainee" is giving that to me in the first two episodes.

Having interned/been an assistant at a TV production company and later moving to entertainment journalism and managing interns/junior writers there, I can appreciate both Ryan's and Jane's POVs. Here's what I liked so far:

Good Pick's pink tube slide and movie theater seats in the lobby - A lot of these entertainment-adjacent companies take a cue from Silicon Valley and have this frivolous, frat-boy design aesthetic -- bean bag chairs, foosball tables, etc. I worked in an office that had a ping-pong table. The idea is to make it fun enough that people want to stay in the office and work longer, which isn't really all that great. You stop seeing that fun stuff after a while and just want to get home. That said, I'd love to work in a company with a fire pole in it, but that would be too much of a liability.

Ryan's fluke hiring - Baimon totally hearing what he wants to hear from Ryan in that sham interview is hilarious but sadly not all that unusual. What sucks is that this is unfair to the manager who then must work with the unqualified person, and unfair to that person hired also, who isn't the best fit for the position. I've been the person saddled by the unfortunate hire and have had to make do … and sometimes you can figure it out, but often you're left doing extra work to make up for their deficits. If it's just an intern, no problem -- they'll be gone in a few months. I felt Jane's pain!

Ryan's uncertainty & silence - That said, Ryan clearly wants to do well but is out of his depth since this was not even what he was learning in school. I remember the first day as a journalist for a small company where I kind of was on my own, and nobody told me what to do. I was like, "WTF??" Part of you doesn't want to ask questions lest you expose your imposter identity, but you're also wondering just how long you can do nothing before someone notices.

The printer always breaks down -- always. You get pretty good at troubleshooting everything until resorting to calling a technician

Jane's prickly demeanor - The fact is that in any company, people who are competent can move up, but that doesn't automatically infuse them with good managerial skills. I think workshops, etc. are a must for anyone who gets promoted and suddenly have people reporting to them. Everyone can get frustrated when they're overwhelmed, so I do have some sympathy for Jane. He does have one skill that I think is essential to be a good manager: identifying and acknowledging the strengths of an employee. It really makes all the difference that he finally sees Ryan as an asset, not a hindrance.

Ryan's skills aren't that bad at all - As soon as Ryan tells his family that he's no help to anyone at work, he immediately shows five different ways how much he's relied on by his family. Yes, people who are competent, reliable and can anticipate needs (like how his sister needs to be reminded to charge the battery after using the camera) will be able to apply those skills to other situations and can go far. Ryan just needs to familiarize himself with the industry first in order to know how he can fill in the gaps. (I believe in being able to change careers and taking big pivots in life.)

The interns banding together - OMG I remember sometimes just being unsupervised while trying to get a project together, and there is a strange bond you have being the youngest and least experienced. And you do have the most stupid conversations.

Being one cog in a bigger machine - I really appreciate how they show all the different departments that have to come together to make one project work -- especially when last-minute changes need to be implemented or a persnickety client has opinions. You complain, you worry, you put in extra late hours and have to make 11th-hour fixes -- but it's so satisfying to see it all come together. Shit goes down, and you fix it.

Hiring extras - The hiring of extras at Good Pick was different from what I've experienced. I actually have been an extra, and what I'm used to is being part of a company or agency that has you in their database, and then you get picked or cast by that company and sent to your gig. But that's in Hollywood and for TV shows & movies. It's probably different for ad houses or in Thailand, but I did like how they showed that it is still a casting process. There are deliberate decisions made, and certain looks sought out. I thought it was hilarious that Ryan's first thought for hiring the salaryman was to get an uncle from the same restaurant as the auntie. If he had his way, everyone in that restaurant would be hired for some gig or another.

Ryan getting scammed by the extra - I was screaming at Ryan as soon as he offered to pay that scammer extra. Just … no, boy. You had to have known that was shady. BUT despite being duped, he was willing to think on his feet and try to solve a problem by being proactive, and that does happen. And so do mistakes. He just needs to calibrate his radar for what is OK. (I'm glad Jane saw that.) Ryan is lucky that it only cost him 1,000 baht for that lesson.

Extras must be on hand and wait - OK this is a scene in the preview for Episode 3, but I was so happy to see it: Extras in Hollywood actually cannot just spend 5 minutes or whatever to do their job, even if that's how much you see them onscreen. There's a ton of hurry up and wait on film sets, and so extras have to stay in Holding -- usually just a designated area with some chairs (sometimes you get tables) -- until you're needed. And production schedules never run on time, so it can be hours or even days. You're lucky if you're there long enough to get a meal, if the temperature is nice, if you're able to make friends with the others and if there's wifi. Sometimes you bring your own clothes for wardrobe based on what you're told, and sometimes the wardrobe department supplements your wardrobe with extra pieces to help complete a specific look. And yeah, you're not able to leave except for the bathroom, so Ryan definitely shouldn't have let that one extra wander off.

"Ryan After Work" - I like these post-credit sequences that give extra insights into the job. And while the first one was more instructional, explaining how the production house differed from an agency, the second was more about the cohort camaraderie (and hinting at Ryan's positive feelings toward Jane). I hope the romance aspect of the show doesn't overshadow the work specificity going forward!

[greetings-and-salutations]

“There’s Plenty of Kish in The Sea, Right?”

Fred Weasley x Reader Part 1

Day 8 of the 13 Nights of Halloween Spooktacular!!!

Masterlist | Part 1 | Part 2

(Gif not mine)

Requested? No

Summary: Cedric wants to be a champion. (Y/n) wants him to live to see the end of the school year. Freddie just wants to be (Y/n)’s boyfriend…

Warnings: starred out swear words, jealous Freddie, Angst-kinda

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Fem!Reader (you’re a Hufflepuff)

(Y/n/n) - your nickname

The room was practically buzzing with anticipation. Dinner had been over and done with for what felt like ages, and yet no one had dared move from their seats. They remained, waiting. Because tonight was a big night. Tonight the students of Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang would find out who had been chosen to compete in this years Triwizard Tournament.

“Calm down, Ced.” (Y/n) tried, her housemate and best friend practically bouncing in his seat, the anxiety flowing off of him in almost visible waves. (Y/n) herself was substantially less nervous, seeing as how her birthday wasn’t for a few more months and she was therefore ineligible for the event. Not that she’d have entered, anyhow. She valued her life, thank you very much. Cedric, however…

“I can’t help it (Y/n)! This is a huge deal! Finally, my chance to make something of myself… Ever since Harry got here it’s like I’m not good enough anymore and-“ Cedric ran his fingers through his hair in distress, (Y/n) frowning at his words, cutting him off with a comforting pat on the shoulder.

“Okay, calm down.” She ordered, the boy turning his body to look at her as she continued, knowing full well the true reasoning behind his nerves, and not liking his self-deprecation one bit… “Look, I know you want to make your dad proud, Ced. But, he loves you. And I’m sure he’ll love you just as much even if you don’t get chosen.” She ran her hand along his back in what she hoped were soothing circles, to which she was proven correct when the taller lad sunk into her embrace with a sigh.

“Thanks, (Y/n/n)… I suppose you’re right…” He mumbled, resting his head on her shoulder. (Y/n) chucked in response.

“Aren’t I always?” She asked, earning herself a playful shove back which had them both giggling. “You know, I’m still not even sure what would posses a person to want to do something like this.” (Y/n) noted, running her hand through Cedric’s hair mindlessly, as she voiced her thoughts on the tournament for what was quite possibly the millionth time. Previously, it had been in an attempt to talk the older boy out of it, though, more currently, it was simply out of spite, as there was nothing anyone could do once his name had been entered. Not that (Y/n) thought that out of all the names he’d get picked. Of course she wouldn’t be telling him that. He seemed so excited about it all. And it would be much easier to deal with a Cedric that was mad at the system for not choosing him than one mad at his best friend for not believing in him. No matter that the choice seemed relatively random…

Cedric just hummed, most likely to humor her strong opinions at this point, but (Y/n) didn’t mind, as she continued on.

“I was talking to Hermione and she said-“

“Shh!!! It’s starting!” Well, then…

+ + +

“Ahh the trusty old ‘stare at her until she notices you’ trick. Works every time.” George joked from beside Fred, who sent him the nastiest glare he could muster up, before returning his attention to the Hufflepuff across the room. He just couldn’t help it. She was gorgeous. Fred had been pretty much head-over-heels in love with her since they’d been paired up for potions the first day of third year. And, much to his twin brothers amusement, he’d been fairly useless as a human being around her ever since. It’s not like Fred meant to become a stuttering mess of a man every time he was within a ten foot radius of the girl. Under normal circumstances, he could flirt his way out of a jail sentence if he really wanted to. Fred was fairly proud of this fact. But, with (Y/n), it was like he was putty in her hands. And it was incredibly infuriating…

“Shove off, mate.” Fred grumbled, finally turning his attention away from the Hufflepuff table and back to the world around him when Cedric Diggory dropped his head to rest so f*cking adorably on (Y/n)’s shoulder. Fred briefly entertained the idea of a ‘disappearing’ prank on the older bloke, but, upon the realization that that was insane, opted to simply pout at the tabletop in front of him. A nudge from his other side gained his attention away from the wood grain, however, and Fred turned to Lee with a raised brow. “What?”

“You need to loosen up, Freddie. It’s one girl. What’s that muggle saying? ‘There’s plenty of kish in the sea’?” Lee offered, confusing the sh*t out of pretty much everyone present, before George made to correct him.

“‘Fish in the sea.’ ‘There’s plenty of fish in the sea’, mate.” He said, though nobody could hold in their snickers as Lee crossed his arms across his chest defensively. Even Fred managed a small smile before returning to a neutral expression (that one might consider rather downcast for the guy in question) when Lee jumped to his own defense.

“I’m pretty sure it was ‘kish.’” He argued, clearly causing George’s annoyance to grow, while Fred remained relatively unbothered. He wasn’t looking for a different ‘fish’ or ‘kish’ anyhow. He just wanted (Y/n)…

“Why the bloody hell would it be ‘kish’? What the f*ck is a ‘kish in the sea.’” George complained loudly, unintentionally firing Lee up more. Fred rolled his eyes.

“A good snog. Lip locking. Spit sharing. You know, a ‘kish.’” He enunciated his point with a loud smack of his own lips followed by a cheeky grin that probably meant he was proud of himself, for what, Fred didn’t know. That was just about the dumbest thing he’d ever heard, and he’d been sharing a house with Ron for the last fourteen years…

“You’re an absolute idiot.”

“Hey, you’re one to talk!”

“Why don’t you say that to my face, huh!?”

“You think I won’t!?”

“Get to it, then!”

“I will-“

“Shut up, you tossers! It’s starting!” Fred almost yelled, interrupting the fighting boys when he noticed Dumbledore making his way towards the goblet at the other end of the Hall. Finally. Something to distract him…

+ + +

“Cedric Diggory!”

W-what?

The table around (Y/n) felt like it was shaking. Hufflepuffs of all ages clapping and pounding on the hard wood in support of their champion. Of Cedric…

“(Y/n/n)!” And suddenly her feet were off the ground, her best friends arms wrapped around her tightly as he swung the younger girl around in his excitement, one that she could, regrettably, not join him in.

Cedric was going to compete in the triwizard tournament... The triwizard tournament… The incredibly dangerous triwizard tournament… Cedric…

“Oh my…” (Y/n) barely managed to breathe out, in complete and utter disbelief of the situation. Meanwhile, Cedric was practically glowing.

“I did it!” He spoke ecstatically into her ear as he put her back down on her own two feet, the biggest grin (Y/n) had ever seen spread across his face. It dimmed slightly, however, when he noticed her own worried expression, and realized that she did not share in his joy.

“Hey…” He mumbled, pulling her back in for another hug, though this one considerably calmer, which (Y/n) was grateful for. “I’m gonna be okay… I’m gonna win this thing. Yeah?” He whispered so softly (Y/n) wouldn’t have been able to hear him had he not been so close.

Now, she didn’t know how much she believed him, the concern for her friend eating away at the girl immensely, but (Y/n) gave him her best smile and nod anyway, knowing that all she could do at this point was support him. Merlin knows he’s going to need it…

“I’ve gotta go with the other champions but I’ll see you later, Okay?” And (Y/n) nodded again, holding her expression for as long as she could, before finally sighing in relief when he turned, and she could drop the act and allow herself to wallow in her true feelings. God, if she hadn’t been before, she surely was nervous now…

And that was all before the boy who lived was announced as the fourth champion…

+ + +

Could this day get any worse?

Fred thought not, as the current residents of the Great Hall all sprang to their feet and began chatting animatedly about the events that had just transpired. But Fred remained stationary in his seat, grip so tight on the tables edge that, had he cared, he’d be worried he might break it.

But Fred’s mind was elsewhere, going a mile a minute in just about a million different directions.

Cedric was the Hogwarts champion…

Harry put his name in the Goblet of Fire…

Cedric was all over (Y/n) when they called his name…

Why didn’t Harry tell George and I how to put ours in?

(Y/n) looked so worried when Cedric walked off to join the other champions…

Why doesn’t she look at me like that?

“You good, mate?” Fred heard George ask from beside him, but he didn’t answer. What could he say? “No, actually. I’m incredibly offended that the girl I like seems to fancy another guy, even though I’ve given her absolutely no reason to think I’m interested in her because I can’t f*cking talk to her without sounding like a complete and utter doof.” Yeah, that would be real helpful…

“Sorry, spaced.” Fred mumbled dumbly before finally getting to his feet. “I’m tired. Let’s go on up.”

Fred knew George was looking at him funny, but he didn’t have the energy to care, as the pair made their way out of the Hall, Fred, for the first time in over two years, not sparing a single glance at the Hufflepuff table…

There’s plenty of kish in the sea, right?

TO BE CONTINUED

Tag lists are open!!!

Tags: @electriclcvewp @missryerye @kaqua @miaandthediamonds @lolawassad @nani-2305 @etanordoesbullsh1t

[dramionestills]

Dramione month day 9: secret baby

The quiet hum of the coffee house paired with the delightful aromas of the brews and the pastries made for the perfect ambiance for a spot of afternoon reading. Hermione had found this cozy place fairly recently and immediately began to frequent it as often as possible; a much needed reprieve after workdays that had been so intense of late that her mind desperately needed a break. It was also a relatively unknown spot, at least to her friends. While she dearly loved them, sometimes she just needed her space. Especially after the Slytherin crew began to join them on nights out and she had ended up… well. Best not to think about that.

She had just begun really getting into her book when she felt someone slide into the booth across from her. She didn’t have to look up to know it was HIM. Even if his aura hadn’t been an oppressive force she could not ignore, his mouth watering scent of cedar and musk and green apple was too unique for her to not recognize him immediately. She had been avoiding him for weeks but that was no longer possible.

“Malfoy,can I help you with something?” She said, without looking up from her book.

“Ah, so you can see me, after all. I feared I might’ve become invisible but, alas, you were the only one unable to see me.”

“Yeah… I am sorry but it’s been a weird few weeks. I never meant for it to go this long…”

“No matter. We’re talking now. So. Are you feeling better?”

Hermione felt her heart stutter. How did he know?

“Yes, it was a rough week. How did you find out?”

“Daph. She told me she saw you running to the loo several times a day.”

“Oh no” Hermione covered her face “I am mortified, why would she relay that information?”

“Well, I think she was trying to be a good friend”

“Not to me apparently. Hell bent on embarrassing me, that one is” She grumbled.

“And Pansy mentioned you’d been shopping recently” Odd. how was that in any way relevant t their situation, Hermione thought?

“Well, the weather’s finally chillier and you know me, I can’t resist an oversized sweater in the Fall”

“And they provide so much… extra room. I imagine”

Was he implying she had gained weight? She hadn’t contacted him after one night of pure unadulterated lust so he was insulting her now?

“Malfoy, I sincerely don’t know what you want me to say but I doub..”

“And,” he interrupted her, “Theo said he saw you in St. Mungo’s last week” His tone had shifted. From the cool, aloof man he had been trying to portray since he had sat down to this barely restrained and almost feral look in his eyes. What on earth?

“Um..” She gulped air, getting a little bit freaked out by his change in demeanor. “Yes, just a standard check up.” She glanced around, trying to see if anyone had noticed the impending meltdown. The café had emptied out so it was just them and the barista, who was blissfully unaware washing dishes and wearing an enormous pair of noise canceling headphones. Thank Merlin for small mercies.

“And?? How was it?” He wipes a bead of sweat.

“Everything was fine. Malfoy why do you care? It was just routine, nothing to worry about” She chuckled nervously. He couldn’t possibly suspect anything, right?

“That’s… That’s good yeah. So..” He looked at her expectantly.

She shook her head, unsure how to proceed from this awkward conversation, when he finally blurted out:

“Please, Granger, I am begging you. Tell me, when are you due?”

“Due? Due what?”

“Granger stop being obtuse. Due to deliver my child.”

“What are you talking about?!” She was stunned. Her flabbers, gasted.

“Hermione, I know we’ve had our differences in the past. “ He reached for her hands on the table. “But I thought since we’ve all been hanging out as a group and then that night two months ago I figured, hey maybe I’ve got a shot, you know? But then you stopped talking to me and you had morning sickness and you had to get maternity clothes and you’ve been getting checkups and I just.. I REFUSE to let you go on with this and have my secret child. I demand to be a part of this!”

His rant ended and he finally looked up from where their hands were still clasped and into her face. He was out of breath and she was staring at him open mouthed. For what felt like ten minutes but was probably just a few seconds neither of them spoke.

And then Hermione began to giggle. And the giggle became a full out belly laugh.

“Oh, Draco” she was wiping tears from her eyes, “I feel like you added up two and two and came up with five.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I am not pregnant, Draco.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. First of all, if I was, I would most definitely let you know, I refuse to go through a pregnancy alone when I could have you at my beck and call.”

“Oh.” He deflated. He was a jumble of mixed feelings, a bit of relief but also sadness. He might have actually really wanted to have a baby with her. “But then.. The loo? And the clothes? And Mungo’s?”

“I had a bad gastrointestinal infection which had me running to the loo at work multiple times a day. I was not in there puking, though. It was a different sort of expulsion and I refuse to go any further into detail and Daphne should have kept her mouth shut because it just gave you… ideas.”

She rubbed her temples and continued. “Draco, sometimes an oversized sweater is just a bid for comfort. And as for Theo blabbing about my visit to St. Mungo’s… I get monthly treatments to help with some of the aftermath of the war… I didn’t want to mention it to you because I know it is a difficult topic, what happened at the Manor back then.”

“Well. I am thoroughly embarrassed. I apologize for the intrusion, Granger. Glad we could clear this up. I will be taking my leave.” As he gets up to go and starts toward the exit, Hermione can hear him mumbling under his breath. Something about “no wonder she didn’t reach out to me I am delusional” and “will never live this down” and “got my hopes up for nothing”

Her gaze softened and she smiled at this. She couldn’t let him go without saying something. She jumped to her feet and grasped his wrist before he could disappear from her life again.

“Malfoy. Draco. Look, life got in the way and then it had been too long so I had been hesitant to owl you… but if you’re still interested maybe we can go on a date? And then we can work our way up to a baby?” She smirked at him and his stunned face morphed into a smirk back at her. “Why, Granger, I might enjoy that idea a lot. No secret babies, though. Right?

“Yes, Draco, no secret babies ever.”

[detectivestucks]

A Jealous Hokage V

18+ content, Minors do NOT interact

Pairing: Kakashi x F!Reader x Obito

Summary: You make a decision as the Gala approaches, Kakashi drives you wild when you attend the event before he and Obito make a spectacle in front of the entire international community

Warnings: NSFW, Slight degradation, Oral, Unprotected Sex, Toy Usage, Violence

Word Count: 6k

Part 4

New here? Check out Part 1

You wake up the next day feeling heavy. It felt like Kakashi was forcing you to choose between him and your career. Years of studying, hard work, and climbing the ladder all to be thrown away over a boy. You worked so hard to get assigned to high profile projects, you spent so many long nights proving your worth to become team lead of your division, you’re about to meet with the board for a promotion that you’ve been anticipating for two months. Your career is finally taking off and Kakashi wants to come in like a wrecking ball and discredit everything your hard work achieved. 

You love how everyone views you as the exceedingly smart and dependable linguist. You dread the idea of being viewed as nothing more than the Hokage’s girlfriend, using her boyfriend’s influence to get the job she wants. Not to mention the target that will be on your back from all the jealous fangirls who dream of dating him. Scores of women will try to sabotage you or harm your work all for the sake of stealing your relationship away from you. He acted like this was no big deal but publicly becoming the Copy Ninja’s girlfriend was actually a very big adjustment and one that you were not mentally braced for. He was right though; you can’t ask him to wait till he steps down as Hokage. If you are serious about maintaining your relationship, you will have to face the music eventually. 

You couldn’t help but think about how much easier all this would be if you had never started seeing Kakashi and had met Obito first. The feelings were there. That you couldn’t deny. You were relatively sure that he already loved you and you could see yourself grow to love him in the same way. No one would care if you were to date a regular Jonin. Everyone at the office would keep praising your work ethic and intelligence and Obito would stand by your side and celebrate your success rather than detract from it. Plus if his genjutsu was even a little accurate, he was a good fuck too. 

You begin to shake your head. Stop thinking about that. It wasn’t real. I chose Kakashi.

Wrought with indecision you decide to go dress shopping to distract yourself. You needed something for the Gala in a few weeks and you would possibly need some alterations done before the night of the party. Not wanting to go alone, you swing by your officemate’s home to see if she could come with. 

“Absolutely! I’m sure my husband would be much happier if I go with you instead of him.” 

You both giggle at the sentiment and head to the market. 

“You doing okay, Y/N? You seem a little down today.”

“Oh, ah, it’s nothing. Just some personal issues.”

“Uh-oh, does this have to do with mystery man?”

“A little. Well, a lot.”

“What happened? Or are you going to keep me in the dark like usual?”

“Well, he doesn’t want to be a mystery much longer.”

“Which is reasonable”

“But I really think it will impact my upcoming promotion.”

“Why? Are you dating one of the elders?” She says sarcastically

“Of course not.” You laugh “But you know how important my work is to me and I don’t want it ruined over some guy.”

“Well is it really ‘some guy’ when you’ve been seeing him for months?”

You think about this before you speak. “There’s…there’s also another guy.”

“Woah! Two guys at once? Is that why he’s a secret?”

“No! Nothing like that! He has just made it crystal clear that he’s interested in me. He seems great and well, being with him wouldn’t negatively impact my career. It would ‘be easy, the way it’s supposed to be.’ Or at least that’s what he says.”

“Want to know what I think?”

“Desperately” you say with sincerity

“I think that the first guy must mean a lot to you if you want to date him despite how it could hurt your career. I know how much your work means to you, so it tells me a lot about who he must be.”

You give a weak smile, relieved that your decision to stay with Kakashi was validated.

“But where does that leave me with the whole, going public thing?”

“Well, you have that meeting with the board coming up soon, right?”

“Yes, they assigned me that Class S project that’s due in 3 weeks and the board meeting is right after. They want to see if I can ‘handle the pressure of leading a team that interprets S Rank intel’.”

“They act like you’re not already doing that.” she laughs.

“Yeah really”

“But anyways, how about, you wait till after the board meeting? See if you get the position and then go public after you’ve had a few weeks to settle into the new job.”

“I don’t know…”

“I’m just saying, it gives him a date so he’s happy, and it gives you time to establish yourself as the boss before your lovelife becomes a factor in your professional life.”

“You know what Shiho, that is sage advice. Thank you. Now what advice can you give me about this dress?”

“It’s stunning. The jaw of every man, including mystery man, will be on the floor.”

You smile at yourself in the mirror. She was absolutely right. Kakashi would have to forgive you if he saw you in this. He wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off of you. 

****************************************************

Going into work the next Monday was painful. You had a meeting with Kakashi to discuss the status of your project and he was incredibly cold to you. You know it wasn’t cause he was mad at you, it was because he was hurt. It also probably didn’t help that the catalyst for your interaction was due to the very reason why you wouldn’t go public about your feelings for him. 

You needed to talk to him. Tell him your decision. Tell him about the timeline Shiho suggested. You tried to linger behind after the project briefing but new people kept coming into his office so you didn’t get the chance. 

At the end of the day Kakashi swung by your office. You were working late as usual. He stood there watching you while you were lost in thought. He sighed and walked away without saying hello.

Obito however also decided to come check on you, striding into your office like it was his own. 

“Oh come on Obito, now I can’t remember what I was just thinking.”

He leaned against your desk, “Don’t worry Princess, you’re smart, you’ll remember.”

You grimaced at him. “That’s not the point. I don’t like being interrupted when I’m working late. That’s the whole beauty of being in my office alone at night.”

“I thought the beauty of being in your office alone at night was so that I could bend you over your desk.” he says with a wink, getting close to you, seducing you with his sultry voice.

“Obito, we talked about this.” Though deep down you had to admit that does sound appealing.

“I’m sorry Princess. I just came to check on you.”

You look down embarrassed. You had a fight with your boyfriend and immediately cried in the arms of his romantic rival. You’re a terrible girlfriend. “Thank you Obito. I’ll be fine though.”

“Did you make a decision?”

“Ah, the real reason you came to see me.”

“Of course not Princess, but you know I had to ask. I do have a vested interest after all.”

“I’m still dating Kakashi.” you say with a look of exasperation “…if he’ll have me.”

“He will have you. He’d be a moron not to.” He says pulling you into a hug. 

You were starting to enjoy his hugs. They always made you feel better. You were sure they were just a way for him to touch you but you could tell it was also because he had grown to care for you. You take a deep breath while in his arms. Inhaling his musky scent. You relaxed completely in his arms as you exhaled. Feeling relief wash over you, you let go of him, ready to begin working again.

“Let me go make you some tea, and then I’ll leave you be.”

You give Obito a small smile as he leaves your office to head towards the break room. This would be a lot easier if he’d just be an asshole.

****************************************************

You tried for two weeks to get a hold of Kakashi before finally giving up on catching him at work. Instead you went straight to his home directly. You were just going to have to risk being seen if you wanted to speak with him. You give the door three quick knocks. Nerves getting the better of you. 

You could hear him get up to answer the door. “Angel” he smiles before letting you in.

Not thinking, you immediately rush to hug him, holding him tight. Butterflies are released the second you touch him. He hugs you back. “I’ve missed you Kashi”

“I’ve missed you too Angel”

Your heart ached upon seeing him again. You knew you missed him but just how much was unknown to you till this exact moment. You could’ve cried had you allowed yourself to. 

You swallow hard before clearing your throat. “I’ve come to negotiate with you.”

He cocks his head to the side, “Oh you have?”

“Yes, I have.”

He gave a smile, playing into your hand. “So what is it that you propose?”

“I propose that we keep our relationship private for another 6 weeks.”

“I propose that we go to the Gala together as a couple.”

“Kakashi, you know I have the board meeting coming up. That determines if I finally get the position as head of the department. Please allow me to get the position on my own, without you being a factor.”

“That meeting is in another week. Why do you wanna wait six?”

“I want time to establish myself in the position before the rumor mill goes wild with theories about our relationship”

“Fine, I will accept your terms.” He says seriously but with a twinkle of happiness in his eyes.

You beam up at him. “So are we good?”

“Yes Angel, we’re good” He pulls you in kissing your cheek as he pulls you over to the couch to lay with you. “You know, since I can’t go to the Gala this weekend as your date, I thought of a way you can make it up to me.”

Uh oh. You look up at him pensively. “What do you have in mind?”

“Oh not much, just a little toy I picked up for you.”

“A toy?”

“Yes, I think you’ll like it.” He gets up and goes to his room, coming back with a small pink pad with a bump in the middle. There was a wicked smile on his face. 

“What is it?” you say, standing up.

He pushes the pad between your legs so the bump in the middle kisses your clit. Pressing the remote he kept hidden in his hand, the pad began to vibrate. Immediately you locked your legs together and hitched forward, clawing at his shoulder for support as the vibrations knocked the wind out of you. Your moans bounced around the room as his eyes darkened with lust. He turned off the remote allowing you to return to standing. 

“I want you to wear this in your underwear to the Gala this weekend.”

“Kashi, people will notice.” you say with urgency.

“It’s up to you to make sure that they don’t.”

“What if they hear it?”

He turns it on again, making you groan, slick instantly puddling in your thong. “I don’t know about you, but all I can hear are you pretty little moans.” He pushes it into you harder before turning it off. 

You nod your head accepting your fate. “That’s a good Angel” he says with a masked kiss on your cheek. You take the toy and deposit it into your bag. 

“See you on Saturday” he coos in your ear.

“See you Saturday, Kashi” you say with your eyes closed. It felt like home to have him whisper in your ear once again. You left for home with your heart fluttering. Relieved that he was happy again and relieved that you had six weeks to get yourself ready for the shit storm that would hit you once you made your affair public.

****************************************************

The night of the Gala finally came. You were a little bit anxious about interacting and socializing with all your coworkers and so many important officials from other nations all at once. Not to mention the part where Kakashi would be tormenting your clit at any given moment. The pink silicone pad rested in your black satin thong, pressed into your heat by the elastic band.  The small ridge in the middle nestled snug up against your clit which throbbed with anticipation. You take a deep breath before you enter the room. Immediately by the door you see Obito who is talking to Genma, Kotetsu, and Izumo.

“Wow” he whispers audibly. 

You walk in wearing a slender, floor-length, glittering black dress. The bodice was snug against your chest, diving down in a deep V that showed your entire cleavage. The fabric gathered up at the slim straps that reached over your shoulders and criss crossed down your back to your waist. The skirt flowed down to the floor with a slit high up on your thigh, showing off your plush leg and dainty, strappy black heels. You wore the matching earrings that Kakashi gave you special for this occasion and around your neck draped the glittering stone necklace with the bright pendant resting between your breasts. Your hair was pinned up on one side with large waves cascading down past your shoulders. Since you loved to emphasize your natural grace, you chose light eye makeup with thick mascara and extra highlighter on your cheekbones. 

Upon your entrance many members in the crowd turned to gaze at you. The room began to quiet down as several of them gawked at your beauty. You felt incredibly shy by the room’s reaction and quickly sought out Shiho to go talk to. You bypass Obito, knowing nothing good would come from interacting with him, and looked straight ahead, doing your best not to see his reaction out of the corner of your eye.

“Yeah, she’s pretty to look at but she’s married to her job.” Genma says in response to Obito’s jaw falling to the floor.

“You don’t want a girl like that. She’d never give you the time of day unless you were one of her dusty scrolls.” Izumo piles on. Kotetsu laughed in agreement.

“You’re all idiots” Obito growls as he walks away searching for better company.

You meet up with Shiho and her husband. 

“Wow, you look stunning!”

“Thank you!” you say, casting your eyes down. You know that you’re beautiful but it still makes you bashful for people to be so forthcoming with compliments. 

“So, is mystery man here tonight?” 

“Shiho!” you say in an urgent whisper. “I don’t want anyone knowing anything till that day that we agreed upon at the dress shop.”

“So he went for it.”

“Yes, he went for it.”

“Well I’m happy for you.” 

You smile. You’re happy too, but soon you’re going to have to face your punishment for hurting Kakashi’s feelings and you’re dreading the moment that he enters the room.

The room dims and there is a man by the doorway. He comes out to begin announcing the important guests of the evening. They begin with the Feudal Lords of the other nations and their Kage, followed by their family members and invited guests. After the members of the other great nations enter the room, they announce the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire and the Hokage.

Kakashi enters the room in his ceremonial robes and your heart throbs for him. As much as you want to see him in a suit, you feel so proud of him for the position that he earned. 

Soon after he enters the room your breath hitches. He turned on the vibrator.

Already?! Couldn’t wait a second, could you?

“Is something wrong?” Shiho asks

You laugh it off, “No, everything’s fine, just a cramp from my heels.” Kashi please turn it off.

“Okay” she says unconvinced.

Enjoying the company of other intellectuals, Shikamaru enters your circle right as Kakashi disabled the vibrator. 

“Good Evening Shikamaru”

“Good Evening, Y/N. How are you tonight?”

“I’m doing well!”

“How’s that project going? I hear you’re almost done”

“Yes, it’s going well.” 

Temari enters the conversation anxious to be near Shikamaru and at the same time Kakashi flips the switch back on.

“Y/N, this is Temari, she is the Kazekage’s older sister.”

“Nice to meet you!” you say through a pained smile. Kakashi, why?! This is too mean.

“So I hear you have a meeting with the board at the end of the project. Are you nervous?”

“Very much so” you say, your face turning red from embarrassment and arousal.

“Oh, what’s the meeting for?” Temari asks

“They’re thinking of making Y/N head of the department” One of the elders interjects as he joins the group for conversation. At that moment Kakashi raises the intensity of the vibrator. You feel you are going to collapse if he doesn’t stop. 

You desperately look around the room. He’s standing in the corner deep in conversation with Gaara and the Raikage but glances over in your direction. You know him well enough to be able to tell he is smiling a devilish grin under that mask when he sees the panic on your face. You silently plea for him to turn it off but instead he increases the speed out of spite. Kashiiiii! But as you shake hands with one of the retired jonin the elder just introduced you to, he finally turns it off again. 

You feel a wave of relief rush to your core as you catch your breath. 

It seems that everyone wants a chance to speak with you tonight and the circle of people around you is growing rather large. Kakashi is having boisterous fun turning the vibrator on and off all evening but eventually there are too many onlookers so you head over to find some refreshments, preferably some sake to desensitize your aching clit and relieve your embarrassment. 

 Finally alone for a moment you scan the room. You see Obito talking with his old classmates in the center of the hall. You noticed that he looked very handsome in a suit. The juxtaposition between the elegant fabric with clean lines against his battle-scarred face was erotic. He could have any woman in the room. Why did he always set his sights on you? You sigh wishing Obito would move on when Kakashi approaches you slipping off your earring as he whispers, “play along”

“Oh, Y/N, you seem to have a missing earring.”

“Oh no! It must’ve fallen out.” you exclaim looking at the ground.

“Do you need help looking for it?”

“That would be very appreciated, my Lord.”

“Let’s retrace your steps.” His hand glides to the small of your back as you walk back the way you came in search for a coat closet.

From across the room Obito spots you. His chest pangs as he sees you and Kakashi sneak off together knowing exactly what the two of you are actually up to.

You reach a secluded closet down the hall and he shoves you up against the wall. 

You smile as you look at him with those bedroom eyes he loves. You know you're gorgeous tonight and you know he wants to devour you. 

You playfully take his Hokage cap and wear it while pulling down his mask to kiss him. 

“Now this is a Hokage I would die for” he says as he lunges in to kiss you. You feverishly make out, pawing at each other’s faces, as the Hokage cap falls to the ground. You hadn’t been intimate for several weeks. Your pent up sexual frustration was boiling to the surface. 

Kakashi sucked and bit your lip till it was swollen and red making you look extra pouty. 

His inner wolf emerged as you played with his hair, mouth open, taunting him with your lips. 

He grabbed you tight, squeezing you with all his strength as he kissed you long and slow. Savoring your taste like he was discovering your lips for the first time. You slipped your tongue past his lips, licking the inside of his mouth. The two of you moaning together as your tongues danced in each other’s mouths, dry humping to the rhythm of your synchronized breathing. 

Eventually breaking apart, he stares at you, scanning you up and down. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look more beautiful than you do here tonight.”

You blush looking at the ground. “Well, I was trying to impress the Hokage. Have you seen him?” you look up innocently. A smile stretching across his face. 

“I can’t wait to see how beautiful you look on our wedding day.”

You gush at the idea and how ridiculous it is to be talking of marriage when you’re currently hiding your affair in a coat closet at an international event.

He grabs you forcefully by the shoulders pulling you in to kiss once more. You start to undress him, taking off his robes and his dress shirt underneath so that you can claw at his muscular chest and back. 

“That’s not fair Angel. I can’t mark you while you wear that dress but you can scratch me up all you want?”

“Shinobi know better than most that life’s not fair” you say, nuzzling your nose against his before sucking on his neck and collarbone that you know will be hidden under his mask.

Infuriated at the situation, Kakashi promptly pulls down the straps of your dress to mark your tits. All your previous markings had healed. There was no sign on your body that you were taken and belonged to him. It was time to remedy that. 

“Aaahh!” you sing as he overpowers you and starts biting down on the flesh of your breast. You missed the painful bliss of his ravenous teeth. He put his hand in his pocket and turned on the vibrator. 

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!” It was much more fun to play with when you were allowed to moan and sink into the pleasure. While your mind swims from the vibrations, Kakashi takes one breast in each hand and goes back and forth between the two, marking, kissing, sucking, and flicking your nipples with his tongue. You loved it so much that you had to muffle yourself with your hand so no one would open the closet door and catch you. 

When he was done he squeezed your tits extra hard in his large hands before moving the slit of your skirt aside so he could gain access to your cunt currently being massaged by his toy. He uses his hand to push it into you  while he reaches in his pocket to put the intensity on max. You wail pushing a second hand over your mouth. 

“Do you like that Angel?” he coos as he tries to take your hands away from  your mouth. It’s like he wants us to get caught. You think to yourself but the thought is quickly stolen from your brain as he pulls down your underwear and replaces the vibrator with his tongue swirling all over your bud.

Your knees give out from the pleasure and you fall to the closet floor. Kakashi instantly climbs on top of you, his crotch above your face. He spreads your legs clutching around your thighs diving in on your delicious sex. You whine and moan wiggling under him as he dines on everything your pussy has to offer. 

“You taste devine. Just as sweet as I remember.”

Lust consuming your actions, you undo the ties of his pants pulling out his length. Stroking him aggressively, lifting your head to swallow him while his face is buried between your legs. 

He sucks hard on your clit eliciting a moan that vibrates along his entire shaft currently stuffed between your lips. You hear a mischievous laugh from between your legs. You whine and wiggle in response. He continues lapping at your heat while you bob your head up and down on his cock. 

You feel him go rigid before he bites down on your bud. You yelp, his length still filling your mouth. Kakashi readjusts his weight and begins thrusting into your throat. Gagging and choking on his cock, spit dribbles out of your mouth and tears leak out of the corner of your eyes while your face reddens from oxygen deprivation. You are about to tap out when he finally rips his length out of your throat and you gasp for air. 

He gives you a small upside down kiss before maneuvering to align himself with your heat. His tip pressing into your entrance, the familiar feeling of fullness stretches you once more making you hiss in excitement. He pushes your wrists into the floor as he sets his pace between your legs. You let your head fall to the side as you close your eyes enjoying the sensation of having him inside your pussy once more. Walls sucking his length in deeper and deeper, Kakashi leans down to lightly kiss your neck. You hum, feeling your mind go blank with joy and pleasure. His sack lightly tapping between your cheeks with each thrust. 

He lifts up your legs over his shoulders to deepen his angle. Your strappy black heels on either side of his face. You begin to mewl and moan now that he is kissing your cervix. Feeling yourself begin to tetter on the edge, ready to topple over in orgasm. You reach up to him to bring him down closer to you. 

His eyes ignite and he presses your legs into you snapping his hips into your plush behind at a wicked pace. You begin to feel rug burn on your back as he thrusts with all his might, utilizing every muscle in his body. You lift up your hand to stop your head from banging into the wall of the closet while the other grabs a tight hold of his neck. You want to scream but instead you mutter his name along with various curses under your breath.

“That’s it Angel, take every inch”

“Fuck baby! Fuuuucccckkk”

“That’s a good little slut. Taking my dick on the floor of the coat closet.”

“Oh Gods Kashi, Fuck!”

“You think I didn’t notice you chose a dress with a slit in it, just like I wanted. You’d been planning this. You wanted to be my little closet cumslut.”

“Yes, my Lord. I want to be your little cumslut.”

“Does your tight little pussy want my cum?”

“Ye-e-e-e-s-s!” You barely say between thrusts.

Kakashi grunts as he thrusts even faster than he already was till he spills his spend inside of you, stroking it deeper inside of your walls. Taking great pride in the thought of you spending the rest of the Gala feeling his cum leaking out of your pussy into your underwear. 

The two of you lay together on the floor of the coat closet both half naked catching your breath. What a site it would be if someone were to open the door. 

You grab his hand and hold it. An involuntary smile stretches across his face. He so badly wants to walk back out into that room holding your hand. He wants the world to know you’re his. You belong to him, from your delicious body, to your marvelous mind, all the way down to your beautiful soul. For now he will have to just admire you from across the room. Those 6 weeks cannot go by quick enough. The first thing he is going to do is take you on a very public date. He already knows exactly where; he’s been planning it since the night you came to his house. 

You sit up, adjusting your skirt so that the slit is back to the side where it belongs, and lift your straps back over your shoulders covering up the love marks on your breasts and ribs. You wipe the runny mascara off your cheeks and smooth out your hair. There's not much that can be done about the rug burn on your back so Kakashi grabs one of the shawls that was hung up and gives it to you to drape over your shoulders. 

You fluff his hair and straighten his cap. Walking out of the closet together, beaming at the other. He gives you back the earring he took and pockets the pink toy, letting your clit rest for the remainder of the evening. Besides, now it was his cum that would be toying with you as it slides out into your thong and coats your inner thighs.

When you re enter the ceremony hall Kakashi takes a left and you take a right, headed over to the group your officemate is talking to. Obito happens to be in the conversation and it seems that you interrupted the group giving him a hard time about being single. Great, just the conversation I want to have around him. Ebisu suggests that Obito should date you, since you’re both single. You both exchange heated looks before your officemate speaks up and spills the beans that you have a secret boyfriend. You shoot Shiho a look of rage. Is she dumb or drunk?! Obito toys with you knowing you want them to change the subject.

“You have a secret boyfriend, eh?” He asks

“I’m too focused on work to date.”

“Oh really? Is that why I see flowers delivered to your desk?”

You glare at Obito. “Would you drop it already?” Your face becoming more flush as the heat spreads to your cheeks.

Kakashi, noticing how Obito was messing with you, approaches the group. Feeling jealousy creep into his heart, he can’t take it anymore. You’re his, no one else’s. He just wants Obito to shut up. He stands next to you and quietly grabs your hand, interlacing his fingers with yours, exposing your relationship to the entire Gala. 

“Holy shit” you hear your officemate whisper. 

“Wait, really?” someone else says

“Kakashi’s your secret boyfriend?” Ebisu practically yells to the whole room.

You see Obito’s devastated face before he leaves the Gala in a hurry. All you can do is look at the ground as the entire room breaks out into a whisper, all gossiping about your now public relationship.

“This isn’t what we talked about Kakashi” you whisper to him, eyes fixed to the floor, enraged by his action.

Shiho then says, “Yeah, I would’ve kept this one a secret too, Y/N. Had I known he was the guy you were talking about, I would’ve told you to never go public with him.” She looked up at Kakashi disapprovingly. Seeing his action for the selfish deed that it was. This was definitely going to impact your promotion and she knew it.

Feeling humiliated you leave the room and head for the door. All eyes were on you as you left, resisting the urge to cry in front of all the feudal lords and Kage of the five great nations. 

How could he do this to me? So publicly and in front of the entire international community! And with the board meeting in just 9 days!

Once your face meets the cool night air you begin to sob. Walking aimlessly in your heels, it didn’t matter where you went as long as it was far away from everyone at the Gala. 

Your vision clouded by tears, you didn’t notice Obito standing in front of you. You collided into him. He clearly had also been on the brink of tears. 

“Please Y/N, don’t be with Kakashi.” He begs, “You should be with me!” You knew he was serious; he called you by your name.

“Stop Obito! I can’t deal with this right now.”

“He doesn’t even respect you enough to obey your wishes! I KNOW you were not okay with what he did back there!”

“My relationship doesn’t concern you Obito!”

“Yes it does! I would never do that to you! You know that I would always respect you and your job.”

“Obito, you literally came to my place of work to ask me on a date!”

“But you weren’t secretly dating me.”

“No! But you knew I was in a relationship with someone else!”

“Princess…”

“No Obito! Don’t act like you’ve been a saint! You think I’ve forgotten how you ambushed me on my way home, how you always break into my apartment to see me, that you put me under genjutsu twice?!”

“Princess, I-I’m sorry, I-”

“YOU PUT HER UNDER GENJUTSU?!” Kakashi roared. 

He heard everything, having followed you after you left the Gala. He knew Obito was causing trouble but this was unforgivable. 

“Careful Kakashi, don’t start a fight you can’t win.”

“You’re a dead man.” He hissed. 

Usually the voice of reason, Kakashi only looked like the man you loved but he sounded and was behaving like a totally different person.

Chidori singing in his hand, Kakashi dove for Obito. Obito just stood there as Kakashi moved through him. 

What the hell? How did he do that?!

Kakashi tore off his Hokage robes and pulled out a kunai hidden in his pants. Obito did the same. Both men armed and ready for battle. 

What is happening right now?! 

You begin to panic as they lunge at each other in impressive hand to hand combat. Their tijutsu skills are unbelievable. They soar through the air as they kick each other, swinging their fists faster than you’ve ever seen anyone move. 

You finally collect your wits realizing you have to stop them. You can’t possibly step in, their skills far exceed your own. You yell for them to stop, begging and pleading with them but you are white noise in their ears. 

You run back to the Gala in your heels to get help. You see Shikamaru outside having a smoke with Temari. You grab him by the sleeve, dragging him with you, running over to where Kakashi and Obito are. Temari runs behind you. 

“Hey! What’s going on?!” Shikamaru yells in surprise.

“They’re gonna kill each other?!” you cry. He starts running with you. You round the corner and see that they have brought half the street to rubble in the midst of their battle. 

“Oh shit.” Shikamaru stops under the street light to use his shadow paralysis on the both of them, holding them hostage midswing. You can tell it took enormous strength on his part to hold these legendary shinobi at bay. 

“Calm down!” he shouts. “You’re creating a scene in front of the entire global community! Do you have any shame?!”

The both of them begin to sober up, their rage ebbing slightly. They calm down enough for Shikamaru to release them. 

“If I catch you sniffing around her one more time I’ll kill you.” Kakashi snarls. 

“Believe what you want Bakashi, but she loves me too and if I were the one she met first, it would be me who she’s with, not you.” 

The truth of his words stung, looming in the air between you. He was absolutely right, in another reality, you probably would have been with him. It shattered your heart to think about it. 

Obito marched off into the night while you looked up at Kakashi teary-eyed.

Kakashi regained his composure, collecting his ceremonial robes and cap from off the ground. “Let me take you home.” he says, sticking out his elbow. 

“Okay” you whisper, taking it. Leaving behind the spectacle you just made as Shikamaru and Temari watch you leave.

You didn’t want to think about the fight you just saw. You didn’t want to think about the fight you were about to have with Kakashi. You didn’t want to think about what people were saying back at the Gala. You didn’t want to think about how people were going to treat you on Monday. You wanted to run away but for now you would settle for turning your mind off and walking home on auto pilot in complete silence.

Part 6 Masterlist

[heyidkyay]

And if it weren't this dark |

(Tip of the tongue but I can't deliver it properly)

Part One

A/N: hey, a short Alex one for you! it's been in my drafts for a while now, and isn't proofread but I figured I'd just post it and see if anyone likes it, first time writing for him so bare with me..

Summary: You and Alex have been together for ages and it's been so incredible, only now things have changed and you're struggling to tell him just how you feel.

Warning: angst- but also a bit of fluff so, lack of communication

Part Two

--

I’d been dropping hints.

JESUS CHRIST had I been dropping hints.

There wasn’t a day gone by that I hadn’t thought about it finally happening. But as I mentioned, I’d been dropping hints only, they hadn’t been hitting.

So either I was relatively shit at this whole charade or… Alex was just utterly clueless.

I was leaning more towards the latter. But maybe I was simply biased, because over the last coming weeks my hints hadn’t been all that subtle.

I mean, only the other day we’d been on the way to my sister’s house for tea- she’d recently gotten engaged and mum had wanted to celebrate the only way my family really knew how. With good food. 

But neither Alex or I had remembered to pick up the wine we’d promised beforehand, and so we’d popped into the local Tesco’s on the drive over to pick up a few bottles. And whilst we’d been perusing- as you do- we’d somehow found ourselves wandering down the baby aisle.

Yes, the baby aisle. Because that was what I’d been waiting on. A baby. Or rather, a fucking good shag that then led to a baby.

Because, let’s be honest, I really wasn’t one to turn down a good time, far from, but these last few weeks there had been something else I’d been rather hoping for.

Everyone (and I mean everyone!!) around us was either settling down, buying homes, building families, or getting engaged. And Alex and I, well we’d been together for years and yet, nothing.

No ring. No big day planned. No talks of the future. Nada.

Nothing.

And I could honestly say that I wasn’t the type that needed that kind of security voiced or announced.

Truly. 

When Alex and I had first gotten together, I’d only realised that we were properly seeing each other when some other lad at a house party had tried to pull me. I’d never seen Alex so possessive, and it had been proper cute and a tad bit funny in the moment. He’d ‘staked his claim’- how cliche and chauvinistic, yes I know- but that was what had quickly taken us from Y/n and Alex, to Y/nandAlex. Which had suited me quite fine.

So yeah, him and I, since then had always sort of relied on our actions to simply show how we were feeling. 

Like when we’d first moved in together. There’d not been much of a discussion about it, my flat had quickly become the first place Alex would come back to after touring, his stuff had just started taking up space- washing in the dryer, dirty trainers in the hallway- and then he’d started calling it home. ‘Let’s head home, shall we?’ and ‘We’ll be home soon, darling.’ 

And that was all lovely. I adored having that kind of connection with him. 

But there were times when I desperately wished he would open up a little more about what he was thinking. Because although I could read him like an open book most days- his emotions especially- there were far and few times in between when I just felt so lost.

Like recently, I supposed.

I feel like we’ve been on the same page for so long, only now I’m ready to turn anew, start another chapter. Together.

But Alex? I have no fucking clue what he wants.

In all honesty, I think he’d be rather content to just carry on as we have been for the rest of eternity. No talk, no hashing things out. Have Christmas dinner with his parents, spend Boxing Day with mine. New Years in London, back home in time for spring. Same order from the local kebab, Friday nights stay reserved for one another.

And that would be it.

Lost to this routine.

Not that I was expecting a proposal or some grand gesture. I wasn’t much into the idea of any of that! No, just- I wanted more, you know?

I wanted that family I’d always dreamt about, that house we’d quickly make a home. I wanted nappies and nightly feeds, baby-grows which then turned into dungarees. Ten tiny little toes, someone with a cute button nose, a person made up of both him and I. 

But I just didn’t know when that would happen, or if it ever would.

So yeah- Tesco’s. Fuck, did I love to ramble! If Alex could only hear me now I supposed. 

So, as I was saying, we’d been stood in the baby aisle, Alex scrolling through his phone aimlessly, waiting for my dad to text him back a reply after we’d asked if they’d needed anything else whilst we were out. And me, staring starry eyed at the tiny socks and mittens and cute little newborn tees that were on display.

I’d said to him, almost thoughtlessly, “Imagine us having to buy all this. All these tiny little things.”

He’d just glanced up at me, smiled, hummed. Then replied, “Your dad asked if you’d pick him up some of that heartburn medication he buys. Says his acid reflux is playing up again.”

And hadn’t that just been grand? Mentioning my father’s gastrointestinal issues whilst we’d been stood surrounded by adorable little baby items, with me unsubtly referencing the image of US buying some for OUR child in the (now very obvious and very, very far) future.

Incredibly clued in, my Alex.

That hadn’t even been the worst of it though.

A few weeks back, my friend had mentioned that her and her fiancé were actively trying to conceive and I’d been so over the moon for the pair of them. All excited about the chance of having another baby to spoil rotten.

And Alex, he had been all smiles whilst congratulating them, sat comfortably beside me, but when I’d brought it up again on the drive home, he’d simply shrugged it off as though it was a thing that occurred every other day. 

Your mates starting a family. Nothing too out of the ordinary there, at least not to Alex. 

It had royally pissed me off in truth.

And I’d been a little off with him ever since, I think he knew it too.

“Love?”

I blinked out of the daze I’d let myself get lost in and looked away from the laptop screen I’d been staring at for the last, however long. I hummed quietly to him in reply, titling my head against the cushions and over towards where he was stood in the doorway.

“Been calling your name for a while now, you alright?” He quirked a brow up at me, a smug little smile limning his lips as he leant against the frame. He didn’t even know how good he looked. 

I nodded with a small smile then glanced away, back towards the email I’d just been typing. “‘M fine. Just need to get this done.”

Alex said nothing but I heard the soft shuffle of his socked feet across our wooden floors before the settee dipped beside me. He rested his chin against my shoulder, peering down at the screen.

“Just wanted to know what you fancied for tea.” Alex murmured, breath brushing against the skin of my neck. I withheld a shiver. “Figured we could order from that place round the corner.”

I rolled my lip against the other, pushing my glasses up my nose before I wrote another passage, honing all of my focus on finishing this email so that I could finally just relax for the evening.

“Whatever you want, Al. I’m not all that fussed.”

Alex leant away from me slightly, back pressing against the settee cushions, he stayed that way for a while and I could feel his presence as I continued to type away. It was only a short time later that I grinned triumphantly down at the laptop and clicked send, thankful to have it gone and out of my mind.

“All done, cherry?”

Smiling at the familiar petname, my eyes flickered over towards him. I took in the woollen jumper he wore, as well as his hair which was tousled and unkept, probably from having run his hands through it all day. I was only just able to stop myself from reaching out to tangle my fingers in it, wanting to smooth it over. 

“All done.” I murmured faintly and gifted him a tired smile.

Alex was the type to take something and run with it though, so I wasn’t all that surprised when he grinned right back at me and extended a hand out to cradle my left cheek. I leaned into his warmth for a second, allowing his thumb to brush the skin under my eye, probably from where today’s makeup had just begun to smudge. 

I inhaled after and slowly pulled away. Not paying much mind to the way Alex slumped slightly and instead opting to busy myself with putting away my laptop and clearing up the mess I’d made of the coffee table. 

I did it all quietly, picking up the two mugs of tea I’d made, one empty, the other barely touched from where I’d forgotten about it, whilst Alex watched on. The tele remote was perched on the very edge of the table and so I tossed it over towards him, padding my way into the kitchen.

“Put something on, will you? Think there’s a good film on Channel 5.” I prompted over my shoulder, glancing at him through the tramson window that had been installed shortly after the sink had sprung a leak during last tour and flooded the flat, forcing us to make do whilst the owner had remodelled.

Pressing the power up button, Alex flipped the remote around in his hand a couple of times, he looked deep in thought and so I left him be, choosing to wash up the two mugs as well as the few stray knives and forks which littered the basin. 

I hummed quietly to myself, an old song I could hardly recall the lyrics of, whilst I worked, thinking about the many things I had to get done before the weekend started. 

It was Alex’s voice which startled me from my musings actually. He was so much closer now than he’d been before when he spoke up again, I'd obviously not heard his approach.

“So, tea?” Alex questioned me with a slight furrow between his brows, he’d propped himself up against the kitchen counter about an arms width away.

“God, Al! What are you- a wraith? Don’t sneak up on me like that!” I scolded, having jumped out of my skin. I took a deep breath. “Could’ve had a heart attack or something over the kitchen sink.”

Alex chuckled lowly at me, clearly amused by my reaction, he shook his head. “Make headlines, you- woman dies whilst doing the washing up! Reckon it’ll lead to a riot- start up a petition that’ll change the way we wash dishes forever.”

I rolled my eyes, flicking a few soap duds at him in retaliation which only made him reach out towards me. I tried to evade him but he was too quick, sweeping and wrapping me up in his arms so that I couldn’t proceed to splash him any further.

“You always been this much of a weirdo?” I huffed, not making much of an effort to escape his hold even as I struggled to blow a strand of hair out of my face. 

He hummed, smiling down at me as we begun to sway. “Might’ve been. No getting rid of me now that you’ve finally realised it though.”

I playfully winced in retort, forcing out a loud put-upon sigh. “Should’ve just kept quiet and slipped out once you’d fallen asleep watching the tele.”

Alex narrowed his eyes at me, tugging me in tighter. “As if you would.” He taunted.

I simply smirked in retort and let my damp hands work their way under the soft material of his jumper. I cackled loudly at the way he shivered and jumped away from me like a frightened cat during a thunderstorm.

“Ah, you’re in for it!” Alex declared, his face a right picture.

Quick as I could, I dived to my left so that I could position the kitchen counter between us, bracing myself against it to grin over at him. “Should’ve thought twice about that before telling me what to do, Turner.”

“Minx.” Alex smirked, and then he pounced.

We spent the next however long running about the flat after that. 

He’d somehow been able to grab at me in the hallway but I’d thankfully managed to wrangle my way out of his hold, sprinting into our room to use the bed to my advantage. I rolled over it, putting a dent in the freshly made sheets but using the spare moment to take a couple- much needed- deep breaths whilst Alex waltzed slowly inside. I scowled when the door closed behind him. He flashed me a victorious smile.

“Unfair. I’m at a disadvantage.” I pouted, hoping it would soften him slightly. But when that didn’t work I resorted back to a narrow eyed glare. “Open the door, Alex.”

“I don’t think so, Angel-face. You see, I’ve got you cornered.”

I looked for another escape, Alex only growing nearer, but my only options were limited. I could either goad him and then dart towards the door, or dive out the window. 

Seeing as though I didn’t much fancy breaking my neck, I opted for the former.

“Come on, Al.” I chuckled breathlessly, perching precariously on the edge of the mattress in hopes of lowering his defences a little. “We’ve had fun, but I’m proper knackered now. Call it quits so we can have a cuddle?”

Alex glanced over at me warily, he knew me far too well but appeared to be on the verge of agreement. He slowly made his way over towards the bed, shoulders hunched, still on his guard. 

“Promise?”

I hummed my vague assent, smiling up at him softly.

He paused with squinted eyes, “You’ve gotta verbalise it, love. Don’t count otherwise.”

I tilted my head up at him, feigning confusion. But we both knew I wouldn’t say it unless I really meant it. I kept my word.

That little flaw of mine seemed to trip me up though, and we both realised it at the same time too. So as I manoeuvred my way towards the door- feeling like Kim Possible, might I add- Alex was already in motion, catching me by the hips before I could even surpass the foot of the bed.

“Alex!” I screamed, only growing louder when he threw me over his shoulder and span us around. “Put me down! Now!”

“I fucking knew it!” Alex laughed merrily, bouncing me about the place. I swatted at his back unhappily, starting to feel my stomach in my throat. “Knew you’d try something.”

“Yeah, yeah… proper clever, you. Can you put me fucking down now? Think I’m gonna yosh.”

I could only roll my eyes when he dropped me on my arse, although thankfully it was on the mattress. Huffing, I fought to tame the mess he’d probably made of my hair.

“Twat.”

Alex merely chuckled, leaning in close to tuck a strand of stray hair behind my ear. I smiled when he pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. “I’m sorry, baby.”

“Hm, so you say.” I replied, peering up at him from where he towered over me, his hand falling to frame my jaw.

He leant in again, smiling as his lips met mine. “Had to show you who’s boss, didn’t I? Couldn’t let you get away with that.”

I gave an airy titter, pushing him away so that I could pull myself to my feet. “I could’ve had you on your arse the second you strolled in here, was just playing fair.”

He caught my wrist before I could retreat back into the living room, encasing my hand in his. I frowned slightly, looking back at him, mainly confused.

“What’s up?” I questioned him. His brown eyes flickered back and forth between my own, he looked conflicted all of a sudden, it was something you didn’t see on Alex too often which caused my frown to deepen, “Alex?” I prodded.

A small sigh escaped him and his gaze fell towards our joined hands, I let my thumb brush against the back of his own, wanting to reassure him in some way.

“Babe, what’s wrong?” I asked again, stepping closer. My other hand braced his forearm.

Alex’s eyes found mine once more and I didn’t think I had ever seen him this torn up. It threw me a bit, his demeanour had changed so quickly, it was like he’d done a total one-eighty on me.

“Think I should be asking you that question.”

I frowned at Alex’s vague reply.

“What do you mean? I’m fine, Alex. Annoyed that you won, but I’ll get you the next time.” I assured him, chuckling softly at the end. But it didn’t seem to do much.

Alex just shook his head, stepping away towards the window. He dragged a hand across his face, rubbing at his chin whilst he gazed down at the street below. 

“Al…” I tried. “Alex. Will you look at me?”

His eyes fell shut, he squeezed them as though he was trying to sort through a messy array of thoughts, of emotions.

Then he sighed. “I just don’t get you sometimes. One second you’re off with me, hardly even have the time to spare a glance my way. Then the next, we’re as happy as Larry, dancing about the kitchen, play-fighting, laughing.”

I had to look away, down towards my feet as a surge of guilt rippled through me. It wasn’t Alex’s fault that he had no idea about all the thoughts that were raging about inside my head. It wasn’t his fault that I was too scared to just come out with it. To tell him what I so does wanted. To just talk to him. 

None of the blame was on him and yet, I’d still placed it all there.

“I’m sorry.” I said, slumping down onto the edge of the mattress with a sigh. My eyes trailed over to find him staring back, his face gave nothing away. “I’ve been an utter twat. And I’ve been so fucking unfair to you. I- I don’t know, Al. I’ve just been struggling with a lot lately. But it really is nothing that you’ve done.”

Alex released a long breath, thumbing the bridge of his nose before he walked towards the bed, taking a seat beside me. We sat there in silence for a few moments, I could feel my heart hammering in my throat. Because it really was now or never. I either told him or… I got over myself. And nothing would change.

“You say you’ve been struggling.”

I angled my head over towards him upon hearing his words, Alex continued to look onwards though, his hands clasped between his knees.

He looked a lot older in that moment, and it reminded me of just how long we’d been together. I could recall a similar moment we’d shared well over a decade ago now, just before the band’s very first London gig.

Alex had spent weeks torturing himself over it, figuring that they’d be wasting their time playing to an empty room. 

It had been the night before they’d been set to leave when he’d come round mine. It’d been late. Really late, as in only mere hours before the train he’d been expected on was set to depart. 

It had just been the two of us. But that hadn’t ever been an unusual occurrence. We’d sat in silence together for a longwhile on my messy bedsheets- he’d always been the type to struggle with words. Strange for a songwriter, yeah, but unless they were accompanied by a couple chords then Alex could honestly spend a millennia searching for the right ones to use if you’d let him. 

He had spoken up eventually though. Told me what was bugging him. And I’d been the one to try and right every bad thought he’d had. Dull his racing mind. 

I’d always very much doubted his fears, about no one wanting to listen to their music outside of Sheffield. Outside of the safety net we’d grown up in. But Alex was as stubborn as I was, and so we’d spent a lot of late nights arguing about it. We’d always make up for it though come morning. 

And Alex had gone, obviously. I’d been one of the few to see the band off that morning, waving goodbye even as the train blurred and disappeared out of sight. He’d phoned me later that night after the gig, I’d heard his smile, he’d gone on this long rant about how wrong he’d been. Because the pillock had only gone and gotten carried around the venue on a sea of hands, hadn’t he?

This moment didn’t feel quite the same though. Because these fears I’d been facing, well they didn’t threaten anything outside of the four walls we’d carved for ourselves. If I told him how I felt, there was a very big chance that he might not feel the same, want the same. There was a very real chance he could just walk away.

“If it’s been so bad. Why didn’t you just come to me?” Alex asked and his eyes found mine then, that warm brown of his appeared so oddly defeated. So much so, I struggled to find a reply. 

“Just come out with it. Please. ‘Cause all this up and down, and back and forth. I don’t know if I can take much more. It’s been driving me round the bend. I hate reaching out towards you and feeling you pull further away. Kills me. Hate feeling like there’s something standing between us. ‘Cause it’s never been that way. Not with me and you.”

My throat grew tight with tears, but I wouldn’t cry, not now. Not when it was me who had caused all this.

“I know.” I had to take a deep breath to keep them at bay. To hide the strain in my voice. I pivoted so that my knee folded beneath me and I could really see his face. He followed, taking ahold of my hands. “I know, and I am sorry. Truly. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything earlier. That I let it get this bad. That I let you get so torn up. I didn’t even realise.”

Alex pulled me into an embrace, hand holding the back of my neck as I buried my face in his. Because that was the man Alex was, he put me above everything else. Including himself.

“It’s fine, sweetheart.” He hushed, thumb brushing over the top of my spine. “You can tell me anything. You know that.”

I did know that. But still.

“I don’t want to lose you, Alex.”

That probably hadn’t been the best thing to say. Alex all but flung himself back, alarm swimming in his eyes as he levelled me with a long look.

“Lose me? What’s that meant to mean? Why would you lose me?”

A tear fell then, followed by a couple more. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut, willing them away, hating the thought of seeing him so distraught.

“Y/n. Love. Please, you’re actually beginning to scare me now. Tell me what’s happened.”

I tried to look away. I didn’t want to do this, not here not now, but his fingers grasped my chin, tugging me back to face him.

A sob spilled from my lips and I crumpled slightly, his hands jumped up to my shoulders, struggling to hold me up.

“What could have you this worked up?” He stressed, shaking me slightly. “Just tell me, because all the fucking things I’ve got racing through my head. I- Put me out of my misery at least. Please.”

It took all the strength I had to peer up at him, eyes red and raw. “I want more, Alex. I want more than just this.”

After I’d said it, I wanted to take all my words back. The hurt that flashed across his face felt like a sharp slap to mine. He started to move, to stand. And I realised he was about to leave.

“Al. Alex.” I called, tried. Clutching at his arm. “Alex, please! Just listen, will you?”

He wasn’t having it. Shaking his head at me as he stormed his way out of the bedroom.

“I can’t believe you’ve just said that.”

It was like a punch to the gut, hearing the upset that lined his voice. His back was to me as I chased after him, I’d ever seen him like this.

“I didn’t mean it! Not like that! Not in the way it sounded.”

“Like fuck you didn’t mean it, Y/n!” Alex shouted, and I caught a glimpse of his face when he went to tug his jacket off the hanger by the front door. 

I could count the times I’d seen Alex cry on one hand. But right then, there were tears in his eyes.

“Alex.” I pleaded with him.

A deathly silence fell between us, I watched his shoulders sag before he turned back around towards me. I wanted nothing more than to hold him again. Take away all his pain, the pain I’d caused.

“If you leave right now, I’ll never forgive you.” I choked out, “Please don’t leave. Please.”

He stared at me. Long and hard.

“Tell me the truth then.”

His voice was nothing but a strained whisper. He looked so tired, arms slumped helplessly by his sides.

I swallowed thickly. Hands fisted against my chest.

Alex scoffed at me then and ran a hand over his face, rubbing at his stinging eyes. He shook his head and went for the latch.

I felt my eyes fall close. It was now or never, I supposed. He was leaving either way.

“I want a baby, Alex.”

[afreakingdork]

Crush Too Much - Part 22 - Finale

RotTMNT Donatello x GN!Reader

Warnings: Longing, Angst, Fluff, Embarrassment, Overbearing Siblings, Aged-up Turtles

Synopsis:  So you met a customer three times at work and that made a pretty big impression on you? That’s nothing to necessarily get worked up over, but when you’re all prepared to ask for his number the next time you see him and his brother gets involved instead, you might be in for something more than you bargained for.

FIRST 💜 PREVIOUS

So, saying you were rushed didn’t even begin to cover it. As your feet pummeled the pavement, you dodged twilight pedestrians on your way to the next subway station. This wasn’t exactly how you thought tonight would go, but when was the last time you’d been able to plan for anything when it came to Donatello Hamato. Barely grazing an middle aged woman with too many shopping bags, you skirted the sudden drop in concrete. Glaring down the hole, you watched as a grouched man around your age sized up your rushing figure with discontent.

“Don’t bother, this one’s down too!” He grumbled.

Your bady sank around your racing heart. “You’re kidding?”

A woman several steps below him, leaned into view. “The line’s down actually.”

“What?” The man spun around, pointing his malcontent at her.

She seemed unfazed. “I got a text from my girlfriend. Someone busted the tracks and they’re scrambling to reroute.”

All three of you harmonized a groan. It was one of the things you loved about New York. They departed and you frowned, leaning against the station’s entrance. Pulling out your phone, you brought open your text chain with Donnie. It had only been a single day since you’d confessed your feelings for one another and the walls of text were boiling over. You had to scroll back with several lengthy swipes just to get to the last message you had seen. It was something you sorely needed to bring up. For him, the love was fresh and ready to be outpoured. It wasn’t as if you weren’t excited to reciprocate, but you’d barely been given time to breath, let alone adjust to this new mindset. A little over 24 hours ago you were agonizing over cutting him out of your life entirely. Now you were his ‘darling’ and attempting to be on time for your first date. That is, if you could get there.

Already, Donnie had cancelled picking you up because of some sort of garage door malfunction. It wasn’t that big a deal, the subway should have been an easy alternative. Skimming the wall of text you had yet to read found a slew of apologies and promises to make it up to you. Giddy at his tooth-rottingly sweet assurances, you touched a hand to your chest. If your fluttering heart was any indications, these worries would soon be long forgotten, but until then you were sorely stuck in the adjustment phase. You were more than prepared to spin his excitement in your favor. It was all about framing. You knew him well enough that this was just like him; jumping headfirst and headlong into passion projects was Donnie at his finest. He just needed to be told directly and in person that that kind of dedication aimed at a person could be overwhelming. It was getting to him now that was the biggest problem.

A quick glance at your bank balance found a taxi ride would decimate your budget. Wanting to eat some time in the future and not wanting to keep a presumably overexcited Donnie waiting, you began to run once more. Thankful you hadn’t gone all out dressing up, you grappled with clogged sidewalks until you spied a rental bike. It’s location outside of a bodega said that it was probably still in use, but you snatched it up anyway. You threw a silent apology towards the business’ door as you heaved the thing up onto your shoulder. Running down a few more blocks, you located its kiosk and checked it back in so you could then reserve it yourself. With payment squared away, you hopped on the seat and took off.

Making relatively good time, you ditched the bike at approximately the closest dock to the garden and made up the rest of the distance on foot. Pressing two fingers to your throat, you attempted to will your heartbeat to even out. It came down with your breath and so began a rapid preening process to make yourself presentable once more. Sighing without a mirror, you squared your shoulders and approached the entrance. There were no signs of purple, but glowy neon emanated from the grounds. You found it hard to tear your eyes away from it as you fumbled for your phone. Its screen read you were 17 minutes late and your lips parted with a frustrated whine. Shuffling in place, you quickly threw up your text thread realizing you’d failed to mention the subway debacle. Sighing, you shook your head as you had to filter through about seven new messages. There was something about a phone call so you swiped your status bar to find three missed ones. Your head lolled back as you slammed one with your thumb and used it to ring your overzealous boyfriend.

“Dearest!” His voice waned with minor irritation. “There you are!”

“Donnie!” You mocked the tone back at him. “I forgot to message you!”

“Yes, I had to look up the track delays. You weren’t on board were you?”

“I doubt I’d get this good of reception if I was!” You didn’t mean to be snippy with him, but after your rush to get over here you weren’t particularly in the mood to deal with criticism. “Where are you? I’m here.” Spinning around, you still found no sign of him.

“You’re there…” He not only trailed off, but his voice dropped off as well.

“Where are you?” You pressed again, a sort of annoyed fear jolting in your veins.

“After locating the travel hindrance and taking into account your lack of response, I thought it would be best to go and pick you up...”

“Pick me-?” You began and stopped. “How far did you get?”

“Your apartment.” There was a sheepish quality to his voice.

You pulled your phone away and groaned loudly.

“It was a romantic gesture?” He offered; the tinny sound of rotors followed.

“I just…” You brought the device back and scooted over to a nearby wall to lean. “Ran so far…”

“That excited to see me?” He crooned as wind rushed around his voice.

“I didn’t want to be late.” You shook your head. “That didn’t really work out.”

There was a pause with only a gusty static coming through the line. “I suppose I am also at fault.”

“Maybe.” You teased as your annoyance began to recede. “I even stole a bike.”

“Dating a criminal!” Donnie huffed. “Say it isn’t so!”

“You got me.” Turning, you kept an eye to the sky. “It was one of those rental things. I did take it from someone who was still using it though.”

“I can’t help but feel you are still leaving parts of your story out.”

You chuckled at his knowing tone and regaled him in your journey. By the time you were both up to speed, you spotted his telltale purple lights. You watched as he descended and walked out of the landing as if he wasn’t the embodiment of mankind’s dream to fly. He strolled up to you and you caught his gloved hands on the way. Heat pooled in your finger tips on contact and you swept your gaze up to his face.

“Hi.”

“Greetings.” His voice was honeyed and you all but melted as it hit your ears. You were further liquefied as he leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to your forehead.

Now this part you had no problem with.

“I apologize for the rocky start.”

You shook your head. “It happens. Did you figure out what was up with the garage?”

He turned toward the entrance and offered you his arm. You slotted your hand into his elbow and he lead you to garden with only a minor ticketing stop. “I didn’t have the time, though I suspect there’s a leak.”

“It is the sewers.” You mused, other couples cropping up as you walked a designated path.

“You wound me!” He bumped you as you walked and you leaned into the motion. “That is obviously one of the first precautions taken when setting up a good underground lair.”

“Silly me. It must be my public school education; I missed my lair making class.” 

“That and how to file taxes. When will America learn?” He hummed as lights began to twinkle on the horizon.

You perked up and he quieted. Jaunty music filtered in as the glowing gardens came into view. Your eyes darted around excitedly. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

With only silence as a chaser, you turned to find him staring at you.

“Ravishing.” He seemed to find himself, but the molten look in his eye stayed.

You were caught, but the crowd dictated the necessity to keep moving. With Donnie’s hand atop yours to steady you, he dipped his head down. Your lids drifted shut in anticipation when a large explosion sounded across the garden. You snapped away from each other and looked at a loom of smoke pouring out of the conservatory.

“You’re kidding.” Donnie groaned. Underhand you felt his muscle's tense.

“Maybe… it’s just a heater malfunction?” You offered anxiously. “It’s like a hot house in there, right?”

“Well, yes, but I somehow doubt-”

A burst of flames shot out through a hole in the glass dome.

“It is-!” Donnie threw up an indignant finger at the structure. “-my date night! My night!!” 

A high pitched evil cackling sounded from afar and both of you slumped in response.

“Maybe a different vigilante could handle it? After all these years you can’t be the only ones, right?” You pressed out, the question thin to your ears.

Screams of wayward civilians followed the maniacal laughter.

He gave you a saddened smile. “Regretfully, I am technically always on the clock.” Donnie sighed. “I seem to recall there was a mutant corpse plant here, but I thought he’d moved to a warmer climate years ago.” You slipped your arm free of his and his hand disappeared into his coat.  When it remerged his staff telescoped to full height and purple pixels flickered off of it. You blinked at them wondering if it was a trick of the lights. You’d seen him form objects out of thin air with his ninpo, but nothing like this. “Stay back until I come to get you?”

You nodded dumbly and he took off. The first of the people fleeing from the building finally hit your walkway and you stumbled out of their way. The music cut off in favor of an announcement to take cover. You sighed and teetered off the path and onto the grass. Keeping your eyes to the conservatory, you watched as something round was shot straight through a pane and disappeared into the night sky. You tried to remember if something like that was in Donnie’s repertoire when a different voice seemed to crack through the frenzied crowd.

“It’s over here! Keep that camera rolling!”

Spinning around, you watched as a two man news crew fought against the throng of people. You recognized the field reporter instantly.

“April O’Neil!” You shouted out before you realized what you had done.

Zoning in on her name, April waded through the crowd. “Well, hey there-” She halted and spun around to glare at her camera man. “Dale, cut the dang feed!”

“But y-you just said to keep-”

“I know what I said!” April snapped at him, before turning a sugared smile to you. “Y/N, right?”

“You know who I am?” You wished you could reign in how star struck you were.

“Of course I do!” April slung an arm around your shoulders. “Who would I be if I didn’t run an extensive background check on my little brother’s boo?”

“What?” You swallowed hard.

“Buck up, I didn’t do so hot in geometry either!” She patted your cheek and slipped away, resuming her reporter aura. “What’s the scoop?”

You stared after her feeling tossed around. “The building sort of exploded. Donnie took off a few minutes ago to deal with it.”

“I see…” Excitement flooded her voice before she turned a gritted grin back to you. “Oh…” Her tone dropped heavily with dismay. “Y’alls first date…”

“Yeah…” You mimicked her grimace for a moment before a thought occurred to you. “Wait, you aren’t here to cover whatever's happening?”

“This mess?” She pointed as another round object smashed out of the dome and into the sky. “Nope! We’re here covering all this.” She swung her hand around to the lights. “I’ll just come right out and say it: I accepted the puff piece on the GLOW exhibit opening because I wanted to see how cute y’all were together.”

“I thought there was some deal to not interfere?” Though she was new to you, she exuded such a similar energy to her brothers that you couldn’t help but fold your arms in disappointment.

She remained unfazed. “That was for before y’all got together; statue of limitations.” She gave a punctuated wink.

You stared at her dryly. “I know you rigged the make-up fiasco.”

You watched a tiny crack form in her façade. “Now, now! There’s a fight we should be covering!” She grabbed your shoulders and spun you to face the dome.

“Wait-!”

“Don’t you wanna see Donnie in action!?” She shouted, already propelling you towards the building.

“He said-!”

“He’s a worrywart!” She chirped, speeding into a run and starting to lap your lagging form. “Dale! Camera!”

“Got it!” He shot back, obviously close behind.

“April-!” The conservatory was looming closer by the second.

“Don’t worry! You’re in good hands!” She tossed a wink over her shoulder as she dragged you straight into the building.

As soon as you breeched the dome, you indentified three separate voices and the distinct sounds of a fight. You weakly followed April and Dale as they tucked themselves into a corner.

“Now remember, we scrub turtle footage, but eat up bad guys!” April directed as she got into character.

“Motion blur and shakey cam as necessary!” Dale replied automatically, readying the camera.

Giving them some space, you took several steps to the side and realized there was a break in the greenery. Your little foliage frame was empty until it wasn't. In a split second, two orange forms in garish tights slid in with their backs to you. You got to watch with near front row seat as Donnie spun into frame. Your heart shot up into your throat as he spun his tech-bō  around him with ease. During the skirmish he had sonehow lost his sweater, coat, and accessories. It left him in only his boots and winter pants. His muscles rippled as he whipped the staff around, purple pixels flitting off of it. Knowing you were ogling, your breath further left you as you caught the way his markings glowed a similar color. Awestruck, you leaned in closer.

“Come on, guys!” Donnie huffed, dropping his heroic stance to flop to an annoyed side. “I’ve basically won so can we just call this a night?”

“No way! We didn’t get our first course yet!” One of the orange figures stomped with frustration.

“And you haven’t seen our new regeneration skills!” The other form, flicked out an arm and you got sight of an enormous claw.

“Let it be known I tried reason.” Donnie shrugged and threw his staff out. The purple from him emanated a little brighter as energy swirled along the staff to form an outrageously large huge mallet. “Let’s see just how much you can regenerate!”

You felt like shrinking down. If anyone was to view this fight at this exact instant, they’d definitely peg Donnie as the villain. He reared back and the two mutants readied their claws. You tensed and all other sounds seemed to fall away as Donnie pivoted. The purple hammer came around, but a bright shine of blue light drew your eye away. A portal opened up just to the side of both parties. You watched as, within an instant, Mikey's shell rocketed out of it and collided with his brother who, in turn, was sent flying into the vegetation. Your jaw dropped as Mikey's limbs pipped out and he landed on his feet in a readied stance. 

“Alright, whoever you are!!” Mikey shouted, facing the wrong direction. “We’re gonna wipe you out so fast, Donnie won’t even know what hit him.”

“I’ll know EXACTLY WHO HIT ME!!!” Donnie screeched from somewhere deep in the dome.

“Donnie? Wha-?” Mikey got out before one of the orange forms fired four claws straight into the younger brothers back which sent him flying as well.

Your shoulders dropped at the absurdity. You had watched what you now pegged for crab mutants fire off their hands like they were guns. It was almost as ridiculous as their circus outfits.

Raph and Leo stepped through the portal in near sync.

“For the record, I don’t think blindly throwing Mikey in was the best plan if we’re trying to keep on the DL.” Leo snapped as the portal closed behind him. 

“He wouldn’t stop asking!” Raph sighed, catching a glimpse of the crab mutants. “You guys, seriously?!”

“What is with the reception tonight, geez!” One of the crab mutants rolled his shoulder.

“You happen to be interrupting something very important.” Leo turned and though his tone read amused, there was a burning rage in his eyes that you had yet to see from him.

“We gathered as much.” The other crab mutant raised his claw and fired off a few shots that the two brothers you could see dodged with ease.

“Just pack it up then!” Raph growled. The older brother spun around and instantly locked arms with one of the crab mutants.

The two grappled as Leo skittered a new line of shots from the unencumbered mutant. “Mikey, any day now! Let’s wrap this up!”

“Great covert work!” Donnie appeared out of a bush, dragging Mikey by his shell.

“I told you!” Leo turned on Raph who was still in a grapple.

“Hey, Don….” Raph nervously elongated the greeting. “We… were, uh, hoping to clear this up and not interrupt your date!”

“Next time try to be 11 minutes early.” The purple brother gripped, hoisting Mikey around and onto his feet.

“I feel like I’m getting unfairly blamed for everything!” Mikey pointed out, shrinking down as Donnie loomed from behind him.

“I was about to crush them!” Donnie shouted causing Mikey to hunker down more.

“Date, huh?” A hushed voice ask from your side.

You nearly jumped out of your coat. “W-wha-?!”

“This is a cute place for a first date, I get it.” The crab mutant folded his claws and gave a genial nod.

You rose a shakey hand to point at him, your skin growing paler by the second. His size dwarfed you to an intimidating degree.

“Where ya going after this? Dinner?” He looked at you with an excited gleam in his eye.

You gave a single fearful nod.

“You know I was craving Italian, but I had a bad time the last time I ate it, ya know?” He shook his head. “I ate a few things, but I feel like it was the calzone that did me in. You think I’ll be good if I get it again? Should I avoid calzones? Maybe it was just where we ate?”

“You’re not… going to hurt me?” You finally managed to string some words together.

“Huh?” He seemed utterly taken aback. “No way! We’re not interested in that! We came here to get a nice salad going, but Ben couldn’t stop thinking about this charred caesar he heard of and got us caught!”

“Salad?” You parroted, some color returning to your face. By all accounts, it really seemed like this guy wasn’t going to use you for leverage. You remembered your earlier comment about a heating malfunction and your shoulders drooped further at how ridiculous this all was.

“Duh, the salad is pinnacle to Italian because it offsets all the carbs!” He threw out his arms and gestured around the dome. “But places around town always have the worse lettuce. I’m sick of iceberg! And since it’s winter, the co-op doesn’t have any good alternatives!”

“You’re apart of a co-op?” Your fear was all but forgotten and all that was left was your incredulous husk.

“Uh doy.” He turned to you as if you were the ridiculous one. “The freshest foods and you only have to put in some time to get them? It’s a no brainer.”

“It’s good for the community too.” Leo used one of his blades to peel back the bush you were both standing in front of.

“See, even he gets it!” The crab mutant gestured to the blue hero.

“Hey, Carl.” Leo raised a hand and shifted his hips to one side.

“What do you think about calzones, Leo?” The being you now knew as Carl turned his attention away from you.

“Wouldn’t touch ‘em!” Leo stepped forward and up to you.

“Dang!” Carl probably would have snapped his finger if he had thumbs.

“I have no idea what’s going on.” You told the blue hero weakly.

“Yeah, this is not how we were hoping to preserve the evening…” Leo grimaced and looked over his shoulder. There seemed to be more infighting amongst the brothers than with Ben who only seemed to be stoking the flames. Turning back to you, he gave a lopsided grin. “When you give your big wedding speech about how integral I was to your union, you can leave this part out.”

Carl immediately perked up and started excitedly looking between you two.

“Wedding!?” You screeched, red exploding on your face.

“I thought this was a first date?!” Nearly prancing, Carl gushed.

“It would be, but…” Leo spun his sword around and gestured between the two crab mutants.

“Ooooh!” Carl winked as he seemed to grasp what Leo was getting it. “Ben! Let’s bounce!!”

The alert not only signaled his brother, but all the other brothers not party to what was happening. Donnie immediately spied you and nearly fell over.

“We getting calzones or what?!” Ben turned and started heading towards the conservatory door.

“Leo says no!” Carl called back, shuffling around you to head in the same direction.

“Are you just letting them go!?” Donnie hissed, stomping over.

“They wanted a salad…” You told him, nearly enfeebled.

“What?” Donnie’s head shook with confusion.

“Oh, April!” Leo sang out. He crossed between you and his brother, passing you a glance. He winked as eye contact was exchanged and mouthed what you were sure was a ‘leave now.’ The haunting phrase left you especially confused as he then skipped away.

“’How we spinning this one?’” April responded, knowingly. “I got a few ideas! Dale!! Playback!!!”

Over Donnie shoulder, you noticed as Mikey zeroed in on you. There was no malice there, but something about the look sent a chill down your spine.

“Let’s run.” You snatched Donnie’s hands to telegraph your urgency.

“Run?” Donnie began to turn his head to look.

“No!” You gave a small tug. “I already heard from April! They think the ‘no meddling’ agreement is over since we’re together now!”

You were thankful at how fast Donnie took in this information and processed it. “Tell me where and we’ll go.”

Already in motion, you pulled him as you pointed towards one of the holes in the dome.

“Hey, guys…” Raph called out a warning.

Donnie nodded and in a flash you were both airborne. You held on tightly as you rocketed straight through the opening.

“They’re getting away!” Mikey’s shout was the last thing you heard as the icy night air bit at your cheeks.

“We’re getting away, scoff.” Donnie’s voice grumbled from above you.

You shifted in his arms. “You think they’ll really let those guys get off that easy?”

“The Sando Brothers? They would if we had stuck around.” Donnie huffed, pulling you tighter. “Where is our next destination anyway, darling? Shall we go ahead with dinner?”

Your lip pursed at the nickname. Not only had you not been able to talk to him, but everything about the evening had been a sheer disaster. You shook your head and wondered where it had all gone wrong. It seemed to be so much larger than just a malfunctioning garage. You blinked, clarity washing over you as the cold had. You turned to look up at him and in turn he gave you a patient smile. You softened at it. “Lou, Mike, Tony, Tony's Pizza.”

The tender look disappeared from his face and was swapped with distaste. “Are you-?”

“It has to be there.” You doubled down on your look to make up for the lack of his.

It brought the faintest blush to his cheeks and he adjusted course. “If you’re sure.”

For the most part the flight over was quiet and the city sparkled below you amongst the darkened sky. When you landed, the street outside of Bro’s Pizza was nearly empty. You wobbled as you adjusted to dry land and Donnie looked at the darkened pizzeria’s door with a sneer.

“10:59pm.” He clicked his tongue as he checked his phone. “This place never closes on time!”

“It’s perfect.” You whispered tenderly.

The warmth oozing from your tone immediately caught Donnie’s attention and he turned to approach you. “I’m confused, dear.”

“Enough of that.” You shushed him and shucked off your coat. He watched with tempered curiosity as you slung the fabric around his shoulders. The fabric barely came around his arms.

“I don’t know if I can thank you for this.” He was near laughter.

“We need to start over.”

He froze and looked down at you, stunned. You stared back at him evenly and your hands left his person. Instinctively, he reached up and caught the coat to keep it from falling away.

“I…” He searched your face and you watched fear creep up his.

You wanted to brush it away, but you needed to make sure you had his full attention for this. Anything less and it wouldn’t stick in that overworking mind of his.

“I know tonight was less than ideal, but that doesn’t mean it has to set the tone for our relationship!” Fear gave way for desperation and you took a few steps back as he tried to reach out to you.

“Donnie, listen.” Folding your hands behind your back, you leaned forward to garner his attention. “Take a deep breath.”

He watched you with an anxious gaze, but his chest lifted as he followed the command.

“This is moving too fast. I know we’ve been at this for way too long, but the pet names, the date expectations, Leo joking about our wedding reception…” You trailed off and watched as a similar explosion of red painted Donnie’s cheeks as yours had.

His arms darted out in a set of rapid movements your eye couldn’t keep up with. “I swear to you that I've plotted no such thing at this time!”

“I didn’t think that, but good to know.” You beamed him a smile and it seemed to ease some of his nerves. “So, I think we should start fresh. Obviously we can’t erase all the time we’ve had together, but let’s rethink of our relationship as one just starting out!”

You watched as he churned your words over in his head.

“I’m calling a do-over.”

Realization dawned on him as he looked back to Lou, Mike, Tony, Tony's Pizza’s darkened door and then back to you. He opened his mouth, but you held up your hand to stop him. He gave a nod of understanding and you could see the watery endearment in his gaze.

You could feel your eyes mirror his so you squeezed them shut to precent any happy tears. Building up your courage, your heart raced wildly. As your meter maxed out, you opened your eyes with wide determination. Staring Donnie down, you took a few tentative steps forward and did what you should have done all along.

“Hi. I have a crush on you. Can I have your number and also will you go out with me?”

Donnie lunged forward and scooped you up in a fervor; your coat forgotten on the sidewalk. You both giggled, your cheeks red from the cold.

“Yes. I'd love to.”

THE END

[allastoredeer]

I just found some Hazbin Hotel leaks, pre-being pick up by A24 and, do you know we could have had an episode where Charlie meets all the Deadly Sins? We were absolutely robbed of a pretty good filler episodes before the big finale with heaven.

Here's link to the leaks: https://imgur.com/a/nCorcZq

In case the link doesn't work, you can also look at this tumblr post: https://www.tumblr.com/hellaverse-critical-confessions/727383242254204928/hello-the-pre-a24-leaks-anon-again-heres-link?source=share

I really hope they use some of this old concepts on the next season cause they seem quite funny and interesting. Those ideas could help flush the characters out a bit more and the worldbuilding. What do you think?

Me writing notes while reading the leaks:

OOOH HOO WE GOT SOME WONDERFUL CHARACTER INSIGHTS! Especially with Husk!

“Angel and Charlie drag Husk out to a carnival show to show him the not-so-sleazy side of life. This proves difficult with Husk being raised to know nothing but crime and no experience with innocent fun.”

Husk has no experience with innocent fun. He only knows the sleazy side of life T.T Also he has mob connections 👀That is good to know. I find that so, so interesting. It explains it grim outlook on life. Why he's hardly every smiling or having fun. I think one of the first times we actually see him smile is after fighting those shark demons with Angel Dust in "Masquerade."

Now that I'm thinking about it, he smiles a lot more after that. Or, at least from what I remember. I might need to rewatch the show (for the dozenth time, LMAO). But, that kind also goes to show how much this guy needs friends. Good relationships. Connections outside of crime, which is all he's known all his life.

I WANT HUSK TO HAVE PURE, DUMB FUN AND TO LAUGH AND SMILE AND IM SOBBING JUST THINKING ABOUT IT

Also love delving more into Vaggie too. How she's incredible responsible, but controlling. After reading through a few of the episode description about her, my personal headcanon/take is that she still has a bit of that "angels are superior" mindset in the way that when she challenges Maxine, she's quickly reminded of her own limits when she's defeated "very easily." It's like what Carmilla was saying in the show. The angels are arrogant in their fighting. They leave themselves open, they're brash, and uncoordinated because they're not used to fighting demons who can actually fight back.

As far as we've seen, all of their victims are regular demons. None of the Overlords. Well, except Carmilla that one time, and she'd taken down the Exorcists with relative ease because she knows how to fight, and she's powerful. Given that this is the first time an Exorcist has been killed, and the first time we hear about an Overlord being attacked during the Extermination, I assume not a lot of Exorcists come face to face with the Overlords.

So, this kind of brash arrogance still lingering in Vaggie, who see's a demon talking down to her and automatically challenges them to a fight, only to lose immediately. Then her falling back into her insecurities that if she's not able to protect/fight for something/someone, than she's useless (which is ANOTHER thing she's learned from her time as an Exorcist angel--if she's unable to fight for the cause, what use does she have?). It's like this double-edged sword, and I'm rahhhhhh I'm gnawing on it.

ALSO ALSO, getting not only one annual event held in Hell, but TWO! "Hells Weapons Exo," (which I like to think Vox co-hosts with Carmilla, as she is a weapons manufacturer, and Vox is the guy to go to if you're looking to sell/buy something. Also, Vox HAS to have a showmanship side of him. Like, a legitimate showy, entertainer side--which I also like to think is what brought him and Alastor together before their, uh, falling out.)

Their second event being "Challenge Day" where lower tiered demons can challenge higher tiered demons for control over souls? I interpreted this in two ways, 1) challenging a higher tiered demon for the souls they already own, or 2) challenging the person who owns your soul as a way to get it back - both of which I really like. It actually fits really well with some of the world-building I've been doing for the last few days, so I am eating it up.

ALSO THE FACT THAT THERE'S A ROYAL BALL HELD AFTER "CHALLENGE DAY." My RadioApple brain LATCHED onto that so quickly. Imagine Lucifer taking Alastor to the royal ball as his date T.T I wanna see them all dressed up fancy, and I want them to dance, and dsofslknjljblkjbj FUUUUUUCK

Thank you SO Much for sending me this! I am soaking up these lore pieces like a sponge.

It also mentions Angel and Charlie taking Husk to a carnival show, which makes me wonder if there are places like carnivals open in Pentagram City, or if it's similar to the traveling circus thing Blitz grew up in. Like, do hellborn demons who doing travelling circus/carnivals just go through all the rings, one-by-one, including the Pride Ring? That way the Sinners get to get in on it too? AH! I just love thinking about it.

Thank you thank you I am feasting so much right now.

(THIS ALSO MAKES ME SO UPSET ABOUT STUDIOS LIMITING SERIES DOWN TO 8-10 EPISODES A SEASON, WE COULD'VE GOTTEN SO MUCH CONTENT AND WORLD BUILDING IF THEY'D GIVEN VIVZIE AND HER TEAM A PROPER SEASON TO BUILD IT ALL UP AND GRRRRRRRR)

Oh, also, I just realized I didn't answer your original question about the Sins, GOD I wish we got that. I want to see Charlie interacting with all the Sins so badly. Though, I suppose with Amazon not really owning Hazbin Hotel, where all the Sin's have been showing up, I wonder if they'd be able to do an episode like at all.

I don't know. Things to think about.

But to sum up! Thank you so much for this! I know this answer kind of went on long LOL, but you have given me so much brain food and I am eternally grateful 🙏

[spotsandsocks]

Something Worth Staying For

🥳Happy Birthday to the wonderful creative supportive @cowboy-buddie who makes this fandom so much fun for me. Love ya Kels Please accept this little gift, my attempt at an enemies to friends to lovers AU. 5 chapters 1 coming at you everyday (so I have time to finish the last chapter🤣)

Chapter 1 2.4K Read on AO3

Living in a small town wasn’t for everyone but Eddie liked it. When he and Chris had settled here he hadn’t been sure but slowly the place had gotten under his skin and now he was as good as a local. Well almost, Chim still called him cowboy sometimes, but Eddie had decided ignoring that was the best plan and it had mostly worked. Chim only called him that these days when he wanted to be particularly annoying. Not that he doesn’t love Chim, the man has become like his brother. In fact he’s built a small family for himself and Chris here. It turns out taking a job at a small town newspaper was the best idea he’s had in years. He’s never quite gotten over the surprise of his new boss, the paper’s editor waiting for him with his wife outside Eddie’s new front door on the day they arrived.

Bobby and Athena had been there from the start ready with a home cooked meal for their first night in town, helping them unpack, and essentially making him and Chris feel more welcome than Eddie had ever expected when he’d nervously said yes to a fresh start  and moved himself and his son halfway across the country after his divorce was finalized. 

Now he’s made a home here and has an extended family he loves dearly. It’s almost perfect. Except, he does get a little lonely sometimes, Chris is getting older and  when he’s busy and Eddie’s all alone in his house he sometimes wishes that he had someone to share his life with, he’d dated a few of the women in town but nothing had clicked. Not that he was especially bothered by the failure, he hadn’t actually really liked any of them but it would be nice to have someone special.

He’s been here almost three years now and it seems pretty unlikely that he’s going to find his dream partner, after all what are the chances of the  perfect person just turning up in Eagle Creek one day and being interested in a thirty year old single dad holding down a quiet job writing local news stories for a small town paper. 

“Eddie?”

Eddie looks up and takes a breath. 

Whatever he’d been expecting when Bobby said his name it wasn’t to see the man standing next to him. He’s tall, well built to say the least, with sandy hair which might have been blonde or brown depending on the light, and extremely blue eyes. There’s a mark of some kind over his left eye and he wonders if it’s a bruise or something more permanent. It doesn’t diminish the man’s good looks in fact in Eddie’s opinion it enhances them. Frankly he’s gorgeous. Eddie knows he finds men as attractive if not more attractive at times than women but he’s never particularly felt the urge to investigate where those thoughts could take him. He’s not a casual kind of guy and the trouble with gorgeous people is they so very often know it and in his personal (and relatively limited) experience that does very little for their personality. 

This  guy is so pretty he’s probably a complete jerk. 

Despite those warning bells as they  look at each other the stranger smiles and Eddie can’t help how his eyes flick down then back up again almost immediately, it's a nice smile. A little shy, almost sweet even. The guy isn’t giving off any particularly arrogant jackass vibes. Eddie wants to but he doesn’t let himself look again, turning his head to focus on Bobby instead.  Actually the new guy looks a lot like Bobby, maybe he’s his nephew or something, just visiting. 

Eddie returns his boss and friend’s smile, feeling strangely apprehensive for some reason. Maybe it’s because Bobby looks guilty. Eddie recognises the slightly shifty expression on the older man’s face. What has he done?

He finds out quickly.

“Eddie this is um, Buck. He’s uh…  he’s going to be working here.” Bobby won’t look at him and is rubbing his hand across his chin nervously. 

Well that’s unexpected. Eddie can’t help the sudden sharp furrow of surprise and suspicion on his brow. Bobby hadn’t mentioned anything about someone new. Do they really need someone new? Eddie hadn’t thought so in fact he’s mildly irritated by the news. Why hadn’t he been told? He looks at this ‘Buck’ person again with fresh eyes. Maybe he does look like a bit of a jerk after all. 

Jerk or not he’s still ridiculously good looking and Eddie can just imagine the stir someone who looks like Buck is going to cause in town. Nightmare, he can expect a stream of people asking him for the new guy at the paper’s number. Urgh... Just what he needs.

Bobby’s still talking, “so Buck is gonna be helping with some stuff, improvements I guess you could call it.”

Blue eyes sparkle and the man beams.  What kind of name is Buck anyway?   And really who needs to be that handsome, it’s just excessive. And wait did Eddie just hear Bobby say improvements? A sinking feeling hits him, oh no,  he didn’t actually do it did he? Bobby’s been threatening to do something about the computers since before Eddie arrived, surely he hasn’t finally done it has he?

The scowl on Eddie’s face deepens and he fails to notice the smile slipping from his new colleague’s face.

“Buck and his sister have just moved here, Maddie’s a nurse and Buck here is…” Bobby pauses and Eddie’s suspicions grow. Bobby can’t quite meet his eye. Yeah he has a bad feeling about this, there can only be one reason Bobby’s springing this on him now. Only one thing this guy is here to do. 

Still looking anywhere than at him, Bobby takes a breath and reveals Buck’s role  at the paper.

“Well Buck here, he’s well, he’s a bit of a computer whizz and kind of a social media consultant.” He says those three words quickly and moves on. “He’s going to upgrade our IT, get us online and run the “socials.” Bobby  glances  proudly at Buck for getting the word right. 

Eddie doesn’t register the responding shy and pleased smile from the younger man all he notices are the air quotes dropping in around ‘Socials’ 

The word is unfamiliar and unwelcome on Bobby's lips. Frankly he feels a little betrayed, why hasn’t he been told? He bets Karen knew  which means Hen knew and that means Chimney does as well. They’ve all probably been very  amused about how badly he’ll take it. He also thought Bobby felt the same way about the perils of the internet as he did. It’s not that he can’t use it. He has a smart phone, he can download apps just fine thank you and while it’s a running joke around here that Eddie doesn’t ‘do’ technology he’s not actually an idiot. If he wants to, he can use computers just fine, he’ll accept that the internet is vaguely useful and if he wanted to have ‘socials’ he would. He just doesn’t choose to because it stupid and pointless and you can’t really trust the internet,  no one's ever been able to convince him his phone isn’t listening to him.

Buck draws his attention back from Bobby when he speaks for the first time with what Eddie considers an unnecessarily smug quirk of his mouth,  “I’m here to drag you all into the 21st century.”

“I’m fine where I am, thank you.” His voice sounds cold even to himself.

Despite glaring at new guy he catches Bobby's wince out of the corner of his eye. He knows he sounds positively hostile but he’s annoyed. The newest member of the team obviously recognises that too because the smile vanishes.

Eddie doesn’t feel bad for being unwelcoming. Not even a little bit.

Bobby sighs wearily, “This is why I didn’t tell you. You know we need to modernize. It’ll be good for us. We can reach more people, be faster, it’ll make things easier for everyone.”

Bobby pauses obviously hoping for something back. He doesn’t get it so he just shrugs, “It’s going to happen Eddie .”

“You’re the boss Bobby.” There that was neutral, mostly.

Eddie stands, avoiding eye contact with both men. “I’m going out to get lunch.” 

He doesn’t offer to get anything for anyone, which he knows is rude but he doesn’t care much right now..

Eddie lets the door behind him slam on his way out.

Bobby sighs dramatically next to him as  Buck keeps his expression as blank as he can; that did not go well. That went very badly indeed.

“That was actually ok, I was worried he’d take it worse.” 

Buck turns slowly to stare at his new boss a little incredulously. Bobby thinks that went well? Shit how bad does this Eddie guy get?

When they’d walked in Buck had been taken aback by the man sitting behind the desk. His dark hair and soft brown eyes had looked inviting for a moment. He’d smiled softly and something had tripped and fluttered in his chest. He was a damn attractive man and then when he’d started scowling at him well Buck’s always liked a challenge but he’s not stupid. He knows instant dislike when he sees it.

It’s too bad he would have liked to have made a friend. At least he has Maddie to keep him company.

“He’s not particularly friendly is he?” 

Bobby chuckles dryly,  “He is, once you get to know him. He’s a really great guy.  I think you too could be good friends.” Another sigh as Bobby looks towards the door,  “It’s my fault, I did surprise him. I’ve been putting off telling him about you. it’s just  he really does hate computers.”

Buck arches an eyebrow at the door the hot angry man had just walked out of.

“I can tell.”

“Whoah man! Mind my door.”

Chimney looks up from behind the counter where he’s just finished pouring a coffee. 

“What’s got you all twisty.”

Eddie glowers at him, “Nothing, just come for my lunch. Is that a crime?”

“Delightful mood I see?”  Karen’s voice floats over from where she’s working on her laptop at one of Chimney’s tables.

He turns, as expected she’s staring  at him, unimpressed. She fixes him with a penetrating stare which he avoids. He’s very aware he’s in a bad mood and she should know why,  after all everyone else has been told. 

He can’t help the snap in his voice, “So why aren’t you in the office to greet our new colleague.”

Karen’s eyebrows lift eloquently. He knows she knows but will she admit it?  God he’s annoyed. He doesn’t really know why he’s so upset either. Except maybe there was a moment when he looked into blue eyes that he’d felt something only to have it washed away by Bobby’s words and his rush of irritation.

Karen sips her latte coolly, “I’m a free spirit Diaz, I go wherever I want and right now I want to be here because I like it here, I get to see my wife and she brings me coffee and I get to eat Chimney’s pastries. 

She pauses and looks at him with far too much insight.

“So he’s here then.”

Out of the corner of his eye he sees Chim retreat.  

He knew, she knew! Everyone but him, his irritation rises again, he can just imagine it don’t tell Eddie, he’ll freak out! He’ll make a fuss.

He ignores the tiny voice inside him saying 'and were they wrong? You’re not exactly winning employee of the month right now are you?' He ignores that and  lets the comforting haze of indignation wash over him. 

“So you did know! Charming.” Karen’s admission really does nothing to improve his mood.

Karen rolls her eyes at  him. “Oooh you really are in a snit aren’t you? Poor guy can’t have upset you already. He’s not even been here a day.”

“And…” she says with a waggle of her finger “you can’t blame Bobby for putting it off. Every time he’s so much as mentioned going online you pull a face.” She nods at him, “Yeah that one.”

 He quickly wipes the expression away,  “and you sulk for at least a day.”

“I do not.”

Another voice joins in, “You do.”

Chimney’s contribution is as unwelcome as this ‘Buck’ back at his office is.

However Chimney is as resistant to his glaring as Karen is. 

“Ok so maybe I do a bit,” he admits it reluctantly “But we don’t need to go online and we certainly don’t need that guy.”

“I’ve heard he is very good at his job annnnnd…” Karen adds nonchalantly, getting somewhere close to the hidden heart of his discomfort  “I’ve seen his picture, online , “ he throws her yet another narrow eyed glare for that jibe “and if I wasn’t a happily married lesbian I’d say he’s hot. He’s going to be a popular boy round here!” 

She laughs at the noise he makes.

“He’s not that good looking” he lies because he can, “and I don’t have to like him.”

Karen stands up folding her laptop as she does. She looks more serious, teasing gone. 

“No you don’t but you do have to work with him. And the poor guy’s not done anything wrong.”

He hangs onto his resentment justified or not, he’s no longer so sure, and answers with a single surly word and sits down.

“Yet.” 

“Eddie,” Karen sighs his name, “You’re being unreasonable and you know it.”

“Perhaps I like being unreasonable.” He leans back in his chair and folds his arms then unfolds them because it looks too defensive and he doesn’t want to prove her right.

Karen shakes her head, “Go play nice with the new kid or Bobby will put you in time out.”

Eddie ignores her. He’s not sure why but this Buck guy is already under his skin. 

Karen moves towards the door, “I’m going to go meet him, you’ll be back soon right?” 

He mutters “Sure” and accepts the warning look he gets from his friend. “I’ll be polite, promise.”

He can be polite to this new guy, he is  a professional  after all and it’ll be fine. He probably won’t have  too much to do with him anyway. 

Eddie waits for his order and wonders how annoying can one guy be?