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batchilla · 24 days ago

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False Accusations (You know I KNOW right? Chapter Two)

Let me first say thank you for all the kind reception part one received. It was … a surprise, and a welcome one.

Also, a massive thank you to @sunnie-angel for beta reading. If you haven’t read their work… Do yourself a favor and check out their masterlist!

This Chapter takes place over a few days in two mini stories., and I would appreciate being told if at any point this causes confusion. Currently how I’ve done it is as tilted segments. Content warning: this chapter has themes of sexual harassment in the workplace up to the point of groping (from an OC), and corruption. Proceed with caution. Be safe.

The morning after. You are going to murder your partner, Grayson. Perhaps with a gun. Maybe your own two hands. Or maybe you just need coffee.

It's probably the coffee thing. Coffee, then you’ll decide if you're going to kill him and how. As you sit at your table, surrounded by notes you’d made at 4am, the urge to throttle Grayson slowly subsides. You hadn’t slept a wink. You’d had a weird night. But if you were going to do this, help him find this killer… you’d need a plan for if it all goes to hell. A diversion. A plan so that if you’re made, maybe the killer will think you’re on the wrong track. A dummy investigation. But simultaneously one that you won’t overthink, so that you can devote your time and brainpower to the truth. Luckily for you, you have the perfect person to pretend to accuse. After all, your partner, Grayson, is an incredibly weird guy. 8:55 am finds you walking into the station sipping your third coffee of the morning, only to find Grayson sat at his desk. Shirt pressed, tie perfect, hair shampoo commercial glamourous yet slightly messy. The urge to murder your partner returns, just a little. How dare he be so… normal? So unaffected? How dare this man fight crime by night, and be smiling at you as he is now, chipper and bright and perfect, before 9am? The nerve. Maybe you could hit him with a patrol car and claim it was an accident. “Morning detective… Long night?”

Oh.. This fucker. Your partner, Grayson, is the most annoying man alive. You hate how badly you have to fight the urge to grin at the sheer audacity.

She looks exhausted, the poor thing. Dick remembered the feeling, but at some point he’d adapted to running on less sleep than was by any means reasonable. He hoped she wouldn’t need to. That this would be over in a few weeks and she’d be back to getting a full eight hours. “Morning Detective… Long night?” She glares at him like he’s caused personal offence. He raises an eyebrow at her to prompt a response. Inside though, he panics. Had he done something wrong? Could she suspect? No. no of course not. But whatever she said next would surely be important. It was a test of sorts. What would she say she’d spent the night doing? Would she betray his alter ego? Could she sell the lie if she didn’t? “Just had a night in, had a little too much to drink,” she shrugs, opening her bag and removing a notebook. Casual, calm, partially true and nearly impossible to disprove short of a blood test or breathalyser, and even then there was deniability. Dick nods, and looks back down to his computer to hide the grin that splits his face in half. He knows he can’t dwell on it, knows he can’t act on it, but it’s completely unfair that she was that smooth. That helpful. She’d agreed to help him - as Nightwing - instantly. Her words about how Blud owed him a debt had played in his mind on loop for the rest of his patrol. He knew what it felt like to fly. To flip through the air at dizzying heights, gravity a mere afterthought. It was cruel, frankly, that he’d found someone who made him feel even better than that, only for her to be someone he couldn’t be with out of principle and professionalism. It wasn’t that he objected to her as a partner - short of his family, she was possibly the best he’d ever met. Frankly, if she was transferred to Gotham, the bat signal would be turned on far less frequently. And he didn’t object to rules about dating fellow officers, especially one’s partner. Objectively it made sense. But it didn’t change the fact that her smile was the best part of his day. That on the rare times she laughed he could swear he heard an angel just straight up quit its position in the heavenly chorus out of pure envy. That when she’d said she’d help he’d wanted nothing more than to grab her face and kiss her till she was breathless. But he can’t. Or at least Dick Grayson can’t. A new voice breaks him from his spiralling thoughts. “Detective Grayson.” The man standing behind his partner's desk has a hand on the back of her seat, preventing her from swivelling around.

“We haven’t met yet, I’m Sergeant James McElroy. Seems you spent most of my first day back stuck on a stakeout.” “Pleasure.” he responds, with all the charm he’s learnt to use at galas and parties, forcing down the venom incurred by the way his partner had seemed to lose a gallon of blood at the sound of his voice, and the way she had seemed not to breath since the name was spoken.

He's not touching you. Of course not. He knows better than to do anything so blatant. It's how he’d gotten away with it for so long last time. He doesn’t touch you, or say the things he was so clearly thinking. He would masterfully walk the line between making you feel unsafe, alone, and naked, while never crossing over into anything actionable. Till one day he had. It had been in a crowded lift where he’d used the crush as an excuse to grab and to feel, whispering something vile in your ear.

He’d figured he’d gotten away with it when you tried to tell your captain and he’d asked if you had a witness. You’d thought he’d gotten away with it too. Till a uniformed officer, Janet Rodwell, had stepped up to have your back. You should have known, really. For the second time in 24 hours you feel like a fool. But while the first time it had been accompanied with a dizzying realisation of love, this time the realisation is dark and chilling to your core. You’d thought you’d won, that it was over. But he’s back and he’s not touching you, but you feel the ghost of his hands all over. You can’t win. He’d been sent away and you thought you were safe again, but he’s back and he’s a sergeant now. Because Bludhaven, as it is, rewards men like him. You can’t bring yourself to look over your shoulder at him, so you look straight ahead, across your desk and to your partner’s adjoining one.

It's not Dick Grayson’s eyes you meet though. They aren’t cheerful, carefree and beautiful. Well, they are beautiful. But they are angry, intelligent, and fierce. You meet Nightwings gaze, and you feel the claws around your lungs relax, even if they do not recede.

His partner did not rattle easily. Did not panic unnecessarily.

Pinned down by the Penguin’s smugglers, he’d thought their goose had been cooked unless he could work at his true capacity, so he had shot out the lights and gotten to work. He’d taken out nine, but been unable to find the tenth, until he’d heard the struggle.

She’d taken him down blind, without drawing her gun. When he’d asked her why she hadn’t, she’d told him she’d lost sight of him in the chaos, and was unwilling to risk it. He wished he hadn’t shot the light out so he could have seen it.

Still, he had been oblivious. It had hit him like a batarang to the face last night, in that moment where she agreed without hesitation to help him find a serial killer. He’d known she was beautiful, and brilliant. That he had a crush.

He’d realised last night he was in far, far deeper trouble than that. So, if she was frightened and upset by the presence of this man, then Dick would take his looming over her as a serious threat. He trusted her gut. “You haven’t introduced yourself to my partner, Detective—-” He’s cut off with a dismissive wave that boils his blood. “Oh we’ve met. In fact, she was my partner first. Until the misunderstanding.” There are many ways to snap someone out of a panic. He’s seen sheer rage do it many times. As it does now. “There was no misunderstanding,” she says, her voice firm, her teeth gritted. “Well. I want you to know-” he moves from directly behind her, to her side, leaning down over her, invading her space. Dick wanted to hit him. “I understand that what I did could have been seen as invasive, and you may have felt that I overstepped. I have completed a course, as demanded by HR, and will attempt not to cause you to feel that I have been inappropriate again.”

She takes a deep breath. He can practically hear her count in his head. He stands, moving around the desk to stand beside her, not quite a barrier but a comforting presence, or at least he hoped. “Well. Whatever occurred, we have work to be getting on with, if you don’t mind.” It takes a great deal of the restraint his training has given not to add the words ‘you bastard’, or something far more creative. “But of course. Detective. Detective.”

Your hands shake as you sit back down in your seat. Your partner, Grayson, returns to his own, his gaze - Richard’s gaze, never leaving your face, crumpled in concern. “I don’t want to overstep… but are you alright? What … did he do?” “I…” you want to tell him, in part. Or maybe you don’t, and you want him to know without having to go through the ordeal of rehashing it all. Maybe by consulting whatever ‘oracle’ he used as nightwing. But you can’t right now. So you don’t. “I… need some air.” Your partner just gives you a comforting smile, a nod, and lets you leave without question. Wingding in the window

It's five days later, on his patrol, when he notices it. The wingding left in her window. He stops on the roof of the building adjacent to her. As far as city roofs go, this one’s relatively nice. Someone’s placed some potted plants around, in an eclectic attempt at a rooftop garden. Some of these pots contain small pebbles as cover for the soil from the wind. Grinning to himself, he takes a handful.

Was this a good idea? No.

Was it deceptive? Well, no more than anything else he did as Nightwing… well, maybe a little more.

But it hurt, holding her at arm's length, when a part of his soul he tried to ignore yearned to be as close as she would allow. He knows it’s not good. He knows it’s a violation of the utter trust she seems to hold in Nightwing. Really, it would only make things even more messy for his chances as Dick. But he wants to make her smile. Blush, even. He knows she finds him attractive, and in both contexts, but he wants more than that. Over the last week he’s realised just how much he wants to have with her, and it terrifies him.

If it was simple lust he could deal with it. But it wasn’t, and so here he was, about to attempt the cheesiest move known to hallmark films, just to see if it would make her laugh at him again.

He’d managed to be professional while surrounded by highly capable, badass women in skintight clothes for most of his life. He’d had crushes before and gotten over them. He wanted everything with her. And that was not something he knew how to handle, given the mess of their situation. Dick shakes his head, snapping himself out of his doom spiral. He had a detective to meet, and a serial killer to find.

Bap. Bap. Bap. You look up from your book. You’d been getting ready for sleep, wearing your cosy pyjamas, curled up in bed with a book and a hot chocolate. You go still, listening. Bap. Bap. A pause. Then, the rap of knuckles on glass. “I ran out of rocks”

You know that voice. “With you in a moment.” You pull on a dressing gown, and take a moment to curse the fact that your slippers are rabbits before pulling the curtains aside. Nightwing is crouched on your windowsill. You lift it, stepping back as he enters through the window with all the grace of a cat. You know that you shouldn’t be embarrassed to be in your pyjamas, it's late, you had no means of knowing when he’d arrive. But he looked divine in that suit. An adonis. And you're in your old bathrobe and bunny slippers. Truely, you must have done terrible things in a past life. “Nice footwear.” Nightwing says with a smirk. Curse him. Curse his cheekbones and the way his lips look so damn inviting. “You picked up what, five rocks?” you sass right back. Nightwing makes a noise you suspect was supposed to be a scoff, but is more of a squeak. “Do you see a lot of pocket space on this?”

“Fair.” you say, leading him out of your bedroom and into your living room. He sits on your couch, one leg spread wide, the other’s ankle resting on its thigh, as you open a drawer on your coffee table and produce your masterpiece. Nearly five metres of red string. Names, photos, dates, all studded with pins so pressed so tightly in they haven’t a prayer of accidental removal. You prop it up on the coffee table.

Maybe your friends were right. Maybe you did need to touch grass. A line of thought for later. You look at Nightwing, who’s no longer relaxed and laying back on your sofa like he owned the place.

Its years of maintaining a poker face in interrogations and more recently, dealing with his shenanigans that prevents you from grinning.

He's as pale as you’ve ever managed to see him, and leaning forward now, elbow on knee and chin in hand. “Well, this is… impressive.” He sounded like he’d inhaled helium. “Shall we start with Sergeant McElroy?” you offer, smiling your best ‘there’s nothing wrong’ smile, enjoying making him squirm. “You seem to have … a significant amount of evidence against Detective Richard Grerson?” You fight the urge to roll your eyes as you take a ruler, poking your picture of him between the eyes. You hadn’t planned to do him first, you’d hoped to discuss evidence that would actually lead somewhere.

This was still going to be fun though. You take a deep breath, and pause for a suitable level of dramatic effect, and begin your game.

“Detective Richard Grayson. He’s my partner. He’s an excellent detective, and a good man. You might have heard of the charity he founded.” Nightwing makes a noncommittal humming noise. “But is it all too good to be true?” you ask, moving to your first notecard. “Exhibit one. He asked about the file. On its own, innocuous. But then, exhibits two through four. He’s prone to frequent disappearances on cases. He often knows a little too much about the criminal underside of Blud. Things that I have triple checked are not in any police database.”

You run a hand through your hair. “He’s a highly trained combatant. I once saw him take down nine men armed with guns, in the dark. They don’t teach that at the police academy.” “No? No.” Nightwing says, clearing his throat. “I mean yes. That is… suspicious.” “Incredibly. Which brings me to exhibit five. Now I’m no behavioural analyst or shrink. But I know my basics. Childhood trauma and instability can have… lingering impacts. I… don’t feel the need to dredge up his past, but I did look into it… and it’s grim. He was then taken in by Bruce Wayne. His relationship to his father, whatever it is, is something he’s even tighter lipped about then… everything else honestly. It’s not on the board because it’s circumstantial at best… but he has this skill of being able to hold long conversations and yet you come away not having learnt anything deeper about him.”

He was pretty sure he’d been nodding for a good thirty seconds at this point.

It would be funny if it didn’t hurt so much.

The worst part was that it was all well reasoned. Practical. He had done everything she accused him of. She had just drawn a far more down to earth conclusion, that he was a corrupt cop, rather than Nightwing.

It made sense. Too much sense. How could he shut this down without seeming invested in his own innocence?

That isn’t what causes his lungs to burn though. No. The root of that was that even if he’d forced himself to maintain a professional - if friendly - distance from her, he would have hoped that she trusted him.

But in this moment, looking at the evidence, looking at her holding that ruler to his photo’s face like a judge's gavel ready to condemn… he knows. He knows that she will never look at Dick the way she does as Nightwing, happy to see him, believing in his mission, ready to help as soon as he’d asked. Even if he clears himself of this crime, she would surely suspect him of others.

He’d known it, at least on one level, ever since he’d first met her. He knows it now all the deeper, and he wants to scream. Dick Grayson will never get to tell her how truly wonderful she is.

How highly he regards her.

How she is one of the reasons he keeps fighting for Bludhaven.

Dick Grayson will never get to tell her that he loves her.

But… perhaps Nightwing could have something. Because if she was his north star, then the way he’d felt when she agreed to help him had been like being engulfed by a supernova.

If she was water, then seeing her cosy and ready for bed and smiling as she let him in through the window had been an oasis in the Sahara.

If music was the food of love, her attempts not to laugh and stifled giggles over his peeps popcorn had been a symphony orchestra.

But he’d never have her as himself. Not at all. Nightwing though? She at least found him attractive. Aligned with his ideology. No, he’d never feel that warmth of 10,000 stars directed at the real him.

No, he’d never be able to be quenched by her life saving presence.

No, he’d never feel her laughter shaking his bones as if in a musical crescendo.

But even the dimmest and most distant star gave off some light.

Even the last drop in an empty water skin was better than nothing.

Even the memory of a melody could be sweet. True, he would only ever have scraps of her affection. True, he could flirt, and perhaps go even further… but he’d never truly be with her.

But who was a starving man to deny scraps of sustenance? He’d take what he could have and try to ignore the lingering hunger.

“Perhaps we should discuss… another suspect?” he prompts, realising how long he’s been silent. How long she had been too, watching him with a strange, concerned look.

She nods, and moves on to their Captain.

Dick is almost relieved when some ten minutes later Oracle calls in a robbery downtown. “Well - sorry Sherlock.” He takes a picture of her board for further study. “I’ll be around next week to continue this discussion, and look over this in my own time till then. Duty calls.” “Be safe,” She says softly, as he’s halfway through the window He looks over his shoulder. “As you wish.”

Taglist: @jasontoddproblems

@sunnie-angel

@stormz369

@love-theangel-blog

@torchbearerkyle

@interwebseriesfan24

@love-theangel-blog

@alwaysnervouswitchprince

@underlinekasis

@tiredsleepyandreading

@soradragon Banner credit is to @strangergraphics

If you would request to be added to my taglist, please reblog the fic. Honestly please just reblog it anyway? I worked hard on this. Nothing more demotivating than a fic getting only likes. If you want part three, reblog part two.

#dick grayson #dick grayson x reader #dick x reader #nightwing x reader #nightwing x you #you know I KNOW right #dc x reader #dc x you #detective reader

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k-dgn · 2 months ago

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Sana's Web Chapter 4: Gaining Confidence

Reader x Tzuyu Smut Word Count: 14k

You awoke to the mid-morning sunlight peeking through your blinds. Luckily for you, you didn’t have any shoots or clients scheduled for the day, so you allowed yourself to sleep in a little. You reached for your phone only to find it dead because you had forgotten to leave it charging overnight, so with a sigh you resolved to plug it in and leave it on your bedside table. Groggily, you rose from your bed and headed for your bathroom to freshen up for the day.

As you went about your morning routine, you couldn’t help but to think about what Sana had asked of you after the “party” a few days prior. Convince her other members, huh? How the hell do I do that, you thought to yourself. Truth be told, you had been mulling over that conundrum every day since that night and hadn’t made any headway towards getting about that task. You had already considered yourself lucky that Sana had somehow made her way into your life, even more so after your night spent with Mina, but now Sana was presenting you with an opportunity to other members in her group! A group, mind you, full of some of the most beautiful idols in the entire industry.

You decided to break it down and consider your courses of action, and thought back to the initial impressions you’d had with each of the members. As per Sana’s instructions, Mina was off the table which saddened you, both because it would have been the easiest route to pursue due to your budding closeness, but also because you couldn’t deny the fact that selfishly you wanted to go another round with her. That left you with 7 other options.

The first was Nayeon. Thinking back on the party, her intentions with you were pretty cut and dry. She clearly wanted to do something with you that night and if it hadn’t been for the chance encounter with Sana and Mina, you thought you might have followed through with it. There was a sexual tension present that night that you couldn’t quite describe, but you knew it was there. You figured you could keep this option as a surefire route in your backpocket just in case other options proved to be too difficult.

Next was Jeongyeon. Sadly, you didn’t get a chance to have many interactions with her that night, so you couldn’t really gauge if she would be open to the idea. You instead decided to try and get to know her a bit more before revisiting the task at hand.

Momo was a peculiar case. You couldn’t quite get a read on what Momo was thinking, and had to resort to asking her other J-Line members whether or not you had made a good first impression. Though they both assured you that you had, her aloof nature during your interactions with her made her a wild card that you didn’t quite yet want to tackle.

As you stepped out of the bathroom and into your closet to change clothes, you took a pause and looked at your topless self in the mirror, narcissistically admiring your physique in the mirror. What you saw gave you the confidence to not back down from Sana’s task. Though they were a collection of beautiful looking people themselves, you were able to at least catch the eye of a third of them, at least that’s what you surmised at this time. Looking at your abs reminded you of the fiasco you had with Jihyo, so you contemplated pursuing her as an option. Though she was a little confrontational with you, you understood that she was only trying to look out for her members which was something you could respect. Jihyo’s gym challenge to you lit up your competitive spirit for a few moments that night. You admit that rising to her challenge meant a little more to you than any lustful feelings you had at the time, so you decided pursuing her would have to wait until your score was settled.

If Jihyo was a little confrontational, Dahyun took that to new heights. You weren’t quite sure if her detest of you stemmed from your intrusion in their little get together, or if it was rooted in something deeper, but getting in between Sana and the rest of her members was the last thing you wanted to do. She already didn’t appreciate your presence at the party, so pursuing her seemed like a nigh impossible task. You would have to take the long and slow approach with her, getting to know her and having her warm up to you before even thinking about going for anything further.

Next up was Chaeyoung. You had caught this girl having her own little photoshoot in Sana’s room and even helped her take a few photos yourself. The thing that surprised you the most about Chaeyoung was how open she was. One moment you’re engaged in some playful banter, the next she’s asking you about nude shoots. You could tell she was a free-spirit who didn’t shy away from speaking her mind, which made her seem all the more fun to you. You thought that going after her wouldn’t be either easy or difficult, but that it would be a ride you’d be willing to take.

The last member you thought of was Tzuyu. You remember her being quite timid. You really had to lead the conversation when conversing with her, at least until she had really begun opening up to you once you had found a topic that she was clearly very interested in. When you did find this topic, you discovered that really was a sweet girl. On top of this fact was her amazing visuals. Even though she was wearing a modest outfit, one look at her face almost took your breath away. Though you were a photographer, even you had to admit that pictures of her failed to do her looks any justice. If you pursued her, you knew it would be a tough undertaking, but the reward would be all the sweeter for it.

7 options, each with their own unique sets of challenges that you would have to overcome if it meant pleasing Sana. While some options seemed more enticing than others, deep down you knew that any option would be great if you could find a way to make it work. All the thinking was starting to become burdensome, so you decided to revisit this again later. You finished getting dressed and walked back over to your phone and turned it on. Once it was though, you were immediately met with a text message.

Happy Tails Pet Rescue: Hey kid, you still coming in today? I’m a little short staffed so if you can make it, you’d be a lifesaver!

Your eyes widened in shock as you looked at the time. 10:28 A.M. You had forgotten that you had specifically cleared your schedules for today because you had already agreed to go help out at a local pet shelter, and were supposed to come in to help 3 hours prior. Quickly, you sent a reply text saying that you would be right there, and raced off to your car.

—

You quickly pulled into the lot of the animal shelter. The outside of the building was adorned with decorations and balloons to liven up the place for the adoption event that would be taking place that day. There weren’t too many people there yet as the event was scheduled to happen around 3, so you thanked the stars that you had somehow made it in time to help set up. When you entered the building, the lobby appeared to be empty, with no one manning the reception desk at the time. You quickly tried to sneak your way to the changing area to avoid being noticed since you were already pretty late to arrive, but just as you were about to get to round the corner, you heard a voice call out to you.

“Ah, look who finally decided to show up!!” a man’s voice exclaimed. You froze in place and gritted your teeth, caught red-handed. You put on the best smile you could and turned back around.

“Sorry, Hyung…I got caught up with some work stuff this morning and couldn’t make it until now.” you explained while guiltily scratching the back of your head. The man who you were speaking to was the owner of the shelter. He was a fair bit older than you and he usually had a nice demeanor to him, but right now he was clearly a bit more upset and for good reason.

The owner approached you and crossed his arms. “Work stuff, huh? But I thought you said before that you were able to clear everything just for today? It is our big monthly event after all” he pressed with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah…you know how it goes though…” you tried to reason, though your confidence in your white lie was quickly faltering. “Sometimes clients request last minute edits, that sort of thing…”

You were clearly getting more and more uncomfortable trying to keep up your act, an act the owner definitely saw right through, and you were desperate to be released from this situation. As you continued rambling, the man uncrossed his arms and let out a chuckle before patting you on the back, easing the tension.

“I’m just messing with you, kid. Thanks for coming in to help out. Me and the wife really appreciate it whenever you can make time to help us out, and today’s no different." You breathed out a sigh of relief thankful that he wasn’t really upset with you before. “You’re in luck though! We actually got another volunteer to come in this morning. She’s in the back right now and let me tell you, she’s a pretty one. Go ahead and get changed before you head back and please help her out. It’s not often we get volunteers other than yourself, so with the two of you I’m sure we’ll get this place nice and ready well before we open doors” the owner said with a grin. You smiled and nodded your head before finally entering the changing room.

When you finished changing, you headed to the back area of the shelter. The room was large, with cages lining the walls for all of the dogs at the facility. Most of the dogs had been taken to the yard behind the building so that the staff would be able to clean their living areas, but you heard the sound of one dog barking from around the corner, along with the sound of a woman giggling, but it wasn’t the laugh of the owner’s wife. You went ahead to investigate and to your surprise, the laugh belonged to a familiar face.

“Tzuyu…?” you called out.

Tzuyu’s ears perked up at the sound of her name. She whipped her head around to see you standing there a bit dumbfounded. When she made eye contact with you, she blushed a little and stopped petting the dog whose head was in her hands. The dog then jumped up to Tzuyu’s torso making her fall onto her back before it began lapping up her beautiful face.

“Ah!” Tzuyu exclaimed as she giggled, trying to fend the dog off.

It was a cute sight that you almost didn’t want to break up with, but for Tzuyu’s sake you decided to step in. “Hey, come on now buddy! Let’s go,” you commanded as you approached the two. You grabbed a hold of the dog’s collar and gently lifted it off of Tzuyu, taking a knee besides her. petting the dog to keep it in check. While Tzuyu collected herself, you continued petting the dog to keep it in check.

“...thanks for that, Y/N…” Tzuyu said meekly.

You turned your attention to her and flashed her a smile. “Not a problem at all. Kovu’s always been a little more energetic than the rest of the bunch. Hopefully we can find a good home for him later today!” you said with confidence. You slowly got back to your feet before extending a hand to Tzuyu to help her up. Her eyes darted between your hand and your eyes in a split second of hesitation before she ultimately smiled and took your help. The two of you were now standing and facing each other, an awkward silence filling the air as neither of you knew what to say next. Even the dog was eager for what was to come as it stood between the two of you, blissfully wagging its tail.

“So…” the two of you said in unison, making both of your eyes grow wide in surprise. Not a second later, you both laughed at the absurdity of the situation.

“Please, you first.” Tzuyu suggested genially.

“Alright, so uh…What are you doing here?” you asked. You figured there was no point in beating around the bush.

Tzuyu’s smile faded and was quickly replaced with a deadpan expression. “What, am I not allowed to volunteer in my free time?”

Immediately you mentally facepalmed. Not the greatest start to this conversation, Y/N. you thought to yourself. “N-no! That’s not what I meant, sorry. I’m glad you’re here but…it just seems kind of random? How did you know about this place?” you asked.

“...you told me about this place last week at Sana-unnie’s party, remember? I had a free day so I decided to stop by.”

You made an “O” face as it all started coming back to you. You recalled the brief conversation you had with Tzuyu that night, and remembered how she lit up when you started talking about dogs and volunteering. Tzuyu smirked as she took a knee beside the dog watching the trainwreck unfold and started petting it.

“Ah, right! That’s great then! Like I said, I’m glad you’re here.” you said warmly. Tzuyu looked back up to you and returned the smile. While this was happening, the owner rounded the corner with his eyes focused on the clipboard in his hands.

“Hey, Sunhi. After you get Kovu out back, can you please-...” he started saying before his eyes rose from the clipboard, finally seeing the two of you. “Oh good, looks like you two have already met! Anyway, I can take Kovu to the rest of the dogs, so could you please start replacing the newspaper linings in all of their areas? Y/N can show you where we keep everything.”

As you eyed Tzuyu in slight confusion, she rose from her knee and nodded her head. “Sure thing!” she replied. You handed Kovu’s leash to the owner then gestured for Tzuyu to follow your lead. She quietly followed suit next to you as you made your way to the supply closet. When the owner was out of earshot, you leaned over slightly and whispered under your breath.

“So…Sunhi, huh? Is that your real name or…?” you jested. Tzuyu playfully nudged your arm as she giggled.

“Shush! That’s just the name I use whenever I don’t want to be recognized.”

“Ah, gotcha.” you replied as you continued walking. “I was gonna say, it’s a cute name.” you said with a wink. Tzuyu rolled her eyes and looked away from you in an attempt to brush off the compliment, but her cheeks becoming rosy showed you that you still hit the mark.

After getting the needed supplies, the two of you got to work cleaning out the dog kennels. Though you worked in silence for the most part, it didn’t feel awkward at all. In fact, you quite enjoyed her company. Previous times volunteering at the shelter, you’d be alone besides the owner and his wife, so Tzuyu being here with you was a nice change of pace. From time to time, you’d feel her gazing at you behind your back, so you decided to mess with her a little bit by shooting looks back. She’d quickly smile and blush before looking away, then the two of you would laugh it off. She has a nice smile, you thought to yourself.

The work cleaning the kennels only took an hour, far faster than it would have if you had been working alone, so once again you appreciated her presence. Just as the two of you were exiting the last space, the owner came by again with his clipboard in hand.

“Wow, looking great, Y/N! Knew I could count on you.” You laughed it off while scratching the back of your head. “Sunhi, could you please help Mrs. Kwon for a sec? I have another task for Y/N over here.” Tzuyu briefly looked at you. You gave her a reassuring smile and nodded your head, to which she smiled back. She then looked back towards the owner.

“Mhm!” she replied before heading on her way. You couldn’t help but admire her for a bit as she walked away. Though her torso was being concealed by a relatively baggy sweater, her jeans accented the curves of her legs quite nicely. Unfortunately for you, your gawking wasn’t lost on the owner who by now was chuckling to himself. When Tzuyu was out of earshot, he snapped his fingers in front of your face to snap you out of your daze.

“Hey, earth to Y/N.” he joked. You quickly shook your head before making eye contact with him, flustered slightly as you had been caught red-handed.

“Yeah? Whatcha need, boss?” you managed to say.

“Just to get the dogs back in their area. Can you help me with that?”

“Of course, lead the way!” The two of you started to head towards the exit of the building. On your way, your eyes trailed to Tzuyu helping the owner’s wife hang up some decorations along one of the walls. Once again, the owner caught your gaze wandering, but this time he decided to mess with you a little bit.

“She’s a real godsend, isn’t she?” the owner commented.

You didn’t quite know how to respond. “Yeah...she’s pretty nice I suppose.”

The owner placed his hands on his waist and smirked. “C’mon kid, I was your age once. I know a pretty girl when I see one and let me tell you, she’s a really pretty one.”

You’d never engaged in this kind of conversation with the owner before, so suffice to say you were caught off guard. As your mind raced to come up with a response, the owner reached out and slapped your shoulder and belted out a hearty laugh.

“Ah I’m just messing with you. Just keep playing your cards right and good things will come your way. Now let’s get back to work, yeah?” he jested. You nodded your head and followed his lead out the building, glad the awkwardness of that conversation was over.

—

The rest of the afternoon went pretty smoothly. Just like the owner had hoped, the 4 of you were able to get the shelter in tip-top shape just as the adoption event was scheduled to start. Once it did start, his wife manned the front desk while he assigned both you and Tzuyu the task of bringing prospective owners to the back and meeting with the dogs. Since you were quite familiar and knowledgeable with the dogs, you were able to answer most of the questions any of the prospective owners had. Meanwhile, Tzuyu was there right alongside you, listening intently as you described each of the dogs’ mannerisms as you toured the groups through the kennels.

The event lasted for a few hours, and proved quite fruitful for the shelter. By the end of the day, 5 dogs had found new homes. The last couple, a man and woman who looked to be close to your age, was going over the last bit of necessary paperwork to bring home their newest family member, and you were waiting patiently with the dog sitting by your feet, ready to hand the leash over to his new owners. After the papers were signed, you gave the leash to the happy couple and took a knee before ruffling the dog’s head one last time before bidding it farewell. Everyone in the room smiled at this, but no one smiled more than Tzuyu did.

“Don’t give them too much trouble, alright?” you said to the dog. He wagged his tail in glee before his new owners called out to him to lead him away. After the couple left, the owner closed the door behind them and flipped the “Open” sign to “Closed”, signaling the end of the event. He let out a huge sigh of relief before turning around with a big smile on his face.

“And that’s that! Great job everybody!” You and Tzuyu clapped and hollered as the owner and his wife embraced in a celebratory hug and kiss. They then turned to the two of you. “Really guys, thank you for coming out today. I know you always decline it, but I feel I have to offer it every time. Are you sure you don’t want any pay?” his wife asked.

“Nope, none at all Ms. Kwon. I’m always glad to help out when I can.” you said. Ms. Kwon then turned her attention to Tzuyu. “How about you, dear?”

“No thank you, I’m just glad I could be of service too.” She said softly. The owner and his wife smiled at this, happy to have found 2 good people such as yourselves willing to help out of the kindness of your hearts.

“Alright then, kids. We’ll let you know when the next event is. Hopefully we can see the two of you here again?” the owner asked.

“You got it, boss.”

___

After freshening up and changing back into your regular clothes, you were now sitting in the lobby waiting for Tzuyu. You didn’t have to wait long, however, as a couple minutes after you had sat down, Tzuyu emerged from the back in her casual clothes. Her fashion choice was a far cry from the uniform you had seen her in up until now. She was wearing a brown long-sleeved shirt that exposed both of shoulders, and a dark gray pencil skirt that went down past her shins. Her hair was down in contrast to the ponytail and hat she was wearing throughout the day. Even with minimal make-up, you couldn’t deny she was breathtaking in every sense of the word. With her silver bag in hand, she meekly made her way over to you.

“So…” you said in unison. Both of your eyes widened at the awkward exchange that you never seemed to escape from before the two of you laughed it off. “Go ahead?” Tzuyu said cutely from behind her hand covering her mouth.

“Yeah…so I was wondering, did you have any other plans today? It’s still pretty early and I was hoping you’d still be available to hang out?” you asked tentatively.

Tzuyu crossed her arms and placed her hand on her chin. “Hmmm, I think I should really check on Kaya and Butter. Dahyun unnie and Chaeyoung are both out today so I had to leave them both at home alone and after working with these dogs all day, I’d like to go and make sure they’re okay.”

“Ah, gotcha. Maybe next time then!”, you replied as you nodded your head, trying to play off your disappointment. Another moment of awkwardness followed before Tzuyu made a suggestion. “Would you like to come with…? I’d like to hang out with you some more too.” The two of you then made eye contact, and for the first time you got a chance to really see how beautiful her eyes truly were. You couldn’t hide the grin you had on your face.

“I’d love to!” Tzuyu giggled as you gestured for her to lead the way out of the shelter. Meanwhile back over by the reception area, the shelter’s owner and his wife were quietly observing your whole exchange. After you and Tzuyu left, the owner turned to his wife and chuckled.

“Kids these days, huh? I was way smoother than that when we first met, right?” he asked. His wife just rolled her eyes before deciding to kick his ego in check. “Trust me, you were way worse.”

—

You arrived at Tzuyu’s building about 30 minutes later. The drive over was relatively uneventful, as you let Tzuyu choose the music while listening for her directions to her home. The two of you were now riding in the elevator on the way up to her apartment. You decided to break the silence by asking her some questions, hoping to get a little better of an idea of what you were getting yourself into.

“So, you live with Dahyun and Chaeyoung huh? What’s that like?” you asked.

“It’s great. For the most part, we all usually keep to ourselves when we’re at home but every once in a while, I’ll go out with either of them on our off days.” The elevator dinged as it signaled your arrival at her floor and the two of you started making your way down the hall. You thought back to the party where you had met all of them for the first time, and remembered how some of her members seemed to be a little protective of Tzuyu.

“You said they were both out right now…are you sure they’d be okay with me coming over?” you postured. Tzuyu then turned to you with a blank expression on her face. “Yeah, why wouldn’t they be? It’s not like I need to ask for their permission or anything” she replied, seemingly unbothered by the situation before digging into her purse for her keys. You raised your eyebrows while nodding your head. Ah, that must be the whole “savage maknae” thing she’s got going on, you thought to yourself. Tzuyu then proceeded to unlock her door, and gestured for you to come in.

As you entered her living room, you were taken back by how spacious the apartment seemed to be. For a 3-bedroom apartment in downtown, it was way bigger than most and must’ve cost a fortune, but you figured this was par for the course for one of the biggest girl groups in the industry. In general, the room was decorated with rather modest furniture but as you looked around you could see little hints pinpointing which members of Twice had to be living here. The walls were adorned with handmade sketches and paintings which you knew had to be the work of Chaeyoung. Off in the corner near the entrance to their patio sat a piano with a notebook and pen on its stand. This one had to belong to Dahyun. Lastly, the pee pads in the other corner and the sounds emanating from the pitter-patter of dog paws running around somewhere else in the apartment signaled the two pets that you surmised had to be Kaya and Butter, Tzuyu’s pets. You took a moment to take all of this in as Tzuyu hung up her purse before making her way past you.

“Go ahead and make yourself comfortable, Y/N, I'm just gonna go make sure Kaya and Butter haven't made a mess of things in my room” Tzuyu said cutely before heading off down the hall towards the bedrooms. You made your way over to the sofa and plopped down waiting for her to return.

A few minutes later, Tzuyu emerged back from the hallway with a small grin on her face.

“Everything good?” You asked.

“Yup, they're doing fine. They looked like they were fighting a bit, but as soon as I walked in they stopped and came to me” she replied with a smile. “I love coming home to them, they always brighten my day.”

You placed your elbow on the back of the couch and nodded. “Ah, that sounds like the best. This place is very nice by the way. I thought it might be a bit cramped with 3 people, but it's way more spacious than I thought. And the view from your patio? Man, I don't know why any of you guys would ever want to leave” you joked.

Tzuyu giggled at this. “Huh, Mina-unnie said the same thing the first time she came to visit, but thank you. Are you hungry by chance? We've kinda been out all day and I forgot to ask if you wanted to stop by somewhere before we came here.”

Up til now you hadn't really felt it but now that you were being asked about it, you did feel some hunger pangs creeping up. You placed your other hand on your stomach. “Uh…yeah, I guess I could eat. Did you want to order something?”

Tzuyu then started making her way towards their kitchen. “Nope, I actually have something, gimme a second!” She said as she scurried off. Not a minute later, she came back to the living room with a tray in her hands. On it was a plate of bread along with two glasses of iced coffee. She placed the tray down on the table in front of the couch before taking a seat next to you on the couch. She then gestured for you to take a piece.

“Oh wow, this looks great. Where did you get this from?” You said as you picked off a bit of bread to eat. She looked like she was waiting eagerly for you to try it, so you obliged her. To your surprise, the bread was pretty good. “Mmmm, banana bread huh?” You said while covering your mouthful.

“Yup, I actually made that. Momo-unnie sent me the recipe so I made a loaf last night. Dahyun-unnie and Chae haven't had a chance to try it yet so I guess you're the first? I'm glad you like it though!” Tzuyu said, her voice a mix of glee and relief. She reached over and grabbed a piece for herself. After finishing your piece, you reached for one of the two iced coffees to wash down the bread.

“Ah, I didn't make that though. Store bought, hehe, but I added some whipped cream because it's just how I like it” she explained as she grabbed her own glass. The two of you clanked your glasses in “cheers” and took a sip. When you moved the glasses down though, the two of you looked at each other for a second before bursting into laughter, as the whipped cream had gotten all over both of you guys’ lips.

The two of you quickly wiped your faces clean before placing your glasses back down on the table. You then turned to each other, but this time you could feel the awkwardness slowly starting to dissipate as the two of you grew more comfortable around each other.

Tzuyu was the first to break the silence this time. “So, any particular reason why you wanted to hang out?” You chuckled at the bluntness of her question, but not out of nervousness. At this point, you’d just come to accept that it was part of her charm.

“Yeah, actually. We didn't really get a chance to talk much while we were volunteering, so I wanted an opportunity to get to know you a little more if that's alright?” you asked.

Tzuyu brought both of her legs up to her seat and sat criss-cross, hugging her knees. “Sure! That means I'll get to learn a bit about you too. What do you want to know?”

The next half-hour or so was spent recanting both of your life stories. You already knew a little about her journey to becoming an idol, but hearing it from her and all the extra little details the public would never be able to find online made her story all the more engaging. She talked about leaving home at a young age, and how the girls who would eventually go on to become her unnies took her in and cared for her to make sure she would be alright. This endeared you a bit more to the 2 members you were already pretty close to, and made you all the more appreciative of the other 6. When it was your turn, Tzuyu listened intently as you chronicled your path to becoming an artist in your own right. From your own humble beginnings, to now working with some of the biggest names in the industry, Tzuyu would nod and ask follow-on questions showing she was genuinely interested in what you had to say. By the end of it all, you were now at the present.

“...and that's how I started working with Sana, and eventually got to meet all of you!” You exclaimed, sighing as if you had finished a presentation. Tzuyu smiled at this while placing her elbow on the back of the couch to lean on.

“You and Sana-unnie are pretty close, huh? I think it's been a few months since she first told us about you, and she always has nice things to say.” She remarked. Your face instantly started to feel red. Charm or not, this girl could really be blunt when she wanted to.

“Yeah, I guess?” You replied, trying to laugh it off. “But I’m sure she's nice like that around everyone. She's just a nice person in general” you said, still trying to downplay the situation. You knew some of the members knew about you and Sana’s escapades but didn't quite know if Tzuyu was among those in the know, and you weren't about to go about exposing that now if you could help it.

“Right…well, let me ask you then. What do you think of Sana-unnie?” Tzuyu said as she shifted her body to face you. You could feel that she had a thought in her mind, and was doubling down on it. You steeled your resolve before answering her question.

“Like I said, I think she's very sweet and nice. If you're asking me if I “like her” like that, then no. I’m not interested in her in that sense. Though she started off as one of my clients, we’re just very good friends now.” You explained. Tzuyu nodded her head and you could see the corners of her lips curl into the tiniest grin. You decided to try and turn the tables on her to try and deflect her questioning.

“What about you? Do you have anyone you're interested in? Or is something like that just out of the question for idols?” You flat-out asked. You thought that being outright with your question would make her want to change the subject, but to your surprise Tzuyu seemed unfazed.

“Hmm, maybe. I don't quite know yet. I did have one long term relationship, but he actually ended things for…reasons. I don't really want to get into that right now if that's okay with you.” You were taken back by her openness. Though she didn't answer your question, the fact that she acknowledged it and even trusted you enough to tell you that about her past really struck a chord with you.

"Oh, of course. I'm sorry to hear that though. For what it's worth, I think It's truly that guy’s loss” you commented.

Tzuyu once again smiled at your compliment. “It’s ok, I'm over it, but thanks, Y/N. I appreciate that.” The two of you then looked warmly at each other before you felt that you had to break your gaze. You reached back down for your glass while Tzuyu continued to smile at you. You took another sip before facing her again.

“So…” you started to say, defaulting to the only line you could come up with. Tzuyu chuckled at this before sighing.

“So. I feel like we learned a lot about each other today, right? We seem to have a lot in common.” Tzuyu commented. You nodded your head in agreement, a little anxious to see where she was going with this. “You're an artist, I'm an idol. You like to volunteer, I like to volunteer.” You kept nodding your head as Tzuyu continued to list off the things tying you two together. You took another sip from your glass.

“...you're single, I'm single…”

You almost spat out your coffee, but by god’s grace managed to maintain your composure. You set your glass back down on the table and took a deep breath before facing her.

“Ahem Ah, yeah. Before you go any further, I feel like I should pause for a second. Listen, I think you're very nice and obviously we have a lot in common, but I'm really not looking at getting into something right now, not at this point in my career anyway. I'm really sorry if I gave off that impression…” You started explaining. Meanwhile, Tzuyu looked at you with a quizzical look on her face before cutting you off.

“Getting into something? What do you mean?” She asked. The tension in the room could have been cut with a knife, but you felt like at this moment you had to man up and let her down as gently as you could. You cleared your throat before continuing.

“Getting into…like a relationship or something? That's where you were headed with that, right?” You asked. Tzuyu's eyes widened as she covered her mouth in surprise.

“No, no! That's not what I meant at all!” She exclaimed. Now it was your turn to be confused. Your eyebrows scrunched up as you began trying to make sense of the situation. After the initial shock of it all wore off, Tzuyu started laughing as she figured out how to proceed.

“Ok, I see why you might've thought that, but maybe that just came out wrong. Maybe this will make things make a lot more sense. Look, I know about you and Sana-unnie. I even know about you and Mina-unnie…” she started to say. All of a sudden, the dots in your head connected, and you figured out where Tzuyu was going.

Tzuyu continued to look at you with an unreadable expression while a million thoughts began running through your head. She knows? What does she mean she knows? Did Sana tell everyone in her group about their arrangement? What do the other members think of what Sana and I are doing? I know Mina is fine with it, Nayeon maybe too, but Jihyo? Momo? More importantly, what does Tzuyu think? I thought she might’ve been alluding to something more, but she really wanted to know more about this? Your eyes glazed over in a thousand yard stare as you continued to try and make sense of the situation. It was only when you felt a hand be placed on top of yours on your lap that you were jolted back to your senses. Your eyes focused on the hand and trailed upwards, revealing that Tzuyu had shifted closer and was now seated next to you on the couch.

“Tzuyu, I…” you started to say. Tzuyu slowly closed her hand, holding the back of yours.

“Relax. I know you’re probably a little confused so let me help clear some things up for you.” she said calmly. You took a deep breath then shifted your weight to face her fully. “Like I said, I know about what you and Sana do outside of work, in fact, we all sort of do. We’re okay with it because Sana-unnie is happy, well, most of us are anyway. But anyways. Even before the party, she always had good things to say about you, but the thing I’m most interested in is one thing she said in particular…” she said as her voice started to trail off. She withdrew her hand from yours, and you could sense a feeling of nervousness washing upon her. You gave her a moment to collect herself but when she didn’t continue, you decided to press the topic.

“And what would that be?” you asked tentatively.

Tzuyu hugged her knees before gaining enough confidence to come out with her real intentions. “Well…Sana-unnie said that you were really good at...”

“Really good at…?” you asked with your brows furrowing.

“You know, really good. Like, at the stuff you two do.” she replied meekly.

You were now beginning to connect the dots, but you wanted to avoid any more confusion. “Ah. Sana told you that I was good in bed. Is that what you mean?” Tzuyu nodded her head slowly, acknowledging that you were now both finally on the same page. Inside, you felt a sense of pride that Sana had given you such an endorsement, but you had to play it cool. Even still, you started grinning.

“Tzuyu, if you wanted to ask if I wanted to spend the night with you, there were simpler ways you could have asked,” you remarked with a little laugh. Tzuyu’s face turned beet red as she playfully hit your shoulder.

“Hey, I was trying!” she scoffed while trying to downplay her embarrassment. “It’s not just that though. The reason I wanted to bring this up was because I was actually hoping you could help me out with something. When I talked about it with Sana-unnie, she said you'd be the perfect guy to ask so…

“Sure, Tzuyu. You were kind enough to help out at the shelter today at a time when they happened to be needing it most. This is the least I can do to repay the favor” you said reassuringly.

Tzuyu released her knees and let her legs down from the couch before placing her hands in her lap. “Well, it’s kind of a big request so before I say anything, I want to let you know that you’re more than welcome to say no. I’d completely understand.”

“Nonsense. Whatever it is, if I can help you out, I will. So what is it?”

“Do you remember earlier when I told you about that long term relationship I was in before? Well long story short, he ended things because he said I wasn’t…delivering.” she explained. Her eyes remained downtrodden on her lap as she spoke. You understood what she was trying to say, but you decided to let her continue on. “Everything else was going great with our relationship, but he felt that our sex life wasn’t good enough for him, so he ended it. That really stuck with me, and I haven’t been able to move past that. Then I heard all the good things Sana-unnie has had to say about her sex life ever since she met you so I asked her about it. She told me you two weren’t exclusive or anything and that she’d even be willing to share, but I had to make sure for myself. I remember from the party that you said you’d be volunteering this week, so that’s why I came by. I really do love volunteering, but what I actually wanted to do was see if I could meet you again. Fast forward to now and I find out that you and Sana-unnie really aren’t exclusive so I figured I could ask if you maybe wanted to do something with me like you do with her…” Tzuyu’s voice trailed off as she got to the end of her explanation.

As Tzuyu spoke, you felt a warmth in your chest. Perhaps she hadn't realized it yet, but this was the longest she had spoken anything to you since the two of you had met. You figured that she must have grown really comfortable with you and you were appreciative of that. Like she did to you earlier, you placed your hand on top of hers in her lap. She eventually finished her explanation, and trailed her eyes back up to you.

"So let me get this straight.... You want to practice having sex with me?" You asked Tzuyu, making absolutely sure no misunderstandings came forth from assumptions. Your eyes looked sincere, staring into hers, not a hint of you mocking her in there, or some sort of sleazebag gaze already undressing her at the mere thought of these acts. This simple action reaffirmed her feelings that you might just be the solution to her problem. She averted her gaze, getting lost in her own thoughts.

She thought back to all the events that led her to this moment. After her relationship had ended, she could not shake the growing sense of insecurity he had created in her. It truly struck a chord that her ex thought that she wasn't good enough to keep him around, and that feeling stuck with her through the few trysts she had with other men moving forward. Though they would shower her with praise about her skills in bed, deep down she knew their words were hollow. She knew this because she would sometimes purposefully do nothing, yet still the praise would come. No partner would ever tell her the truth, so she began believing the words of her ex. These experiments left her feeling more and more insecure, and eventually distrustful of men to the point that she stopped trying to be intimate altogether. Things started to change for her when you came into the picture. She remembered Sana coming to shoots absolutely glowing and telling the members about a guy she had recently started seeing, and that she liked him enough to want to introduce him to the rest of the group at some point. That eventually turned out to be the party. She remembered thinking that you really were as attractive as Sana boasted, but didn't pay too much mind to you until she noticed you turning down Nayeon's advances. Nobody had ever rejected Nayeon once she had her sights set on someone, so Tzuyu knew at that moment that you were special. She decided that if she were going to try being intimate with a guy again, you'd be the one she'd try with.

You could tell a million things were happening in her mind, before Tzuyu's eyes focused, and re-met yours. "Yes." Her answer rang loudly, filled with a sense of determination. "I don't ever want to be treated like just a pretty face again."

She slowly rose from the couch facing you, demanding an answer to the clarification you brought just now. "I want you to help with that. Please." You weren't sure how to feel. It was obvious that this was a real concern for her, something that bothered her deeply. But you didn't want to come off as just some asshole using her for sex. If you were to agree to do this, you'd have to take it very seriously, you felt. Thinking about how much courage she must have gathered just to get herself to the point of asking you must mean this is very important to her, and before you knew it, you had responded in kind to her request.

"Okay. I will. But it won't be easy. Are you prepared for that?" You answered, countering her, testing her determination.

She slowly rose from the couch and pulled you up to join her. "I am." She responded, a soft smile overtaking her determined and stern look from a few seconds ago.

—

You closed the door behind you as Tzuyu walked ahead of you to the foot of her bed. You admired her slender frame, the faint outline of her curves being dimly lit by a lamp in the corner. She paused with her hands at her sides, forming small fists. She seemed a bit nervous as to how to proceed now that she had finally gotten you so close to where she wanted you, so you decided to take the initiative. You made your way over to her, your own frame towering behind her as you stood there and placed your hands on her waist before leaning forward and inhaling the intoxicating scent of her hair. When she knew you were close, her body tensed up slightly, but she just as quickly relaxed when she felt you place a kiss on her head. She trailed one of her arms up behind her and hooked it around your neck to pull you deeper into her, tilting her head to the side in the process. Your face made its home in the space between her head and her shoulder as you continued to plant small kisses on her caramel colored skin.

After feeling like you had started to get her relaxed, you turned her around to face you. At first, her eyes remained level with your chest as she placed her hands on it, biting her lip in anticipation. You gently held her chin between your thumb and index finger, tilting her face up slowly to look at you before leaning forward and bringing her into a proper kiss. She melted into this almost immediately, and wrapped her arms up and around your neck as your tongues began mingling with one another.

"Mmmm..." she hummed out, directly into your mouth. Her kiss tasted delightfully sweet. You couldn't tell if it was either the flavor of her lip gloss, or the taste of her actual spit that you craved, but there was only one word that rang through your head as the two of you continued kissing: More.

As the two of you kept up the kiss, you then felt Tzuyu's hands trace the sides of your body down to the hem of your shirt. You got the message and abruptly pulled away to pull off your shirt, leaving her breathless. She had gotten a brief glimpse of your physique at the party, but was now finally given the chance to get a good look up close. She tenderly traced the lines of your abs with her fingertip with her jaw slackened in awe. When compared to her previous partner there was no contest and she was eager to dive right back into the fray with you, but there were still some steps that needed to be completed before the two of you got there. With a growing smirk, you decided it was your turn to get a look at what you would be working with tonight. Keeping your hands on her hips, you took a knee before her, all the while keeping an intense eye contact with her doe-like eyes. You made quick work of the buttons of her long skirt and parted the waistband around her voluptuous hips, revealing the top of her lacy black panties. You then slowly pulled your arms down, peeling the skirt down her long, slender legs with your face hovering mere inches away from her womanhood. In an instant, you were met with a provocative scent emanating from her growing wetness. It took an immeasurable amount of strength to resist the urge to dive your face right in to get a taste but you held out, wanting instead to continue building up the tension. After her skirt had pooled around her ankles, you moved back to give her some space, to which she stepped forward out of her skirt. You then slowly rose back up, tracing your fingertips along the length of her toned legs until you were standing upright before her. Your hands took hold of the hem of her shirt as you then started to pull up. She got the hint, and raised her arms above her head to assist you. You removed her tightly-fitted brown top, leaving her in a black push-up bra that matched her panties. After she tossed away the shirt, she meekly crossed her arms and looked away in a futile attempt to cover her chest. You smiled warmly at this, knowing that after everything that has transpired so far that she was still a bit nervous. You tenderly grabbed onto her wrists as she looked back up to your eyes. You gave her a reassuring nod, then guided her arms down to her side.

You cupped her face in your hands and kissed her one more time to indulge yourself in her lips before pulling away, keeping yourself close enough to feel her breaths on your face.

"So, you wanted some help, right? Let's start by seeing where you're at. Kneel for me, sweetheart." you commanded lowly. Tzuyu's heart raced from both anticipation and excitement. Your tone made her feel like putty, and she was ready to obey. She quickly followed your orders and sank to her knees while placing her hands on top of her thighs, all while keeping her gaze on you. She sat there patiently awaiting your next command. She seems eager. That's good, you thought to yourself as you grinned. You unfastened your belt and unbuckled the button of your pants before placing your hands back to your sides. "Show me what you can do."

Tzuyu then directed her eyes toward your crotch. She raised her hands up to your waistband and slowly pulled your pants down. You couldn't deny the eroticism of it all, and your cock reacted much in the same way anyone else would have if they were in your situation. One of the most beautiful women on the planet was kneeling before you, wearing nothing but her underwear and she was undressing you. As she pulled your pants down further, your cock sprang up almost hitting her in the face, already almost fully erect. Tzuyu gasped at your size then bit her lip in an effort to contain herself. You kicked off your pants then stood firmly in place in front of her with your cock now standing proudly before her. With one of her dainty hands, Tzuyu wrapped her fingers around the base of your cock and tilted it upward to get a good look at it. After she was done admiring it, she looked back up to you as if to ask what she should do next. You were happy to oblige.

"Go on, sweetheart. You know what to do." you commanded.

Tzuyu softly smiled acknowledging your order, then focused her attention back to your cock in her hand. She opened her mouth wide and pushed her head forward, immediately sending a rush of sensation coursing throughout your body. Your knees almost buckled from the suddenness of it all, feeling the combination of the wetness of her mouth paired with the feeling of warmth enveloping the tip of your member. She sucked hard, weaving her head around the tip of your cock at a rapid pace like an insatiable woman. You hissed out in pleasure. On any other day you would have enjoyed this level of enthusiasm from your sexual partner, but the goal of tonight was different. With as much restraint as you could muster you took your hands and placed them on the sides of her head before prying her away, a long string of saliva connecting the tip of your cock to her bottom lip. Tzuyu took in a gasp of air before looking back up to you, her eyebrows furled in confusion as she wondered if she had done something wrong.

"Hold on there, that was great but here's your first tip: sometimes, going slow can be just as good as going fast. Do you remember the tension you felt as I undressed you? Try building up that same kind of tension when you do this". Tzuyu nodded her head then refocused her gaze back to your cock, now well lubricated from her spit. As she was about to dive back in, you tapped her head to get her attention once more. "And also, try keeping eye contact with me while you do so. I love that. It shows how much you care." you said with a warm smile. Tzuyu reciprocated this before opening her mouth once again. This time when she took you in and closed her mouth, she was much more deliberate. She took in about half of your length, then sucked hard as she withdrew her head back up, all the while playing with the underside of your cock with her tongue. You looked up towards the ceiling and closed your eyes, savoring the much more sensual blowjob she was giving you. "That's much better, Tzuyu. Keep going just like that." you cooed. Despite being inexperienced, she was proving to be a quick learner. Tzuyu took a mental note of the effect she was having on you just by changing up her pace, and was proud that she was able to adapt so quickly.

You allowed Tzuyu to continue like this for some time, partly because you wanted to enjoy her blowing you but also because you wanted to give her some time to get used to this new way of doing things. It was truly a win-win situation for you, but deep down you couldn't fight the feeling of wanting to get a little greedy. After a little while, you tapped her head again. While still keeping your cock in one of her hands, she pulled her head away and sat back, wiping her lips of spit with her other while looking up at you.

"Great job, sweetheart. That's already much better, but I think you might be able to do a little more. Tell me, have you ever taken in more than just the tip when blowing someone before?" you asked genuinely.

Tzuyu furled her brow once more. "You mean, going deeper?" she asked meekly.

"Deepthroating, Tzuyu." you responded, clearing up any shadows of doubt with your questioning. "Have you ever tried doing that before?"

Tzuyu shook her head no as her shoulders dropped. "No...Is that something guys really like?" she asked innocently. The naivety behind her eyes told you everything you needed to know, so you decided to continue with a more reassuring approach.

"That's ok, sweetheart. That's what tonight is for, right? I can't speak for all men, but I know that it's something that I personally enjoy. If you want to try, we can. If that's something you aren't comfortable with, we can always try it another time." you said warmly. As much as you yourself wanted to do so, you didn't feel it would be right of you to take advantage of her in this situation.

Tzuyu looked back down to your cock and thought for a second before looking back up to you. "Let's try," she replied with as much confidence as she could. You smirked at this.

"Atta girl. Lean up a bit so you can get some more leverage, and use my legs to balance yourself. The best advice I can give you is to keep your mouth open as wide as you can, and to try and relax."

Tzuyu did as she was told and rose to knees with her face level with your abs. She placed both of her hands on your thighs then opened her mouth as wide as she could, inviting you in. If it were anyone else in this position that you knew was more experienced, Sana for example, you would not have hesitated to impale her throat right then and there, but you knew you had to be careful with her first time trying. You lined your tip up with her mouth and held your hips there.

"Go ahead" you said encouragingly. Slowly, Tzuyu sank her head forward onto your cock. It slowly disappeared as she took inch by inch inside of her wanton mouth. She was doing well until she got about halfway down your length when you felt your tip reach the barrier of her throat. She paused for a moment before trying to push through, but her body immediately gagged in response to the intrusion. She quickly withdrew her head and choked for air, saliva dribbling down the corners of her mouth and down her chin. She was about to rescind her offer to try, but her doubt quickly dissipated when she looked up to see you smiling down encouragingly at her.

"That's okay, sweetheart. I know it's tough the first time. You can try again or we can stop, it's up to you." Selfishly you wanted her to keep going, but you knew something like this would take time.

Tzuyu took a second to wipe her chin before clearing her throat. "No, I can do it. Let's try again." she declared with determination in her eyes. Once again, she positioned herself up on her knees before you and centered herself facing your rod. This time, you decided to help guide her down. She slackened her jaw as best she could and took you in. Once again, your tip had reached the end of her mouth and was about to breach her throat when she paused. You moved your hand to the back of her head and gave her a gentle push, egging her on to keep pushing forward. Tzuyu shut her eyes and leaned further, surprising the both of you when your tip pushed through. You were instantly hit with a rush of feeling emanating from your tip as she held it in her throat. Unfortunately she wouldn't be able to keep it there for long, as her body started to convulse from another gag. Tears started to stream down her cheeks as she reflexively pulled her head back, freeing your cock from her mouth as she fell forward onto her hands, a build-up of spit flowing from her mouth as she coughed and coughed. You took a knee in front of the panting girl and reached out to tilt her chin up.

"Hey, are you okay?" you asked. You took your thumb and wiped the tears from her cheeks and some of the dribble around her mouth. Tzuyu collected herself enough to lean back onto her heels, though she looked away from you a little dejected.

"I'm fine. I'm...I'm sorry. I thought I could do it. We can try again if you want..." she said, her voice breaking slightly. You placed both hands on the sides of her shoulders and forced her to look back at you.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, Tzuyu. You did great for your first time. We don't have to keep trying tonight if you don't want to, but I'm sure that with a little more practice, it'll become second nature to you in no time." you were reassured with a smile. Tzuyu looked into your eyes and knew you were being sincere, eventually returning a small smile back. When you felt like she was doing alright, you decided against trying again and instead suggested something else to keep her mind off of it. You rose to your feet and pulled her up to stand with you. "Alright, how about we try something else? When you've had sex before, what different kinds of positions have you done, and which do you like most?"

Tzuyu thought to herself for a moment before answering. "Well, I haven't done much actually. Most of the time, it was either doggy or missionary." she said with her voice trailing off.

You took a quick moment to admire her figure. There was no doubt in your mind that Tzuyu took care of herself well. "So the guy did most of the work, huh? I guess that makes a little sense though. I can't really blame them for wanting to enjoy your body..." As you finished your sentence, you felt Tzuyu's body tense up slightly before she looked down and away from you. Clearly you had struck a nerve, so you had to be quick to diffuse the situation. "But! This isn't about them. This is about you and you wanting to get better, right?" This got Tzuyu's attention as she turned back to face you, and internally you breathed a sigh of relief. "I want to give you a chance to show how much power and control you can have when you really want to." Tzuyu's eyebrows curled upwards while she tilted her head, obviously intrigued by your proposition. You then smirked, knowing that she was still in the palm of your hand.

"But first, you've been so good to me. It's only right that I return the favor. Lay back for me, sweetheart. Let me get you nice and ready." you said in a sultry tone. Tzuyu nodded her head and slowly sat back, scooting up until both her legs were on the bed. She propped herself up on her arms and crossed her legs, awaiting your next command. Once again you knelt down, but this time you trailed both of your hands up her legs teasing her ever so slightly. When they got to the waistband of her panties, Tzuyu got the hint and uncrossed her legs while leaning further up her back to assist you in removing her underwear. You did so almost excruciatingly slow, but you knew that rushing this should be the last thing on your mind. You peeled her panties down her legs, eventually getting them off of her. As composed as you had been all night, you couldn't resist your inner urges any longer, and quickly brought her moistened panties to your face and inhaled, closing your eyes to really take in her scent.

"You smell amazing Tzuyu, but I bet you taste even better..." you whispered. Tzuyu bit her lip as you spoke, not being able to hide her arousal as well. You hooked your hands around her thighs and repositioned her to lay closer to the edge of the bed with her knees bent and heels close to her ass. You then focused your attention on her clean shaven pussy which was already glistening from her excitement. You licked your lips then latched them onto her, sending a jolt of electricity right though her body.

"Ohhh~~" Tzuyu moaned out as her head tilted back, her face distorting in pleasure as you began lapping at her pussy lips. Your suspicions about her taste were proven true as you continued to eat out the Taiwanese beauty. Her taste was divine, and unlike any you had had before. You didn't quite know why, but something about her kept you wanting more. Your tongue darted between her lips rhythmically, and the sounds of Tzuyu's labored breaths and moans rang out like music to your ears. Occasionally you'd pull extra emphasis on her clit, and each time you did so her thighs would briefly tighten around your head before relaxing. Unable to hold herself up, Tzuyu fell back onto the bed and instead used one hand to hold onto her sheets while her other hand found its way to the back of your head to grip your hair.

"Ohhh my god, That's...that's good, Y/N. P-please don't stop" she begged. Stopping was in fact the last thing on your mind. Instead, you wanted to use this opportunity to flex a little bit and show her a new level of ecstasy. You tilted your head upward slightly, just enough to make enough room for you to get one of your hands under her. You took your middle finger and began to tease her pussy with it before inserting it into her. When you did so, she instantly cried out in pleasure. You gave her a second to savor the new feeling as you pumped your finger in and out of her but it was exactly that: one second. You wanted to send her over the edge in one of the best ways you knew how to. All those nights playing your game with Sana were about to pay off. With a renewed vigor, you focused your tongue on her clit while your hand picked up the pace. Tzuyu's moans rapidly grew higher in pitch until she ultimately could not hold herself back any longer.

"O-o-oppa!!!" Tzuyu yelled out, shaking her head violently and arching her back while her thighs clamped down on your head, trapping you there. Her body convulsed as wave after wave of pleasure overcame her, all the while your tongue never slowing down its assault of her most sensitive spot. She almost ripped your hair out with how tightly she was gripping you with her hand, but you didn't mind one bit. Eventually, she relinquished her hold on you as her body fully relaxed. Her only movements came from her still bra-clad chest moving up and down as she heaved for air. Satisfied with a job well done, you slowly retracted your finger and pulled your head back, wiping your lips with your free hand in the process. You stood back up and looked down at the panting girl below you. Her eyes were closed and her hair was a mess. Her perfect caramel-colored skin had a faint shine to it, no doubt from the sweat she had built up. Even though you had just eaten her out, she looked absolutely delicious from head to toe, and you couldn't wait to get more.

"I take it nobody's ever done something like that for you before, huh?" you said with a chuckle. Tzuyu kept her eyes closed but gave you a nice toothy smile. "Not like that. I see why Sana-unnie likes you." she replied with a chuckle of her own, acknowledging your skills.

"Ready to keep going?" you asked as you took a seat next to her on the bed. Tzuyu propped herself back on one arm, and used the other to run her hand through her hair. She looked back at you and smiled. "Mhm, what's next?"

You leant over and laid her on her back, tilting her chin up for a kiss that she gladly reciprocated. Tzuyu's arms snaked their way around your sides to your back as she indulged herself in your toned physique while you kept yourself propped up above her. The two of you made out for a little while like this until you decided to proceed with your next move. You pulled away and allowed yourself to get closer to her before rolling over and bringing her on top of you. With her now straddling you, you reached a hand up to fix her hair behind one of her ears to get better look as her gorgeous face. You then decided give Tzuyu her next instructions.

"The other guys you've been with may have done all the work for you, but this time I want to show you how fun it can be to ride. Do you think you can do that for me, sweetheart?" you asked as your hands began to feel up her thighs.

"Yes, oppa." Tzuyu replied. She leaned down to kiss you one more time before hoisting her body upright and reaching between her legs. She took a hold of your shaft and ran your tip along the outer folds of her pussy lips a few times to prime it, the two of you hissing softly. When she was ready, she held you still and lined you up. She then lowered herself until your tip was firmly inside before letting go of your cock and placing both of her hands on your chest. Both of you closed your eyes and moaned out in harmonious unison when she had fully taken you in. Tzuyu remained still for a brief moment to allow herself time to adjust. For you, the feeling was absolutely divine. So. Fucking. Tight! you thought to yourself. Despite how good a job you thought you had done in getting her ready to take you, nothing could have prepared you for just how tight her pussy would be once you were inside. Every inch of her inner walls hugged your cock snuggly and you feared you wouldn't be able to last as long as you'd hoped, but you made a vow to yourself that you would not disappoint. After the two of you had gotten enough time to relax, Tzuyu leaned back up and opened her eyes with the most sultry look she had given you all night.

"Remember Tip #1, there's no need to rush things. Take it slow." you instructed. Tzuyu quickly nodded her head once then slowly began to ease her body up your length before coming back down. The feeling was mind-blowing to say the least. The grip her pussy had on your cock rivaled that of a hand job, but was much warmer and wetter than a hand job could ever be. Tzuyu's face grimaced, but not because of pain, but from the sheer amount of pleasure she was experiencing. It was as if your cock was scratching an itch that Tzuyu didn't even know she had, and the satisfaction of hitting that sent shiver after shiver straight up her spine. She repeated this motion a few times, maintaining the same slow pace as she milked your cock with her pussy.

Though you knew she was enjoying things as they were, you felt that she could do even better. After recovering from the initial wave of pleasure that came from her riding you, you noticed that her body was incredibly stiff. You surmised that she must have been focusing hard on making sure that her movements were deliberate (to which she was doing a very good job with), but you felt like you knew just what to tell her in order to take it to the next level. You tapped on her thigh to get her attention.

"Tzuyu, you're doing great, but here's tip #2. Ease up, and relax. I want you to fully enjoy the feeling of being in control. You don't have to be so rigid while you ride. Play around with it a bit. I've seen the way you can move when you dance, so try using some of that."

Tzuyu paused as she thought for a moment. She thought she had an idea of what you meant, so she decided to give it a shot. "Okay, tell me how this feels, oppa."

Tzuyu leaned back and sat upright in your lap. She then reached her hands behind her back and unclasped her bra, freeing her petite tits from their confines before tossing her bra aside. Your jaw dropped when you finally got a chance to see her boobs in all of their glory. They weren't big by any means, but much like Sana they fit the frame of her chest very nicely. They were perky, and perfectly accented by her light brown nipples. Your hands moved up her body on their own, each taking a tit as you squeezed both of them gently. Tzuyu tilted her head back and cooed as you groped her.

She then let all of her weight fall into your lap and raised both of her arms up as she leaned back, running her hands through her hair to not only give you full access to her chest, but also to expose the bare skin of her clean shaven pits to you. The new angle also allowed for your cock to dig deeper into her pussy than it had before. This time rather than methodically raising and lowering herself like she had previously, she kept her lower body glued to yours, and instead grinded her pussy into your crotch. You watched as the contours of her body rolled with each grind, and had to bite your lip to stop yourself from moaning out too loudly. Tzuyu truly knew how to move her body in a way only a dancer would, and it showed. She seemed to be enjoying things as well. Doing things like this, she was able to further chase the feeling of ecstasy that she wanted.

"Fuck yes, Tzuyu...That feels fucking amazing. How does it feel for you?" you asked while gritting your teeth.

"M-much better, oppa." Tzuyu whispered out between breaths.

"Good. Keep going until you're satisfied, and don't worry about me for now. I'm just along for the ride" you replied. Tzuyu nodded her head then closed her eyes, fully allowing herself to get lost in the moment. As she rode, you continued to massage her breasts, occasionally playing with each of her nipples to ensure that she was getting as much stimulation as you could provide for her. Right now, you wanted to let her have her fun because you knew that if you did, you might be able to get away with having some of it yourself later on. That wasn't to say you weren't enjoying the moment now though, as you joined her in closing your eyes and giving yourself over to pleasure.

Tzuyu kept up her grinding for a little while longer until you heard her breaths start to shorten. You knew she was close, and chose to give her the last little push she needed to reach her climax. You took a nipple with each hand and gave both a light pinch at the same time. This did the trick as Tzuyu whipped her head back and cried out. Once again, she squeezed her thighs around your sides as her entire body tensed up. This also meant that her pussy clenched around your cock inside of her, holding you firmly in place with no escape in sight. It took every ounce of your being to hold back your own orgasm, but you somehow pulled through without cumming and let her ride her orgasm out. You had plans for your finish, and wanted to do one more thing with Tzuyu tonight before you would allow yourself that pleasure.

After her orgasm subsided, Tzuyu fell forward with her face landing on your chest, breathing heavily. You chuckled at the spent girl, and began to caress her bare back with your hands. You could tell she was exhausted from the whole ordeal, so you allowed her some time to recuperate in your arms.

After about a minute her breathing had returned to normal, so you proceeded to check up on her. "How are we feeling, Tzuyu?" Tzuyu then turned her head to look up at you. Though her body was coated in sweat, had only just now collected herself, and was overall a far cry from the perfect idol image she presented on stage, to you she had never looked more beautiful than in that exact moment.

"Great..." she hummed with a look of pure satisfaction on her face. "Did you finish? I don't think I felt you." she asked.

"Not yet, sweetheart. I still have one more tip I want to share with you, but only if you're still up for it?" you postured with one eyebrow raised.

Tzuyu slowly sat back up and propped herself up on one of her arms above you. "Sure, oppa, I can go one more round. What did you have in mind?"

You cupped her face with one hand, bringing her in close for a quick peck on her lips while the two of you sat up. She got up from your lap and sat criss-cross next to you with her hands folded on her lap, looking like the ever-obedient student she had been all night.

“You’ve done really well so far, sweetheart. This last tip is arguably the most important one I have for you tonight” you said. Up until now, your focus had been solely on guiding Tzuyu through everything, making sure she was comfortable by constantly checking up on her and such. Moving forward you felt that it was time for you to get yours, but you still had to approach this carefully. Luckily for you, Tzuyu looked like she was more than ready to deliver. She brought both of her knees up and hugged them.

“Ok. The last tip I have for you is all about teamwork. If you want to be a great partner in bed, you should always try to do everything you can to make sure that the other person is enjoying things just as much as you are. The other guys you’ve been with didn’t understand that concept, which is why I don’t blame you at all for doubting yourself. They were selfish and didn’t think about how you felt when you shared a bed together. They were chasing their own pleasure, and not working together with you to make sure you were both getting something out of it.” you began to say tentatively. Tzuyu nodded her head while hugging her knees a little tighter. “The last thing we did, I told you not to worry about me and to just enjoy yourself. That must have felt good, but what if I told you there was something even better?”

“I’m listening, oppa.” Tzuyu replied. You reached over and took one of her hands in yours and started to massage the back of it with your thumb.

“As good as that felt, what I’m trying to tell you is that it feels better when you know your partner is feeling good because of you. This time I’m going to have some fun, but I’ll warn you now that I like to get a little rough. I want you to do your best to try to keep up with me. Do you think you could do that for me?”

When you looked into her eyes, you knew that something had begun to change in her already. Without a moment of hesitation, Tzuyu responded. “Yes, oppa. Please let me make you feel as good as you have made me feel.”

The two of you smiled at one another before you leaned over to kiss her once again. Tzuyu wrapped her arms around your neck as you lay her back, moaning softly into your mouth as your tongues massaged each other. You took one hand and hooked it under one of her meaty thighs, wrapping it around your lower back while you repositioned yourself to line up with her entrance. Once ready you pulled away from the kiss and propped yourself up with a hand by her head, while using the other to guide you tip across her now soaked pussy. You eased yourself in until your tip had breached her inner walls, then brought your hand to join the other opposite her head. You then took a deep breath and gazed down into Tzuyu’s eyes before giving her one final instruction.

“Hold tight, sweetheart. And just trust me.”

You didn’t give Tzuyu a chance to respond. Instead, you thrusted into her with full force, sending her into a frenzy almost immediately. You withdrew your length until only your tip remained inside of her, and then came crashing back down into her mound. You dropped your head into the space between her face and her shoulder and grunted before repeating motion over and over again. Full strokes, all at full force. The squelching sounds of her overflowing wetness coupled with the clapping of skin slapping skin were undercut only by the sounds of Tzuyu’s angelic moans and your almost primal grunts as you really lay into her. Her fingertips which had been softly caressing your back began to dig into you as she clung onto you for dear life. She was still highly sensitive from her orgasm not 5 minutes prior, but that didn’t matter to you now.

“OH! MY! GOD!!!” she cried out from underneath you between each pounding. You fell forward on top of Tzuyu, wanting to maximize the skin contact between you and her. The softness of her boobs served as nice cushions for your chest to lay on. You hooked your arms under her armpits, placing your hands on the back of her shoulders to hold her firmly in place. You turned your face to the side slightly, enough to give her earlobe a nibble and lick. The new sensation did wonders for Tzuyu, who continued to moan out beneath you.

“You feel so fucking good, Tzuyu. You like this, don’t you?” you growled into her ear. Tzuyu couldn’t even form words the way she was moaning from the insane amount of pleasure she was experiencing. She instead responded by gripping tighter onto your back with her hands while also interlocking her ankles around your lower back. “Tell me what you want, sweetheart. Tell me what you want me to do to you.” you commanded. Her body’s responses weren’t enough for you. You wanted to hear her say it.

“F-Fuck me, oppa! I want you to fuck me!” she cried out. Her eyes remained shut as tears were now starting to form in the corners of her eyes. You took this as your cue to really let everything you had out on her. You forced your way back up onto your knees and slid your hands down her sides. You took a firm handle of her wide hips and started to pump away at a breakneck pace. The new angle drove her crazy. Tzuyu splayed out her arms to each of her sides with her hands clinging desperately onto the sheets while she bit her lip, but you didn’t slow down one bit. Her face contorted in pleasure, fueling you to continue on just as you were knowing that you were hitting all the right spots for her. Every shockwave from each of your thrusts sent her perky tits reverberating back and forth.

Although you could feel your climax quickly approaching, you also knew that she had to have been one step ahead of you. Without warning, Tzuyu arched her lower back up and began wildly shaking her head. Her breathing and her moans became erratic and you felt her pussy suddenly grip you tighter than it ever had before, but this didn’t stop you from fucking the wanton girl at all. Instead, you kept on pounding into her throughout her orgasm seeking your own sweet release. It happened soon after, and just before you were about to blow, you swiftly pulled out and repositioned yourself to straddle her chest, aiming your glistening cock towards the canvas that would be her innocent looking face.

“Here it comes, take fucking all of it!!!” you grunted as you began unloading. Tzuyu opened her eyes for a brief moment before she was forced to shut them. Spurt after spurt. Rope after rope of cum came spewing out of your cock as you jerked it wildly. The first few lines landed on the upper half of her forehead, some even landing in her hair. You quickly made an adjustment and aimed lower, wanting to paint as much of her face white as possible. By the end of it all, her entire face was covered in your seed. Tzuyu had to let out a deep breath from both her nose and mouth to clear an airway for herself due to how much you were able to coat her with. Now spent, you rolled off and lay beside her, panting heavily as you wiped the sweat from your brow with your forearm.

The two of you lay there for a moment, both trying to recollect yourselves from the debauchery that had just ensued. You turned your head to face Tzuyu who had remained still the whole time, still trying to catch her breath.

“You okay?” you asked as you sat up. You gently tugged on one of her arms to sit upright with you. She still had her eyes closed, while cum started to drip down her chin and cheeks. In your own lowkey degenerate way of thinking, you thought she looked kind of cute like this.

“Never better. No one’s done…this before though. What now?” She said as she gestured to her face. You chuckled a bit before responding.

“Well, now is usually the part where I get you something to help you get cleaned up. Some girls, Sana in particular, like to eat it but you don’t have to. Wait here for a second and I’ll get you some tissues.” Before you had a chance to move, Tzuyu brought her fingers up to her face and started to scoop your cum, funneling it directly into her mouth. You watched as she gulped it down before repeating the process and getting more. Your cock twitched a little at the sight, but you were far too spent to act on the impulse. You decided to let her continue on. When Tzuyu had gotten enough of it cleared to open her eyes, you both looked at each other and smiled.

“So, how did it taste?”

“Hmm, not bad, I guess? Was that something that guys like to do too?” she asked genuinely. You let out another small laugh.

“Again I can’t speak for all guys, but at least for me, yes.” You replied.

“Okay. Then you can do that to me every time then.” Tzuyu declared with a shy smile.

You raised an eyebrow at this. “Oh? So, this wasn’t a one-time thing then?”

Tzuyu crawled over to you and cupped your face to bring you in for a kiss. After she pulled away, she kept her forehead close to yours, and looked into your eyes. “Nope. I think I still have a lot to learn. Thank you for tonight though.” You took a chance and pulled her in close as you fell onto your back, eliciting a cute giggle out of her. She lay her head on your chest while you stared up at the ceiling, exhaustion finally catching up to you as you closed your eyes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: A huge thank you to everyone who has supported us to this point! We hope you've enjoyed what we've built so far, and we're excited to take this even further. Lastly, please let us know who you're excited to see featured in the story next!

#kpop fanfic #kpop smut #twice #twice smut #tzuyu #chou tzuyu

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corroded-hellfire · 2 months ago

Note

Could we perhaps get a blurb/chapter of when Eliza was born - maybe Eddie thinking back that this is so different than how Brittany was, when Y/N got into labor, where they were and how they reacted?

+ could you write about Eliza being born? I would love to see their reactions and eddie helping reader out plss

+ Please, let us in on the labor with Eddie and Reader from "As you wish". Did Y/N curse Eddie out, threatening to kick his ass or did Eddie do a prince Harry (God I hope not) and use all the gas?

I thought this would be a good chance to tell the story of two births of two very important Munsons, ten years apart 💕

Warnings: childbirth and all that comes with it, Brittany, not a warning but the italic sections are flashbacks/in the past

Words: 7.5k

[As You Wish masterlist]

The blaring wail of Eddie’s alarm clock wakes you up from your night of fitful sleep. It’s hard to remember the last time you had a full peaceful eight hours. The soreness in your lower back and the increasing pressure in your pelvis have been your loyal companions for the past few weeks, determined on not letting you have a moment of comfort.

Next to you, Eddie smacks his hand against the clock. The whining stops and the bed shifts as Eddie rolls over and presses a kiss to your cheek.

“Morning, gorgeous.”

Your answering groan makes your husband let out a soft chuckle as he pushes himself up into a seated position. Figuring it’ll be better to get up than continue to lay there so uncomfortably, you roll onto your side and shove yourself up until you’re sitting. A look down at your feet reveals that your ankles are swollen. Again.

“Know what today is?” Eddie asks as he opens his underwear drawer.

“Uh huh,” you hum. The mattress springs squeak as you stand up.

“Think she’ll make her grand entrance today?” he asks.

“Doubt it,” you say through a yawn. “Babies are never born on their due date.”

Eddie strips off his shirt and comes around the bed to give you a proper good morning kiss.

“How you feeling, baby?”

“Peachy,” you grunt. “Gonna go get the boys up.”

Luckily, neither Ryan nor Luke gives you any trouble waking up or getting ready for school. They know how you’ve been feeling lately and have been great about helping you out when they can.

“Bye!” Ryan says as he slips his backpack on.

“Have a good day,” Eddie says, ruffling both boys’ hair.

You press a kiss to the top of their heads and Luke rubs a hand across your swollen belly.

“Be good in there, Eliza!”

A smile grows on your face at his words. They head out the door to the bus stop, Ryan giving you one last wave before you close the door.

“Alright, I’m gonna head out,” Eddie says. He walks over and cups your face in his warm hands. “Call me if you need anything, okay?”

“I will,” you assure him.

He nods and presses a sweet kiss against your lips.

“Relax and get some rest.”

“Okay.” You give him another kiss in return. “Have a good day at work.”

“Love you, baby.”

“I love you, too.”

Not even two minutes after Eddie walks out the door, you plop down in front of the television with the remote. The only thing on at this time of day are soap operas, which have started to become an addiction of yours since there’s nothing else for you to do.

Fortunately, one of today’s plotlines is so boring and you predicted the identical twin brother twist a week ago, so you manage to fall asleep. It’s only a cat nap, but you’ll take anything you can get these days.

A different kind of discomfort awakens you this time. Your stomach growls so loudly it feels like it rattles the windows. You rally the strength to get up from the couch, and with a little help from the arms and back of it, you’re standing.

An infomercial for some Chuck Norris Total Gym blathers on as background noise as you walk–or more like waddle–into the kitchen. A peanut butter and banana sandwich has been a go-to for you during this pregnancy—after Luke happily introduced it to you one day over the summer. There’s something about the rich nuttiness and the sweetness of the fruit together between two pieces of bread that makes Eliza very happy in your womb.

Once you’ve got peanut butter spread on both slices of bread, you move to grab a banana from the fruit bowl. The moment your hand touches the yellow peel, you feel a twinge of pain shoot from your lower back, through your tummy, and down into your pelvis. Your hand braces you against the counter as you breathe through the pain.

What the hell was that? You think to yourself. That fucking hurt.

You take a deep breath and grab the banana. As you turn back to your sandwich and peel open the piece of fruit, it hits you.

Were those…contractions? No, you tell yourself, shaking your head. It had to be something else.

“No one ever actually has their baby on the due date,” you say into the quiet kitchen. “Maybe I have to pee again. I swear, this little girl thinks my bladder is a trampoline.”

Once you’re finished up in the bathroom, you head back to finish making your sandwich. But the minute you pick up the butter knife, another stab of pain attacks.

“Oh boy,” you say, one hand dropping the knife and going to your lower back, while the other rests on your bump. “You’re ready to come out, aren’t you? You heard that doctor say ‘October 7th’ and you made a note on a calendar, huh?”

The mental image of the baby in your belly marking the date off on a calendar makes you smile as you waddle over to the phone hanging on the wall. The line rings twice before someone picks up.

“Scott’s Auto Body, this is Mark speaking. How can I help you?”

“Hi, Mark.” You breathe through another twinge of pain. “Is Eddie there?”

“Yeah, let me go grab him for you,” Mark says.

“Thanks.”

It feels like an eternity as you hear the phone being put down, shuffling noises in the background, then low murmuring voices, until finally the phone is being moved again and you finally hear your husband’s voice.

“Hello?”

“Hey,” you say. “I, um, think I’m having contractions.”

“You are?”

It’s hard to tell if that’s excitement or urgency in his voice. Probably both.

“Yeah, the first one I just waved off as a fluke. But they’ve happened a couple of times now.”

“Alright, I’m on my way home, princess,” Eddie says, and you can already hear him moving around, starting the process. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” you assure him. “They’re quick and not too close together yet. I’ll start counting when I feel the next one.”

“Good.” The sound of his keys jingling comes through the phone. “I’ll be there in a few minutes. I love you.”

A hint of giddiness is already creeping into his tone. He’s wanted a baby girl for so long, and she’s finally ready to make her appearance. You make a mental note to think of Eddie’s excitement anytime a contraction overwhelms you. Of course, you have your own excitement, and lots of it, but seeing Eddie be so truly happy is one thing that could get you through all the pain in the world.

Eddie unsheathes his sword as the azure dragon flies overhead. Too far for him to even reach if he threw his sword. The blood red skies cast a purple shadow on the giant winged creature. But Eddie’s almost there. He can see the tower in the distance, normally not a rough journey, but there’s bound to be something guarding the locked-away maiden.

As he gets closer, Eddie sees that it’s a female Cloud Giant tasked with keeping people like him away. Only the most noble who dare to help the poor young thing locked away.

Eddie picks up speed, his sword at the ready as he approaches the giant, then—bam! Something lands against Eddie’s cheek. He looks up, seeing if the dragon perhaps swooped down to swipe the knight with his tail. But the skies are clear. So, Eddie continues forward. Bam! What the hell is—

Eddie is jolted back into consciousness by his own pillow smacking his face.

“What the…” Eddie grumbles in a scratchy, sleepy voice. “What’s going on?

He rubs his bleary eyes and sees that Brittany is sitting on the edge of the bed, her back to him.

“Britt?”

Eddie stumbles to his feet and clicks on his bedside lamp before walking around the bed to check on his wife. The first thing he notices is that the crotch of her nightgown and the sheets below her are wet.

Wow, this baby must really be messing with her bladder if—wait.

“Your water broke?” Eddie's voice suddenly has no trace of sleepiness in it.

“Yeah.”

Brittany isn’t looking at him. Instead, she looks down at her hands resting on her large bump.

“Come on, let’s get you changed,” Eddie says, gently slipping his hand beneath one of her arms so he can help her up.

Brittany groans once she’s on her feet and Eddie hurriedly turns towards their dresser and digs for something she can change into.

“Contractions?” Eddie asks as he grabs a pair of sweatpants.

“Mhmm.”

“It’s okay,” he assures her.

Eddie quickly helps Brittany into her clothes and grabs her already prepared overnight bag from the closet. He slowly leads his wife into the living room so she can rest on the couch while he grabs Ryan.

The twenty-two-month-old is sleeping soundly in his crib. Eddie hates to disturb him, but the ball is already in motion.

“Wha?” Ryan croaks as Eddie scoops him up and holds him against his chest.

“Shhh, it’s okay,” he tells his son. “Go back to sleep.”

Ryan thunks his head down on Eddie’s shoulder and immediately begins lightly snoring.

The soft whistle in his ear makes Eddie smile as he steps into the kitchen to use the nearest phone. He quickly dials a number he knows by heart and waits for someone to pick up at the plant.

“Yeah, hi, is Wayne there? Yeah, Munson,” Eddie says into the receiver. He hikes Ryan up a little higher on his chest while he waits for the phone to get passed.

“Hello?”

Eddie’s never been happier to hear that gruff voice.

“Hey! It’s, uh, me. So, Brittany’s water broke and Ryan needs—”

“I’ll punch out right now and meet ya at the trailer.”

God, Eddie loves his uncle.

“Okay, see you there.”

Eddie heads back into the living room and helps Brittany up with one hand while the other keeps a good hold on Ryan. Somehow, Eddie manages to get them both in the car, all buckled and ready to go.

“Whew.” Eddie takes a deep breath in the driver’s seat. He takes one more before he starts the car. “Here we go.”

The moment Eddie walks through the front door, he makes sure you’re sitting down and comfortable. Sitting down? Yes. Comfortable? Not so much.

But you’re content with your peanut butter and banana sandwich as your husband presses a kiss to your forehead.

“Nine minutes apart,” you inform him through a mouthful of peanut butter.

Eddie chuckles at the muffled words.

“Okay. I’m gonna get changed, then call Wayne so he can be here for when the boys get home.”

You nod and take another bite of your sandwich.

Eddie comes back just as another contraction is starting. You set your plate down on the couch to your right and Eddie takes a seat on the other side of you. One of your hands braces you against the cushion you’re sitting on, and Eddie slips his hand into your free one.

“Just squeeze my hand, okay? And breathe.”

The pulsating wracks your body as you focus on taking in a large lungful of air. You hold it for a few seconds, counting time by the number of gentle squeezes you give Eddie’s hand, then let it out.

“Ugh,” you groan when the pain releases you. You flop back on the couch, tipping your chin up as you try and catch your breath. “That was the longest one so far.”

“We’ll start timing that too,” Eddie says.

He presses a kiss to your cheek before pressing a few to the back of your hands. His hands stall when you let out a deep sigh.

“Do you not want me to be touching you? What do you need?” There’s a shake in his voice that angers you, because you know exactly why and who made him unsure of how to comfort a woman in labor.

“Yes, I want you to touch me,” you say, grabbing his hand in both of yours. “Your touch calms me.”

It doesn’t escape your notice that his shoulders sag in relief before he wraps an arm around your shoulders.

“Just let me know what you want me to do,” he says.

“This,” you reply, leaning into his arms. Your eyes slip closed as you snuggle up to the warmth of his body. “Want you.”

“I’m not leaving your side, princess,” he assures you. “Do you want to watch a movie?”

You nod against his neck and Eddie swipes up the remote. He flips through the channels, but it’s the middle of a Tuesday, so there’s not a whole lot on.

“I can grab a tape or a DVD?” your husband offers.

You shake your head, holding onto him even tighter.

“Don’t want you to move. Whatever you find is fine.”

“Alright, well…I guess we’ll watch The Scarlet Pimpernel.”

Eddie feels your chuckle rumble against his chest.

“That’s fine,” you say.

It’s only seconds before another contraction starts, and Eddie can tell by the way your fingertips dig into him. This one lasts about as long as the previous one, and you’re able to get semi-comfortable against your husband again.

The house is quiet, the two of you on the couch, watching a movie that neither of you have any real interest in. The low volume only makes the loud pop that echoes through the room even more pronounced.

“My water just…”

“Yes, it did.”

A heavy pause hangs in the air as the two of you stare at one another. It’s obvious you have to get up and get going now, but the realization that this is really happening is sinking in for you both.

“Holy shit,” you breathe out in a whisper.

This breaks Eddie out of his trance. He starts to laugh and presses a kiss to your forehead.

“Here we go, sweetheart.”

He helps you up off the couch and into your room so you can change clothes. With your husband's help, you slip into a dry pair of sweatpants, an oversized Ghostbusters t-shirt Luke got you when you complained that there were no comfy maternity shirts, and one of Eddie’s hoodies on top of it—even though you can’t zip it up. Your old college backpack has been filled with supplies for weeks, all in preparation for this moment. Eddie slides onto one of his shoulders and walks with you to the front door.

Just as the two of you step into the living room, the door opens. Wayne steps inside and it takes four seconds for his eyes to go from you to Eddie, to the bag hanging on his shoulder, then back to you.

“Thank God you’re here,” you sigh in relief.

If for some reason he hadn’t arrived here before the boys got home, you knew they’d be okay for a while, but you’ll be able to relax more knowing that their grandpa is here with them.

“Heading out to the hospital?” Wayne asks.

“Yeah,” Eddie answers with a nod. “Her water broke.”

A smile graces the older man’s features, and it softens him.

“You got this, darlin’,” he says as he opens the front door wide enough for you and Eddie to get through.

You shoot him a grateful smile as you step outside.

“We’ll call when we have any update,” Eddie tells his uncle.

Wayne just nods and pats Eddie on the back as he passes. The two of you walk to your car together and Wayne watches from the entryway, not wanting to go inside yet in case he can help in any way.

Once you’re securely in the car, Eddie waves to Wayne before slipping into the driver’s seat. As he adjusts the rearview mirror, his eyes catch on the car seat that’s been installed for the past two weeks. It brings a smile to his face as he starts the engine.

“Let’s have us a baby,” Eddie says as he shifts the car into reverse.

As soon as you arrive at the hospital, it’s very quick work when Eddie alerts them you’re in labor. You’re brought right to a room and hooked up to lines and so many wires you’re not even sure what they’re all for.

Your doctor shows up not too long after you’re settled into your bed and says you’re not quite ready to push yet. Your contractions are getting closer together, but they’re not quite at the active labor phase yet.

Now after being hurried up to this room and all set up to go, there’s nothing to do. The flurry of activity kept your mind off the pain that was creeping up in intensity each time it snuck up on you. But now that there’s nothing to occupy your mind, it feels like it’s all that fills your head.

“Do you want some pain meds, baby?” Eddie asks, slipping his hand into yours.

He must’ve noticed the way you were gritting your teeth hard enough to wear them down to nubs.

“I can have some?” you ask.

“Sure, sweetheart. Let me go get the nurse.”

Eddie is right and the nurse is able to administer some medicine that allows you to relax a little. It takes enough of the edge off that you’re able to focus on and appreciate Eddie’s attempts to distract you from the pain and boredom.

Your husband had prepared ahead of time and had slipped his battered and well-loved copy of The Two Towers into your overnight bag. He now brings the story to life for you, reading with such passion, and doing different funny voices for the different characters.

“‘Beren now, he never thought he was going to get that Silmaril from the Iron Crown in Thangorodrim, and yet he did, and that was a worse place and a blacker danger than ours,’” Eddie reads to you. “‘But that’s a long tale, of course, and goes on past the happiness and into grief and beyond it – and the Silmaril went on and came to Eärendil. And why, sir, I never thought of that before! We’ve got – you’ve got some of the light of it in that star-glass that the Lady gave you! Why, to think of it, we’re in the same tale still! It’s going on. Don’t the great tales never end?’ ‘No, they never end as tales,’ said Frodo. ‘But the people in them come, and go when their part’s ended. Our part will end later – or sooner.’”

Then it’s time for the doctor to check how dilated you are and the timing of your contractions. It’s still not time, she tells you with a sympathetic smile before heading out to attend to other patients.

Now, Eddie finds a pile of old magazines and newspapers strewn about a small table in the corner. He picks up an outdated print of the Washington Post at random, sits in the chair he’s positioned near your head, and begins to read a news article in an over-the-top news anchor voice.

“The first musical number epitomized the kind of commercialized outrageousness that MTV has perfected in recent years. It featured Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, decked out in white wedding ensembles in a homage to Madonna, who famously wore a wedding dress on MTV's first Video Music Awards broadcast in 1984, when she performed ‘Like a Virgin.’ Madonna appeared dressed as a groom, and the number, which also briefly featured Missy Elliott, provided the evening's first gyrating rumps, as well as a truly yechy moment: The sight of oversexed old Madonna tongue-kissing oversexed young Spears. It didn't seem outrageous or sultry; it smacked of desperation.”

“Such outrage,” you joke with a shake of your head.

“Kids today,” Eddie says with an over dramatic sigh. “All their music is just noise.”

You giggle and reach for his hand. He gladly takes it and laces his fingers with yours.

“How are you feeling, princess?”

“I’m good,” you tell him, giving his hand a squeeze. “My wonderful, loving husband is doing a great job of keeping me entertained.”

A smile that can only be described as adoring grows on Eddie’s face. He leans forward and presses kisses to your knuckles.

“Anything for you.”

By the time the hospital staff gets Brittany up to her room and hooked up to all the equipment, the doctor says it’s not long before she can start pushing. Which also means that there’s no time to give her any drugs—no matter how much she begs.

“Ugh! This sucks,” Brittany complains once it’s just her and Eddie in the room.

“I know,” Eddie says.

“Do you?” she snaps back.

“I mean, I…” Eddie stutters over his words. “I was there when Ryan was born. I know the pain you were in then.”

“At least they were able to give me something for pain then. Now I can’t even get a fucking Tylenol.”

“Do you want to talk about something to keep your mind off it?” Eddie offers. He scoots his chair up to the edge of the bed and rests a hand on Brittany’s blanket-covered thigh.

“Fine,” the blonde grunts out. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Um…what about middle names? We haven’t decided yet.”

“Didn’t we?” Brittany sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose.

“No,” Eddie replies. “Just first names. Luke for boy, Lucy for girl.”

“Fine. So, Ryan’s middle name is after your uncle because you just had to do that,” Brittany rolls her eyes and shrugs her shoulders. “What about from my family?”

“What names do you like?” Eddie says between clenched teeth. She's having my baby, she’s having my baby, she’s having my baby, he reminds himself over and over again.

“Anatoly,” Brittany says. “For a boy.”

“Luke Anatoly Munson.” Eddie wrinkles his nose at how the name sounds out loud. “I don’t think that goes.”

“Fine.” Brittany’s silent for a moment as she considers other names. “Andrei?”

Eddie internally sighs. He’s always thought it was cool that much of Brittany’s family emigrated from Russia, but the land’s native names don’t flow well with “Luke Munson.”

“Aleksandr,” Brittany suggests, pulling Eddie out of his own head.

“Huh.”

Eddie leans back in his chair, letting the name roll around his brain. It's a good one, he thinks. But…

“Should we use the American spelling?” Eddie asks.

“Why, so he can be named after your dad?” Brittany bites out.

The room is silent as Eddie furrows his brow. He shakes his head in confusion as a nurse steps in to check on the monitors Brittany is hooked up to.

“That’s not…Britt, that isn’t my dad’s name.”

“What?” Brittany stares at her husband as if he has three heads. “Of course it is.”

“People called him ‘Al’, yeah,” Eddie starts. “But his full name is Alan. Not Alexander.”

“Oh.” Brittany waves a hand dismissively as if not knowing her husband’s dad’s name after years together is nothing—a common mistake, even.

Eddie shakes his head, shoving the irritation to the back of his mind for the time being. There will be plenty of time later to be annoyed by Brittany’s ignorance and apathy. After the baby is born.

The tension grows in his neck, so Eddie rolls his shoulders and leans back in his chair.

“So, Luke Alexander Munson for a boy?” Eddie checks.

“Sure,” Brittany says as another contraction washes over her. The way her eyes squeeze shut so tightly and her teeth clench with a vengeance pangs Eddie’s heart.

“And for a girl,” Brittany grits out, obviously trying to talk through the pain in an attempt to ignore it, “Lucy Alexandra Munson.”

“That’s pretty.”

Eddie goes to take his wife’s hand as her body relaxes from the fading contraction. But Brittany snatches her hand back.

“Please, just don’t…touch me.”

“Okay. Sorry.”

Eddie barely has time to feel the sting of rejection before the doctor is back in the room to check on Brittany’s progress.

“Good news,” the doctor announces. “You’re dilated enough. It’s time to start pushing.”

“Oh boy,” Brittany mutters, trying to garner strength from her exhausted body.

The room is a flurry of activity as nurses prepare everything the doctor might need.

Eddie stands and goes to reach for his wife’s hand before remembering she doesn’t want to be touched. But as another contraction wracks her body, Brittany reaches up and grabs his hand. It brings a small smile to Eddie’s lips, despite how hard she’s gripping it because of her pain.

“Alright, Brittany,” the doctor says as he gets into position at the end of the bed, “we’re going to try pushing now.”

“We?” Brittany barks out in a strained and breathless laugh.

“Well, mostly you,” the doctor teases as a nurse goes to stand on Brittany’s other side, opposite of Eddie.

“Alright, honey,” the nurse says, putting one hand on Brittany’s shoulder. “Push when the doctor counts to three.”

“One, two…”

He doesn’t even get to three before Brittany starts squeezing the life out of Eddie’s hand. Eddie just clenches his teeth and takes it though, willing to soak up any pain that he can from his wife.

“Jesus, fuck!” Brittany shouts through her pushing. Her face is already sweaty, matting hair to her forehead. Eddie’s quick to brush it away with his free hand.

“You’re doing so good, Britt,” Eddie encourages. “You’ve got this.”

Brittany nods, either in acknowledgment of his words or just because she wants him to shut up.

“Almost there, Mrs. Munson,” the doctor says.

Eddie’s eyes widen in surprise. When Ryan was born, they were at it for a while before he decided to make his grand entrance into the world. People had told him that second babies tend to come out quicker, but Eddie didn’t know this one was practically banging down the door to get out.

“This one’s got some mettle,” Eddie says.

“Just like Dad,” Brittany grits out and it takes Eddie a second to get her joke.

Mettle, metal? He got it.

Eddie huffs a laugh, honestly impressed by her ability to come up with a joke while she’s trying to pass a human being through her body.

“Okay, now just one more biiig push,” the doctor says.

“Come on, hun,” Eddie cheers, bracing his hand against Brittany’s as she channels everything in her to push.

“Almost there, almost there…” the doctor repeats.

Suddenly the shrill sound of an infant wailing fills the small room. It’s the most beautiful sound Eddie has ever heard.

“It’s a boy,” the doctor announces, holding the newborn up enough for the parents to see.

Brittany drops Eddie’s hand out of pure exhaustion, but there’s a smile on her face as she drops back against the pillows. The baby is handed to a nurse for initial cleanup.

“I’m so proud of you,” Eddie says softly to Brittany.

She tilts her head up and gives him a sleepy smile.

The softness in her gaze has Eddie leaning down to press a kiss to her lips. Surprisingly, she kisses him back.

“Would you like to cut the cord, Dad?” the doctor asks.

“Yes,” Eddie responds before the doctor can even finish the question.

He walks down to the foot of the bed and takes the pair of scissors to the umbilical cord, snipping it in two. Eddie hands the scissors back blindly, as his eyes never leave his newborn son. No detail escapes his notice as he watches a nurse gently take him and lay him on Brittany’s chest.

“Oh, hi,” Brittany says, one hand covering the entirety of his little back.

Eddie comes back up to the head of the bed and beams down at his wife and baby. Brittany glances up at him, then back down.

“Look at this beautiful boy,” Eddie coos.

Brittany chuckles and Eddie leans down to kiss her head, then the newborn’s.

“Beautiful little Luke,” Brittany says.

A nurse takes him back to fully clean him up and swaddle him in a soft white blanket.

“You want to hold him?” the nurse asks Eddie.

“Yes.” Eddie nods emphatically and holds out his arms.

The moment the gentle weight lands in his arms, Eddie’s eyes fill with tears.

“Hi, my boy.”

“To place a call outside of the hospital, please press nine.”

Eddie does as the automated voice tells him and leans back in his chair. You let your head loll to the side, the scratchy pillow brushing against your cheek as you watch your husband. This brief respite from contractions allows you to smile when you hear the echo of Ryan’s voice come from the phone.

“Hey, you,” Eddie says, grinning as well. “How was school?”

“Good! Isthebabyhereyet?”

His eagerness makes Eddie chuckle.

“No, no baby yet. Just figured I’d check in with you guys.”

“What he say?!” Luke shouts in the background.

“No baby!” Ryan tells him.

The phone shuffles back and forth before Luke says, “Just share it!”

“Uh, you both there?” Eddie asks.

“Yeah!” they say at the same time.

“Did you ask—”

“Not yet, I—”

Eddie tilts his head to the side as they bicker. He somehow deciphers that they want to talk to you.

“You can talk to her if you hush up and behave.”

Both boys fall silent at that. There’s a small pause before Ryan says, “Okay.”

“Good.” Eddie nods and hands the phone over to you.

“Hello?”

“Hi!” two young voices call at the same time.

“How do you feel?” Ryan asks.

As if his question summoned it, a contraction rears its ugly head. Your forehead furrows as you try to ignore it and focus on the conversation with the boys.

“I’m doing okay.”

“Do you hurt?” Luke asks.

Your free hand bangs against the bed rail in an attempt to keep from shouting in pain. Eddie sits up straighter in his chair, concern filling his eyes. He motions to the phone, silently asking if you want him to take it back.

“Little bit,” you grit out to answer Luke while shaking your head to answer Eddie.

“Did they give you any medicine?” Ryan asks.

“Yeah, a while ago. So, uh, what did you guys do at school today?”

“Nothing really,” Luke says. “Oh, you and Dad have to come down to the school and get the meat thermometer.”

“The what?” you ask.

“The meat thermometer.”

“Luke, what are you talking about?”

Eddie looks at you, questioningly, and you shrug your shoulders.

“Me and my friend Kevin wanted to test the temperature of the cafeteria hot dogs, so I brought the meat thermometer. But then we got caught and the lunch lady took it. So now you need to get it.”

“You did what?” You hear Wayne’s muffled shout.

“We wanted to make sure it was safe!” Luke defends.

The contraction finally releases you and you’re able to relax as much as you can in the lumpy hospital bed.

“What about you, Ry?” you ask.

“I didn’t care how hot the meat was,” he says, completely serious.

You laugh and it helps your body wash away that lingering whisper of pain.

“No,” you say. “What did you do at school today?”

“We have to write papers for history class, and we started today.”

“Oh yeah? What’s the paper on?” you ask, trying to think of anything except the next contraction.

“Everyone got assigned some kind of job we have to study. I got dentist.”

“And what did you learn today?” As much as Luke’s shenanigans can keep you entertained, they can also stress you out. But Ryan loves to go into detail about what he’s working on at school and this shall hopefully provide you with a relaxing distraction.

“Uhh…” Ryan hums as he thinks. “The first dental school in America was founded by Horace H. Hayden and Chaplin A. Harris.”

“When?” you press.

“1840. In Maryland, in case you were gonna ask!”

It’s impossible not to smile at how well the boy knows you.

“Good job, Ry,” you tell him. “I’m proud of you.”

The beginnings of a new contraction appear, and your fingers tighten around the phone receiver. You spy your doctor out in the hallway and use it as an excuse.

“Alright, boys,” you start, “my doctor is coming so I gotta go, okay? Daddy will call when there’s an update.”

“Okay,” Ryan says.

“Love you!” Luke adds.

“I love you both, too.

Eddie hangs up the phone for you just as your doctor actually does walk into your room.

“How are we feeling Mrs. Munson?” she asks you.

You’ve been “Mrs. Munson” for eight months now but it still gives you butterflies every time you hear it.

“Contraction-y,” you tell Dr. Hahn.

She chuckles and nods her head in understanding.

“That makes sense, you know, with the contractions and all.” She tugs two medical gloves out of the box marked “medium”. “Alright, I’m just gonna check how your dilation is going.”

As you lay back to let the doctor do her thing, Eddie leans forward and raises an eyebrow at you.

“Should I be concerned about whatever it is that Luke did now?” he asks.

“I think it’s okay,” you say with a chuckle. “Apparently, you just have to go to school to pick up a meat thermometer he brought to check the temperature of the school hot dogs.”

Eddie stares at you, his face almost as blank and emotionless as you’ve ever seen it. You can practically see his brain attempting to digest this information, but it thinks it’s reading the data incorrectly.

“He what?” Eddie finally asks.

Luckily, Dr. Hahn saves you from admitting you have no idea what goes on in the mind of Luke Munson.

“Well, Mrs. Munson,” Dr. Hahn says, “the time has arrived. You’re fully dilated now; time to start pushing.”

You’ve known all along that you’d have to do this—hell, you’ve known it for about eight months now—but the reality of actually pushing a person out of your body is sobering. How did this moment finally arrive? Weren’t you and Eddie just sitting on the bathroom floor, waiting for the results of the pregnancy test? And now you’re supposed to start pushing? You feel as if you’ve had no time to prepare. Prepare for this labor, prepare for taking the baby home, prepare to be a fully-fledged mom to a newborn.

A moment of serenity washes over you as your mind reminds you of one important factor, though: this is your and Eddie’s baby. You are bringing a child into this world that is half you and half the man you love. A baby who is the product of the love that you both easily fell into and fought like hell to make work. Suddenly, labor doesn’t seem so bad. It may hurt, but to you it is a privilege and honor to bring this little girl, and everything she stands for, into the world.

“You alright, sweetheart?” Eddie asks.

“Yeah,” you assure him with a small smile. “I’m ready to meet our baby.”

The infectious grin that spreads on Eddie’s face warms your heart and gives you a boost of strength to get this show on the road.

Eddie stands up as Dr. Hahn gets everything situated. He slips his hand into yours and leans down to press a sweet kiss to your lips.

“I’m right here with you, princess,” he says softly. “You’re the strongest woman—no, person I know.”

His words have your eyes filling with tears and the hormones certainly aren’t helping.

“I love you so much, Eddie.”

“I love you, too.”

“Oh, here comes another contraction,” Dr. Hahn says, looking at the monitors that you’re hooked up to. “We’re gonna try pushing on this one, Mrs. Munson, okay?”

“Okay.”

The wobble in your voice is clear. Eddie presses a kiss to the back of your hand. Just as his lips brush your skin, you feel the now-familiar pressure that precedes a contraction.

“Oof,” you groan as the intensity increases.

“Alright, now…push,” Dr. Hahn instructs.

You take the deepest breath that your pain will allow, grit your teeth, and clutch your husband’s hand as you begin to push.

“Great job, Mrs. Munson,” Dr. Hahn praises. “Keep it going.”

And it does keep going. And going. And going.

But fifty-three minutes later, you hear the most beautiful sound you’ve ever heard in your life.

Shrill, high-pitched wails fill the room, and you immediately begin sobbing.

“Here she is,” Dr. Hahn says, holding her at an angle you can see. “Congratulations, Mom and Dad.”

Even covered in vernix and blood, your new daughter is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen. A nurse places her on your chest, and the moment you feel that skin-to-skin contact with her, you’re done for. She already has you wrapped around her little finger.

The newborn continues her cries, escalating to a new pitch every time she gets another lungful of air. It’s as if she’s a royal, informing all her subjects of her many woes.

Eddie leans in and kisses your lips, the tears on your face mingling with the ones on his. When your husband pulls back to stare at his baby girl, his face is filled with awe and adoration.

“She’s here,” he whispers to no one in particular.

“Do you want to cut the cord, Mr. Munson?” Dr. Hahn asks.

Eddie reaches for the scissors a nurse is holding out to him and he has them in his hand before you could say “Ryan and Luke’s new baby sister.”

This is Eddie’s third time doing this, so he knows right where to line the scissors up even before Dr. Hahn instructs him. Eddie severs the cord and a nurse takes the baby so she can have a proper cleaning.

Neither your nor Eddie’s eyes leave the newborn as she’s swaddled up in a nice warm blanket.

“Do we have a name yet?” The nurse asks as she slides a pink hat onto the tiny baby’s head.

“Eliza,” you say proudly. Tears fill your eyes at the sound of her name out loud. Out loud now that she’s here. This precious little bean that’s been growing inside of you for so long is finally here, a real little person you get to hold and love on.

“Eliza Marie Munson,” Eddie says, the same emotions that you’re going through reflecting in his voice.

“Well, Dad,” the nurse says as she picks up Eliza and turns towards Eddie. “Would you like to hold your baby girl Eliza?”

Your husband nods emphatically, reminding you of Luke when he’s asked if he wants to go to the toy store. The nurse gently transfers Eliza to her father’s arms, and you watch as his face morphs as he holds his daughter for the first time.

“H-Hi, Eliza.” Eddie sniffs and clears his throat, trying to shove the tears away. “I can’t believe you’re finally here. I can’t believe that I actually have a daughter.” Slowly, Eddie leans in to press his lips to her soft, smooth forehead. Eliza coos and her face scrunches up adorably. “You wanna know something, Eliza? You have the best mommy in the world. And now I have the two most perfect girls in the world.”

Eddie looks up at you with a gentle smile. Tears are falling down your cheeks so rapidly that it feels like you’re playing whack-a-mole as you try to wipe them all away.

Your husband stands next to the bed and nods at you, signaling for you to ready your arms for the baby. You gladly accept the warm little bundle, and more tears begin to cascade as you gaze down at her gorgeous little face.

“Hi, baby girl. I’m your mommy.” Saying the words aloud sounds odd to your ears. Sure, you’ve basically been a mother to Luke and Ryan for years now, but you never introduced yourself to them as “mommy.” But that’s what you are, from Eliza’s first breath, you’re her mom for her entire life.

“You okay?” Eddie asks. He reaches down and rubs a warm hand against your shoulder.

“I’m wonderful,” you say. “It’s weird, though. Having Eliza from this very first moment of her life, I now wish even more that I could’ve known the boys as soon as they came into the world.”

Eddie lets out a soft chuckle and places a kiss to the top of your head.

“Trust me, princess. This has been the least dramatic and stressful of all the kids’ births.”

You chuckle as well, and the sound seems to tickle Eliza. Her tiny head moves from side to side slowly, as if she’s shaking her head no in slow motion.

“I can’t wait for them to meet her,” you say.

“Guess I need to make a phone call home.”

The door to the hospital room clearly needs some oil as it squeaks open. Wayne steps inside, a curious Ryan in his arms. The almost-two-year-old gazes around the room with wide eyes, taking in all the unfamiliar equipment.

“Hey, you!” Eddie says as he takes the little boy from his uncle. “Did you have a good day with Grandpa?”

“Yep,” Ryan says, still taking in his new surroundings. “Play catch.”

“You played catch?” Eddie asks, his pitch rising in that faux excitement adults use when talking to young children.

“Uh huh!”

“That sounds like fun. Guess what?”

“What?”

“You’re a big brother now,” Eddie tells him.

“Baby?” Ryan asks.

“Yes! Mommy had the baby. Do you want to meet him?”

Ryan nods enthusiastically, trying to look around his dad’s head to catch a glimpse of his mother. She comes into view as Eddie turns and walks towards the hospital bed, where Brittany is cradling a sleeping Luke.

Eddie gently sets his older son down on the bed next to his mom.

“Hi, Ryan,” Brittany says softly. “Come here, look at the baby.”

Cautiously, Ryan shuffles forward and peers at the blanket-wrapped bundle.

“This is your little brother, Ry,” Eddie says. “You guys are going to be best friends.”

“Do you want to hold him, Wayne?” Brittany asks, fighting back a yawn.

“‘Course.”

Brittany carefully hands him over, and Wayne looks down at his new grandson in absolute wonder.

“Well, aren’t you the sweetest baby?” Wayne says to Luke.

As the older man cradles the baby, Ryan stands up and taps his dad’s arm. Eddie hums in question and raises his eyebrows at the toddler.

“Up, up,” Ryan says, holding his arms up.

It melts Eddie’s heart that Ryan wants to be held up next to his new brother. The room is quiet, save for the echoes of hospital sounds drifting in.

Luke starts to squirm, unable to move much in his swaddled state.

“Britt?” Eddie looks over his shoulder at his wife. “Do you have the pacifier?”

“Oh, yeah.” The blue pacifier that Luke has already shown an affinity for is on the bedside table, and Brittany hands it to her husband, who pops it into the baby’s mouth. Immediately, Luke calms back down, sucking furiously as he slips back into sleep.

Ryan leans over as far as he can in his dad’s arms, peering down at his brother in awe.

“My baby,” Ryan declares.

The adults in the room chuckle.

“Can you say hi to Luke, Ryan?” Eddie asks, rubbing his hand up and down the elder boy’s back.

Ryan grins, his adorable baby teeth on display. He’s mesmerized by the new family member, and it fills Eddie with a warmth he’s never felt before. Ryan tries to lean over even more, wanting to be as close as possible.

“Hi, Luke!”

The comfortable quiet in the hospital room cocoons you, your husband, and your daughter as you all lounge in the bed. Your head rests on Eddie’s shoulder while Eliza sleeps soundly in his arms. Both of you are just staring at her, already completely wrapped around her little finger.

“She’s so beautiful,” you whisper.

“Just like her mom,” Eddie replies, just as quiet.

“Her mom needs a shower,” you say. “Badly. I feel all gross after getting all sweaty.”

“You still looked gorgeous, even giving birth.” Eddie turns his head and presses a kiss to your hair.

The slight movement causes Eliza to fuss, wiggling like a little worm in her father’s grip. Her whines hurt your heart.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Eddie coos. He lays his head against yours.

Eddie begins to hum, and you quickly recognize the song as Sweet Child O’ Mine. All it takes is a minute of her dad’s soothing tone to lull the baby girl right back to sleep.

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #older!eddie #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fan fic #eddie munson fan fiction #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson fic #dad!eddie #AYW #AYWS #request

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arsonanarchyandanxiety · 2 months ago

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Sigh. I guess I'll do one of these note things.

5 notes and I'll drink a glass of water

10 notes and I'll talk to my therapist about suspecting hpd

15 notes and I'll try to keep a plant alive

20 notes and I'll start going outside more

25 notes and I'll start tracking my screentime and attempting to lessen it

30 notes and I'll write one hundred words for my book

35 notes and I'll try to pick up a hobby I used to have before depression hit

40 notes and I'll start going out in public more

45 notes and I'll talk to my therapist about managing my hypersexuality

50 notes and I'll start cleaning my room. Maybe. Possibly.

55 notes and I'll try to start reading actual books more

60 notes and I'll wash all my clothes and try to start putting outfits together

65 notes and I'll make a schedule for my schoolwork and try to start doing it everyday.

70 notes and I'll go to a pride event

75 notes and I'll talk to my sister about why I haven't been interacting with her a lot

80 notes and I'll go to my sister's house

85 notes and I'll start telling my mother when other alters are fronting with me

90 notes and I'll try to talk to my friends more

95 notes and I'll tell my mother about my ED

100 notes and I'll start going to weekly events at the local library + try to make an irl friend

Luckily I'm a small blog and idk anyone with like . Tag lists ??? So I won't have to do many of these

No spam ig. I'll add more if it passes 100 in the next like year or smth idk.

The gimmicks found me so more. As I'm writing this I got three new notifications two of which are taglists.

110 and I'll try to get into drawing again

120 and I'll write a full chapter for my book

130 and I'll ask tumblr what they think of my book

140 and I'll talk to my only irl somewhat-friend again

150 and I'll ask previous mentioned person to hang out

160 and I'll try to eat healthier

170 and I'll make an altar for the entities in my room (religion thing)

180 and I'll try to officially work with a deity (religion thing)

190 and I'll try to fix my attention span

200 and I'll clean up the dirty dishes in my room

1k and I'll try to finish writing my entire book

(Caps warning)

IVE GOTTEN LIKE 20 NOTIFS WRITING THIS NOW IM SCARED.

#low energy post not mad #this is what i get for interacting with so many gimmicks isnt it #im socially awkward #how do i deal with so many people interacting #it died down just before 200 i think i might be safe for the most part

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joelscruff · 1 year ago

Text

feelings on fire (joel miller x f!reader) 18+ PART SEVEN

previous chapters | welp. it's here. this one is a DOOZY, and i'm so sorry. i never expected it to get this long but oh well!!! go grab a snack and get settled cause this one is kinda wild. love u guys sm. i proofread this very quickly so i apologize if there's any mistakes!! and here's my kofi if you'd like to leave a tip 💕 chapter summary: the pressure is building in more ways than one. rating: 18+ explicit warnings: age difference (joel is in his 50s, reader is in her early 20s), innocent/inexperienced reader, praise kink, dirty talk, pet names, mentions of religion, catholic guilt, sexting, n00ds, oral (m receiving), lap-sitting, thigh riding, alcohol, lemme know if i missed any! word count: 15.6k ao3

You're beginning to learn that Joel runs hot and cold.

There have been moments with him, intimate and special and warm, moments that make you feel light on your feet and send butterflies wilding through your stomach. Moments where he's open and present and wants all his attention to be on you, on your body, your pleasure. His touch sets you alight, his words send tingles down your spine.

And then weekdays happen and you start second guessing yourself all over again.

On Sunday you'd attended church with your parents, another attempt at appeasing your mother in lieu of all the lies and deceit. You've only gone to a select few services since you came home, something you know they've been silently judging you for and just waiting to hold above your head. Admittedly you'd been afraid of bumping into people you knew, having to switch on your teenage persona of Good Catholic Girl™ and lie through your teeth about how good it feels to be back home again. Luckily in the few services you'd attended, you'd only run into some elderly family friends, managing to avoid anyone you went to high school with.

Your luck had to run out at some point, though. This service you'd been accosted by none other than Bethany, one of your childhood friends who you'd practically left in the dust when you'd gone away for college. Her friendship was always full of judgement, perfection, and not to mention heaps of Catholic guilt. She'd taken one look at you, appraising you up and down as if assessing you for imperfections, then pulled you into a tight hug.

"It's so good see you," she'd said when she'd pulled back, a wide - and borderline frightening - grin plastered on her face, "My momma told me you were back, thought I woulda heard from you by now!"

Your mother, standing beside you in your pew, had furrowed her brow at this, clearly confused. You hadn't understood her reaction completely until Bethany had headed off to go say hi to someone else.

"I thought you had lunch with her and Alice the other week," she'd murmured softly to you under her breath, giving you an accusatory look, "Said you'd be helping them out over the summer. That's what you told me, anyway."

Fuck.

"O-oh, right," you'd had no idea what else to say other than that, biting down on your lip and staring straight ahead as the service began. She hadn't said anything else about it, but you'd sat in discomfort and anxiety for the next hour.

In a panic, you'd found Bethany after the service and quickly asked if she needed any extra help at Sunday School, to which she'd responded with enthusiasm - a little too much - that they always needed extra hands on Thursdays to help with lesson planning. You'd jumped at the chance, telling her you'd be there.

That night you'd texted Joel. You hadn't heard from him all day despite it being a weekend, and part of you had been hoping you might go over and see him once your parents were asleep.

guess who's volunteering at church now? this idiot.

You'd expected words of comfort, maybe a joke, at least something that would make you feel better about the situation. However, his response to yours had been brief, short, simple:

Rough. Get some sleep x

This trend of short responses has only continued throughout the rest of the week. He's distant when you text him, responds with a few words at best, short and simple and almost like an entirely different person. It's hard to believe it's the same man who whispers good girl in your ear and tells you how well you're doing, how wet you are, how pretty you look. His texts are some ghostly version of him, constantly fading in and out, barely showing interest or desire - that is, if he texts you at all.

It makes your skin itch, sends your insecurities into a tailspin. Why does this always seem to happen? You can't make heads or tails of it - you know he's busy, know that his job takes a lot out of him, and yet you can't help but feel that there's something more he's not telling you. He'd told you on his back deck all about how he wasn't very happy at his job, how he'd prefer to be retired by now, living life on his own terms - so why can't he just do that? It's clearly taking a toll on him, and while part of you feels empathetic and yearns to comfort him, another part feels angry, irritated.

You'd gone to your friends with these concerns, hoping for some sort of answer or solution to the problem. Instead, they'd been more sympathetic to Joel's plight than yours.

you gotta remember you're not in a relationship with him babe

right!! men are v simple creatures. they see things black & white. ur his fuck buddy and he prob doesn't rly want it to go beyond that.

now THAT'S going too far. she's more than his fuck buddy definitely. he wouldn't have told her his whole life story last weekend if that were true.

telling her he had a fucked up childhood isn't necessarily his whole life story. most guys had shitty childhoods lbr

but he opened up!!!!! fuck buddies don't do that.

exactly

i wish you guys were here :(

i'm honestly 5 secs away from booking a flight to texas bestie. gotta use my dad's frequent flier miles somehow.

"My friend Tasha is coming to visit this weekend," you tell your mom on Wednesday evening with a smile, turning your phone toward her to show the Airbnb you'll be staying at, "We're gonna stay at this little bungalow, have a girls' weekend."

Her brow furrows, "Why can't Tasha stay here?"

Because Tasha would terrify you, you want to say, because Tasha doesn't wear pants unless absolutely necessary. Instead you just smile again and say, "I think a change of scenery would be good for me, it'll be like a mini vacation. Plus there's a hot tub."

"Now that's something we need," she turns back to her book with a shake of her head, "I swear, your father is more interested in buying that boat we'll never use instead of something new for the backyard." You hadn't been asking for her permission, but her indifference sends a wave of relief through you; you've still been trying to be on your absolute best behavior lately to make up for the lies.

You head out to the backyard and seat yourself in a lounge chair by the pool, unlocking your phone again and swiping to your last conversation with Joel from last night.

hope you had a good day :)

I'm sure yours was better. Sleep well x

Curt and to the point, not at all what you'd wanted him to reply with. You recall one of your first phone conversations, the one where you'd been experiencing the same lack of interest in his texts, what he'd said to you: Don't think for one second that I don't think about you. But how can you not? How are you supposed to feel desired when he's being like this?

can you call me tonight?

You try not to wait too long before biting the bullet, not wanting to talk yourself out of it, but you do stare at the message with your finger hovering over the send button for longer than you really need to. The sound of the back door sliding open forces you to send it, locking your phone again as your mother walks over and seats herself beside you in another chair.

"It's nice to see you wearing that again," she says with a nod to your chest, referring to your crucifix - after wearing it again last weekend you'd thought that keeping it on might please her. "You're starting to really settle in here again, aren't you?"

You try not to grimace, "Yeah, it's nice being home."

She leans back in her chair, letting the suns rays hit her for a little bit without speaking. You sit there waiting for her to say something else, discomfort flooding through you. You're reminded of how easy it was to sit with Joel in his backyard last weekend, how little pressure there was to put up any kind of front - sitting here with your mother is the exact opposite.

"So, you lied to me," she finally says, voice quiet.

Your eyes widen and you sit up a bit, turning to her with panic already rising in your throat, "Wh-what do you mean?"

She doesn't turn to look at you, continuing to stare at the sky, eyes covered by her comically large sunglasses, "You know what I mean."

You sit there, staring at her with a mix of confusion and fear. There's no way she knows about Joel, how could she know? Who would have told her? You wonder if perhaps one of her neighborhood friends saw you leaving his house, saw you in his car... but the guise of lessons is your cover now, so how would any of that point to your relationship?

Some relationship, you can't help but think to yourself, based entirely on sex and only communication on the weekends.

"Bethany and Alice," your mom finally states, and you feel the panic in the pit of your stomach loosen immediately - oh.

"Mom," you say immediately, shaking your head, "I-I know. I'm sorry. I know I told you we met up but..." you bite your lip, trying to come up with some kind of excuse but coming up empty.

Instead, you do something that surprises you entirely - you tell the truth. Or at least... half of it.

"I really feel like my friendship with them has passed," you admit with a frown, "I'm... I'm different than I was when I left, you know that, don't you? I'm sure you've noticed."

She's still not looking at you but you catch her nodding slowly, thoughtfully.

"I'm sorry I lied but... I didn't want to disappoint you. And I didn't want you to worry about me being alone all the time. I'm actually rarely ever alone at college so it's been nice to have some time to myself," you smile, thinking of the girls in your group chat constantly waiting for new updates, "Having lunch with two people I haven't talked to in years just... didn't seem appealing to me. I have different friends now, you know? I'm older, people outgrow each other."

"Friends like Tasha," your mom states, bitterness in her voice, "Tasha who you don't even want me to meet."

You make a face, "Mom..."

She puts her hands up in defeat, shaking her head, "It's fine. You can do what you want and so can she," the words are drenched in judgement, "But you should remember that there are rules for staying here, young lady. And honesty is one of those rules."

You take a deep breath, swinging your legs around the edge of the chair and placing your arms on your knees, your face in your hands. You're so close to snapping back at her, making a comment that'll surely start an argument, but you shove it back down as best you can, counting to ten in your head.

"I'm sorry," you finally say through gritted teeth, "It won't happen again."

"It better not." She stands up then, disappears from the chair as quickly as she'd settled in it. You watch as she walks to the back door again, reaches for the handle.

Your mouth can't stop itself.

"Have you told Dad about my guitar lessons yet?"

She freezes, turns and stares at you for a moment without saying anything, then opens the door and heads back inside, slamming it behind her.

Checkmate.

I will when I get home.

Your anxiety is through the roof as you pace back and forth in your bedroom after darkness has fallen, freshly showered and pampered and already out of distractions. Without really thinking much about it, you pull Joel's flannel from under your mattress and wrap it around your shoulders, breathing him in as you sit on your bed and try your best not to keep checking your phone. When it finally vibrates you're not even embarrassed when you pick up on the first ring.

"Hey," you murmur, settling into your sheets and closing your eyes, "Is everything okay?"

"With me?" he asks, voice tired and gruff, "Thought it'd be the other way around."

Your brow furrows, "What do you mean?"

"Thought you'd wanna talk about this church volunteerin' stuff," he's moving around as he talks - you hear the sound of a cupboard banging and the clang of a glass against a countertop.

You don't speak for a moment, listening to the sound of liquid being poured into a cup and Joel taking a swig. There's no sound of the tap - you'd be willing to bet that it's not water he's drinking.

"No, I..." you frown, "I was worried about you."

You hear him take another sip, swallowing loudly and then placing the cup back down with a clink. More pouring. You swear you hear the faint sound of a chuckle before he takes another swig.

"Well that's silly," he states, and you suddenly notice there's a strange difference in his voice, a heaviness you're not used to.

"Are you drunk?"

He chuckles again but there's no humor in it, "Nowhere near as drunk as I'd like to be."

You frown, readjusting yourself against the pillows. You hear him take another sip, "Did something happen?"

He sighs then, deep and tired. You hear him put the glass back down on the counter, "No, babygirl, nothin' happened," hearing him say your pet name makes you feel a little better, the anxiety ebbing away a bit, "It's just that my job is the bane of my fuckin' existence."

He sounds genuinely exhausted, words tinged with resentment. You pull his flannel tighter around yourself, breathe him in, pretend you're in the same room as him, "Talk to me," you say softly, "Tell me what's wrong."

He doesn't reply for a moment - you can make out some footsteps on the other end, the creak of his stairs as he goes up to his bedroom, "No, darlin', it's nothin'. Shouldn't be talkin' about this with you."

"Hey, if something's bothering you, I wanna hear about it. I wanna make it better... if I can."

You hear him settle onto his bed, a satisfied little noise emanating from his throat that makes you smile, "That's the thing, babygirl. You can't. This is just the way life works. You do shit you hate and then you die, plain and simple."

"Joel," you admonish quietly - it's the first time you've said his name aloud since last weekend, it feels right on your lips, safe. He sighs but doesn't say anything else, breath evening out in your ear. "What is it? Really? I've been worrying about it all week."

"Oh honey," he murmurs softly. "Shouldn't be worryin' about me, there are more important things."

"Not to me," you admit, closing your eyes and shaking your head even though he can't see you, "First I thought maybe you were just busy, but-"

"Busy," he scoffs, "Right, yeah, busy. That's my middle name at this point. Fuckin' busy."

He really doesn't sound like himself - you know you still don't know him very well at this point, could be wrong about so many things, but part of you just knows that this isn't Joel. You know his softness, his safety, his kind eyes and crooked smile. This version of him sounds so sad; you can't help but wish you were in his bed right now, able to hold him close and run your fingers through his grey curls. You want him to open up to you.

"You don't wanna hear this shit, angel, you don't," he continues, voice gentler this time, "I know you're thinkin' somethin' is wrong, thinkin' somethin' in particular happened to make me feel like this, but the truth is..." he sighs again, deliberates for a moment and then simply states, "Truth is I'm just bein' stupid."

"You're not stupid," you say immediately, and he chuckles.

"God, you're so sweet, babygirl," he murmurs softly, "It's nice to hear your voice."

Your feel your skin heat up at the words, crossing your legs together unconsciously, "It's nice to hear yours too," you whisper with a smile, "I've missed you this week. Every time you've texted me it's felt like it's not really you."

"I'm sorry, baby," you can hear the sincerity in his voice buried underneath the tiredness and alcohol, "I'm just... I'm a mess." You hear him shuffle a bit in bed, like he's turning onto his side, "Work is always puttin' me in a shitty mood lately and I just...I don't want you to see this side of me."

"But why?"

Another sigh, then-

"'Cause I don't want you to look at me differently."

You bring the sleeve of his flannel to your lips, "I could never look at you differently, Joel," you whisper, "Promise."

He's quiet for a moment and you hope you haven't upset him, hope he's just thinking about what to say. You mean your words; it really would take a lot for you to look at him differently. You know you probably shouldn't feel that way considering you've known him less than a month, that the feeling should scare you... but it doesn't.

"I'm tired, angel," he finally says, voice sad and distant, "I'm too old to be doin' this job."

You wait for him to speak again, listening as he takes a shaky breath on the other end of the line, almost like he hasn't told anyone this. And maybe he hasn't.

"But it's hard to admit that to myself," he continues, "And even harder to admit it to you of all people. I don't want you to see some washed up, tired, old geezer, ya know?" he says it with humor but you can tell that he means it, "I mean I used to... god, I used to be able to do shifts like this no problem. Be up at five and home by midnight and able to do it all over again the next day. Now it's like I'm runnin' on a half empty tank of gas. Got no joy in this job anymore and my back is killin' me and-" he cuts himself off suddenly, "And I need to shut the fuck up before I scare you away."

"You're not gonna scare me away," you whisper, and you mean it, "I'm not going anywhere."

He laughs softly to himself; you're not sure if he believes you, but you're choosing to hope that he does, "Ya know, I didn't even wanna tell you my age when we were first together? I wasn't gonna tell you, I really wasn't. But then you were so sweet and vulnerable and honest with me-"

You scoff, "Yeah, lying about knowing how to play guitar, that's certainly honesty."

"That's not what I mean and you know it," he chastises - you can hear the sudden smile in his voice, "No, darlin'... when you told me you hadn't done anythin' before. That's when I knew I had to tell you, 'cause it wouldn't have been right otherwise," he makes an odd noise in his throat and then corrects, "Not that any of this is really right, but..."

"It feels right," you say softly, staring down at the plaid lines on the flannel shirt shrouding your body, reminding you of what it means - that you're his.

"It does," he agrees, voice rough and low, "Right and wrong in all the right ways, huh babygirl?"

You nod to yourself, unable to help the grin that spreads across your face, "Exactly."

The both of you are silent for a few moments but just like last weekend, it isn't uncomfortable or awkward. It's calming and safe, just listening to each other's breathing. You can tell he's tired, can hear it in his slow exhales; again, you can't help but wish you were lying beside him. And you can't help but wonder if a more sober Joel would have even said any of this to you, would have just kept it to himself and continued to deal with it in silence, not bothering to tell anyone how he's been feeling. It breaks your heart a little bit.

"It'll be okay," you whisper gently, soothingly, "It won't be like this forever, Joel."

He sighs, deep and sleepy, "You really are an angel," he murmurs, "So sweet and lovely, babygirl. Love hearin' you say my name like that."

His words send warmth throughout your body - no one has ever spoken to you the way Joel speaks to you, makes you feel the way he makes you feel. You close your eyes and bury your face in the sleeve of his flannel, listen as his breathing gets slow again.

"You should get some sleep," you whisper, even though you really don't want to end the call - but Joel is tired and you want him to feel better, "Text me tomorrow, okay? Even if you're grumpy."

He almost laughs but he's so close to sleep that it comes out slurred and low, "Okay, baby, I will. Promise."

"Goodnight, J-"

"Wait wait wait," he suddenly sounds a bit more alert, rousing himself from sleep, "You didn't tell me 'bout this church thing. You okay with it?"

You giggle at his sudden concern, "It's nothing, really. Just helping an old friend out with lesson plans for Sunday School. Not very exciting."

"Fun," his voice is sleepy and low again, "What're you gonna wear?"

You have to bite down on your lip to stifle another laugh, shaking your head even though he can't see you, "Go to bed, you perv."

He chuckles, "Okay, okay. Goodnight, angel."

"Goodnight, Joel."

You're about to end the call when you hear him murmur one final thing, so soft you're surprised you can even make it out - but you do:

"Hope I dream about you."

You fall asleep with a smile glued to your lips.

You end up wearing the same outfit you'd worn to Joel's last Saturday, though you leave the stockings at home; you doubt the women at church will be offended by your bare legs. You fasten your crucifix around your neck and make sure your mom gets a good look at you before you leave the house; you haven't spoken since yesterday afternoon but you still want her to see you're putting in some effort, as surface level as it may be.

She's in the living room when you come down the stairs, and her expression can't help but turn to one of surprise when she looks up from her book to see you standing there in your Sunday best.

"I'm going to the church," you explain softly, "Gonna help out Bethany with the lesson plan for Sunday School."

She assesses you up and down, eyes fixing on your crucifix for a moment before trailing back down to her book. She doesn't say a word.

Silent treatment. Typical.

Fifteen minutes later you find yourself being greeted by Bethany, blonde hair flowing down her dress as she stands outside the church with a bright smile plastered on her face. You recognize the forced expression immediately, one that you yourself have become an expert in feigning, though for different reasons. You haven't seen her in years but you still know her well enough to tell when she's less than thrilled about something - this time that "something" is you being there.

"I'm so excited you're here!" she tells you, voice shrill as she immediately takes a step forward to envelop you in a haphazard hug that feels neither excited nor genuine.

You should have known it would be like this. When you'd left for college a few years ago you'd promised to keep in touch with both Alice and Bethany, the only "solid" friends you'd managed to keep throughout all the studying, the tutoring, the church services, the extracurriculars, volunteering, etc. It's a miracle in itself that your friendship had even lasted through high school, if you're being honest. You'd begun to distance yourself from them a bit in those final years as you started to lose your faith while theirs only seemed to grow stronger. Leaving for college had been the last nail in the coffin.

"Me too!" you lie, feigning a similar smile as you both pull back from each other.

Though her grin is unrelenting, you can see the distance in her eyes, the sourness and disdain for your presence extremely evident. She doesn't like you. There's an awkward few seconds of silence where she assesses you up and down again, like she had at the service on Sunday.

Why did you even say yes to me coming here? You want to ask as you stand in front of her awkwardly, not really knowing what to say. If you didn't want me here you could have just said there wasn't anything for me to do. But you already know why you'd still been invited despite her obvious disdain for you - keeping up appearances means everything to these people; actually being honest about her feelings would have been disastrous for her reputation.

"Was sure you'd forgotten all about me," she finally says with an edge of malice still shrouded through her smile, "Haven't heard from you in what? Three years? And then you just show up outta the blue, huh?"

You grimace, "Uh, yeah, sorry about that. There was... I mean, I've just had a lot going on, I guess." You kick your feet awkwardly; this is not the conversation you want to be having right now.

"A lot goin' on, huh?" she echoes, eyes still scanning you up and down, "Right. Busy with college?"

You nod quickly, "Yeah, it's been kinda crazy."

She raises an eyebrow, "What are you studyin' again?"

"English Lit."

She snorts then, shaking her head and taking a step back, "Right. Reading. Sure sounds crazy."

Your brow furrows, "It's more than that."

"Oh, I'm sure it is," she puts her hands up in defense, fake laughing and smacking her lips together, "Just find it funny that an English Lit degree takes up so much of your time." She's being pretty bold with the sarcasm but you suppose she has a right to be angry, though you'd never assumed she'd be this pissed about you cutting her off, "Anyway, we should get inside, they're waitin' for us."

"Bethany," you take a step toward her, softening your expression, "I'm really sorry."

She just shakes her head again and turns away from you to reach for the handle on the front door, forced smile finally fading into a natural frown, "Forget it."

Great start.

You don't talk much after that, not after you're led into a side room off the chapel where a few other women are sitting in a circle with binders in their laps. Bethany simply gestures for you sit down in an empty chair and the meeting begins. Everyone immediately begins their rapport, discussing their plans and reading quotes aloud from their binders while you just kind of sit there unsure of what to do or say. A few of the women give you a tentative smile or two, but the way Bethany periodically glares at you is enough to keep them from actually speaking to you directly. You're okay with it though; as awkward as this is, you'd rather sit in silence than have to pretend. Still, if you'd known it would be like this you never would have come - it's not like your mother appreciates it anyway.

Your phone vibrates at one point, a text from Tasha confirming her flight information with lots of !!!!!!'s that make you smile. As if sensing your sudden mood shift, Bethany puts her hands up with another grin that doesn't reach her eyes.

"We keep phones in our purses" she says sweetly, "So we don't get distracted."

You nod and slip it back inside your bag, a gesture that's more of a peace offering than anything else; it seems to appease her.

It's strange being inside this part of the church again after so long. You'd attended your own Sunday School lessons here, prepped for choir and readings, learned your scripture. It certainly doesn't feel as safe or inviting as it once did, though you have to admit that there was always an undercurrent of pressure, of judgement - an energy that still remains today. Bethany watches you closely, quietly assessing you as you nod along to everyone's suggestions and ideas and try to keep up your long-time façade of obedience. You push down the new parts of you that long to take back a bit of control, maybe say something shocking or suggest something ridiculous just to see how they'd react.

You've been sitting in silence for about forty five minutes when Bethany announces its time for a quick phone break. Like clockwork everyone in the room pulls out their devices and starts checking for missed calls from their kids, their husbands. You pull yours out and your eyebrows go up in surprise when you see a text from Joel on your lockscreen:

How's your day going angel?

He didn't forget his promise. A smile plays at your lips as you start typing out your reply, but it quickly fades when you feel Bethany's eyes on you, watching.

"I'm, uh-" you stand up, smoothing out the creases in your dress and gripping your phone tightly, "I'm gonna take a bathroom break."

The bathroom is the same as you remember it, high ceilings and white walls, your footsteps echoing loudly as you walk over to the sinks and lean your back against the countertop. You continue typing out your reply to Joel:

well all the church ladies are giving me the silent treatment til i'm worthy of being here again lol. but jokes on them cause my mom is also giving me the silent treatment so i have training! anyway i miss you. wanna hug you. hope you're feeling a bit better today 💕

You turn around and face the mirror while you wait for his reply. You're still smiling - it's impossible not to when you're thinking about Joel, but this smile is bright and genuine, unlike the forced grins you've been sharing with Bethany for the past hour. God, you can't remember the last time anything made you feel as free and happy as Joel makes you, like nothing else really matters. Your phone buzzes and you tear your eyes away from the mirror to read his reply:

Aw baby I'm sorry. I wanna hug you too. Wanna do a bit more than hug if I'm being honest, but you know that already.

You bring your other hand up to your mouth, smiling even wider into it as his typing bubble pops up again only seconds later:

And I'm sorry about last night. If I said anything stupid please forget it ever happened. Me and alcohol don't mix that well sometimes. I'm alright, don't worry about me x

But I do worry, you want to say, I want to make you feel better. But how can you do that from a church bathroom, miles away from wherever he is right now? You're suddenly reminded of something he'd told you a few weeks ago, something you hadn't quite understood in the moment - You can text me whenever you want, tell me all about what you're doin', brighten up my workday. Maybe send me some pictures.

Oh.

You look at yourself in the mirror again and carefully place your phone down on the edge of the sink. Your hand slowly comes up to push aside the collar of your dress, pull the stretchy material past your shoulder and down your arm. You do the same to the other side, slipping out of your sleeves and tugging down the high neckline of your dress to expose your bare chest to the mirror, putting your cleavage on display. You bite your lip, willing yourself to see what Joel sees, a pretty girl in a pretty dress, bra straps clinging to her skin and a crucifix hanging from her throat. Filthy.

You grab your phone and turn it toward the mirror, opening up your camera app and moving it close enough so he can see only your torso, sleeves hanging limp at your sides while your other arm comes up to squeeze your breasts together a bit, accentuating your cleavage even more. You snap a pic and send it to him before you can talk yourself out of it.

He replies seconds later:

Fuck

A grin spreads across your face and you make quick work of slipping your bra straps down your shoulders as well, just as another text from him comes in:

Send me another baby. Please.

Already one step ahead of you, you think to yourself as your cheeks warm and you pull down the cups of your bra, your breasts spilling out into the cool air of the bathroom. You squeeze them together again, nipples hardening tightly as you take another picture and send it along with a coy message:

better?

He must be staring at his phone, waiting for it, because his typing bubble appears instantaneously. You can't help but feel a sense of pride at the power you're holding right now, a change of pace from your usual naivety.

Oh babygirl. This is just what I needed.

i know :)

You glance at the bathroom door and then at the time - you still have a few minutes before the meeting starts up again and your mind is already racing with what you can do with those few minutes. With barely any hesitation you tug your dress up over your thighs, pulling your panties to the side and aiming your phone underneath. You frown when you pull your phone back up to find that it's dark and blurry.

"Hold on," you whisper to no one, then carefully lift your leg and place your heel on the countertop for support, pulling your dress up again and aiming your phone a little better. You pull back your panties and aren't surprised in the slightest to feel that they're suddenly damp.

This picture comes out much better. Your pussy is bare and a little wet, clit poking out past your lips, panties pulled against your inner thigh. You already know it's gonna make him crazy as you hit send.

Jesus Christ

He's already typing something else when you receive it and you can't help but giggle, covering your mouth and trying to picture where he is right now, what he's doing. Is he in a bathroom too? On a break? Or is he in the middle of a job, surrounded by other people? The latter thought makes you even wetter somehow.

Fuck you have such a pretty pussy baby.

thank you mr. miller :)

Will you hold her open a little for me? Show me that sweet little hole?

Who are you to deny such a request? With heat radiating all over your body you bring your phone down again and scissor your lips apart, exposing the innermost part of yourself to your phone camera. You can feel your own slick on the tips of your fingers, and when you push yourself open you feel a bit of your wetness dribble down onto your palm. Fuck. This is hotter than you'd expected it would be. You'd thought it would be a good way to make him feel better, get him through his work day like he'd said; you never thought you'd enjoy it this much.

Oh sweetheart. Look at that.

You feel another rush of pride as you take your leg down from the counter and tug your dress back down, rubbing your thighs together and doing everything in your power not to touch yourself again even though you want to. A quiet whimper unconsciously tears itself past your lips at his follow-up message:

Who's that perfect pussy belong to babygirl?

You've never typed a message back so fast in your life.

you. it's yours mr. miller.

That's right. Good girl.

Your skin is on fire, body tingling in all the right places. You smooth a hand down your bare chest, cup one of your breasts, gently squeeze. It's impossible for your eyes not to roll back a bit when you imagine Joel's hand on you instead, big and firm and callused and perfect. Your pussy throbs in your underwear and another whimper slips past your lips.

i'm really wet now :(

I know angel. Come over tonight and I'll take care of it, Ok?

Your heart leaps at the invitation, even more wetness pooling in your panties at the thought of what Joel might want to do tonight, if there's another “lesson” he has in mind.

yes please

Eyeing the time again, you bite your lip in disappointment when you realize you should probably be getting back. You wait until Joel has finished typing his final response, a message that makes your skin burn with anticipation:

Don't touch yourself til you see me. Keep that soft little pussy hidden, baby. Promise me.

i promise x

Just as you hit send you suddenly hear the unmistakable sound of footsteps down the hall, quickly approaching the bathroom. Your eyes widen in the mirror, gaze snapping to your bare breasts, sleeves still hanging loosely at your sides. In a panic you hurriedly attempt to stuff yourself back into your bra before you have company – but you're not that lucky.

The bathroom door bangs open and you freeze with one arm halfway through your sleeve, breasts still completely exposed in the mirror as you turn on the spot to see none other than Bethany standing there, frozen in place.

“I-” she looks flabbergasted, expression one of pure horror as she takes a step back from you and grips the knob of the door like she could rip it off at any moment. Your free arm that isn't trapped in a sleeve comes up to cover yourself as best you can, but you know she's already seen everything.

“I'm- I was just-” You're similarly taken aback and at a complete loss for words, unsure how the fuck you can explain what exactly she's just walked in on.

Her eyes fall to the phone in your hand, like she's putting the pieces together, then she shakily takes another step back and leaves without saying another word, the click of her heels echoing back at you loudly until the door finishes closing behind her.

Shit.

You don't have time to stand around thinking up an excuse; you do briefly consider escaping through one of the windows to avoid facing her, but you know it would just delay the inevitable. Instead you hastily finish pulling your dress back on and stare at yourself in the mirror for one final moment.

Your smile is gone. So is the light in your eyes. You suddenly begin to feel that familiar sense of guilt creeping in, the shame, the sin. You blink a few times and find that there are tears welling up in your eyes, a lump in your throat. A tiny voice in the back of your mind, one you've been attempting to mute for years, whispers to you: What have you done?

Bethany doesn't speak to or look at you for the rest of the meeting. It's not much of a change from before you'd gone to the bathroom, but there's something new in her silence now, something you can see in her eyes as she stares down at her binder while the other women talk. Fear. You've known her for most of your life, can sense certain mood changes from a mile away; you've frightened her. And somehow that just adds even more to the guilt building in your stomach.

You'll apologize to her after the meeting, it's all you can do. You genuinely feel horrible that she'd walked in on something so private, seen something she never intended or desired to ever see. You wonder if there's anything you can use to pass off as an excuse; maybe you spilled something on your dress and were cleaning it off? Maybe it was too tight and you needed a breather? Anything is better than the alternative – the truth – but you somehow doubt she'll believe anything you say at this point. That bridge was broken the second you left for college; there's no repairing it now.

The meeting ends with a few pleasantries exchanged and several comments about picking kids up from school, getting home to cook something for dinner, normal things that remind you how abnormal your own situation is in comparison. Half an hour ago you'd felt on top of the world, in control, had power in the tips of your fingers. Now you just feel small again, inconsequential.

You wait until the other ladies have left before taking a step toward Bethany, ready to unload your apologies and beg for forgiveness. She surprises you by speaking first.

"I'd think twice before wearing that again,” she hisses at you, venomous and pointed. Your eyes widen.

"Excuse me?"

"I said,” her words are slow and full of bitter intention, eyes glaring daggers at you, “I'd think twice before wearing that again" she gestures to the crucifix around your neck and you unconsciously reach up to take it between your fingers, glancing down at it before looking back up to meet her angry gaze.

“I'm...” you feel overwhelmed, tears pricking in your eyes again at the sudden burst of rage being directed at you, “I don't...”

"You might not understand this,” she practically spits through her teeth, “but that symbol actually means something to the people here."

"I know what it means.” It comes out as barely a whisper, voice shaky as she takes an intimidating step toward you with nothing but malice in her expression.

"So that's why you've got your breasts out in a public bathroom? A church bathroom?”

“Bethany, I-”

“You're not welcome here anymore, understand?” her voice is full of finality, “You can come to church with your parents-” The mention of your parents sends your anxiety into a tailspin, heart beating frantically in your chest as she continues to step closer and closer toward you, “And you can pretend you're their good little girl. But I know the truth. And it's not welcome in my Sunday School ever again. Got it?”

My Sunday school. The superiority complex is strong and you know deep down that this is all completely rooted in her own fears, her own desires, her pride, but none of that seems to matter when she's staring you down like this, holding you captive with her hostile words.

"Got it,” you whisper, nodding shakily.

"Good. Now go home and take," she points toward the crucifix, the tip of her finger close enough to faintly brush against the shape of it, “that,” she suddenly prods it, giving you one final sneer, “off.”

It takes you twenty minutes to leave the parking lot after that, tears blurring your vision as you cry in your car and try not to let the shame completely envelop you.

Going to Joel's that night carries none of the anticipation you'd felt earlier this afternoon; instead you feel nothing but shame as you steal your mother's house key from its dish in the hallway, closing the front door behind you as softly as you can and hurrying out into the night. There's no excitement or rush like the last time you'd done this. You feel like you could cry at any moment as you approach Joel's house, climbing his front steps with a heavy weight on your shoulders that wasn't there before, that hasn't been there in weeks.

The door opens before you can even turn the knob – he must have been watching from his window, waiting for you in anticipation for tonight's “lesson”. Your stomach lurches.

“There's my little Sunday School girl,” he murmurs, taking your hand and tugging you gently inside.

“Please don't call me that,” you say quietly, head down.

He shuts the door behind you and takes your hands in his – you can feel his eyes on you but you're unsure of the look on his face, what expression is on it. Does he sense there's something wrong? Or is he waiting for you to jump his bones?

“Hey,” his voice is soft, concerned, “Hey, look at me, sweetheart.”

You shake your head, still staring at the floor.

“What happened, babygirl?” he murmurs, one of his hands releasing yours to come up and stroke your cheek gently, thumb grazing the wetness beneath your eyes, “Why're you cryin', darlin'? C'mere.” His finger travels down to your chin, pushes your face up to look at him.

His expression is worried, brow furrowed and forehead creased, a frown playing at his lips. You feel your heartbeat slow, the weight on your shoulders decreasing just a little bit as safety settles in your bones. He cares.

“I had a horrible day,” you whisper, feeling tears trickle down into the corners of your mouth, “I know you want to...want to...” you shake your head, “Whatever we were gonna do. But I don't think I can tonight, Joel. I don't feel good.”

“Oh, babygirl,” he breathes, releasing your chin and immediately wrapping you up in his embrace, arms tightening around you as he pulls you against his chest, “We don't have to do anythin', don't even worry about that.”

You bury your face in his chest, breathe him in. His flannel underneath your mattress is nothing compared to the real thing, the real smell of him overtaking your senses and filling you with a true feeling of warmth and safety. His arms are so big – he's so big – and without meaning to you find yourself going completely limp in his arms, bones turning to jelly. It's like finally breathing in the fresh air after holding your breath underwater, a natural reaction to finally being where you belong.

He doesn't question your body's response, almost seems to understand completely as he pulls you up from the floor and adjusts you slightly to cradle you in his arms, carrying you past the living room, past the kitchen, up the stairs and to his bedroom. You just close your eyes and bury your face in his shirt, inhale the scent of sawdust and sweat and cedar and Joel.

He tips you gently onto his bed, presses a gentle kiss to your forehead before settling in beside you without saying anything. You feel his arm wrap around you, tug you in closer beside him as he noses your hair and lets you just exist.

Minutes pass before you finally break the comfortable silence, voice quiet and small - “I feel so ashamed.”

You feel his brow furrow in your hair and you turn around to face him, bringing your arm up around his torso and pressing your hand firmly against his back. He looks at you with confusion, concern.

You tell him everything. About Bethany, your friendship with her and Alice before you left for college, the way you'd already begun to lose your faith even then. You tell him about your mom, about the silent treatment and her reaction to the white lie, the lie that's practically nothing in the grand scheme of deceit you've been weaving these past few weeks. You talk about church and Sunday School and all the guilt you'd felt in that little room growing up, how being there again felt wrong and uncomfortable. You tell him how free you'd felt in the bathroom with your camera, the power you'd felt, reclaimed, and how all of it had been snatched away from you the second Bethany had entered. How she'd destroyed any semblance of confidence you'd been able to find today, how she'd shamed you for the crucifix that you don't even want to be wearing. It's the most you've ever told him, the most you've ever talked to him about anything.

And he listens.

He doesn't seem put out by your venting, annoyed or irritated or ready to send you home at any minute. He just nods, frowns at the right moments, strokes your arm and your cheek, kisses your forehead when you start to cry. Wipes the tears away when you apologize for crying. He stays with you and remains present and attentive, lets you talk and talk until you start to apologize for how much you've been talking.

“I know this isn't even what you signed up for,” you blubber, shaking your head and bringing your hands up to cover your face, “I'm sorry I keep bringing so much- so many complications into your life.”

“Shh,” he soothes, placing his large hands on yours and pulling them away from your tired eyes, leaning in to brush his nose against yours, “Stop apologizin', baby. Stop. You've got nothin' to be sorry for.”

You suddenly sit up in bed, leaning back against the headboard and bringing a hand up to touch the crucifix still clasped around your neck. You hadn't taken it off like she'd told you to do; you'd felt like doing so would have made you weak, would have been like giving up, even though you'd never wanted to even wear it again in the first place.

“Why does this little thing have so much fucking power over me?” you ask aloud, not directed at Joel but more-so to yourself, “My whole life, no one has ever seen me, they've just seen this.” You shake your head, squeezing the tiny cross in your hand. “And wearing it again has just brought all that shit back, it's done absolutely nothing good. Wore it for my mom and she still gives me the silent treatment. Wore it for Bethany and she still treats me like garbage, tells me to take it off. It's just a fucking necklace.”

Joel sits up beside you, places a warm hand on your thigh and peers at you with those soft brown eyes, lulling you back into a sense of calm, of serenity.

“Give it to me,” he says quietly.

Your brow furrows in confusion. You stare at him for a moment, then watch as he carefully brings his hands up to graze his callused fingertips against your neck, brushing the chain.

“I'll take it off your hands for a bit,” he murmurs, “Outta sight, outta mind. And if you want it back, I'll have it ready for you. How's that sound?”

You nod slowly to yourself, feeling your eyes begin to sting again at his words, “...Good. Th-that sounds good.”

Without saying anything else you hear the sound of the clasp being undone, feel the chain slip away from your skin as Joel takes it from you. You turn your head to watch as he fists it in his palm for a moment, gaze thoughtful and faraway as he traces the shape of the cross with his thumb. A few seconds later he opens his bedside table and carefully places it inside, then shuts the drawer.

And just like that, the weight is gone.

You take a shower in his bathroom again, wanting to wash this day off you and start over, clean slate. You could have had one when you got home from the meeting earlier but you'd instead opted to just lay in bed feeling sorry for yourself for much longer than you'd needed to. Now you close your eyes and let the hot water envelop you, wash yourself with Joel's body wash and allow yourself to become his again, picturing him laying in his bed in the other room, waiting for you. This is what matters. This moment. Right now.

You enter his bedroom wrapped in one of his towels, drops of water still spilling down your skin onto the hardwood floor. He's sitting up in bed, shirtless with his legs hidden under the covers. He's seemingly deep in thought as he stares at his phone screen, brows scrunched together. You watch as he pulls the phone away from himself, eyes squinting and lips parting a bit, then pulls it back, like he can't see what he's looking at properly. You realize that's probably the case.

“You need glasses,” you say with a soft giggle, and his expression relaxes when he sees you standing there, phone going back on his nightstand.

“I have glasses,” he admits sheepishly, giving you a tender smile, “Just hate wearin' 'em.”

“Of course,” you roll your eyes and take a few steps forward, still gripping the towel around yourself. His eyes fall to the parts of you that are bare, revelling in the way the lamplight reflects on your wet skin. You feel tingles erupt through your senses under his gaze.

“Are you naked?” you ask softly.

He shakes his head, “Wearin' pants, don't worry.”

You stand there for a moment, staring. He just stares back, eyebrows going up a bit while he waits for you to say something else. When you don't, he tilts his head slightly, appraising you.

“Do you want me to be naked, babygirl?”

You're answering before you even really know what you want, "Yes."

Without needing to be told twice he reaches under the covers with both hands and shimmies his way out of his pajama bottoms, staying hidden under the sheets as he tosses them out onto the floor. You bite your lip, still just standing there staring at him without moving. You're still dripping everywhere, a little puddle of water forming at your feet the longer you stay frozen.

He raises his finger and playfully curls it toward himself with a smile, "C'mere, baby," he murmurs, "Be naked with me."

You don't need telling twice either.

The towel drops from your body, landing in the puddle of water on the floor - easy cleanup. You feel heat radiating through every inch of your bare skin as you walk toward the bed, avoiding Joel's eyes and quickly slipping in beside him. You really don't know what you're doing - you'd said when you got here that you didn't want to do anything, not tonight, and it's still true. But part of you just aches to be close to Joel, to feel his warm heat, his rough skin, be connected to him somehow. It's what you've wanted all week.

You inch in beside him, back against the headboard, your bare thigh touching his lightly beneath the sheets, and you find yourself tensing up unconsciously. He clocks your reaction immediately.

"You don't gotta be nervous, angel," he tells you softly, soothingly.

You swallow and take a deep breath, "It's hard not to be," you whisper, though there's no reason to, "I'm just... I'm so..."

"What?" he asks, brown eyes seeking yours in the dim light. His hand comes up to cradle your face, thumb swiping beneath your eye again like he's checking for more tears - luckily you're feeling much better in that department.

You sigh, shrugging slightly, "I don't know what I'm doing," your eyes fall down to the duvet, knowing that if you pulled it back you'd see your bodies touching underneath, his rough and tan skin pressed against yours, soft and untouched, "I mean, I don't even know why I came tonight. I knew I didn't- that I didn't want to-" you sigh again in frustration, unable to find the right words, "I just... I missed you," your eyes travel back up to meet his, "I just wanted to be near you."

His expression softens, still stroking your cheek as he peers into your eyes, "You feel safe with me, don't you?" You nod. "You know I won't do anythin' you don't want me to do, right?" Another nod. "So it's okay to just relax when you're with me."

You grimace, "How can I relax when we're naked in bed together?"

He chuckles, dropping his hand from your face and shuffling down into the bed a bit, away from the headboard, "Okay, time for another lesson."

You feel your heart sink again, worried that he's not understanding - probably because you can't explain it right - but he smiles reassuringly at you and curls his finger slightly, urging you to follow him downwards. With a quiet inhale you slowly inch away from the headboard and further down into the bed, beneath the duvet. You both stop moving when your heads hit the pillows, laying down fully beside each other.

"Gettin' naked doesn't always mean there has to be sex," he says softly, and you watch as he very slowly brings his hand down beneath the duvet; you know where it's going before it touches you, but you still shiver when you feel his fingers brush lightly against your bare arm, "Us bein' naked in bed together doesn't mean anythin' has to happen."

"But earlier today I said..." you trail off, shaking your head, "I promised that-"

"Earlier is earlier," he brushes your arm again, tender and comforting, "Circumstances change, your day got shitty. Mine was no better. It happens."

His hand travels downward, toward the skin of your hip. He curls his palm around your bare flesh and gently massages it, thumb stroking the edge of your tummy. It's intimate and new, but somehow it feels more safe and comforting than sexual, like he's simply doing something casual, normal.

"Sometimes you just wanna lay in bed with someone" he murmurs, still touching you tenderly, "No expectations, no pressure. No nothin'. Sure, it's fun to touch each other and be together like that, but if you just wanna sleep..." his fingertips brush your back gently, then press firmly into your skin as he pulls you a bit closer toward him, "If you just wanna lay here with me, that's okay too."

You're not sure what to think, staring at him with a million different thoughts flooding your mind. Your interpretation of what men want has always been a bit of a grey area, but you've heard enough from both your family and your friends to know that most of them are just after one thing. You'd heard it from your parents your whole life who always warned about non-Christian boys and their sinful thoughts, then from the girls at college who dealt with disrespect and catcalls, men who turned on them in an instant the second they realized they weren't getting any.

Joel isn't like that. Sure, he wants sex - that's been obvious since day one, when he'd invited you inside his house within minutes of meeting you. He'd only had one thing on his mind, just like your parents had always said. But he hadn't thrown a fit when you'd said no, and up until this point he's made it abundantly clear that the ball is in your court, that it's up to you what happens between the two of you.

"I know all this stuff can be scary," he continues softly when you don't reply, "I know you're embarrassed about bein' so inexperienced, but you don't need to be. I'm here to make it easier for you; I want you to be comfortable."

He nudges forward a bit and slowly begins to wrap his arms around you, warm and inviting. You let him, body going loose and comfortable in his grasp as you feel your eyes close; safe. You feel so safe.

"You're so warm," is all you can think to say, loving the way it feels to have his broad and hairy chest pressed up against your bare breasts, his big and strong arms winding around your smaller form.

He chuckles softly and you feel him press a gentle kiss to your cheek, beard scratching your skin in your favorite way. You bring your arms up and hug him back beneath the blankets, feeling your naked thighs press firmly against his. You're aware of his cock - it's hard not to be, not when it's pressed gently against the base of your tummy, soft against your skin - but he doesn't rub himself against you or do anything to initiate more than this, more than just being together like he'd said.

He really means it, you know he does.

"I can't wait to have sex with you," you hear yourself whisper in his ear; it sounds dirty but you don't mean it to be, "I just...I'm really glad it's gonna be you."

And I'm pretty sure I'm falling for you.

You wake up the next morning to a firm and solid presence at your back, bare and warm and comfy. You're surprised you're awake before Joel's alarm, wondering what exactly woke you up in the first place - and then you feel it. Something wet and sticky against your lower back, something pulsing and twitching every so often against your skin.

Good morning.

He hadn't pressed his cock against you like this last night when you were cuddling, hadn't asked you to touch it or even acknowledged its presence. But sleeping Joel is an entirely different person, his big arms wrapped around you tightly, one splayed across your belly while the other holds your right breast, cups it like it's meant to fit there. He holds you in place firmly, breath at your neck, nose in your hair.

You're not sure how much time you have left before his alarm goes off. The sun is only barely starting to come up outside the window, so it could start ringing at any time now. All you know is that the sensation of having him so close to you like this, his most intimate part so close to yours, so wet and warm, it's making you all wet and warm. Your skin almost feels itchy, especially at your neck where his warm breath leaves a damp spot beneath your ear, a spot you're suddenly longing for him to kiss, to lick.

"Joel," you breathe, unable to wait any longer, scared that at any moment he'll have to leave the bed and start getting ready for work.

No response.

"Joel," you repeat, a bit louder this time, and with his name you carefully grind back against him a little bit, the wet head of his cock trailing back and forth against your warm skin. He makes a grumbling noise in his chest, pulls you in a bit closer, "Joel, wake up," you moan, painfully aware of the shape of his balls against your ass, big and heavy and suddenly the hottest thing you've ever felt in your life.

"What?" he groans, rousing from sleep, "What is it?"

It's all the confirmation of awareness you need to suddenly turn in the sheets, bring the duvet down to expose your naked bodies to the both of you. His eyes are bleary and tired as he watches you from beneath heavy eyelids, sees where your gaze has settled.

His cock lays long and thick and loose against his tummy, round tip drooling precum into the hair smattered above his belly button. God, he's so big. Your lips part, saliva filling your mouth like it had the last time you saw it, like somehow your body knows exactly what the next step is.

"I wanna put my mouth on it," you whisper, pushing your hair back behind your ears and turning your gaze back to Joel's face, "Please."

His eyebrows go up in surprise, eyelashes fluttering with sleep. He's probably wondering where this is coming from, how the girl in his bed right now is the same one who just wanted to be held last night, but he doesn't seem to be complaining. He nods quickly, stretches his arms above his head and tries to rouse himself even more from sleep.

"Of course you can, baby," he mutters huskily, voice deep and dripping with arousal, "Go ahead."

"Tell me if I'm doing something wrong," you murmur softly, and before you can even fully process what you're doing or question if you'll even be good at it, your lips are pressing against the warm heat of his wet tip.

He hisses immediately and you pull back, frightened for a moment that you've already fucked up somehow. He shakes his head quickly at you, "No, no, you're good baby, that's good," one of his hands comes down to settle against the back of your head, fingers tangling gently in your hair, "Give it a kiss, just like that."

And you do. Time is already not on your side - you feel like there's a countdown clock hanging over your head as you press another kiss in the same spot, his precum sticky on your lips. You'd thought it might be gross, had heard lots about blowjobs from your friends and how unpleasant they can be, but when your tongue darts out to carefully prod against where he's leaking, you find that it doesn't bother you that much at all.

"Tastes funny," you murmur softly, peppering a few more kisses around the wide head and then down to his shaft, thumbing the prominent vein on the underside as you do it.

"Kinda gross, huh?" you hear him say softly above you, a strained edge to his voice that makes you smile against him.

"I think I like it, actually," you admit softly, tongue darting out once again to slowly lap up a bead at the tip. You're not lying; there's something masculine and sexy and inherently Joel about it, something you hadn't been expecting.

"That's good, sweetheart," he murmurs, stroking the back of your head gently, "That's so good, angel." You don't know whether he means your opinion on the taste or simply a reaction to the things you're doing with your tongue, but either way you keep going, hoping that the alarm doesn't interrupt you.

You wrap your lips around the tip carefully, pulling it into your mouth and sucking it gently - very gently. He makes a breathless sound above you and you can't help but bring your gaze up to his face, your eyes meeting his as you swallow him down.

"That's it, that's a good girl," he breathes, thumbing a strand of hair at your temple and pushing it behind your ear, eyes dark, "Look at you."

You swirl your tongue around the tip, still making sure to keep eye contact with him as you carefully slip more of him inside your mouth. He's so big, there's absolutely no way you'll be able to fit all of him inside, at least not without some practice. He doesn't seem to mind that you can only take a little bit of him, his thumb coming downward to stroke gently at the corner of your mouth. He wipes away a bit of drool pooling there, brows furrowing.

"You're doin' so good, angel," he whispers, nodding slowly to you in reassurance as you very slowly begin to lift your head up and down, up and down, eyes going hazy, "Takin' that cock so well."

His words spur you on, encourage you to take a little bit more. You've got about half of him in your mouth and you already know you won't be able to take anymore, the spongey tip pushing dangerously close to your gag reflex. You absolutely do not want to choke, don't want to ruin this in any way. You want him to feel good. Feel better.

"Oh, honey," he groans softly when you begin to palm his balls, rolling them gently and feeling their fullness, round and heavy, "This mouth," he touches the corner of your lips again, a bit harder this time, trails his fingers downward to grip your chin, "Made to have my cock in there, huh?" his eyes are boring into yours, pupils blown wide, "You like havin' your mouth full like that, babygirl?"

You nod and whimper around his length, speeding up a little bit and never breaking eye contact with him, obsessed with watching his eyes get darker and darker, filling more and more with lust as he watches you pleasure him.

"Yeah, you do," he murmurs, voice soothing again like last night, calm and safe, "What a good girl you are, wakin' me up to suck my cock. Couldn't wait, could ya, baby?" you shake your head and the head of his cock slips past your throat a little too far, so much that you have to pull off him quickly to be sure you don't gag, "Aw, baby, that's okay," he reassures you gently, "It's a lot, I know."

Your eyes are hooded and your jaw is already starting to ache - you're not used to doing something like this and he knows it, strokes your cheek gently as he takes his cock in his hand and carefully pushes the tip against your lips.

"You just kiss it, baby," he whispers, dark and deep, "Kiss that cock 'til I come, okay?"

You do as you're told, lips parting slightly as he rubs the head of his cock against your lips and strokes himself a few more times, bringing himself close to the edge. He's so gorgeous like this, so rugged and almost animalistic as his chest heaves, groans escaping his mouth as he watches your lips. His hand is still in your hair, grip getting tighter and tighter as you lean down a bit so he can gently fuck the tip of his cock back into your mouth. Your eyes close involuntarily and you can feel your pussy throbbing against the mattress with every thrust, lips tight around him.

"Ah, fuck," he grits out suddenly, then pulls his cock away from your mouth and releases all over his chest and stomach, thighs tensing up as you watch his eyes practically roll back into his head. Your eyes are wide and attentive, locked onto the white ropes of come that spurt against his bare skin. You find yourself wondering what it would feel like at the back of your throat instead, on your tongue, what it would taste like...

Your thoughts are interrupted by Joel's alarm going off, loud and obnoxious. Before he can pull himself up to turn it off, you lean over to the nightstand and do it yourself, swiping it off and turning back to his blissed out form. He lies there panting for a moment, eyes closed. You can't help but smile, feeling pride swell in your chest again at the knowledge that you made him feel like this.

"Don't go back to sleep," you whisper softly, "You gotta go to work."

He groans then, but opens his eyes and gives you a crooked smile and a wink, expression still sleepy and satisfied, "Who needs an alarm clock when I got you, huh?" He gestures with his finger for you to move closer and you do, leaning down to press a soft kiss to his lips, "Mornin', darlin'," he murmurs against your mouth.

"Morning," you whisper back, and you revel in the smile on his face when you pull away, "Sorry for jumping your bones so early."

He just shakes his head with a wide smile, "Never apologize for jumpin' my bones, baby." His eyes fall to your naked body, settling on your pussy, still wet and aching against the sheets, "Aw, sweetheart, lemme take care of that for you."

You shake your head, pointing to his phone, "We don't have time, you gotta get to work and I gotta get home before my parents wake up," you slip out of bed and reach down to pick up the clothes you'd stripped yourself of last night before your shower. He starts to protest but you put your hand up with a soft laugh, "It's okay, Joel. I wanted to do this for you, start your day out right. Give you a chance at a good day."

He peers up at you from the bed, face smooshed into the pillow as he watches you get dressed, "Doesn't seem fair."

You just roll your eyes, pulling on your panties and shorts and pointing to his phone again, "Really, we need to hurry," you bite your lip as you slip your t-shirt over your head, "I have keys this time but I still don't wanna risk it."

"Okay, okay," he grumbles softly, "I'm goin'."

He slips out of bed and stretches, tilting his body back and forth. You both hear the way his bones crack, the noise that emits from his throat when he bends his back a certain way. You watch his expression change, going from content and sated to embarrassed and grumpy in seconds.

"And just like that, the illusion is gone," he mutters to himself, limping away from the bed and toward the door without so much as a side glance to you, clearly upset by the sudden reminder of his age. You frown, watching him go and feeling an ache in your chest that makes a home there for the rest of the morning.

He'd made you breakfast last time, so it's only fair that you make something for him today. Unfortunately cooking has never been your forte, so about fifteen minutes later you're waving a dish rag at the fire alarm while the sausages you'd managed to burn are smoking in the sink. Joel comes running down the stairs after his shower with a look of concern on his face, only for it to fade into one of amusement when he sees the situation.

"Now why am I teachin' you guitar when you clearly don't know how to even use a stove?"

"Oh, shut up," you can't even pretend to be mad at him, grin spreading across your face as you shake your head and breathe a sigh of relief when the alarm stops going off, "Help me clean this up."

You end up making toast instead.

"You know, we've still got about ten minutes," he says across from you at the table as you eat, peering down at his watch quickly.

"Yeah, 'cause I fail as a cook," you mutter, making a face at your slice of toast, "I was gonna do eggs too, you know."

"Let's not reach for the stars too quickly now," he says with a sly smile, putting his hand up quickly when you prepare to retort, "Anyway, that's not what I meant."

"What did you-" you look up from your toast and see him beckoning you toward him again like he had last night, finger curling toward himself with a sly smile on his face.

You look at the clock on the oven, biting your lip.

"It'll take five minutes tops," he says, and you raise your eyebrow at him.

"Really?" you challenge, "Five minutes?"

"Five minutes."

That, you'd like to see. Dropping your toast back onto the plate, you stand up and walk to the other side of the table, unsure what exactly he wants you to do. He spreads his legs a bit, points to his thigh.

"Sit here, babygirl," he says, voice low and hypnotic, "Wanna show you somethin' new."

Yes please.

You situate yourself on his lap, one leg going between his thighs while the other dangles carefully off the other side of the chair. He pulls you down, big hands coming up to palm your hips and hold you there firmly. You swallow tightly, unsure exactly what he has in mind.

"You know what feels really good?" he murmurs, thumbs slowly stroking the bare skin between your shirt and your shorts.

"What?" you whisper, peering down into his eyes with intrigue.

"This," he says softly, then very slowly begins to move your hips, dragging you carefully back and forth along his thigh. Your eyebrows shoot up, lips parting as you feel the ache in your core immediately return, the pressure of his thigh and the movement of his hands setting your nerves alight.

He looks down at his own handiwork, watches as he moves you back and forth, back and forth, rocking you over and over again until you're whimpering in his lap, your hands coming up to grip his shoulders. He just smiles up at you, doesn't stop his movements.

"Yeah, that feels good, doesn't it?" he breathes, watching your expression closely, "Feels good to finally have somethin' touchin' that pussy, huh baby?"

You moan at his words, hands slipping from his shoulders to wrap around him as you lean forward to bury your face in his neck. He just starts to move you faster, chuckling softly to himself when your hips buck against him. It's amazing how such a simple action can feel so fucking good, the constant stimulation against your clit through layers of material making you writhe and whimper.

He removes one of his hands from your hips and slips it inside the leg of your shorts, fingertips tickling your inner thigh gently. You grapple onto him even tighter, hugging him like a koala as his thumb slowly begins to stroke you through the wet spot of your panties.

"Couldn't stop thinkin' about this pussy yesterday," he murmurs, thumb rubbing your clit over and over in little circles, "Those pictures were so filthy, baby."

You moan against his shoulder, gripping him tighter as his thumb begins to pick up speed. He presses a kiss to your neck, wet and hot; it makes your eyes roll back.

"And this little hole," he murmurs in your ear, suddenly adding a finger inside your shorts to circle your entrance slowly, "Kept thinkin' about this tiny little hole, all open for me."

God, when he talks like that you can't even fucking think, brain running on autopilot as he pulls you impossibly closer and lets you bare down on his thigh, his finger and thumb trapped under your weight, pressed firmly against your core.

"Who's gonna fill up that hole, babygirl?" he whispers in your ear, soft and secret, "Huh? Who's that hole belong to?"

"You," you whimper into his shoulder, eyes shut tight as he strokes his finger up and down through the fabric, adding even more pressure to the overwhelming sensations you're already feeling "It's yours, Mr. Miller."

"And what's gonna go inside it, sweetheart?"

"Hnhng," you can't speak, inhaling shakily as Joel's other hand presses harder against your hip and continues to guide you, fucking you back and forth against his thigh. He just watches you, eyes dark, lips parted, brow furrowed.

"Words, babygirl," he reminds you softly, "Use your words. What's gonna go inside that tight little hole? Huh? Tell me."

"Y-your cock."

"That's right," he murmurs, the tip of his finger prodding inside you gently, taking the damp material of your panties with it, "Gonna fill you up so deep with my cock, honey. You're gonna feel it right here," he moves his hand up and places it at the base of your belly, pushes against it softly, "Gonna be so big inside you, sweet girl."

Oh fuck.

"I want it so bad," you groan, wrapping your arms even tighter around him, "I need it Mr. Miller."

"You do need it," he agrees softly as he kisses the top of your head, bringing his hand back down from your belly to guide you again, moving you back and forth "Need to be fucked so bad, don't you baby? Til you can't even think straight."

You nod frantically, continuing to grind yourself down against his thigh over and over and over, "Please," you whimper, almost a squeak, "Please, Mr. Miller."

"Shh," he soothes, pulling you in closer and moving your hips against him, looking at you with those big brown eyes full of lust and safety, "I will, babygirl. Soon. I'll fuck you so good, honey. I promise." Your body hitches in his lap as you near the edge, eyes going wide and mouth popping open as your orgasm starts to hit you, "Yeah? You like thinkin' about that, huh? Me fuckin' this soaked little pussy into my mattress? Fillin' you up so deep you can feel me in your stomach?"

You can't hold on anymore, eyes shutting tight and high pitched whimpers flowing past your lips as you start to come. He pins you against his thigh, holds you there tight and firm as your pussy pulses and throbs through his pants. You lean forward to bury your face in his neck as you ride it out, feel his hand press against your back.

"Oh, good girl, that's it, baby," he murmurs, kissing your temple gently and stroking your back in little circles, "Come all over my lap, sweetheart. Show me how wet she can get, there you go. Good girl."

After a moment of catching your breath and willing yourself to pull your face away from his neck, you both bring your attention to the clock on the stove - five minutes have passed.

"Told ya," he murmurs, pulling you into one more hug, hitching his chin over your shoulder and rubbing your back gently as your head lolls against him.

You're too blissed out to tease him back.

The arrivals gate isn't as busy as you'd expected, thankfully. You lean against your car a few hours later, still reeling from your morning with Joel as you wait for Tasha to show up. You'd told him about your weekend plans before you'd left, insisting that despite spending time with Tasha you'd still be attending your Saturday lesson.

"Can't wait," he'd murmured to you, low and deep in your ear after giving you one final kiss at the door, "Got somethin' real special planned, babygirl."

You'd practically melted down his front steps.

"THERE'S MY FAVORITE SLUT!!" you suddenly hear someone shout, and you look up to see Tasha at the sliding doors, bags dropping to the ground as she sprints at you head on and collides with you seconds later, wrapping her arms around you tightly.

She's just the same as she was the last time you saw her, high spirited and excitable and sweet, practically vibrating in your arms with joy. Only she could rock a bright purple cowboy hat and sweatpants, not to mention the lime green flip flops.

"Oh my god," you gasp in her ear, hugging her back and spinning on the spot, "You're insane."

"I'M EXCITED!" she squeals, pulling away from you and clapping her hands together, "We're going out tonight!!! Together!!! For the first time ever!" She brings her hands up and places one on either side of your face, lips turning down into a pout, "My baby bird is leaving the nest," she sighs dreamily, shaking her head, "I never thought this day would come."

"Please get in the car," you laugh, popping the trunk and gesturing to her bags, "before I change my mind and send you back."

You give Tasha the complete run-down on Joel as you get ready at the Airbnb, updating her on everything that's happened since you'd last checked in. It feels so good to actually talk about it, not text or simply mull it over and over in your head. She gasps at all the right spots, makes ridiculous faces in the mirror as she curls her hair, nearly drops the curling iron on the floor when you tell her about this morning.

"AND YOU LIKED HOW IT TASTED?" she practically screams, running out of the room and then running back in like she has no idea what to do with herself, "Oh my god, you are down bad. Jesus Christ," she makes a face, "Sorry, I mean- uh, fuck."

"Tasha," you roll your eyes, "You can say Jesus Christ."

"I can?" her eyes widen and she sighs in relief, picking up the curling iron from the floor, "Thank god."

You're going clubbing tonight for the very first time; a night of dancing and cocktails and flirting and living out all the college dreams you still have yet to experience. You're a bit tentative about the flirting part though, a concept that floors Tasha immediately.

"You can't go clubbing and not flirt," she says with faux shock, spinning in front of you as she assesses her dress in the mirror, "It's the best part!"

"I have a-" you cut yourself off, making a face at your reflection.

"You do not have a boyfriend," Tasha says immediately, "There has been no definition, babe. You need to keep reminding yourself of that."

"But it's not just fucking," you argue with a grimace, "I mean, it's not even fucking at all, we still haven't taken that step yet."

"I know, I just don't want you to get your heart hurt, honey," she frowns, leaning toward the mirror and applying some lipstick, "Boys are mean."

"Well, Joel's not a boy," you say quietly, fingering the hem of your own dress, a short and cute pink number that Tasha had brought specifically for you to wear, "He's a man."

"Mmhm, so you keep telling me," she raises an eyebrow, "I think I need to see this man for myself. Give you my honest opinion, see if he's really this gorgeous, perfect hunk you make him out to be."

You bite your lip, trying not to smile as you think back to this morning, how he'd looked in the early morning light, naked and sleepy and beautiful. And all yours.

"He is," you murmur softly.

You're supposed to be going clubbing, supposed to be out dancing and drinking cocktails and living out all your college dreams for once in your life. But where are you instead?

"O'Neil's!!" Tasha says excitedly, pointing to the red neon sign outside the bar you've just arrived at, throwing you a shit-eating grin that just makes you playfully roll your eyes.

You never should have told her the name of the bar Joel frequents, because she's now made it her mission to find him, get a good look at him and judge for herself if he's really all you're making him out to be. It's your own fault, you suppose, considering that you don't have any pictures of him or any frame of reference to articulate exactly the way he looks. For Tasha he's shrouded in mystery, but not for much longer.

Your ears are already ringing when you get inside the bar, the chatter and buzz of other people's conversations flooding your thoughts. You're not used to being out like this, being around drunk people or high people or literally anyone whose ideal night out is spending time at a bar. It's nerve-wracking and you instantly feel like a fish out of water, gripping onto Tasha's arm after showing your ID to a man who ogled both of you way more than he needed to.

"So this is where he hangs out," Tasha says, assessing her surroundings and leading you towards the bar where most people seem to be gathered, "Quaint. Little divey. Definitely not for our crowd but hey, we're learning new things tonight." She taps the counter and tilts her head toward the bartender with a smile, "Watcha got on tap?"

You wrinkle your nose, "I thought we'd be having cocktails."

"Oh we will at the club, don't you worry. But if we want the authentic dive bar experience, beer is necessary," the bartender lists the options and Tasha orders, though you barely hear what either of them are saying over the loud music and conversations. Your eyes scan the bar for any sign of Joel, but people are packed so tightly in here that it's hard to really see anybody, faces and bodies melding together.

The bartender hands Tasha the drinks and she throws him a wink, "Thank you, darling."

You envy how easily she navigates a situation like this, so natural and graceful despite her surroundings that are anything but. She hands your beer to you with a smile and holds hers up in front of her, tilting it toward yours until they clink.

"To you finally coming out with me," she toasts with a grin, "It's about damn time."

You smile back and take a sip, trying your hardest not to wince at the bitter flavor. It's not like you've never tried alcohol before, you just already know that you hate beer.

"Delicious," you lie, and Tasha just laughs and gestures toward a suddenly empty booth in the corner of the room.

"Let's sit there while we suss him out," she mutters to you, pulling you along with her and slipping inside, "Now, what's he look like? You've been pretty vague about those details." She waggles her eyebrows, "Be honest, is he bald?"

You almost spit out your second sip, shaking your head furiously, "No, he's not bald. Full head of hair."

She puts her hands up in defense, "Hey, it's not that crazy to assume!"

You just shake your head and laugh, turning back toward the bar and the people and trying to get a gage on where he might be. You know he usually comes here with his contracting crew, but what the hell does a contracting crew even look like?

"Help me out, gimme a description!" Tasha says eagerly, wiggling in her seat a bit and following your gaze, "He has facial hair, right?"

"Yes, it's kinda messy and scruffy," you bite your lip, squinting a bit as if that'll help you.

"And what's his hair color?"

You don't look at her as you reply, "Um.. grey."

Tasha's hand slaps down on the table and you jump, eyes going wide as you turn back to her, "What?"

"Grey? Girl, how old is he?" she doesn't sound angry or judgmental - she sounds intrigued. And almost... impressed? You gnaw on your lip, scrunching your eyebrows together as you look back toward the crowd of people.

"Um... he's..." you stop short, freezing when your eyes land on a familiar shirt near the bar, a red and black plaid button down that you'd seen only hours ago, "There! He's there!" You point at him quickly, ducking your head a bit and motioning for Tasha to lean in closer to get a good look.

"Oh... my god," she breathes, and you feel a rush of pride at her response, unable to stop the grin from plastering itself to your face as you peer at him.

There's something different about him that you can't place - maybe it's just because you haven't seen him in a public place like this, aren't used to what he looks like when it's not just the two of you. You try to put your finger on it, and while you're doing so he does something that makes your heart positively swell in your chest.

He smiles. That beautiful crooked smile that pulled you in the day you met him, set your skin on fire and brought you to the point of no return. Those crinkly eyes, the grey in his beard, the softness of his eyes, they send that familiar feeling of safety rushing through your bones. And you realize there's nothing different about him at all. That's your Joel, sitting on a bar stool after a long day of work, nursing a glass of whisky and chatting about his day. He's the same Joel who you'd woken up with this morning, just in a different setting.

You're so distracted by his rugged beauty out in the open like this - overwhelmed by his charm and his smile - that it takes you a few seconds to see who exactly he's smiling at.

You feel your heart in your throat.

There's a woman sitting beside him. Not just beside him, but so close their stools are touching, so close her legs - long and lean and beautiful - are brushing his. It's not subtle the way her ankle moves against his calf, up and down, up and down. She's wearing jean shorts and a halter top, skin dark and gorgeous and exposed in all the right places, beautiful brown braids cascading down her back and shoulders. You can't see her face but you already know she could be a model. She probably is.

No. No, something isn't right.

Maybe it's not him.

Time feels like it's frozen, like everyone in the bar has stopped moving except the two of them, like a giant spotlight is shining directly on where they sit, where they touch, where they smile at each other. Because it is him. It's him in all his gorgeous Joel glory, peering into the eyes of a woman who isn't you, a woman who's probably more his type, closer to his age, a woman who's somehow making him smile like that when she shouldn't. That's how he smiles at you. That's your smile.

A woman who's now leaning in for a kiss.

No. Please no.

A woman who he kisses back.

This isn't happening. This isn't real. This is just some sick and twisted nightmare you're about to wake up from at any second.

His hand comes up to cup her face.

"I'm gonna throw up," is all you manage to gasp out to Tasha as you yank yourself from the booth and sprint out of the bar, hand splaying across your belly as you bend over and release the contents of your stomach all over the sidewalk.

You feel Tasha's hand on your back, pulling your hair behind your ears. She's saying something but you don't understand it, ears continuing to ring despite being outside in the cool air, away from the loud music and chatty conversations, away from them.

"Oh honey," you finally hear her say, soft and kind as she rubs circles into your back, a comforting action that brings no comfort to you, not now, not after what you've just seen. "I'm so sorry."

#joel miller x reader #joel miller smut #fic: feelings on fire #*

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satorusugurugurl · 3 months ago

Text

The Single Dad Club! (Chapter Three: Gojo)

Summary: The Single Dad club consisted of Grto Suguru, Gojo Satoru and Nanami Kento! But with summer upon them, the men find themselves ladies who are willing to have them leave their self-appointed club!

Pairing: Gojo Satoru x AFAB!Reader

Word Count: 5.2K

Warning: mentions of lost child, panic, flirting, fluff, cursing, oral sec (male receiving) smut, p in v, unprotected sex

A/N: The last and final part of the Single Dad Club Summer Series! I had fun with this mini series! Yay for Sexy dilfs!! 😈💚

Part One Part Two

“It’s official. God hates me and wants me to suffer.” Gojo sighed as he lay on the warm side of the beach. “He has doomed me to be single for all time..”

“You’re being dramatic.” Suguru scoffed, shaking his head as he turned the page in his book.

Gojo sat up, glaring daggers at his best friend, who was unbothered by the intense stare. “Oh, shall we review just how much he hates me?” Knowing there was no way to stop the bitching, Geto huffed out a sigh, placing his bookmark in place before he turned his attention to the white-haired man. “Exhibit one,” he gestured towards Nanami, who was building a Sandcastle with Yuuji and his girlfriend. “And Exhibit number two!” he stared at the beauty walking down the shoreline with Nanako and Mimiko. “Both you assholes went and got yourselves girlfriends this summer, disbanding The Single Dad club!” Suguru sighed, running a hand down his face.

“You’re still stuck up on this?” When Gojo pouted, Gero rolled his eyes. “You know it’s as simple as getting on Tinder, right?”

“All the people on there just won’t be for my body!”

“Well fuck Satoru, what do you want?”

“I want a summer romance like you and Nanamin over there!”

“Oh, I fully intend on turning this summer romance into a long-term relationship.”

The sweet, romantic tone of his best friend's voice had Gojo sticking his nose up as he gagged, sticking his tongue out. “Ya’ know what, kiss my well-toned a—”

“Gojo!!” The sound of Tsumiki screaming sent chills down his spine. He was on his feet in an instant. It was a scream that wasn’t full of fun or laughter. This was the scream all parents dreaded to hear.

“What?! What’s wrong?!”

“I can't find Megumi!!”

Those words hit him like a baseball bat to the gut. But Gojo didn’t allow the panic to take over. Instead, he pushed it down, running towards the crying Tsumiki.

“Where did you last see him?”

“I told him to wait for me while I use the restroom! I was in there for five minutes, maybe longer! But when I came out, he was gone!” The young girlfriend sobbed into Gojo’s chest, holding onto his white T-shirt as she cried even harder.

In situations like this, it was easy for someone to lose sight of what to do. Luckily for Gojo, being a firefighter allowed him to push the panic aside and process clear and concise thoughts. If he were to panic, things might go unnoticed, or he might act out irrationally. Right now, it was best for him to stay calm.

With a shallow breath, Gojo gently grabbed Tsumiki’s arms in an attempt to ground her. Feeling his hands on her arms and squeezing them gently, the young girl breathed more steadily. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Can you tell me where you saw him last?” His adopted daughter pointed him in the right direction, and with a quick shout to Suguru to watch her, Satoru was off, sending sand flying under his sandals as he ran as fast as he could.

On the other side of the beach, you crouch down to the small boy you had noticed admiring a sea turtle barricade placed on the beach. You knelt next to him, staring at the said. He turned his head, looking at you for a moment before turning his attention back to the sand.

“Pretty cool, huh?” You finally asked, toying with the whistle around your neck. “The turtles are protected this way, and when they start hatching, they’ll head straight for the water.”

The dark-haired boy hugged his knees close to his chest. “Yeah, I guess so.” You could easily tell he was withholding his excitement. As hard as he tried to play it cool, you could see the glimmer in his eyes.

“Do you like sea turtles?”

“I like all animals.”

“Yeah? What’s your favorite animal?”

The young boy narrowed his navy blue eyes as he slowly turned to glare at you. “I shouldn't be talking to you; you’re a stranger.” The blunt words and sharp tone took you off guard from a young boy his age. Was he even a kid? He had to be what, seven, maybe eight years old? “And what’s with that look on your face?” Damn, now he was even calling you out!

“Heh—I’m not a stranger, like stranger danger kind.” You gestured towards your white lifeguard jacket and red baseball cap. “I’m a lifeguard.”

“Well, shouldn’t you be watching the ocean? Making sure no one drowns.”

You laughed out loud, tilting your head back. “I already did that; I was just about to grab my bag and call it a day. But watching people in the water isn’t all we know. We help with medical emergencies, monitor the weather, and even provide water safety lessons.” The apprehensive look on the boy's face twisted into a more neutral look as you spoke. His eyes focused on your lifeguard gear, deeming you not to be some kidnapper. “But we also help get lost kids to their folks.” You ruffled the top of his hair before standing.

“I’m not lost.” He corrected you.

“Oh really?” Your eyes scanned the emptying beach. “Where are they?”

He didn’t say a word as he looked around, blinking a few times before standing. There was a look of confusion on his face as he turned in each direction, north, east, south, and west, as if he was on the search for something or someone. Your chest constricted as you could see his eyes flash with panic before he slowly looked back up at you.

“I-I don’t think my sister heard me when I told her I would be over here.”

“Okie dokie, where did you last see your sister?”

“By the bathrooms.”

You shoved your hands into your pockets, motioning towards the bathrooms with your chin. “At least we know where she is. Come on, I’ll walk you there.” much to your relief. The little guy had no reservations about following you to the bathroom. Sometimes, kids put up a fight, not believing that you were a lifeguard, and they didn’t stop crying until one of your coworkers came to help you. Thankfully, this kiddo was a bit older than the ones you usually dealt with, making it a less painful experience for both of you.

When you get to the bathrooms, you get a description of his older sister before stepping into the bathroom to see if she is there. Much dismay, there was nobody in the restroom except for yourself. His sister either ran off in search of him or returned to find their parents. Regardless, either his sister or his family would come looking for him shortly, and even though you had clocked out for the day, you decided to stay by his side until they arrived.

“She’s not in there kiddo.” You stretched your arms above your head. “We can wait a bit, but we might need to make an announcement..”

“I don’t know if they’ll be necessary. Knowing Gojo, he’ll be running around here within the next few seconds.”

“Whose Gojo?”

“MEGUMI!!”

You gasped as a flash of white flew past you. The shock had you placing your hand on your chest, feeling your heart rate spike as a man began frantically running around. He whirled around, searching everywhere, and it was fairly easy for you to put two and two together.

“Megumi?!” The man shouted, groaning as he ran his fingers through the tuffs of soft, pristine white hair. You hadn’t spoken to the man, and you could feel the anxiety radiating off him like an industrial air conditioning unit. “Megs?! Where are you?!”

He couldn't see the boy standing behind you from where he was standing. But the concern and fear in his eyes had you moving forward. “Excuse me, are you looking for—”

“Oh, thank god!” Large hands grabbed both of your arms, yanking you forward towards him. The smell of sunscreen musk became prominent as the handsome man leaned down to get in your face. “I need help finding my son! He’s about this tall! Black hair! Blue eyes!” He released one of his hands off your arms, putting it near his upper thigh. “A-And he was wearing a White T-shirt and shark swim trunks!” Beautiful cerulean eyes searched your face as if you had the answers to all of his questions, which way you did. “He’s a little too serious for a seven-year-old, but I wouldn’t have him any other way!”

You could practically hear the eyes rolling behind you as Megumi, you were assuming, groaned out loud in apparent embarrassment. “An overly serious seven-year-old? You wouldn’t happen to love animals, would he?” The man blinked and then twice before his frantic shaking came to a stop. “Because this kiddo was admiring, let’s see, turtle barricades.” You stepped to the side, motioning towards Megumi.

“MEGUMI!” Gojo yelled, dropping to his knees and grabbing his arms around Megumi and a crushing hug. His son grunted at the squeeze, averting his gaze as Gojo stroked the back of his head. “Oh my god, I was worried sick about you! Why didn’t you wait for your sister, like she told you to?!”

“I told her I was going to look at the barricades. Apparently, she wasn’t listening to me.”

You smiled, admiring the loving scene between father and son. The relief was visible in the muscles of Gojo’s back, and as hard as he tried to hide it, you could see the slight smile Megumi had tugging at the corners of his mouth. Little moments like this made you love your job even more.

You put the red duffel bag on your shoulder before turning your baseball cap around and clearing your throat to get their attention. Gojo released his bear-tight grip around his son, looking over his shoulder at you—a stunning beauty, white and red, who looked like she was by Zeus out of seafoam. Your body was perfect, your smile dazzling, and the way your eyes sparkled as you watched the scene unfolding in front of you had his heart skipping a beat.

Was it illegal to fake a heart attack in front of a certified lifeguard? Because he would do pretty much anything right now to have you perform CPR on him! But instead of raking up an ambulance bill and putting a damper on the whole day, Gojo stood up, dusting his knees off before towering over you.

“Thank you so much; I appreciate you staying with him.”

“Eh, it’s all part of the job! He's a good kid, smart too; you did a good job teaching him about stranger danger.”

“Being a first responder, I engraved it into his and his sister’s brains.”

“Oooh, a fellow first responder!” You took the opportunity to look him up and down shamelessly. “Let me guess,” Gojo smirked, placing one hand on his hip as he watched you slowly trailer your eyes over every inch of his body. He had broad, lean muscles, his legs were long and toned, and he had a pretty face. Long white lashes anyone would kill for, eyes with the same shade of Lagoon water, and a smile that had you swooning. You could have easily continued to stare at him, but you decided not to be a horndog and slowly trailed your eyes back to his face. “EMT?”

“Nope, fire rescue.”

“Ah, a firefighter, I would’ve never guessed. I would’ve needed to inspect you further.”

Gojo took his bottom lip between his teeth, shamelessly humming. “Ooh, sweetheart, I’d let you expect me anytime, any place.” He stuck his hand out in front of you. “Gojo Satoru, nice to meet you.”

You, too, his hand, shaking it. “Nice to meet you, Gojo.” Just as you gave him your name, you could hear yelling in the distance further down the beach.

Both you and Gojo turned your heads, watching as a group of people came running down the shoreline. People looked frantic for a second, but as soon as they saw the three of you standing near each other, their faces relaxed, and their running slowed to a walk. Assuming this was their group from how the children ran directly to Megumi while the adults stood back, you exhaled through your nostrils.

“Well, it looks like your families are here, so I think I should be getting home. I wouldn’t want your wife for your girlfriend waiting for you and Megumi much longer.”

Gojo snickered, glancing up at the sky with a grin before focusing his attention back on you. “There is no Mrs. Gojo. It’s just me, myself, and my two kids. You’re looking at the sole survivor of The Single Dad Club.” A choir of groans sounded from the group around you.

“Satoru, enough with that terrible club name!”

“I have to agree; it doesn’t work well when you’re the only member.”

“You guys suck!” Those pretty blue eyes found yours. “So yes I'm single.”

You bit your bottom lip, feeling a certain confidence burning in your chest. “What a coincidence, and so am I.” Gojo perked up; not only had you helped his kid, but you were a fucking hot lifeguard that was single on top of it?! This had to be one of the best days of his life.

“Uh-huh, well, I think we should change that.”

“Yeah? And just what do you have in mind to change that?”

“You, me, dinner and drinks. Consider it as a token of my appreciation for you taking such good care of my son. And I think you’re very attractive, and I would like to get to know you more.”

You could’ve done flips. You were so excited, but you had to play cool, not wanting him to know you were as eager as a seagull going after a fry. “I believe that would be sufficient.” You held your hand towards him. “I’ll just need your phone so I can give you my phone number.” Gojo was screaming in his head as he placed his cell phone in the palm of your hand, watching as your painted nails gracefully moved across the screen. “Text me, firefighter~.”

“Will do lifeguard.”

You adjusted your bag, waving goodbye to the rest of the group. And when you were out of sight and out of earshot, Gojo began violently fist-pumping the air. It was an action that had his kids cringing with embarrassment over his actions and the rest of his friend group. He couldn’t help it, though. It had taken all summer, but he finally scored a date with a woman who was just as kind as she was beautiful. Gojo couldn’t wait to get to know you more.

Two days later, when you both had a day off, Gojo took you to the best restaurant he knew. You both sat there exchanging daring stories of times at work. Where he’d been stuck on the second floor, where the fire was burning, or when you had gotten sucked into the current, trying to save someone. Both of you had an understanding of how dangerous work could be, and you both knew how precious life was. It wasn’t often you found someone you clicked with instantly like this.

Not only was Gojo remarkably hot, strong, and brave, but he was also caring and compassionate. Although he insisted, a lot of his friends and colleagues knew him as an arrogant ass. That didn’t change the fact that he cared about his kids. He spoke fondly of them. Tsumiki and Megumi had both lost their parents, and Gojo had taken them in, adopting them both and raising them as if they were his kin. That in itself was so attractive.

Knowing that he was fully capable of stepping up to the plate and wasn’t scared to do the right thing, he checked off boxes you didn’t think you had when looking for a partner. You found yourself entirely enthralled by his stories, the way he spoke articulately, and how he stared at you. It wasn't in a way that he was eye-fucking you across the table. No, there was a softness in his eyes, a look that included lust and curiosity.

And your assumptions about that look had been correct. Gojo had been right when he thought the gods themselves had made you. You look so pretty in your uniform for work. But seeing all dolled up made him think about how cute you must look on lazy days with your hair, a mess, sweatpants, and a baggy T-shirt. He found himself to know what that looks like. Because not only were you beautiful on the outside, but he could tell you were on the inside.

You were kind, compassionate, and brave. His son had been proof of that. But hearing stories of you going out during a typhoon to save some drunken idiot, he had an abundance of respect for you.

“Gojo.” Your sultry voices pulled him back into the conversation. ”If you keep staring at me like that, you’re going to burn holes through my skin.”

“Oh! Shit, sorry.”

You didn’t mind him staring; you would be lying if you said you weren’t staring at him. “Just what were you thinking about?” The softness that graced his features was not something many guys on first dates had. The majority of them wanted one thing and one thing only while you were looking for something a bit deeper.

“I was just thinking about how amazing you are.”

“Oh, I’m far from amazing.”

Satoru laughed, sipping his soda while you took a sip of wine. “Okay, have you looked at yourself? You’re a lifeguard; I’m sorry to be blunt about this. You’re very attractive.” His words had your cheeks flushing hotter than the wine, and that was because they were sincere. “You save lives, and you look hot when doing it.”

“Says the literal firefighter.”

“Okay, let me rephrase that. We both save lives, and we both look hot doing it. So I’m sorry for staring, but your beauty has enchanted me.”

You felt your cheeks burning, your eyes starting towards the table just as the waiter brought your dessert. “You’re very sweet, Satoru.” Satoru loved the sound of his name leaving your lips as he took the spoon off the plate and dug into the crème brûlée cheesecake.

“I think you’re sweet too.” He offered the first bite to you, holding the spoon in front of your mouth. “I’ve had a perfect time with you tonight. Being a single dad, I don’t get out as much as I want, and my dating life has been nonexistent. I was pretty sure I’d been cursed by the gods themselves there for a while.”

He watched as you wrapped your lips around the spoon, taking the bite off. “I know exactly exactly what you mean. Dating can be busy when you’re first responder.” You followed his lead, taking a scoop of the dessert into your spoon before offering it to him.

“Then we got lucky, huh?” He chopped down on the bite. You offered him, licking the cream off his lips. “We know how difficult it can be when you’re busy saving lives.”

“We definitely did. So, I think we should do this again.”

There was part of Gojo that didn’t want the date to end so soon. Both of you were having a great time, and the conversation was great. But he didn’t want to push his luck either. So, instead of asking if you wanted to go back to his apartment, he excitedly offered you another bite of the dessert before pushing the strawberry around with your spoon.

“Say, Satoru.”

“Yeah, Sweetheart?” You swiped some caramel off the plate with your thumb before bringing it up to your mouth, licking it off slowly. Seeing you do that had Satoru sitting up straight, his mouth suddenly dry as he did his best not to choke on the dessert. “M-mm?”

“What do you say after we’re done devouring the dessert? I take you back to my place and let you devour me?”

In all your years of living, you had never seen a man stand up and ask for the check as fast as Gojo did. It was cute but also strangely erotic in a way. He was eager to get you out of the restaurant and back to your place, and it took every ounce of your being to behave yourself until then.

Thanks to some unknown reason, you managed to keep your hands to yourself until the door to your apartment shut. As it did, you threw yourself into the firefighter, arms frantically working at the buttons of his shirt. Gojo’s eyes widened in shock at the sudden kiss, but that shock slowly melted into lust as he wrapped his arms around you, searching for the zipper to your dress. Hands moved nearly in sync as you began undressing the other.

Gojo sighed against your lips, groaning at the cool air hitting his bare chest as you unbuttoned his shirt completely. You pulled away from his mouth somehow, dragging your eyes down the dips of his abs, noticing faint burn scars that lingered here and there. That made him even more attractive, which was almost unbelievable.

“Like what you see?” The question had heat pulling between your legs. You did like what you saw. You liked it very much so.

“Mhmm~ I like it a lot.” Slowly, you crouched down, trailing kisses over his bare skin. “I want to see more.”

Your hand pressed firmly over his crotch as you pushed him back against the wall, and you dropped to your knees, unbuckling his belt. “I-Oh fuck!” A nervous yet excited laugh bubbled in Gojo’s chest as he looked down at you, watching you pepper kisses over the bulge in his boxers. “What are you doing, pretty girl?” The incredulous look you gave him made another laugh form in the back of his mouth.

“Did not make it clear enough back at the restaurant?” A white brow rose as you hooked your fingers under the waistband of his boxers. “I’m going to devour you, Satoru~”

With a fast tug, you yanked his boxers down to his thighs, freeing his thick, throbbing erection. It bobbed in the air, the tip pretty and pink, twitching as pre-cum beaded at the tip. Your mouth began to water as you stared at the beautiful cock in front of your face. Satoru groaned as he watched you gently wrap your hand around the base before taking him into your mouth with a groan.

“Oh fuuuck—” He let his head fall forward, eyes fluttering, threatening to close as you hummed around him. “Fuuck, you’re good at that.” He breathed out with a sigh as you began bobbing your head around his length.

His praise had you dripping as you took him further into your mouth, allowing the tip to slide down your throat. As you did, he jolted and cursed under his breath, and you couldn’t help but admire how reactive his body was to your touch. Every time you bobbed your head or swirled your tongue around his leaking tip, you drew more reactions from him. From him bucking his hips forward to soft whines and deep guttural groans. Every sound and action he made only drove you further.

You were on a mission to please. A mission that had your eyes water with each inch of him you took in your mouth. One that left you messily sucking this sexy man’s cock, a mixture of drool and precum running down your chin, hitting the floor. All of it was so hot, turning you on even more.

If given a chance, you could have stayed there on your knees all night long, pleasing Satoru with your mouth, but he grabbed a handful of your hair, gently pulling you off of him. There was a pop—followed by your ragged, needy breathing. Hearing that almost had Satoru reconsidering what he was doing. While your lips felt so good wrapped around his cock, Satoru wasn’t quite ready for things to end there.

“I need you.”

It wasn’t a want; it was a need. This man needed you. The raw power behind his words, the way they sent butterflies swarming in your stomach and caused your pussy to throb, was truly all he needed to say. This man did not need to beg or say please. Not when he needed you. Making him beg, while he would look so pretty when doing it, would be cruel at that point.

So you did the humane kind thing and rose to your feet before dragging him across the apartment into your bedroom, where you shoved him down on the bed. He didn’t fit or change positions. For one fact, you were far too fast, discarding your drenched panties and dress to the side before straddling him. The second thing was that he liked you taking the lead and doing what you wanted without asking him to be the more assertive.

“I need you too~” You whispered as you reached behind, gently taking his spit-slick cock. “I need you really bad.”

“Fuuuck,” Satoru groaned, biting down on your lips as you kissed him. “Then have me, sweetheart, have every part of me; I’m yours.”

Those words rang in your ears as you slowly lowered yourself onto his thick length. The feel of his stretching your tight walls had both of you groaning into each other's mouths as you made out. The kiss was deep and intimate, which was fitting, seeing that you were lowering yourself onto his length. The kiss, however, wasn’t similar to the one-night-stand kisses you had shared in the past. Those kisses were fueled by the desire to fuck and get off. While this kiss, while the lust and need were there, was also filled by a need to relish in each other. Almost like a silent promise, a mutual understanding that this would not be a one-night stand.

This was something more, something real and deeper.

Both you and Satoru could feel that as you pulled back away from his mouth, sitting up tall as your hips sat against each other flesh to flesh. The pleasure of merely being connected was so intense, so pleasurable; it made your eyes roll back as Satoru’s hands found their way to your hips, holding them as you lazily rolled them over his cock. With each roll of your body, muscles tensing as you rocked, Satoru was entranced by your body.

How you moved reminded him of the waves on the shore—powerful and beautiful, majestic and entrancing. You rolled with such ease, your mouth falling agape in pleasure, that Satoru had to fight the urge to thrust up into you. Because of this, watching you use him was so arousing.

“Mmm~ fuck baby, your cock is so thick!”

Satoru grinned as a harsh moan was fucked out of him with your seductive moves. “Mm~ fuck, yeah? Does it feel good in that tight pussy of yours?”

“Y-Yeah~! Feels good~ it feels really good!” You pressed your hands firmly against his pectoral muscles as you rocked fast, bumping his cock like he was your own personal sex toy.

“Yeah~ fuck you feel so good too.”

Knowing that he felt as good as you did had you digging your nails into his chest as you began bouncing up and down his length. Satoru hissed out a curse as his fingers dug into the fat of your hips, squeezing you as you left crescent moon indents in his skin as you rode him harder than he’d ever been ridden before. He felt drunk, head spinning as his eyes roamed over every part of you. From your face twisted with pleasure, your hips rising and falling on his length.

As he admired your beauty, you did the same to him. Watching his pretty ivory skin flush with each bounce on him. How he watched you through the frame of thick lashes. He truly was handsome. Fuck even the sounds he made were intoxicating.

There was a mutual admiration for each other, which seemed to make things all the more intense.

“Nngh!” Satoru clenched his teeth as you bounced madly on him. “Fuck~! Fuck~!”

You could feel his entire length twice inside of you, urging you to keep going. “F-Fuck your throbbing! Satoru!” He growled from underneath you, sitting up, holding a hand against the small of your back. “Hahn! Fuck!” He smirked, nipping at your bottom lip as he slowly began thrusting into you.

“Yeah~ you feel so good, you’re so wet and tight~!”

“N-nngh, yes, yes!”

“I can feel you throbbing, too~ god, you feel so good! So wet baby~ so tight.” He kissed you, stealing your breath away. “Are you gonna cum?”

“Y-Yeah!!”

Satoru grunted, his thrusts becoming messier. “Good~ cum for me, sweetheart~ I wanna cum with you.” He slammed his lips against yours as you rolled faster and harder, grinning your clit against him, chasing that sweet release until you both reached it at the same time. “C-Cumming!” Satoru grunted as he kissed you with a passionate heat.

“Me too!” You screamed as you moaned against his lips. As you came hard, soaking his pelvis with your release, he filled you with hot sticky cum.

As the aftershocks of your orgasm washed over you both, you fell forward, resting on Satoru’s chest as he placed a kiss against your forehead. “Fuuck, you‘re perfect.” Satoru trailed kisses down your temple to your lips.

“That tickles!” you laughed as he kissed you deeply. “Mhmm~”

“You don't seem to mind all that much.”

“Yeah, you're right. I don't.” He groaned, rolling you onto your sides so you were spooning. “Just like you won't mind me waking you up and making the best French Toast in the morning.”

“Ha—yeah, I have a massive sweet tooth, so I’ll probably be all over you tomorrow morning. In more ways than one.”

You turned just enough to kiss him softly, winning a grin. “That sounds like a pretty great morning to me.”

You pressed another chaste kiss against his lips. Gojo was grinning as he snuggled you tighter against him. It was a soft, sweet, intimate moment, once Satoru had longed for all summer. A romance like his friends had found, one he too wanted to last way past the summer months into autumn, winter, and spring. A romance that could last a lifetime.

That night, The Single Dad Club was officially disbanded completely.

Forever Tag List:

@darkstarlight82 @pandoness @nealeart @simp-plague @sugurubabe @chilichopsticks @reap3erslov3 @wil10wthetree

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exhaslo · 2 months ago

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Over-Time Ch17

(CEO!Miguel x Shy/Clumsy!Reader)

Ch1, Ch2, Ch3, Ch4,Ch5, Ch6, Ch7, Ch8, Ch9, Ch10, Ch11, Ch12, Ch13, Ch14, Ch15, Ch16

Warning: MINORS DNI, no smut here but next chapter for sure, sexual thoughts, slow-burn, mentions of sex, bullying, cussing, fluff, touch starved

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Leaning back into your seat, you couldn't help but stare at a small leak on your ceiling. Comparing your place to Miguel's was like night and day. Honestly, it still felt unreal whenever you recalled Miguel's penthouse.

A soft sigh escaped your lips as you returned to your work laptop. You were helping Miguel with his upcoming schedule, but it was proving difficult for you.

Your mind was still focused on Dana. She said that she would be back within the week to hear your answer. Miguel was kind enough to explain everything to you, so you knew what to say, but Dana still scared you.

"And it doesn't help that Miguel wants me to work from home." You said with a small pout.

After Miguel's confession, the man couldn't keep his hands off of you. He was fucking you every chance he got. Hell, the two of you were in the elevator when Miguel decided to pull your pants down and pump you full of his cum.

Rubbing your legs together as you recalled the heated passion, you couldn't help but want Miguel now. It sucked, but this was for the best. Miguel couldn't fuck you senseless if you were home working. He had a business to run.

"Let's see," You muttered as you looked at Miguel's schedule.

Ding

Confused, you raised a brow towards your door bell. You weren't expecting any packages and Miguel was still in a meeting. Making your way to the door, you peeped through the door piece and quietly gasped.

It was Dana.

How did she know where you lived? Quietly stepping away from the door, you turned off the light and took your laptop to your room. You closed your door and went to text Miguel.

'Miguel, I'm so sorry to bother you when you are in a meeting, but somehow Dana is knocking at my door.'

Biting your lower lip, you nervously waited for Miguel's answer.

Almost immediately, Miguel replied back to you.

'I'll be right there.'

You wanted your worry to wash away with his text, but how could it? You were still disturbing Miguel's work and even interrupted his meeting. This was the last thing you wanted. To be a burden to Miguel.

But at the same time, as guilty as you were, you were still extremely happy. Miguel was coming to help you. He was going out of his way to get you out of this predicament.

Hearing another loud knock against your door, you flinched and quietly went to hide in your bathroom. How the hell did Dana even know where you lived? She had no access to any information from Alchemax, and you had only met her a couple of times.

Did she follow you? No, Miguel usually drove you home and made sure to take extra precaution as to where to drop you off. Unless she was intent on her quest to make sure Miguel marries her.

"My goodness. The work you have me doing. Don't you know there is a difference between a fine woman like me-" Your breathing halted. Dana just broke into your apartment?! "And a poor little mouse like yourself."

---------

Miguel was shaking his leg in anger as he waited for the car to arrive at your place. How the hell did Dana know where you lived? The whole reason for you staying home was for you to stay away from that vile snake....and for him to stop fucking you every time he saw you.

Finally arriving, Miguel hurried out of his vehicle before the driver could get out, himself. Luckily, Miguel didn't really care about the meeting he was in and his partner didn't mind. Well, even if he did, Miguel was going to get you either way.

Hurrying up your stairs, Miguel couldn't control his anger. Dana just couldn't let go. She was dead set on getting everything that he worked so hard for. Everything that Miguel earned and wanted.

Reaching your floor, Miguel had the urge to yell for you. He needed to make sure you were okay. Dana was a snake and had her ways of getting what she wanted. If only she could have just left you alone.

"Shit," Miguel hissed as he easily opened your door, "(Y/N)!"

"Shh, don't scare the poor thing." Dana hummed as she sat on your couch.

Miguel snarled lowly towards Dana, eyeing around the room for you. It was almost a scare, since you were cowering beside the couch, almost as if you were hiding.

"Why the hell are you here?" Miguel asked, closing the door behind him.

"Why? I was invi-"

"No, you weren't." Miguel motioned you towards him, to which you did. "Are you alright, mi vida? (my world)."

"Mhpm," You were still shaking.

"I must say, Miguel. You must have fucked her good. She refuses to see the man you really are." Dana chuckled.

Miguel ignored Dana as he continued to check you. His hands stroking each part of your body for any wounds. You had a fearful look in your eyes, pleading for help. Miguel could barely swallow his rage as you hid behind him.

"This is breaking and entering. Why have you decided to cause so much trouble to (Y/N)?"

"I just wanted to chat. I did give her a heads up, yet, for some odd reason she avoided me." Dana said with a small huff as she stood, "By the way she acted, I just know you didn't tell her a thing. A cruel man you are."

"I did tell her. Everything." Miguel spat.

"She tried...to offer me money to break up with you Miguel. I told her no." You stuttered, gripping on his sleeve.

"I'm trying to make this easy for us, Miguel. How do you think the public will react when we get married and your off having an affair with a peasant girl?" Dana said with a heavy sigh, "Stocks would tank and your reputation will be ruined."

"Oh, how very kind of you to care. Last I recalled you said I could do whatever I wanted as long as you get a nice allowance every month. You don't care about me, you care about my money. That's why you played me a fool for so many months, just to get my drunken signature on that contract!" Miguel snapped.

"Oh not this again. Drunk or not, that signature came from your hand. You can't do anything about it now."

"B-But you admit that you purposely got him drunk just to steal his assists that way!" You panicked yelled, tears threatening to spill.

"So? Listen Miguel, I'll allow you to enjoy this little's mouse's company just a bit longer, okay? But, if she gets pregnant, that's breaking the contract you signed."

"That you tricked me into signing." Miguel spat. Dana just rolled her eyes,

"You'll be getting some information about our wedding venue soon, Miguel. And you-" Miguel held you protectively as Dana shot you a glare, "The offer still stands."

Miguel waited for Dana to leave before checking on you again. His hands cupped your cheeks as he kissed your head tenderly.

"Are you alright? Did she do anything to do?" He asked. You finally sobbed, wrapping your arms around his torso,

"I-I was so scared, Miguel. She just stormed in...and...and threaten me and lecture me..."

"I'm so sorry," Miguel whispered, kissing your head repeatedly, "I promise...I will find a way to free myself from that snake."

"I-I know...."

"Come, you're tense and nervous. Let's pack some bags and bring you over to my place, okay?" Miguel offered, picking you up. You just nodded, holding onto him.

"She broke my door...What if my stuff gets stolen?"

"Hm, then I suppose that means we have to take everything, right?"

Miguel gave you a heartwarming smile, wanting to ease your worries. He placed you down on the bed before making a few phone calls. Dana had crossed a line.

-------

You sat on your bed, trying to calm down. Dana had left and Miguel was here helping you, but...That whole ordeal was still frightening. Glancing at your hands, you saw them still shaking. Waning to distract yourself before you packed, you reached for your phone.

"Oh?"

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

Hmmm I think two chapters left?

Next Chapter

@timidquindim @decentsoupperson @ivkygirly @reader-1290 @daddyfroglegs @eepybunny0805 @ddreabea @iamperson12280 @migueloharasoulmate @tojishugetiddies @koko-1025 @hyeinwluv85s @daisy-artfield @migueloharastruelove @a-lil-whore @hcqwxrtss123 @the-pan-liquid @tojisfav @pochapo @bubblegumfanfictions @brighterthanlonelythoughts @ghstypaint @mangoslushcrush @synamonthy @scaleniusrm @moonspectorx @dorck26 @a060403 @lunablackcosplay @soraya-daydreams @lovefanfic1 @mymrsweirdnessshipperstuff-blog @pretty-pink-princesss @corpsebridenightamare @razertail18 @gachagator @droolingmuttt @miguelsfavwife @ryzguy06 @raideaters-blog @manishkaworld @keidilla @byjessicalotufo @pigeonmama @k3ythesapphic @acesangels @stealingyourturts @angel-xx-1 @amberbalcom14 @ofmenanduhhhwellmen @oscarissac2099 @keepghostly @zeyzeys-stuff @k3ythesapphic @nightingale1011 @uncle-eggy @safixiovi @flaps200 @dahehow @weirdothatwritess @gerblinradio @electronicchaoschaos @mafiaanomaly @keyisloved @unwrittenletter @reader4life @leenasgirl200 @oscarissac2099 @mari0-o @cinnamoro1l @leryg0 @hizzielover @resident-clown @girl-of-multi-fandoms @sana-408-blog

#miguel o’hara x reader #miguel spiderverse #miguel o'hara x reader #atsv miguel #miguel o'hara smut #spiderman 2099 #miguel o'hara #miguel spiderman #across the spiderverse #miguel x you #miguel x fem!reader

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kiame-sama · 2 months ago

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Humans Are Extinct (Yandere!TWST x Fem!Reader) pt 8

(My laptop decided to keep working so I took advantage of the moment, here is Ortho. Yes, his left hand is covered because I hate how it turned out and I suck at drawing hands, used his typical pose in the game. I also hyper fixated on this chapter, hence why I got it done so fast. Don't expect me to be so prompt in the future on chapters.)

Warnings; yandere, yandere relationship, yandere temper, yandere behavior, romantic and platonic yanderes, multiple yanderes, monster men, fem reader, use of some Japanese words (nii-san), violence, blood, injury, fire, hysterical strength, magic, use of the title of King, weapon use and conversations, Selkie, Cervitaur, Shinigami, Faun, Satyr, Kelpie, Water Nymph, Magic Mirror, Unicorn,

~~~~~~~~

You sat in your potions class on the unusually high stool, Grim was seated next to you on his own stool and clearly not paying attention. Professor Divus was talking about the basics of potion-making and the importance it held to many in Twisted Wonderland. Honestly, you were just happy it was a class you could actually participate in.

It was as the lecture continued that you noticed something more than a little unusual. You had been sitting at the only empty cauldron since you showed up a little late to class due to having no idea where the class was. Though you asked Silver to show you to your classes- having learned from the prior day that you absolutely could not navigate the school just yet- he still got the lot of you lost in the twisting halls.

Luckily for you, Divus was quick to forgive your late arrival and simply told you to sit wherever there was an open seat. Naturally, you didn't want to sit among the other students that clearly took an interest in you, choosing instead to sit alone with Grim closer to the back of the class. Only, you two weren't alone anymore.

At some point during the lecture being given, someone had quietly moved seats and now sat across from you at the same large cauldron. They were unlike any other student you had met at the school, which certainly said something.

Sitting before you was what appeared to be a youthful boy with blue flaming hair. His skin was a pale white that almost looked grey and his eyes were a bright gold that shined in the gentle light of the potions classroom. He didn't seem to be entirely organic, as the black wings that jutted from his shoulders had exposed metal pieces in a shining white, blue lights between the feathers told you that the wings were almost entirely mechanical. In fact, a lot of this student seemed to be mechanical in some regard.

Covering the bottom half of his face was a full-mouth Oxygen mask that had several tubes running into it, feeding oxygen in and likely removing any carbon dioxide he exhaled. The tubes ran down the sides of his face and towards his back into the mechanical wings where the faint whir of machinery likely pumped breathable air into his mask. You could see that his right arm was fully mechanical and made of that same white metal, the joints covered in a skin-like black material that was clearly built to stretch and move with the arm. Though he didn't seem to be fully mechanical, there were clear augmentations to two of his limbs that indicated a good part of the limbs were added on after the fact. Over his eyes was a screen-like visor that scrolled several things you were unable to read as they scrolled by.

He seemed to be shorter than the others you had seen in the school and he wasn't obviously any of the species you had met prior. You would have assumed he was a Harpy due to the wings and metallic feathers, but feathers weren't present anywhere else on his body and he didn't have the same bird-like behavior Vil had presented you with. If you didn't know any better, you would even begin to believe they were a child-

"Hi. I'm Ortho Shroud. Nice to meet you, (Y/n)."

The voice that came from the unusual creature near you startled you somewhat. Stunned to hear what sounded like a pre-teen boy greet you quietly. He was clearly trying to avoid drawing attention from Divus and you were curious enough about this boy you didn't mind ignoring class for a bit to talk to him.

"Right, Nii-san said Humans like to introduce themselves before you use their names. Sorry, I'm just so excited to meet you. I've always wanted to meet a Human."

You slowly blinked at the student, now fully believing that he was a little boy and most certainly did not fit in among the older students. Maybe you were wrong as you first thought Lilia was younger than the other students as well before you learned he was a father.

"Nice to meet you too, Ortho. Um... Did you just want to say 'hi' or did you need something from me?"

"Need something? Nope. I just wanted to get to know you since Nii-san and I are going to be the ones guarding you next week."

This made a lot more sense now. Every class you had attended, very few students seemed to actually want to talk to you and instead wanted to gawk at you or whisper about you. The few students who did have the courage to talk to you were the few you already knew, but unfortunately Ace and Deuce were not in the same potions class. Naturally this boy had to be a Housewarden or Vice-Housewarden like Malleus and Lilia or someone close to them like Silver and Sebek.

"Okay. I'm not sure if class is the best time to have that talk though."

"Oh, it's fine. I'm very good at multitasking, so I'm listening to you and to class right now. The potion we're making today is super simple, so I can teach you how to make it. It's just a regular sleep potion."

He really wasn't giving you much of a choice but you figured it was because he was genuinely wanting to talk to you. Much like kids tended to do, he was trying to get you to talk to him and interact with him by being a little pushy even though he didn't need to be.

"Sure, let's talk."

This made the boy perk up and almost seem to rock in his seat excitedly. There was a kind of infectious happiness to him that was truly quite endearing despite his unusual appearance.

"Okay, so first off- because you probably can't tell- I'm a Shinigami. I do have several cybernetic parts but they're being upgraded and improved all the time by my Nii-san. He's a Shinigami too, and he won't ever say it, but he is really excited to meet you and won't stop talking about you-"

A sudden error message flashed on the screen visor he wore and he seemed to pout in response to this. The moment he noticed your confused look he returned his attention to you, pointing at his visor with a smile.

"That's just Nii-san. He's getting all embarrassed that I'm telling you these things. He made this for me, you know? This visor, my leg, my arm, and my wings. He's really smart and makes such cool stuff. I was hoping, since you're a Human, maybe you could come to Ignihyde sometime? I'm sure he'd like to hear about you and things where you come from. Maybe we could even play some videogames while we're there? I don't get to play games with others all that often since Idi-nii doesn't have anyone over, but he and I play games together. Maybe we could all play?"

You found yourself agreeing to the boy's request, as odd as it was and wondering just what the boy hoped of you. Clearly he was happy to talk to you and he must have been keen to make friends with you despite knowing so little about you. May as well make nice with those who would be guarding you seeing as you technically didn't get any say regardless in the situation.

~•§•~

Lunch finally rolled around and you were excited to sit with some familiar faces as you made your way into the cafeteria. Ortho had spent the entire morning with you and the two of you talked about almost everything, from what videogames they had in Twisted Wonderland to what species was the most abundant. The morning was generally a great crash-course kind of day to understand just what kind of world you found yourself in.

You were able to ask questions without feeling belittled by the cybernetic boy and he was happy to answer anything you asked him. He even showed you how to use the phone Crowley had gifted you that morning. It was similar to a smartphone from your world, but oddly different and Ortho explained that many devices ran off of magic or had some kind of magic element to them. Your phone was different from others because it didn't require magic to work like most phones did. Apaprently all of Ortho's cybernetic limbs were also a kind of technomancy that incorporated Ortho's own magic to keep running. You were actually vaguely excited to meet his older brother as it was clear he was the exact kind of guy you had been hoping to meet. Thanks to Ortho, you had a list on your phone of all the technology you were accustomed to but didn't have in Twisted Wonderland. Part of you hoped this Idia would be able to make half of the items you requested and if he thought they were useful, maybe he could patent them and use them but just give you the prototypes to keep. That heated blanket seemed even closer now.

Still, it was nice to have a break. Even if Ortho was a cheerful young man- and you learned he was only thirteen years old- it was still exhausting to chat with the social boy all the time. A smile pulled at your lips as you saw Ace and Deuce sitting together, Grim running ahead to dig in the various foods the boys had brought. Looking over their selection, you were glad you made yourself a sandwich that morning.

"Hey, Human."

"Hello again, (Y/n), how were your classes?"

You sat down across from the Goats, watching them shovel food into their mouths much in the way Goats of your world so happily snacked on everything in reach.

"It was alright. I met someone new today and he was happy to tell me a lot of what I just wouldn't know about Twisted Wonderland."

"Who was that?"

"Ortho Shroud. Perky kid, half cyberaugmented half Shinigami, a real treat to talk to."

Ace snorted as if what you said was hillarious, rolling his eyes and chowing down on a cellery stick. You vaguely wondered if the two species- Faun and Satyr- mainly only ate vegtables or if they still ate meat if presented with it. Deuce certainly seemed interested in your sandwich but was not bold enough to ask about it.

It was while you were enjoying your time with the Goats and feeding little pieces of sandwich to Grim that you took note of something. Everyone had some kind of weapon on them at all times. You really hadn't noticed it before because it was just so commonplace but as you looked you noticed there were varying kinds of weapons, but at least one on every student.

"Wait, so why does everyone have a weapon on them? I thought fighting wasn't allowed on school grounds."

You asked the Satyr that was currently stuffing his face as you eyed the varying weapons each student seemed to carry on their person. Some had bows and arrows, like the Drider Rook. Some had swords affixed to their hips, like Sebek and Silver. Some had little daggers, like the cackling Gnoll Ruggie. The only thing that seemed consistent on the many different instruments of war were the large singular jewel attached to the main body of the tools. The jewel seemed to vary among seven colors but all seemed unique to the wielder as well either in shape or location of the jewel.

"Mmph?"

Ace mumbled past his food, trying to answer your question but almost spitting the food at you. You were less worried about the veggie scraps he ate and simply used your hand to shield your sandwich from any potentially spat out food.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Ace."

The sudden voice of Trey had you looking up at the large centaur that smiled patiently at you, only the slightest of glares highlighting his face as he glanced at Ace. Ace quickly tried to swallow down the food, starting to choke as Deuce leaped to his frenemy's rescue with a frim swat between the shoulder blades. Even as Ace panted and tried to take a breath, you simply turned back to the Kelpie who patiently waited for your attention to return to him.

"Since Ace is busy dying right now, Trey, why does everyone have some kind of weapon on them?"

"Those are our Magestone weapons. Magestones are used by the magically talented to channel their magic through and keep track of their blot levels."

"Blot levels?"

"Yes, blot is a byproduct of magic. For every use of magic, blot forms and accumulates in the body. Blot is mostly harmless in small amounts and can be removed through proper rest and nutrition. In high amounts, it can lead to overblotting which turns the affected effectively feral. Though we claim to be evolved beyond our base instincts, we still all have them and are subject to them on a daily basis. Overblot exaggerates those instincts and forces them to become the primary decision makers. A mage that goes feral could easily kill others or themselves. Hence why we use magestones to help avoid blot accumulation."

You were surprised to hear all this, seeing the large claymore hanging from Trey's hip even as he spoke in a relaxed tone to you. It certainly explained the large jewels that each weapon seemed to have, but it didn't really explain the actual weapons.

"Okay, so why not put the magestones on pens or something easier to carry around? Why weapons?"

"Well, you've encountered at least one creature in the woods around campus, right? They are animals that have been corrupted by blot and some are even students or townsfolk who were overcome and unable to break free of their feral instincts. They've since lost themselves to the madness and now stalk their previous homes. Sometimes we need to go into the woods for herbs, or to get to the nearby towns for supplies. Sometimes those beasts come out of the woods seeking an end to their torment. Either way, it is better to have a weapon on you that you can channel magic through than to have nothing to defend yourself with."

"Really? Are those things everywhere?"

"Everywhere life and magic exist. Those beasts are why Humans struggled so much until they befriended several magic using species. Where Humans are assumed to be immune to blot due to being magicless, they are still susceptible to the creatures turned feral by blot. The Unicorns were first to start safeguarding Humans from Ferals in earnest, if I am recalling properly, then the Fae, then the rest of the world mostly followed. Honestly, you Humans impress me to even be able to survive without magic and all those Ferals running around."

You almost ducked your head in embarrassment at the warm tone Trey used when talking about Humans. Though it was somewhat patronizing, you still figured that the Kelpie meant it affectionately as he seemed to be more knowledgeable when it came to Humans. Most others didn't seem to have the same interest in the history and just took an interest in you, so it was nice to hear about what exactly Humans of Twisted Wonderland were like.

"Can a Feral be brought back to their senses? Like, if someone here became Feral from overblot, could they be brought back or is it like Rabies and they just have to be put down?"

"I'm not certain what these 'Rabies' are, but yes, if caught in time and incapacitated- or forced to rest- someone can recover from turning Feral. If they are Feral for too long they are consumed by their blot and become living nightmares. Just because others can recover doesn't mean turning Feral doesn't leave any marks. Much of the time it is a rather destructive event and usually the best way to tell how far gone someone is, is by their appearance. The more beastly they look, the harder it will be to get them back. Even if they do return from being Feral, they will have lasting scars."

"Okay..."

"Did you have anymore questions about it?"

"Nope. That makes sense... I mean, some things I don't really get because I don't really know how magic works here, but it makes enough sense for now."

"Glad to be of assistance. I actually came over here to invite you to today's unbirthday party. We often get together and have our own celebration on a day none of the Heartslabuyl students have a birthday. Riddle made it very clear he would like you to attend today's party."

"Can I bring Cater?"

Trey slightly grimaced at this, remembering how angry Riddle had been as he quite literally threw the Water Nymph out of the dorms. Though it would be best to leave Cater out of any Unbirthday parties in the near future, even Trey missed his fellow water creature. It wasn't quite the same to swim the lake without the loud redhead riding along his back or pulling his tail fins.

"... I wouldn't suggest it, but I would rather Cater be allowed back in Heartslabuyl. Maybe Riddle will listen to you if you ask him."

"Okay, I'll bring Cater with me to Heartslabuyl today for the unbrithday party. He can show me how to get there."

"We will see you there, (Y/n). Not to worry, Ace and Deuce will be in attendance as well."

~•§•~

"You sure Trey said it was a good idea? Riddle was steaming mad yesterday and I don't think he'll be too quick to forgive me.."

"He said it was fine and that Riddle would probably listen to me if I asked him to let you back in Heartslabuyl."

"I guess. Looks like they got only some of the roses painted, in any case."

You glanced at the collared Water Nymph curiously, wondering why he would comment something so odd. Maybe it was just a common practice in Twisted Wonderland to actually paint roses. Cater smiled at you as he noticed your queer expression, continuing to walk with you to what he called the Hall of Mirrors. Grim had gone ahead with Ace and Deuce after classes ended, but you made sure to double back to Ramshackle for Cater.

"It's a rule the Queen of Hearts made. She's one of The Great Seven and is who the Heartslabuyl dorm is modled after."

"Who are The Great Seven?"

"Well... That's more a question for Trein and not me, but the Queen of Hearts was a magicless Unicorn that ruled the Queendom of Roses. She came up with all sorts of rules that still don't really make sense to me but Riddle follows them as closely as he follows the Law. Apaprently she was big into Humans because she had over fifty rules related to Humans and how to take care of them."

You hummed at this, noticing you entered what looked like the room you first woke up in with all the floating coffins. The coffins were up near the ceiling now which left seven mirrors surrounding the main central mirror. Naturally Cater instinctively turned straight to the Heartslabuyl mirror but you were more curious about the large mirror sitting in the center of the room. Something about it compelled you to approach, wondering what made this mirror different from the others.

Immediately you noticed that you couldn't see your reflection in the mirror and instead only a dark world greeted you. As you stopped to stand in front of it a sudden green flame was reflected in the mirror, making you take a few steps back in surprise at the sudden movement. From the flames emerged a face that looked like a mask, eyeless and wearing an expression of seriousness as it revealed itself to you.

"Woah! The mirror never does that for anyone except the Headmage! Look at you being all special, (Y/n)."

You remembered trying to argue with the mirror when it said you could not return to your home, ignoring your questions and refusing to answer you after that first request. Now it seemed the mirror was ready to talk and maybe you could get some answers from it.

"What questions do you approach me with now? Even if return to your home was possible, I could not tell you how. I do not hold the answers you seek, but should you still wish to question me, I will speak."

"Why are you talking to me now, but refused to talk to me before?"

"I know much, but not everything and it is rare a question is asked that I cannot answer in a way that is correct. Yet, many a year has passed since a Human has spoken to me and I am obliged to answer thy questions. I could attempt to spin a favorable answer to the unkown, but you don't want those answers, I suspect. The path you walk now is one that is true, it needs not any corrections."

"Have you spoken with Humans in the past?"

"In an event that is now lost to time, a little Human spoke with me and she was charmed by the way I rhyme."

"Fair enough. Mirror, I don't have any magic, do I?"

"You already know the answer yet insist to hear it from another voice. There is no magic within you and it is not a matter of opinion or choice."

You nodded, looking at the frowning face in the green flames for a moment longer. There were plenty of things you could still ask but something told you it was best to leave the miror alone for the time being. If you thought of actual questions to ask and not the nonsensical questions you wanted to ask, you could always talk to the mirror again.

"Thank you for talking to me. I was worried you might hate me."

"I could never hate a Human for in all my years, a Human has never been hateful to me. In my vast knowledge and memory, all I feel is happy when it is a Human I get to see. Were it possible, I would be of greater use to you. Untill we speak once more, adieu."

You somewhat smiled, stepping away from the mirror and back to Cater who was still staring. The face was gone now and you wondered if it had only shown up to talk to you, disappearing once the conversation was over.

"Huh. Guess there is a lot more to you than meets the eye. Anyways, we're gonna be late to the unbirthday party if we don't go soon."

"Right, so how do we do this?"

"You've already used Diasomnia's mirror, so it should be the same when you use Heartslabuyl's mirror. Just... Don't be too surprised if you hear Riddle yelling. He will probably be driving himself mad trying to make everything perfect. He always does."

You both approached the mirror labeled for Heartslabuyl, walking into the shiny surface that seemed to ripple in response. When your vision cleared you were interested to see a large dorm building made of red and white brick. Surrounding it on all sides were rose bushes that seemed to have several red roses sitting proudly on the surface. The playing card motif was apparent in the presence of the suits all somewhere tucked into the architecture of the buildings but it was clear Hearts were preferred due the shape of the rosebushes and most arches were some kind of heart.

It was during your admiration of the rather lovely garden that a familiar voice called out a greeting. The greeting made Cater quickly move to hide behind you again, as if he intended to use you as a shield. Trotting over to greet you was both Riddle and Trey. They looked rather different from their school uniforms and instead seemed to be wearing a similar style clothing to what you would expect from the aesthetics of the dorm. Sitting atop Riddle's head near his golden horn was a golden crown that must have relied on some kind of magic to keep it affixed as it sat crooked on his tresses.

"(Y/n), I'm thrilled you could be in attendance for today's party. Your seat of honor is ready in accordance with the Queen's rules and-"

Riddle's pleasant smile immediately fell as he took note of the Nymph hiding behind you, his once bright mood now soured by the uninvited presence.

"What are you doing back here, Cater? Did I not make myself clear that you were never to set foot here again? And you are with (Y/n), no less! If you were not already collared I would-"

"Riddle?"

The Unicorn's voice caught in his throat as you directly said his name. You hadn't actually called him by name to his face before and something about the sweet tone you had rendered the Unicorn near mute. He was quick to try and respond to you, his voice somewhat cracking from stress as if he were talking to you for the first time despite having spoken with you before.

"Ye-yes?"

"I know you're mad with Cater, but I am asking you to let him back in Heartslabuyl. Sure, he messed up. He's flawed. But hey, who can truly say they aren't?"

"But, because of him-"

"I now need to be guarded and protected so I am not poached by others who would rather see me dead. Yeah, I'm mad about it too. I would like to be able to just be in my dorm and not have to be protected just to live. But if Cater didn't do it, someone else would have. Does that mean I completely forgive him? Absolutely not. Still, to force him out of his home and away from his friends, surely even you can see how cruel that is."

"I-" Riddle looked back at Cater and then back at you, struggling to find the words before he let out a long sigh, "fine. He is going to stay collared until he truly grasps the consequences of his actions, but he is no longer banned from Heartslabyul. Cater, I hope you thank (Y/n) for sticking up for you, especially because you don't deserve it."

"I thanked her a bunch when she let me stay in Ramschackle and cooked some dinner and even breakfast for me-"

"Just say 'Yes, Housewarden Riddle' and hurry along. There are still roses to paint red and without your magic you'll have to work quickly to get them all done."

Cater quickly shut his mouth, running off to do as he had been told by the lovely Unicorn whose smile quickly returned as the Nymph left view. It was odd to you to see how quickly the Unicorn's temper shifted, but you considered yourself lucky that you had managed to talk him into letting Cater come back. One less mouth in Ramshackle to feed and one less person to wake you up before the crack of dawn wanting breakfast.

"Now that unpleasantness is out of the way, shall we?"

He extended an arm out to you, smiling when you reached out and let him lead you to the gardens. It seemed to be almost fully decorated for a party as the rather long table was set for everyone with many different pastries. You were stunned to see the baked goods strewn across the table and Trey chuckled upon seeing your surprised expression.

"The Queendom of Roses is known for many Human foods and have carried on the traditional meals the Queen of Hearts loved. Baked goods are very popular and my family even owns a bakery."

"Do you cook much beyond baking?"

"I'm afraid I'm not that good, but I'd love to learn if you're willing to teach me."

"We can make it an exchange. Teach me how to make some of your pastries and I'll teach you how to cook some meals."

"It's a deal."

Riddle almost seemed irritated at how you were chatting with Trey, but he was content he got to keep you close as you admired the decorated garden. The unpainted roses near the front were just another frustration for Riddle, but at least the garden where the party was being held looked alright. He certainly put his freshmen to work given Cater was usually the one to paint the roses given his Unique Magic.

"Here, let me show you to your seat. I will warn you, there is a mouse asleep in the tea pot and she is not supposed to be woken up, so if you would like some tea, ask me and I will get you some."

"A mouse?"

"Yes, and if she wakes up we need to put jelly on her nose. She has been fussy recently, so it may prove to be difficut."

"Alright," you chuckled softly, "I will make sure not to wake her. Where do all these rules come from?"

"I forget you're not from here sometimes. The Queen of Hearts made many rules and as the dorm modeled after her, it is our duty to uphold her rules. Such as the rule of leaving a seat at the head of the table for a Human. Even after they went extinct, it is still a rule I upheld for every unbirthday party. Now, that seat is yours."

He led you to the head of the table and even pulled the chair on the left side out for you, almost seeming excited at the prospect of your attendance at the party. As you sat down he pranced around to the other side, smiling as he took his place at the head of the table. You could see not too far from you, Ace was holding a fussing Grim while Deuce attempted to feed the semi-stressed cat-beast a piece of tart.

"Now we can get the party underway."

"Thank you for inviting me, Riddle, it's nice to enjoy food I don't have to make."

"Such a shame. I understand there is a need for food being cooked before you can eat it safely, just another rule others can't seem to follow. That's why you will be staying in Heartslabuyl from now on. That way you can enjoy all our unbirthday parties and be kept safe with me."

"But," you started, feeling rather confused by the Unicorn's declaration, "the Headmage and Ortho both said Ignihyde will be guarding me next-"

"They can't take care of you the way you need to be!"

Riddle's sudden outburst made everyone go quiet, staring at the Unicorn in unease as it was clear his temper was rising. He didn't seem to realize the others were looking now as he stomped one hoof, angrily crossing his arms almost like a pouting child. It was odd to see the Unicorn behave in such a way, as Trey had even told you Riddle was almost twice his age.

"Riddle-"

"Enough! You will be staying here where you can be treated properly in accordance to the Queen's rules, end of discussion. If I have to take your head to make you see how much safer you are here, I will."

The direct threat was an unexpected one but it made Trey realize just how close the Unicorn was to snapping. He was already on edge due to Cater being brought back into the fold without his permission so the light pushback from the treasured Human was just pressing his temper further.

"Riddle, enough. You can't force her to stay-"

"Even you, Trey? Are all of you against me now? It doesn't matter, I will protect this one human, with or without your help."

"Riddle, you've gone too far now. You need to stop or be stopped-"

"SHUT YOUR TRAITOROUS MOUTH! NONE OF YOU UNDERSTAND ONLY I CAN DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO PROTECT MY KING OF HEARTS!"

A sudden burst of magic from Riddle kicked up what almost looked like smoke that quickly coated the entire garden. You struggled to see through the haze as you covered your mouth to not breathe in the dark cloud.

As the dust settled and you could finally look up again, seeing a beast standing before you.

His eyes were no longer the lovely pale blue they had been, now overtaken by red rage. His white fur was coated in what seemed to be ink that flowed down from his face and up from his once-golden hooves. The gold upon his body had all turned a corrupted inky black and his very face seemed to have been torn at the corners of his mouth to accommodate the fangs that now gleamed and jutted past his lips.

Fire began to lick around the garden, sweeping up the rose bushes and crackling dangerously as ash slowly coated the ground. Everything seemed to change in the blink of an eye as the vicious creature stood before you, blinded by anger and fueled by hate. Perched against his shoulder was a large two-handed axe that looked as if someone took a metal heart and pieced through the handle to make a viciously sharp instrument.

"What's happening?"

You called out to the other students as you tried to go to their aid only to be forced back into your chair, vines sprouting up to grab your arms and hold you to the seat. The vines were far too tight and far too sturdy for you to do much else besides try and struggle against them. They did not yield to your desperate attempts at freedom.

"He's overblotted and gone feral! All Heartslabuyl students, get back to safety-"

"OFF WITH YOUR HEADS!"

A sudden burst of magic from the Unicorn left several students clutching at their necks, the large metal collars securing themselves and remaining unmoving despite their struggles. If that wasn't bad enough already, Riddle began to charge, axe raised above his head as if he intended to cleave the others in half. His target was obvious as Trey tried to quickly pull the vines off of you and free you from the chair.

"GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF OF MY KING!"

Trey had no choice but to abandon his endeavor and retreat as Riddle's axe narrowly missed the flank of the Kelpie. The table that had been in front of you suffered the brunt force of the Unicorn's crushing hooves and the sharp side of the axe, splitting in half from the force. Your vine restraints only tightened as the chair you had been sitting on dragged you towards the now panting and raging Unicorn.

Trey, Ace, Deuce, and Cater drew their weapons, the magestones on the handles and grips of the instruments gleaming in anticipation. The resident Queen of Hearts had gone feral with rage and would die if he wasn't returned to his senses soon. Not only that, but the last Human in Twisted Wonderland was being held prisoner by the enraged and rampaging Unicorn. They had little choice but to fight back.

Even little Grim, who was clearly frightened of Riddle stood on guard, ready to do what he could to save you and maybe even the Unicorn from what he had become.

You refused to be little more than a damsel to be rescued, pulling and staining against your binds even as they likely bruised your soft flesh. Trey wielded a large claymore that held his magestone in the pommel and clashed with the Unicorn, magic sparking around them. Even though Cater has been collared, he still attempted to use his spear to draw the Unicorn's attention, trying to give his dormmate an opening against the Unicorn.

It quickly became clear to you that their weapons just weren't doing anything against the Unicorn and couldn't even cut his hide as he used the broad side of the axe to shove the two students he had called his friends. You momentarily thought that maybe Riddle didn't want to hurt them as he used the sides of his weapon to push them, but that notion quickly disappeared when he tried to cleave the Kelpie in two. Each slice of the axe was blocked by the claymore as the two continued their dance in battle, almost matching one another step for step.

A dance of monsters as both fought the other fiercely.

It wasn't until Riddle managed to catch Trey's side as the Kelpie reared, throwing the larger centaur back and into the dark waters of the lake. The Kelpie did not resurface immediately as a deep red spread from where he hit the water. Riddle almost seemed to be proud of this feat as he turned away from the lake, leaving Cater to dive in after his friend. Instead, Riddle turned his gaze towards Grim and the Goats.

It took less than a sweeping smack from the axe to send both Goat men sprawling to the ground. Despite Ace's best efforts, the Unicorn kicked away his Xiphos and rendered the Satyr unable to retaliate. Deuce grabbed Ace, pulling him back before the inky hooves of the Unicorn could dig into the latter's skull. As they both moved into the bushes to escape Riddle's wrath, it left little Grim exposed and at the mercy of the Unicorn.

You looked down at your binds and tried even more desperately to free yourself of them, terrified the Unicorn would kill your sweet little friend.

"You," his voice was dripped in venom as he spoke, the headsman's axe resting against the Unicorn's shoulder, "you are the worst of them all."

You looked up to see Riddle was standing over an all too familiar shaking and terrified figure, the gray fur was ruffled and standing out even as the soft creature tried to ball himself up. Grim was horrified and didn't realize that these fancy students could be taken over by feral instincts the way the beasts of the woods could be.

"You cuddle in her arms and turn her against me with your vile words! Acting as if you have any right to her, to call her 'your Hooman' and insult my King of Hearts so callously. You will be first to truly lose your head for this!"

As the axe raised and the Unicorn reared back, you found yourself freed. It didn't really matter to you if you freed yourself or if you had been freed, all that mattered was getting to Grim. Things both moved too fast and too slow for your brain to take genuine note of the things around you as your legs pushed you forward to your goal. The axe began to fall and your mind went blank with white hot rage.

"GRIM!"

Stunned silence fell over the winding garden as the frightened and confused students stared upon the horrific scene. Your arm hung limply at your side, blood slowly dripping down the soft skin and marring the grass with a deep crimson. No one could speak as they stared at the beast made flesh.

The beast before you had been thrown back from simple and pure hysteria fueled rage. Even as he struggled to get back up, you could see he had the wind knocked out of him from the force and strength of your blow. Struggling to breathe and winded from your rage, he almost seemed angry before he truly looked at what stood before him. Even as he struggled to stand, his eyes filled with a mixture of sorrow, regret, and confusion. No magic had touched him.

You felt nothing but slowly fading rage as you stared at the rampaging Unicorn that had so happily tried to cut down your closest friend since you woke up in his nightmare realm. Even as the axe sliced into your non-dominant forearm and pressed against bone, you refused to look away from the now shocked inky abomination. The fangs riddling the maw of this monster parted and that same distorted voice spoke, now laced with pain.

"You weren't supposed to- I didn't mean to..!"

Held in your dominant hand was the soft and still shaking body of your confidant and companion as he confusedly wondered if he had died. His bright blue eyes daring to peak up towards his savior but fear still gripped his heart. Holding him so securely was the Human he loved being around and joking with, but the expression she now wore was one of unbridled fury even with the large axe embedded in her soft flesh.

You slowly fell to your knees in the grass, arms covered in bruises from your previous bindings and eyes filled with firey hate. No one even saw you move, let alone make it across the garden to where you were now. They had all been so focused on Riddle that they were caught off guard by the sudden display of strength from who they assumed to be the weakest among them.

Humans were weak, fragile, and above all else in need of protection, right? So why did they all feel so genuinely afraid at that moment?

"Why did you-?"

Taking advantage of Riddle's momentary return of consciousness, Trey was quick to launch an attack at the distraught Unicorn from the lake he pulled himself out of. It hit him square between the eyes causing a cascading reaction of golden magic to erupt from the Unicorn's horn. The light was near blinding but you ducked down, using your non-mangled arm and body to shield your little friend.

Your world went dark.

#kiame-sama #yandere #x reader #yandere x reader #reader insert #tw yandere #yandere twst #twst monster au #Humans Are Extinct TWST AU

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noiriarti · 4 months ago

Text

Just Practice: Anakin Skywalker x Reader (Modern Best Friends AU) Ch. 1

Summary: Anakin is your best friend, the one person you can't survive without, and you're about to go to different colleges. You bring up your worries about your inexperience and he offers to help.

NSFW!!!!!!!

[Ch. 1], Ch. 2, Ch. 3, Ch. 4, Bonus Chapter

Chapter 1: Kissing Practice

The August air was humid and thick, even though the sun had already set, and you could feel the sweat dripping down from your bike helmet to your forehead. You'd bet anything that the mosquitoes were out in full force, but you were speeding too fast on your bike to get caught by one of them. The hot wind whipped your face as you went downhill on the road toward your house, but you felt another breeze beside you. Your best friend, Anakin. He's a competitive little shit, has been since you were kids. Luckily, you're pretty competitive too. You pedaled faster, faster, faster, faster, jolting over the bumps where potholes were asphalted over and cracks in the road had worn deeper into the road. There's no sidewalk out here, just tall grass on either side of you.

Anakin let out an evil chuckle as he passed you, just barely, and you rolled your eyes and doubled down. He's gained on you, more than a little, and you thought you might just lose your bet. You looked to your right, trying to find a way to get just a little bit of an edge. When you turn right in a quarter of a mile, onto your street, you might gain just a half second on him. It could be enough to win. But as you looked at the street ahead of you, something caught your eye in the grass. Something moving.

You slammed down on the brakes, digging your worn sneakers into the ground as you skidded to a stop. You were planning to buy new ones next week, anyway. Anakin shot past you, racing ahead with a whoop of joy. He turned around to stick out his tongue at you, but saw you had stopped and were no longer focused on the road at all. He circled back to you, still panting from the race, and climbed off his bike to face you.

"What's up?" He turned to look at you, concerned and curious, but you were focused on something else entirely. In the tall grass, as the sun had set, fireflies had begun darting in between the stalks, peeking out slivers of their light. You hadn't realized how dark it had gotten on your way back from the gas station, but the stars were already out. It was a beautiful night, and you wished you could capture it, bottle it up and keep it on your shelf. A little slice of home, the last one you would have for a while. You vaguely registered that Anakin was saying something as you stared out at the fireflies, but you were just thinking about how you probably wouldn't see the stars like this, or fireflies at all, for a good while yet. The thought made your heart ache.

"Helloooo?" he singsonged, "Anyone there?" He waved a hand in front of your face, and you snapped out of it. You looked up at him, and he smiled that lopsided smile you knew like the back of your hand.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. Just thinking," you replied somewhat absently.

"Well, let's get home, Socrates. These slurpees aren't getting any colder," he said, shaking the cup in his hand (Mountain Dew Freeze, his favorite) to make his point.

"Fine, fine," you conceded, smirking. You saw your opportunity and got back on your bike. "Last one there has to do the dishes!" You put your foot on your pedal and pushed, getting your momentum started. He called out after you in protest as he scrambled onto his bike and tried to catch up, but it was too late. A quarter of a mile later, when you pulled into your street, and then turned onto your driveway, he was just a second behind you.

"No fair!! You cheater!" He yelled as you unclipped your helmet and did a little victory dance. You both dropped your bikes in the grass next to the driveway with a slightly concerning thump, then headed up the stairs to the front door. You opened the screen door with a creak--you should remind your parents to oil that hinge, you thought--then unlocked the front door.

The AC hit your damp and sweaty faces with a delightful cool breeze, and you sighed in joy. Cold. Cold. Nice. Ani had always hated the heat, as did you. You were both winter kids, and your favorite activity was sledding. You'd been best friends since winter of third grade, when he and his mom had moved from Texas to your small Minnesota town, into the house right next door. Your moms became fast friends from the moment they were introduced, and Shmi's job as the school nurse meant she could drop you off and pick you up. Initially, you weren't sure what to think of him. He was a tiny little guy, way shorter than you, with freckles exploding all over his face. But then he smiled that lopsided grin of his which made his eyes crinkle, told you his name was Ani, and asked if there were any good hills around for sledding. Later, on the way back from school, he asked in a tiny voice if you'd go with him. Who were you to say no?

Your whole friendship was built with snow crusted on the tops of your boots and melted into your mittens. At the end of January in sixth grade, you had both spent the winter building up a pile of snow and digging out the inside to make a snow clubhouse (read: cave). The cold air burned the inside of your throats as you panted after the manual labor of digging for hours, but it was finally done. Once you had crawled through the entrance and sat on the hard snow, enveloped by the packed ice all around you, he looked you straight in your eyes and told you "our future house should be made of snow". Like he didn't change your life with that one little word. Our.

But you were just friends. Your heart would flutter sometimes, but it was all ignorable until tenth grade. After your birthday dinner with your family (which included Shmi and Ani, obviously), he slipped you a little box. When you opened it, the most silver necklace with a snowflake pendant winked out at you. Shmi told you later that it wasn't just silver, it was white gold, and incredibly expensive. That he had been saving up for a whole year to buy it for you. His gentle hands clasped it into place behind your neck, and you shivered when he put them on your shoulders. There, he said, perfect.

It wasn't so easy to ignore after that, but you managed. Through the summers working together at the park, the semesters in the same classes, and the afternoons playing games and doing homework, you got profoundly skilled at crushing your feelings deep, deep down.

And then Padme came along. And the idea of someone else seeing Ani's baby photos, or being loved by his mom, or kissing him absolutely killed you. Because you were friends. But that was all over now. It was just the two of you, as normal.

Now, you were both about to leave town, at least until Thanksgiving. One last family dinner, he said when he suggested it. When you both walked into your house, Shmi called out that dinner was on the table in two minutes, so you sucked up the rest of your slurpees so quickly your stomach got queasy.

The finality of it all almost escaped you. The little glances your parents cast to one another. Anakin's favorite mashed potatoes. Cake for dessert. The details were all whispering This is the end. Enjoy it while you can. Ani could tell something was off, too, and you kept shooting glances at one another. He tried to make you smile by bumping his legs into yours with a grin, like he did when you were little, but it didn't help. Once dinner was done, the adults went to have coffee in the living room, leaving Anakin to do the dishes. You dashed up to your room as soon as you could, trying to hold onto what little time you had left.

Half an hour later, the lamp by your bed cast a warm glow over the room, and you could hear the crickets through the window. You were laying on bed reading a book--some YA novel where you weren't really processing what was happening. Apocalypse? Love triangle?--when Ani finished the dishes and burst in. He didn't knock, of course. There wasn't any energy left in you to complain. You knew you'd miss him bursting into your room unannounced next week, and the week after that, and the week after. Would that longing ever fade?

"Well, I finished the dishes. You cheater," he joked as he sat down on the bed next to you. You sat up, your body complaining from your race earlier, and stuck your tongue out at him. You didn't have it in you to say more. The two of you sat in silence, his face turning slightly more concerned as he watched you stare off into space.

"You good? You've been off all night," he commented, bumping his shoulder against yours. You threw him a half-hearted smile as you fumbled with your snowflake pendant.

"Fine, yeah. Just... Tomorrow is a lot." You didn't want to tell him the truth, that you couldn't imagine your life without him in it, and that moving somewhere completely different would shatter your heart, so you didn't.

Anakin finally cracked a smile, and you wondered when the last time you had seen him not smile was. That lopsided grin practically never left his face, and it was infectious to see. "So you're scared, huh?"

Always teasing you. But there was an undercurrent of sincerity there, buried deep. When you were younger, you had worried about if he'd still be your friend when others came around, and maybe he'd like them more than he liked you, but he stayed loyal to you. Even when Tommy Masterson in seventh grade said you were probably a bedwetter, Anakin not-so-subtly started a rumor that Tommy peed himself when he got too excited. (Granted, that rumor only gained traction because Anakin had splashed the kid's pants with apple juice after gym. And punched him. But you didn't hear about that until last year.)

"Yeah, I guess. Everything will be different and, well--making friends isn't super easy. I mean, real friends. Like you," you said. Anakin responded with just a thoughtful hmm, while his eyes, usually clear blue, were dark and stormy in the lamplight. His smile had faded just a bit, and he was looking downward. For a second, you thought he was looking at your lips with that intense look, but you shook the thought away. Friends.

"I just, I don't know. I'm also worried about, well, oh fuck this is awkward to say out loud, dating, I guess?" You hadn't confessed that to anyone else. Anakin was silent, still boring into you with that look in his eye. The words came out like a river, filling in every gap of the silence between you. You kept messing with the snowflake pendant, like you always did when you were nervous. "I wish I had dated someone in high school. I haven't even kissed anyone, other than Alex in fucking freshman year during spin the bottle, so it wasn't even real, and I only went on a date with that one guy last year but we didn't even hold hands--what kind of cute college guy will want someone who hasn't even gotten to second base or hasn't actually kissed someone for real? I'm still a virgin. Am I just--" Anakin cut off your rambling with a soft "hey," and you expected him to say something else, but he just sat, silent.

"Sorry," you said, awkwardly. God, that was so cringe of you. You hated hearing about it when Anakin told you about his first kiss, and the first time he had gone a bit further with his girlfriend in sophomore year. Padme was so nice and cool and great, but you couldn't shake the unease in the pit of your stomach when you saw them holding hands. Or kissing. Or cuddling on the couch at a party. It was just being protective. That's what best friends do. Right? The other option was unthinkable.

"I could help," he said simply, like it wasn't anything serious. The words sat between you, the air heavy with his implication. Hope nestled in your chest, but you pushed it away. He probably meant he could set you up with one of the guys on the soccer team. He did claim that Isaiah had a crush on you, but the kid ate his own boogers until high school. Gross.

"I'm not going to date Isaiah. Or Kevin," you added. Kevin was even worse. You expected Anakin to laugh, dismiss the whole idea, but he kept that intense look in his eyes.

"What? Those losers? Nah... No, I mean, I could help you. We could... practice," he let out a tiny laugh, and your face fell, so he rushed to add, "Sorry. It's just. Feels funny to say. But I'm serious. We could. If you wanted." The breath left your chest. This isn't happening. It can't be. Then why were you deliriously happy? Why did you want nothing more than to lean over and kiss him? You searched his face for some tell that this was all some bit that he'd tease you for. Some joke that he took too far. But all you found was sincerity and earnestness. He wanted this. He was literally offering it. His suggestion sat between you, curling into your stomach and sending it churning and fluttering. Was he actually giving you butterflies? But if you kissed him, you'd ruin everything you had for years. You were going to say no. No. No.

But why did that answer break your heart?

Shit. You had taken too long. You could see him crawling back into his shell, about to make some joke about how you had cooties or something, when you blurted out your answer.

"Yes. I mean--sure. I need the practice, right?" You cringed. Real smooth. His eyes widened, and he smiled--a genuine smile, no teasing in it, just affection. You could still sense that intensity rolling off him like waves.

"Okay," he said. This time, there wasn't any hiding the way his gaze flitted down to your lips. Anakin scooched closer to you with an awkward "um" as he tried to figure out how to navigate kissing his best friend. He suddenly wished there was a handbook, or a guide to tell him how to make this not awkward even though he wanted it so badly.

When his hand, still soft and warm from washing the dishes, his fingers wrinkled from the water, came up to touch your cheek, you had to suppress a surprised jump. Oh, God. This was real. His face was coming closer. This was happening. Holy fuck holy fuck holyfuckholyfuckholyfuckholyfuck

Then his lips met yours and your brain imploded. This was Anakin and you. You and Anakin. And holy fuck it felt so good. The rhythm of kissing was new to you--before, you'd only pecked Alex, and that was once, in front of half the graduating class. This was completely different. And terrifying. Anakin's mouth moved against you, and you gradually tried to mimic his movements. You felt his lips part just a bit wider, and, in your enthusiasm, you bumped your teeth together. Hard. Anakin grunted in pain, and, then, suddenly, he pulled away. Fuck. Was this it? Was that all you would get?

"OhmyGodareyouokay?" You blurted, your hands shooting up to cup his cheeks. He laughed heartily, his eyes twinkling.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Looks like you needed the practice, though," he said as he cackled. Heat rushed into your cheeks, and you were sure you were as red as a tomato. You smacked his shoulder a few times, and then a few more times for good measure.

"Asshole!" He was still smirking, but he was leaning back in. You hadn't scared him off, and you thanked every god you could think of. Soon, his lips were back on yours, and your heart rate went back into the triple digits. This time, his hand came up to the small of your back, pulling you in closer, so that your thighs were pressed up against each other.

As he kissed you again, you swore you grew ten times as many nerve endings in your lips. The kisses started out slow and soft, like they were the first time, but soon they grew hungry. Soon, you felt his tongue poke out and tease your lip, which produced an embarrassing whimper from you. He'd probably make fun of you later, and you couldn't care less. His free hand grabbed your legs by the knee and hoisted them up over his, so that you were nearly in his lap. The way your lips felt against each other was nothing short of sinful. If this is what kissing everyone felt like, you had been seriously missing out. However, you got the sense that this was something special. Guilt creeped into your thoughts. This was different for you than it was for him. Though you'd been denying it, you reasoned you probably had feelings for him. (You were actually utterly head-over-heels for him, but that wasn't something you were prepared to admit yet). Either way, you felt for a second like you were taking advantage of the situation. But he had offered, so you kissed him even harder to make the thoughts go away. God, his mouth felt good.

The kisses that had been hungry before were ravenous at this point, sloppy and drunk on each other. His warm, strong hand on your legs pulled you even closer, so that you were completely sitting on him, but the angle was a bit weird. You pulled away, just for a second, and he sloppily trailed kisses down your jaw and neck. You moaned loudly, not able to hide your response to the feeling of his tongue on your neck, teasing you in little circles in between kisses. You hitched one of your legs over him and straddled him. If he was going to escalate, so were you.

Now that you were on his lap, you had to lean down to kiss him, holding his face in your hands. His smooth cheek was feverish under your touch, and he was kissing you even more desperately than he was before, if that was even possible. You felt something on your thigh and--oh.

Oh. He was hard. Fuck, that was something else. You felt yourself getting even wetter, begging for some sort of touch. Fuck it. You took the risk, and you lowered your clothed pussy onto him. He wasn't just hard, he was rock hard. And big. When he felt your weight on him, he groaned into your mouth, not daring to break the kiss. You pulled away, just to make sure you weren't crossing some sort of poorly defined line. As if you guys had laid this out in detail beforehand.

"Is this okay?" You half-whispered, half-panted into his mouth. He mumbled a series of 'yes's and nodded fervently, going straight back to kissing you with his hands on your hips. Tentatively, you rolled your hips against him, and he grunted as he kept kissing you. The friction was perfect, finally giving you some relief. He was driving you absolutely insane. You kept grinding your hips, chasing the feeling. You ran your fingers through his hair and tugged gently, and his hips twitched up to you. You could feel his hands helping you grind into him, and soon enough he was thrusting up in time with you. The sounds flowed out of you freely now, little whimpers and gasps that matched his groans.

Then someone was knocking at the door, and you ripped yourself away from him. It was Shmi.

"Ani? We should go home now, still a lot of packing to do!" He looked up at you with wide eyes, caught red-handed. Anakin was panting, heavily, barely capable of putting together a sentence.

"Coming!" He called back, though his voice faltered. As you both looked at each other, his boyish grin reappeared, and you both burst out laughing. What the fuck just happened? He helped you get off him and sit back down on your bed. His tall, lean frame leaned over you, putting your foreheads together as your laughter trailed off.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said in a low voice, before kissing you one more time. This kiss was different. There wasn't urgency, or horniness, just a gentle sweetness to it. It was more painful than all your other kisses combined. You nodded, not able to say a single word, as he left the room.

You could hear him going down the stairs, and greeting your parents. You just sat there, frozen, like your world hadn't just changed in the last half hour. And the funny part? You weren't even thinking about moving away anymore.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

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gguk-n · 2 months ago

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Chapter 5- Epilogue

Accelerating Emotions (Oscar Piastri x Reader)

Series Masterlist

Summary- Y/N and Oscar are just happy being together. They enjoyed the time they got to spend together.

Over all just fluff.

Y/N and Oscar enjoyed the time between the end of the previous season and the start of the next. Both of them would follow each other around like lost puppies through out the day. Just as the holidays were coming to an end for Y/N, Oscar too had to leave for pre-season training, reluctantly. They would call each other and sometimes Y/N would send him packages and Oscar would send her packages and then the two of them would open them up on video calls.

Oscar really wanted her to come to the first race of the season, which was not possible at all due to her academic year being in full swing. Luckily, she didn't particularly need time off to be at his home race. The Australian GP couldn't come any sooner. Oscar did fly in earlier then usual. Y/N was there to pick him up at the airport since he did fly in super late. "You have a thing for making sure I don't get any sleep" she commented as Oscar climbed into the passenger seat. "I have other ways of keeping you up" he laughed. She just shook her head as she started driving.

They spent the next few days together, Oscar was on a strict diet; so Y/N found great joy in being able to cook for him and having at home dates. They would watch some silly shows and lay awake wrapped in each others arms. "I might have done some shopping" she said randomly. "Doesn't sound like it's a good thing" he said skeptically. "It is a good thing. I bought a dress in your god awful team colour and surprisingly I look good in it. So, I'll be wearing that with a 81 head band to the race." she said proudly. "Where did you get the 81 head band from?" he chuckled. "I made it myself, you'll see" she said kissing his lips. "If this is your way of bribing me, I'll take more" he said. "I'm not bribing you, I did a quiz and my love language is physical touch apparently" she said. "What's mine?" he asked. "Gift giving and physical touch, I think" she said. "I will not be denying that" he smiled.

Y/N accompanied him on quali day, the pair walked hand in hand to the paddock. The camera flashing rapidly to catch their moment together, Y/N was wearing Oscar's papaya jersey, a big smile on her face as she walked in. Oscar found great joy in dragging Y/N around with him. He would introduce her to his team with the biggest smile they had seen on Oscar. Lando had stopped teasing them, since Oscar started to enjoy it too much much to his dismay.

Oscar qualified P6, Y/N was cheering for him as always. It was a warm feeling racing in his home and having all the people that love and support him there. Y/N was wearing an papaya dress with the 81 head band that she knit. The fans loved her outfit and wanted their own 81 headbands. The race was quite eventful, Oscar finished just out of the podium but Y/N celebrated his finish like it was a podium. They spent the night together with their family, laughing and talking about random things and reliving old memories of all the times each of them found out Oscar had a crush on Y/N. It was a good time at Oscar's expense. "Last year, I wouldn't have thought I would get just outside of a podium in my home race or you for that matter" he whispered with his arms wrapped around her waist as they stood there watching everyone. "Well, you've improved." she smiled pecking his cheek. "I love these improvements" he smiled. "Can't wait to watch you win a race honestly" she stated. "I love you babe" he whispered. "I love you too, Osc." she whispered back. "I'm gonna have to ask Lando to stop calling me Osc, it feels weird" he stated. "He says it with love. It's cute honestly. I would also like to ask you to look at me with the same amount of love you look at Lando with" she chuckled. "I look at you with love, Lando it's shock" he said shaking his head.

Oscar's birthday was the day after the Japanese GP. They couldn't spend it together so Y/N sent him a package as a little gift; just some stuff from home and the customary birthday wishes. Oscar wasn't very happy about spending his birthday alone this year, but it's the nature of the sport. He wasn't able to fly in for her birthday either since he had another race weekend. So, they FaceTimed each other with a small cake and blew out candles while on call. Y/N had gotten him a wallet with their initials engraved on it which Oscar carried around with great pride. Y/N had gotten a necklace with an O. You could pass that necklace off as anything but she found a lot of happiness in telling anyone who asked that it was her boyfriend's initial.

During her time off she would fly to Oscar, they would spend all their time together either cuddling in the hotel room or exploring the city. Oscar would love to have her at race weekends but they never coincided with her time off. The fans had started to notice him hanging out with the girl who had the 81 headband and deduced that they were dating as if Oscar wasn't obvious enough.

Oscar winning his first Formula One race was a big thing but sadly Y/N wasn't there to celebrate with him. Instead he flew back to Australia even if only for a few days before he would have to fly back for the last race before the summer break. Back home, he was met with a lot of celebrations. Y/N spent her whole time showering Oscar in praises after his first win. Oscar couldn't help but bask in her praises forgetting the ordeal following his first win.

Y/N was very observant, she noticed when Oscar would wince or hiss quietly when some one would hug him or touch him. He made a conscious effort not to slip up when Y/N was touching him but she caught on and cornered him just like the time Oscar caught her topless when they were teens. "Piastri what's wrong?" she asked, voice laced with concern. "Nothing right now, but you look very hot cornering me. We might have a problem now" he said placing his hands on her waist and leaning closer. She took his hands off her waist and placed them on either side of him, effectively pinning him. "Babe, my mum's 2 feet away" he whispered. "I know, something's wrong and you won't tell me" she questioned further. "Nothing's wrong" Oscar replied trying to lighten the mood but Y/N wasn't buying it. He could easily over power her but he liked the situation he was in. "You've been hissing and wincing in pain since you've been back. I know you're hurt. Tell me where or I will not be kissing or touching you for the foreseeable future." she stated. Oscar knew he couldn't lie to her, she would figure it out, sooner or later. "I fractured my rib before the race" he said. "What" she almost screamed, carefully placing his hands down. "How? You raced? Why didn't you tell me or us?" she barraged him with questions. "It just happened but the medical team cleared me. I'm good and with a bit of rest I'll be as good as new" he said. "What rest? You plan on racing the next race. You didn't tell anyone. It's like you don't need us" she lamented. "I'm perfectly fine now. Don't worry about me" he said cupping her cheeks and pressing a kiss. "Well, it's my second nature to worry, you can't stop me" she announced. "I won't. I love it when you worry about me actually" he gloated. "You will be punished. I'm not touching you until you're fully healed. I heard rib fractures hurt a lot. So, you're on bed rest while you're in Melbourne" she stated. "What? NO! You can't deprive me" he groaned. "I can and I will. Just be grateful I'm not announcing this to the whole family" she tsked and walked away.

Oscar was babied and made to rest by Y/N. She found a way to avoid telling everyone what happened until Oscar would himself. Which he did after the summer break started. His parents were disappointed him but more concerned. Y/N apologised to hiding it since she didn't want to worry them as well.

They spent the summer break lounging around their house or going out to eat. They would catch up on movies and trying out new foods. Oscar had been thinking, he thought about it quite a lot especially when they would be grocery shopping together or he would see her interact with kids or when she would joke with his family or when she would fret over him; that he was ready. He was ready to settle down if it was with her. He wanted everything; a family, a house, kids, the whole nine yards. Oscar might have jumped the gun and bought a ring. He couldn't wait; these could be place holders till she picked one out she liked. He had gotten them his and her bands; they looked a lot like wedding bands. He carried those around for a while, not knowing when to ask and that's how the summer break ended and he would be back racing.

They spent their first anniversary at home while Y/N cooked for Oscar and make him rest. He was on a sex ban because of the rib fracture. No matter how much he tried to reason with her, Y/N wasn't about to budge. Oscar was like a piece of glass and Y/N was too scared to touch him lest she hurt him. Oscar got them his and her matching watches since he wasn't sure he had the guts to propose to her. She got him matching sweaters that she knit and a belt with her initials. "Are you trying to brand me?" he asked looking at the sweater with a big first initial of his girlfriend and the belt too. "I would ask you to get my name tattooed but let's wait for the second anniversary before be pull that" she laughed. "Plus people should know who you belong too" she said. "I think they know, I only talk about cars and you" he said solemnly. "I'm honoured that Mr Piastri talks about something other than cars" she smiled. "I can talk about you all the time. Cars aren't my only interest" he quipped. "Glad to know I don't have to compete with your love for cars like when you were 4" she chuckled. "Cars could never compete with you" he whispered snaking his arms around her waist trying to pull her onto his lap. She carefully pushed him away. "Nope. I'm not falling for this. You are on strict bed rest" she reprimanded. Oscar groaned "Ugh, this stupid rib." "I'm all yours once you're healed" she said pecking his cheeks and getting up to clean up the mess of wrappers they made.

Y/N finally had time off and she was able to fly to Azerbaijan. She had the two weeks off from school and spending time with Oscar was the only thing on her mind. Who would've thought? Okay, Y/N did think. She had maybe hoped Oscar would win since he was starting P2 in the race. Until the very end, you couldn't say much. It was during the last laps; Y/N felt it; watching Oscar zip past, that he might win and he did. She was crying; she couldn't be there for his first win but she was there now. Oscar got out of the car and rushed to his family. He hugged his mother and turned his attention to Y/N who had tried to fix her make up before she came since she had been crying. "I'm so happy you're here to see me win" he whispered in her embrace. "I'm happy I get to share this with you" Oscar pulled away and kissed her and Y/N melted right into his lips. She squished his cheeks deepening the kiss. They pulled away breathless, "I love you so much" he whispered. "I love you too Oscar" she whispered back. "Marry me" he blurted out. "You're not proposing right now, like this" she had started to cry. "Go on, we'll talk later" she said quietly.

Oscar was back in the drivers room with Y/N sat looking solemn. "Sorry about that. I knew this wasn't a good idea" Oscar lamented. "No no, babe. I meant it like you can't be proposing to me in that moment since it was your moment. It was yours and only yours" she explained. "It was ours baby, I've been thinking and I wanna marry you" he stated. "Osc, sweetheart, we're so young. We started dating just over a year ago." she began. "I've loved you for more than half my life. I think I know if I want to marry you or not" he interrupted. "As much as I hate to admit it, I would marry you right now, if I could" she chuckled. "Yay" he laughed. He opened up the red velvet box he had and 2 identical rings were shining back at them. "These look like wedding bands" she couldn't help but laugh. "Maybe" he stared at the box and than her. "You can pick whatever ring you would like. I didn't want to choose something you wouldn't like" he explained. "You know what I like" she said. "I'm not that confident" he said. "Well, I love you and anything you pick, I would love that too" she smiled at him. Oscar felt like he would turn into mush.

At the Singapore GP, the two of them were spotted with their rings. The media and fans were speculating whether they had a shot gun wedding. Oscar found great joy in calling Y/N, Mrs Piastri. But later, his mum did tell everyone that they hadn't indeed gotten married and those were engagement rings because her son was a big sap.

Oscar stared at their hands as they lay in bed entangled in each other, her hand on his chest and his wrapped around her. If you told 13 year old Oscar that he would be laying in bed with his crush he would've laughed at you, but 23 year old Oscar was lying in bed with the love of his life. Oscar wouldn't have it any other way. If you had told Y/N that the annoyingly quite and mature kid her brother befriended would be the man she planned on marrying, she would call you delusional but right now everything felt like a blissful dream that she would like to never wake up from. The two of them were happy in each others arms, away from the world.

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pandora-writes-one-piece · 1 month ago

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The Meet Cute - Law's Story - 11

Source for pic

The Great Pretender 11

Word Count: 3616

Tags For The Whole Story: Fem!Reader; Law is a soft dom; you have bratty tendencies (not all the time); voice kink; praise kink; cursing; very suggestive behaviour and innuendo from the start; sexual tension; teasing; so much flirting; romance; slow-burn; fluff; slight angst; mature audiences (though explicit NSFW moments will be properly tagged on the chapter); possessive Law; protective Law; soft Law; teasing Law; manipulative Doflamingo; inappropriate Doflamingo; fake relationship trope; only one-bed trope; reader has some anxiety issues; reader is a control freak and perfectionist; modern day AU; Mention of ex mentally abusive relationship;

Special Warning: English is not my first language, I apologise for any possible spelling or grammar mistakes.

Summary: After moving away from the hustle and bustle of Grand Line City to help your father around the property following a horse-riding accident - and in the hopes of healing your broken heart after your asshole ex-fiancé cheated - you settle into the country calmness of the Calm Belt. You and Law (your father's doctor) start to build a flirty friendship because of your father’s procedure. So much so that when he’s invited to Baby 5’s wedding (his cousin), he asks you to be his date. His uncle Doflamingo - who is filthy rich - is very adamant on finding a suitable wife for him. Seeing as he wants to avoid that, he asks you to pretend to be his girlfriend for the weekend.

Notes: For those of you who caught my earlier post, you already know why this chapter is on the smaller side. For those of you who didn't, I intended to add a bit of spicy fun to this chapter, but with 2k (of smut!) already writen and (maybe) another 2k to go, I decided to split the chapter. I still hope you enjoy this one!

Despite Law's lie to Baby 5, you still find five minutes to fix your hair and makeup before heading down to the garden in search of the photographer for the photo shoot. You're only ten minutes late, but Baby 5 curses at Law as if she were a member of a pirate crew. Luckily, she's soon diverted by Sai and you and Law head to the greenhouse for your private session.

Though there's another private session you would much rather be indulging in.

Still, the photographer introduces himself and after exchanging a few words, he starts directing you both in what you can only assume are romantic poses. Yet, the photographer seems bummed and you can't help but feel as if you're posing for a prom photo.

“Let's take five guys, okay? Try to relax a bit.” The photographer says before he turns and starts to fidget with his camera.

Law grumbles and rolls his eyes, clearly wishing to be doing anything else other than this. Perhaps even finishing what you started earlier. You smile at him. “You're too wound up, Law. You need to relax. The faster we give him the photo he wants, the faster we can leave.” He nods and you look at him as you bite your lower lip, deep in thought. “Take off your coat.”

“Why?”

You smirk smugly and deepen your voice trying to imitate him. “Just do as I say, sweetheart.”

Law's chuckle is full of warmth and mirth but his gaze darkens as he sizes you up. “Careful. You're too close to being a brat.” Yet he removes his coat and sets it aside, on top of a metal bench.

“Hmm, you knew what you were getting into before you proposed this arrangement.” You whisper as you size him up, assessing his looks. Then you grin and start to roll up the sleeves of his white dress shirt.

“Did I? No, I didn't. Not entirely.” He lets you do what you want, moving his arm to help you and smirking at you.

“What do you mean?” You finish one arm and move to the next one, but your eyes are fixed on his warily. “Are you… disappointed?” You try to ignore the slight tremble in your voice and focus your gaze on the shirt sleeves and not on his amber gaze.

“Not at all.” His hand reaches out, and he tilts your chin up with his thumb and forefinger. “I'm positively surprised.”

“How so?”

“I knew you were special before this, and I knew I wanted to spend time with you to get to know you better. But now I am certain that I want to spend all my time with you.”

You fumble with the sleeves of the shirt as your heart skips a beat and your lips turn into a smile. “I want to spend all my time with you, too.” You whisper. There's a hint of a blush on your cheeks and you can feel them getting hotter.

You can almost feel yourself melt into his gaze, so you take a deep breath, avert your eyes and unbutton two buttons on his shirt, leaving just a peek of his chest piece showing. “Now you look more at ease. Though…” You start as you give him a final once-over, and then reach with your fingers to tousle his hair a little bit. “Perfect. That out of bed endearing look suits you.” You smile sweetly at him. You're not even kidding a little bit. He looks really endearing. “Now me. Fix me up.” You smirk as you stand very still so he can contemplate you.

Law's gaze softens as it travels over your body. You don't feel self-conscious but rather wanted, appreciated, valued. “You’re perfect, sweetheart.” You beam at him but then he places his hand on his chin as if in deep thought. “There's just a tiny thing.” He speaks softly and you arch your brow.

“A tiny thing?”

“Your makeup.”

“What?”

“There's a smudge on your lipstick.” He takes a step forward, closer to you.

“A smudge? Impossible! I just fixed my makeup!” You say, your hand instinctively reaching towards your lips as Law takes another step. His hand cups your cheek and he smiles gently.

“Exactly.” Then his lips press softly against yours and this time it's something new. It's a slow, tentative kiss, where he moves his lips in tandem with yours. It's not demanding or hungry. It's soft and full of promises. It sets something aflutter in your stomach and a maddening pounding in your heart.

Even while your hands travel to his chest and climb his neck, or when his fingers tangle in your locks, clenching your hair, even as you deepen the kiss, you still feel all of it. It’s different. It’s not a kiss fueled by desire, or want, or teasing, it’s a kiss with much deeper meaning. Something far softer, something… real.

You part slowly, both slightly flushed and gazing lovingly at each other. So he felt it, too. The raw intensity of it all, the way it clicked, as if you finally understood that this is not pretence, it’s much, much more.

“Law, is this real?” Your words are barely a whisper, too afraid to break the moment, too fearful that this is somehow a dream of your desperate little heart.

“It is for me.” He says, his hand reaching for your cheek again to place a small caress on your soft skin.

“For me too…” You murmur back with a smile. Suddenly, the world is filled with possibilities, suddenly there is so much more than a broken girl with a hurtful past in need of mending. Suddenly there’s you and him but you’re together, you’ve found each other and you’ll be damned if you let him go.

“Aaaaand that’s a wrap!” The photographer’s voice rattles you both and you’re forced back into reality. “You guys looked so much more natural now. There was no need for directing, these photographs are filled with emotion! Thank you!” His attitude from the start of the shoot to now has turned completely. He loves you both. Before he leaves, he promises to develop the pictures and deliver them to you as part of your prize, and you're actually quite curious as to how they turned out.

When you're both alone again, Law takes your hand in his to lead you to the tents that are set up for the rehearsal dinner. He whispers your name as you lock gazes again. “We'll talk about this later, when we're alone?”

You smile giddily and nod. “Yes.” Even if you wanted to stop smiling, you couldn't. Everything feels far too perfect, far too flawless and you bite your lip hard to check again if this is not some dream.

It's not.

It's reality. And it is perfect.

-*-

The rehearsal dinner is going great. There has been no awkward moment with Doflamingo - he's seated very far away, near the bride - and you and Law have been exchanging subtle touches throughout the whole meal. A touch on the leg, on the shoulder, on the arm, or the cheek. A lingering gaze, a whispered word, or a complicit smile. It's bliss.

Speeches were recited and alcohol flowed freely. The night is still young, and though you wish nothing more than to be excused to your room, so you and Law can have a private moment, it finally appears that Doflamingo has decided to test you both once more.

“Law, princesa, how's your evening going?” He speaks to both of you but his eyes are fixed on you.

“We're fine, Uncle. Everything is perfect.” You smile at Law's words in agreement.

“Wonderful.” There's a long pregnant pause where he keeps staring at both of you, then his grin deepens into something quite menacing. “Law, Vergo wished to speak to you about the business you were discussing yesterday.” Law's brow rises. “Now.” Doflamingo adds.

“Uncle, we're at a party. Do you think it's appropriate to speak of business matters at a time like this?” Law's voice is still cool and calculated, but you can see the ticking in his jaw, giving way to an underlying unease towards his uncle.

“Well, dear nephew, if you were more invested in the company's business and more committed to board meetings, we wouldn't have to practically ambush you so we could talk shop.” The jab is there, and it's also true. So Law curses between his teeth and screeches his chair on the floor to get up. But before he leaves, he leans forward and presses a kiss to your cheek.

“I won't be long. I'm sorry.” He does seem resigned, and though the last thing you want is to be left alone with Doflamingo, you know he has to go. So you assure him you will be fine.

As soon as Law gets up, Doffy saunters to his seat and sits down, crossing one leg over the other with one foot over his knee. He's wearing a light pink suit - which he actually pulls off - with a white shirt but what never ceases to amaze you - even if for the wrong reasons - is his unhinged expression as he pierces you with his red gaze.

“Alone at last, cariño.” He deepens his smile, showing off his canines and you feel that cold sensation on your spine. You're about to be tested again. “I've seen you with Law today. You seem much more connected than yesterday, more at ease.”

Doffy takes a sip of his red wine and you clear your throat before speaking. “Yes, sir. I sometimes suffer from anxiety, and meeting new people always leaves me more anxious than I would like. I'm more at ease today because everyone has been so welcoming.” There, if you lace lies with truth, it becomes more believable.

“Oh, that makes sense.” He agrees easily and you take a deep breath, trying to steady your heart. “Though, there's one slight issue.” He scooches his chair closer to yours in three jerking motions, and leans over your ear with a warm chuckle that makes you cringe. “I know who you are.” He whispers, and then leans back in his chair, his hand covering his lips as if he said something he shouldn't.

Your heart thrums faster against your ribcage. What does he mean? What does he know? Does he know you and Law are in a fake relationship?

Lying rule 101, don't babble! You don't know what he knows, so don't go spilling secrets.

“I'm not sure I follow, sir.” There. Simple, calm, confident.

“Mi querida… darling, darling. Drop the act.” His grin disappears and a menacing scowl overpowers his lips. “When I first saw you, I knew I recognized you from somewhere - or from someone - influential.” A cold shiver travels down your spine, freezing you in the spot. You feared this. “At first I didn't care. But last night it suddenly hit me. I've seen you with the Vinsmokes.” A dry chuckle leaves his lips but it doesn't reach his eyes. “A little background check got me the info I wanted, and boy was I surprised. Ex-fiancée to the Vinsmoke darling? You belonged to Ichiji himself? Who knew?” He gasps dramatically. “I mean: does Law know?”

Your breath hitches and you clench your fists against your lap, opening your mouth ready to answer him, except he doesn't let you.

“I know what you want. You were with Ichiji for influence and money, but something went wrong. So now you turn to Law, who's not so directly involved with the company, but has enough money and influence to satisfy your needs. If you play your cards right with my nephew, he might even grant you the last one you seek: power. All the while, his poor little heart gets broken again. Am I right, princesa?”

He's not right. Thank God, he's not right. Though the fact doesn't stop the tightening of your chest or the dampness on your forehead. You have no control over this situation and it's daunting.

“You are terribly wrong, Doflamingo, sir.” Calm, cool, collected. You inhale deeply and force a cold smile to your lips.

“I'm wrong?” His chuckle sends another wave of unease through your body. “Don't tell me you were with Ichiji for his charming personality?”

You purse your lips and take another inhale, completely ignoring the off-hand commentary. “Ichiji and I met in college, our relationship grew naturally and it had nothing to do with money. Furthermore, I became interested in Law even before knowing who he was. I knew him merely as my father's doctor. He could've been living under a bridge and I would have had no idea. That did not stop the way I immediately felt about him.”

There can be nothing wrong with the truth. Not even Doflamingo himself can find any flaw there.

“That is very heartwarming, darling. But is it really the truth? I mean…” He chuckles, leaning forward again and pinning you under his gaze. You have to force yourself not to move away from his stare. “It's so easy to lie about a relationship, isn't it?”

The implication is there. But what does he know, really?

“Maybe, but I wouldn't know.” You hold his gaze, ignoring the pounding of your heart that seems to be beating in your ears.

“I'm back. Uncle Doffy, you're in my seat.” Law says firmly, his hand resting at your nape, fingers squeezing slightly and caressing in reassurance.

Doffy laughs softly, a manic laugh that starts low and then becomes increasingly louder. “Oh, forgive me dearest nephew. I wouldn't want to take anything from you.” Doflamingo rises, his long legs uncrossing slowly as he deliberately stares at you, licking his lower lip. “Think about what we discussed, princesa.”

When he leaves, Law sits down next to you. The familiar crease between his eyebrows brings a sort of comfort, knowing he's worried about your well-being. Even before he asks, you're already telling him. “Your uncle seems to think I'm only with you for money. Which is good, I guess, because he couldn't be farther from the truth.” Your chuckle comes out forced and weary.

Should you tell him about Ichiji? You must tell him now. Doffy knows, so it's only a matter of time before he uses it against the both of you. And it's not as if it's a big secret, you just don't want to face that kind of judgement.

But then again, since when has Law ever judged you over anything? And the more you postpone telling him, the more it seems as if you're withholding information. And that's not true.

“Law, he also-...”

“There you are, Law. We still need to discuss a few more topics. You said you were just going to the bathroom.” It's Vergo and he sounds annoyed. Law sighs at the same time as you but you nod in understandment.

“I'll wait…” The words leave your lips with a pout and Law waves Vergo off, telling him to go ahead. Then he leans forward on his chair, fingers gripping your chin to lift your eyes to him.

“Sweetheart, I won't be long.” The kiss he places on your lips is, somehow, both soft and demanding. It's as if he's assuring you of his care and attention towards you while, at the same time, making you realise he also needs you. “See you soon.”

The kiss leaves you so rattled that you can't even say anything else before he leaves.

-*-

‘See you soon.’ That was over an hour ago. You know it's not Law's fault, it's much more likely Doflamingo’s doing, just another stupid, silly test to see if you're really with Law for who he is or for something else entirely. But you're damn bored.

You stare at the assortment of paper figures you already made with the napkins - very crooked and ugly-looking things - and sigh for the umpteenth time. Where is Law?

“You look lonely, care for some company?” You flick one of the figures with your finger and lift your eyes to the stranger, one of Sai’s guests you met sometime during the day but can't quite place the name.

“Ah, no, thank you. I'm fine. Law is…” You sigh inadvertently. “Coming back soon. Thanks.”

Lowering your gaze again, you flick another figure, trying to chase the boredom away with silly things. But a screech of the chair next to you as the man sits has you raising your brow.

“Sure, sure. You're so fine that you already used up all the napkins on the table. I'll buy it.” He chuckles softly. “I'll just keep you company, nothing else, how about it?”

“Sure.” You shrug. It's not like he's going to leave anyway. But you keep toying with your paper figures, trying your best to be polite but not engage fully with the man.

“So you're with the bride?” You nod. “I'm Sai’s friend.”

“Yes, we've met earlier.”

“I know. I wouldn't forget you.” You suck in a breath, maybe it's time to get up and search for Law? Or get some refreshments? You don't want to indulge in this conversation anymore. Yet, before you speak, the man leans, placing his hand over yours with a light squeeze. “What kind of man leaves his beautiful girlfriend alone for so long?”

“One who trusts her, and doesn’t need to keep watch every second, because he knows exactly who she’s going home with.”

The man pulls back his hand with a start when Law’s voice fills the space between you. His presence is commanding and threatening but his expression is cool and collected. Law’s amber gaze locks into yours, and though he stands with a hand in his pocket in the most casual of ways, the tension oozing out of him is enough to make the man sitting in his chair start to sweat.

“Look, man, I didn’t mean to disrespect, I was just–”

“Wasting your time. I got it. You can go now, she doesn’t need your company.” Law finally breaks eye contact with you, takes one step closer to the man and stares him down. A fierce intensity in his gaze, even though he doesn’t even slightly raise his voice.

“Alright, I’ll leave.” The man quickly takes the hint and leaves you both alone. When Law’s steely gaze settles back on you, it softens, and so does his expression.

“Was he being an ass?” Law pushes a different chair and sits by you with a smirk while you shake your head. Law is a bit possessive, you’ve realised that. What you didn’t realise was that him being that way makes you feel wanted and needed. It’s in his little touches, a hand to the small of your back, a glare if someone’s eyes linger too long, his intimidating presence to whoever dares approach.

“Not really, though he was starting to be inconvenient.” You sigh and take his hand in yours, gently tracing the tattoos on his fingers.

“I’m sorry I was gone for so long, my uncle…”

“I know, Law. Don’t worry. We have time, right?” Your eyes meet his and all you see is tenderness. When you said ‘we have time’ you meant after the wedding, because you want for that after to exist, does he want the same?

His hand cups your cheek and the warmth that fills you comes from far more than his touch. “All the time in the world, sweetheart.” How can one man consume your thoughts so completely? He’s under your skin, inside your heart, in your mind, he’s everywhere. And you want him there. You want him there forever.

You never felt this way with Ichiji, even when you thought you loved him or that he was it for you. You never felt like you’d lose a part of yourself if you weren’t near him, or the need to constantly touch him. And Law makes you feel that. You don’t mean to compare, but when your biggest relationship was also the worst, the comparisons are inevitable.

Ichiji!

“Law, there’s something that–”

“Law! I’m so sorry to interrupt you both –you look so adorable, I swear, you bring out the best in him, honey– but I need your help with Baby 5’s gift.” Cora interrupts with the best intentions and you can’t help but smile at his cheerfulness. Then he lowers his voice. “Doffy bought her one of those ‘Fabergé Eggs’ and–” Cora exhales with a slight panic. “I dropped the box and I’m too scared to look.”

Your eyes widen at the admission but Law’s amusement is evident. “Really, Cora?” His tall uncle whines with a grimace and Law gets up with a weary smile aimed at you. “The party is dying down, anyway, guests are leaving.”

You look around and notice that the tent has emptied rather quickly. It’s nearing two in the morning and you’re all expected early tomorrow for the wedding, so it’s natural. Cora takes a step back as you and Law get up. Law leans in, his mouth near your ear as he whispers. “Why don’t you go up to our room and I’ll meet you in a few minutes?”

His words send a heat wave down your body as your stomach flutters with the wings of thousands of butterflies. He didn’t say much, but his voice and the gentle caress of his fingers on your hip spoke of hushed promises and yearning.

You nod at him, a small blush already creeping up your cheeks.

This is it.

The night you finally tear down those boundaries, no longer blurring the lines but completely erasing them.

The night you stop pretending and finally make it real.

Tag list: @rosidaze @beachaddict48 @armiliadawn @jintaka-hane @sprinkklz @baby5555 @hopelesslover06 @mars-mizuko @sleepykittycx @nerium-lil @eustasscapitankid @ren-ni @jqperi @lycoriskalmia @rainbow2312 @alexturnersgirl

|Chapter 12🔞|

#one piece #one piece x reader #x reader #op #law x reader #reader insert #the meet cute #reader x trafalgar law #trafalgar law x reader #trafalgar d water law #trafalgar law #you x law #reader x law #Spotify

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smusherina · 8 months ago

Text

yard work - chapter 8 (regina george x reader)

fandom: Mean Girls (all media)

pairing: Regina George x OFC/Reader

summary: You'd been in the same class as Regina George since kindergarten. You'd lived on the same street even longer. Once upon a time, when life was sandbox disputes and who got the swing first arguments, you'd even been friends. Now, in junior year of high school, you doubted she even remembered you. The same couldn't be said about you. You definitely remembered her.

warnings(s): not so much homophobia in this one! not even cigarettes!

chapter 1 / chapter 2 / chapter 3 / chapter 4 / chapter 5 / chapter 6 / chapter 7 / chapter 9

A snowball hit you on the back of the neck. Squealing like a pig and whirling around indignantly, you caught Kylie's eyes across the yard. Softball had made her aim dangerous. Luckily, you had one big advantage.

You lifted your arms above your head, miming a rearing bear, and charged towards her all the while bellowing like a beast. She giggled and began running away, rounding the pool. You gave chase, not even having to pretend to have a hard time since she was ridiculously athletic for her age, but eventually caught her. You hauled her into your arms and into the air, spinning around while cackling maniacally. She laughed and screeched in joy as you shook her around, screaming once you intentionally fell into the snow.

"I won!" She yelled in your face, cheeks rosy from the cold. Her grin was gap-toothed and so carefree.

"No! The snow monster caught you!" You protested playfully.

"Nuh-uh, I threw the last ball an' hit you- hit you square in- in the neck!" You'd heard from Mrs George that Kylie was in speech therapy for the stammer. In your opinion, it just made her cuter.

"The snow monster doesn't agree!" You lowered your voice and made it gruff, putting on the snow monster role, and stood up. She was tiny so there was no issue picking her up whenever you wanted. Holding her by the back of her jacket and knee, you threw her into the nearest snow pile.

"Again!" She stumbled down and out of the pile, back to where you stood, and you picked her up. Spinning around a few times, her legs flailing as you did, you launched her into the air sending the kid off in a great trajectory right back into the snow.

Before she could demand you manhandle her some more, you heard the backdoor slide open.

"Girls!" Mrs George hollered. "Josie and Riley are here!"

Your shoulders slumped in relief. You didn't know what you would've done if it'd been Mr George at the door. Kylie, eager to see her cousin and aunt, sprinted to the door. You lagged back, happy to be alone for a bit.

"Kylie! Kylie, through the garage please!" Mrs George waved her arms like a frazzled traffic guard, desperately not wanting wet floors. Kylie skidded to a stop right before the porch steps and swerved right, headed for the garage door now. You walked at a level pace behind her, knowing full well both the guests' attention would be taken up by the youngest of the Georges for at least the next half hour. Kylie had redecorated since they last visited after all. Priorities.

Your clothes were covered in snow, so due to be soaked pretty soon. You brushed off what you could but hung them up to dry nonetheless. You shot a text to Regina, asking for spare sweatpants 'cause your jeans were not suitable for inside wear. You got back a LOL. You crossed your fingers that meant yes.

"You did not put on that fugly sweater to meet my aunt and cousin." She said once she saw you. You could only shrug helplessly. You liked the sweater.

"I guess I did." You looked at the clothing in her arms. "That for me?"

"Yeah." She handed them over. You stared at her for a moment, waiting for her to either turn around or leave the room. When she didn't, you decided that, hey, she asked for it.

Unbuttoning and unzipping your jeans, you revealed a pair of Ironman boxers.

"Do you shop at the kids' section?" Regina sneered at you.

You winked in response. "I know you like 'em."

"Sure. Love 'em."

You pulled the sweatpants on. They were soft and grey and somehow exactly the right size.

"Did you get these from your dad?" You asked dubiously, not too thrilled by the prospect of wearing Mr George's clothes.

"No, they're for you," Regina responded as if it were obvious. "I got some stuff for you when we started talking. Like, it'd be really inconvenient if you had to go back home just to get a toothbrush or something when you were staying over." She expanded, sounding confident but fiddling with her nails. You'd driven her to an appointment a few days ago to get a new autumn set. "But then, y'know, we spent more time at yours so... Hasn't been much use."

"Huh. I should get something like that for you at mine."

"No." She grinned. "I like stealing your clothes."

"Do you use my toothbrush too?" You acted scandalized, hiding how her saying she liked your clothes made you giddy. She couldn't hate your sweaters that much, then.

She rolled her eyes. "No, idiot, I carry one in my purse always."

"Gotta always be prepared." You clicked your tongue and swung your arm in jest. "Did you already say hi to your relatives?"

"Yes, so now we can go hang out in my room until dinner." Regina grabbed you by the arm and dragged you out of the mudroom. You went pliantly but redirected your path to the living room before she could climb the stairs. You ignored Regina's groan.

Introductions happened swiftly. You were Regina's friend and your family was spending Thanksgiving elsewhere, leaving you in charge of the house. The story wasn't entirely truthful, but neither was it a lie. Riley was a bit younger than Regina but only by a year or two. You could tell she wanted to spend time with her older cousin so bad, but Regina was not enthused.

Luckily, Kylie wanted nothing more than Riley to play Wii with her in the basement. So, off they went. You sat on the couch next to Regina, subtly leaning back and putting your arm on the backrest behind her. You were being totally casual and cool. You weren't even sitting that close so it didn't even look like you had her arm around her. It was totally cool.

Mr George sat in the recliner, eyes trained on the TV. Some sports game was on, but you paid more attention to Mrs George and her sister.

"So, what do y'all wanna do when you get outta high school?" While Mrs George's Southern accent had dulled down over the years to a North-Western one, which meant she sounded like any other Illinois local, the same could not be said for Aunt Josie. Her Texas twang was prominent.

Regina went first. "College." You did so wish she could find it in herself to be a little nicer to her relatives.

"I'll probably take a full-time position at my dad's shop." That'd been the extent of your plans since forever ago.

Regina looked at you oddly, but didn't say anything.

Mrs George and Aunt Josie nodded along, mildly interested, then started talking about college these days and the state of youth in America. You excused yourselves from the conversation and pulled Regina into the kitchen.

"Mom forbids snacks on special days, you know this," Regina grumbled as you dug around in their pantry.

"Does this count as a snack?" You pulled out hot cocoa packets. They were probably ages old, been there since you used to regularly visit the George residence, but you didn't believe in expiration dates anyway. It was just powder.

"We could make real hot chocolate, though." Regina pointed out, eyeing the dusty packets with contempt.

"Well, we could spend some more time in the kitchen making all that and be roped into sitting with them again to drink or we could be quick and tactically retreat upstairs."

"Get the big mugs. We're putting at least two packs in one. And make it with milk."

So, you got to work. You, specifically, while Regina sat on the island and watched. You didn't mind. She looked really pretty. She kind of matched with you, coincidentally enough. Your sweater was a motley of orange and brown patterns and shapes, itchy on bare skin and more so frizzy than fluffy. Regina had a sweater too, and of the same colour scheme, but hers was much more refined, soft to the touch, and had sensible patterns. She had on a black skirt and white legwarmers.

You snuck upstairs with your steaming mugs, tiptoeing so you wouldn't be heard. Once in the safety of Regina's room, you quickly huddled up on the bed.

"Good, right?"

"Swiss chocolate would've been better." She took a sip. "That's really good, though. What is that?"

"I added a little cinnamon."

"It tastes a bit like Christmas," Regina said, looking at you above the rim of her cup as she drank.

"It's right around the corner." You got comfortable on the bed, laying on your side facing Regina.

"Ugh, I hate Christmas. Everybody always comes here, as if Uncle Charlie doesn't have a huge log cabin that he doesn't even use most of the year. If I have to share a bed with Luke this year, I'm quitting."

"He's your oldest cousin, right?"

"Yeah. He's a dick. Last year, he totally-"

As she got into the story, you were lulled into a sense of comfort. Safe in Regina's room, warm hot cocoa cup in your hands, her voice regaling her cousin Luke's douchebaggery, you could almost forget everything else.

You decided you didn't want to think about difficult things during Thanksgiving. Even if the holiday itself hadn't ever been sacred or even fun for you, the fact that you got to spend it at the Georges' made it special.

At one point or another, you felt Regina pluck the mug out of your hands.

"Hey..." You slurred, blinking awake.

"Shh, just go to sleep." She patted your shoulder. You mumbled sleepily and nodded. Somewhere in the distance, she giggled, her hand still warm on your shoulder.

You stirred a couple of times during your nap. At first, you saw Regina next to you reading. Still Catcher in the Rye. She didn't look your way and you fell back asleep.

The second time she was closer. Your eyes met and her hand squeezed yours. She smiled and shuffled closer. Had you not still been halfway to sleep, your heart would've beat right out of your chest.

The third time, her arm was around your waist and knee slotted between yours. It'd been a long time since you'd been held like this. You and Regina used to cuddle in bed for sleepovers, but those were so long ago. She'd always insisted on being the big spoon despite you being bigger. Even now, she had you by your waist while your hands were tucked close to your chest. Wiggling one out, you threw it around her back.

The fourth time was the last. Regina had rolled partly on top of you. Her cheek was pressed to your shoulder, arm secure around your belly, while her leg was bent over your hips. You were firmly held down. There was a gentle knock on the door before it creaked open.

"Sweetie, would you come down to help with dinner?" Mrs George was there, head poked into the room. You nodded with a smile. She eyed you two for a bit, a secretive sort of smile on her lips, before closing the door again.

You took meticulous care to not wake Regina up as you wriggled out of her hold. You replaced your body with a couple of pillows, hoping it'd be enough to keep her asleep a while longer.

After splashing some cold water on your face in the en suite bathroom, you headed downstairs.

"There you are," Mrs George waved you over. "Slice up those mushrooms, would you?"

You washed your hands and got to work. Mrs George and Josie were singing along to some music playing on the radio, chatting occasionally. Kylie and Riley were seated on the island playing on their Nintendo gadgets, at times demanding to taste the contents of the various pots on the stove. The sisters fed them spoonfuls dotingly. Mrs George came up to you a few times too, holding a spoon in one hand while the other was cupped under it, feeding you this and that. The gravy was really good.

The Georges were going all out, going above and beyond in both the taste and sheer amount of food. There were three courses, appetizer, entrée, and dessert. You could only dream of a spread like this and, maybe a little selfishly, you wished Mrs George would pack some of the leftovers for you. It sounded like an utter dream, food for days, good food for days. Mrs George's mac and cheese, buttery mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffed mushrooms, pear salad, heartily roasted vegetables—you could go on.

"Turkey's ready!" Josie called gleefully, clapping her oven mitts together. "Let's get her out, Judie."

Once the turkey was out and placed to the side to wait for dinner, you popped the green bean casserole in. Along with it went the mac and creamed Brussels sprouts. Kylie bemoaned the dish and made a big show of declaring she would not be eating Brussels sprouts in any way, shape or form. You kinda liked them, but it wasn't your favourite.

At some point or another, Regina came down, rubbing sleep dust from her eyes. Still groggy, she didn't even try to bat her mom's hands away when she started smoothing down her bedhead.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," You greeted from your spot at the stove. The job of stirring all the pots had been handed off to you.

"Morning," She yawned. "I'm not gonna get any sleep tonight. You should've woken me up."

"Sorry." You didn't really feel sorry, and she knew that, but that didn't stop you from patting her on the back in consolation. She leaned into you, mind clearly still addled from the nap of the century. She didn't like being touchy-feely in front of other people.

Just under two hours later, you were all ready to sit down for appetizers. You offered to help Mrs George with bringing the dishes back and forth, but she insisted she had it. It made you feel bad since she was the only one who didn't get to sit down and eat in peace. Under the strict eye of Mr George, you didn't dare to go against her wishes. You didn't know what he would take as disrespect or how he'd react to a guest misstepping in his house.

You mirrored Regina the whole time. You ate when she did, took more when she did, and focused on conversation when she did. The tactic was a safe one, but even so the shift in vibrations when around Mr George was palpable.

He didn't talk much. Mostly he just asked his daughters questions about school and their extracurriculars. He only nodded at Regina when she briefed him about the goings-on at school. He indulged Kylie's retelling of her most recent ball game with a subtle smile. He gave his compliments to Mrs George. It made your stomach twist, seeing Kylie beam like she'd won something when she got a smile out of him. Watching Mrs George's nearly full, almost untouched plate sit unattended as she busied herself with the pecan pie in the oven, you quietly wished he wasn't here at all.

Even though the air was soured by Mr George's aloof presence, the food was good. Delicious, immaculate, spectacular. Regina was a much slower eater than you, so you did eventually give up mirroring her because there was no way you were not stuffing yourself full. By the end of it, your stomach was maybe visibly distended and you could taste cranberry sauce at the back of your throat. It was a horrible feeling, but you wouldn't take any of it back.

Mr George went to his recliner, Mrs George and Josie retreated to the sitting room, and you were roped into playing video games with Kylie and Riley. Regina came too, seemingly pained.

The food baby melted away slowly as you watched Regina's younger replicas try their damndest to beat a boss in some game with a raccoon in blue. There was also a pink hippo and a green turtle. Eventually, they pawned the controller to you and told you to beat it. It took you a little bit to figure out the controls, but eventually, you were beating some tiger to the ground as a pink hippo. As you played, you noted that the plot was pretty good for a kids' game. You'd have to see if you could get it for yourself next time you went to GameStop.

With the boss beat, the younger girls took over again. Regina decided that that was enough and bid the two goodbyes, dragging you out with her.

"Not a fan of Sly Cooper?" You teased once she'd deposited you into her room. You walked in further and sat down on the floor, leaning against the frame of her bed.

She was looking at you like she never had before. Or maybe she had, but this was intense. She walked closer, forcing your neck to crane up as she stood above you.

"Reg?" You whispered, confused and a little wary. Had you fucked up somewhere?

"You always ruin the moment with that." She wasn't smiling, or scowling, and there wasn't anything hostile or hurt in her eyes. You couldn't read her. Unexplored territory. She came even closer, stepping so that her feet were on either side of your legs. Your vision blurred as she knelt down, straddling your things. She was soft, her usual perfume faded and mixed with the delectable smells of Thanksgiving dinner, and her hands were coming around your neck.

You swallowed, not daring to move lest you scared her off or something. What was she doing? She couldn't be, just, simply, that was too easy, you were being delusional-

She was soft there too. Glossy, tangy like cranberries, gentle and slow. She kissed you. Regina kissed you. You held your breath for a moment, not even realizing it, and shuddered as it released. She smiled against your mouth.

"C'mon, jorts." She whispered, lips brushing against yours as she talked. Her eyes, so close you couldn't really even look into them, glinted in mirth. "Kiss me back."

Your hands snared around her back, pulling her close to your body, as your lips found hers again. She giggled and you swallowed the sound, feeling it expand in your chest like sunlight.

Even hidden in her bedroom, sharing a kiss you didn't know would mean anything- could mean anything- there was nowhere else you'd rather have been.

Notes: We're still not at the climax. Or, well, we're very close, very much in it, but The Moment is yet to happen. Everybody knows it'll get worse before it gets better. That's just how it goes. So, have this fluff before it's yanked away from you! <3

Taglist: @autorasexy, @wedfan2, @unadulterated-moron, @modernsapphicism, @9unknown0, @sage-rose2000, @massive-honkas, @nattys-swiftie, @likefirenrain, @luz-enjoyer, @dandelions4us, @natashamaximoff-69, @alexkolax, @jareaul0ver, @here4theqts, @charleeeesworld, @natsbiggestfan1, @brocoliisscared, @yellowwallflowers, @scarlettbitchx, @ayoungexwife, @cyberbonesworld, @syddie-reads, @screechcat

(holy moly there's a lot of you. if you wanna be added to the taglist, say so in the comments!)

#mean girls #mean girls 2004 #mean girls 2024 #regina george #regina george x reader #regina george x you #regina george x oc #regina george x ofc #lesbian regina george #mean girls x reader #wlw #fic: yard work

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phthalomushroom · 4 days ago

Text

The Family (7)

pairings: modern!mafia!aemondxreader

summary: You had left Kings Landing and the Targaryen family four years ago. Now back and living with your old roommate you realize that the life you had thought you escaped had seemingly been waiting for you. But will the family really let you go? Will the people you left behind forgive you? Can you forget the past and look to the future?

warnings: language, mentions of trauma, shooting, gunfight, injury, angst

word count: 1.2k

note: hi all, apologies for not posting for a bit, life got crazy and I low-key got the ick... as well as writers block... but I will persevere. Enjoy this chapter I will do my best to get back to weekly posts!

You couldn’t get those boxes out of your head. All the baby toys, the clothes, the crib. It was the only thing you could see as you stared at the dark wall across from where you sat on the bed. Luckily, you had texted Baela about the situation and she was on her way with Jace to come pick you up.

A part of you felt bad for ruining their date night but you were NOT going to stay the night here.

Especially not in this room.

Aemond and Alys’s shared bedroom looked nothing like you would have imagined. Not that you would even think to imagine it- actually you never even thought that they’d actually live together at all.

Even though there seemed to be no evidence of Aemond’s fiancée downstairs, there was plenty of evidence in this room. Pictures of the two together littered the walls, the nightstands, the dresser. Evidence of their clearly real and loving relationship.

And to your dismay it fucking hurt.

Alys would be a mother to Aemond’s child, she would be the strong wife he always needed and you would be a memory, a brief moment in his life.

Nothing more than a highschool sweetheart.

A silent, cold anger seemed to fizzle in the pit of your stomach, like a rattling snake setting to strike.

You were just a phase but yet your life seemed to be in danger again.

Lies were being told again.

Secrets were being kept again.

The door to the room opened, Aemond coming in with mugs of something steaming.

“I think I should go.” You crossed your arms, your tone rattled a warning.

Aemond looked up, brows furrowing. He set the mugs on the dresser and put his hands in his pockets. “I don’t want you to go.”

“I don’t care what you want.”

“What’s gotten into you?”

You uncrossed your arms ready to strike. “I’m tired of this shit.”

“What are you talking about?”

It wasn’t a lie, you did feel tired, tired of trying to be an adult and tired of being the bigger person. At some point you were bound to start telling the truth, you needed to. “She’s pregnant.”

He arched his brow. “What?”

You stood from the bed. “I saw the room, the boxes of baby stuff. I saw it all.”

He frowned. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

You stepped closer. “Don’t know what I’m talking about? I know that I’m talking about how you fucking proposed to Alys Rivers. I’m talking about how you asked me to marry you and that doesn’t seem to fucking matter anymore. I’m talking about the fact that you got her pregnant and now I’m going to have to fucking live in the same city as you, your wife and your child. And that none of what we went through together matters.” You took a deep breath.

Why is it not me? Desperately you wanted to say it but you just couldn’t let yourself open up to him all the way yet. Not with the room full of a future that wasn’t yours next door.

He looked at you incredulously. “You… you never wanted this life.”

“But I always wanted you.”

He continued to stare at you, like he was looking at you for the first time since you had arrived back.

You began to feel self conscious, maybe you said too much. “Say something.”

He rushed forward grabbing your face in his large hands and pressing his mouth against yours. You froze, not processing what was happening until his tongue pushed into your mouth and he tangled his hands in your hair pulling you even closer to him. Your arms instinctively reached up grabbing the front of his shirt as he was finally knocked out of his daze.

His arms moved down your body, grabbing and squeezing at whatever flesh he could find until he picked you up. You wrapped your legs around his waist as he walked you back towards the bed, setting you down- never breaking the kiss.

He finally pulled away, allowing you to breathe, both of you panting trying to catch your breaths as you stared at one another.

Too familiar, this all felt too familiar. Your heart pounded as you let yourself fall into old habits.

His gaze was soft as he reached out to caress your face, brushing a stray hair out of your face. “I will always want you too.”

Your chest tightened as he leaned closer, his kiss gentle this time. But as soon as it started it ended, Aemond pulling away to lean his forehead against yours to take a deep breathe. His hands rubbed soothing circles on your arms.

“But I made a promise to Alys and there’s things I need to take care of before-”

You fully pulled away, moving out from under him to get off of the bed. “What.”

“There are things that I need to do, promises I need to keep in order to-to make sure your safe, to make sure everything is safe and protected.”

You stared at him like he had three heads. “What the fuck are you talking about right now Aemond?”

He moved to get up to pull you to him but you stepped away. “I just need time, just give me time.”

“You had time, almost five years of it and it seems in that time you can’t even get your fucking lies straight.”

“It’s complicated okay, the less people know the better. Just try to trust me, please.”

You stared at him in disbelief. It was like you were having two different conversations. “Is this about business or is this about love?”

“What?”

“Is it business or is it love?”

“(Y/N)-”

“Is it business or is it love, Aemond, that’s all I want to know.”

“It’s complicated.”

Your eyes burned. Fucking unbelievable. “Clearly. But the only person making it complicated here is you. Why can’t it ever be fucking easy with you Aemond? Why can’t you ever tell me the truth?”

He tried to get closer to you. “You know nothing about what is going on. What I am trying to fix, what I am trying to build for-for us.” He reached out to take your hands in his. “I am doing everything in my power to make things right, to make us right but I need more time. Just a little more time.”

You shook your head. “She’s pregnant Aemond, you are out of time.”

Your phone chimed with a text, you quickly pulled it out of your pocket. “That’s Baela, she’s here with Jace.”

“(Y/N)-”

“I am done with the nonsensical answers. I am done with the empty words. I am done with all of it. I never should have come back here, never should have taken that stupid fucking job. I certainly never should have ever let you into my life.”

Tears were beginning to fall now, tears that were long overdue. After so long of bottling it up, after so long of being okay it wasn’t okay anymore. You were broken. You turned to leave, going past the soon to be nursery, going down the stairs, grabbing your bags that you had left and walked straight out of Aemond and Aly’s home.

When you got into Jace’s car, it took everything in you to not fully break down as Baela turned to you from the passenger's seat and asked you what was wrong.

You just shook your head and simply said. “She’s pregnant.”

Tag List: @dixie-elocin @liannafae @toodlesxcuddles @watercolorskyy @zenka69 @bellaisasleep @namelesslosers @tssf-imagines @xcharlottemikaelsonx @yourbane @beary-rambles @a-beaverhausen @lightblindingme

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redstarwriting · 1 year ago

Text

the clash | viii. love you to death

hobie brown x goth!reader

word count: 4.2k

genre: enemies to lovers

warnings: language, insults, venom hating hobie, anxious and sad hobie, panic attacks, fight scene, injuries, lots of injuries, angst with fluff and then some more angst and then fluff again, mentions of blood, broken bones

a/n: y’all.... this one was so fun HAHA i’ve been seeing scenes from this part play out in my head ever since i thought of the plot so it was so so SO fun putting it into actual words. we’re getting closer to the end now, and i am so grateful for everyone who decided they wanted to read this lil story i thought up 🖤 i hope you enjoy!

previous chapter: vii. i wanna be sedated

now reading: viii. love you to death

next chapter: ix. last caress

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“Uh, Hobie… the hell is happening right now,” Miles asks, but Hobie stays silent. He’s trying so hard not to freak out. It’s taking everything in him to not give in to his emotions. He clenches his fists. “Let ‘em go,” he demands, and Venom laughs. “I don’t think so. I like this body more than I expected to. Looks like we’re in the same boat there, aren’t we?”

“Shut the fuck up,” he growls, an all too familiar anger stirring in him. “Awww, are you going to kill me like you did yourself?” Venom giggles, and he glares at it. “Just fuckin’ might, mate,” he says through gritted teeth, and Gwen pipes up. “What? Hobie, what are they talking about?”

“Piss off, Gwen. That’s not them,” he snaps, and she frowns underneath her mask. “We’re here to help you Hobie,” she says, and he clenches his jaw. “I don’t need no help.”

“On the contrary, I think you need all the help you can get. You mess up everything when you don’t have it, no?” Venom says, amused. Hobie knows it’s just trying to antagonize him. He knows that. But he can’t help but get angry. It’s using your body.

But he also knows that he does need help. He just can’t say his plan in front of this freakshow. “Go back to Spider Society, Gwen,” he touches his guitar, “tell Miguel I got it under control. Just gonna amp up this space slime a bit.” He hopes that was a clear indication of what he needs Gwen to do.

“Are you sure?” she asks slowly, and he smirks. She got it. “Positive.” With that, Gwen, Miles, and Pav disappear. If Hobie gets as many amps as possible, he can repeat what he did with Osborn and save you. Of course, the act of destroying this Venom might require more than just noise and be a little harder, but he’s willing to do anything to save you.

Anything.

Venom laughs. “That was a dumb move, what you just did,” it says, and he shrugs. “Yeah well, I’m full of those lately,” he responds, trying to think of his next move. He doesn’t want to destroy your flat, but he doesn’t want to cause too much damage to the city as a whole. “Are you going to do something, or do you prefer I kill you just standing there?” Venom asks, and Hobie scoffs. “Kill me? You’re a cheeky alien, you are,” he says, and he leaps off of the balcony. Venom follows him. He begins webbing through the city, expertly. Honestly, it’s a good thing he’s been here to see you so many times. But Venom keeps up with him, occasionally shooting out some symbiote webs at him. Luckily, he’s able to see it and dodge them with no problem.

He sees a giant arena and decides that’s a good place to fight Venom. Especially as it was all dark and he saw a sign talking about a celebration there for tomorrow, which means everything was most likely set up already and he didn’t have to worry about anyone being there since the event wasn’t until tomorrow.

He webs into it, landing in the nose bleeds and disappearing into the shadows. He hears Venom land where he was with a chuckle. “You can’t outrun me, Spider-Punk,” it says, and Hobie quietly webs down a few levels and ducks into a closed clothing store in the arena. He calls Gwen, who picks up almost immediately. “Shh,” Hobie says before she can say anything. “Bring the amps to the Mortician Square Garden Arena, line ‘em across the top, I’ll keep Venom distracted til you finish,” he whispers, and Gwen nods. “And one more thing. Get as much as you can out of (Y/n)’s flat, okay? Get Shadow out, take him to Miguel, and all the vinyls, their aunt’s skull, as much as you can,” he whispers, and she gives him a confused look. “Why?” she asks, and he sighs. “Their world isn’t gonna make it,” he says, and Gwen’s eyes widen. She mumbles a quick ‘got it,’ before hanging up.

He sits in the silence, confused as to why he doesn’t feel any presence. Suddenly, an inky tendril shoots out at him, and grabs him, pinning his arms to his sides. He mutters expletives, trying to get out of Venom’s grasp, but to no avail. He comes face to face with the grinning monster. “Found you.”

“Fuck you, mate,” he grunts, and thrashes around. “I thought you would be more difficult to catch. Looks like I was wrong,” it says and Hobie rolls his eyes. “Woulda been harder, bu–”

“But your little sense trick doesn’t work on me. That’s how I caught (Y/n), too,” says Venom as they pull Hobie’s mask off. Hobie glares at them and tries to get out of its grip again. “They’re right… you are handsome,” Venom says, and he delivers a successful kick to the symbiote. “Get out of their head,” he growls, and it giggles. “That tickled.”

Venom throws him across the room with force. He flies through a wall and groans as he stands up. Venom shoots out a tendril to catch him again, but he successfully dodges it. “If only you could hear their pleas for me to leave you alone,” Venom says, and it makes Hobie angrier. “I said get out of their head!” He yells, throwing a giant chunk of concrete at Venom only to have it shatter when it comes into contact with it. It only slightly falters, but that enough time for Hobie to quickly web away. He just needs to keep Venom preoccupied while Gwen, Miles, and Pavitr set up the first part of the plan.

He hears Venom following him, taunting him, and consistently trying to grab at him. As long as he keeps Venom from seeing outside, everything should go off just fine. He just hopes Miles, Gwen, and Pav can let him know when to go outside with Venom close behind. Ah well. Improvising is what spiders do best, anyways. Hobie is swinging past a food booth when Venom hits him into it. He winces as he crashes through the wall separating the front from the kitchen and straight into the knobs on the giant grill. Of course, it turns the electric grill on, but that’s the least of Hobie’s worries as Venom then uses one of its “webs” to pin him down on the ground. He grabs the web and tries to get it off of him, but it doesn’t work. Venom sprouts tendrils that make it literally look like a spider, with “legs” coming out of its back.

Luckily, Venom places one of these legs on top of the already hot grill, causing it to scream out in pain and freak out just enough for Hobie to get out of the “web’s” grasp. He quickly runs off, shooting out a web to disappear out of Venom’s sight. He sneaks around to the outside and sees Pav pushing an amp in place. It looks like they’re about halfway done, and Hobie nods. He can keep that thing distracted for that much longer.

He sneaks back into the indoor part of the stadium. He thinks about it, but ultimately decides he’s had enough with the stealth method. It obviously isn’t helping him in this instance, like it ever helped him before. “HEY VENOM! COME GET ME YA FUCKIN’ TOSSER!” he yells, and to his expectation, Venom burst through a wall and screams at him. Hobie shoots a web upwards and leaps up to the next story. Venom bursts through the floor, and Hobie quickly fires a web at a pillar, wrapping around it a few times and then firing another one to another pillar and tying them together tightly before taking off and doing it again to the next set of pillars, and then repeating it again. He made sure the first trap would land in the middle of Venom’s body, the second more of a tripwire, and the third at clothesline level. And it worked.

Venom ran directly into the first trap, which slowed it down, and then the second made it stumble and the third snapped its head back at a gross angle. It groans, and Hobie waves at it. “You should really watch where ya goin’,” he says, and Venom growls. “They feel everything.”

“What?” Hobie falters. “Your little partner. They feel it all.” Hobie frowns. Is that true? Did he just hurt you? Venom senses his distraction, and grabs him, pushing him down through the floor. He grunts, and Venom laughs. “It’s too easy,” it says, and Hobie glares at it. He’s trying to pretend like he isn’t completely battered and bruised by Venom, but damn. This alien can fight. He grunts as Venom picks him up off the ground and pushes him forcefully against the wall. “Aww, did that hurt?” Venom giggles, and he spits on it. He ignores that there was blood mixed in with the spit. That’s… probably not good, though. Venom smiles at him. “I don’t think I am going to kill you,” it hisses, cocking its head to the side. “I think I’ll keep you in case this body breaks.”

“Piss off, I’d never let you do that to me.”

“Even if it meant I would let (Y/n) go?” it asks, and Hobie clenches his jaw. Venom giggles. “Say I let them go, they could run free without the influence of me. Would you do it then?” Hobie clenches his fists, staying quiet. “You’d just make me kill them.”

“Clever boy,” it says, and Hobie yelps as Venom tightens its grip on him. “But you’re right. This body will do just fine, and I can easily find a new host if I need to,” Venom says, smirking at Hobie, “I’ll be kind to you before I kill you,” Venom says, and suddenly Venom’s creepy and unsettling grin melts away, and Hobie sees your face. You’ve been crying, and that sight alone breaks his heart. And your heart breaks at the sight of his bloodied lip, black eye and cut forehead. “I’m sorry,” you whisper to each other at the same time, but before any more words can be said, Venom takes over again.

Hobie tries to get out of its grasp again, but it's not happening. “Interesting choice for your last words,” Venom forms a fist, ready to strike Hobie, but before it can, it’s arm gets pulled backward by another web. “Those will not be his last words,” he hears Pavitr say. “Yeah, his last words will probably be ‘I DON’T AGREE WITH PEACEFUL PROTESTS’ or some shit,” Miles chimes in, webbing the arm holding Hobie against the wall and yanking it away from him. “I was thinking more like ‘I won’t let you hurt them!’ because I mean wow look at how unhinged he is right now! Imagine when they’re actually together,” Pav says. “Not the time, Pav,” Miles shakes his head, yanking Venom’s arm, even more, to make it parallel to the arm Pavitr’s holding back.

Pavitr and Miles hold Venom’s arms back as it shrieks and Hobie leaps away from it. “Good timin’, lads,” he says, wiping some of the blood off his face. “Don’t mention it,” Miles grunts and Hobie dodges some attacks thrown by Venom’s tendrils. “Miles! It’s sensitive to heat!” Hobie yells, and Miles smirks. “Ahhhh, I gotcha,” he says and uses his venom electricity strike. Venom yelps and falls backward. Pav and Miles let go of its arms, and the three of them crouch down. “Where’s Gwen?”

“She’s outside getting all the chords connected so all the amps play at once,” Miles says after electrocuting Venom again, meaning it didn’t hear what Miles just said. “Amazin’,” Hobie mumbles, dodging some more of Venom’s attacks. “I’m gonna get up there, stall it woulda?” Hobie says, webbing away.

He knows Venom is going to try and follow him, so he heads out to the open field. When he gets out there, he sees rows and rows of fireworks. What the hell were they celebrating that they needed this much fire power? He hears Venom’s yell and decides it’s not important, but it’s good that all of it is there. They can use that. He climbs and webs his way up to the top of the stadium, running over to Gwen who hands him the chord. “Thank you,” he says, plugging his guitar in, and she nods. “Don’t mention it.”

“Did you get everything out of their flat?”

“As much as we could. How do you know it’s the end?” she asks, and he frowns. “Cause I caused it.” He looks down, clenching his jaw and clearing his throat.

“It’s bout to get real loud. Tell Miles and Pav to lure it out,” Hobie says, and Gwen nods, about to web off. “Wait! Gwen, throw all the fireworks in a big pile,” he says, pointing to all of the fireworks. “What? Why?”

“Venom is sensitive to heat. Let’s blow it up.”

“But (Y/n) is–”

“They won’t be bonded when it happens, go!” Hobie says, and Gwen hurries to help the boys lure Venom out into the open. Hobie watches and waits, when he hears police sirens going off. Oh great. Piggies are coming to play. Maybe Venom will eat some of them. That would be the only time he ever supported Venom doing something. His attention gets pulled back to the field when he hears Venom’s shrieks. He sees Pav and Gwen web out, starting to throw the fireworks into a pile, and then Venom stumbles out, screaming from Miles electrocuting it once again. Hobie pulls out his pick, placing his fingers to form the beginning chord to one of his favorite songs. He hesitates and places his fingers to form a different chord. This time, it’s one of your favorite songs. He knows all of them by heart, anyways.

“When did you learn this song?” you ask him, as he lazily strums along to one of the songs playing on your vinyl player. He shrugs. “I hear it so much when I come over here, the real question would be when didn’t I learn this song,” he says, and you roll your eyes. He smiles slightly when he sees you swaying back and forth and humming along to the music.

The song ends, and without a beat, Hobie starts strumming along to the next one. “I must listen to this vinyl way too much,” you comment, and he shrugs. “At least it isn’t a shit album.”

Watching you vibe with his playing made him make a promise to himself, he would always learn your favorite songs just so he could see your reaction to him playing them.

How didn’t he realize his feelings before?

Venom spots him, and screams up at him, ready to rush up the seats of the stadium and take him down. He takes a deep breath.

“Come back to me, love.”

He strums, and the sound causes Venom to stumble, holding its ears while it screams. He can see Gwen, Pav, and Miles wince slightly from the noise as they finish bringing all the fireworks into a pile in the middle of the stadium. They web up to where Hobie is and turn to see what happens. Hobie doesn’t acknowledge them, his main focus is on you. Venom’s skin starts bubbling around you, and it seems to literally be melting. He sees flashes of you, the pain affecting you in the same way as Venom. It nearly makes him stop playing seeing the distress on your face. But he remembers it’s the symbiote causing you the pain, and he needs to get it off of you as soon as possible. The position Venom is in, trying desperately to cover its ears suddenly breaks as you finally regain control of your own body. You rip some of the symbiote off, your face breaking through. Hobie keeps playing, fixated on you as you crawl away from the inky black alien. It looks straight out of a horror movie, and he can’t wait to tell you about it. You’re gonna think you looked so cool. He’ll still give you some playful shit about how you looked though. It wouldn’t be the same if he didn’t.

He nearly tears up when he sees you completely separate from Venom. You look up, seeing him and the others, and immediately web up to him. You’re in your suit, but your mask isn’t on, and Hobie stops playing seeing that you’re next to him. You immediately wrap your arms around him, hugging him like your life depended on it. He hugs back, somehow tighter than you are. “I’m so sorry,” you whisper, and he shakes his head. “No, love, you’re okay. You don’t have to apologize for nothin’,” he says, rubbing his hand up and down your back. If the two of you could choose, you would stay like this forever. But the two of you are spiders. And it never works out like that for spiders.

“HOBIE LOOK OUT!”

Hobie hears Gwen shout just a second too late, and one of Venom’s “webs” attaches itself to his back, pulling him off the edge of the stadium. You reach your hand out to prevent it, and Hobie reaches out his, but you just weren’t fast enough. Your fingertips brush each other, but before you can grab his hand, he’s out of reach. You watch as he gets pulled down to the bottom of the stadium.

For the second time, you weren’t fast enough.

You get flashbacks to your second canon event, and a single tear escapes your eye.

Hobie, on the other hand, can feel Venom overtake him, no matter how hard he tries to fight it off. He starts to panic, hearing Miguel’s voice in his mind.

“Hobart Brown was meant to kill (Y/n) (L/n).”

Now the tears are falling freely down his face. This can’t be happening. He can’t let this happen. Why is this happening?

Once the shock of what happened passes, you find yourself pissed off. You just got back to Hobie, and now this alien thinks it can take him away? Fuck that. You scream out of frustration, webbing down and punching Venom’s newly formed face, full force. Well, as full force as your exhausted body will let you. You feel your hand break from your own strength coming into contact with something equally as strong, but Venom falls backward, so you don’t really care. You ignore the pain, noticing the pile of fireworks. You understand the assignment immediately. Unfortunately for you, Venom bounces back faster than you thought and punches you in the stomach. You grunt, coughing up blood, as you fly backward and hit the side of the stadium wall, hard. You glare at Venom, who laughs. “So weak,” you hear it say, and you glare at it. “Maybe if I should have drained more of your life force. Then you wouldn’t have even been able to punch me like that. Though, I know it took up more energy than you would have liked to do so,” Venom roars at you, beginning to charge at you.

You web to the other side of the stadium as Miles jumps down. “I got it,” he says, electrocuting Venom once more to slow it down. It screams and swats him out of the way. He hits the wall, and shakes his head, webbing up to Gwen and Pav, who immediately assesses the damage he got from Venom’s hit. They notice you’re up here, too now. “You are just so fast,” Pav says, impressed. “Oh my god, (Y/n), your hand,” she says, seeing it already turning black and blue, and blood pouring from it. “Not important right now,” you growl, picking up Hobie’s guitar. Luckily, your strumming hand is the hand that broke, so you form your fingers to a specific chord and strum. You play Hobie’s favorite song, the one he taught you to try and show you ‘real music’ so long ago.

“Ugh, can’t we listen to something other than your moody goth music?” Hobie asks, lazily turning his head towards you as he laid on his couch. Gwen, Pav, and Miles left like 30 minutes ago, but Shadow was too comfortable on Hobie’s chest for him to leave. “No, actually, we can’t. And don’t act like this song isn’t the best thing you’ve ever heard.”

“Listen just cause it’s your favorite doesn’t mean it has to be mine, love,” he says, causing you to roll your eyes. “You’re such an asshole, Hobart.”

“It’s part of my charm,” he says and you fake gag. At the sound, Shadow hops off Hobie and makes his way to you, making sure you’re okay. “Alright, you can leave now. Yayy, Shadow! Wooo!” you say, petting your cat and pretending like you want Hobie to leave. He clicks his tongue. “Nah, I’m not goin’ nowhere. Come here,” he says pulling his guitar from behind the couch and into his arms. “What are you doing?”

“I’m showing you real music. So, sit down, shut up, and soak up the jams.”

You play through the pain, doing the exact thing he did when he first showed you. Albeit not as good as him. But it works, he breaks away from Venom, running, climbing, and webbing as fast as he can to get to you. And seeing the sight of you playing the guitar like that? Especially his favorite song? He could have fainted if he wasn’t worried you’d die immediately after he did. He sees your hand and frowns. “Give me the guitar, love,” he says, taking it out of your hands gently, and picking up where you left off. Except he quickly fades into one of your songs. You smile slightly and look at him. He gives you a small smile back. “Hobie, you have your lighter?” you ask, and he nods. “I’m gonna go down there and convince it to come to the fireworks pile. When I say, throw me your lighter,” you say. “Kick its fuckin’ ass, (Y/n),” he says, as you leap off the top of the stadium.

The four spiders up top suddenly hear a police bullhorn. “We have you surrounded. Hands up or we will resort to using force!”

Hobie turns his guitar up louder.

You web down, purposely aiming to kick Venom closer to the fireworks pile. You hit the ground and roll, landing in a crouch before standing and sprinting to the pile. You scream Hobie’s name, and he throws you his lighter. He stops playing, seeing that it needs to be able to actually move to get to the pile. You web up a story, catching it before rolling back down on the ground. Venom shrieks in its symbiote form, and comes rushing toward you, but you quickly ignite the lighter, throwing it on the pile of fireworks. You leap on top of it, ensuring that Venom will be in the line of fire, and when the first one begins going off as Venom tries desperately to climb it and get to you, you web off it as fast as you can. Hobie watches as you get halfway up before all of the fireworks go off at once.

He hears Venom’s screams, but all he can focus on is watching you as the explosion breaks your web and propels you way higher than you should have gone. He quickly uses his left hand to web a building close by and his right hand to another one and slingshots himself up to you. He catches you in midair, cradling you to his body and webbing to another building. Luckily, Mortician Square Garden was close to the Ember Stake Building, your favorite spot in all of the city. He lands, crouching down and holding you in his arms in a way that your legs are resting on the building. You lean your head against his chest, and he gently places a hand on the side of your face. “Alright, love?” he mumbles, and you give him a small, weak smile. “’m tired, Hobie.”

“I know, sweetheart, I know,” he says, running his thumb back and forth across your cheek. “Bet I looked cool just then, though,” you say, and Hobie chuckles. “Dunno. Think you need to work on your form,” he says, and you laugh softly. “You played my favorite,” you mumble, and he nods. “You played mine.”

“Not very well.”

“I would listen to that every day of my life, love.” You turn your head slightly to see the amount of fireworks lighting up the night sky. Hobie stays looking at you. “Looks pretty,” you mutter, and he grins. “Yeah. Sure does,” he says, ignoring the fireworks completely. “Reckon I get you somewhere safe to rest?” he says, and you nod softly. “I’d like that,” you mumble, turning your head back to him. The two of you stare at each other for a moment, not saying anything. He looks up, standing and helping you stand as well. He gently turns you to see your city, wrapping his arms around your waist. “I gotta admit. I do like it here,” he whispers in your ear. You smile softly, looking out at the city from your favorite spot. After getting a good look, you feel your legs about to give out as your eyes flutter closed. He catches you before you fall and is grateful you stopped looking when you did because he starts to see the nothingness begin to claim your world. You hear Hobie very quietly say, “I’ve got you, my love.”

Then everything fades to black.

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