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slade-neko · 3 years ago

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Saw this video game tag thing pop up on my dash a few days ago. Wanted to do it.

1. First game you played obsessively? Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, I believe I was 5yo. Still waiting on that FF7 Remake treatment.

2. A game that has influenced you creatively? Writing, drawing, etc. Well if I play a game and like it, then I'll create sims of it. Does that count?

3. Who did you play with as a kid? My brother from the day I was born.

4. Who do you play with now? My brother FROM THE DAY I WAS BORN.

5. Ever use cheat codes? I wasn't lying when I made this post. {link}

6. Ever buy strategy guides? Yes! Mainly to look at the artwork though. (Don't need no guide!)

7. Any games you have multiple copies of? Lots of games, most being Left 4 Dead with 6 copies (3 Xbox 360, 1 PC case, 2 PC digitally.) What can I say, its a GOOD GAME!

8. Rarest/Most expensive game in your collection? Gold cartridge Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time (maybe that's rare?)

9. Most regrettable purchase? I don't regret my purchases, but I have received games I have never played like Cubix (PS2) no clue where that game came from, but I have it somehow. Madagascar (Xbox 360) came with my Xbox 360, never opened it from its case. And Monsters Inc. Scream Arena (Gamecube) or something... it was a gift.

10. Ever go to a midnight game release or stand in line for hours? No, because then I'd have to interact with people.

11. Have you ever made new friends from playing video games? I'm only friends with people BECAUSE of video games, so yes.

12. Ever get picked on for liking games? No, that'd be ridiculous.

13. A game you’ve never played that everyone else has? Probably a lot, I'd say Call of Duty, but I technically played CoD 1, 2, and 4. The campaign mode was alright, but I don't really care for CoD games at ALL.

14. Favorite game music? Koji Kondo and Grant Kirkhope are two BIG ones.

15. If it was a requirement to get a game related tattoo, what would you pick? Triforce is the most basic option, but I'd rather not get a tattoo.

16. Favorite game to play with your friends IRL? Super Smash Bros. Brawl with hacks, but that was over a decade ago.

17. Ever lose a friend over a game? No, that'd be ridiculous.

18. Would you date someone that hates gaming? No, that'd be RIDICULOUS.

19. Favorite handheld console? PSP. 3DS is great, but PSP Monster Hunter has ALL of my portable gaming memories. Like playing in school after End of Grade tests with my friend.

20. Game that you know like the back of your hand? Sims 4 I like to think I know everything about Left 4 Dead. Quite a bit about Monster Hunter, more so of a series though than a specific game.

21. Game that you didn’t like or understand as a kid but love now? I'd say Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. I loved it as a kid, but had a lot of complex pen & paper RPG mechanics that I never understood. I understand a lot more of it now, but its still complex as all heck. I just know you hit things, they die.

22. Do you wear game related clothing/accessories? That's the only thing I wear.

23. The game that you’ve logged the most hours into? Not sure so I'll list a few. Sims 4, Smash Bros. Brawl, Monster Hunter (its a series though), or Left 4 Dead

24. First Pokemon game? Leaf Green

25. Were you ever an arcade game player? No, don't like paying to play.

26. Ever form any gaming rivalries? No.

27. Game that makes you rage? I don't get mad at games, but I had a custom modded Hard Eight mutation in Left 4 Dead that is absolute bullsh*t!

28. Ever play in a tournament? No, because then I'd have to interact with people.

29. What is your gaming set up? A giant wall of video game consoles spanning from NES to Switch, 4 TVs, but I sit at a desk with a PC.

30. How many consoles do you own? "I own every console that's ever existed." - I Don't Play Games When I Play Games (My STRENTH) original song by Smooth McGroove BUT no seriously I own 32 consoles including handhelds.

31. Does the 3DS and/or Virtual Boy hurt your eyes or give you headaches? Yes. 3DS gave me headaches though I only really played with the 3D feature in Ocarina of Time 3D. I think my eyes broke because I couldn't get my 3D to work very well after.

32. Did you ever play a game based on your favorite show/cartoon/movie/comic? Sure I play games based on a lot of things. Literally any anime game. If I had to pick Dragon Ball Xenoverse is kinda like a dream Dragon Ball game. Oh, Attack on Titan 2 is pretty neat too!

33. Did you ever have any bootleg games or plug-n-play games? Some SEGA plug-n-play thing once. Played it like once and now its lost to time (or my closet.)

34. Do either of your parents play video games? Yes. Mom and Dad played NES Super Mario Bros. My Dad went HARD at that game until he saved the Princess. Then he quit forever.

35. Ever work in a game store? Or do you have a favorite game shop? "Hi. Welcome to Gamestop!"I never want to hear that again, but it was my main store until I went full digital/ online orders.

36. Have you ever shed actual blood, sweat or tears over a game? No, I don't tend to get upset or emotional, but Bill dying in Left 4 Dead made me pretty pissed.

37. Have you played E.T. for the Atari 2600? Do you think that’s the worst game ever, or do you have another nomination? Never played it. I don't really play "bad" games, but maybe Sims 4.

38. A game you’re ashamed to admit that you like? The Sims 4

39. A sequel that you would die for them to make? Dragon's Dogma 2 WHICH I think is actually in development, so I'd have to say Fallout New Vegas 2. C'mon Bethesda you cowards, hand the keys back over to Obsidian so they can make another good Fallout game!

40. What to you think of virtual reality headsets or motion controls? Two part question, two answers. VR Headset to immerse in world, yes. Motion Controls, no.

41. A genre that you just can’t get into? MOBAs and MMOs. I don't like paying to keep playing.

42. Maybe it wasn’t your first game, but what was the game that started you on your path to nerdiness? Nintendo 64 opened me up to what video games could be as a kid. Sad to say my parents' NES didn't really do that for me. And years later Fallout 3 was a big game changer for me too.

43. Ever play games when you really should have been concentrating on something else? Every day of my LIFE.

44. Arcade machine that has consumed the most of your quarters? None. I'd rather emulate.

45. How are you at Mario Kart? Pretty dang good. 3-STARS MARIO KART WII, BABY!

46. Do you like relaxing games like Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon? Yes, both of those. I preferred when Animal Crossing had more character to it. New Horizons looks so pretty, but feels so bland compared to classic AC.

47. Do you like competitive games? No. Not really. Usually amongst friends or if I can get competitive against AI Bots. I love my machine bot friends cause they don't cry like 10 year olds when they lose.

48. How long does it take your to customize your player character? Too long. I've seriously restarted games because I wasn't happy with my character's appearance.

49. In games where you can pick your class, do you always tend to go for the same type of character? Yes, I am always the magic man, my brother is always brute warrior, and my friend is the ranger.

50. If you were a game designer, what masterpiece would you create? I don't really know. Honestly, I'd rather mod already good games to make them better than create something completely new.

51. Have you ever played a game for so long that you forgot to eat or sleep? No, that'd be ridiculous. But I've had a friend fall asleep playing games at my house 3 different times and currently dozes off during our Minecraft sessions. So, maybe that's not a completely ridiculous thing after all.

52. A game that you begged your parents for as a kid? Kirby 64 apparently. My brother tells me we had to count out pennies to buy it. I must've been too young with no recollection, but I believe it.

53. What’s your opinion on DLC these days? It's good if its not in the game's files from the beginning and is actually developed AFTER launch... and pre-order bonuses should be standard DLC a month or two later. Some games have content lost to time because of that pre-order bullsh*t.

54. Do you give in to Steam sales? Of course. If you want a game and its on sale then why not? I typically wait just for Steam sales to get games.

55. Did you ever make someone you hated in the Sims and did mean stuff to them? No? I typically make people and characters I like in Sims. I've made villains like Dio, but he's an anime villain and I don't really HATE him despite the horrible things he's done.

56. Did you ever play Roller Coaster Tycoon and kill off your guests? No. Never played that game.

57. Did you ever play a game to 100% or get all of the achievements? I try to for all the games I really like.

58. If you can only play 3 games for the rest of your life, which ones do you pick? The Sims 4, Skyrim, & Fallout: New Vegas. Mods make them live forever. Left 4 Dead and Monster Hunter are good choices too.

59. Do you play any cell phone games? Those aren't games.

60. Do you know the Konami Code? No? But I'll take a guess. Is it make an IP and forget it exists?

61. Do you trade in your games or keep them forever? Keep forever... even the bad ones.

62. Ever buy a console specifically to play one game? PS4 Pro for Monster Hunter World. It was basically for early access since the PC version was being developed and releasing after PS4, but I don't like waiting.

63. Ever go to a gaming convention or tournament? Sort of. Been to anime cons and walked into the gaming tournament rooms only to walk out less than 10 minutes later.

64. Ever make a TV or monitor purchase based on what would be best for gaming? No, but I'm going to be doing that soon, hopefully.

65. Ever have a Game Genie, Game Shark or Action Replay? Did it ever mess up your game’s save file? GameShark for N64, PS2, Gameboy, and Action Replay for Gamecube, DS, 3DS. And no not really, I would cheat responsibly... but there was this one time at school my friend and I borrowed another friend's Gameboy game, loaded it up with my Gameshark, tried playing, it crashed, loaded it back up, save file corrupted... we just stared at each other jaws dropped, "Here's your game back, dude. Make sure you don't play it til you get back home!"

66. Did you ever have have an old Nokia with Snake on it? No, but I remember seeing them on billboards in the game DRIV3R on PS2.

67. Do you have a happy gaming-related childhood memory you want to share? Every game I play is filled with happy memories (mostly.)

68. Ever save up a ton of tickets in an arcade to get something cool? These tiger plushes. My brother got white and I got orange. They were the coolest. Got a butt load of tickets from some jackpot spinning light game thing as I was good at the timing with repeated jackpot hits.

69. In your opinion, best game ever made? I've played quite a few masterpiece games, but to pick one, I'd say Fallout: New Vegas

70. Very first game you ever beat? Super Mario 64. I was a mere child on a Sunday morning and ate celebratory pancakes made by my Dad.

Wow, that was long... I get the feeling this was supposed to be a "send me ask with numbers" thing, but answering all at once is more fun.

#personal #video games

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oh-for-fic-sake · 5 years ago

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A Man And His Cat

You both explore pet play.

Masterlist

Warnings: Adult situations +18 , Pet play, Spanking, Oral, Its kinky

A/n: Sooo who wants smut? my quarantine imagine went down well so here is another dirty fic. This will probably be a mini series feel free to send me your kinks and I will try and incorporate them. I am still working on my other stories slowly but on a little writers block and I may or may not have re-watched superman vs batman so look out as there might be some more dc on the horizon because omg I nearly forggot how yummy they were. Anyway here is another smut piece for you all hope you enjoy xx

Taglist @two-unbeatable-beaters @thatgirly81

A Man And His Cat

You lounged across the sofa in your hello kitty onesie playing your xbox, you'd gotten Jurassic world evolution and was currently snickering letting your t-rex run around eating people. Henry was upstairs you could hear him moving around in the study. The door bell went off you quickly got up wrestling kal out of the way to answer it hearing the post man call out he had left it on the bin you thanked him bringing the large box inside with a few letters piled on top. Not thinking anything of it you brought the post in kicking the door shut behind you.

"Babe what the fuck?" You froze not sure at first what you'd done wrong

"Shit hands! hands! sanitize them quick! we cant take chances! Your not supposed to answer the door I've told you that! Were in London! For Christ sake" He said rushing to you snatching the post handing you the sanitizer that sat on the table by the door. You shook your head quickly rubbing the sanitizer over your hands letting it soak in as Henry shook his head at you watching closely.

"Sorry, sorry I forgot" he sighed since receiving your official 'shielding' letter from the government Henry had been a little mother hen....papa bear? Either way he was on edge hounding you about keeping your hands clean not touching anything that could possibly be infected or letting anyone other than himself with in 6ft of you. He even made you take your temperature each day with good reason tho your heart clenched things were getting bad the infection and death rates climbing each day ,there was rumors that the UK was on the course to being just like Italy and Spain. In a way his worrying was your fault when the letter came through Henry had freaked out a bit, it hit him hard when he realized it wasn't just speculation it was a fact that if you caught this thing it would most likely kill you and he was shook to the core. It didn't help when you'd only told him a few days prior not to worry about your condition that it was under control ,which technically it was every two months you was having blood tests every so often your blood count would dip a little but you normally managed it with your diet just eating more meat usually does it, the protein helping your count go up a little. You didn't bore him with the details he didn't need to know to much, you knew what to do and when to do it, it was normal for you. You feel yourself getting rough you get a blood test and up your steroids, you feel better you lower them back down the main goal being avoiding blood transfusions. But Henry had insisted he needed to know everything now he said it'd make him feel better so you told him, sat him down and explained that somehow your body can survive on a borderline blood count it should be 120 to 150 yours hovers around 100 to 110... If your lucky, not low enough for a transfusion but low enough to cause a few problems if it drops any more the lowest it got in recent years was 57.... yeah that wasn't fun, you'd spent two whole days seven till seven getting transfusions then had to go back to have the iron in your blood taken out....It was not pretty, but since then you'd been more careful. You explained the fact that your immune system was practically non-existent you caught chicken pox a year before and it nearly killed you two days after the spots appeared causing all sorts of issues pneumonia, bacterial infections in the heart and lungs then sepsis resulting in a few weeks in hospital in the infectious diseases unit so yeah safe to say catching this thing would be bad. Henry bless him was gobsmacked he knew you was anemic ,that was it, he had enough on his plate you didn't want to add to it.You leaned back on the side unit by the door trying to pet kal who sniffed at your hand then snorted walking off, he didn't like the sanitizer one bit.

"Henry I'm sorry I just-it keeps slipping my mind" he nodded wrapping you up in a bear hug resting his chin on your head.

"I know baby I'm sorry for snapping... I just don't want to loose you, stay indoors and stay safe those aren't just the government's rules ,their my rules as well baby girl remember?" You nodded kissing his chest before replying.

"Yes daddy" then turned and walked to the living room again noticing kal playing in his small cubby hole that had been a cupboard until recently, it had been turned into his own little bed room, complete with bed, night light and shelves that had some family photos of the three of you, you blew him a kiss and he huffed plonking his head down on his fluffy bed stretching out ready for his morning nap, you settled back down to play your game. Henry used the sanitizer then ran a hand through his hair sighing he picked up the post bringing it in placing the large box on the counter. He smirked realizing what it was. His order from bondara ignoring the letters he quickly got a knife slicing open the box. Henry routed around in the box like a kid on Christmas excited he headed up stairs to collect his other investments. You was pulled out of your game by Henry combing your hair back with his fingers pulling it up and back into a high ponytail, something you had no idea he could do, you paused the game turning to him but he held you still facing the TV then you felt them. He had clipped your little fluffy grey kitty ears in your hair pulling the pony tail tighter to secure the bottom of the crocodile clips. You brought a hand up to them confused a little touching them softly. He walked to the side smiling cooing at you

"There she is my precious little kitty! Just look at how cute you are?" You flushed at him as he bent down petting between your 'ears' then he growled in your ear.

"I could just eat you all up" you mewled rocking on the sofa a little anticipating the way this would turn out he gasped a little.

"But whats this? you still need your collar how will anyone know you have a loving owner if you don't have a cute little collar on?" he strode across the room plucking something from the box and retrieved a few more items from the counter that you hadn't known was there ,now tho you could clearly see a folded black towel you moaned at the implication he must have brought it down from upstairs turning he made his was back to you this time standing in front of you.

"As much as I did like your own kitten collar I got you a new one, not from bondara I didn't like theirs much but thankfully etsy is still up and running, here it is see?" You gasped as he revealed a pink leather choker with a pretty lace and ruffle design making it look more like a fancy Lolita choker then a kitty collar apart from the large rose gold D ring hanging from the middle just below a dark pink bow and medium-sized rose gold bell You quickly made to grab for it but he pulled it out of reach .

"No let me do it" you quickly held your head high stretching your neck for him to put it on he chuckled at how eager you was, you smiled wide as he quickly placed it around your neck you sighed when you felt the inside was a little padded with a soft almost suede like material. He spun it around so the bell and D ring was central then hooked two fingers inside checking how tight it was satisfied that it wouldn't choke you he pulled away and watched you closely then he sighed

"No ... its still not right is it kitten?" You tilted your head feeling a little ashamed?upset? he didn't like it? Did he think you were ugly? You blinked frowning at him bottom lip wobbling a little as you were on the brink of tears pulling back from him.

"What-" he shushed you placing a finger to your lips

"Kittens don't talk, now there is something missing pet, Ah! I know now this might be it" he said and picked up a small shiny matching rose gold heart tag, he held it to you to read it. On one side it said kitten the other had 'Property Of Henry If Lost Call' and his phone number on it you gasped a little opening your mouth the thank him but he snapped his fingers at you.No talking. You pouted mewling up at him again not sure how to communicate how much you loved it. Then you clicked leaning forward licking his hand biting lightly before tilting your head nuzzling his crotch. You smirked as his breath hitched in his throat and he grunted swearing quietly unable to stop himself from grinding on your head a little then stopped as you pulled back he grunted again rearranging himself in his bottoms. He made quick work of threading the tag onto the D ring he kissed your head

"Good girl and look baby it was a set" he leaned over you picking up a thick soft paracord lead in pink with leather handle decorated to match your new collar clipping it onto the D ring then looped it around his hand tugging lightly prompting you off of the sofa once you stood he quickly undid the buttons on the onesie letting it fall leaving you naked in the room. You shivered nipples puckering as the soft lead grazed your breasts and tummy as he moved, stepping out of the onesie Henry kicked it across the room.

"There we are kitten, nearly finished now down" he said barley containing his excitment you got down on your hands and knees before him holding his gaze rubbing your thighs together rocking side to side trying to caress your tingling clit between your lips as you felt small trickle of your arousal escape onto the floor mewling at the tiny flickers of pleasure it caused. Henry lead you across the living room to the island in the kitchen crawling was a little tricky at first but you soon found a smooth rhythm staying beside him smiling as the bell tinkled at every movement you made, he smiled down at you from this angle you could already see the bulge forming in his trousers, you went to sit down when he stopped only to have him fold the lead in one hand an strike you with it lightly across your breasts making you yelp out then moan looking down seeing a red stripe across them.

"No sitting until your told now ass up, good kitten just like that" you complied preening at his praise. He bent down holding out a fluffy grey kittytail plug you squealed a little bending further down pushing your tender breasts to the cold floor looking back at him expectantly waving your ass in the air at him. He laughed and crouched beside you running a hand across your dripping pussy he leaned over kissing your head growling as his fingers massaged your wet center you moaned pushing back on him, he dragged his fingers to your opening plunging two thick fingers inside crooking them trying to scoop out more of your cum holding the plug just below you arched pushing back skimming your breasts across the cool floor trembling as he fucked you slowly bringing the plug to your clit and pressing it in small circles making you buck against him moaning and keening in higher pitches.

"Oh looks like I may have wasted money on lube hey baby? all wet and ready for me already such a precious thing." he ran the plug along your ass smearing your arousal across you all the way down to your slit you moaned as he spread his fingers out pulling your lips with them revealing your quivering hole to the cold air of the room making you gasp and clench as the freezing metal plug passed over it resting heavy on your clit, bucking a little you whined pushing back a little as the cold metal met your heated wet flesh, he held it still letting you warm the toy before running it back and forth slowly twisting it letting your arousal coat it wanting to make sure it was wet enough for him to push it in once satisfied he lifted it moving one hand to your bottom then began pressing it insistently at your tight little pucker. You whined placing the side of your face on the cool tile looking at him, he stroked your head shushing you when he realized just how much bigger this was from the last one

"Ok kitten now try to hold still one big deep breath just like before...Good girl now out push on your bottom" you nodded whining bearing down on the toy as he held your shoulder using it to pull you back as he started pressing the tail further into you. You arched taking deep breaths when the plug seemed to get wider and wider you shook your head trying to arch away as it stung despite your arousal easing the way, you panicked a little as it seemed to keep stretching becoming sore as your tight ring tried fighting it .

"N-no its to muc-AAHH!" you cried out , he shushed you

"Come on kitten... Nearly there....Just a tiny bit more I promise......Push out again for me good girl! shh that’s it...Such a good girl for me......Ah ah no! stop moving bab-baby no no don't do-HEY! enough!-you’ll hurt yourself!" He scolded you as you tried to push against his hand on your shoulder to wriggle away then when that didn't work you unconsciously tried tucking your bottom beneath you whimpering. He stopped you with a quick volley of sharp spanks you yelped as his hot hand heated your ass, then there was a familiar popping sensation as your bottom swallowed the plug closing snug around it. He had used the distraction to quickly push the last of the plug in with a quick little shunt. You pushed up on your hands breathing heavy as the plug was indeed larger then the one you had used before, you ached as your ass tried fighting it wanting to push it out you let out pitiful breathy moans as you rippled around it.

"Daddy? Its big-im not sure-FUUCK OOHH" you cut yourself off moaning loud when he grabbed the tail and gave a small tug smirking as you cried out then followed it trying to ease the pressure he thrusted it a few times hitting something deep that made you arch high and squeal pressing back on to it as your pussy ceased and your clit throbbed so hard it almost felt raw he let go then twisted on his feet petting your head drawing patterns on your back.

"Oh baby I know its hard but your a kitten and kittens don't talk , if you carry on daddy will gag you understand?" you nodded at him pressing your head into his chest and kissed it softly wanting a little comfort, hissing deep breaths as you clenched around the tail plug whining, he brought the hand from your back and rubbed around the plug pressing it lightly.

"Its a little bigger but look at you? such a good girl look at that pretty little tail now just one more thing and you'll be daddies perfect kitty" he stood back up getting the remaining items a set of mittens that had no thumb piece instead just one Little pouch to fit your hand in with little paw prints on them they would be held on by two thin leather wrist cuffs. you wriggled around now growing accustomed to the bulbous plug pressing on your insides moaning as the ache became more a pleasurable throb you rocked a little in the air mouth open gasping as you rocked faster feeling the plug press against the back wall of you pussy, Henry quickly snatched up your hands one after the other locking them into the paw mittens. He stood back groaning loud as he watched cupping his erection rubbing along the bulge moaning rocking his hips into his palm as you kept arching your back. The sight was more erotic then he could have dreamed, he almost drooled as you rotated and wriggled your hips pushing back and forth trying to make your plug hit the spot he had pressed it to earlier moaning with closed eyes flushing a bright red, flinching as the tail ghosted your legs as it swayed behind you, turning you looked at the soft tail hanging between your legs giggling as the soft fur licked at your thighs. He snapped out of it and tugged you moving slower this time you stopped every so often moaning and whimpering as each step make your pussy twitch as the plug pressed against the back wall of it teasing your sensitive flesh from the wrong side by the time you got to the sofa both thighs were wet and you was shaking with need he sighed sitting down on it legs spread holding the lead tight keeping your head close to his crotch

"Come on baby time for your little treat" he said motioning for you to pull him free you brought your hands up fumbling with the zipper only really achieving to rub him through them ,making him grind against your hands throwing his head back you groaned in frustration whimpering at him resting your head in the inside of his thigh running your nose across the bulge sighing he looked down then petted you between your ears again.

"Oh kitten you can do better then that come on get daddy out." you pouted at him and nipped his thigh with your front teeth making him hiss and tug harshly on the lead growling at you before wrapping the cord around his fist once more pressing your nose into his crotch

"Bite me again kitten and see what happens, you think I wont fuck your throat raw? Ram into your mouth until my cock is choking you? Face fuck you until your pass out? I wouldn't test me kitten not now Ive waited to long to have you like this." His low ground out threats made you moan you couldn't wait until he fucked your mouth, already craving his salty taste, you kissed his cock through his trousers licking at it, it made you realize what you should do you trembled tucking your knees underneath you to keep your weight off of the plug you licked a long strip up the front of his trousers wetting them making him grunt again, one hand rested on your head petting you, you smirked watching through your lashes as he started flushing and panting, he loved it when you did this it was the only time he let you tease mostly because he was enjoying himself to much to fight for control, for all his talk of wanting control you think he secretly liked being at your mercy every once in a while, you poked out your tongue grazing his zipper then bit down making sure to press on him harshly making him yelp and hiss though clenched teeth when you dragged it down, he fumbled quickly undoing his top button and shimmied them down his hips giving you enough room to bite his boxers and pull them down....only you didn't you wrapped your lips over them sucking on him hard through them making sure to soak his boxers with spit making him groan giving a thrust up to your face fisting his fingers in you hair a little careful not to pull off the ears.

"FUCK kitten!! Oh GOD! fuck pleaseplease do that again!! come on once more such a good girl" you did taking your sweet time kissing and suckling on him nudging him with your nose pushing him up and latched onto the sensitive underside of his cock running your teeth over his hot flesh rocking your hips left and right letting your pussy massage itself poking out your tongue you flattened it running it up the vein near his head pinning it to his hip then opened your mouth around it humming, he jerked up ass leaving the seat moaning out loud swearing at you for being a tease, you continued up finding his swollen crown you licked at it then his slit sucking again on him. He groaned loud and drawn out flexing his fingers and widened his legs you carried on enjoying having the man at your mercy for once kissing and sucking at his twitching length he began rocking faster panting.

"OH! yesyesYES Baby...WAIT HOLD ON!... Fuck slow down!Dont nono that's it kitten thats enough daddies going to cum! NO! ENOUGH!" you giggled as he used the lead to jerk you away panting and sweaty you thought it was funny you'd never heard him that desperate before, he normally had godlike restraint holding himself back for hours if he really wanted to, he gasped then ran a hand across his face and melted into to sofa fighting of the impending orgasm. You sat there biding your time once he relaxed you swooped back in ready to force him to cum in his boxers, but only managed one kitten lick before being jerked away again he growled at you in warning giving you a stern look then tugged of his top still panting.

"you cheeky little thing!" you grinned raising yourself to your knees running your hands up his thighs as you leaned in kissing along the v of muscles above his boxers licking at his skin then nuzzled him lightly ghosting his stomach with your nose placing butterfly kisses here and there feeling him flex trying to arch his cock up to you, you slowly made your way down again opening your mouth tilting your head to engulf the muscle just on his boxers waistband flattening your tongue relishing in the pleasure filled noises he let loose and in the same moment curled your fingers over it the elastic pulling it away letting him spring free hitting your chin. He grunted as you let go letting the elastic snap back onto his balls only letting his cock free he looked down at you giving you a heated look

"Careful baby you don't want to play these games with me" you blinked innocently at him smiling then began kissing lower until you was at the base of his cock ignoring the small patch of hair at his root kissing him obscenely with open mouthed wet kisses then licked him from base to tip before plunging down on him he groaned closing his eyes tight

"FUCK KITTEN! Oohh god that's so hot, shit your mouth is SO FUCKING HOT UGH!" You sucked him deep swallowing around him letting one hand wander to his balls cupping them and rolling them in your palm your other hand dropped between your legs and you ground yourself on your hand moaning onto his cock as you worked your clit in slow firm strokes making your new gloves sticky and wet from your arousal. He cried out desperately bucking into your mouth and throat moaning and crying out cutting off his own words as you kept changing your pace hearing your little bell jingle with your movements on him bobbing your head slow with harsh sucks to his head then fast making sure to swallow or moan as he hit your throat focused solely on making him cum. Today he would cum first you were going to make sure. You whined as you changed direction on your clit feeling the heat in your belly slowly make its way down settling in your hard clit rubbing and tapping at it moaning louder as your orgasm began to build. He shivered his thighs jerking and trembling as you pointed your tongue pressing on the sensitive vein underneath it he shook his head clutching at the sofa grunting breathlessly each time he felt the vibrations of your throat moaning on him.

"BABY BABY STOP! I cant fuck please its to much- no nononono not yet I FuckFU-Fuuuck ah AH AH OH SHIT FUUUUUUCK" you ignored him, he was so lost that he had forgotten the lead, you used it to your advantage pulling back and sucking hard on his head licking at his slit then gripped his sack squeezing it tight as it tensed upwards then with one small drag of your teeth he whimpered loud and high releasing in your mouth jerking himself uncontrollably into your mouth face fucking you just like he threatened. You gave yourself a mental pat on the back but decided to go further swallowing as much of his cum you could but continued to suck and bob on him then cried out as your rocking hips found that perfect position on your clit making it throb and twitch your walls clenching, spasming making the plug move and caress your depths finally you screeched around his cock and came over your hand soaking the glove he yelped curling his feet into the floor shifting back trying to get away you followed placing your hands on his thighs pushing them back as he tried closing his legs trembling from your own release moaning and withering against him.

"UGH NOO FUCK STOPSTOPSTOOOP! ITS TO MUCH BA-KITTEN STOP IT NO PLEASE" he through his hands down blindly pushing you but you fought him wanting to torture him a bit, a little pay back for the other day you reasoned, but you couldn't fight him long even in his fucked out quivering state he was ten times stronger than you, you dragged your teeth across him one last time as he pushed you back off of him completely.

"Your a little bitch, you know that?" He said head tilted back and one arm draped across his eyes heaving deep breaths you just giggled kissing his thighs

"Where the fuck did that come from Anyway?" You just smirked licking your lip trying to collect the cum that had escaped from your mouth he groaned watching your pink tongue darting out.

“Meow?” You were a dangerous little kitten he decided. He looked down feeling your wet mitten then frowned a little before smiling deviously.

"Oh kitten? You didn't touch yourself did you?" You froze a little then sent him coy glance pulling your hands down slowly hoping he wouldn't notice. He caught your offending hand quickly

"Did you?" You shrugged feigning innocence as he pulled your hand up sniffing it you blushed

"It certainly smells like you" you whined at him flushing embarrassed making him chuckle, he licked a long strip of of the mitten slapping his lips as he puled away tutting.

"Oh i think you did didn't you? Because daddy knows exactly how you taste and that my sweet little kitten is definitely you on this little mitten, such a needy little kitty hm? Did suckling on daddy really make you that desperate? Poor little baby" you panted as he bent forward his pupils dominated the blue of his eyes hot and playful all in one he peered down at the wooden floor sighing.

"Such a messy little pussy you have" he pushed you back a little you ducked when his leg swung over you and he got up walking to the counter again you watched carefully as he approached the box you took the time to admire his taught ass as he bent forward a little reaching inside picking something out then folded the towel over his arm then hear the distinct sound of leather cracking on an open palm. You snapped out of your ass worshiping gaze eyes flicking to his hands as he spun around looking at him as he held a new leather paddle with a paw print on it he smiled slyly crooking a finger at you. Come here. You gulped then rose from your spot on the floor crawling toward him gulping.

"You know kitten you was very reckless at the door earlier it was very naughty trying to torture daddy and playing with yourself without permission? I think you should be.....Corrected shall we say, for future reference just as a deterrent?. After all prevention is better then cure isn't it?" he licked his lips watching you squirm on the spot just across the kitchen island he tested the small paddle again. Your whole body ceased up as he stared at you.

"Erm N-no lets not how about best two out of three? You know three strikes and your out?" He chuckled shaking his head.

"Oh baby but that was three strikes and how many times do i have to tell you? kittens don't talk do they?" You pouted trying to sit your bottom down only to jerk it back up as your tail plug pressed deeper and the soft fur tickled your leg... not only that you didn't want to get it wet with your arousal

"Come kitten what do you say?" You blushed

"Meow" his face lit up yet his eyes only got darker

"That’s it such a clever kitty, but I must say you will be getting more then three strikes of your new paddle trust me now come round here like a good girl" you crawled around to his side squeaking as he lifted you effortlessly bending you over the counter you hissed as your breasts squished into the freezing cold marble your toes didn't touch the floor as he shuffled you up with the edge of the island on your thighs. He stood off to the side a little admiring the way your grey tail hung between your legs, the pitiful noises were delicious he grunted feeling himself twitch already starting to harden again he patted you bottom drawing lines along the soft skin moving to your slit following up towards the plug lifting the tail holding it taught in a fist but not pulling it out just tugging enough to make it press down into your pussy from behind. You moaned squirming trying to follow it as he held it high toes scrabbling up the cupboard door failing.

"Oh baby that's so cute, you know I can see your pussy trying to find something to latch on to, does it feel hot? Is it empty? Sweet kitten you see if you had been a good girl following your rules, if you had stopped when daddy said and asked to touch yourself daddy would already be balls deep, battering away at your needy little pussy painting your insides with his cum... but no instead you hand to be a naughty girl and will have to settle for your paddle." You cried out as he circled your twitching clit as he spoke emphasizing words with shallow thrusts on his fingers he pulled away picking up the paddle striking your lower cheeks and pussy making you jump and moan hearing a wet slap as the sting settled in he pulled away running a hand over the pink spot

"Oohh look at that hah you have a little paw print on your tush now,I think fifteen will do don't you sweety? Five for each naughty thing you did? You know normally I would have you count and say thank you, but well seeing as your a kitten today you should meow instead" You groaned as he lifted it again slapping a bit harder this time you yelped as he aimed for the under curve of your left cheek then meowed dutifully.

"Very good again" he struck you again lower on your thigh no harder then before this time you meowed again moaning as your pussy clenched dripping on your touching thighs. You closed your eyes tight as he continued peppering your ass with the paddle the final five landed in quick succession on your weeping pussy you meowed loud and hard sobbing each pussy spank had directly struck the underside of your clit. Throwing the paddle on the counter he cupped your red swollen lips his hand cooling the burn. He smiled then tilted his hips up bringing his fully erect cock to your entrance. Throwing the towel down on the floor. You sobbed higher as he drew lines on your slit teasing your muscles you jerked against him just on the edge of cumming kicking out your legs.

"You know I have been doing some reading about squirting, I think I've sussed out how to make it happen on command shall we test it out?" You shook your head grunting as he thrust forward you cried out feeling him force your walls apart making room for his fat throbbing cock it stung more then ever with your weight on your tummy and plug in your ass but you loved it.

"Ugh! NOOO!AH AH FUCK!" You mewled grunting at each punishing thrust stretching you he was fighting the plug in your ass for room holding firm he grinded your clit you screeched as he angled his hips and tugged up on the tail making the embedded metal run along his cock growling. Before you knew what happened your body ceased walls tightened clamping around his cock moaning and gasping releasing, flooding over him he laughed groaning as your steady stream of cum hit his abdomen and washed over him.

"Oh fuck! yes I knew you could do it good girl, fuck that's so HOT! again more come on baby you can do it! Give it to daddy once more then I'll fill you" he grunted doubling his efforts stroking his cock around inside of you giving sharp tugs to your tail jolting you back against him to meet his brutal hips making you whimper at the harsh treatment one of his hand snuck below you pinching your clit almost jerking it off.

"FUCK I’m nearly there KITTEN! OH SHIT! Fuckfuckfuck you better fucking cum for me! Or I'll get the wand out again!" That did it You threw your head back placing your toes on the cupboard door rocking against him cumming again long and hard, so hard you couldn't make a sound all the air left you and you just hung there your mouth hanging open in a silent scream he grunted gabbing your shoulders pulling you back to him making your spine curve painfully as you fell apart around him again your sopping pussy sucking on him trying to trap him with on final painful thrust he growled rubbing his cock head on your cervix releasing torrents of cum into you. He lowered your shoulders down feeling you go limp taking a moment to catch his breath then he pulled the box towards him panting heavy fishing out another plug

"NOnonono please Henry no moreIi cant-I came again I promise I did please don't get the wand out!" You panicked pleading with him as his hand disappeared into the box pushing back on him, he smiled waving a dildo plug on your face

"Not a wand see this is for your pussy love, to keep my cum inside you for the rest of the day.....after all you was a bad kitten" you mewled relaxing happy he wasn't going to torture you again to tired to argue you laid still as he pulled himself from you quickly plugging you up before anything could escape. You moaned and wriggled he slid you off of the counter to you feet quickly supporting you as you nearly dropped to the floor smirking a smug little smile you reached behind you to pull the tail from you he smacked your hand away

"Ohh no I think I will have you stay like this all day, at least then I know you wont answer the door" you gaped then pouted at him crossing your arms at him

"A-all day? What if I get cold" he chuckled walking across to the sofa throwing you his tshirt you quickly tried slipping it on but dropped it due to your mittens you sulked stamping a foot he pulled on his boxers then returned picking up the tshirt sliding it on you then quickly undid the mittens you flexed your fingers when they were free , he collected the damp towel on the floor wiping down your thighs and between your legs you took the other end patting his pelvis down blushing realizing just how much mess you'd made you looked down still wiping him tears sprung to your eyes sniffling

"Oh god this is so embarrassing" could hear the quiver in your voice, ready to cry out of shame he growled not having non of that he shook his head hooking his fingers into your collar pulling you up on your tiptoes forcing you to look him in the eye.

"Not its fucking hot! I cant believe how sexy that was feeling you cum so thoroughly, drenching me uncontrollably, fuck it was the most amazing feeling! And I cant wait to make you soak me again and again, one day I’m going to drink it from you." You blushed shocked by his words as he leaned in kissing you passionately sucking on your tongue he pulled away tossing the towel into the washing machine then pulled the leather cuffs from the loops in the mittens throwing then in as well quickly turning it on to rinse and dry. Then quickly he scooped you up settling back on the couch, you squirmed pulling the tail from under you he held it up your back lightly then handed you the controller.

"Now show me your Jurassic park d-did you let the t rex out?" You smiled giggling at him nodding then snugged back into him as you started making a new paddock in the game. These next few months were going to be the best of your life if today was anything to go by.

#henry cavill x reader #henry cavill imagine #henry cavill fic #henry cavill smut #henry cavill #quarantine writing

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crocodilenialledfics · 4 years ago

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You’re all I need (the air I breathe)

One - in which Niall and Stella make a great team

join the taglist

The love-at-first-sight, falling-too-fast, uni au that will make your heart ache (in a good way)

catch up here

Stella followed Veda up the steps of Zayn’s flat, a bag of takeaway in her arms. Was Stella nervous for game night? Maybe. There was a rumor that Niall would come along.

When Veda opened the door, Stella’s breath caught in her throat. Veda gave her a look as they walked in as if to tell her to chill. Stella laughed, shaking her head.

“Stella Bella,” Louis declared, taking the bag from her. “And Veda.”

“Fuck off,” Veda muttered, handing him the bag she had. “We’ve been friends just as long and you still love Stella more than me.”

“Stella is actually nice,” Louis shot back. “And I was hoping she’d be on my team tonight because we’re playing Trivia Pursuit.”

“Right,” Stella laughed, shaking her head as she took her shoes off. “That makes more sense.”

“I was hoping Stella would be on my team,” Zayn announced, emerging from the living room. “I bought that wine you like.”

“Wow,” Stella grinned, eyebrows raising. “Keep the offers coming.”

“I’ll do you laundry for a month!” Veda exclaimed.

“Tempting,” Stella agreed. “I think you can do better than that.”

“Are we picking teams already?” A voice asked from behind her. Stella turned around, surprised that she hadn’t even heard the door open.

“We are,” Louis nodded. “Trying to make Stella decide who she wants. She’s an absolute genius.”

“Z offered her wine, I offered her laundry for a month,” Veda explained. “You have anything to offer?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Niall shook his head, eyes meeting Stella’s. “I am a history major, though.”

“Shit!” Louis exclaimed. “I forgot about that. Stella don’t do it. Please. Niall’s also a genius. Niall pick me, yeah?”

“I want Niall,” Stella decided, her lips spreading into a smile.

“That’s completely unfair,” Veda argued in a petulant way that made Stella shake her head.

It’s possible that it was unfair but as they all settled in various spots around the coffee table, Stella didn’t have it in her to care. Niall was beside her, dangerously close for someone that had a lover in London.

It wasn’t a surprise when Niall and Stella cleaned up. Question after question, until the rest of the lot called it quits on account of being unfair.

The Xbox was pulled out and then Stella had drifted away, sipping wine coolers on the balcony with Veda. It was a wonder they never got sick of each other.

“I texted Heather,” Veda told her, eyes on her phone. “She’s gonna bring Liam and Danielle over. Liven the place up.”

“Great,” Stella muttered.

“Again with this heather stuff?” Veda asked with a laugh.

“She doesn’t like me,” Stella laughed. “And it’s so obvious. Pretty sure she’s in love with you too.”

“It comes from a place of jealously,” Veda explained, sitting up. “Heather’s told me how jealous of you she is.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know,” Veda shrugged, looking over to Stella. “You’re funny, beautiful and incredibly smart and kind. It makes sense if you really think about it.”

“So is Heather,” Stella argued. “And like I’m not jealous of her. I’ve tried to be friendly but she just gives me the cold shoulder. Ignores me.”

“I know,” Veda chuckled, nodding. “I can’t offer any advice. She just needs to get over herself.”

“Did you find out if Niall has a girlfriend?” Stella asked, effectively changing the subject.

Veda sighed, shaking her head, “I have no idea. His Instagram is practically ancient. Hasn’t posted anything in over a year. Louis didn’t know.”

“Fine,” Stella sighed. “I’ll just ask him.”

“The only logical way to solve this problem,” Veda agreed. She finished the last of her drink. “Want another?”

“Sure,” Stella nodded, watching her stand up. “Thanks.”

“Anything for you, Stella Bella,” Veda grinned, ruffling her hair.

Stella laughed, pushing her prodding fingers away. Veda went back in, sliding door slamming behind her. Stella couldn’t bring herself to move from her spot. The sun was setting but it was so warm for the beginning of September. Fall was coming soon, she could tell.

The door opened again a few minutes later and Stella was surprised to see Niall handing her a drink. He had his own beer in his hand when he sat down in the patio chair beside her.

“Thanks,” Stella smiled, looking over at him.

“We make a great team, you know,” Niall told her, holding her gaze.

“I agree,” Stella nodded, pulling her eyes from him and back to the setting sun. She wouldn’t think too much into that.

“Veda’s smoking,” he told her after a second.

“Figures,” Stella chuckled. She looked at Niall for a moment and asked, “can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” he nodded, meeting her eyes.

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

Niall chuckled, scratching the back of his neck as he looked away, “that’s quite literally the million dollar question.”

“Sorry,” Stella murmured, watching the smile fade from his face. “I was just curious. You don’t have to tell me.”

After a long moment, he answered, “yes and no. It’s a bit complicated, t’be honest.”

“Gotcha,” Stella nodded, feeling a twinge in her stomach at that.

“We’re like on a break, I guess,” Niall shrugged. “Dunno. It was my idea. Just...” he trailed off looking over to Stella. “I haven’t really talked to anyone about it.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Stella asked, eyebrows furrowing.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged again, looking away. “Maybe.”

“My longest relationship was on again off again for a year so I don’t know if I’d be of much help in regards to advice,” Stella told him with a chuckle. “But I’m all ears if you want to.”

“We’ve been together for three years,” he told her and that surprised Stella. Her eyes widened almost comically. Niall chuckled, “I know. A long time.”

“I can’t even imagine...” Stella trailed off, not willing to finish her thought. “Wow.”

“That’s exactly it,” Niall nodded. “I’m a completely different person than who I was when we started dating. And we’ve been though a lot but it feels like I’m at a different spot. Like-like I’ve grown faster than her.”

“That’s understandable,” Stella nodded.

“And it’s comfortable, I guess,” Niall shrugged. “Long distance isn’t ideal but I’m willing to do it.”

“What do you mean by comfortable?” Stella asked, eyebrows furrowing as she looked at him. “And you guess?”

Niall chuckled, shaking his head, “I don’t know. It’s- I don’t know if I can put it into words. The firsts are over and it feels like the spark isn’t there. Like there are things that I feel obligated to do or feel.”

“Like you’re obligated to love her?” Stella asked.

“Kind of,” he nodded.

“That sounds tough,” Stella murmured.

“I feel really guilty,” he admitted quietly. “I just find myself thinking about someone else instead of her.”

“Oh,” Stella mumbled, eyes darting over his face. “Maybe you should tell her. Your girlfriend not the... the other girl.”

“Just a tough conversation, yanno,” Niall shook his head. “We agree to talk over the holidays.”

“That’s a long time away,” Stella said, before she could help herself. “A lot could change.”

“A lot could change,” he agreed, looking up at her. “A lot’s already changed, though.”

“What does a break even mean?” Stella asked. “I’m sure you’d hate for a Ross and Rachel fiasco to happen.”

Niall laughed, nodding, “yeah I don’t really know what it means. We just don’t text all day, I guess. Don’t call each other. Some time away. At least, that’s what I take it as.”

“Shouldn’t you have clarified what a break means before you go on a break?” Stella asked, eyebrows raising.

“Shit, Stella, I don’t know,” Niall laughed, rubbing his forehead. “This isn’t exactly a situation I’ve been in before.”

“Well I haven’t been in it either,” Stella shrugged with a laugh. “I’m trying to be helpful.”

“You are being helpful,” he nodded. “More than you know.”

Stella felt her eyes drift back over to him. And she hated to be this person. The one adoring every feature on his face while he talks about his girl at home. It was devastating in one of the worst ways. And to know that someone else was on his mind. Doubly devastating.

Before Stella could tear her eyes away, the sliding glass door opened and Louis poked his head out, “Liam’s here. We’re gonna play FIFA. You in?”

“Yeah,” Niall nodded, looking over his shoulder at Louis. “I’ll be in.”

The door closed and Stella let out a breath, turning away from him. Niall cleared his throat, sitting up, “I’m gonna...”

“Yeah,” Stella nodded, giving him a smile.

“Thanks for your help,” Niall told her. “It means a lot, you know. I don’t know many people besides Louis, and you know he’s not too great in the advice department.”

“I know,” Stella chuckled, nodding.

“If you need any advice...” he stood up. “I’m your guy.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Stella nodded with a smile.

Stella watched Niall leave, wondering where she went wrong. She took a gulp of her drink, shaking her head. The door opened once more and she didn’t have to look over to know that it was Veda.

“What the fuck,” Veda laughed, almost breathless. “What happened.”

“He’s got a girlfriend,” Stella told her, head lulling to look at her. “Of three fucking years, V.”

“Shit,” she breathed out. “I’m sorry.”

“He asked me for advice,” Stella continued. “He doesn’t know if he really loves her. He’s apparently been thinking of someone else. Thinks he needs to tell her.”

“That’s just...” Veda trailed off. “I’m sorry.”

“Is there something tattooed on my forehead that says ‘I’m one of the guys’?” Stella asked, incredulously. “First Conner and now Niall. Honestly. This friendzone shit is too much.”

“Conner is not all guys,” Veda argued. “He was objectively an asshole douchebag idiot. Niall is no Conner. I can tell that much.”

“It’s the same thing!” Stella cried, beginning to feel the anger already. She wanted to punch something. She shook her head, “I think I’m gonna go back to the room.”

“Stel,” Veda murmured. “I don’t want to get your hopes up, but why do you think you’re not the person he’s thinking about?”

“Because,” she sighed, exasperated. “I don’t know.”

“It could be you,” Veda urged. “Who does Niall hang out with? Louis? And you?”

Niall said it himself, he didn’t know very many people in Manchester. The thought was ridiculous, though. That Niall couldn’t stop thinking about her. It was absurd.

“Veda don’t get my hopes up,” Stella snapped, looking away from her. “I think I’m gonna go back.”

“Let’s talk about this,” Veda groaned, leaning forward. “If you’re the person he can’t stop thinking about, hanging out with him will make it that much easier for him to break up with his girlfriend.”

“Easier!” Stella echoed with a dry laugh. “You don’t just end a three year long relationship because of the first uni girl you meet.”

“Stay,” Veda urged softly, a hand on her arm. “Have another drink. Kick Louis’s ass in FIFA and see how you feel then.”

The idea was tempting. Stella thought it over as she met Vedas eyes. She could convince her to do anything. Stella swore Veda had magic powers that could change her mind in an instant.

Stella gave in. She found herself on the sofa between Louis and Zayn, controller in hand. Louis was already defeated. Stella thought she psyched Louis out more than anything.

By the time she beat Louis, Heather, Danielle and Liam arrived. She was relieved and dreadful at the same time. Danielle was nice enough, and so was Liam. Heather didn’t even have to say anything and she was on edge.

Stella went to the kitchen, grabbing her third wine cooler of the night when Louis leaned on the counter beside her. “Ya alright?”

“I’m alright,” Stella nodded, meeting his eyes only for a second. She knew she’d give herself away.

“What is it?” Louis urged, straightening up. “Come on,” he nudged her. “Spill.”

“Nothing,” Stella shook her head. “Really.”

“Veda asked me if Niall had a girlfriend and I knew that she wasn’t interested in him which could only mean that you are,” Louis decided, voice quiet.

“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” she whispered, looking up at him. “Please.”

“I just want to tell you that the other day when you left, he wouldn’t stop talking about you,” Louis told her. “Asked me a million and one questions.”

“Louis,” she warned, shaking her head. “I don’t want you to get my hopes up.”

“Okay,” he nodded. “I’m just saying, though. I’ve heard him talk about Nadia and it was nothing even remotely close to the way he talks about you.”

“Leaving now,” Stella decided, walking toward the living room.

Stella sat down on the floor beside Veda, hoping she didn’t look as grumpy as she felt. Veda gave her a reassuring pat on the knee and a bright smile.

Only when her eyes met Niall’s from across the room did her grumpiness begin to fade. That smile on his face was what she never wanted to get tired of seeing. The softness. It was too much. Stella had to look away.

But then Heather was on the couch beside him and they started talking and Stella felt like she couldn’t look anywhere else. Just eyes on Niall, watching his face. Watching the way he shifted away from her. The way she just didn’t get it.

“You’re staring,” Veda whispered, leaning toward Stella. “And he has a girlfriend, remember?”

“I’m not,” Stella whispered back but she was and she didn’t care that she was. She really wanted to be sitting where heather was. Stella felt the jealousy burn in her belly.

Despite the millions of conversations going on around her, Stella simply didn’t care. It took a while but finally, Niall caught her glance. He rolled his eyes at her and Stella had to smile. And then Niall smiled and she felt the jealously fade.

“What’s so funny?” Heather asked, eyes locked on Stella.

“Nothing,” Stella answered. “Just an inside joke.”

“Care to share?” She asked, a bite to her tone that made Stella’s eyebrows raise.

“Not particularly,” Stella answered, an equally as harsh bite. “Not with you, anyways.”

“Stel,” Veda mumbled quietly.

“She literally made it so awkward,” Stella expressed, exasperated. “Why do you constantly take her side?”

“I’m not taking anyone’s side I’m just...” Veda trailed off, eyes flicking between the two of them. “I don’t want it to be like this where you guys don’t get along.”

Stella shook her head, standing up, “I’m just gonna go.”

“Stella,” Veda sighed.

“I’m just beyond the point in my life where I need to put up with the Heathers of the world,” Stella said, setting her half drank bottle on the table.

“It’s not even that serious,” Heather laughed, looking around the room as if everyone would agree with her.

Stella had one shoe on and was working on the second one when Louis beat her to the door. “You’re not leaving by yourself,” he said.

“I am leaving by myself,” Stella retorted, slipping her other shoe on. She stood up, looking more defeated than she should have. “Let me go, please.”

“I’m going with you,” Veda said from behind her.

“I don’t want you to come with me,” Stella shook her head.

“I don’t care,” Veda shot back. “I’m coming anyways.”

Stella didn’t have it in her argue. She pushed the door open, stepping out into the hallway. Veda was two steps behind her, closing the door.

“Stella, why do you always think I won’t choose you?” Veda asked, voice soft as they got out onto to street.

Goosebumps rose on Stella’s skin as the cool air hit her. She shook her head, eyes glued to the cracks of the concrete, “I don’t know.”

“It’s been 8 years, of course I’m always going to be on your side,” Veda told her, arm slung over her shoulders.

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umbry-fic · 3 years ago

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A Palette Full of You (2)

Summary: Glimpses into Colette and Lloyd's lives as they grow up together, learn who they are, and fall in love with each other.

(Written for Colloyd Week 2021)

Fandom: Tales of Symphonia Characters: Lloyd Irving, Colette Brunel Relationships: Colette Brunel & Lloyd Irving, Colette Brunel/Lloyd Irving Rating: G Chapter: 2 of 6 Word Count: 4212 Mirror Link: AO3 Original Post Date: 10/06/2021

Chapter Title: Save the Children!

Chapter Summary: Lloyd and Colette take a break from studying and decide to play a video game. Colette starts to ruminate a little on how she's different from the rest of her classmates...

(Colloyd Week Day 2: Sidequest)

Notes+Warnings: Chapter 2 of my multi-chapter Colloyd week fic! Colette and Lloyd play a bunch of Kameo: Elements of Power. Lloyd is bisexual. This chapter might have a bit of internalised acephobia so beware.

Chapter list Full fic Previous chapter Next chapter

~~~

12-years-old

"There! Over there!" Colette shouted, dropping the Xbox controller onto her lap and gesturing frantically towards a corner of the television screen. In her frantic excitement, she completely forgot that Lloyd was sitting right next to her on the sofa, her elbow banging straight into Lloyd's arm.

Lloyd, startled, pitched to the side and pushed the joystick on his Xbox controller in the same direction.

Major Ruin, who Lloyd had been controlling to charge up a Bolder Rush, executed the move at this exact moment as Lloyd let go of the right trigger.

And so Major Ruin careened right off the edge of the platform, as per the directions Lloyd had just inputted into the game. The tragic end to a glorious adventure. Kameo would never rescue her father from her sister’s evil clutches, for she had fallen to her death from a high height... by complete accident. Or maybe it would be better to class this as incompetence?

Oops.

"Oh, no," they both muttered at the same time, staring with their mouths open in horror. Colette reached out uselessly towards the TV, as if she could reach into the game and stop Major Ruin’s fall.

As if.

The armadillo look-alike Earth elemental (except a lot spikier) continued to fall while flailing their stubby limbs uselessly, eventually hitting the ground with the familiar and resonant "thud", accompanied with the dreaded snapping sound that had populated much of their playtime in the Snow-top Village. The thin and winding ice paths throughout that area had led to many a death from fall damage as they had tried to get their hands on the elemental fruits hidden away among various corners. Now that they were in the Ancient Tower, with its dark, foreboding, narrow stone corridors lit only by the sparest of torches sitting in sconces, where there was only one path forward and they were caged in by walls, Colette thought their falling episodes would be over. It was a bit claustrophobic, really.

It appeared that was not the case. Fall damage was eternal, and it would haunt them always, following them everywhere and showing its face at the most inopportune of moments.

Major Ruin morphed back into Kameo's petite, winged form, collapsing to the ground with a pained groan. Lloyd's side of the screen faded to black before he respawned at the last checkpoint, erasing a full 20 minutes of progress. The Kameo that Colette controlled was now completely alone in the chamber, performing her idle animations as Colette’s controller went untouched. Lloyd dropped his Xbox controller into his lap as well, leaning back against the sofa as he let out a groan of his own.

There was no sound apart from the whirring coming from the Xbox under the TV, the game music, and the "whup-whup" of the blades of the ancient standing fan in the corner of the living room, struggling in its job to blow "cool" air at them and combat the viciously hot weather.

Lloyd had every right to be frustrated with her; she had a tendency to kill him in-game. It wasn't murder, just manslaughter: knocking him off the cliff, setting both of them on fire, or startling him in general. It wasn't just in Kameo. Her clumsiness and butterfingers translated to every genre. No matter the game - Mario, Minecraft, Maplestory - she always found some way to cause a game over.

But he'd never directed any frustration or anger towards her. These are just silly games, he said every time. Much easier to laugh over the mirthful consequences together than get mad. Whenever they had the time to play video games together, the air was filled with nothing but laughter, a few frustrated grumbles from when they were struggling at a particular level, and the occasional rib from Lloyd’s end when she messed up. That's what made it incredibly fun. What the two of them had termed "game-time" never failed to put a smile on their faces.

And it was an effective destresser! It was a great relief to be able to channel all the stress from studying for PSLE into beating up trolls in Kameo. That appeared to be Lloyd's favourite part of the game - racking up combos with his favourite character Pummel Weed. Though she had to say her favourite part of the game so far was watching the cutscenes that played after rescuing the baby elementals from the prisons created by the nefarious shadow trolls. The wacky transformation from adorable blob to full-fledged elemental, complete with the blob sprouting arms and growing claws or shells, was… interesting to witness.

"Sorry," she sheepishly said, still feeling the need to apologise as she patted his hand. "Didn't mean to startle you. It's just that I found the last child!"

"Oh, really? Where?” Lloyd asked eagerly, attention turning back to the TV. “I couldn't see anything. It's all so dark."

"Over there." More calmly this time, Colette pointed out the child encased in a translucent ice crystal, tucked away in a corner of the platform hidden in shadow. She’d forgotten the name of this species, and could only describe them as cuttlefish that had taken human form. What were they were doing so far from the Mountain Falls? Weren't they native to that location? "We need to free them quickly! This is the last child."

“The last - you’ve been keeping count?!” Lloyd asked, voice rising in volume and shock written clearly across his face.

“Yeah! The mother said there were three, and we’ve rescued two. She must have been really worried, or she wouldn’t have begged us to save her children. I want to reunite them as soon as possible!”

"Alright. Ice, huh? It'd be similar to the other crystals we got rid of in the snow area. So just turn into Ash!" Lloyd suggested.

"Oh, you're right! Thanks for the reminder!" Colette opened the transformation wheel with a quick press of a button and proceeded to fumble with the joystick for a full minute while Lloyd slowly crawled his way back up the tower. She kept pushing too far to the right and overshooting Ash's dragon head on the wheel to land on Thermite, before overcorrecting to the left and landing on 40 Below. Frustration slowly piled up until she groaned, burying her head in her lap. This was embarrassing. She couldn't even navigate a simple menu like this, even after months of playing this game. Butterfingers, once again.

"Lloyd, can you open the main menu? I'll just pick Ash from there."

"Nah, we don't need to open Wotnot. Let's give Ortho a break for now," Lloyd replied. She knew that wasn't the real reason. Lloyd just didn’t want to hear from the eccentric wizard trapped within the paperback book that doubled as the main menu. "Here, let me help. But you need to get up first!" She straightened up, still sulking as he smiled at her, looking like he was holding back laughter at her predicament.

Lloyd stretched out his hand and placed his index finger over her thumb, gently guiding her thumb on the joystick so that the selection square landed right on Ash's head. Colette watched as Kameo hunched over and transformed into the red, clawed, scaly dragon that was the fire elemental Ash, tail slowly swaying from side-to-side as his wings flapped.

"You're so good at this..." she muttered, glancing down at her controller where Lloyd's hand was still placed over hers. They were only 12, but his hands were already slightly bigger than hers. He'd gotten his growth spurt in the earlier part of this year and shot up in height; now half a head taller than her. It was a slightly startling change after being the same height for the six years they'd known each other. He would likely only grow taller as time went on. As for herself... Maybe she'd gain another 5 centimetres by the time she was 18, if she was lucky. Given the actual state of her luck, she'd probably stagnate at her current height. Tallness was just not in the cards for her.

Not that she minded. The added height made him rather comfortable to lie on. If he gained just a few more centimetres, his shoulder would be the perfect height to rest her head on… That would make movie nights all the more comfortable.

Plus, the height change was just that. A physical change. Inside, Lloyd was still the same person - the boy who loved playing with Noishe but hated doing his homework, and would do everything in the world to avoid it. He hadn't changed. Not a single bit.

"Don’t sweat it. There are so many things you’re good at too! If it weren’t for your keen eye, I would’ve missed the kid entirely… So don’t be too bothered!” Lloyd gave her hand one squeeze before removing his hand, returning to his quest of returning to Colette's location. "Now, melt the ice!”

Colette did exactly that, leading the lumbering Ash over to the entrapped child and unleashing his fire breath. She watched with bated breath as the ice slowly melted, causing more of the child to be exposed to the air. They had previously used this exact same technique to unearth elemental fruits in the icy caverns filled with those icky bugs that exploded when defeated and obscured the screen with blue juice. It had been exciting then, to stumble upon secrets because of their penchant for exploration. But watching the child slowly be freed, watching their tentacles slowly start to move as they came into contact with warm air, was an entirely different experience, one that filled her with joy.

When was the last time the two of them completed a side objective like this, one that had direct effects on a citizen of this magical world? Casting her mind back informed her that that would be the starting town, when they returned to water the farmer’s crops with Deep Blue.

Now that the last child had been fully freed, all the children went running back to their worried mother, who proceeded to pull them into a giant group hug. Colette dropped her controller, clapping her hands together at such a sweet sight. Lloyd did laugh, then, a chuckle that she could feel rumble through her as well from where their shoulders touched. "What are you so excited about?" he asked.

"We did it! We saved all the children!" she exclaimed, watching the mother pull out one of the large elemental fruit in thanks. "Doesn't that make you happy? That we were able to help someone... That's what makes these side objectives fulfilling, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. It's just like you to get like this over a video game,” Lloyd replied, watching Kameo hoist the elemental fruit into the air, where it magically shrunk in size to fit in her bag. Colette wondered how Kameo’s bag even worked - how did it store Wotnot and dozens of elemental fruits? It was like a black hole. Just like Noishe's stomach.

“Though..." Lloyd frowned, staring up at the clock that hung on the wall, whose hands indicated that it was 2 pm. "Time’s up. We should get back to revising before Mom gets home from the vet with Noishe."

"Oh, you're right..." That was a downer. Time had flown so fast; their 20 minutes were up already!

The moment had come to return to the dining table and the assessment books that sat open on it. Studying was never fun, but it just had to be math today, and the chapter just had to be nets. Her most hated subject, combined with the topic she hated most. It was a headache all around.

But Lloyd was surprisingly good at nets, and he'd been a great help the whole day. Even if he still hated math with a passion and always got stuck on algebra questions, where it was her turn to assist him. That was why studying together was effective! They could fill in the gaps for each other, and motivate each other to keep going. Just three months left to go until it was all over! They could do this, and they would get through it. Together, just as they would every predicament that came to pass in the future.

"Um, and before you go home today, could you help me with something else?"

"What is it?" Colette asked, reaching for the TV remote on the coffee table. Lloyd was staring at the carpet, his hand absent-mindedly pulling at the hem of his singlet, separating the fabric from sweaty skin.

“Ellum’s birthday present,” Lloyd muttered, his voice getting softer with each word he spoke, until she could barely make out the words. “His birthday is in two weeks, and I…”

Ohhh.

They had a habit of telling each other almost everything, for any secret was always safe with the other. So she knew why Lloyd was clamming up. Ellum was his current crush, after all.

“Say no more. Of course I’ll help you! We can do whatever you want!” she replied with enthusiasm. She'd be happy to help.

"Thank you," Lloyd replied, meeting her gaze again with a tiny smile lighting up his face. "Now, let's get back to studying."

They made the short walk to the dining table, taking their seats across from each other. Lloyd's face was already starting to twist into a grimace, resigning himself to another few hours of torture at the hands of the twisted people who made their livelihood setting math questions.

Clearing away the Kit Kat wrappers on her assessment book, she glanced down at a question about nets she'd been working on before the break. Yet not a single word on the page was being absorbed. They were all running away from her.

The downside of Lloyd confiding in her for all of his crushes was that it was a stark reminder that she hadn't had her first one yet. And then, inevitably, her mind would drift further to all the little ways she stood out from her classmates.

It was like everyone around her had changed drastically overnight at some unknown point in time. The jokesters of the class had just started making dirty jokes one day, prompting scandalised glares from the rest of the class but also prompting snickers. She herself didn't get the joke half the time, just laughed to go along with everyone else.

Then there was the shift in daily conversation. Instead of discussing their favourite Pokémon, more often than not the other girls would now discuss in hushed voices while giggling which celebrity was the most attractive. She herself would sit quietly, trying to melt into the wall as she observed without interjecting, half fascinated and half horrified. Weren't they all too young for this?

Things got even more awkward when she was forcibly pulled into the conversation when someone directed a question at her. She had no idea what to say whenever someone showed her a picture of a celebrity and asked her to rate them. The only thing she ever managed to stutter out was that their eyes were a nice colour, and so was their hair. That... was how you judged a person on how attractive they were, right? Everyone else, though, seemed to think she was weird. But how was she supposed to be feeling? No one had ever taught her. It felt like everyone was keeping a secret from her on how these things were supposed to work, then making fun of her for not getting it.

She only got more confused every time something like that happened. All she wanted to do was go back to talking about her favourite cartoons, but that didn't seem to be an option. Lloyd wasn't in the same class as her, so she couldn't even sit with him and ignore everyone else. The only time she could meet up with him during school hours was at recess. She didn't know what Lloyd talked about with the rest of his friends. Maybe the same stuff. But she didn't really care, because, with him, she could just be herself. There was no need for tiring pretence.

All she could do when the girls were in a mood to discuss celebrities again was sit a little outside of their circle, counting down the seconds remaining for class to start while she tried to look as occupied as possible. She couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief every time the topic of conversation turned back to something a little easier to understand, like video games.

But surely, someday, she would understand.

She was waiting. For that day. For her to finally catch up to everyone else in the race she hadn’t even known she’d entered until everyone had left her in the dust, still standing with her mouth agape at the starting line. To finally be like everyone else, to be able to fit in seamlessly. But there was no use getting down about it!

She just had to meet The One. Then everything would change, everything would fix itself. That's what happened in all the stories, the shows, the movies, after all.

Because everyone, in the end, learned to feel the same way, right?

~~~

19-years-old

"Right! I think that’s enough for now.” Colette’s voice shattered the serenity of her room from where she was sitting on the bed with her laptop balanced in her lap, cutting through the sleepy fog that was starting to fill Lloyd’s head. The peaceful Ghibli tunes that had been filling the room cut off abruptly as she shut her laptop screen, reaching a hand up to undo her messy hair bun.

Lloyd yawned, rubbing his eyes and hoping that would make his eyelids feel less heavy. Pushing himself up from his belly-down position on the bed, he caught one last glance of the back of Colette's neck before her hair covered it again. Doing prep for uni was not the most exciting way to pass the afternoon, and it certainly wasn't normal fare for a date. But it had to be done, so they might as well do it together, as they did all things.

Though he'd gotten distracted and started scrolling through YouTube about an hour ago.

"Are you going to change out of pyjamas?” Lloyd asked, stretching, his shirt hiking up slightly. He’d taken the lift down the three floors that separated his apartment and hers in the old HDB block that they’d stayed in all their lives, rang the doorbell while staring at the Chinese New Year decorations that were still hung up despite the month now being April, and waited for Colette to open the door… Only to be met with the sight of Colette in her favourite doggie pyjamas, the baby blue button-up ones that covered every inch of her skin. She'd shrugged and said it was cold from the non-stop rain, but he knew the real reason was the lazy post-A-levels haze, that affected him as well. These days, sleeping in until noon was the norm. Or sleeping in until one of his parents came into his bedroom to knock him awake.

“Yeah,” she replied, grabbing a towel and a few articles of clothing from the open wardrobe and heading towards the doorway.

“Alright.”

Lloyd closed his laptop slowly, not wanting a repeat of the time in Secondary 3 he’d shattered the screen because Zelos had sneaked up on him and caught him unawares. He rolled off the bed, making the small trip of barely a few steps to the study table, passing the various objects Colette had up on the walls - the Disney posters she’d gotten ages ago, and the random stickers she’d amassed over the years from school club sales and donations - and the bay window filled to the brim with cute and huggable soft toys, a familiar Siberian Husky that showed the signs of being well-loved sitting atop the pile.

Lying on the study table was Colette’s Nintendo Switch, plugged into a socket to charge. Right next to it was a jar holding paintbrushes of all sizes, all of them as clean of paint as possible, for he knew Colette took extremely good care of her art supplies. The sketchbook no one was allowed to peek into was sticking out of the table’s drawer, half-used pads of foolscap and sheets of paper with pencils rolling in them visible within. Files that he’d nearly kicked, containing lecture notes and worksheets, were shoved into messy piles under the table, unneeded after the conclusion of examinations but having no convenient place to be stored. The tiny shelf sitting on the table still had her Junior College badge housed on one of the layers, silver in colour and reflecting the light from the windows, despite her having no use for it ever since they had graduated in November. (Perhaps she liked looking at it? She was something of a magpie sometimes.) He could spot a familiar conch shell, placed among other knick-knacks, mostly birthday presents.

Picking up the handheld (with its lime green and cyan JoyCons firmly attached), he unplugged the charger and watched the screen light up - and frowned at what it showed him.

"Hey, Colette!" he yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth. He hoped he could catch her before she entered the bathroom. Uncle Frank was working in the master bedroom no more than five metres away and had been nothing less than incredibly nice, as he always was, providing tons of refreshments and snacks. Lloyd would like to prevent a shouting relay if possible.

If Colette had been walking, she shouldn't have reached the bathroom yet...

The fast pitter-patter of bare feet against the floor informed him that he was right. "What is it, Lloyd?" Colette's head poked its way into the doorframe, her golden hair reaching down towards the floor, her blue eyes wide and questioning.

"You left Animal Crossing on," he answered, waving the Switch in the air.

Her eyes lit up in understanding. "Oh. You know what to do, right?"

Control the playable character and put her to sleep, then save the game. He'd done it before.

"Yeah, but, I was thinking... I haven't taken a walk on your island since last year. How about I take another tour while you're in the bathroom? If you're okay with it, of course."

"Oh, sure! I trust you." Colette smiled sweetly, turning to leave before pausing and turning back. "But remember -"

"- remember not to step on the flowers." Lloyd finished her sentence easily, stating that fact very seriously. He knew about Colette's concerns about her precious flowers, which she’d spent hours arranging around her little island until they were in just the right spot - fields of rainbows to welcome any guests and guide them around. He hadn't known that the stems of the flowers could break from being trampled multiple times when he first explored her quaint world - the fictional flowers were just as fragile as their real-life counterparts. He’d kept that in mind ever since, adding it to the many rules to follow to ensure no harm came to all the hard work Colette had put in to make her island perfect.

"Yep. Um…” Colette wrung her hands together, bowing her head so her hair formed a veil over her face.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, taking a step towards her.

“No, nothing’s wrong!” Colette hurriedly replied, lifting her head again. She screwed her eyes shut, hands clenching into fists. “I - uh, just wanted to say… I love you!”

The last three words came out in a shout, so quick that he almost didn’t catch them.

Lloyd froze, trying to process what he’d just heard - and before he could reply, Colette was already gone, having fled down the corridor and out of sight.

He slowly shut his mouth, which he hadn’t even realised was open.

This was the first time she’d said those coveted three words since they'd started dating. Her voice had been dripping with uncertainty, her posture betraying her shyness, but no matter how contradictory, she’d said it with sincerity, with all her heart. And even though he didn't need to hear them from her to know she loved him, for it was actions that counted, and certainly didn't need to hear them from her for him to love her, it still made him smile, his whole soul filled with a light warmth.

They’d travelled such a long way from all the checkpoints in life that they'd passed together. They still had a long way to go, but they’d do it together. As they always had.

"I love you too, silly," he said into empty space, knowing Colette couldn't hear him but wanting to say it anyway.

Lloyd unlocked the Switch screen, staring down at Colette's intricate creation. Flowers filled the screen, black, grey, white, purple, that he found familiar but couldn't put a name to. Oh, well. He would just tour the island and check out any new changes while he walked to the living room and waited for Colette to come back. Maybe he'd visit the town centre as well.

The most vital question to be answered was... Had Colette gotten those froggy chairs that she wanted for the townspeople?

~~~

Next chapter

#fanfiction #multi chapter #lloyd irving #colette brunel #colloyd #colloydweek2021 #day 2: sidequest #tales of symphonia

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georgescatcafe · 4 years ago

Text

the rising chariot — 2

rating: t warning/s: none pairing/s: platonic dream team, karl jacobs/sapnap genres/tags: percy jackon and the olympians au, friendship, angst summary: Nick Pappas isn’t sure it’s normal for teenagers to be sent across the United States on a quest that could potentially kill them, but Nick has started to realize that everything he thought was normal is entirely false. George Davies doesn’t particularly want to spend three consecutive days with this new camper and that son of Hermes who snagged his win in Capture the Flag two weeks ago, but he knows he has to suck it up and go with them, no matter how irritating they may be. Clay Bryce just wants to prove himself and show that he’s more than that troublesome kid from Cabin Eleven, but even as the leader of this quest, he’s not sure how to when Nick has fire powers and George is practically capable of mind-control.

Yet what they feel and want will mean nothing if they don’t complete their quest. When a petty feud between gods has Apollo threatening to take the Sun from the sky, the three must head out to stop him, but not just that—they’re in a race against an ancient enemy of the god, one who definitely will try and kill him if it gets to Apollo first.

+ao3 +masterpost

Floris came by his house again the next day. Nick stared at him as he stood in the doorway. “School’s cancelled indefinitely,” Floris told him. “They said they’ll work on rebuilding as soon as they can, but while we still don’t have a physical school, we get summer break early.”

“Happy birthday to me,” Nick replied, though there was no mirth in his voice.

Floris smiled anyway before his eyes got all shifty, and he leaned forward, as if looking for something. “Are your parents home?” Nick wondered if Floris knew about his situation. He knew about Nick’s mom; or, at least, Nick assumed he somehow did. It wouldn’t surprise him that he knew about the rest of his living arrangement, either.

“I managed to get taken away by a deranged cop the day they left for their anniversary,” he answered. “And they aren’t putting that on hold for me.” His younger sisters—homeschooled, lucky them—were sent to their grandparents last week. The only reason Nick didn’t go was because he was old enough to handle himself. Or so he thought. “I’m home alone.”

“Nice,” Floris hummed, hand settling on the doorframe thoughtfully. “So about yesterday….”

Nick held up a hand, wincing as a headache bloomed behind his eyes. “I really don’t want to talk more about it.”

Floris made a face, but Nick was being honest. The whole ordeal just made him feel sick. “It’s good to—”

“Talk things out, I know,” NIck replies, “so you said. But, look, man, that was really traumatic, okay? And I think I hit my head too hard on the door because I was seeing things, and it was just really scary. I don’t want to think about it anymore.”

Floris studied him, gaze intense, and Nick straightened up under it, shoulders moving back and chest puffing up slightly. It wasn’t an intimidating look, but there was something… unnerving about it. He felt he had to prove something. Finally, Floris sighed. “It’s probably for the better for once. Just… if something like that happens again, you should take this.” He held out a small card, and when Nick took it, he realized it was a business card.

“Call me, okay?” Floris asked. “Don’t be a stranger.”

Nick stared at the card for another second before looking back up at the other. “Okay,” he agreed. “I’ll call.”

Floris gave him a final smile before pivoting on his heel. He was about to walk off when he spun back around. “Oh, uh, I made these for you.” He held out a baggie filled with what looked like lemon bars. “I don’t recommend eating them all at once. I’ve found they’re pretty good for when you need comfort food, or, like… healing. Or something.”

Nick accepted the bag. “Uh-huh. Thanks.”

“Yeah,” Floris said, before smiling for the last time for real and turning, heading down the walkway and taking off down the road.

Nick looked back down at the lemon bars. They weren’t his favorite. He definitely wasn't going to eat them all at once. Dumb of Floris to even tell him that.

He went about his routine like usual, now that school was out of the picture. It was a bit weird actually, sitting down to a day of mindless video games with no guilt, no homework to turn in or tests to study for. (Granted, most of his homework was left incomplete, and most tests were taken with no studying involved prior. Not that Nick was a dumb kid, school just… wasn’t for him. In case you couldn’t tell by the whole burning it down thing. Not that he meant to do that. Just to be clear. In case you missed that fact.) Nick sunk deeper into his beanbag chair, fingers flying across his Xbox controller as he focused on the small TV in his room. He wondered if his parents knew about his early summer already.

Probably not.

He played until the Sun went down, only stopping to pee or get food, and his routine looked very much like that for the next three days until his parents returned, and he found himself thrown into the monotony of chores and errands. It was preferable to reading-induced migraines, but he also missed the break from home school provided. The town he lived in on the edge of Houston was easy enough to navigate on foot, and his dad had started to give him driving lessons, but the lessons had to be put on hold for work, and walking around the city was a lot less fun when there was no one else to walk with.

The business card he’d taken to keeping in his pants’ pocket ever since Floris gave it to him seemed to become a paperweight then. Nick pulled it out.

Floris Larkspur Keeper Half-Blood Hill Long Island, New York (800) 009-0009

The information on it was terrible to read, in some fancy, looping font, but Nick understood it well enough once he squinted for a while. He frowned at the address and phone number. The number was obviously toll-free, meant more for business rather than personal use, and the location itself… New York? Nick frowned before returning the card to his pocket.

He’d have better luck running into Floris in the grocery store. Besides, the only bit of info on the card that didn’t leave him more confused than how he started was Floris’s name. Nick bit the inside of his cheek. Maybe Floris wasn’t the best person to walk around the city with.

Nick sighed, wondering if his stepmom would maybe send him on a grocery run. He was surprised when he walked into the living room to see his parents sitting on the couch, staring at him expectantly.

“Is something wrong?” he asked. “I didn’t mean to burn down the school. I promise.”

His stepmom rose from her place on the couch. “We believe you,” she said, hand coming to rest on his shoulder. His heart pounded as his gaze dropped to her hand. “You aren’t in trouble. Actually, the opposite.”

He stared at her before turning to his stepdad.

“Your birthday, Nick,” he said.

His birthday. He completely forgot about it. He looked at his stepmom.

“We’re sorry we weren’t here to celebrate with you,” she told him. “That was our fault. So we did something extra special for you.”

“You didn’t miss much,” Nick replied, even as she guided him over to the couch where his stepdad opened his laptop.

“With no school,” his stepmom said, “we figured it would be okay if spring break came early.”

And there, right on his dad’s laptop screen, a ticket to New York City.

Nick’s eyes turned to saucers as he stared between his parents, gaze going from his stepdad, back to his stepmom, then vice versa. “You’re kidding,” he breathed.

“Your flight goes out in two days,” his dad said. “A week there and straight back.”

“By myself?” Nick asked, hardly believing his luck.

“You’re sixteen,” his dad replied, even as his stepmom made a face.

“We have a second ticket,” she explained. “We can resell it, but… if you wanted to take a friend—a responsible one.”

Nick didn’t have many friends. Constantly switching schools did that to a kid. He stared blankly at his stepmom, who offered him a tentative smile in return. He tried to give one back, but his mind was reeling, wondering who to invite—if they’d really let him go on his own or not.

“Y’know,” his dad started, “there’s this one kid I’ve run into a couple times, at the gas station, the store, kind of funny looking, ginger, always asks after you.”

Oh, God. “That’s,” Nick hid his face in his hands, humiliation rising in his throat, “Floris.”

“A friend?” his stepmom asked, hopeful.

Nick nodded.

��Perfect!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “And clearly he cares about you. I think that’s a good one to take.”

“Mom,” he said, even as the name tasted bitter on his tongue, knowing his actual mom was still out there, “no. There’s got to be someone else—or I could go on my own, right? Right, Dad?”

His stepdad said nothing. So that was just a fib, then. Nick’s face fell.

“I think Floris would be good,” she urged. “You don’t have to spend every second together.”

“But you’ll want us to,” he argued.

“I just want you safe,” she said, “and I know your dad wants the same.”

Nick made a face.

Finally, she made one too, expression souring. “Nick, we just want to do something nice for you—for once. Can’t you just accept it?”

“I,” Nick made a frustrated noise deep in his throat, “why now? You’ve never cared. Is it because I almost went to prison?” He looks to his stepdad. “Do you feel guilty or something? That you couldn’t stop them from taking me, just like you couldn’t stop them from taking Mom—my real mom,” he added quickly, unable to stop the glare he shot at his stepmom, polite as she may be.

Her hand flew to her chest, as if stung, and his stepdad sat up, brows furrowing, lips downturned in a severe frown. “Nick Pappas, don’t you dare talk to us like that,” he scolded.

“Or what?” Nick snapped. “You going to kick me out? I bet you’d love that! You wouldn’t have to look for a new school anymore; you wouldn’t have to look at me and be reminded of her. You’d love that, wouldn’t you?”

“What’s gotten into you?” his stepmom cried. “You’re never like this!”

“I’m just tired!” Nick shoved himself up off the couch. “Thanks for the trip, but oh my God, just leave me alone—please!” He stormed into his room and slammed the door shut, pressing his back against it and immediately pressing his face into his hands.

He almost died Friday, and they didn’t care. Of course they didn’t care! And now they wanted to act nice, and he was supposed to just accept it? Without a modicum of suspicion? It was so not fair. He brought his legs to his chest, hands sliding from his face and elbows resting on the tops of his knees. He buried his head in his arms. None of this was fair.

What felt like an hour but was probably just ten minutes later, a soft knock at the door startled him into lifting his head. He scooted away from the door, and it opened slowly. In the doorway stood his stepmom. Nick bit back a groan.

“What,” he said.

The petite woman lowered herself to the floor, closing the door behind herself and taking a seat across from him. “I’m sorry I’m not her,” she replied.

Nick glared at her crossed legs.

“I mean it,” she promised. “I’ve never tried to be her—”

“You wouldn’t want to be her,” Nick grumbled.

His stepmom paused before a hand came to rest on his knee. “I never met her, but if she was anything like you, she couldn’t be bad.”

“You’re just saying that.” Nick’s glare strengthened. “I can’t stay at one school; I’m always setting things on fire; I almost went to prison just last week. I’m a terrible son.”

She didn’t say anything to that.

Nick flattened his lips.

“I’m sorry,” she finally said. “We’re… not good parents. I never wanted to be a parent. I am now, and I wouldn’t change it, but I’m not your mom, even with you calling me that, and I don’t want to replace her. And I could never be her because I know how much she meant to you, and I couldn’t do for you what she did.”

“You don’t even know what she did,” Nick snapped.

His stepmom sighed. “Can you please just accept this? I had to talk your dad into keeping the tickets after what you said.”

“You should have let him sell them,” Nick replied. “I deserve it.”

“No, you don’t.” She patted his knee. “You’re right. You did almost go to prison—you wouldn’t have deserved it, though. I think wrongful imprisonment deserves a trip to New York.”

Nick allowed a laugh to fall past his lips, bitter.

His stepmom took it. “Your flight leaves in two days. Tell your friend to come with you. You’ve got a whole week to run around NYC like the teenager you are. Have fun.” She gave a gentle shove to his shoulder. Nick rocked with the motion. “Okay?”

Nick stared at the floor.

“Okay?” she repeated.

He nodded.

“Good.” She pushed herself from the floor, running her fingers lightly through his hair before leaving, closing the door softly behind her. Nick squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a shaky breath.

Have fun. He can do that.

When he finally hunted Floris down at the grocery store the next day, he told him about the trip. “It’s short notice,” he apologized, “but it’s a week.”

“New York?” Floris asked. Nick felt like if the ginger had a tail, it’d be wagging.

“Yeah,” he replied. “A week and then we come home.”

“Got it, captain,” Floris said. “I’ll pack my bags tonight and meet you at your house bright and early tomorrow morning.”

“The flight doesn’t leave until noon.” Nick frowned.

“I like being prepared,” Floris replied. “Are you ready?”

“More or less,” Nick nodded, “not like I own much anyway.”

Floris stared at him, eyes narrowed, before nodding also. “See you tomorrow then.”

Nick gave him a mock-salute. “See you tomorrow.”

#sapnap #fundy #mcyt #karlnap #pjo au #georgenotfound #dream #fic #fanfiction #updates every friday #hfh

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just-my-sickly-pride · 5 years ago

Text

Tie Your Hair Back, Baby || Brian May x fem!Reader

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A RE-UPLOAD OF A FIC I POSTED LAST YEAR ON A DIFFERENT BLOG. I DID NOT STEAL THIS; IT’S MINE. The other version has since been made private. There have been some very minor changes made to this version.

summary || you have a crush on brian may. that’s obvious. and he doesn’t have a crush on you. that’s also obvious. but maybe - just maybe - you could be wrong about that. the flat is empty, it’s saturday night, and it’s just you and brian sitting on the couch. who knows what could happen? friends to lovers. modern day au. college au.

rating || explicit (18+). do not read if you are under eighteen. there’s some fluffy aspects to some of the smut, but it’s mostly smut. there’s hints of various kinks in here - brian has a thigh kink, reader has a hand kink, etc. - but nothing that extreme at all. as always with my work, there’s an abundance of profanity.

word count || 8.5k.

author’s notes || this is for the anon who said this was their favourite fic ever and was sad that it was no longer available. i’m so fuckin’ sorry this has taken longer than i said it would to upload - legit, it just completely forgot oop. it just popped into my noggin this morning and i went oh shit i forgot to do that, so here it is! yet another modern day college au! but not in the same ’verse as the try series, obviously.

masterlist

You blinked open your eyes, taking a moment to register your surroundings, and then stretched. You yawned, looking down at yourself. You were in the room that you friends Brian and John shared, lying on top of Brian’s bed, which was made, but you had a blanket thrown over you, and someone had slipped off your shoes, which sat neatly by the door. You knew you’d dozed off while scrolling mindlessly through social media on your phone, so you must have fallen asleep with it in your hand — but over there, on the bedside table, your phone had been plugged into the charger.

Shit. How long had you been asleep?

You sat up, feeling groggy. You’d come over to the little flat that Brian, Freddie, Roger, and John shared to study with Brian for the upcoming exams, but you’d only studied for about an hour and a half before you’d decided that you were too exhausted to focus any longer. Brian had offered his bed for a nap, as he always did. You’d thought about inviting him to join you for some activities that did not involve napping, as you always did. But held your tongue — as you always did.

That had been at three. You checked your phone — now it was almost six in the evening.

“Shit,” you sighed. Talk about a wild Saturday night. You yawned again, and staggered out of bed, heading to the bathroom to splash water on your face and have a drink.

You looked bedraggled, in short. While the old, oversized T-shirt you were wearing had been fine to sleep in, denim shorts had not been the most comfortable. You tried to fix your hair, but it was a bit of a lost cause, and your eyes were slightly bloodshot, your face puffy, and very much not in a cute way. Thank God you’d been friends with Brian for a long time, long before you’d started fancying him — he’d already seen you at your worst a thousand times, so you never had to worry about impressing him.

Not that there was any point in trying to impress him, anyway. He’d never see you like you saw him. But you’d come to terms with that. You were okay with it.

Or so you told yourself.

You shuffled out to the main room. You’d fallen asleep to the sounds of conversation and Roger getting worked up over some Xbox game, but now the house was silent.

Brian was on the couch, reading. He had one foot resting on the edge of the coffee table in front of him, and a mug by his foot. He glanced up at the sound of your arrival, smiling softly. Your heart squeezed at the sight of it. “Good kip?” he asked.

You hummed, nodding. “Where is everyone?”

“Well, it’s a Saturday night,” Brian said. He stretched, as if he’d awoken from a nap himself — he’d clearly been focused on his book for a while. “So who knows where Rog and Fred are. At someone’s for pre-drinks. I think one of them mentioned something about a new club in Soho. And Deacy and Ronnie are on a date. Deacs made it clear that he won’t be coming home tonight.”

You raised your eyebrows. “Oh, how saucy.”

Brian smiled, shaking his head. “Leave him alone.”

“No, I think it’s great.” You headed over to grab Brian’s mug, which was empty. “They’re so cute together. I’m making tea, want some?”

“Yeah, if you’re making it,” Brian said easily. He checked his watch. “Oh God, is it that late already?”

“That’s what I said,” you said, padding over to the kitchen. “Did you take my shoes off when I was asleep? Plug my phone in and stuff?”

“That was Deacy, actually,” Brian said, turning back to his book. “He didn’t realise you were asleep, and went to get changed for his date, and he thought you looked a bit chilly, so he took it upon himself to make you more comfortable.”

You smiled. “That was nice of him.”

“Yeah, he can be nice, when he wants to be,” Brian joked.

“Sorry I fell asleep for so long, by the way,” you added. “I’ll just have a cuppa and then I’ll head off.”

“No, don’t be silly, stay,” Brian said with a slight frown, not even looking up.

You had dinner there frequently, knocking elbows with the boys as you all tried to fit around the small dining table, but hearing Brian insist that you stay, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, still made your stomach flip.

Especially since it was an empty house for the night. You knew nothing would happen, of course it wouldn’t, but it was easy to let your imagination get away from you. What would Brian do if you marched over there right now and kissed him? With no prying eyes or ears, no concerns about someone coming home at any minute? Would he kiss you back? He was a good kisser — you’d heard it from John, actually, of all people, who’d said he and Brian had snogged for a particularly wild game of truth or dare at some party — and you weren’t too bad yourself, you’d been told. And Brian’s hands; you could wax poetry about those hands. God knows you’d spent enough time staring at them, imagining what they’d feel like on your skin, in your hair, in your mouth, in your—

Tea. Right.

You sighed, shaking your head to clear it, and put the kettle on.

“What d’you want for dinner, then?” Brian called.

“Hm?” You moved from the kitchen, away from the roaring wheeze of the kettle.

Brian glanced up from his book. “What do you feel like?”

You shrugged. “I’m not fussed. I’m not really hungry right now, actually.”

“What about that Thai place?” Brian suggested.

“I thought you weren’t a fan of it,” you said. “We can get something else.”

It was Brian’s turn to shrug. “No, I’m happy if you’re happy. I know how much you love it.”

“Are you sure? I really don’t mind.”

“I’m sure.” He picked up his phone off the couch, and said, “You like the pad see yew, don’t you?”

“With chicken, yeah,” you said. “I’ll pay you back.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I’ll get it next time, then,” you said. “No discussions.”

Brian glanced up at you, smiling. “All right,” he said with a chuckle. “Deal.”

The kettle switched off, and you headed back to the kitchen, going about making two cups of tea. You found a packet of biscuits on the counter — judging by the way it had been ripped open and left on the counter, Roger had had a go at it — and brought them over with you.

You set down the mugs on the coffee table, and the biscuits beside them. Brian reached over and took his mug, taking a sip. He hummed contentedly. “Cheers. Food should be here in about half an hour.” He picked up his book again and continued reading.

“How is it?” you asked, nodding to the mug in his hands and taking a sip from your own.

“Perfect. I don’t know how you do it, but it’s perfect every time.”

You smiled, glad that Brian still had his nose in his book, so he couldn’t see how horribly adoring the smile was. “Practice.”

“Must be.” Brian put his tea down again, and took a biscuit.

You settled back against the couch with a sigh, tea in hand.

It was so quiet in the flat; you weren’t used to it. Brian’s flat was a place of noise and music and banter and, oftentimes, mess. Now that it was unoccupied, bar you and Brian, it felt different. Not better or worse, just different.

You could understand why Brian usually liked to be alone when the flat was empty. It wasn’t often he could read in the living room without being disturbed.

Not that he was completely without distractions. You were there, anyway, and as content in the silence you tried to be, you quickly grew bored. Your phone was still in Brian’s bedroom, and it felt too far away to be worth the effort of getting up.

You found yourself watching Brian, as was not uncommon. He was mostly still, apart from when his lips moved the slightest bit every so often as he mouthed the words that he was reading. His hands, long and slender, flipped each page fluidly. You leant over to read over Brian’s shoulder. Lots of complicated science words. No thanks.

You tapped your nails against your mug, sighing. Naturally, there was always the option to just stare into space and daydream completely inappropriate things about Brian — that was how you spent most of your university lectures these days — but it felt a little too much with Brian less than a metre away from you.

It was almost unbearable being this close to Brian while no one else was around. Every movement he made seemed magnified, and every thought of yours was so loud in your head that you could have sworn that Brian would‘ve been able to hear them. You gripped your mug tightly, giving your hands something to do. Your eyes flitted up and down Brian’s body, instinctively searching for some way to touch him without arousing too much suspicion. If you didn’t touch him in some way, no matter how innocuous the touch may be, you felt like you would explode. You’d always been a tactile person; you liked holding hands and hugs and cuddles with your friends. Some people called it needy. You liked to think of it as affectionate.

You tried to hold back around Brian, though. You didn’t want to make him uncomfortable.

But there was one thing that you could do.

You reached out and touched his arm, gently running your finger up and down his forearm. He transferred his book to one hand, and held out his other hand to you. You took it, resting it on your knee, palm facing the ceiling, and traced your finger over every line and vein in his skin.

It was something you tended to do whenever you grew bored and Brian was nearby. You had no idea if Brian knew that you were just looking for an excuse to be in contact with him, that you needed it like you needed oxygen, but you hoped he’d just put it down to restless fidgeting. He never seemed to mind, anyway.

You placed your mug back on the table, and flipped Brian’s hand over this way and that, idly inspecting. Finding every callous he’d gotten from years of playing guitar, every small scar, every freckle. You were familiar with it all well and truly by now, but that didn’t matter.

The more impulsive part of your brain wondered how Brian would react if you took his hand and sucked his fingers into your mouth.

It was harder to resist than you cared to admit. But you managed it.

You turned his hand over again, and drew a line with your fingertip from his palm to the inside of his elbow. He breathed in sharply, and you glanced at him out of the corner of your eye. You drew the line again, and he shifted in his seat.

“Does that tickle?” you murmured.

Brian hummed. “A bit.”

You wanted to draw the line up his arm, over his shoulder, and up his neck. But you didn’t. Instead, you let his hand go.

“You can keep going,” Brian said, keeping his hand on your knee. “I don’t mind.”

“Are you asking me to?” you said, your voice lilting playfully.

Brian paused, and then said, “No,” and took his hand back.

You pouted to yourself. You knew Brian wouldn’t flirt back, but it still stung.

Now you were back to square one, and your body was begging to touch Brian once again. You wanted to snuggle up to him, feel his arm around you. Wrap yourself around him. Maybe put your hand under his shirt, and count his ribs with your fingers. Press kisses under his jaw.

God, you had to stop it. It had to be unhealthy to let your mind wander like that so often. But it was just so hard not to. So easy to justify to yourself that if you couldn’t have Brian in real life, you could at least have him in your imagination.

Brian was still reading, oblivious to your self-inflicted suffering.

How much could you get away with?

You shifted closer to him on the couch, pretending to read over his shoulder again. He angled the book so you could see more easily, and you moved even closer, practically curled up against his side. You sighed, pretending to get comfortable, and, in a moment of complete lunacy, hooked your legs over his lap, leaning against the couch.

“Is this all right?” you asked, as nonchalantly as you could manage.

Brian made a noise of disgruntlement, and raised his arm. You took a moment to comprehend, but then you realised — holy shit holy shit holy shit — he was inviting you in. You shifted closer, and leant against his shoulder, and his arm came around you, dragging you in closer still, and then settled around your waist. “That’s better,” he mumbled, barely even looking up from his book.

You swallowed, your heart about to burst through your ribcage. You tried not to give away how nervous — and excited — you were, and took a deep breath to settle yourself.

It wasn’t the first time you’d sat like this. Or similar to this, anyway. But usually it was when you were both drunk, or there wasn’t any room on the couch to spread out, or you were tired and desperate for a cuddle. You’d sat like this with basically all your friends before. But it almost never felt this... intimate.

You’d never felt this turned on with your other friends, anyhow.

“Can you turn the page for me?” Brian said, and you reached over and did so.

You’d have done anything for him. You’d have killed a man if he’d asked.

“What are you reading about?” you asked, just for a reason to stare at his face. He was so close to you. You could lean over and kiss his cheek, or tilt his chin towards you with your hand and kiss his mouth. But you didn’t.

Brian sighed. “Would you like the long answer or the short answer?”

You considered this. “Both.”

Brian paused.

“Sorry, am I annoying you?” you cut in.

Brian looked to you in surprise. “What’s that?”

“I keep distracting you from reading.”

Brian flipped the book shut and set it on the ground beside the couch. “I was only half-reading it anyway.”

You made a face. “Sorry.”

“No, not your fault.” Brian smiled at you, reassuringly. “Are you all right? You seem a bit off.”

Kiss me. “No, I’m fine.”

Brian’s thumb brushed over the side of your ribs through your shirt, just tiny little motions, and you pressed your lips together to stop yourself from making some stupid noise you’d most definitely regret.

“You sure?” he prodded.

You nodded, ducking your gaze to hide your face.

You could feel Brian’s eyes on you, and you looked down at your hands in your lap. Brian’s hand slipped lower, and when his fingertips came in contact with the bare skin that your shirt revealed, you sucked in a breath, your back arching slightly.

You swallowed. “Um,” you squeaked. You frantically tried to think of something to say, to distract you, because Brian’s touch was muddling your brain and muddling your impulse control. “Do— We—“

“Yes?” Brian prompted, and he sounded... smug, almost.

He knew what he was doing. He knew. Which meant that he wanted to make you flustered.

You looked up to him, meeting his gaze. The look on his face made your stomach drop, and you breathed in shakily. “Bri...”

“Yeah?” he breathed. His hand, painfully slowly, slipped under your shirt, up your back, and you bit your lip.

“What are you doing?” you couldn’t help but ask.

Brian’s hand froze, his face dropping. “Do you want me to stop?” he asked.

“No,” you blurted, shaking your head. “No, that’s not what I...”

His movements continued, fingertips running up and down your skin, and you shivered. “I just meant...” You closed your eyes, trying to gather your thoughts. “I just thought that you... I—“

Brian hummed, urging you to continue.

“You know what I mean,” you said.

“No, keep going,” Brian said, his voice warm with amusement. “I want to hear it.”

You opened your eyes and scowled at him. “Don’t be an arsehole.”

Brian chuckled, and his hand moved downwards, coming to rest on the skin just above your belt. Before you could ask why he’d stopped, his other hand began tracing up your leg. “What were you saying?” he asked.

“I can’t even remember,” you said. “It didn’t matter.”

Brian’s hand reached your knee, and travelled up higher. Your heart was pounding. “Try to remember for me,” Brian said softly.

“I don’t have to do what you tell me,” you said, but it came out sounding breathless.

Brian’s hand paused. “I can stop.”

“Fuck you,” you huffed, and Brian grinned.

You wracked your brain. “I...” Brian started moving his hand again, almost reaching the top of your thigh, and you wouldn’t have even been able to recite the alphabet if he’d asked. “I didn’t know... that you— I thought you only saw me—“

Brian’s hand began moving towards your inner thigh.

“Fuck,” you breathed.

“Keep going,” Brian murmured.

“I thought you only saw me as a friend,” you blurted. “I never would’ve thought that you saw me as anything else.”

You automatically shifted, opening your legs, as Brian’s hand went even further. You wondered if you’d soaked through your underwear yet. You must have been getting close to it.

“You are my friend,” Brian replied simply. “And I thought the same. I thought you’d never be interested in me. But clearly, we seem to be on the same page here.” He hesitated, looking at you tentatively. “We are on the same page, aren’t we?”

“I think it’s safe to say we are,” you said weakly.

“Good,” Brian breathed. His thumb rubbed over your inner thigh now, so close to where you wanted his hands the most, and it was driving you insane.

“I could have my hands on your thighs all day,” Brian said.

“Really?” you said, genuinely surprised. You’d always been self-conscious about your thighs. You liked to pretend that they didn’t bother you, but pretending was easier than actually believing it yourself.

“Are you joking?” Brian said, his eyes wide. “God, I—“ His hand gripped your thigh. “Yes. Sorry, is that—“

“Don’t apologise,” you cut in, shaking your head. “That’s... so hot.”

“I’ve literally dreamt about your thighs,” he said. “Every time you wear shorts, or a skirt, or even those tight jeans you have, I can’t tear my eyes away from them. I can’t believe you haven’t noticed me staring. All the others have.”

“I never noticed,” you said. “I never knew.”

“Well, now you know,” Brian said. “And now that I know you want me like I want you, I will be eating you out until you’ve come so many times that you’re begging me to stop. I just wanted to let you know.”

“Bold of you to assume that I’d ever want you to stop,” you said, surprising yourself.

Brian laughed. His eyes stayed on your face, watching you carefully, and his hand went to your belt. The sound of it being unbuckled was almost deafening in the quiet of the house, and you bit down on your bottom lip. Brian undid the button, and then you helped with the fly.

His hand dipped into your shorts, and when you felt his fingers press against your damp underwear, your breath stopped.

Brian’s jaw went slack. “Jesus,” he whispered,

“That’s entirely your fault, you know,” you said.

“God.” Brian breathed out sharply, gazing at you in awe and lust and disbelief, and then slipped his hand into your underwear.

You let out a soft moan, your legs falling open even further. One of your hands gripped Brian’s bicep, the other his shirt, as Brian’s fingers, the same fingers you’d been fixated on for months, began to move through your folds, circling around your clit.

“Tell me if I’m doing a good job, yeah?” Brian said.

You nodded, unable to speak, too focused on the feeling of his hand and the warmth spreading throughout your body.

You were a mess within minutes, panting and whimpering, and Brian hadn’t even slid his fingers inside you yet. “Get in me,” you demanded.

“What?”

“Get your fingers inside me, fucking hell, fuck me with your fucking fingers.”

Brian laughed. “I just wanted to make sure you were wet enough before I—“

“I was wet enough before you even touched me, Brian. It’s just rude n— oh my God.”

He’d pushed two fingers inside you at once, and it felt so good it was like a punch to the chest. Your grip on his bicep was vice-like, and you could feel the muscles moving under his skin.

If you’d thought Brian was skilled with his hand before, it was nothing in comparison to now. You were quickly climbing, your eyes closed, panting out yes and right there and letting out choked moans and whimpers.

“I’m— I’m close,” you said.

“You look so good like this,” Brian said, and crooked his fingers inside you, making you cry out. “I can’t wait to fuck you. You’re going to feel so incredible around me.”

You moaned. “Yes.”

“Are you close?”

You nodded. “S—so close.”

Brian quickened his movements further, and you sucked in a breath. You could feel your orgasm building like a wave, and you knew you only had seconds left—

The buzzer rang out, loud and obnoxious, and you and Brian jumped in surprise.

You groaned. “What the fuck?” you cried.

“The food,” Brian said, followed by a frustrated click of his tongue.

The buzzer blared again, and Brian pursed his lips, looking beyond irritated. “Great fucking timing,” he muttered.

“You’re telling me.” You pressed your forehead into his shoulder, breathing hard. Your whole body seemed to twitch, searching for the release that never came, and you instinctively clenched your thighs around Brian’s hand, moaning.

Brian hissed. “Fuck, that’s hot,” he said.

The buzzer blared once more, and Brian sighed, and retracted his hand.

“Fuck!” you whined, frustrated. “Can’t it wait?”

“It’s not really fair to make the delivery person wait there while I get you off,” Brian said. He nudged you. “Come on. Up.”

You growled, but climbed off his lap, and he hurried to the PA system. “Be down in a second, so sorry,” he said into it. He grabbed a tissue and wiped his hand, then snatched his keys from the table by the door, and disappeared out the flat.

You huffed. Your shorts were still undone, belt hanging loose, and you could think of nothing else but of your need to orgasm. Food? You didn’t need food. You weren’t even hungry. The delivery person could go fuck themselves. The buzzer could go fuck itself, too. The restaurant where the food had come from could go fuck itself. Everyone and everything could go fuck themselves; except Brian, who could fuck you instead.

You dragged your hands down your face, squeezing your thighs together again. God, Brian was good. You knew he would be.

You shivered, and went to grab two beers from the fridge. It was uncomfortable, being as wet as you were, having to walk around like you weren’t.

It felt like an eternity before Brian returned, Thai in hand. The smell of it made your stomach rumble. Maybe food wasn’t so stupid after all.

“Hungry?” Brian said, dumping the plastic bag on the table.

“Yeah, actually,” you said. You popped open the beers, and brought one over to him. “You?”

He took the bottle from you, his eyes snaking down your body and back up again. “Yeah,” he said casually.

You throbbed between your legs. “Did they give us cutlery this time?” you said, peeking inside the bag. “No, they didn’t. They always forget.” You went to the kitchen to grab some forks.

When you returned, Brian was at the table, sipping his beer. He ogled your thighs openly as you walked back to the table, and you smiled to yourself.

You sat down, and both of you began eating. There wasn’t much conversation at first, but it didn’t take long for it to start flowing. It was just the same as always, but now you didn’t have to hold back the flirty comments and heated glances, and it thrilled you to no end that Brian seemed to feel the same way. You both ate fairly quickly, and when you were done, Brian hurried to clean up.

When he was in the kitchen, you realised you’d both left your unfinished mugs of tea on the coffee table, so you took them, and the biscuits, to the kitchen.

Brian took the mugs, and dumped them in the sink, not even rinsing them out, and then took the packet of biscuits from you, discarding it on the kitchen counter.

You frowned. “What—“

Brian kissed you, and it was like a dam broke within you. You kissed him back furiously, hungrily, and Brian responded in kind, his hands squeezing your arse, pulling you flush against him. He bit at your bottom lip, and you pushed your body even closer to his.

He gripped your hips, and started backing you up until you bumped into the kitchen counter. He leant down to grip the backs of your thighs, hoisting you up onto the counter, and you wrapped your legs around his waist, but he pulled back. “Shorts off,” he said.

“Here?” you said, but you nudged him back and slid off the counter to strip off your shorts and underwear.

“Just one thing,” Brian said. “Just to make up for earlier. Get back up on the counter.”

“I can’t,” you said. “That’s... not sanitary.”

“We’ll clean it later.” Brian said, almost frantically. “I promise.”

You thought about it, and then sat back up on the counter. “This feels wrong.”

Brian dropped to his knees and grabbed your hips, shunting you forward, almost off the counter entirely, and you yelped, putting a hand on his shoulder to balance yourself.

“Lie back a bit,” Brian said. “Put your legs over my shoulders.”

You gaped. “You’re joking. Like this?”

“I’m really not.” Brian pressed a kiss to your knee. “We don’t have to, but I’d really like to, if you’re all right with it.”

You swallowed, and swung your legs over his shoulders, leaning back, propping yourself up on the heels of your hand.

Brian moved in closer, kissing the inside of your thigh. “Thank you,” he said, and he sounded genuinely grateful.

He pressed more kisses to the soft skin of your inner thighs, and you could already feel your chest heaving with anticipation. One of your hands wound itself in his hair, and you let your head fall back and your eyes slide closed, revelling in the feeling.

When Brian’s mouth finally reached its goal, you gasped, and Brian moaned.

“Oh, fuck, Bri,” you sighed. You tilted your hips, giving him a better angle. He gripped your hips so tightly it felt like you would have bruises in the shape of his fingertips, and when he flicked his tongue in just the right way, you knew that if he kept this up, you wouldn’t last long at all.

He removed one hand from your hip to slide his fingers inside you, pumping them rhythmically as his tongue worked its magic. Your fist tightened in his hair. “Yeah, like that,” you panted. “So good.”

Brian hummed, and you made a noise at the extra stimulation. “Bri, please,” you begged, although you had no idea what for. “Please.”

Brian doubled his efforts, and you whined. You were growing close again, and Brian’s mouth and hand were so perfect, and you had a moment internally of, holy shit, Bri’s actually eating me out, this is real, I’m not imagining this, before you tumbled over the edge with a cry.

Brian coaxed you through it, and you relaxed the grip on his hair, gasping for breath. You soon had to nudge Brian away, overstimulated. Brian kissed your thigh again, a wet, sloppy kiss that made you smile and laugh breathlessly, and then he was wiping his face on the back of his hand and getting to his feet, pulling you in for a kiss. You hummed happily onto the kiss, and reached down to rub at the bulge in his jeans. He bucked forward into your hand with a moan.

You pulled back, looking Brian in the eye. “Fuck me,” you said.

“God, you have no idea how long I’ve wanted to hear you say that,” Brian said, and surged forward, kissing you deeply, running his hands over your thighs. He ducked his head to kiss your neck, biting down every so often, and electricity shot through you every time he did.

He found your pulse point and bit down, harder this time, and your grip on him tightened.

“Did that hurt?” he mumbled against your neck. “Too much?”

You shook your head. “No,” you said. “Never too much.”

Brian began sucking on the same point, and you began blindly fiddling with his jeans, unbuttoning them and inching the fly down.

Brian only stopped his work on your neck when you shoved your hand down his boxers and took hold of him, stroking up his length with a curious touch.

His hips jerked forward again, and he bit down on your shoulder to muffle his moan.

“I fucking knew it,” you said.

Brian peppered kisses along your jaw. “Knew what?”

“That you had a big dick.”

Brian laughed. “You had your suspicions, did you?”

“I can see it no matter what you wear,” you said. You pulled back, and cocked an eyebrow. “I’m surprised you didn’t notice me staring.”

“I guess we’re both unobservant,” Brian said wryly. He stepped back, and held out his hand. “Come on.”

You hopped off the counter and took his hand, and you both hurried to his and John’s bedroom. As soon as you’d reached it, Brian just about slammed you against the wall and kissed you fiercely. You gave as good as you got, and in no time at all clothes were being torn off and thrown to the ground, and Brian’s cock was in your hand, and he was biting at your lips and neck and kissing you with a passion that made you weak in the knees.

“Bed,” you said, and Brian spun you around, backing you up until your legs hit the bed.

You put a hand to his chest, pushing gently, and Brian stepped back. “What?” he said. His lips were red and swollen, his cheeks flushed, and some of his wild curls hung in his face. He looked fucking gorgeous.

“Protection,” you said, and Brian huffed, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, obviously,” he said, and went to his bedside drawer. He rummaged around for a while, and you crawled onto the bed, sitting cross-legged, enjoying the view.

“Shit,” he muttered, tossing a bottle of lube onto the bed. “Just a moment.”

“Where are you going?” you called after him as he left the room.

“Rog and Freddie’s room,” he called back. He returned seconds later, condoms in hand. “They always have way more than they need. They say they need all of them, but they’re just being arrogant. As usual.” He dropped them on the bed — the sight of them made your stomach bubble.

Brian met you on the bed, kissing you, lowering you down onto your back, and he began trailing his kisses down your body, sucking your nipple into his mouth, and you hissed. “Oh, God, that feels good,” you groaned, and Brian moved his attention to your other nipple, making you shiver.

Soon, though, he continued his journey down, nipping at your hip bone as he went. He climbed off the bed, then, standing at the foot of it, and took hold of your ankles, dragging you down the bed so forcefully that you yelped. “Jesus Christ, stop manhandling me,” you said as Brian knelt on the floor between your legs.

“Does it really bother you?” he said.

“No,” you admitted. “It’s hot. But it’s the principle of the thing.”

Brian chuckled. “Sorry. I’ll be a gentleman next time I throw you around.”

“Glad to hear it.”

Brian sat back to grab your knees and pull you forward a touch more, and said, “Please excuse me, ma’am.”

You giggled. “Fucking dick.”

Brian laughed, and dropped kisses onto your thighs. He tapped your knee with his hand, and you took it as a cue to swing your legs over his shoulders.

You stroked your fingers through his hair. “You don’t have to—“

“What did I say?” Brian said, kissing your thigh again. “I’m going to eat you out until you’re begging me to stop.”

“I thought it was just a figure of speech,” you said with a chuckle.

“Nope,” was all Brian said, and you laughed again. His tongue pushed into your folds, and you closed your eyes, completely giving over, letting Brian take care of you.

It felt like no time at all before you were climbing to a climax, and you were panting and moaning and whimpering Brian’s name, and then you were coming, feeling it pulse through you, your head thrown back, your blood roaring in your ears.

When you came to, Brian was kissing your thighs again, with such reverence that you almost felt self-conscious.

“How was that?” he murmured.

“All right,” you said with a shrug, and Brian laughed.

“Ouch,” he said, and you could feel his grin against your skin.

You sat up, propping yourself up on the heels of your hands, and Brian looked up at you. “What?”

“Nothing,” you said. Although you wouldn’t admit it, you just wanted to see him between your legs. You’d imagined it so many times, it was almost hard to believe that this time, it was real.

Brian locked eyes with you, keeping your focus, and began sucking a hickey into your inner thigh. You bit your bottom lip, almost wincing at the pain of it, but as if you’d stop him.

Every so often he’d pause and briefly inspect his work, deciding whether he’d done enough, before getting back to it. When he was done, your whole thigh felt like it was burning, but the reddish purple mark that Brian left behind was one of the hottest things you’d ever seen.

“I guess I won’t be wearing shorts for a while,” you said.

Brian looked distraught. “For the love of God, please wear shorts. Please. I’m fucking begging you.” He surged forward, kissing you, pausing every few seconds to speak. “Seeing you — in shorts — with that on — your thigh — knowing I put it there — will be...” He broke away, kissing under your jaw, moaning softly, his hands on your thighs. “I won’t be able to handle it,” he whispered. “In the best way. It will blow my fucking mind.”

You nodded. “Okay,” you breathed. You’d already come twice, but you felt so turned on that you couldn’t even try to banter with him. “Okay.”

Brian kissed you, and your hands ran down his chest. “Fuck me,” you said, moving your lips to his collarbones. “Can you fuck me now?”

“Yeah?” Brian said.

You nodded, kissing his chest. “Yeah.”

Brian climbed onto the bed, and you followed him, pushing him onto his back and straddling him. Your kisses grew frantic and greedy, Brian flipped you over, dotting your chest with bites as he pushed his fingers into you, stretching you out. You moaned, spreading your legs as far as they would go. He eased a third finger into you, and you breathed through the ache.

“All right?” he said, checking in.

“All right,” you said with a nod. “It’s been a while.”

Brian hummed, pressing a kiss to the hollow of your throat. “We’ll go as slow as you need.”

“I’m too impatient,” you huffed, and Brian smiled, and pushed his fingers in further, making you yelp. “I’m fine, I’m fine,” you blurted, when Brian froze. “You just surprised me.”

Brian kissed your lips lightly, fucking you with his fingers slow and deep.

“Slow as you need,” he said again. “I want this to be good for you.”

“It’s you,” you said, your voice hard to counter how sappy the words were. You rolled your hips up into his hand. “Of course it’ll be good.”

Brian replied with another kiss.

He kept up the rhythm until you were squirming and even more needy than before, begging him for more.

You pushed Brian’s hand away, out of you, and flipped him over just as he’d done to you, wrapping a hand around his flushed and swollen cock and pulling him off with a featherlight touch. Brian laughed, throwing an arm over his eyes. “Oh, you’re cruel,” he said, followed by a choked moan, bucking his hips up into your hand.

“Oh, I’m cruel?” you said, softening your touch even further. Brian whined. “Who’s been finger-fucking me for hours without making me come?”

“You’ve already come twice,” Brian gasped. “And it wasn’t hours, don’t be dramatic.” He sobbed, one hand gripping the sheets. “Oh, fuck.”

You leant down and slid the head of his cock into your mouth, and he cried out, “Ah, shit! Fuck.”

You sucked him off, tasting the salty pre-come on your tongue, your hand making up for where your mouth couldn’t reach. Brian’s hands moved to your hair, and he grunted as you swirled your tongue around his head.

You could’ve sucked his dick all night, but soon he was tugging on your hair, telling you to stop, the words rushing out of his mouth urgently, and you pulled off with a wet pop. “Yeah?” you asked, still jerking him off with your hand.

“Shit— stop,” Brian said, sitting up sharply and grabbing your wrist, stopping your movement. “I’m too close to coming for you to do that.”

You hummed, grinning, pleased. “Oh yeah?”

“Yes,” Brian huffed. He guided your hand, still holding your wrist, to his lips, where he pressed a surprisingly tender kiss to your fingertips. “I want to be inside you when I come, all right?”

Something twisted in your stomach at that, something bizarrely affectionate, at the way he’d said it, almost gently, in a way that was so very Brian. You let your fingers brush over his lips, and he smiled, an adorable, warm, happy smile, that shouldn’t have fit the hot, horny, sweaty situation at all, but somehow was beautifully perfect. You smiled back, but you pushed the feelings aside. God forbid things get too mushy and cute. You were expecting to be completely fucked into next week, after all.

You took your hand back and searched for the condoms, snatching one off the bed and ripping open the foil packet. Brian sat up, watching your face with keen eyes as you rolled it onto him, and as soon as you were done he grabbed you, throwing you onto your back and kissing you. You responded enthusiastically, hooking your heels over his hips, and then he was lining himself up and pushing into you.

Your breath caught, and you pressed your forehead into his neck, grunting.

“You all right?” Brian said, his hand stroking soothingly down your side.

“Yeah,” you said. “Just... Yeah, I’m fine. Go. Keep going.”

Brian did, and you let your head drop back onto the pillow, pressing your lips together. It was an ache you were familiar with, but one you hadn’t felt in a good while now, and Brian was definitely on the larger end of the dick spectrum.

Brian nuzzled under your jaw as he pushed in further, and then he was fully seated. You ran your nails lightly up and down his back, wordlessly telling him that you were okay.

“Oh my God, you feel amazing,” Brian moaned. He lifted his head, searching your face, concern creasing his brow. “Are you— Is it all right?”

You laughed. “You’re not going to break me, Bri.”

“But is it... Do you want this? Are you sure?”

You pulled him down for a kiss. “Yes, I’m fucking sure,” you said. You rolled your hips, and Brian squeezed his eyes shut, failing to suppress a moan. “Now fuck me already.”

So Brian did, pulling out and ramming back into you. He began to set up a rhythm, and you wrapped yourself around him, your nails now claws on his back, and he was gasping out your name, telling you how amazing you felt, how much he’d wanted this, and all you could do was say his name in return. You rolled both of you over, settling back onto him, and he gripped your hips, thrusting up into you. You held him still, and slowly rocked your hips. His eyes just about rolled into the back of his head, and it was the biggest ego boost you’d ever had.

“How do my thighs look right now, Bri?” you teased, rocking your hips again.

Brian smoothed his hands down them. “Like they belong to a goddess,” he panted, his hips bucking up against yours. “You’re fucking incredible.”

You groaned, rocking forward, your clit rubbing against his pubic bone. “Fuck.”

Brian laughed, and you looked to him quizzically. “What?”

“It’s just...” He laughed again, rubbing the back of one hand across the bridge of his nose. “It just suddenly hit me that we’re having sex right now.”

You blinked at him, registering his words, and then burst into laughter. “What the fuck do you think we’ve been doing?”

“No, I mean—“ Brian snorted, and he looked so pretty like this that you didn’t even think about leaning forward and tracing your fingers across his cheekbones and jaw. “I mean, I’ve been... wanting this, wanting you, for so long, and I thought I’d never have you. Like, ever. I’d just about resigned myself to just being quietly miserable whenever we hung out together, because I never thought that you’d ever go for me, of all people.” Your fingers moved to his lips, just resting over them, feeling them move as he spoke. “It just finally sunk in that this is really happening.”

“You’re a bit of a sap, aren’t you?” you joked.

Brian shrugged, glancing away. “Well, I just—“

“No, I was just being an arse,” you said with a smile. You pressed against his lips with more force, and he opened his mouth for you, playfully biting down on your fingers. Your smile stretched into a grin. “I feel the same.”

Brian’s lips closed over your fingers, and his tongue pushed between them, swirling around them. You were transfixed by it, feeling the way his tongue moved, and you began rocking your hips, just little movements. Curious, you pushed your fingers further into his mouth, down to the knuckles, and Brian moaned, his eyes sliding closed, taking them.

“Fuck,” you whispered, taking a shaky breath. You rocked with a little more force, and Brian moaned again, rolling his hips up to meet you. You pulled your fingers from his mouth, slowly, feeling his teeth scrape against your skin, and you said weakly, “You’re really good at that.”

Brian didn’t respond, flipping you over again and, before you barely even had time to register what had happened, he was fucking you hard into the mattress, slow and deep. You clutched onto him, overwhelmed by how good it felt, begging him to keep going, to fuck you harder, to come for you. You coasted on the edge of coming, the sweet spot of feeling both heady with arousal and unable to orgasm, and you clenched around Brian, making him curse and ram into you. He paused only momentarily to kiss you, and you smoothed his sweat-dampened curls from his face, and then he was fucking you again, chasing his release, and you wanted nothing more than to see his face when he came, to hear the sounds he would make. You bit into his shoulder, and his movements grew erratic, so you bit into his neck, then his shoulder again, and he moaned your name as he came. You pulled back and kissed him, smoothing back his hair again, and he ducked his head, kissing your neck. You shuddered, your body begging for more, and then Brian was answering what you’d never asked for, his fingers circling your clit, his lips pressing kisses down your neck, murmuring encouragements into your skin. You whined, feeling so sensitive but so desperate at the same time, and it didn’t take long for you to come, warmth washing over you.

Only then did Brian pull out of you and flop onto his back, beside you, and you both took a moment to breathe. You turned your head to look at him, and he turned his head to look at you, and you were both panting, beaming. You chuckled. “So that happened.”

Brian nodded. “Yeah. Wow. It really did.”

“And?” you said. “Did it live up to the hype?”

Brian shook his head, rolling his eyes at your phrasing. “Yes,” he said simply. “Exceeded it.”

“I’d have to say the same,” you said. You rolled onto your side, smoothing a hand over his stomach. “If I’m being honest.”

Brian’s hand moved to rest on top of yours. “Well, honesty is all I could ask for.”

You snuggled up closer to him, kissing his shoulder.

There was another moment of silence, and then Brian was getting to his feet with a groan, discarding the condom in the bin.

You sighed. “I’m exhausted now.”

“Yeah?” Brian said, looking unimpressed. “You’re exhausted?”

You played along, nodding. “Oh, yeah. I came three times tonight, you know.”

Brian crawled over you. “You did, did you?” He dropped a kiss to your lips. “And who made you come, hm?”

“No one important,” you said airily, and Brian nipped at your lips.

“You’re insufferable,” he said, kissing you again.

You hummed against his mouth in agreement, nodding, and you could feel him smile.

He broke away. “If you give me five minutes to catch my breath, I could arrange for you to come a few more times, if you’re interested,” he said.

You looked at him bewilderedly. “You’re not serious?”

He shrugged. “I’m serious if you want me to be.”

You considered it. “All right. Since we’re clearly going all-in here, I’ll take you up on the offer. If — I get to suck your dick tonight. I’m talking serious dick-sucking. Your brain is gonna melt out of your ears.”

Brian grinned. “Sounds good to me.” He sat back. “Are you thirsty? I’ll get us some water.”

“Yeah, all right,” you said. Brian climbed off the bed, pulled on his boxers, and disappeared around the corner.

You stared at the ceiling, taking the opportunity to figure out your thoughts. You and Brian had just slept together. You and Brian. The same Brian you’d been pining over for months. Your friend, your study buddy, your crush.

Tonight had been amazing. And it was going to continue to be amazing, until you were both just about dead from exhaustion, by the sounds of it.

But was tonight where it ended? Were you just an outlet for Brian? He’d said he’d wanted you for a long time, but were you just someone he thought was hot, and just wanted to bang? What was the next step? Was there going to be a next step? Should you expect one, or was that too much?

Brian returned with the waters, and you sat up. “Thanks,” you said as he handed you one, and you took a sip.

Brian had already drank half of his, and he sat down on the edge of the bed. You focused on your water.

After a minute or so of silence, Brian said, “Are you secretly freaking out about this as much as I am?”

You gulped down your mouthful. “A bit,” you admitted. “Why are you freaking out? You don’t... You’re not regretting it, are you?”

“No,” Brian said quickly. “God, no. Not at all. Quite the opposite, actually.”

You frowned. “The opposite?”

“I...” Brian hesitated. “Please don’t freak out.”

“I’m already freaking out,” you said, freaking out even more. What was he going to say? Was he going to kick you out and stop being friends with you?

“Well, uh, please don’t freak out directly in response to what I’m going to say.”

“No promises.”

Brian took a swig of water, looking like he wished it was something stronger. “I... I like you,” he said, avoiding your gaze. “More than a friend. I fancy you, really. I have for a while. But I understand if that’s not what you’re after, and I’m sorry for just being — presumptuous, I suppose. I should’ve clarified it earlier, and of course, if that’s not what you’re after, then tonight can just be a one-off, and we can forget about it, or we can laugh about it later, or whatever.”

“I like you too,” you said, and Brian’s head snapped up, and he looked so hopeful and happy that you just about died.

“You do?”

You nodded, unable to keep the grin off your face. “Yeah. Yeah, I like you.”

Brian leant forward and kissed you, almost sloshing water all over the sheets. He pulled back, gazing at you adoringly, and your heart just about stopped in your chest. You laced your fingers together, and pressed your lips to the back of his hand. It felt right, holding his hand. Like there’d been a missing puzzle piece in your life, and you’d finally found it and slotted it into place.

He set his water down on the bedside table, and then took your glass from you, putting it down beside his. “I really do hope that none of the others plan on coming home tonight,” he said, squeezing your hand. “I have a lot planned for you.”

“We’ve got time,” you said, and you couldn’t believe that it was true. “We’ve got all the time in the world.”

“I know,” Brian said with a shrug and a cheeky smile. “But we’ve got time now, too, don’t we?”

He tugged you over for a kiss, and you threw your arms around his neck. You knew that the boys would immediately clock what had happened when they saw you still at their place tomorrow, and the hickeys dotting your body, but you didn’t care. It didn’t matter. You had Brian, and his beautiful hands and gorgeous face and wonderful dick. It was all yours now. And you weren’t ever letting it go.

#wow this was a THROWBACK to read through and edit again!#forgot how much i liked this one #mine #brian may x reader #queen fanfiction #rpf #smut

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fangirlspammer · 5 years ago

Text

Sparks Fly (part 4)

Well this all came out a lot quicker than I expected. I hope you enjoy this. It's slowly coming together, but I'm not sure if it's considered angsty (??) I'm not sure if y'all wanted to be tagged but just in case: @x-multifandom-trash-x @catlynhoss05 @sassystrongsexysloane and @regal-roni 🙃😌

"I'm getting fired," you had been pacing your living room for the past hour. Your hands were in your hair, your heart was racing, and you had been repeating the same two sentences over and over. Travis was sitting on the couch watching you put yourself through this hell, and he had not been very helpful to your situation.

"Y/N, calm down," he sighed and sat forward now. "Now tell me again what happened, but this time try it calmly. Lord knows I can't understand you when you start talking like you're on speed."

You shot him a dirty look and proceeded, once again, to tell him how you had completely humiliated yourself in front of the entire team and a few others in the middle of NCIS. How you had yelled at Jack, the one who actually wanted to help you, and then proceeded to tell of the Director. You gripped your hair tighter and paced a few more times before letting out a frustrated scream and falling into the arm chair. "Ow!" you lifted yourself and pulled out an Xbox controller from under you. "Travis, what the hell?" you tossed it at him in annoyance.

"I'm sorry, I didn't expect you to throw yourself into my chair," he rolled his eyes. You snarled at him and he put his hands out in a mercy like gesture. "Alright, alright," he sighed. "You mean to tell me you actually told your bosses boss that his apology was 'bullshit'?"

You couldn't tell if he was proud or disappointed at this point. "Travis, I seriously think I am going to get fired. I mean, it's been two days! Wouldn't I have heard from somebody by now? And where were you yesterday anyway?"

"Wouldn't you have been contacted if you were fired?" he pointed out, and for once he actually made a logical, and helpful, point. He smirked and took a bite of the cold pizza that was sitting on the coffee table. "I was with Lydia."

Your eyes widened and a smiled formed. "Lydia, Lydia?" your excitement began to show, and you briefly forgot about your own problems. "Lydia as in Baxter, as in your best friend since grade school, Lydia?"

"That's the one," he shoved another bite in his mouth as a way to keep you further in suspense.

"And?" you were eager for more details.

This was Travis and Lydia for crying out loud! They had been best friends forever. The two of them had liked each other since their senior year in high school, but nothing had ever seemed to work out for them. It was your typical CW show. Best friends fall in love, but boy meets girl, girl meets boy, boy breaks up with girl for best friend, but best friend insists she loves her boyfriend, so boy never tells best friend how he feels. Now the two of them had seemed to get themselves together over the last year, and this was the big stepping stone in their friendship that could potentially turn this heart wrenching CW show into a lasting romantic relationship. You were quite invested, maybe a little too invested, but they were all you had since you cut ties with cable and your love life had come to a halt.

"We went camping," he shrugged playfully. "Hey!" he laughed when you threw an old Cheetos at him.

You rolled your eyes and stood to your feet once more. "God, Travis, clean up after yourself. Lydia isn't going to be impressed by a slob. She would have stayed with whats-his-face if she wanted frustration," you teased back and stuck out your tongue. That's when the doorbell rang. "Oh look, there she is now," you laughed as you went to open the door. "Hey Lydia, my big slob of a brother is too busy sitting in his own filth to hang out," you opened the door, laughing as you dodged a throw pillow. Your laughter came to a screeching stop when you saw who was standing there. "Jack."

"Am I interrupting something?" she asked hesitantly. Admittedly, she was relieved to see you smiling and joking about after that scene the other day.

"Maybe," you crossed your arms and your smile fell completely now. "Look, if Vance sent you then you can just turn yourself around, because I'm not budging."

"Vance didn't send me," she shook her head, "but we still need to talk."

"Alright then," you rolled your eyes in frustration and started to close the door. You stopped when something got in your way, and frowned when you saw Travis holding it open from the top. "What do you think you are doing?"

"Saving your ass," he stuck his tongue out and then looked to Jack. "You must be Special Agent Jack, or as my sister likes to call you-" he let out a moan of pain when you elbowed him harshly in the side. "Come on in," he breathed out, his voice weak from the pain you had just inflicted on him.

Jack didn't hide the soft blush that came to her cheeks very well at all, but you forced yourself to ignore it. "Y/N, it's the only way you are getting your job back."

You could tell that she was just trying to help, but those barriers were still up and you were going to guard yourself from that night no matter what. "Maybe I don't want it."

"Oh come off of it, Y/N," Travis spouted from the kitchen. "You've wanted this job since you were 5 years old. Just talk to her. Maybe it will help with the night terrors," it was then that he knew he had said too much already. "Uh oh," he muttered and backed up slowly. "I'm just going to go in my room. If Lydia calls, mind telling her-"

"I'll be sure to tell her about Mr. Humphrey, don't worry about it big brother," you narrowed your eyes until he left. Great, now Jack knew, and there was no way in hell now that she was leaving this alone. This was going to be a long evening.

You and Jack had been sitting in silence for 15 minutes. You fiddled with the spoon in your coffee mug and Jack tapped her pen against her notebook. She was deep in thought, thinking of how to approach this situation. You might have been close, but the last thing you wanted was for her to see this side of you, and you couldn't imagine now what was going through her mind.

"Night terrors?" she finally spoke up and you felt your stomach turn. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't take the silence anymore," she apologized with her dark brown eyes.

You knew she only wanted to help you, and you did feel awful for the way you had treated her the other day. That just hadn't sat right with you all weekend. "Fine, you win," you sighed and set the mug down. "I sometimes have night terrors, alright? You happy now?"

"How could you think that I could be happy about that? Even in a joke?" she frowned deeply. "Y/N, we are all worried about you, especially me. Why do you think I keep pushing you to talk about it?"

"Because it's your job, Jack," you stated, slightly annoyed again. You didn't want to feel the things that you felt towards her. Not when this whole conversation was going to make things harder for you. Why couldn't she just understand how you felt? Why did she have to be so blind to it?

"This isn't about my job, Y/N-"

When she started to protest you cut her off. "Yes, it is. This is your job. This isn't about you being my friend, and this isn't about you caring for whatever reason you have. This is about Vance telling you that I need to have a therapy session or lose my job. Isn't that right?" you couldn't help your tone.

"God, Y/N, you can be a real bitch sometimes," she tossed the file onto the coffee table and stood up. The kids gloves were coming off it seemed. "Why won't you let me help you? Why do you have to push away anybody who cares about you? Just let your guard down, stop being a bitch trying to push me away, and just talk to me, dammit!"

"Fine!" you snapped and stood to your feet, the coffee table between you both. "That car accident? That was my fault! Isabel was driving and I kept changing the radio station on her, I kept kissing her cheek, and distracting her with the snacks we had packed for our road trip. It was late and we decided to take some back roads, not knowing that there had been construction that day, leaving that road closed and a dead end in its place," you could feel the lump in your throat and tears roll down your cheeks. Your fists tightened at your sides, but you took a shaky breath and carried on. "We didn't see the sign, and by the time we noticed... it was too late," you breathed out and your bottom lip began to tremble. Jack had tears in her eyes, rolling down her own cheeks, but she was silent. "We spun out of control and the drivers side slammed into the backside of a semi truck that was parked in the construction zone. She died on impact," your heart was pounding and you felt your legs shaking. It had been so long since you had really focused and remembered that fateful night. "She was my fiance. I lost everything in that accident, and it could have been prevented if I had..." your voice broke and you began to fall apart more so than before.

"Y/N," her voice paused. She had started to take half a step towards you, but thought it best not to, so she stopped and swallowed her tears. "I'm so sorry," she watched you cry and the emotions that flashed over your face. "You can't continue to blame yourself for that night. It isn't going to change things, and it wasn't your fault," she didn't know what to say, but she tried her hardest. She always tried her hardest with you.

"How can you say that?"

"Because I know you, Y/N," she didn't hesitate this time, and came over to wrap her arms around you. "You didn't do this. It was dark, you may not have seen that sign anyway," she whispered and led you over to the couch. "Just breathe," she whispered soothingly and began to run her hands through your hair to calm you.

She held you close in her arms doing her best to comfort you. You should have trusted her all along, but you hadn't trusted yourself since the accident. How could you let somebody else see you at your most vulnerable? Especially Jack. It wasn't exactly a secret, the way you felt about her. Sure it hadn't been a spoken thing, but everybody could see the way that the two of you acted around each other. You had gone back and forth from day one, and something had just clicked. The smell of her shampoo was intoxicating. What was that? Lavender? No. Cherry Blossom? You slowly pulled away and caught her eyes. She was looking down at you, making sure that you were alright. That was all she ever wanted, wasn't it? She was always checking up on you. Always making sure that you were okay. Did she feel the same way? Was Ellie right about the feeling being mutual?

You leaned in slowly, and before you knew it your lips were brushing over hers. Once. Twice. Three ti-. You stopped when she pulled away and your eyes widened at the realization of what you had just done. "Oh.." you sat up and moved away. "I'm sorry I just thought-" you shook your head and fought back the hot tears that stung in your eyes. "I'm sorry. You should go," you whispered shakily.

"It's okay," she looked confused, but she wasn't upset. "Y/N, it's okay."

"No," you shook your head sadly and wiped the tears before they could fall. "No, it's not okay. You have to go," you hugged yourself and watched her just sit and stare at you trying to process all of this. "Please, just go Jack."

She slowly stood to her feet and nodded slowly. "Alright," she whispered and gathered her things. You avoided her gaze as she headed towards the door, but in a short glance you could have sworn you saw tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry too, Y/N," she whispered, and with that she was gone.

You tightened your arms as they wrapped around you, and you began to cry. This was all too much for you right now, and you may have just pushed away the one person you cared about. The one person that you could open up to since Isabel had died.

#jack sloane #maria bello #ncis #ncis cbs #jacqueline sloane #leroy jethro gibbs #mark harmon #slibbs #agent gibbs #gibbs #jack and reader #jack x reader #jack sloane x reader

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devilbat · 5 years ago

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Uninvited Guests

Loki x reader

Warning: Fluff and angst but mostly fluff

A/n: Sorry for being rather scares. This one shot has been what has been going on in my life. Part of my problem with writing of late. Been stressed and frustrated. Most of this is true beside the names. @jpat82 gave me the idea. I hope I will be getting back to normal.

It always seemed to happen to you. Sure you felt obligated to be a good friend. But when will you learn that, no matter how nice of a person you were, how good of a friend you were. It never matter to them to your own friends, family or even loved ones. They all seem to walk all over your kind caring demeanor. Never being able to stand up for yourself. Never stand up against your own friends. Wanting everyone to like you. If you did stand up to them or well try to. Even if it was a small comment one that turned the tables on them. When you took, ever little are Castec “joke” mean comment or rude criticism, you never say a words at those times. But if you did, oh they couldn’t take what they dished out, they thought you to be the worst, mean or horrible person. You would be the one to hurt their feelings. No matter how many time they hurt yours.

Suffering in silence. That was until you met Loki. He was great, he understood you. He had been there. Though when he finally snapped, it ended up in him trying to take over a small realm your realm. Though when he was redeemed and paid for his crimes. He stayed on Midgard. When he met you. He never understood why such a beautiful, sweet, kind soul like you got treated the way you did. He had half a mind to bring hel on Midgard when someone belittled you. He had to keep you safe. Even if it killed him. Loki had asked you to stop hanging out with some of your so called friends. Sure he didn’t have the right to tell you what you can or cannot do. He worried about you. He even tried helping you become more out spoken so to say. To stand up for yourself no matter what. If you lost a friend you would gain a new one. Learn from your mistakes.

So when you let friends stay with you. What they had told you was completely different then what they ended up doing to you. Asking you to live with you. Well it was more like pressuring you into saying yes. They had a million and one other friends they could have asked. Giving you their sad story about how the company they were rent from decided to try and evict all the lower income, and the ones that had locked in rates. Saying that no one else could take them in, they didn’t know what to do. Also telling you that they wouldn’t have their animals either. Now you were sitting there with two dogs that like to destroy your house the one you owned, that you sacrificed everything, worked two jobs to own.

A month ended up being another, then another. Promising you they would help around the house. Well that lasted about a month. You thought things were going well. Your house was cleans, the garage and shed cleaned out and re-organized things that you needed to take to the dump, went. They also had promised to help you finish painting your kitchen and bathroom. Help with small miner repairs. You did live in an older home. Well it was month four and you had yet to receive anymore help with the house. Utility bill seem to skyrocket what you would normally pay had tripled, and you were the one that paid for everything only once had you received money and it was only an eighth of what they owed you. Haven’t paid you in four months. Giving you every sad excuse. Like losing their jobs, only being able to find part time work. The boyfriend of your friend never seemed to work at all. Just slept all the time. Letting the dogs do what they wanted, like go to the bathroom in your home. Or not picking up the piles from their dogs outside.

This was about the time you told loki what was going on. He had just come back after being away for two months, on a mission in the Galaxy. He wanted you to come with him. He knew something was off when he came over. There was something off about the house, about your mood. Hell you even tried lying to him. Which you never did. Let alone you knew you would never get away with it, he was the god of lies after all. Even with that title he never once, nor could he ever lie to you. You were his heart, even if you didn’t believe that. You had been told, so many time by fools before him that you meant the world to them only resolved in heartbreak.

“Darling,” Loki sighed. “I thought they were only going to be staying with you a month?”

“I know loki, but-“ You were cute off, Loki raised his hand to stop you.

“No buts, my love. They haven’t even paid you.”

“They will, they are just struggling.” You tried to convince Loki or were you trying to convince yourself, you weren’t even sure.

“But your miserable. And now you are struggling to stay afloat in your own bills. And what about those two new Xbox one Systems. Those weren’t there when I was here last. They owe you, but they got those?”

“They got them from a friend who worked for Microsoft.” You half smiled as you thought about that. Never really thought much of it, they never really told you the hole story on those. They had posted it on social media that’s how you found out and when you asked they deleted the post. Loki raised an eyebrow at you. “All right I’ll talk to them.” You sighed trying to avoid Loki lecturing you.

“If you need help I’m more then willing to help you. You know that right.” Loki smirked at you. Hint of mischief in his eyes.

Now that Loki was back you seemed to have been spending less time at home. And more time with Loki at the compound. Which didn’t bother the rest of the team, they loved having you their. You kept Loki in line. Hell Tony even offed to give you the job as Loki’s babysitter. It had been about two weeks. You were out getting coffee with Loki when you got a text from the people staying with you.

Stella: Wanna go to the mall later when you get back? I want to walk around since it’s raining outside. If Loki isn’t going to take you up your time all day that is. Lol

Y/n: I can’t today I have to go into work.

Which wasn’t really a lie, but you really didn’t feel like going when they didn’t have the money, nor did you.

Stella: I forgot to tell you that my uncle has liver cancer

You felt horrible, it was sudden. You told loki, as he was curious on who was texting you.

Stella: My aunt is going to pick me up Saturday and we are going to drive over to New Jersey.

Y/n: Oh no I’m sorry.

It was Saturday and you had over heard her boyfriend, Friday night say something about Vegas. You never thought anything about it. You were about to head over to see Loki. When a few things about that day started to not add up. Like why would her uncle need makeup wrapped in Birthday paper. The other thing was one of her friends that you were friends with, she was having her thirtieth birthday in Vegas. Which you remember month back Stella saying something about wanting to go. You started to realize she had lied to you. Then the kicker was that she posted a picture of her at the airport, stating she was going to Vegas. She had blocked you from the post. It was another friend that told you. As they didn’t block them from seeing the post. To say that you were beyond pissed, when you saw Loki was an understatement.

“Love, what’s wrong?” Loki asked. At this point you were about to let anyone have it. Unfortunately for Loki it was him. You laid it out for him, vented to him. He sat there eyes dark as his Blood began to boil. No one does this to you. Friend or not. He will make them suffer. After you were done.

“Sorry Loki. I didn’t mean to vent to you like that. Le alone go on a tirade.” You let out a long sigh.

“There is no need to be sorry love, that is what I’m here for. For you to vent to.” Loki smiled at you. Never once telling you I told you so. Or you should have listened to me. “You are to sweet my love. People like to take that kind sweet person and use them. Because they think can, and that sweet kind hearted person get used. Knowing that you wouldn’t lash out.”

Loki was right. It was true every time you bend over backwards for people, you never got anything in return. Unlike Loki who always did things for you. You sniffled, you felt the tears fall. Throwing yourself into Loki’s tailored suited chest. Loki didn’t hesitate wrapping his arms around you. Rubbing your back. His voice was gentle as he soothed you. Loki knew what he was going to do. He knew what they looked like. He meet them before. You had finally calm down. Shooting your so called friend a text.

Y/n: We need to talk, when you get back from “Vegas”

You waited but never heard from her, nor had you seen the boyfriend. He seemed to show up only take the dogs out then would disappear. Never once acknowledging you. Loki in the other hand had about enough. After you fell asleep on the couch. Loki used his magic to start moving all of their things. He was not kind enough to pack their stuff. No, they can do that outside, where their will find their belongings. And for good Measure he even made a few thing disappear like the two game Systems that they did not need, specially if they owed you money.

He fenced in the dog outside as well. Making sure they were safe but not in the house. They can wait for their owner to come and not destroy more then what they had. Loki fixes everything that those two pain in the ass dogs did. Even fixed the thing that were promised to be done for you during their stay. Loki then moved on to his next thing. Loki then disappear himself, soon finding himself in the worst place possible, Vegas. He did not see the fun in the place it was two hot and noisy, it seemed to be noisier then New York whether that was true or not he really wanted to get out of there soon.

Finding your so called friend, partying it up. Without a word he stocked over to her. Glaring at her as he approached. When she turned around she practically jumped. The look on his face put fear in her eyes. Even if her face didn’t show it. A slight smirk crossed his lips. Before she could say a thing, he teleported her and himself back to your house, on the front lawn where the rest of her stuff was. Now on to the pathetic male. In a blink of an eye he was gone and back with the boyfriend.

“What the hell. You can’t just.” She hissed, crossing her arms.

“No,” Loki growled stocking towards her. He toward over her. “You do not get the right to speak to me. You both are going to listen and listen well. Do not test me. I will not hesitate to do what I have done before. You know who I am and what I am capable of doing to you pathetic mortals.” Loki seethed. He was not going to let them get away with this.

“The two of you are going to leave, you are going to pack up your own stuff within the hour. Then you will be gone. No longer in y/n’s life. She let you into her home. She allowed you both, to walk all over her. And still cared for you. She is struggling with bills, because she is not get the money that is owed to her.” He sneered, his finger in their faces. Shaming them. As he continued.

“But yet you can get two new brain washing systems, and a nice getaway to Vegas. While lying to her, using her kind heart, pulling on those strings by telling her you Uncle was dying. That is low even for me. And I’ve killed people for fun.” Loki never taking a moment as he chewed them out.

“And furthermore, you will giver her the money that is owed to her. I do believe it is nine hundred after four months of living here. Which is a rip-off I think she should charge you more then that. And you are luck I don’t make you pay more. You both have one hour, to come up with this money then be gone. If not well, you will not like what I will do. But I do hope you don’t make it in time. I have been rather bored. Oh one more thing, you will also apologize to her, to her face.” Smirking, and with that he misted out, back to you. Taking the place of his hologram that you currently had your head resting on his lap.

What woke you was a knock on the door, Loki had fallen “asleep”. You got up to answer it. To your surprise you friend had shoved money at you. Mumbled some kind of an apology and scurried off with her boyfriend. You noticed the moving truck outside as they hurried in. You turned to look at loki who was still asleep. You walked over to him. Kissing his cheek, you had a feeling loki had something to do with that. It had only been two hours and how she got back from Vegas that fast would take an act of a god.

“What was that for love?” Loki purred as he popped an eye open to look at you.

“Thank you.” You kissed his cheek again.

“For?” He smirked.

“For helping me with them.” You kissed him again only this time loki gave you his own lips.

“Think nothing of it my love. I would do anything for you.”

Permanent tags: @kitkatkl @lokilvrr @instantnoodlese @drakesfiance @meyoko10 @jackheart180, @miraclesoflove @wolfcore227, @mr-hiddlestons-Pet, @madleiine @teageowen @scorpionchild81 @redlipsinkorea @mintzxi

Tom/Loki Tag’s: @theoneanna @graveyard-groupie @silverquartx @moonfaery @kcd15 @moonlightprime @youveseen--thebutcher @shockwavee @sabine-leo @screw-real-life-i-pick-fandoms @vethrvolnir @darkprincessloki92 @archy3001 @chaoticwithpurpose @paanchu786 @metalheadspider @myownviperroom @arosewithdaisies @jilldsumner @witchbitch-stuff @too-cold-for-youhere @iamverity @sterwild

#loki fanfic #loki x reader #loki imagine #loki x you #loki #loki laufeyson #loki of asgard #loki fluff

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trashratmatt · 5 years ago

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ok real talk

why has Brutal Legend been such a forgotten game (i mean i kinda get it and maybe im just over excited and late to the party but)

legit this game nails so many good hits?? my thoughts are scattered but like

okay so the game Brutal Legend released in 2009, the same year along side some long-lasters like Minecraft and the first Borderlands game, as well as AC II, Batman Arkham Asylum, and Left 4 Dead 2

but Brutal Legend, like only a handful games for the year 2009, was completely OPEN WORLD, and even provided a solid vehicle to traverse a rather LARGE world; granted because of graphical limitations, this world was somewhat barren, the traversable terrain kinda flat, but they made that WORK with the aesthetic they were going for, and the environment looked like a metal album cover come to life, minimalist but dark and messy

this game ALSO has a day/night cycle and DYNAMIC WEATHER, i was not expecting it to start raining in the middle of the night when i was playing this game

while the hair clips through the model a majority of the time with lack of collision, they implemented hair physics, and the facial animations (ESPECIALLY for the main character, Eddie) are solid, fun, emotive, and the squash and stretch in Eddie’s face is extremely satisfying

on the subject OF Eddie Riggs, the main character voiced by Jack Black, is a SOLID AND WELL WRITTEN character

not only is he wholesome, but he does have a bit of an ego about himself, but that’s because he KNOWS his talents and his strengths and he knows them to be true. he’s stated as the best roadie in the world, and this is fact, not exaggeration.

even then, Eddie is JUST FINE being a Roadie, and in the beginning of the game when Lars offers for EDDIE to be the leader of their goal, Eddie calmly refuses because he KNOWS his strength is in supporting his group, being the roadie, and he acknowledges that Lars is more of a leader (even though Eddie is completely capable of leading himself, as this is proven in the next area of the game)

and while Eddie does hit on Ophelia when she arrives, it doesn’t feel forced, and it’s mostly in way of looking and compliments, not in standing overly close or touching, and even then he ends up asking more about the world he’s ended up in than the cup size of her bra

and when Ophelia mentions Lars, Eddie doesn’t get jealous, or disses Lars when he meets him, they actually becoming solid bros and get an understanding for each other because there’s just a “caring about Ophelia” solidarity

Eddie is a solid character and a solid person and he feels absolutely NATURAL to watch him interact with the other characters of this world

and despite being voiced by jack black (and this game is EXTREMELY jack black, 2009 being one of Jack’s golden era’s in my opinion) it just WORKS and Jack does an extremely good job at sounding like himself, but also giving life into Eddie as his own character instead of just standing back and going “yep, that’s sure jack black” and its such a nice balance of what Jack is known for vs what he puts into his character to separate him from himself

the controls for the game are extremely simple but extremely solid

press one button for the axe, hold that button for the secondary axe attack press the other button for the guitar, hold for the secondary attack press both button at the same time for a ground slam 1, 2, 1 for a more powerful slam

with the d-pad you control troops you gather by playing brief quick time solos (you can also summon your vehicle this way whenever you want, wherever you want)

you can do double-team attacks by pressing (y on the xbox/triangle on playstation/i forgot the keyboard one) when you’re near either a secondary character or one of your troops

you can also use solos to perform special attacks via the brief quick time event to guitar-hero play your guitar and activate the solo’s power, and you do NOT take damage while you’re in this minigame, so don’t be afraid to make use of the mechanic in battle!!

the humor in the game is GREAT, the story is obscene but GREAT, the design is AMAZING, the enemy designs, while repetitive are EXTREMELY solid and hold up well for the world, and the whole thing is calmly ridiculous and just feels NATURAL to experience, and there’s even SIDE QUESTS to earn the points you need to upgrade your powers and solos! plus its LITTERED with rock/metal stars in such a subtle and chill way that it doesn’t feel forced or that they’re cramming “HEY WE HAVE THIS ACTOR” down your throat

Brutal Legend is such a good game that absolutely deserves more love and attention (i was super happy to see actual fan art in the tags)

AND it’s 10 year anniversary is actually this year on October 13!! so soon to be happy birthday Brutal Legend, you’re fucking awesome and you’re holding amazing for a 10 year old game, and your ambitions do not go unnoticed

#brutal legend

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annakie · 5 years ago

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An Annotated Mass Effect Playthrough, Part Three

List of Posts: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Wherein we finish up on Eden Prime, and make it to the Citadel.

The fight along the long open walkway before the train is, imho, the hardest part of Eden Prime. But hey, only died once this time and that was mostly my own stupidity. Should probably knock the difficulty down to easy.

I have, btw, beaten the game on insanity, on Xbox 360 so without mods or cheats. It was... extremely frustrating. There are certain spots, and I’ll try to remember to point the worst ones out when I get there, that I probably had to replay upwards of 20 times before beating. But I did it. I did get every achievement on XBox back in 2009.

This is such a good visual. They didn’t have to tilt the camera, but they did, really emphasizing the “Something is very, very wrong here” angle.

The aesthetics of this station are great. Again my biggest problem is that it feels like it’s a train to nowhere.

This last playthrough I completely forgot to disarm the bomb that’s, you know, right as you get off the tram. Still had about 30 seconds left when I ran back for it. Whoops.

I really love this quick scene of Ashley and Kaidan because something about the lighting makes it feel like the cover of like a 50′s scifi pulp novel.

I’m using the flycam command that can super slow time down so it’s been great for getting those little moments that go by super quick, like all the little cuts during the Beacon scene. A lot of scenes like this I’ll run it through once normal and then go back and do it with slo-mo on, letting things that go by in half a second slow down so I have itme to capture a perfect shot.

I’ve always thought it’d be interesting to see what would have happened had Ash or Kaidan actually absorbed the beacon.

I bet someone’s written that fic.

Anyway, I’ve seen people criticizing Ash/Kaidan for being that close to the beacon. First of all, you can walk that close before the cutscene (in fact you have to to mash the button to start the cutscene) and second... um... it’s dictated by the plot that it has to happen. *facepalm*

OOF. Upscaling did not actually help this low-poly Sovereign model. I mean the lights look good... the rest of the textures though... not so much.

There’s a mod that gives Benezia a shirt that I’m really regretting not applying now. I might figure that out.

Anyway, first time I played through it drove me CRAZY for a minute not knowing who this voice belonged to, and after googling it, I fell in love with this game even more. I love ST:TNG so much, and it’s always a thrill to hear Marina’s voice.

Anyone else totally not shocked that Saren is a rage monster?

Later in 2009 I went on a cruise that was supposed to be with my entire family. My grandma got sick and couldn’t go, so neither did my parents or aunt. My brother, SIL and her parents still went. With no heavy family obligations I spent 90% of the daytimes on that cruise on the adults-only deck reading books, including I think the two Mass Effect books that were out at that point. Reading the whole story behind Anderson & Saren made me hate this guy even more. Pretty good book, if you haven’t read it yet.

And that was a really, really great vacation.

Scary hand textures there, Bioware. Good angle and colors, though.

At least the beacon let us have a really good nap.

This conversation and honestly most of them dealing with this vision / talking to the council about Saren I think the middle options are some of the better options, even better than the Paragon options.

Also, this happens sometimes in the next two games but heavily in the first game, the middle option is often still the Paragon or Renegade voiced dialog but the text is just different. For a lot of these lines here, though, it’s not, and also it makes Shepard sound like less of a goody-goody and more realistic.

And then this happens.

Oh, there we go, our first heart-melting moment. The smile that’s been giffed a thousand times. I love how subtle this is, the widening eyes, the actual natural-feeling upturn of the lips. I wonder how long it took the animator to get this right, because... bravo.

I’ve always wondered if the halo were intentional, like, that’s some heavy symbolism there since Shepard becomes The Savior of The Citadel (and eventually the galaxy).

Finally some alone time. I liked that he both checked in on Shepard here, remembered Jenkins and mourned civilians a little bit, encouraged her letting her know she did a good job, and also had time to give us a little more exposition about the council, his abilities, and his backstory.

Also.. JOKER’s WAITING FOR YOU ON THE BRIDGE!

Maybe that line wouldn’t be so jarring later if they didn’t recycle it from here.

Naah, it would still suck.

This is the only other conversation of substance we have with Dr. Chakwas. And a good chunk of it is about Kaidan and his implants. I’d love more interaction with her in a remaster. At least in 2 and 3 she has fetch quests.

Also some time to get to know Ashley. I can’t imagine people blaming losing her unit on Eden Prime on her, but hey, some people do. Her abilities were wasted there anyway, and she deserves to be on the Normandy, end of story.

Hey Joker what’s up do you want to tell me about yourse--

Nope, right into a cutscene, okay!

At least it’s an amazing cutscene.

I like here that apparently Ashley and Joker have spent the last 15 hours while Shepard was asleep getting comfortable enough with each other to make dick jokes.

The music, the visuals, the absolute majesty of this entire scene. How can you not already love this game?

Honestly, I complained about the loredump at the beginning, but it’s pretty crucial and it hits on all the right beats without being completely overwhelming, even if it does get a little repetitive. It doesn’t take long for the game to throw you into the action, introduce you to the major players (except the four companions you don’t have *yet*) and establish the universe and premise of the story. It also gives you a sense of urgency and danger, and sticks the sci-fi tropes it needs to land.

Then you pretty quickly get funneled into the Citadel, where some of the learning comes more naturally and you finally get off the beaten path a little. It’s peak Bioware game design at it’s best.

I planned on stepping foot onto the Citadel by now, but I have stuff to do, so that will have to wait until later.

#mass effect #bioware #annakie's mass effect stuff #mass effect 1 #video games

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bosmerbitch · 5 years ago

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Lemme tell you how I got into Skyrim. This shit is fucking bad, very very high up on the dumbass scale, so here we go.

Some backstory, so I have an excuse to why I’m so fucking bad at this

When I was growing up, I surrounded myself in Nintendo. My step brother was also a Nintendo nerd, so we didn’t stray all that much. The only time I ever heard Skyrim get referenced was by the douchebag Homophobic Dude Bros™ that were in art class just to try and get an easy grade, so let’s just say it left a sour taste in my mouth.

I moved to Nevada when I was 18 and all they had was a broken Xbox 360. My friend Chris thought I’d like Fable, and really, really did, because I literally finished it in just a few weeks. But when I tried to replay it (evil this time) I couldn’t even complete the first important task because I felt bad for being a horrible person. (the first Big choice you have is to execute some dude you’re supposed to be in love with or a group of protesters that are trying to feed their families).

So he goes, “look. Just try Skyrim.”

And I go, “no.” yaknow, like an idiot.

He wouldn’t believe me when I said I wanted nothing to do with it, because I did admit I had never, ever played it before. So he plays it in front of me for a good week or so. And as per his grand plan, I start to get curious.

And also fucking infuriated.

This dude snuck everywhere. He only used light armor. He never got close enough to an enemy to force him to draw a dagger. He wouldn’t use horses. His play style was his, no judgement—but yakno. it drove me up the fucking wall. If I had to sit through two more hours of this man slowly crab walking his ass up the seven thousand steps because he refused to walk like a normal person lest his sneak skill maybe possibility suffer by one point, I think i’d go full feral.

So I said fuck it, grabbed the controller, and started a new game.

I create a Bosmer character who looks like she could punch me and I’d apologise for my face being in the way of her fist, because i am gay. I then spend 3 thousand years on babyname websites, trying my darndest to find a name that fit her face.

Dumbass Mistake number one: I press A to input the first letter.

“wait. This isn’t a GameCube controller. Fuck.”

I actually press B.

As in. Save and exit.

Do you want to name your character Prisoner?

“what? No!”

I press A, thinking it’s B.

My name is now Prisoner.

Now I’m pissed, but I’ve spent way too much time in the character creation screen to warrant a re-do. I am stuck with a Woodelf named Prisoner.

This becomes part of her lore later on. She was raised in a prison and only ever referred to as “prisoner” when she was little, so she took it as her name but dropped the e for an o when she was learning to write because she was literally a baby who couldn't spell: Prisonor.

Dumbass Mistake #2: I’m so used to autocameras that follow the player and find decent enough angles without me having to jam the stick back and forth that I can not for the life of me fucking Look At Shit Correctly.

I almost died. Do you know how bad you have to be to nearly die in the opening tutorial? It was as if i’d decided to play with my fucking elbows instead of my hands, I was flailing about like a lunatic. All while Alduin moved around and threw rocks at people, too, and my camera work was so bad it looked as if Bethesda had actually made a good scene to convey the horror and terror of the situation. Fuck you Bethesda

Dumbass Mistake #3: heavy armor. This was, and will continue to be, my downfall. Kiss half my fucking carry weight capacity goodbye because this Bad Bitch Needs Those High Armor Stats.

Oh, what? You need to sneak into a cave and steal some shit? Well you now have too options, you absolute Unit. You heavy as fuck bone armor thicc thot.

It’s either: a) sneak as is and get detected the moment your big toe even twitches upwards or b) go streaking for a few in-game hours and stuff all that contraband.... Somewhere. Don’t really know where it goes, to be honest.

Naked but stealthy. Stealthy.... But naked.

Obviously I go streaking quite a lot at first.

As I got bigger and heavier armor and weapons, I started plowing through dungeons by sheer force alone. Mind you, Prisonor is small, angry, and has a huge axe, so it just works®

Mistake #4: no Stamina. We trudge slowly to shadowmere like a woman with infinite health and literally nothing else. I think I maybe slipped her one or two levels into Stamina, and absolutely nothing in Magicka. Actually,

Dumb of Ass Mistake number 5: no god damned Magicka. It became such a problem that i would tell Chris to remind me next time when I was leveling up, to possibly add to poor widdle Magicka pwease? And I never did, since we’d both forget, and hit “health” with a smug little smile in my face. Try and kill me, douches. I have 300 health and counting. Wait. Wait hold on I fucking forgot—

I gave her the first novice hood you find in the game, dusted off my hands as if i’d just solved all of humanity’s inherent problems, and walked. Away.

It’s now part of her backstory. She can’t grow her Magicka because her mother was a skooma addict when she was pregnant, and it fucked with a few things when she was in the womb. can you tell that her backstory is a little fucked up? Well hold on, don't have much faith in me yet, because i killed her adopted dad too lmao #hewasexecutedforpoliticalgainbecausehewasalargethreattothescoomatradeinhammerfell

Mistake #6: hello my name is Prisonor and I would like to tell you about the future of the Companions, do you have a spare minute?

Chris pointed at Whiterun as I sprinted, naked (for speed, because I am already trudging the path of Heavy Armor even at that point) down the hill from Riverwood and said, “you can become a werewolf over there.”

Oh? I can become a tormented, feral, roaring beast over there yonder? Well sign me the fuck up you funky little bitch.

So I completed the whole questline all the way through with no stops. I didn’t like the fact that nearly everyone was a Nord, but it had less context for me at the time so it rubbed me wrong less than I does now.

But hold on. You get something at the end of that quest, right? A huge axe with a lot of history I didn’t really delve that deep into at the time?

Yes. Yes I did build a heavy armor, no-archery, werewolf, Wuuthrad-wielding Bosmer named Prisonor my first playthrough.

She was the ultimate rebel without me even trying to be. To the point where her axe is more deadly to herself than to her own wife.

Dumb #7: I threw the Ring of Hircine in a lake thinking it was useless.

That’s it. I’m still mad about it.

In conclusion,

The hard drive in the 360 was shit, so the load times were awful. Sunk 80$ on a new hard drive and had to sit on the floor waiting for the saves to transfer for 3 hours.

Good game solid 7,000steps out of 5

#skyrim #skyrim oc #elder scrolls

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seriestrash · 6 years ago

Text

TJ and Friends

○ ◎ ONE SHOT ◎ ○

Summary: This is about TJ with his friends giving them a little backstory whilst also showing a few instances where he talks about Cyrus.

Read on Ao3

Word Count: 8305

Note: This one shot begins right after Buffy tried out for the boys basketball team.

After a pretty draining tryouts, the newly appointed captain of the basketball team retreats home for some downtime. TJ lets himself into his apartment knowing his mom wouldn't be home. TJ sets his backpack down on the kitchen counter and picks up the little post-it note left on the edge in a clearly visible spot so TJ would notice it once he arrived. The note reads;

‘Working late tonight but can’t wait to hear about tryouts in the morning. There’s a plate of dinner for you to heat up in the fridge, love mom’.

TJ smiles to himself for a moment that she always signs her notes off with ‘mom’ even though it was just the two of them and therefore no one else to mistake as the sender of the note.

With a hand on his stomach, TJ wanders over to the refrigerator to have a look at what was on the menu for the evening. TJ is disappointed to find a half eaten plate of meatloaf and mashed potatoes. The basketball captain lets out a heavy sigh and calls out loudly, “Reed, are you here?”

“In your room.” His voice bellows from down the hall.

“Did you eat half of my dinner?” TJ grumpily closes the fridge and sulks down the hall towards his room.

“I was hungry.” Reed chuckles.

“Dude?” TJ gives him an unimpressed look once he reaches his bedroom door. The younger blonde is sitting on TJ’s floor, his gaze focused on the small TV set as he plays the xbox hooked up to it.

“Dude.” Reed mimics TJ’s tone. “I left you half.”

“Gee thanks, Reed, that’s so generous of you to leave me half of my own dinner.” TJ says sarcastically.

“You’re welcome.” Reed jokes.

“You know my mom gave you that key for emergencies?” TJ scoffs as he still hovers in the doorway.

“I was bored,” Reed says as he sits the game controller in his lap and finally meets TJ’s gaze, “That seemed like an emergency to me.”

“Don’t you have anyone else you can annoy?” TJ exaggerates an eye roll. “Like Lester?”

Reed smirks, “He’s grounded.”

“What’d he do this time?” TJ asks with no inkling of surprise about his friends punishment.

“I don’t even know.” Reed offers up a shrug with a light laugh. “Want next round?”

TJ thinks about the math homework he had been avoiding for two days and is conflicted for a second before ultimately accepting the controller and taking a seat beside Reed on the floor. The two sit with their backs resting against TJ’s bed.

“You seem extra stressy today.” Reed readjusts his position to a comfier one now that he was viewing the game instead of playing.

“I had tryouts today for the team.” TJ shakes his head at his friend.

“Oh crap, I completely forgot.” Reed laughs.

“You weren’t concerned at how long it took me to get home from school?” TJ asks rhetorically.

“How’d tryouts go, captain?” Reed mockingly salutes TJ to which the taller boy elbows him in response, all the while keeping his eyes fixated on his small television screen as he plays his turn.

“Everyone is pretty hopeless,” TJ grunts, “And get this right, a girl tried out for the team.”

“Why would she try out for the boys basketball team?” Reed scrunches his face in confusion.

“Jefferson doesn’t have a girls team.” TJ explains.

“Was she any good?” Reed questions.

“That’s besides the point.” TJ lets out a frustrated breath once he loses his turn.

“Why?” Reed reclaims the controller for another go.

“She’s a girl.” TJ offers up weakly.

“You scared she’s going to be better than you?” Reed teases.

“As if.” TJ rolls his eyes but there was some truth behind Reed’s quip. “It’s just embarrassing having a girl on the team.”

“Not if she’s good.” Reed says.

“I don't know. I just don’t want her on the team.” TJ says huffily knowing he had no real basis for his argument.

“Is she cute?” Reed asks. “Sorry dumb question,” He adds with a laugh. “I forgot you don’t exactly care about that kind of thing.”

“You know that’s not how it works right?” TJ frowns.

“I know.” Reed says a little nicer.

“You haven't told anyone, have you?” TJ asks quietly. “Not even Lester?”

“No way.” Reed says firmly and he puts his controller down to look at TJ so he knew he was being genuine, “I told you, I got your back no matter what.”

TJ nods slightly and shakes off the heaviness of the moment. “My turn.” TJ changes the subject as the pair were very rarely in-depth feelings sharing kind of friends and their discussion about TJ maybe being gay a few weeks ago had filled their sappy talk quota for a while.

“Fine.” Reed gives up the controller. “Hey, you got any savings from the gym?”

“A little why?” TJ questions.

“To order pizza.” Reed says with a cheesy grin.

“What about half of my meatloaf you already ate?” TJ asks.

“It was not good, that’s why I only ate half.” Reed holds back his laugh.

“I’m going to tell my mom you said that.” TJ laughs.

“She won't believe you.” Reed says confidently, “Tess loves me.”

“That’s only because she doesn’t know half of the crap you get up to these days.” TJ scoffs.

“Hey, what our parents don’t know won't kill them.” Reed smirks devilishly.

TJ quickly comes to terms with the fact that he’d have to use part of his latest paycheck for pizza as Reed was unlikely to let the idea go. TJ jokes that for a rich boy, Reed is often spending TJ’s hard earned money to to which Reed rolls his eyes and assures TJ he’s good for it.

Reed was TJ’s oldest friend.The two met when TJ was nine and Reed was eight. TJ had just started to get into dirt biking and they met at a popular riding spot. Reed had been doing it since he was much younger and was a great help for the beginner. The two were fast friends and have only gotten closer since. In fact, there was one point in time where the two almost became stepbrothers. TJ’s mom, Tess was engaged to Reed’s dad, Michael but she called it off because Michael’s all consuming work schedule was a really big issue within their relationship. Michael became quite bitter about the breakup and for sometime after he banned Reed from seeing TJ but thankfully he eventually dropped his anger towards TJ and let his son see him again. Although her relationship ended with his father, Tess is still quite motherly to Reed, hence the spare key and complete comfort Reed feels being in their apartment alone.

Shortly after they first connected, Reed introduced TJ to Lester whom he knew from school. Both Lester and Reed go to Lincoln Academy which is a private school across town, one that goes from kindergarten right through until high school. Upon introducing Lester to TJ, the three instantly clicked as a group. Lester tends to be the quietest of the three even though he’s the oldest, he’s shy around new people but when it came to TJ and Reed he showed a lot more personality. The three earn a reputation as being mischievous at times, often causing Tess great grief and trouble for Reed with his dad. Regardless of their reputation though, they were TJ’s best friends. Sure he had his basketball friends at school but he misses having Reed and Lester around during his daily schedule and is at time envious they get to go to school together, even if they wore dorky uniforms, although he’d never admit that out loud.

A day after the Jefferson Middle School’s first basketball game of the season, TJ is out front of The Red Rooster flipping through a rack of records whilst Reed and Lester were inside looking at others when he’s approached by Buffy. Buffy very maturally tries to reason with TJ but he blows her off completely resulting in some heated words from Buffy before she storms off.

It’s only a second later that Reed and Lester exit The Red Rooster and both catch a glimpse of Buffy as she storms away.

“What was all that about?” Reed questions.

“That was Buffy.” TJ rolls his eyes.

“Oh damn.” Lester laughs, “She is not what I was expecting.” By now Reed had caught Lester up on the issue whilst they were at school together.

“We could hear her yelling at you from inside,” Reed appears amused.

“Well she’s officially on the team and officially a pain in the neck.” TJ huffs.

“She’s got personality, I like her.” Reed smirks.

"Well you’re both annoying so it’s like a match made in heaven.” TJ replies snippily and Lester laughs halfheartedly.

Reed chuckles through a sarcastic, “Ooo,” before TJ rolls his eyes and walks away.

“Don’t be like that.” Reed says as he and Lester chase after TJ.

“You’re not taking my Buffy problem seriously.” TJ folds his arms.

“If you really don’t want her on the team you’re going to have to convince her not to be.” Reed says.

“How am I supposed to do that?” TJ asks. “I already told her to quit.”

“I don’t know, don’t pass her the ball?” Reed suggests, “I’m sure she’ll quit eventually.”

A few weeks later TJ is shooting hoops at the court by his apartment building to let off some steam. After another failed algebra test he’s being forced to start tutoring sessions with Buffy of all people. TJ grumpily makes a shot, the ball connects with the edge of the hoop and bounces backwards.

“And I thought you were supposed to be good at this?” Reed catches the rebound, Lester is a step behind him chuckling.

“I’m too angry.” TJ huffs as he catches the ball Reed bounced back towards him.

“What’s rubbing you the wrong way?” Lester questions.

“My stupid math teacher is making me get a tutor because I failed a couple of dumb tests.” TJ folds his arms, “Maybe if he wasn’t so boring I wouldn’t fall asleep in his class and I’d actually pass.”

“Who’s the unlucky student that gets to tutor you?” Reed questions.

“Driscoll.” TJ says with a look of distaste.

Reed stifles a laugh, “Now I get the whole broody basketballer mood.”

“Buffy?” Lester questions, “That poor girl you’ve been tormenting on your team?”

“I’m not tormenting her.” TJ looks offended.

“She’s met you, that’s torture enough.” Reed jokes and Lester playfully smacks his chest in amusement.

“My charming personality doesn’t seem to be enough to repel you two losers.” TJ rolls his eyes before lobbing the basketball towards his friends. It hits them both on a shoulder each as they failed at their attempted swerves to dodge it.

“Why don’t you just get a different student to tutor you?” Lester questions.

TJ remains quiet about all the other tutors he’s already gone through. He had been silent about his tutoring history until today. “There’s no one else.” TJ shrugs. “My teacher says it has to be Buffy.”

“Tough break.” Reed coaxes his head, “You want to go for a ride, maybe take your mind off of it?”

“Can’t.” TJ sighs, “I have to think of a way to get Buffy to agree to the stupid tutoring sessions so I’m not kicked off the team.”

“Good luck with that.” Lester says with a grimace.

“Keep me posted.” Reed gives TJ’s shoulder a pat as they part ways.

The following afternoon TJ walks into Lester’s house after Lester’s younger sister Kylie let’s him in.

“They’re in the basement.” Kylie says with little emotion before leaving TJ on his own.

“Okay thanks..” TJ says to himself before he turns towards the basement and trots down the stairs. Lester’s basement was a nice setup, it wasn’t quite as flash as Reed’s mansion of a home but Lester’s living situation was definitely a good few steps up from TJ’s tiny apparent he shared with his mom.

“Hey.” Lester greets TJ, he and Reed both sit on a couch in the middle of the basement.

“Hey.” TJ says as he takes a seat in the free armchair adjacent to them both. “So Buffy agreed to tutor me.”

“How’d you manage that?” Lester questions.

“I agreed to pass her the ball.” TJ releases a defeated sigh.

“That’s it?” Reed laughs, “She has to teach your dumb ass and all you have to do is pass her the ball?”

“Dude?” TJ gives his friend an unamused look.

“I’m just kidding.” Reed dismisses TJ’s sensitivity towards the joke.

“Passing her the ball is a gateway into her wanting to stay on the team.” TJ folds his arms.

“Yeah but it also means that you get to stay on the team.” Lester highlights.

“You guys were the ones that encouraged me to try and make her quit.” TJ says defensively.

“Yeah but now you need her help with something so you have to adapt.” Lester shrugs.

“I guess.” TJ sinks into the chair with a sulky expression. “There was one other condition she had..” TJ was mumbly as he said this but there was a hint of a smile that crossed his face.

“Yeah?” Reed points a raised brow at TJ out of confusion more than curiosity.

“She made me get her friend a muffin.” TJ says.

“Like buy a muffin?” Reed tries to make sense of it all.

“No, we have these muffins in the cafeteria he just always misses out on one.” TJ explains.

“He can’t get his own muffin?” Reed laughs.

“That was my reaction,” TJ laughs too but then softens, “I think he’s just too polite to cut in line.

“So you cut in and got him the muffin?” Lester questions stoically, clearly not enthralled by the muffin tale.

“Kind of,” TJ shrugs, “I guess it doesn't really matter.”

“Well he got a muffin and you got yourself a tutor.” Reed slaps his knee, “Things are looking up.”

TJ begins tutoring with Buffy and much like his behaviour with the past tutors he’s burnt through, TJ shows her little respect, all to deflect from his struggles to actually make sense of what she’s saying.

In a strange twist of fate TJ winds up on the swings with Cyrus where the pair swing away their ‘stuff’. A nice moment is interrupted when Buffy finds them together and then suggests TJ might have a learning disability. TJ already thinking so little of himself, receives this poorly and storms off again.

On his walk home, TJ bumps into Reed who was riding his push bike. Reed hops off and pushes his bike as he walks alongside TJ.

“Hey.” TJ mumbles his greeting.

“Hey..” Reed furrows his brows at TJ’s off mood.

“What are you doing?” TJ asks with little effort to fake being interested in an actual answer.

“Just hanging out.” Reed answers, “...Is something up, man?”

“Tutoring sucks and Buffy is the worst.” TJ huffs.

“What else is new?” Reed forces a soft laugh to make light of things but it falls flat with TJ.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” TJ shrugs.

“Cool.” Reed nods and the two walk in silence for a moment.

Finally TJ speaks up, “Hey you remember when we were kids and we used to hang out at the park and we’d do the underdog trick on the swings?”

Reed looks like he was searching his memory vault before an uncertain kind of realisation crosses his face, “Is that where you duck under whilst the other one swings high?”

“Yeah, that’s it.” TJ says with a nod.

“Yeah, I remember, all the kids would do it.” Reed smiles, “Wow, I had totally forgotten about that.”

“Me too.” TJ smiles to himself. “Until today..”

“Any reason you bring it up now?” Reed questions.

“Nah.. Just thinking about it.” TJ brushes it off, the swing session with Cyrus had made him feel better and he didn’t want Reed making fun of it.

“Okay...” Reed nods. “So I have an idea about your Buffy problem.”

“Oh yeah?” TJ questions.

“If she’s not working as your tutor, why don’t you just get her to do your homework instead?” Reed proposes.

“Like she’d ever agree to that.” TJ scoffs.

“Find a way to convince her..”

After Reed’s suggestion, TJ - with Cyrus unknowingly assisting - managed to convince Buffy to do his homework. Although it was his intent to not pass her the ball during the game his teammates started to turn against him and he had no choice.

After the teams win, TJ lazes around his bedroom with Lester and Reed, snacks polluting the floor in front of the xbox set up.

“Who’s Cyrus?” Reed - who’s over by the desk - asks.

TJ’s attention snaps from the game up towards Reed as Cyrus’s name was surprising to hear coming from present company.

“What?” TJ asks with a confused expression.

“Cyrus, he’s invited you to his bar mitzvah?” Reed waves the invite he had picked up from TJ’s desk around.

“Oh, he’s Buffy’s friend.” TJ says casually.

“Muffin boy?” Reed asks with an amused grin and Lester chuckles.

“Let’s not call him that...” TJ frowns.

“So you and Cyrus are friends now?” Lester questions.

“Yeah are we missing something?” Reed presses, “You’re not on good terms with Buffy - his friend - but muffin boy is inviting you to his birthday?”

“Yep.” TJ shrugs casually, “Cyrus was actually the one who helped me solve my homework issue with Buffy.. Although he doesn’t really know what part he played in that...”

“Is the party going to be fun?” Lester asks.

“Think you can get a couple of plus ones?” Reed seconds the idea after picking up on what Lester was suggesting.

“You don’t even know Cyrus and it’s invite only.” TJ shuts down the idea quickly.

“Lame.” Both Reed and Lester say in unison causing them all to chuckle.

After Cyrus’s crazy bar mitzvah party, TJ notifies his mom that he’ll be staying at Reed’s house as it was only a couple minute walk from the party venue. Once there, TJ walks past Reed’s father Michael taking a business call in the kitchen, the two exchange a silent wave and TJ continues towards the theatre room knowing that’s where he’d find the guys. It was pretty late but not uncommon for Michael to still be working, after all, that is why TJ’s mother called off their engagement but TJ still had a wave of sympathy for his friend, although Reed avoids all sorts of family talk, TJ knew he was lonely at home.

Once in the theatre room, TJ finds Lester has already fallen asleep on one of the reclining chairs but Reed was awake and watching a movie with the volume turned down low.

TJ sets himself down on the seat beside Reed and the boys lower their voices to whispers as TJ starts to share how great the party was. He left out details like the fortuneteller confirming his learning disability or Buffy roasting him but he did share a tale of Cyrus and some fancy apple cider.

After TJ’s suspension from the team and some encouraging words from Cyrus he tells Mr. Coleman about his dyscalculia and his suspension is lifted. TJ also couldn’t help himself and rubbed his good fortune in Buffy’s face all the while he let slip about his manipulation into getting her to do his homework and coming clean about it got Buffy suspended instead which TJ was unapologetic for.

As TJ preps for his first game back, Lester and Reed keep him company. TJ explains what had gone down, he even opened up about his dyscalculia with them which Reed and Lester quickly deduced they shouldn’t give TJ a hard time about. TJ goes on to express that he kind of felt bad for getting Buffy suspended too, she was moving away soon and he really ruined that for her. TJ also stressed that he felt guilty for saying something that would probably cause a fight between Cyrus and Buffy.

“Why do you care if they’re fighting?” Reed questions.

“Just because I don’t like Buffy doesn’t mean I need to go ruining her friendships with everyone else right before she moves away...”

School has wrapped up for the day and TJ was surprised to find Lester and Reed waiting out front. The two were still dressed in their school uniforms and they explained that they had ditched last period, that was hard to do at their private school so TJ suspects they’d both get in trouble for it.

“Hey, TJ!” A voice calls from some distance away. TJ peels his gaze from his friends and points it over in the direction his name was called. TJ spots Jonah approaching at a quick paced walk with a basketball gripped in his hands, which was odd to TJ because Jonah was a frisbee boy.

“Who’s that?” Lester questions as it wasn’t any of TJ’s basketball friends that he and Reed had met before.

“Is that Cyrus?” Reed asks.

“No, that’s Jonah.” TJ scrunches his face up.

“Who’s Jonah?” Reed wonders.

TJ hushes his friends just as Jonah reaches them.

“Hey, I’m glad I caught you before you left.” Jonah lets out a heavy breath as he was lightly puffed, he sends a shy smile to the two strangers TJ was with.

“Ah, hey..” TJ gives him a weak smile, the only interaction they had had prior to this was during Jonah’s panic attack.

“I brought this for you to sign.” Jonah holds the basketball out for TJ.

“You starting a fan club for the basketball team or something?” TJ pricks up a brow.

Jonah laughs softly and endearingly says, “That’s more Cyrus’s thing.” TJ could feel Reed’s side stare burning holes in him but he pretends he doesn’t notice and Jonah continues, “The ball is for Buffy. I’m helping Cyrus and Andi put together a time capsule full of Buffy’s memories so she has something to take with her when she leaves, I thought it would be nice if she had a memento from the team. See,” Jonah says twirling the ball in his hands, “the whole team has signed- Well, the whole team excluding you.”

“It’s for Buffy.” Reed says with a knowing look and it earns another shy smile from Jonah.

“Ignore him, that’s what I usually do.” TJ says with an exaggerated grin.

“So, do you want to sign it?” Jonah pulls a sharpie from his pocket and holds it out.

“Are you sure that’s even a good idea?” TJ questions, “Buffy isn’t exactly my biggest fan.”

“Understatement of the year...” Jonah laughs nervously. “Signing could be like a grape vine to Buffy before she leaves, so things between you aren’t on the worst of terms?” Jonah suggests.

“Do you mean olive branch?” Lester sports a confused look.

“Yeah but I hate olives.” Jonah chuckles and both Lester and Reed exchange a perplexed expression, almost wanting to laugh at Jonah but it was so random they were at a loss for words.

“What do you say?” Jonah grins widely at TJ.

“Okay.” TJ nods sheepishly and signs his name to the ball.

After Jonah leaves, Reed and Lester lightly tease TJ about signing the ball. Joking that he’s gone soft and mushy. TJ shrugs it off and insists he’s happy Buffy is leaving for good.

After Buffy moves away TJ found it easier to be Cyrus’s friend. They’d often chat in the halls at school and they’d text a little. So when Cyrus had a problem with P.E. TJ was happy to jump at the chance to help.

After the somersault victory, TJ and Cyrus part ways. TJ meets Lester and Reed at the movie theatre and before the previews began TJ was retelling the events of the day.

Lester expressed an interest in seeing Cyrus’s list of easy things he couldn’t do but TJ refused knowing he and Reed only wanted to make fun of it. As a ‘boo hoo’ to TJ for being no fun his friends start throwing popcorn at him, with both Lester and Reed on either side of him TJ got quite annoyed by this and snaps at his friends. ”Calm down, Kippen.” Reed’s laughter halts abruptly, a hint of annoyance in his tone, “We’re just having some fun.”

”At the expense of me.” TJ grumbles.

“Okay, well, we’re not making fun of you.” Reed scoffs.

“Right, you’re just making fun of my friend.” TJ looks away with an irritated expression.

“Lighten up, TJ.” Lester pats his friend on the shoulder, “We were just messing around.”

“Fine.” TJ shrugs and the lights in the theatre dim as the previews begin, “I just don’t appreciate you making fun of, underdog’s list.” TJ adds with a whisper.

“Underdog?” Lester questions and another movie goer shushes him.

The nickname wasn’t something TJ avoided using around other people but in his present company it felt like a slip up. “Just a nickname,” TJ shrugs it off quietly.

Reed points a raised brow in TJ’s direction although the cinemas was too dark for TJ to notice. Reed thought about TJ brining up the underdog swing game a few months back and questions if TJ’s friendship with Cyrus was something more than he originally thought.

“Cute.” Lester chuckles.

The same movie goer from before speaks up again, this time louder, “Would you kids quite down please?”

“Chill old man, the movie hasn’t even started yet.” Reed calls back and TJ gives him a firm shove in the arm to cut it out.

“What?” Reed asks defensively.

“Just stop.” TJ keeps his voice low.

“Alright, mom.” Reed laughs obnoxiously and other people in the theatre were starting to get annoyed too.

TJ bites his tongue although he really wanted to snap at Reed for saying that but TJ remains quiet because he knew Reed was purposely trying to stir him up. Reed knew TJ hated it when he called him mom, like he was being bossy or controlling which at times TJ would have to be because Reed often got carried away.

Another woman leans forward and she looks annoyed but politely asks them to stop talking as she was trying to watch the trailers. TJ felt embarrassed by his friends misbehaving apologises to the lady and assures her they’ll stop. Reed seems annoyed by TJ and sulks back in his seat. They watched the movie quietly, the mood definitely off between them all.

Once the end credits rolls they exit the theatre but the mood doesn’t lighten up. Things still seemed tense, specifically between Reed and TJ but Lester wasn’t at all oblivious to it.

“So, who wants to grab a bite to eat before we head back to mine?” Lester speaks up as they walk.

“I think I might just go home.” TJ kicks a rock as he passes it.

“We’re supposed to be playing the new video games I got for my birthday?” Lester points out.

“I just remembered I told my mom I’d be home for dinner.” TJ dips his hands into the pockets of his hoodie.

“If you don’t want to hang out with us, TJ, you don’t have to lie.” Reed says almost casually. “Your mom is working tonight.”

“What, are you stalking her now or something?” TJ retorts defensively.

“No, she said so yesterday when I was over for dinner.” Reed glares, “What, are you lying now or something?” Reed mimics TJ’s defensive tone.

“Guys, chill.” Lester looks uncomfortable by the blow up.

“It’s not my fault, Kippen is such a stick in the mud today.” Reed rolls his eyes.

“Honestly, what is your problem, Reed?” TJ stops in his tracks, annoyed by his friends attitude, “Is this because I told you to shut up during the previews?”

“Yeah, actually it is.” Reed scoffs, “But it’s not just today, you’ve been constantly riding Lester and me every time we hang out.”

Lester shifts uncomfortably on his feet, “He’s not wrong, last weekend when we went bowling you were a bit of a buzz kill.”

“You guys were messing around in a different lane.” TJ states.

“So?” Reed shrugs, “We were just having a bit of fun.”

“We got kicked out, just like I said we would.” TJ sighs.

“Who cares?” Reed still looks like he’s in disbelief almost that TJ was arguing the way he was. “Maybe we took it a little too far but you’ve done the exact same thing with us in the past.”

“Exactly.” TJ folds his arms, “In the past.”

“So now we can’t have fun anymore?” Reed asks.

“We don’t have to be public nuisances to have fun.” TJ states.

“See, stick in the mud.” Reed looks to Lester as he motions to TJ.

“I apologise for being self-aware.” TJ says sarcastically. “I’ll be sure to act like more of a jerk when I’m around you so you know I’m having fun.”

“You’re doing a great job right now.” Reed smirks patronisingly.

“Grow up, Reed.” TJ rolls his eyes.

“Sorry we can’t all be as mature and ‘self-aware’ as you,” Reed says in a mocking tone. “You’ve changed ever since you started hanging out with your little boyfriend, Cyrus.” Reed states.

“Dude, that’s not a cool joke.” Lester hits Reed’s chest lightly.

“Who said I was joking?” Reed holds TJ’s eye contact as he said it and confusion registers on Lesters face as he reads TJ’s hurt expression.

TJ wanted to drop everything and run away. Reed’s comment basically outed TJ to Lester and that kind of betrayal - from Reed of all people - hurt TJ in a way that levelled with how it felt when TJ’s dad left him and his mom.

“You sound jealous.” TJ tries to hold his own although the hurt he felt was written all over his face.

“Of muffin boy?” Reed scoffs.

TJ wanted to say something just as hurtful back, he wanted to call Reed a clingy friend and throw his distant workaholic father in his face but he doesn’t, instead he weakly says, “Forget it. I’m going home,” before quickly making an exit.

The Monday morning following TJ and Reed’s big blowup, TJ is driven to school by his mother. Once parked, TJ remains in the passenger seat not wanting to get out. Tess tries to ask her son what is wrong but he insists everything is alright although he makes no effort to leave the car. Even though Tess has to get to work she doesn’t rush her son.

Out the windshield, TJ spots Cyrus standing out front of the school with Andi and more surprisingly, Buffy. Confusion hits TJ as Buffy had been gone for two months now. Then it was as if Cyrus had sensed TJ staring in their direction because he turned his head around and makes eye contact, sending a cheerful wave over in response. TJ sheepishly returns the gesture.

“He looks familiar.” Tess says although she didn’t know why he looked familiar.

“That’s my friend Cyrus.” TJ says with a small smile.

“Oh of course! You went to his bar mitzvah party,” Tess recalls, “I remember his face from the sweatshirt.” Tess coos and TJ was suddenly feeling embarrassed.

“Well I better get going, mom...” TJ says picking up his backpack and Tess wishes her son a good day at school.

Cyrus is already approaching the vehicle when TJ closes the car door behind himself.

“Hey, TJ.” Cyrus greets him enthusiastically and sends a happy wave to TJ‘s mother as she pulled out of her parking space. TJ can’t help but smile at this as Cyrus had never even met his mother before but there he was waving like they were on a first name basis.

“Hey, underdog.” he smiles and for a moment TJ had forgotten about his fight with Reed and the awful feeling it had left him with. “Call me crazy but did I just see you standing with Buffy before?”

“She surprised me and Andi yesterday, isn’t that great?” Cyrus beams.

“Yeah, sure,” TJ laughs, “How long is she here for?”

“That’s the best part,” Cyrus bounces on his toes, bursting with excitement, “She’s back for good!”

“No way..” TJ says in a state of disbelief and just like that TJ’s bad mood returned. Not because he didn’t want Buffy to be here, TJ was actually happy for her and for Cyrus to have his friend back, TJ’s mood was triggered by the idea that his friendship with Cyrus would have to revert back to the way it was before Buffy moved away which was still nice but harder for them as Buffy didn’t approve of them hanging out. The idea that he might have lost Reed, Lester and Cyrus all in a couple of days was too much for TJ.

“Is something wrong?” Cyrus questions after noticing TJ's expression drop, “I know Buffy isn’t your best friend or anything but I thought you were past the whole hating her thing...”

“It’s not that.” TJ shakes his head, “Don’t worry about it.”

"Ah hello, have you met me?” Cyrus laughs, “Worrying is my specialty. Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really.” TJ says honestly. What was he supposed to say to Cyrus? “I had a fight with my best friends because they’re whining about me being a better person?” Or “I’m super upset because my closest friend outed me to our best friend and he did it by making a joke about you and me being boyfriends?”

“I can’t force you to talk,” Cyrus holds TJ’s eye contact, “But if you do want to, I’m here.”

"Thanks.” TJ breaks their eye contact and goes mumbly.

“So did you want to come say hi to Buffy before homeroom?” Cyrus tries to change the subject to make TJ more comfortable.

“Did you forget the part where she hates my guts?” TJ laughs nervously.

“She doesn’t hate you.” Cyrus says unconvincingly.

“She’s got a right to.” TJ states. “I got her kicked off the team right before she moved away, among other things...”

“Your apology to time capsule Buffy was sincere. I know you’re sorry.” Cyrus says firmly, “Maybe it’s time you express that to the real Buffy?

“I don’t think she’s is going to listen to me.” TJ chews on the inside of his cheek anxiously.

“If she won't listen then you might have to show her instead.”

“I’m going be a great sport during her first game back.” TJ nods in agreement. “All her games actually.” TJ adds the last sentiment quickly and Cyrus smiles. TJ mirrors the grin and was quietly optimistic about the Cyrus side of his worries and that was enough to distract him from Reed and Lester for now.

Since Buffy’s return, her and TJ have finally made up, TJ would even go as far as calling her a friend now. That whole chapter of his life being over made TJ feel lighter now that he wasn’t hiding behind the image he was previously trying to portray. The only thing bothering TJ these days was his distance with Reed and Lester. TJ hadn’t spoken to either of the boys since their blowup out front of the movie theatre.

TJ sits on the worn down bench by the basketball court near his apartment building. He’s extra mopey about his strained friendship today as he knew Reed’s birthday was tomorrow and the two of them along with Lester always spent it together, even if it was just something small after school. TJ was just about to head inside when he spots Reed approaching and it takes him by surprise.

“Hey.” Reed says sheepishly as he nears.

“What are you doing here?” TJ questions and not in a hotheaded manner but a surprised one.

“Your mom invited me over for dinner for an early birthday celebration... ” Reed stops a few steps in front of where TJ sits, “I guess you haven’t told her I was a jerk the last time we hung out..”

“You showed up so I guess you didn’t tell her either.” TJ looks away as he speaks.

“TJ, I’m so sorry.” Reed says sincerely although it looked like he was struggling to actually form the words to say.

“For which part?” TJ asks. “For making fun of my friend? For calling me boring or for practically outing me to Lester?”

“For all of it.” Reed frowns, “Especially the Lester part. That’s the shittiest thing I have ever done in my entire life.”

“No argument here.” TJ folds his arms and still avoids eye contact.

“I wasn’t purposely trying to out you,” Reed says honestly, “But that’s exactly what I did and I am so sorry. I was trying to go for the thing I knew would hurt you most.”

“Well it worked.” TJ mumbles.

“TJ, I’m really sorry.” Reed’s frown deepens.

“I want to know why you wanted to hurt me so bad?” TJ finally snaps his head back to Reed, “Was it because I don’t want to be a public nuisance? Because I’m trying to be better?”

“You've been my best friend for the longest time,” Reed says, “We’ve been in the same sort of routine forever and it just felt like you were growing out it, out of me and Lester.”

“It’s not like I think you and Lester are bad people?” TJ furrows his brows.

“I know.” Reed nods, “Maybe seeing you be more responsible made me insecure about myself...”

“Doing what you did, outing me,” TJ wore a look of such pain on his face, “Doing that for any reason is a really horrible thing to do, but doing it because you’re angry I’m being nicer? That’s just- I don’t even know.” TJ lets out a frustrated breath.

“I know.” Reed says firmly as he holds TJ’s upset stare. “I wanted to hurt you because I was hurt. It’s stupid and no excuse.”

TJ furrows his brows, “I’m sorry if I made you feel like I was trying to act better than you or something-”

“TJ, please do not apologise.” Reed holds his palms out to stop TJ. “I was upset because I was jealous. You said it yourself,” Reed grows sheepish, “I’m jealous of muffin boy,” Reed watches TJ’s unimpressed expression so he softens and corrects himself, “I was jealous of Cyrus.”

“Why?” TJ seems lightly confused.

“Because you’re supposed to be my best friend.” Reed says and feels dorky for it, “I mean I knew you were changing, I could see it, like how happy you were about passing your math test last month, just little things like that. I didn’t really understand why but I knew Cyrus had something to do with it and at the movies I just snapped. It felt like I was being replaced or something..” Reed lets out a nervous laugh.

“Reed?” TJ coaxes his head like he couldn’t believe his friend felt that way.

“It’s embarrassing, I know.” Reed shakes his head.

“It’s not.” TJ says nicely before admitting, “I’ve always been jealous that you and Lester go to the same school. I’v always felt left out.”

“Really?” Reed seems surprised and TJ nods.

“I like Cyrus. He’s a good person and was great friend to me when I didn’t deserve it but you’re my best friend, Reed, you and Lester.” TJ says firmly, “It was you that came over my house everyday for three months after my dad left, it was you that took the blame when I broke my moms crystal vase playing basketball in the house. It’s always been us, you me and Lester. We even went through chicken pox together, remember?”

“Lester wanted to call us the pox pals.” Reed laughs quietly.

“It was lame.” TJ shakes his head with a laugh. “You, me and Lester have always been best friends but you and me? Reed we were quite literally almost brothers... How could you ever think I was replacing you?”

Reed just shrugs, “I don’t know.”

“You were the first and only person I told about being gay.” TJ grows vulnerable again.

“And I went and broke your trust.” Reed hates himself. “I’m awful, I know. I’ve been beating myself up about it this whole time, I’ve been too embarrassed to come over and apologise.” Reed says, “I’m been scared you’d not even speak to me.”

“What made you come over now?” TJ questions.

“I was hungry.” Reed shrugs jokingly and TJ lets a laugh slip. “Do you ever think you’ll be able to forgive me?” Reed softens when he questions.

“You really hurt me.” TJ says, “But not being friends this whole time hurt me just as much... So yeah, I think I can forgive you.”

Reed looks relieved and his mouth curls into a smile. “So I can stay for dinner?”

TJ rolls his head forward with a laugh, “Yes you can stay for dinner.”

So the trust might take a little while to build back up but for the most part TJ was happy to mend things with Reed.

A day after reconciling with Reed, TJ spoke to Lester whom was unsure how to approach things after the incident at the theatre. Reed had also been avoiding Lester in that time as he didn’t want to discuss TJ’s sexuality anymore than he already did when he made the backhanded comment that outed him. So understandably, Lester was confused about everything and unsure if he should say something to TJ or not.

TJ officially comes out to Lester and the older boys is really supportive and it brings the two closer together. The fight between TJ and Reed might have been unwarranted and horrible but it did bring the three friends closer together whilst adding a new level of maturity to their friendship. The boys used to avoid the in-depth talks about their feelings and what not but now it was more of an open and safe space to share what’s on each other their minds.

A few months later summer is a few days from ending and TJ is out biking with Reed and Lester. By now TJ and Reed’s friendship was completely mended and their strained trust issues were in the past.

The three of them are having a water break when Reed pulls out his phone and shows TJ and Lester a video his cousin had sent him of someone shooting a watermelon in slow motion. The two others express how ‘cool’ it look when it exploded but TJ’s attention fades quickly after he notices he has a notification on his phone from Buffy. Whilst Lester and Reed are watching the video again TJ opens a snapchat from Buffy where Cyrus is present in the background speaking in his ridiculous fake British accent, “I’m actually going to commit murder in a second.” Buffy says and the snap ends with Cyrus’s frowning. TJ chuckles to himself and Reed and Lester give him a look like they want an explanation.

“Cyrus got back from London last night and he’s been using this terrible fake British accent and it’s driving Buffy insane.” TJ laughs. “Which is strangely still satisfying for me even though we’re all friends now.”

“Give us a listen then?” Reed motions with his hand.

TJ goes into his text thread with Cyrus and opens the video Cyrus had sent to all his friends last night informing them he had landed. TJ was the only person that expressed how funny he found the accent so Cyrus had sent more video messages since, thus meaning TJ had a few to show to Reed and Lester who also seem to find it amusing.

“It’s definitely funny but I'm with Buffy, I’d probably snap too if he was speaking like that constantly.” Lester chuckles.

“So Cyrus is a funny guy?” Reed questions.

“He’s hilarious.” TJ says with a lot of enthusiasm. “But he’s like funny without trying to be funny kind of funny, you know?”

"Totally.” Reed says with a smirk resting on his face.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” TJ asks defensively.

“I’m not looking at you like anything.” Reed says with a cute shrug and he and Lester exchange a knowing glance with one another.

TJ shyly puts his phone away and Reed nudges him with his elbow before saying, “I’m sorry for being a jerk about you changing. I like this TJ, you’re happier.”

Even thought that was a really wonderful thing for TJ to hear and they had gotten better at the sappy talks, unexpected kind declarations were still a little hard to accept so TJ clears his throat and suggests they get back to biking.

Final bell for the day had rung and TJ was hanging out front of school with Lester and Reed when their conversation is interrupted by TJ’s phone ringing. TJ smiles at Cyrus’s caller I.D. and steps to the side to answer it.

“Hey, underdog.” TJ greets him happily, “What’s up?”

“I was calling to ask if you wanted to maybe help me hang posters for Buffy’s tryouts?” Cyrus asks, “If you’ve left already that’s-“

“I’ll help.” TJ cuts in. “Where are you now?”

“I’m walking out of the library, I just finished copying a few of the smaller posters. Ow, ow..” Cyrus winces.

“Everything okay?” TJ lets out a nervous chuckle.

“Dance class has left me with immense muscle pain.” Cyrus complains.

“Since when are you in dance class?” TJ questions.

“It’s a long story, I was failing P.E. and needed an alternative but I think I’ve made a mistake.” Cyrus frowns to himself.

“You could have come to me for help before dropping P.E.” TJ states.

“You any good at dancing?” Cyrus asks.

“You’re on your own there.” TJ laughs and Cyrus does too.

“Ouch, don’t make me laugh, it hurts.” Cyrus says.

“I’ll meet you by admin in a second.” TJ says with a smile before hanging up.

“So, what was that about?” Reed asks with a smirk and TJ hadn’t realised his two friends were watching him the whole time.

“So I have to go help hang posters for Buffy’s basketball tryouts.” TJ awkwardly announces to Lester and Reed.

“Um weren’t we supposed to hang out?” Reed questions.

“We would have only been doing nothing at my house.” TJ shrugs his shoulder, “I’m still trying to make amends with Buffy.”

“Sure... You’re ditching us for, Buffy.” Reed folds his arms knowingly. “So that was Buffy on the phone asking for help?”

“You’re not mad at me for ditching are you?” TJ asks seriously.

“Admit you have a crush on Cyrus and I’ll let it go.” Reed lowers his voice and smirks.

“What?” TJ laughs nervously, “I do not..”

“TJ, who are you kidding?” Lester coaxes his head with a smile.

“Is it that obvious?” TJ frowns.

“Yeah only for like the entire summer.” Lester chuckles. “Cyrus did this in London, Cyrus did that” he playfully imitates.

TJ pouts huffily.

“You better go, I’d hate for you to keep underdog waiting.” Reed smirks.

TJ frowns knowing this was a whole new thing for them to tease him about, even in a friendly way. TJ was just upset because it meant he finally had to address his feelings for Cyrus out loud.

A couple weeks later the three boys were lying around Lester’s basement enjoying the air conditioning on this hot day. They were all being social, just not with each other. Each of the teens sat on their phones. TJ texts Cyrus back and forth about his canoeing escapades, laughing out loud with every new message.

“You going to let us in on the joke?” Reed grumbles.

“Huh?” TJ peels his stare away from his phone for a moment.

“Dude you’ve been giggling for the last twenty minutes.” Reed says.

“I have not been- giggling.” TJ says defensively but with a hint of embarrassment.

"Let me guess, it’s Cyrus?” Reed asks knowingly and Lester smiles knowing he was right.

“He's canoeing.” TJ shrugs one shoulder.

“So are we ever going to meet Cyrus?” Reed questions.

“You talk about him enough, I feel like we know him.” Lester adds. “We even helped eat the muffins he baked you last week.”

“I’m still not happy about that.” TJ frowns.

“I am, they were delicious.” Reed laughs as he pats his stomach, “Blueberry macadamia, who would’ve thought?”

TJ shakes his head with a smile.

“But seriously,” Reed says, “When are we going to meet Cyrus?”

“Never.” TJ folds his arms.

“Why not?” Reed looks offended. “Are you embarrassed by us or something?”

“Yep.” TJ pops the P. “I know one of you will say something teasingly to me and Cyrus will get suspicious about my feelings and then never talk to me again.”

“That’s a little dramatic.” Lester laughs.

“Is it though?” TJ asks seriously

“Come on, TJ?” Reed pouts his bottom lip.

“Fine.” TJ lets out a defeated breath, “But you guys have to promise you’ll be on your best behaviour?”

“We’ll be a couple of saints.” Reed exaggerates an innocent smile.

“Okay, I’ll ask him to hang out on Saturday..” TJ nods still a little reluctantly, “Any ideas on what we should do?”

“Does Cyrus like dirt biking?” Lester questions.

TJ tosses his head from side to side, “Probably not...”

“Let’s do that anyway.” Reed insists, “It will totally make you look cool in front of him.”

“Yeah cause I totally care about that.” TJ says in a mocking way and folds his arms and Lester and Reed wear amused expressions.

“So dirt biking on Saturday?” Reed smirks.

“Yes.” TJ lets out a heavy sigh knowing they both see right through him.

#tyrus #tj kippen #reed with the weed #andi mack

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endwalkr · 5 years ago

Text

this is an ask based thingy but im really in the mood to infodump so im just gonna answer them all under the cut !

Favorite video game?

starting off with the absolute hardest question huh? i can’t possibly name ONE favorite game of mine because i adore my favorites for many different reasons. my overall favorite video game is ffxv or botw. ffxv because it has brought me so much joy for such a long time, and because i have such a connection with the characters. botw because i was actually in the fandom when it first got announced in 2016 so i got to be there when the hype was at an all time high– and finally being able to play the game after waiting for so long was an unforgettable experience. i have more favorite games but ill talk more about them in the ‘’special place in ur heart’’ question.

First console you owned?

my first console wasn’t a console. my friend and i used to play on her nintendo dsi all the time and at one point tiny little me reeeally wanted one of my own so i saved up and got one in [redacted] when i was 7. my first actual console was a wii though, we got that around the same time.

A game that holds a special place in your heart?

ffxv and botw mean the absolute world to me, but super mario galaxy and skyward sword are very important to me too. skyward sword is the game that got me into zelda which got me into anime which got me into final fantasy etc etc etc. super mario galaxy was the first non-mini game collection and more adventure story-ish game i played. i was so proud when i beat it for the first time and mario was my first ever ‘’fandom’’ :’)

Favorite video game character?

bro. i cant pick just one so i’ll choose one per game : prompto, ryuji and link. they were all my comfort characters at some point and i projected like crazy onto them. this doesnt mean that i wouldnt absolutely die for noct or zelda.

Least favorite video game character?

i dont think theres anyone i distinctly dislike? i always talk about hating ardyn but that’s because he’s just a salty bitch. as a character i think he’s a great villain and i rly love him. i honestly always end up liking everyone somehow, maybe there is someone i just forgot about but i cant remember at all.

Favorite genre?

adventure games, or action rpgs.

Video game character you’ve had a crush on?

every character ever, but i distinctly remember the moment i fell in love with prompto sjghfkshd i was watching a playthrough of xv in december 2016 because i didnt have a ps4, and the guy got to the scene in galdin quay where the bros learn insomnia fell. i had watched about 6 hours of the game by that time and wasn’t particularly interested in the characters but not uninterested enough to drop it. i hadnt even gotten a good look at the characters faces yet, so when the camera zoomed in on prompto when he said ‘’might not be save for us here!’’ i noticed he had freckles. oh god. oh fuck. oh my god hes fucking cute. oh my god better watch 30 hours of this game now

First video game you remember playing?

wayyy before i got my own gaming systems, my then-best friend had a gamecube in her attic. i was around 5 or 6 at the time. whenever i was over at her house and we didnt know what to do, she’d sometimes propose to play ‘’mario kart’’. important is that we are dutch, and i was a literal child. i thought mario KART meant it was a fucking card game, so i always declined whenever she asked. on one fateful day, i finally gave in and was pleasantly surprised it was in fact not a card game, but a viddy game. so we played mario kart double dash. (…i had never played a video game in my life besides browser flash games and was Very Very bad)

Age you started gaming?

so i played my first video game that i didnt own when i was about 5 or 6. then i got my first supply of games at age 7/8, but i dont really consider that time to be when i started ‘’gaming’’. i’d say that was when i started mario galaxy, so i’ve been playing video games for real (ie. story adventure games with boss battles) for about 6 years now.

Hardest video game you’ve played?

this is gonna sound stupid, but the witcher 3. there’s like 7 difficulties and i played on the EASIEST and still had a hard time, i just couldnt get used to the combat. i had the same problem with assassin’s creed syndicate, but after about 10 hours i actually knew what i was doing, and ive played the witcher longer than that and still am clueless. this is kind of an unpopular opinion but i dont particularly like that game

Video game you’ve spent the most time on?

i guess i am what you’d call a casual gamer; i really like video games but during a normal school week i only game for like 2-6 hours. most of the time i dont play for like 2 weeks if im busy. gaming has kind of taken over my life not because i play so much but because i get so emotionally invested lol i’m currently on summer break and even now im not playing a lot because of exhaustion and executive dysfunction. this derailed slightly but the game i’ve played the most despite my casual gamer status is …. … …. ffxv. surprise, right? the runner up is botw, but xv wins by a landslide. 630+ hours. botw is 350. my main save in ffxv is almost 200 hours i think. damn. i really managed to keep myself entertained with that game… (………i was thinking recently, since the loading screens in xv are so long, how much of this total amount was spent watching screens. i imagine it’s several hours, especially if you fast travel a lot.)

Most embarrassing gaming moment?

many moments in my gaming experience are embarrassing, but a more recent one: i was in xv’s postgame, beating some dungeons on my new save file. i had just finished daurell caverns and hadn’t saved in about 2 hours. (uh oh) i was driving around in the regalia type d and got to the big cliff near lestallum, and remembered someone made a gif of jumping in there so i wanted to try it too. i imagined the game would just put me back on the road, like it does when you crash into something. except it didnt. i got a game over. where was my last save? 2 hours back all the way in hammerhead. yippee.

Scariest video game you’ve played?

i never play horror games, cuz for me games are supposed to be relaxing experiences. no hate towards horror games of course, they just stress me out. the only time ive played horror is when friday the 13th was for free on ps+, and my friends really wanted to play it. (theyre kinda addicted to it now. huh) they had already gotten over the initial fear of having jason chase you, but i was still terrified. i can play the game without getting scared now tho. the horror sound effects just rly freaked me out at first jhsdkghsd

Most memorable gaming moment?

playing breath of the wild for the first time, or beating it for the first time. both experiences were filled to the brim with excitement and nostalgia. seeing botw as a blank slate, a world for you to explore, having no idea where you’re going… that was pretty incredible. now i know every nook and cranny of the map, so i wish i could play it for the first time again. i was so incredibly immersed. beating it was insane. i cried for 30 minutes and the end wasnt even sad, i was just so amazed at the fact that i was really here, playing breath of the wild, it was really real. the fucking main theme in the background (which i cannot for the life of me listen to without crying) didnt help with my emotions sgkdjh

Video game character you wish you could meet in real life?

…………..its prompto again. maybe 2017 me …. was .. kind of a kinnie

PC, Xbox, Playstation, or Nintendo?

i dont care about console wars at all, but i think hardware-wise, pc is the best, because if you have a good pc you can basically do anything. i however do not, so i just play on consoles. ive never particularly liked xbox, so i only play ps4 and nintendo. not the switch though. its kinda petty, but my best friend and i really dont like the switch djghks

Gaming company you’re most loyal to?

none. i used to call myself a nintendo nerd (oh my god…. i m. gonna die) in like 2015 but since the switch came out and since i got a ps4 they kinda lost me. i still like their game series of course, but as a company i don’t care for them. the only reason i see square enix as one of ‘’my’’ gaming companies is because ffxv took up like 70% of my gaming experience, but besides final fantasy i don’t really love them too much either.

If you could only play one video game for the rest of your life, which would you choose?

atm i’m really into ffxiv because theres just so much to do, but that’s just a new, possibly temporary interest. if i had to choose, i’d say botw. maybe i’d say ffxv, but i feel like running around doing nothing in that game isnt very fun, because the world is sorta empty after completing every quest and getting to level 120. in botw, just fucking around on your horse is still really relaxing and nice.

Do you use strategy guides?

yup. in certain games i try to avoid them but i usually end up stuck or in need of advice. i couldn’t have gotten so many p5 trophies if not for the internet lol

How often do you use cheats?

never, simply because the games i play often do not have cheats. unless im playing the sims and are in need of a motherlode, i dont use them.

Competitive or single player?

single player. im bad at video games and like to do stuff at my own pace. online multiplayer can be fun every now and then in games like mario kart 8 or splatoon, and i also like teamwork stuff like ffxiv or comrades. but ultimately, i prefer playing on my own.

Video game character you want to/have cosplayed?

have never cosplayed, dont have plans to either, but it would be fun to cosplay link. omg. i just remembered i have that fucking chocomoogle shirt… sorry link im gonna slap on some sasuke hair, black jeans and ugly sneakers

Ever go to a video game convention?

i have not, i have however gone to three (3) video game concerts which is basically the same thing.

Hardest boss fight you’ve been in?

the hardest bosses for me are usually the ones with a gimmick. you have to use a certain item or tactic to beat them or something. other hard fights for me are when you fight someone with a similar skill set. (in ffxv, this happens twice, once with the iggy-noct sparring match and once against ardyn. somehow, the final boss was easier than getting the prince to eat vegetables.) i don’t know an actual example of THE hardest boss fight ive been in though. at the time, the first bowser battle in mario galaxy was the hardest thing in the universe and i got stuck for like a month. currently, i’m having trouble with the riku-ansem fight in kh1.

Video game you wish you could burn from your memory?

the zelda cdi games? no, i dont really know. i dont hate a game so much that i’d want to forget about it altogether, but i dont exactly love ocarina of time that much. it hasnt aged well and playing it on the gamecube for the first time in 2015 wasnt a good idea. im sure it was revolutionary at the time, but i cant handle the outdated controls gsdgksjs

Favorite gaming series?

see, i love ffxv itself more than the entirety of the zelda series, but i dont love ff as a SERIES more than the zelda games. so if were talking series, zelda for sure. i fucking love those games and they mean a lot to me.

Do you skip tutorials, or find them useful?

i often skip them because i cant pay attention, but then find that i need them anyway. so i usually do skim through them.

Best online gaming experience?

one really good one happened a few days ago in ffxiv, some guy and i exchanged emotes for like 30 minutes and it ended with us becoming friends on psn :’) ppl dont usually emote back at me in that game so this was really wholesome and nice gjshksdj

Worst online gaming experience?

i dont really have a worst? theyre more annoying. think try harders in gta online killing you 15 times in a row because they want to show you how good they are or something. magically, online gaming hasnt been too hard on me (mainly because i dont game online that much)

Why do you game?

it brings me joy. it’s a fun way of relaxing, while being stimulated at the same time. games have meant a great deal to me the past 6 years and i wouldnt want to lose them for the world.

#uh. i really just spent and hour and a half writing this down but ya #i love ya video games #personal #long post #like. really long

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