#made this and instantly wanted to punch myself in the face

[maxcuntstappen]

It's alright, just wait and see, Your string of lights is still bright to me.

Daniel Ricciardo's First Win + 'Innocent' by Taylor Swift

Formula One Web Weaves

[witchthewriter]

Poly141! | Mission Pixie Dust

Okay so... I was making up scenarios in my head as I was falling asleep last night and I made myself cry ... so I obviously had to share...

Poly141; the four men are your husbands and all deployed at the same time, leaving you home with your three kids at the beginning of the school holidays.

This turned out longer than I thought it would but I just had to write it out. I love Poly141 AND them being dads :')

Da = Johnny

Papa = John P.

Dad= Simon

Daddy = Kyle

School holidays had just started, and your three pups were buzzing as soon as they came home. Bags were thrown on the floor, school shoes unlaced and scattered around the shoe stand. They knew the rules, but first day of school holidays meant they were allowed to get a little wild.

Your oldest, Paesha, had just turned eight and her father was obvious. Thick curls, dark skin and warm brown eyes made it plain to see. But all your husbands loved her the same. In fact, she had a special bond with her Da (Johnny).

Malachai, your second, could have been any of the three other men's. Light brown hair, fair complection, and utterly/overly protective of his sisters. He had been born a year after Pae.

And your youngest, Felicity (known as Flick), had started her first year in big school. She was known for having exceptional blue eyes.

None of your husbands wanted a DNA test, they thought it useless because everyone treats the children with the same love, compassion and warmth.

Throwing your keys on the counter (Paesha picked them up and placed them on the hook). You rubbed the bridge of your nose and tried to quell the longing in your soul. You didn't know if it was worse when the kids were gone or with you. Being completely alone let the terrible thoughts attack but you didn't want your kids to miss out on having their fathers'.

Calming the oncoming tears, you turned around and asked, "who wants pizza for dinner?"

"YES!" Yelled Mal, a fist punched in the air. Paesha nodded her head enthusiastically while Flick did a little happy dance.

Paesha halted and squinted at you, "Not homemade right?"

After dinner arrived, the four of you sat on the large dark green couch. Your two ex-military dogs, Moth and Teddy, sat on either end of the lounge.

Turning onto the streaming service, you found the exact movie you were looking for. The 2003 version of Peter Pan.

With the lights off (except for the kitchen, the kids were still scared of too much darkness), you watched as one of your cats jumped into Pae's lap. Barnaby started purring instantly. His fluffy white tail settled around his body.

The seven of you settled in. Your four human babies snuggled up to their mama, smiles already on their faces.

When the movie had finished, your kids still wouldn't go to bed.

"Oh wait, I know why it isn't working - we don't have the pixie dust!" Flick pulled on your sleeve with a huge gap-toothed smile.

You had been watching as they jumped around the room. Lights flicked on, bodies flinging from one couch to another.

"I know! But ... we don't have any in the house..." You grumbled.

Paesha was staring dreamily at Peter Pan, a cheek resting against her face. "Where do we get some?" Her head turned slightly to look at you, her eyes nearly heart-shaped.

"Ugh-" god trying to keep childlike wonder alive was bloody difficult. Like a sign from the Universe, your phone started to ring.

All three kids ran over to it, knowing exactly who was calling at this time of night. Swiping the screen, four familiar faces popped up.

"Da! Papa! Dad! Daddy!" Smiling through the screen, the men had been just as eager to see their kids as their kids were to see them.

"Hello little munchkins, ya been good for mum?" Simon greeted first. His mask was off and no black could be found around his eyes. He never showed that side to the children.

"We're going to fly!" Flick chirped, her arms outstretched and running around.

"You're - what?" Price said with a slightly panicked face.

"But we need pixie dust," Malachai explained. Shaking his head like this was obvious information.

"I introduced them to the ... live action Peter Pan," you explained and a smile of regret grew on your tired face.

"Oh honey," Kyle replied, understanding the situation. He was the first of the men to.

"But we don't have any and we have to go buy more!" Pae said while leaning against you.

"Eh, pixie dust ...?" you heard Johnny mumble in the background.

"Oh! I have an idea!" You said with a faked expression, "why don't the Dada's get us the pixie dust!"

The chorus of cheers was heard throughout the house. Alerting the the tired Moth and Teddy.

Kyle shook his head. And Price's nose flared. Mum: 1 - Dads: 0.

"We'll bring back the goddamns finest," Simon said. You couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

"See! You heard Dad! Now get your butts' upstairs and in bed."

"Yes ma'am!" They said in unison (a nickname they'd heard their father's use one too many times.)

Once the kids were upstairs, your face dropped.

"I miss you guys," you whispered into the phone. The tears welling and spilling down your cheeks.

"We miss you too," John said, his words strangled with his feelings.

It was always hard to hang up.

It hurt.

But tonight's farewell felt like the hardest. You could just imagine how the scenario would've played out if their father's were there with them. With you.

'Can't always get what we want,' you thought bitterly.

"Not long now," Kyle said. You stared at his eyes and then his lips. God how much you wanted to kiss him.

"You better make sure you bring back some fucking pixie dust or there'll be a riot."

"Aye, Laswell definitely knows someone-" Johnny replied, giving you a wink. "Miss you gorgeous." He always tried to uplift the mood. And it nearly always worked.

You fought out of your misery, knowing the four soldiers couldn't bear to see you upset. And as they said their goodbyes, you said so in return.

"We love you, our precious wife. We'll all be together soon."

[ultravi0lence14]

Lover Boy

dean winchester x fem!reader

2.5k | fluff

summary: the double life of dean winchester seemed to come out when he would be dangerous and sinister around demons, yet soft and gentle when it came to how he loved you.

dean winchester was a tough man. raised as a soldier from a young age, he grew into one of the strongest men you’ve ever encountered.

even with all of that to factor in, dean was still a complete softie at his core.

his childish love for certain things was definitely a major reason. though how he treated you definitely gave it away. dean was always looking for you in a room, never wanting to be more than two feet away from you. not getting a lot of affection as a child, dean’s love language was most definitely physical touch. the man had to have his hands on you at all times. wether that be around your waist, shoulder, thigh, or even around your middle.

don’t even get started on all the cute little pet names he called you. cheesy stuff like that never made sense to you. the notion of it all had you assuming that you’d laugh in a man’s face if he even tried to utter the word ‘babe’ to your face.

with dean, it was different. the first time he called you sweetheart, you didn’t feel the urge to giggle. actually, you felt a blush dust your cheeks and a shy smile overtake your lips. since then, the older winchester has been dabbling with all different sorts of names. you drew the line when he tried to add ‘sugar mama’ into the mix, but that was just dean.

baby, honey, angel, sunshine, you name it. dean was collecting them all like trading cards, and you seriously weren’t complaining.

on top of it all, dean was very over protective when it came to you. to dean, you were the best thing that ever happened to him. if anything ever happened to you, dean was positive he would never be able to forgive himself. so will all of his will, dean spent hunts focusing on two things — killing the monster and making sure you came out of it unscathed and wound free.

today was no different. sam had caught wind of a vamps nest down in georgia, and the two brothers weren’t against blowing off some steam and decapitating a couple of bloodsuckers.

everything was going as usual. you three scoped out the town, figuring out what the best place would be for the vampires nest. when the location was secured, you and the brothers waited until dusk. the sun was drifting down over the horizon, laying illuminating shadows over the ground as you creeped up towards the vacant barn behind dean.

both sam and dean decided that going in guns blazing would be the best option. catch some vampires by surprise and kill a couple before the real fight happened. you knew how to use a machete, and you’d beheaded a couple of vamps in the past, but dean wasn’t always so keen on you joining. his words exactly were ‘if anything happened to you i wouldn’t know what to do with myself. all i want is for you to be safe, baby.’

you understood where he was coming from, but you also knew you were fully capable killing a couple vamps without any harm. with a long hour of begging and pouting, dean finally let you tag along. his only proposition being you stayed close to him, which wasn’t a problem since you tended to do that anyway.

the three of you made it to the doors of the barn. sam didn’t wait before he swung the door open, striding towards the nearest vampire and smoothly chopping it’s head off. the fight was now in full swing. a total of six vampires had resided in this abandoned barn, leaving five more for you, sam, and dean to deal with.

you felt a tug on the back of your shirt as one of the female vampires tried to push you back. you weren’t stupid, nor incompetent when it came to fighting, so you instantly handled her blow and whirled around with a swift punch to her nose.

dean had taught you everything you needed to know about hand to hand combat. being there to help with your position and allow you to practice your at the time, feeble punches on him. there had been countless occasions where dean got sidetracked as his arms wound up around you from behind. his intentions being to help with your form, but he ended up ravishing on your soft skin instead.

your fight with the female vamp didn’t last long. after a couple of punches and attempts to throw one another onto some hay bales, you found the perfect timing to swing your machete and precisely have her head rolling. the satisfaction of the kill didn’t last long, for a gruff and aggressive hand pushed you hard in the centre of your back, sending you flying into one of the adjacent walls.

a big, burly male vampire had you cornered. he succeeded in knocking the blade out of your hand, sending it scattering across the floor and completely out of your reach. his solid face made it almost impossible for you to land a decent punch, for each time he took them with ease, a bored look on his face like he was unsatisfied with your feeble attempts to fight him off.

in a last minute effort, you mustered all your strength and pushed him as hard as you could. it didn’t work, for he just grabbed the back of your head and smashed your forehead against a wooden support beam. drowsiness was taking over, and you could feel his thick fingers wrap around your neck as consciousness started to slip away from your body.

accepting your demise, you just let him have it, knowing there was no way in hell you could fight him now. though to your luck, like an angel coming down from heaven to save you, dean winchester came into view behind the man’s shoulders. his face was set in a murderous glare, arm reaching for the back of the vamps neck as he forcefully pulled him off of you.

weak from the beating, your limp body fell to the ground. as you supported yourself against the wooden beam, you watched as dean completely ditched his machete and resorted to pummeling the vampire to a bloody pulp. dean didn’t want his death to be quick, he wanted to inflict as much pain on this vile creature as he had on you. with an unfiltered rage, dean completely wailed on the vamps face, leaving no room for him to fight back.

“how does it feel, huh? getting exactly what you gave. think you can hurt my girl like that? you’re lucky i don’t string you up and bleed you dry.” his words slightly frightened you, but you knew dean would never lean towards such gruesome acts of violence. in his rage, dean sometimes completely lost control of what he would say. allowing people to become slightly afraid of what he was capable of.

the feeling of sam’s comforting hands directed your attention away from dean’s brutal assault. the sweet man was making sure you weren’t badly injured. checking if you had a concussion or if the wound on your forehead would need stitches or not. as sam started gingerly touching the already blossoming bruise on your neck, you watched as dean grabbed his blade and crushed it down into the vampires neck. completely detaching it from his body and killing him for good.

like a switch had flipped in his brain, you watched as dean quickly put his machete into his sheath and dart over to you. sam’s voice letting you two know that he was going to grab the impala was completely drowned out as dean’s rugged yet gentle hands grasped your face. he moved it side to side, inspecting to see how badly that vamp had hurt you.

“oh sweetheart,” he mumbled, wincing as he noticed the gash on your forehead. “you’re okay. i’m here baby, i’m right here.” his voice soothed you, yet the aches and pains radiating through your head and still tender neck had you whimpering, sticky tears starting to collect on your cheeks.

leaning into dean’s hand, you let your first sob break free from your lips. “dean.” you mumbled, trying to get your words out through the lump in your throat and choked sobs. “it hurts. it hurts so bad.” the look on dean’s face could’ve broken down the strongest of men. he looked so distraught. almost as though the pain you were experiencing was finding a way to attach itself to his own body.

in a way, it was kind of just like that. dean seeing you in pain brought him pain. he would rather experience any form of hellish torture than watch you suffer.

caressing your cheek one last time, dean moved his arms around the back of your knees and shoulder. he picked you up bridal style, slowly walking his way towards sam and the impala. “i know baby, you are going to be just fine.” he whispered, relishing in the way your head snuggled into his chest. “i’m going to make you feel all better. i swear.”

the ride back to the motel was filled with sam’s frantic worrying and dean’s hushed voice assuring you on your recovery. he opted to sit in the backseat with you, resting your head on his lap while softly stroking your hair, smoothing it down away from the cut on your forehead.

as sam rolled in front of the motel, you heard as he told dean he would run to the nearest store and get some food, knowing you’d be hungry after everything that just happened. from the impala to the motel room bed, everything was a blur. the only thing you slightly remember is dean carrying you, whispering sweet nothings into your ear, reassuring you that everything would be fine.

placing you gently onto the bed, you watched as dean got up to go grab the first aid kit. his frame was becoming a little blurry as you felt yourself slipping into sleeps comforting clutches. dean’s hands softly shaking you and propping you to sit upright on the bed had your eyes reopening. his eyes held a gentle glint, yet somewhere in the mix, a cloud of panic and worry moved over it.

“cmon honey, stay awake for me.” his voice caressed your ears with a soft, gentle kiss that made you smile. yet at the same time, you could hear the underlying tones of panic and worry. dean was scared for you, and dean being genuinely scared was not something a lot of people saw.

you just smiled at him, moving your one hand so it was delicately placed on his knee. “i’m fine, dean. i’m right here, alive and breathing. nothing to worry about.” you could tell that your words eased him a little, but as his fingers lightly grazed your bruised neck, the worry rolled back onto him like a tidal wave. “fuck your neck. i let this happen to you, i am so so sorry-“

the feeling of your pointer finger coming over his lips stopped dean mid sentence, his stunned face in your direct eyesight as you gave him the most intense serious face you could muster. “i don’t want to be hearing any of that. you did your best, dean. you were busy fighting the others, and i had him until he turned my head into a whack-a-mole mallet.” your words had a slight laugh bubbling in dean’s lips, making your smile brighten. “none of this is your fault. blame the vamp. who thanks to you, is now as dead as ever.”

furrowing his brows and crinkling his eyes, dean mumbled to himself something he thought you didn’t hear. but you did. you always did when it came to dean. “he’s lucky that’s all i did.” dean’s blatant protective behaviour towards you made you feel comforted. yes you could take care of yourself, but it was nice to have that extra watchful eye every once and a while.

a quiet hum settled over the room as dean tended to the cut on your forehead. his hand lightly held your face, making sure you stood still. he also wanted an excuse to touch you, for your face was probably the most beautiful thing dean winchester had ever laid his eyes on.

“there we go baby, all done”. dean said as he put away the first aid kit. when the eldest winchester turned back to face you, your eyes watched as he gingerly grabbed your face. he didn’t want to hurt you, and your heart couldn’t feel more full because of it. with both hands clasping your face, he placed his lips on your temple, leaving a delicate kiss over the bandaged scrape.

he then moved to your eyelids, kissing each one as he envisioned your beautiful coloured eyes looking back at him. long lashes decorating them as you stared up into his own eyes. next he kissed both of your cheeks, the bridge of your nose, and finally, dean left a soft, feather like kiss upon your lips.

dean kissed you as if you were made of glass. he was so worried of hurting you, making sure that whatever he did didn’t push on your wounds at all.

“i love you so much.��� he whispered, keeping his face close to yours. so much so that your lips were still basically touching. “when i saw him hurting you, i felt something in me shatter. i don’t know what i’d do without you, sweetheart.” his words struck right into your heart, giving you such a feel of warmth that it spread throughout your whole body.

bringing your lips softly to dean’s cheek, you too left a feather light kiss on his cheek bone. voice vibrating off the surface as you couldn’t find yourself to move away. “i love you too dean. so much more than you could ever imagine.”

both you and dean’s declarations of love brought forth something into your relationship. a sense of love, hope, and security. you knew that dean would always be there to protect you, and dean knew that you would always be there to bring him down. rationalize his brain with comforting words when he needed them most.

the love you two shared was pure. something driven from fresh snow directly fallen from the sky. as the two of you laid down on the bed, you wondered how it was that you got so lucky with a man like dean. a man who loved so deeply and so ardently that it spilled out of his pores.

dean winchester was the man you were sure you would spend the rest of your life with. and as he molded your body with his, hand on the back of your head and making sure you two were as close as possible, you realized that there was nothing to worry about.

for dean would always be there for you, and always love you like it was his way of breathing.

[semischarmed]

Thread, Part 2

Aaand the pendulum swings back. This is your warning, this one is (in my opinion) particularly evil. 

= = = = = 

Charlie looked away, trying to respect his brother’s privacy. His first reaction was to recoil at seeing his naked brother. As if reading his mind, I could feel him flash confusion and then look back to confirm what he had just seen. Joey made a mad dash for his brother, dropping the needle before I tightened my control to freeze him in place.

“G-get help…” Joey managed to stammer out. “H-he’s controlling me somehow”. I bit my lip. Seeing his brother seemed to have stirred a fight in him. I looked at the needle worriedly, something Charlie seemed to have caught on to. 

Joey looked at Charlie with pleading eyes. Seeing the uncharacteristic vulnerability in his brother seemed to have stirred a rare bit of courage. 

In a speed unbecoming his form, Charlie ran to me, punching me square in the jaw. I recoiled. That hurt. A lot, actually. I looked to Charlie’s heavenly face. Even as the pain stung my cheek, and his eyes burned with a fury that brought a twinge of fear in my heart and a tickle of a little something else in my body, I couldn’t help but look at the younger brother in a new respect. 

I moaned at the pain, making sure Joey mimicked in an off-putting way. “Charlie, don’t hurt him, You’re hurting me too,” I had Joey lie. He spasmed slightly as I had to reassert my control. Charlie closed his eyes for a second, trying to rationalize the situation. His eyes were laser focused on the needle. 

The guy was way faster than his shyness gave him credit for. In a flash, he made a mad dash for the needle, and aimed it right at me. I puppetted brother against brother, pulling Joey’s meaty hand to catch Charlie’s at the last second. Fuck that was close. I sighed in relief.

I eyed the point of the needle, mere inches away from my face. I saw the gears in Charlie’s head spinning, and his determined face after. The momentary weakness painted so clearly on my face seemed to all but confirm what we both now knew to be true. Had the needle pricked me, I would not only lose the gift from the god of flesh but would have been seriously injured. 

I bit my lip. The newfound bravery painted on Charlie’s cute face made me hard as a rock but was troublesome. I sighed, puppetting my new, bicep-laden flesh to walk over and wipe the sweat from my forehead. I surveyed the two brothers. The younger, cute face brimming with determination, needle in hand. And the elder marionette of muscle, face in fear and guilt. Something else shone in both brother’s eyes, something that prompted me to lick the side of Joey’s cheek. Delicious Hope. I wanted to swallow it all for myself. Time to get creative.

= = =

“You’re going to regret doing that, Charles.” I had Joey word sternly. Charlie must not have been used to the coldness I distilled into Joey’s voice, as I saw him look dejected for a moment before eying Joey’s head shaking swiftly and his eyes trying to reassure the younger brother. Not good. My control over Joey was not absolute, and every time the brothers interracted, I could feel it waning. I had to act fast. I motioned Joey’s arm, forcing it to push Charlie back. I could tell it stung him both physically and emotionally from the stray tear that welled in the corner of his eye. Good.

“Charlie, you didn’t get to see all the fun we were having,” I forced Joey to say. Joey began to whimper as I traced my hands over his hips. With a motion of my nerves, I commanded Joey’s plump ass to grind into me. I was instantly hard.

“Look how good he is at controlling me.” I manipulated Joey’s lips into a devious smile. My hands wrapped around his should blades, then his meaty biceps, before resting on each pec. 

“I love this so much,” Joey whines. 

I furrowed Joey’s brows as I forced him to cast hateful eyes right onto Charlie. They began to tear and redden as I kept them locked onto Charlie in unblinking fury. “Why are you trying to ruin a good thing bro. What kind of brother are you?” 

My fingers delectably traced each nipple of the elder brother’s form. “I fucking want this…” I forced his tongue to hang in pleasure and his biceps up into a flex. 

“That’s it baby,” Joey is forced to say. 

With the power of the needle and my nerves all over his body, I make his head rotate to face me. He is forced to tongue me savagely, and I relished in making Charlie watch a deranged version of his brother satisfying me. The saliva from his mouth flowed past my lips in multiple spots, a testament to the force he was made to kiss me with. I flexed the needle’s power a little, allowing for more flexibility in my own flesh, so that Joey’s exploring tongue could be seen poking and prodding all over my mouth. Joey’s head recoiled back into place, facing Charlie with averted eyes. They shook in struggle but were eventually forced to lock back into him. His hands shook a little before they stroked the red threads connecting us lovingly. “Fuuuuck Charlie. I never want this to end.” I relaxed my grip of control a little, to the sound of a sobbing Joey.

“You’re right, baby. You feel so good Joey, I never want it to end either”. I couldn’t help but put on a bit of a show. That prompted a louder sob from the elder brother, before his face relayed a demented smile. “I’m your fucking puppet. Your Doll. Dress me up, work my body, fuck through me, I don’t care. Every piece of Juicy Joe is yours.” 

I pulled a few nerve endings from Joey, making a point to show them slithering wildly into the air before letting them snake into his mouth. It took a minute to reconnect some of my nerves inside him, but once they had, it felt like home. “I’m ready,” Joey moaned, dragging his fingers across his musculature. He then looked sick to his stomach, as some odd noises emmananted from the depths of his body. Joey made a slick, wet noise as his soulful eyes pulled back into their sockets and he regurgitated a large amount of semi-clear liquid right into my face. I welcomed the shower of Joey-flavored liquid. Lubrication. Joey’s face then pulled into a sneer, “Dominate this flesh. Dominate me. I did some rearranging for you. There’s a hole inside me, shaped just like you. For you. You need to fill it. Fill me. Ingrain in me. Integrate into me… Complete me.” 

I loosened Joey’s flesh, then sent my control into his meaty arms, forcing them to start stuffing my body into a widening mouth. In turn, I began to loosen my own form. It would still be a tight squeeze, but the power of the needle made one thing evident. It was possible. Charlie began to scream. “FUCK… Joey how do I help?!” 

More saliva trailed from Joey’s mouth as he pushed a little more of my body inside. “Mmmphhh” was all the older brother could manage, as his mouth fully encapsulated my head. The inside of Joey felt like a warm embrace, his wet lips like sweat laden arms beckoning my shoulders into safety. Thinking back to the needle, that’s what the inside of Joey was to me. Safety. 

For an agonizing few minutes, all Charlie could do was watch in shock, as he watched his older brother’s body force more of mine inside it. From his muffled screams, he was begging the younger brother for help. Charlie ran over multiple times, try to pry me from his brother’s insides, but I only cackled from deep inside Joey’s depths as I willed the older brother’s arms to push him away each time. “C’mon bro, you had this hot bod protecting you all throughout childhood, let someone else be protected for once.” When my arms fully slipped in, I began to grab mounds of Joey’s insides, pulling myself in deeper while he was compelled to continue jamming my flesh into his. 

Every piece of me was sweating inside Joey. After all, the human body runs quite hot, and I was surrounded by wet, warm flesh from every side. When the last of my toes slipped into his mouth, I had my meat-suit let out a satisfied sigh, like he had just eaten a large meal. Hearing the muted sound of Charlie’s whimpering from inside his dear brother was my dessert. I readjusted myself inside Joey, in the process unlatching every piece of nerve that was previously connected. 

Even without control, my new muscle suit felt heavenly to be inside. Every piece of Joey felt intensified inside him. His muscles slowly writhing as they fought to compress his form back to its normal self which in turn squeezed me tight into him. I slipped and slid, weaving myself into his flesh, as his body’s own hard-earned muscles unknowingly embedded me into their master further. I basked in being able to feel every piece of Joey around me. His raw musk was like a liquid I was drowning in. I didn’t care, Joey felt good to drown in. 

= = =

The brothers seemed to have easily caught on to my lack of control as Joey cleared his voice and hurriedly asked, “Charlie, what should we do?” From deep inside him, I could hear the younger brother begin to whimper again. ”I-I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like this”.

“Is he dead?” Charlie asked Joey.

Joey denied this, now his turn whimpering, “No, he’s still moving in here.” I felt him turn to face his brother. “C, It feels like I need to throw up but I can’t. It feels so wrong- he feels wrong in here… I feel wrong. Like he’s all over me. I dunno how to fix this.” He steeled himself before continuing, all the while my writhing flesh inside him was slipping into any pocket of space I could find and making it my home. “Listen, you need to run and get help”.

“I can’t do that to you. What’s gonna happen to you? Can you keep him in like that?” Charlie gulped. “I can see him moving inside you. Maybe we could get a doc-“

“Charlie, No.” Joey asserted as he gripped his right ab. “I’ll be fine, just get help”. I could feel his lips pull into a weak smile. “You ever see me lose a wrestling match?” Charlie’s sniffles and lack of sound told me he was shaking his head in a smile. 

I knew I had to stop him, but my movements inside Joey were restricted. Even when he was under my control earlier, he felt clumsy to puppet as soon as Charlie came in. I sensed a bit of danger as the two continued to plot. 

“It looks like that needle thing only works once. You could feel it too, right? Like it comes with instructions or somethin,” I could tell Charlie was again nodding in agreement. “So if you prick him again, he’ll be stuck in that form. If we could get him like this, he’d be stuck and I could just spit the fucker out.”

“Yeah. Yeah, that sounds like a plan”. 

No. They would not ruin this for me. My nerves were having some trouble fishing for Joey’s to bind and connect with. It was easy to see where to connect to before, but now being fully encapsulated by his flesh I needed to find these spots blind.I had to act fast. I slammed against the inside of Joey’s chest, feeling him stumble slightly. “Joey, what was that!?”

Even without my nervous system directly controlling him, I knew it was harder to fight against one’s own internal structure. I instantly slotted my hand into his, using his own skin like a glove. Joey groaned in discomfort. I slammed my face into his chest again, this time making sure to push tight against it, so the imprint of my growing smile could be seen from the outside. “Charlie, I-I….” With my Joey hand glove, I gathered the meat of his abs into a sleeve for my hardened cock. I pushed it forward, relishing in feeling the older brother’s own flesh pleasure me. Joey was now my personal cumrag. “I- FUCK” I heard Joey scream and then cry. Being inside his body already got me hot, so it only took a few pumps before I exploded all over his insides. I could feel Joey gag as he must have felt what I was doing with him. 

“Joey, every piece of you feels so fucking premium” I moaned from deep inside him. This was the chance I was waiting for. Joey still reeled from the sheer disgust and violation he felt. His hands shook as Charlie tried to make heads of what had just transpired. The moment of quiet gave me what I needed to finally find Joey’s nerves. Using the power of the needle, I expanded myself outside my own body, letting all my nerves reach out and connect to Joey. Without a doubt, this was me at my most vulnerable. But deep inside Joey’s flesh, I knew I was safe. This time, I also pulled my brain out, allowing it to touch Joey’s. He screamed at first contact. 

My plan was bearing fruit as more and more of my brain began to encapsulate his, burrowing deep into his folds and drilling myself into his psyche. “Holy fuck,” I felt myself blurt out. Joey’s wails were confirmation that he felt it too. Experiencing Joey carnally was one thing, but worming and meshing myself into his brain felt like deeper intimacy. I moaned as each memory of his came into view, each thought, each feeling. I felt Joey collapse into the ground, bringing me with him. His legs began kicking wildly in frustration, as his hands were dragging across the floor in front of us. “P-P-Please…. Get out of me”. I internally bit my lip as I wondered if that had damaged my new body in any way. This prime meat was too good to spoil so early.

Joey further jerked across the floor as I continued my onslaught. No aspect of Joey would not have me inside it. I inserted myself into each piece of him, relishing in owning this man to his very core. I felt his fear course through me. Partially at what I had been doing to him, but also because his now partially-corrupted brain was starting to like it, at least in a physical sense. I bonded myself into every nerve, every cell, every minute piece of the man as his toes curled in a mix of pleasure and pain. I felt him arch his back as I worked my way into his lungs and his beating heart, hijacking his athleticism for myself. Joey’s squirming settled down into tired breaths. A cool breath in. I could feel my new lungs drawing in a tremendous amount of air, a testament to Joey’s power. A quick breath out. I could feel his biceps brimming with an energy I previously never had. Another cool breath in. His lips and mine, bonded into one sensation and parting slightly. Then, one last breath out- steaming hot and damp from pleasure. Joey’s beating heart quickened for me as I bathed in the euphoria of being in this body. His eyes opened, now welcoming me to his sight as well, as we slowly focused our pupils into Charlie’s worried face. I pulled his lips into a smile. I had fully integrated into Joey’s flesh.

= = =

“Charlie.. Please… Run”. I felt myself say. Shock painted my face, and then anger. Joey had more mental fortitude than I gave him credit for. Trying to burrow deeper into his brain was starting to feel more difficult. I reached a point that felt like a wall, an impenetrable piece of him. I addressed the body I now occupied. “Joey, just give up. You don’t want to make this harder for me, trust me.” I felt Charlie hand me the needle, “J, you got this.” I sneered internally, even in his mind, he had remained Mr. Unattainable. Joey struggled, but managed to wrestle control. He opened his mouth to try to find me, holding the needle to it. He frowned, upon feeling how tangled my insides were with his. I felt a flash of fear course through him, then resolve. Without a word, he held the needle near his hand, intending to prick himself with it. This was trouble, I hadn’t solidified my control yet. 

I breathed a sigh of relief when I felt Charlie’s hand stop Joey. “Wait. Don’t do this Joey, we can find another way.”

Through Joey’s eyes, Charlie shone a warm smile. Joey’s face beamed one back, before it was twisted into cruel sneer. The younger brother gulped at the sight. It was tiny, but the sliver of defiance from Charlie earlier had given me the upper hand to usurp control. Joey still fought me, but, at least momentarily his body was mine to control. “J-Joey”? Asked a worried Charlie. I laughed pure malice. “Phew, that was close… Thanks bro”. 

I felt myself worm a little deeper into Joey’s mind once he saw the fear paint Charlie’s eyes. I placed the needle on the desk before placing my attention back on my younger brother. Maybe a part of me was happy it ended up this way. Oh Joey… you’re being so difficult. Guess I’ll have to break you in.

“Joey, what are you-”. I slammed Charlie’s head into my chest, partially covering him in the musk I now shared with Joey. Without a word, I brought my nose over Charlie’s fluffy hair. I smothered my face, nearly choking myself as I took a deep perverted whiff of the younger brother. “J-Jmppphh”, Charlie said in struggle.

”You smell so fucking cute, lil bro.” I say through Joey’s voice. Internally I felt him recoil. “But you should see how a real man smells.” I squeeze the younger brother tighter to my new musclebound flesh, drenching him in the sweat of his older brother’s struggle.

He eventually pushed me out of the way before looking horrified at the long red thread connecting from Joey to the back of his head. “J-“ was all he managed to say before his eyes rolled to the back of their sockets and he fell to the floor. 

= = =

Joey’s nerves seemed far more potent, as I flexed them into action, bringing Charlie’s body into life. His eyes were still rolled to the back of his head as he turned to face his older brother’s body. He coughed a little before his timid voice let out a little laugh. I released some control back to Joey as he shuddered. He eyed his younger brother nervously. “Fine, Juicy Joe. Make it difficult then. This boy seems weak, how bout I just take your brother and set you free.” I began to will Charlie to start removing his clothes. 

“W-Wait!” Joey exclaimed. I had the unconscious Charlie lick his lips, as I continued sensually stripping his form. I had to admit, Charlie was fucking cute. Joey gulped.

“Bro, I’m waiting.” I moaned in Charlie’s voice, wiggling the red thread of nerves connected right to the base of his skull. Charlie’s tender hands began to massage and explore every piece of his body. I had him stroke his cheeks and face tenderly. “I bet he doesn’t know what a good fucking body he has”. I say through Charlie. Then I have him slap his hands across his chest seductively. “Lil bro’s got an even tighter fit than you, but I bet he can take it”, I have Charlie tease. The red threads connecting to him wiggled a little more. “I bet I could do some real damage in this thing.” 

“S-Stop!” Joey screamed. “Okay! Okay! Just leave him alone”. I felt myself burrow another inch into Joey’s mind. Charlie really does make a nice puppet… One more for the road. I gestured Charlie to pinch and twist his nipples, promoting his foot to stomp involuntarily at the pleasure, before I disconnected the threads of Joey’s nerves.

= = =

Charlie’s eyes rolled forward when he came to, nearly crying when he realized he was now naked, nipples sore and body brimming with guilt-stricken pleasure. 

“Didn’t think I could fight him and win, didya C,” I taunted as I wrestled back control of Joey’s body. It was a little easier this time.

“You’re fucking weak,“ I spat venomously through Joey’s voice. Inside his mind, he was crying. He wanted to reassure Charlie he didn’t mean it, but with my thoughts now partially coursing through his, he genuinely did mean it. I felt Joey’s mind bind to me closer as more of his memories opened up. It looks like that did some damage. “You know what’s funny? He probably could have won,” I cackled. “Even now, he’s fighting me so hard, I can barely keep him contained… He’s got so much fight in him. I can’t wait till that’s mine”.

“Charlie, I love you”. I decided to bury the elder brother’s resolve even further. Using his hands, hands that once protected a younger Charlie from schoolyard bullies, hands that often provided reassurance to the shy freshman, I slammed Charlie to the ground. Hard. Charlie cried out in pain, and I forced Joey’s dick to harden in at the sound. I felt Joey whimper internally, now burdened with the guilt of not only doing this to Charlie, but also liking it. Of course, it wasn’t truly his emotions, at least not yet. But it had been enough. Mind battered and body sore from being rooted into, the once proud Mr. Unattainable, Mr. Juicy Joe himself relented. I felt the barrier in the flesh of his brain burst and his psyche shatter. It was likely only a moment of weakness, but a moment was all I needed. I quickly flooded into the gaps, relishing in becoming an integral part of Joey. Cum sputtered from his dick as I basked in our culmination. Every muscle tensed as we coalesced. Joey’s thoughts and emotions flowed through me, uninhibited. And now, I flowed through them, maneuvering them, piecing into them, making him feel and think my thoughts and feelings. Joey let out one last scream as he jerked his head side to side. “Get out of my head! Get out of my head! G-“ His head slung forward. Then, silence. Then a smile. My smile. I could hardly contain myself. I let out a satisfied sigh, panting from my handiwork. I was now the glue holding Joey, body and mind, together. His brain pulsed, trying to form thoughts, but I constricted, wrapping myself in them, tainting each thought before allowing them to flow back out. Fuck it felt good to think in his head. “Joey… we are one”

Being Joey’s puppeteer was raw pleasure. But being inside him? Thinking for him? Feeling for him? Knowing we were inseparably one? It transcended pleasure. Every inch of my new flesh moved to my command. No resistance, no delay. “J-Joey?” I heard a voice ask meekly. It was then that I realized I had grabbed onto Charlie to steady myself while Joey was shaking in sheer delight.

“Fuuuck dude,” I sputtered between Joey’s shallow breaths. “He’s so fucking strong”. I panted a little more. It was almost too much for me, “Look, I don’t even need my nerves to hold you down.” I teased with sinister glee. My hand kept Charlie from escaping. I shoved him to the other end of the room, blocking his escape with the body that once protected him in the past. 

“He’s got such a fucking hog too” I grunted in pleasure, as I grasped the dick of Mr Unattainable. I let out a dirty smile at my new brother. Aside from the boundless energy, Joey’s body also surged with testosterone, and it took some time to get used to the intensified essence of man that now coursed inside me. I shuddered. Being Joey felt amazing.

“Joey, Fight it!” Charlie shouted. I moved and leaned into my cute new younger brother.

“Joey’s gone bro,” I huffed nearly inaudibly. I dragged Joey’s tongue across Charlie’s cheek in a sensual perversion. Lick. “Well, not really gone. He’s always going to be with us. A part of me. Just like how I’m going to be a part of you.” Lick.

“Wanna know the best part? Joey here’s a fighter.” I grinned, first through Joey’s natural smile but then pulled it wider and wider. “Guess what his only weakness was?” I moaned, relishing in hearing Joey-flavored words come out of me. It was intoxicating being in final, full control. “Guess what finally let me take this delicious piece of ass for myself.” I ruffled Charlie’s hair tenderly, a habit I extracted from Juicy Joe’s memory. In any other circumstance, he wouldn’t have minded, as it was almost a ritual of sorts between the two. Here, he shuddered, sickened by the corruption of their brotherly bond. “It was you, bro. You made him weak... Thank you”. 

I wore the original Joey’s sincerity around me like a mask. It felt natural to slot into his behaviors and mannerisms. “See, tell me you could tell the difference. I’m your big bro,” I taunted as I started clumsily grinding into him. 

“Joey, please” Charlie pleaded. From his face, I could tell he was steadily losing hope. 

“Charlie, I’m so sorry…” Joey’s vocal cords say. “I don’t know how to stop him.”

I watched hope return to his eyes. “J-Joey. Is that you? I knew it! You’re in there! You have to fight this.”

“Charlie…. He’s too strong” Joey’s body cried. I kicked my legs and grasped my throat.

“Fight it!” 

“I don’t know how to stop him!” I repeated, before I callously laughed, eyes rolling back in sinful glee, “Because I don’t fucking want to. I was born and bred for this. Look at my eyes, can’t you tell it’s me in here? I’m Joey. The same Joey that helped you learn to ride a bike, the same Joey that taught you how to read”.

I relished  Charlie’s expression. There was no Joey left. At least, the original Joey. He knew it too. “This is all I’ve ever wanted, C. To be fucking integrated. I wanted him inside me” I huffed, as I sped up. “I wanted him wearing my skin, flexing my muscles… squeezing this hot body deep inside you.”

Charlie looked up in confusion. “J-Joey, what do you mean? 

“Little bro you’re gonna love my power. Look at this fucking bicep. Do you want this? Do you want it inside you?” I mocked as I pricked his flesh with the needle. “This little thing scared the shit out of me! Imagine if you pricked me before I got into Juicy Joe” I pouted, as I squeezed my new body’s left ass cheek. I could tell it destroyed Charlie to watch his ‘brother’ treat his own body like this. “You’re gonna be my little insurance. Mr unattainable’s gonna stay unattainable. Don’t worry, unlike Joey over here, I’ll keep you around. You don’t put up much of a fight”. I could tell each word was like a dagger stabbing into Charlie’s heart. 

“It’s gonna be a tight squeeze, but I know you can handle it. I believe in you…little bro” I moaned, dragging Joey’s hands all over Charlie’s body sensually. Horror dawned on his face as he seemed to have grasped my plan. “Here I thought Joey was fucking stupid,” I spat in laughter. “But it was his brain cells that came up with this little maneuver.” Charlie’s eyes darted wildly, trying to come up with ways to avoid the inevitable. “All those times this meatpuppet protected you when you were kids… Now it’s your turn to protect us” I kissed his soft lips savagely, dragging Joey’s tongue all over his mouth, wanting to taste every inch of my future home. I pulled from the brotherly kiss in a loud gasp for air. There was a long pause in the air as a trail of saliva hung between our two mouths.

“Now make some room for big bro”. 

====

Well, what’d you think? There’ll probably be a third part to this, but it might take a minute.

[snowysosturn]

Allies or Affiliates? - Chris Sturniolo Part 11

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28 Part 29 Finale

Pairing : Y/n x Chris Sturniolo

Summary : Law student Y/n’s life takes a turn when she reconnects with Chris, her brief teenage flame who is now a dealer for a dangerous Boston drug gang. As their bond reignites, Y/n is drawn into Chris’s tumultuous world, where rival gangs clash and loyalty is everything. Balancing her love for Chris with her own ambitions, can their connection survive the chaos that threatens to pull them apart?

Warnings : MDNI, mentions of drugs, mentions of selling drugs, angst, cursing, mentions smoking weed, death

Chris's POV

Sitting in Y/n’s treehouse with her after being so intimate felt like stepping into a different world, one I’d almost forgotten existed. We could see the stars through the treehouse window, her laughter echoing in the dim fairy lights as the effects of the weed softened the edges of everything. The air felt thick and warm, and her gaze was softer, more open, as if the high had taken down her walls. When her hand brushed against mine, her fingers tracing gentle lines, I felt a spark of something that went beyond words.

Finally, we made our way to her room. Y/n barely made it to her bed before she collapsed, a sleepy smile on her face as she drifted off almost instantly after telling me I could spend the night. I stretched out beside her, feeling a peace I hadn’t felt in years, like all the noise in my head had finally quieted down. Her soft breaths filled the room, and for once, I felt like I might actually sleep through the night. Here, with her warmth next to me, the world seemed so far away.

I closed my eyes, letting myself drift, her presence like an anchor. But just as I felt myself slipping away, my phone buzzed in my pocket, the sound jarring in the quiet of her room. My heart sank as I looked at

the screen, Nate’s name flashing across it. I sighed, irritation prickling at the edges of my calm. The last time I’d been in Y/n’s bed, Nate had blown up my phone too, begging me for some weed because he “needed something to take the edge off.” Typical.

I ignored the call, sliding my phone back into my pocket, hoping it wouldn’t wake her. But a few seconds later, it buzzed again. I declined it a second time, annoyance pushing out the peace that had finally settled over me. Whatever Nate needed could wait.

Then, a message came through:

Answer your fucking phone.

The words sent a shiver down my spine. Nate never talked to me like that, never demanded anything from me with that kind of urgency unless it was serious. My stomach twisted as I slipped out of bed as quietly as I could, not wanting to disturb Y/n, and made my way out onto her balcony, carefully closing the door behind me.

As soon as I stepped outside, Nate’s name flashed on my screen again, and this time, I didn’t hesitate. I swiped to answer, dread pooling in my gut. "What’s going on?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady but low.

There was a pause on the other end, a silence so heavy I could almost feel it through the phone. Then Nate finally spoke, his voice rough and strained. "Danny. He’s dead."

The words hit me like a physical blow, a sucker punch to the gut that stole the breath right out of my lungs. He was gone? Just like that? For a few heartbeats, everything around me froze, the world narrowing down to those two words, echoing in my head. Danny’s dead.

“What?” I whispered, gripping the balcony rail so hard my knuckles turned white. “What happened, Nate?”

Nate let out a shaky breath, his voice thick with something I’d rarely heard from him – fear. "It was a hit. One of the guys from H Block.. they got him, Chris. I-” His voice cracked, and he took a moment to compose himself. “He was out alone, they ambushed him. By the time anyone knew what happened, he was already gone."

I closed my eyes, the weight of it settling heavily on my shoulders. Danny was gone, just like that. It was a stark reminder of the life we were both tangled in, the violence that came with it, and how quickly everything could go south. We all knew the risks, but that didn’t make it any easier to face.

"Nate.. I’m so sorry, man fuck." I managed to say, my own voice hoarse with shock. I didn’t know what else to say. Danny had been a pain sometimes, sure, but he was family to Nate. And he was one of us, as much as any of us could be called that.

“Yeah, well..” Nate’s voice dropped, a bitterness seeping into his tone. “This is what we signed up for, right?”

I swallowed, feeling the bile rise in my throat. He wasn’t wrong, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. That didn’t mean it didn’t feel like a punch to the chest, a reminder of just how easily I could lose everything.

And then, like a ripple through the haze of shock and grief, came a thought that made my stomach clench even tighter. Y/n. I’d promised her I’d get out of this, somehow, that I’d find a way out, but right now, that promise felt impossibly far away.

“Are you with anyone right now?” Nate’s voice brought me back to the moment, a question layered with an unspoken warning.

I glanced back toward Y/n’s room, the soft glow of her bedside lamp just visible through the curtains. “Yeah. But she doesn’t know anything about this, Nate. I.. I can’t tell her. Not about Danny. Not now.”

There was a pause, then Nate sighed, a sound that carried a world of resignation. “Maybe that’s for the best. It’s not exactly something you can just drop on someone. Besides, if you care about her, you’ll keep her out of this mess. You don’t want her caught up in what happened to Danny.”

I nodded, though he couldn’t see it. Nate was right, as much as I hated to admit it. If I wanted to protect Y/n, I had to keep her as far away from this shit as possible.

After the call ended, I was left with a hollow feeling in my chest, standing alone on Y/n’s balcony as the weight of what Nate had told me settled in. Danny’s dead. He’d been the first to pull us into the Crimson Cartel, the cousin Nate had practically idolised, the guy who showed us how to survive. And now he was gone, taken out by H Block, the gang we were always in a deadly dance with. The thought of going back inside, of laying down next to Y/n and pretending everything was normal, felt impossible.

I sent Nate a quick message to let him know I was on my way, then carefully slipped back into Y/n’s room. She was still asleep, her breathing deep and steady, and for a moment, I almost convinced myself to stay, to cling to this feeling of normalcy. But there was a sick twist in my gut, the knowledge that this world I was a part of, the world I’d thought I could keep from touching her, was more dangerous than I could ever fully admit.

With a last glance at her, I quietly made my way out of the house, moving into the cool night air, my mind churning with anger, grief, and an uneasy resolve. I knew exactly where Nate would be, our usual spot at the docks, where we’d go when things felt too heavy, a place removed from all the noise. The streets were mostly empty as I drove, the city lights blurring past in a haze of red and yellow. My mind kept replaying the conversation with Nate, the anger in his voice, the grief masked by bitterness.

When I arrived, Nate was already there, leaning against his car with his hands shoved deep into his pockets, staring out at the water. He looked rough, more so than I’d ever seen him, his shoulders tense, his jaw set in a hard line. As I approached, he didn’t look at me, just kept his gaze on the dark, choppy water, his silence heavy with emotion.

“Hey” I said softly, coming to stand beside him. I didn’t know what else to say, didn’t know if there was anything that could actually ease the blow.

Nate exhaled a shaky breath, then finally turned to look at me, his face twisted in a mix of anger and sadness. “I keep thinking it’s not real, you know? That he’ll just.. show up, same as always.” His voice cracked, and he quickly looked away, clenching his fists. “But he’s gone, Chris. They took him. Just like that.”

I reached out, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Nate. I can’t imagine what you’re going through.” The words felt weak, inadequate, but I didn’t know what else to say. Losing Danny was a blow for both of us, but for Nate, it was something deeper, something raw.

Nate laughed bitterly, shaking his head. “You know what’s messed up? He warned us about this. Said one day, we’d either get out, or we’d end up like him.” His gaze turned cold, a hardness settling over his face. “Well, I’m not going out like him. I’m not just letting them take him and get away with it.”

The intensity in his voice sent a chill down my spine. I knew what he meant, even if he didn’t say it outright. Revenge. He wanted blood for blood. And maybe, in another time, in another life, I’d feel the same. But standing there, hearing the anger in his voice, I felt a strange clarity, a need to break this cycle, not to keep fueling it.

“Nate, listen” I began, my voice steady but pleading. “This life.. it doesn’t end well for any of us. If we keep going down this road, we’re going to end up just like him. This could be our chance, Nate. Maybe we can find a way out. We could leave the cartel, start fresh somewhere else, away from all of this.”

He finally looked at me, his eyes narrowing as if I’d just suggested something absurd. “Get out? And do what, Chris? Get 9 to 5’s, pretend we don’t have blood on our hands? This is all we know, man. This is all we have.” He shook his head, his face twisted in disbelief. “They took him from us, and you’re talking about leaving?”

I held his gaze, refusing to back down. I knew shit was going to hit the fan between the two gangs now that one of our top men were gone. “Danny didn’t want this for us. He wanted us to survive, Nate. That’s why he brought us in, to protect us. But we’re in too deep now, and if we don’t get out, we’ll end up just like him. Don’t you see that?”

Nate scoffed, turning his back to me, his shoulders hunched. “What, you think they’d just let us go? Crimson doesn’t do retirement, Chris. You know that as well as I do. The only way out is in a body bag.”

“Maybe” I admitted, the reality of his words settling heavily in my chest. “But maybe if we play it smart, we could find a way. I’m not saying it’ll be easy, but I’m saying it’s worth trying. We don’t have to end up like Danny.”

Nate was silent for a long moment, staring out at the water, his face a mask of tension and turmoil. Finally, he turned back to me, his eyes dark with a determination I didn’t quite recognize. “I don’t want to leave, Chris. I want them to pay. Every single one of them. Danny didn’t deserve this, and I won’t rest until they know what they’ve done.”

His words hit me like a punch to the gut, and I felt a flicker of fear, a sense of impending danger that went beyond the cartel and its threats. Nate’s anger, his need for revenge, was something that could easily consume him, and me, if I wasn’t careful. I’d thought maybe he’d see reason, that he’d want to break free from this life as much as I did, but it was clear that Danny’s death had only solidified his loyalty, and had anchored him even deeper into this world of violence and retribution.

“Just.. think about it, okay?” I said, feeling a knot of helplessness tighten in my chest. “Think about what Danny would really want for you.”

Nate’s face softened just slightly, but his resolve didn’t waver. “I know what Danny would want” he muttered, turning away from me. “And I’m going to make sure he gets it.”

I watched him for a moment longer, my heart heavy with a mix of worry and sorrow. Nate had always been like a brother to me, but in that moment, I felt a distance between us that I wasn’t sure we could ever bridge.

Nate took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair as he exhaled, the weight of everything finally sinking in. “I’m going to crash, man. Maybe smoke a joint, see if it takes the edge off. I can’t think straight right now.” His eyes met mine, hollow and exhausted. “I’ll catch you later.”

“Yeah, take care of yourself” I replied, clapping a hand on his shoulder. But as I turned to walk back to my car, my mind was already elsewhere.

I’d only left Y/n’s place about an hour ago. Surely she was still asleep - the first time you smoke weed you have the best sleep of your life. The memory of her, half asleep and peaceful, pulled at me in a way that nothing else could. If I was careful, I could slip back in without her even noticing. I could be there, beside her, just for a few more hours, away from everything else.

The drive back was quick, my thoughts scattered between Nate’s broken expression and the hope of finding some comfort in Y/n’s presence. When I reached her house, the place was silent, dark windows giving nothing away. I parked a little further down the street, keeping my footsteps quiet as I made my way around the side, toward her balcony.

The familiar route felt oddly reassuring, like muscle memory kicking in as I climbed up and peered into her room. Carefully, I slid the balcony door open and stepped inside, moving quietly as I slipped out of my shoes and settled onto the edge of her bed. Sure enough, there she was, exactly as I’d left her, wrapped in the blankets, a soft rise and fall to her breathing. Just seeing her like that, oblivious to the chaos surrounding us, brought an unexpected calm. She didn’t stir, but I could feel her warmth, the comfort of just being near her.

Y/n’s POV

Sunlight streamed through the blinds, gentle but enough to nudge me awake. I blinked a few times, adjusting to the light, and felt a familiar warmth beside me. Chris. He was here, his arm draped across me, his chest rising and falling steadily. For a moment, I just lay there, my heart swelling at the sight of him so peacefully asleep next to me.

This time, he hadn’t left in the middle of the night. He’d stayed.

The realisation filled me with an unexpected happiness, like maybe last night meant more to him than I thought. But as the initial rush of contentment faded, I remembered a tiny detail I hadn’t had to consider over the weekend: my parents were home.

The thought hit me like a shock of cold air. I couldn’t help but glance at my closed door, wondering if they’d wake up before Chris left. I was used to slipping out of the house quietly to avoid questions, but the idea of him sneaking out felt a little nerve wrecking. What if we were too loud? What if they happened to catch him in the hallway, or worse, heard him on his way down?

I sighed softly, trying to piece together what this all meant. Things with Chris weren’t exactly straightforward. After last night’s conversations and the intensity of everything between us, the way he held me like I was his anchor in a storm, it made me realise just how deep he was in all of this. And I couldn’t just pretend I didn’t know now.

Chris woke beside me, his eyes fluttering open as if he’d sensed I was awake. He blinked a couple of times, and when he saw me, a small, sleepy smile spread across his face.

“Morning” he mumbled, his voice husky.

“Morning” I replied, unable to hide my own smile. I hesitated, glancing at the door again. “So.. my parents got back yesterday.” I whispered, half teasing, half nervous.

His eyes widened slightly as he realised the situation. “Ah. Right” he said, a hint of a grin playing on his lips. “Should I start planning my escape route?”

“Maybe” I chuckled. “Or I could try to sneak you out before they wake up.”

“Think we’d get away with it?” he asked, shifting to face me, his eyes still half closed but filled with a warmth that made my heart skip a beat.

“Only one way to find out” I replied, giving him a small, mischievous smile. I hated the idea of him leaving, but the last thing I wanted was to face my parents’ questions first thing in the morning.

Chris nodded, running a hand through his tousled hair as he picked his phone up to check the notification he just received. "It’s okay" he murmured, his voice still soft from sleep. "I’ll go through the balcony. I’ve got things to take care of anyway."

There was something in his tone, something quiet and weighed down, I’m hoping he wasn’t starting to regret last night. I wanted to reach out, to make him stay just a bit longer, but I could see it in his eyes, the urgency to go.

“Alright” I said, my voice reluctant as I tried to keep it light. “Guess I’ve got all morning to kill anyway. I don’t have class until late this afternoon.”

He reached over, brushing a thumb across my cheek, his eyes studying my face like he was memorising it. “I’ll text you later, okay? Maybe we can meet up tonight.”

I nodded, feeling a small twinge of relief, an indication that it's not regret. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

With one last glance toward my bedroom door, he slipped out of bed, pulling on his shoes quietly before heading toward the balcony. He paused at the threshold, looking back at me one last time, and for a second, I thought he was going to say something else. But he just gave a soft smile, then disappeared over the railing with practised ease.

The room felt colder, emptier the moment he was gone.

I spent the next two hours rotting in bed, aimlessly scrolling through TikTok, trying to distract myself from the heaviness of last night. I was in a surprisingly good mood after everything with Chris. It was comforting waking up to him beside me, even if he had to sneak out through the balcony before my parents woke up. I couldn’t help but daydream about the future, wondering how things could be if we both left all this craziness behind.

Eventually, I noticed it was already 10:30 a.m, and I figured I should probably make some breakfast so I made my way to the kitchen. I loved having some kind of noise in the background, so out of habit I turned on the kitchen radio and let it fill the space as I danced around, preparing scrambled eggs and toast. The morning felt so ordinary and nice, the smell of coffee, the soft sounds from the radio, it was a comforting routine, like a safe bubble around me. The kitchen was bright, the world felt warm, and my mind drifted back to Chris and all the possibilities ahead of us.

Then, the soft background noise of the radio was interrupted by a breaking news announcement that made my heart drop.

"A man killed in last night's gang related feud has been identified as 31-year-old Daniel Doe."

The words barely registered at first. "Doe? Daniel Doe? As in Nate’s cousin, Danny?" I felt the floor slip beneath me as the reality of what I’d heard sank in. The world around me seemed to blur, the sizzling of eggs on the stove now distant and irrelevant. I gripped the counter to steady myself, my mind racing.

Danny was.. dead? As a result of the feud?

Images of Nate and Chris flashed in my mind, Nate’s anger, his focus on some unknown turmoil that he and Chris wouldn’t discuss, and Chris’s hesitations, his careful attempts to keep me in the dark while also trying to keep me close. They’d both been connected to this from the beginning. I thought back to Chris’s face this morning, the way he looked at his phone. That’s why he was off.

I glanced back at the radio, my hands trembling. The familiar warmth of the kitchen now felt suffocating, like I’d been thrust into someone else’s life. For the first time, it felt as though the dangerous world Chris was tangled in was no longer just a dark secret but a harsh, painful reality. This wasn’t just his story, it was becoming mine, too. It just reinforced the fact to me he needed out now.

I needed to talk to him.

Chris’ POV

Waking up next to Y/n that morning felt almost surreal. The quiet warmth, the way her breath moved softly as she slept, the faint light filtering in through the blinds, there was a peace to it all, like something I hadn’t felt in ages. Just being there with her, no running, no hiding, no keeping up walls. For a brief moment, I let myself imagine what life could be like if things were.. different.

She turned to me smiling with that sleepy softness that nearly made me forget everything else. But just as she whispered that her parents were home, my phone buzzed on the bedside table. I ignored it at first, not wanting to break the moment. But then it buzzed again, and I knew I’d have to check it. As I picked it up, the message notification lit up across the screen, and my stomach twisted at the sender’s name. Vince.

“I need you at the harbour in an hour. Don’t be late.”

I felt the blood drain from my face. Vince never gave times or places unless something big was going down. And after last night with Nate, after everything that happened.. I had a feeling I already knew what this was about. I swallowed, trying to hide the tension from Y/n, even though I could feel her watching me.

“I'll go through the balcony.” I said, forcing a casual tone, though my chest felt tight. “ I’ve got things to take care of anyway.”

She nodded, understanding. It was something she’d heard me say before, though this time it felt heavier. We both got up, and as I got ready, I tried to keep my mind on the drive ahead. She didn’t ask any questions, thankfully, just smiled and kissed me goodbye before I headed out the door, promising to see her later.

The drive to the harbour was tense, my hands gripping the wheel as I ran through all the things Vince could want from me. After Danny’s death, things were bound to get messier than they’d already been. And that was saying a lot. Nate had been enraged when I’d seen him, just lost in his own anger. Vince’s message felt like the beginning of something that couldn’t be undone.

When I arrived, the familiar salty scent of the harbour filled the air, and I parked my car, scanning the area until I saw him standing by the water, looking out over the edge. Vince was a large guy, even with his back turned, his silhouette a solid, immovable force that made it clear he was someone you didn’t mess with. I got out of the car and walked over to him, the weight of the morning hitting me with every step.

This meeting wasn’t going to be anything good.

As I approached Vince, the intention to bring up my plans for getting out of this mess circled in my mind. I knew he wouldn’t like it, fuck he might not even hear me out, but I had to try. This wasn’t what I wanted, and after last night with Y/n, after getting a glimpse of what my life could be if I left it all behind, I felt even more determined.

But before I could even open my mouth, Vince turned to face me, his expression harder than usual. His dark eyes held an intensity that made my stomach drop before he’d even spoken a word.

"Chris" he began, voice low and steady, "I need you to step up.”

I blinked, every thought in my head screeching to a halt. "Step up?" I managed, trying to keep my tone calm even though a hundred red flags were already flashing in my mind.

Vince nodded, his gaze unwavering. "With Danny gone, there’s a spot that needs filling. I can’t pick Nate, his court case a few weeks ago has him under too much scrutiny. Plus he’s too close to this right now. He's emotional, unstable. But you.. you’ve been around long enough. You know how things work.”

The weight of his words hit me like a slap in the face. He didn’t need to say it outright for me to understand. He wanted me to take on a bigger role, to fill Danny’s shoes. Danny, who’d just been killed.

I swallowed hard, fighting to keep my face blank, even as I felt panic clawing its way up my throat. My mind raced, every argument I’d prepared dissolving in the face of this new reality. I’d hoped to talk Vince into letting me out, to make a case for why I needed to distance myself from all of this. But this was the exact opposite of what I’d planned.

"Vince, I.." I stammered, trying to pull myself together. "I don’t know if I’m ready for something like that."

Vince’s gaze hardened. "There’s no time for second guessing, Chris. Crimson needs people we can rely on. You’re smart, you keep your head down, you don’t have a record, and that’s an advantage. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think you could handle it."

The urge to tell him no, to beg for a way out, to walk away and never look back, surged up in me. But staring into his face, I knew the stakes. This wasn’t a life you just “walk away” from, and pleading wouldn’t make any difference to Vince. It might only make things worse.

The reality of it washed over me like ice water. Vince wasn’t giving me a choice. Danny’s death had created a void, and whether I wanted it or not, he was shoving me right into it. The world felt like it was closing in, my mind screaming as I grappled with what this meant for me, for Nate.. and for Y/n. She didn’t deserve this. None of this was supposed to touch her life.

But here I was, on the verge of getting dragged in deeper than ever when I should be trying to get out.

a/n : am I in too deep... have I lost my mind.... I CAN BE YOUR HERO BABAYYYY

taglist: @mattybearnard @sturn-33 @ncm9696 @yourfavsturniologirl @crazy4jewel @sodakid1234 @stupendoustreewinner @lovealwayssturniolos @matthewsturniolosss @m4ttsmunch @loveexxx @ilusa @starkeyszn @wonnieeluvvr @dylnblue @valxrieq @maggot3647 @cigarettecemetary @ribread03 @chrisstvrns @bandasaruswrx @noplaceissafeanymore @amexiass @witchofthehour @mattssgf @jetaimevous @v33angel @ivysturnss @urmom69lol @ashlishes @watercolorskyy @sturnioloshottiekay @amelia-sturniolo3 @imjusthereforthesturniolosmut @pvssychicken @alizestvrnss @lvrsturniolo @bernardsbunny @spaghetti835928383 @marrykisskilled @sturnsxplr-25 @bxtchboy69 @vickytaa @anikaistg @matts-girlfriend @lvrsturniolo @sophand4n4 @ilovepurpledragons

[pedropascallme]

Crush

Pairing: Joel Miller x f!Reader

Summary: “The door opened and you turned toward it out of impulse. The man that was suddenly in front of you was Tess’s age, you guessed. Dark hair greying, sleeves of his denim button down rolled up to the elbows, face…mean. Joel Miller in the flesh.”

Warnings: Smut (18+ MINORS DO NOT INTERACT), age gap (reader is late 20s/early 30s, Joel is canon typical age), p in v sex, fingering, oral (m and f receiving), kinda mean!Joel, degradation, praise kink, orgasm denial/edging, I will sprinkle in queer Tess. If I missed anything please let me know!

Soundtrack: Crush by Ethel Cain

Joel had a problem with saying no.

He knew it made him seem soft, but he just couldn’t get it out. There was something about becoming a father that increased the negative connotation of the word; using it as a response meant hampering the needs of someone who trusted you. Or the wants. And it was always the wants he fell victim to. Sarah knew his weaknesses—she was his biggest one. A goldfish, extra dessert, a slumber party— “Sure, darlin’.”

Sarah was all he cared about, and he’d give her everything she ever wanted, even when it meant looking like a pushover.

But his window had passed; all will to live drained and replaced by pure survivalism. He pretended to get over it out of instinct, willing himself to push everything down in order to keep going.

He didn’t mind saying no anymore. He had nobody to say it to, anyway.

Maybe that made him a bad man.

~~~

You had befriended Tess by chance. She frequented the same spots you did—speakeasies and back allies, surrounded by men she wanted nothing to do with. 

At least you had that much in common with her.

Tess was older than you by maybe twenty years, and you knew nearly nothing about her. You knew her name, you knew what she did to get the extra rations she kept in her front pocket, and you knew she lived with Joel Miller. You had never pried about their relationship, and all you knew of Joel was that he was as gorgeous as his reputation was mean.

She had the tendency to be hot headed, there was no doubt that she could be rough, although you felt her fire was what drew you to her in the first place. Another person who had lost everything obviously wasn’t inaccessible, but it helped that she was one of the few women that you had seen around. When she had thrown a punch so hard it nearly shattered her hand, you grabbed her and walked her home while she stumbled along with you.

No matter how watered down the whiskey in the QZ was, enough of it would do the trick.

“You ok?” You grabbed her by the waist, catching her before she fell, distracted by the blood on her knuckles. You didn’t know if it was hers or the man whose bottom tooth she had loosened.

“Guys here are as bad as fucking raiders…” She mumbled, looking down at her feet. “Could’a walked home myself.” You knew she could’ve, but the thought of letting her stagger home by herself so close to curfew made you uneasy. 

Some things never change. 

“Didn’t want you to,” You kept walking, one stride ahead of her at all times. “Could’ve been dangerous.”

“They know not to fuck with me,” she was giggling now, and she looked almost girlish with her features softened. “Living with Miller has its perks.”

“Wouldn’t want your boyfriend having to exact revenge just cause I let you walk home drunk.”

“What?” Tess stopped walking.

“Aren’t—sorry, are you and Joel not—?”

Tess snorted, “Joel and I are not an item. I don’t, y’know. He’s not my type.” She had sobered almost instantly. “I like my partners…feminine.”

Oh. Oops.

“Sorry.” 

“Don’t be. We get it a lot. Easy living with each other cause we’re the only two that know how to empathize with the other.” She started walking again, leaving you with space to catch up. You didn’t inquire further about what she meant, it wasn’t something anybody wanted to discuss, ever. Loss and death were everywhere, there was no need to reflect on past experiences. Especially with someone like Tess who, in all honesty, intimidated you mightily. You just jogged to meet her pace. 

You followed her into the building, not that you could really explain why.

She had pushed the door open and motioned to you, silently telling you to come into what once could’ve been passed off as a $3,000/month studio apartment. She dropped her belongings on the kitchen table, getting two glasses and pouring watered-down sambuca into each one. You hated the taste, but appreciated that she seemed to genuinely want to spend time with you.

“You remember anything?” She prompted after finishing her drink.

“What?” You had barely touched yours. The anise flavored booze had a different burn than whiskey.

“Before.”

“I was little. I remember seeing Attack of the Clones. And that Scooby Doo movie.”

“I was in my thirties when those came out,” she laughed, “I fucking loved Scooby Doo.” You found yourself laughing along with her. She deadpanned after a moment, examining you.

“You’re still young. Not fair to you to have seen all that as a kid.”

“I guess. But I didn’t think episode two was all that bad.” You tried to laugh through the sudden solemnity. Tess rolled her eyes and smiled, shaking her head as she reached for the bottle to refill her glass.“But it’s not fair that anybody had to see any of that. Ever.” You could hardly call yourself eloquent, but she knew what you meant.

“What are you doing here?” She took smaller sips of her drink this time.

“Same thing as you.”

“Why?”

You didn’t know. “Gotta do something.” 

She nodded, “I want you with me.”

“Tess, I’m flattered—I am, but I don’t, I mean—”

“I want you to work with me.” She smiled into her glass, amused by your flustered response.

Oh. Oops.

“Oh. I...mean, ok. Yeah, ok.”

The door opened and you turned toward it out of impulse. The man that was suddenly in front of you was Tess’s age, you guessed. Dark hair greying, sleeves of his denim shirt rolled up to his elbows, face…mean.

Joel Miller in the flesh.

“Joel.” Tess was stern.

“What’s this?” Joel’s voice sent a shiver down your spine. You realized you had never spoken to him, never been spoken to by him. You’d only ever gawked from across the room. You felt yourself straighten your posture.

“Business. New teammate.” Tess took another sip from her glass.

Joel walked across the room, grabbing the liquor bottle and taking a swig from it before placing it back into a cabinet. He looked at you, giving you the up-and-down from where he stood at the counter.

“No.” He turned, walking into the bedroom.

Wide-eyed with concern and embarrassment, you looked at Tess. 

“Be here at nine tomorrow. PM.” She said, finishing her drink and getting up to take her place on the couch.

You let yourself out.

~~~

It was obvious when you arrived the following night that Joel was still irked by your presence. Also obvious was that Tess had made him swallow his pride. She gave you your instructions at the kitchen table while you nodded along. Joel was statuesque and showed no signs of emotion or consideration towards her words. 

And when Tess had explained that it would be you and Joel and only you and Joel, your brows furrowed and he still hadn’t budged. 

“I’ve gotta be here,” she dictated, words coming out slowly as though she was speaking to children, “Don’t need all of us gone, it’d be too much attention. I’ll cover.”

“I can cover.” You blurted out, suddenly nervous about being alone with Joel.

“No.” Joel spoke for the first time all night. You shrunk back into yourself and kept listening.

“—Into the sewer, out to the east, all we need is booze, maybe some pharmaceutical shit if you can grab any.”

You probed, “Pharmaceuticals?” 

“For us.” Tess had finished giving you the rundown, getting up from the table and walking into the bedroom, leaving you alone with Joel.

Saying nothing, he immediately started towards the door, leaving you to follow.

~~~

Contrary to popular belief, the sewers were not your ideal hang out. No matter how many times you went down there, it took days to scrub the feel and smell off of your body. If Joel cared about the dank surrounding, he didn’t show it.

When you popped the grate to crawl out, he moved to lift you slightly, but that was the only interaction you’d had on your journey. You wanted to get this over with, desperately wanted to be back in the company of anybody you could converse with. You made quick work of collecting what you needed and making your way back into tunnels below. Joel hadn’t said a word since he had objected to you taking watch, and you didn’t know why that bothered you so much; plenty of people didn’t speak to you, and you relished in it. You could walk around the QZ and not a soul would approach you—it was safer that way. Easier, too. But Joel’s silence made your head spin almost as much as his voice did. You kept looking at the way his biceps flexed under his shirt, the stern look on his face and the scar on his right temple. 

Despite his cold exterior, you felt at ease in his presence. Sure, his domineering attitude was somewhat troubling to you, but his lack of emotions made you feel less paranoid. You weren’t as preoccupied with looking over your shoulder as you would’ve been otherwise thanks to his presence, and the gun slung over his shoulder acted as additional reassurance. If anything were to happen, you doubted he’d have any trouble dealing with it.

Maybe the smell of the sewer was making you delirious. Or maybe you were experiencing a genuine attraction to him—not that you expected a man that wouldn’t speak to you to feel any sort carnal desire for you. Even so, you found your mind wandering on the route back to the QZ; you could imagine him smoking the cigarettes your grandfather used to buy, Marlboro reds that he kept in a silver case. The thought of a cigarette hanging between Joel’s lips made you shiver, though you tried to tell yourself you were just cold from the clammy tunnels. You tried to hide the curious looks you shot at him, the way you studied his hands and thought up reasons as to why they would be so calloused. It could’ve been from the work he did now, but the thought of him pre-outbreak, working with his hands in the heat, wiping the sweat that dripped down his forehead...

You heard a clang somewhere along the route. Looking up, you could make out a shadow growing larger, then smaller. An unmistakable clicking followed. 

Perhaps it was due to the unexpected encounter, or the daydreams still playing in the back of your head, but you found yourself frozen. If you could think straight, it would be embarrassing, but every noise was deafening, and you could feel your heartbeat in your skull. 

And then you were on the floor. Joel’s full weight pinning you down before he rose up again and two shots rang out. You tried your best to regain your composure, blinking rapidly and staring into nothing. Joel looked down at you, face painted with his routine grimace only inches away from your own.

“This,” he breathed heavily, voice frayed, “is why I said no.” 

But he waited for you to get up and brush yourself off before he kept walking.

“You’re a fuckin’ amateur.” He continued homewards.

~~~

You went with Tess after that. Nobody gave you an explanation—you didn’t need one. You had fucked up, made more apparent by the dismay painted on Joel’s face at your continued appearances in the apartment. You couldn’t bring yourself to look at him, let alone speak to him, maybe attempt to apologize. He didn’t want to hear it; you knew as much as he did. You couldn’t even crawl back like a guilty dog with your tail between your legs, because you knew you’d just get swatted by the morning paper. And, worse, despite the obvious friction, Joel was constantly on your mind. It was humiliating that a man who never spoke to you could be the focal point of your private moments. You thought of his hands entirely too often, his name slipping out between hushed gasps in the darkness of your bedroom.

Your breaking point was the night you walked into the apartment, opening the door to barking laughter that ceased on his end the moment you crossed the threshold. It was purposeful, the way he drew his mouth into a frown as soon as your line of sight had connected. Scowling, his eyes followed you. You felt heat rise in your face and pool in your stomach.

You scowled back. You wouldn’t endure his attitude anymore. 

It went on like that for weeks. You figured that if you got under his skin he’d crack, forcing him to interact with you on a higher level—even if it was shouting at you. 

Joel Miller was a bad man, a mean man. You knew as well as anybody, and it pissed you off as much as it turned you on. 

~~~

You had let yourself into the apartment, flipping through an old magazine to pass the time you spent waiting for Tess.

When the door opened, your gaze met Joel’s. You turned back to skimming a story about Ewan McGregor, brows furrowed as you internally questioned what had happened to him in all this. 

You started the countdown for the game you were playing: Who would break first? You glanced up once or twice to see where Joel was, and he remained in the same spot in front of the doorway, dark eyes fixed on you. You crossed your legs.

“Tess isn’t here.” He spoke, and you stopped your countdown, congratulating yourself as tonight’s winner.

“I know.”

“She’s not coming.”

“I’m reading.” You turned the page, eager to read about who was dating who in August of 2000. 

Joel stayed in his spot by the door before making his way to the liquor cabinet—which you had discovered were most of the cabinets in this house. He put a glass in front of you and sat across, a glass of his own in his hand as he leaned forward to put his weight on the table.

“Jared Leto and Cameron Diaz.” You mused. Joel tipped back his glass, glaring at you. “Do you ever wonder if any of these people are still out there somewhere?”

“No.”

“Imagine killing some infected schmuck and realizing it was Ryan Gosling.” You smiled, enjoying your one-sided conversation. “I’d feel kinda bad…”

“’Least you’d be puttin’ him out of his misery.”

You looked up, surveying Joel, trying to find a trace of anything that could’ve prompted his sudden embrace of your goading. “Uhuh,” you raised an eyebrow, “just don’t think I could do it.”

“You scared?”

“Of you?”

“Of surviving.”

“No. Just of an infected Ryan Gosling.” You put down the magazine. “What’s your problem, Miller?”

“What’s yours?”

“I don’t have a problem.”

“Then neither do I.” He got up to refill his glass, and you had déjà vu, recalling how Tess had sat you down at the table months earlier to invite you into their professional lives. She had been much friendlier even then than Joel ever was. 

“You can’t fight for shit.” You turned to see Joel leaning against the counter, a bottle of whiskey in hand. You tried not to let your frustration at him show. “Hard to get good at this shit when you freeze at the first sign of trouble.”

“Shut up.” You brushed him off. You picked up the magazine again, trying to find your place.

“You know I’m right.” He drank from the bottle. For some reason you couldn’t stop yourself from standing up and facing him.

“What?” 

“Y’know you can’t fight for shit. Couldn’t to save your own life. You know that. I know that. Why’d’ya think Tess always goes with you?” He put the bottle down and crossed his arms. Wrath boiled in your chest; you wanted to rationalize, tell yourself that he was mad you were winning the game he made you start playing so he opted to hit below the belt; but, Jesus, he had gotten you where it hurt. You had long prided yourself in having the ability to survive, taking care of yourself and doing whatever it took for you to see the next day. For him to waltz into the space you had found some form of comfort in, where Tess drank with and felt for you, to imply that you were a failure—just some fucking kid with a knife?

You put as much weight behind the punch you threw towards him as you could muster, aiming at for his face in the hopes that a black eye might help him register your dedication to staying alive. He barely moved, grabbing your wrist to stop any real strength your blow might’ve had.

“You can do better.” Joel provoked you further. You were breathing hard but not heavy, staring into the eyes of the man you wished you could see for the evil everybody said he was. “Do better.” He continued. You grabbed him by the collar, nose to nose; you could smell the liquor on his breath, and you were sure he could smell it on yours. You were far from drunk, and the seething anger sobered you more than a cold shower ever could.

So you had no excuse for kissing him, which is probably why it was a quick peck, testing the waters and feeling as though you owed it to yourself as much as to him to see if this was one-sided. 

“That’s better.” He snaked an arm around your waist and cupped the opposite hand over the back of your head. You didn’t say a word, barely breathed at his response, before you attached yourself to him again. You forgot all about testing the waters and immediately dove in; you kissed him with an open mouth, tongue, teeth and all. He licked into you, pulling you in closer. He separated from you to speak.

“Bed.” Forever and always a man of few words. You stumbled over each other as he pulled you towards the bedroom, neither of you bothering to say anything else as you were pushed onto the bed. Joel straddled your chest, looking down at you and undoing his belt, brown eyes blown out with complete exasperation and lust. 

“Y’been botherin’ me since day one,” he pulled his cock from the confines of his jeans, “bad fuckin’ attitude.” He stroked himself, still looking at you.

“Doesn’t seem to be bothering you now.” You taunted him, reaching up to wrap both hands around him and sitting up as best you could to lick across the tip of his cock. He pushed his hips forward and you took the initiative to swallow as much of him as you could; no small feat, considering his size. You managed half before you gagged. He just laughed. 

“Gonna be quiet ‘round me, might as well put yourself to good use while you’re doin’ it.” He threw his head back as you licked circles over the head of his cock, hand working every inch you couldn’t push past your gag reflex. You made a noise in response to his words, though it was unclear if you meant it as an agreement or a rebuttal. You pulled yourself off of him, placing a kiss on the vein that ran up the underside of his cock. You looked up at Joel, content with your work, his breathing heavy. His hand came up to your jaw, prying your mouth open and sliding his thumb inside. You closed your lips around it and sucked, you heard him groan. He took his thumb out after a few more seconds.

“Open.” He placed his wet thumb on your chin. You opened wide, sticking out your tongue slightly, expecting him to give you his cock again. Instead, he spit directly into your mouth, before pressing on your lower jaw to force it closed. “Swallow.” You did as you were told. He shuffled himself further down your body, leaning down to kiss you, pushing his tongue between your lips before he continued moving downwards; he pulled the buttons of your flannel apart, kissing and sucking on the skin he revealed before licking over the burgeoning bruises. You thanked whatever God was out there that you had given up bras so long ago, as if it was all in anticipation of this moment. Joel’s mouth reached the waistband of your jeans, and he continued placing open mouthed kisses over your stomach as he undid your button and fly, pulling the fabric down your legs and revealing your panties. He bent forward into you, pressing his face into your clothed core, his nose and open mouth fanning hot breath across you. 

“Need a good lay.” You weren’t sure if he was talking about you or himself, though he answered your silent question soon after; “That’ll keep you from bitchin’ over everythin’.” He licked a straight line over your folds, tasting the tangy wet that seeped through the fabric of your underwear. You let out a shrill whine when his tongue danced over your clit, and reached down to shed yourself of the final layer of clothing that covered your bottom half. He caught your wrist and pushed it aside. “No,” He looked up at you as he licked over you again, “been playin’ your fuckin’ game for weeks. S’my turn. Don’t get greedy, now.”

You moaned when he released your wrist from his grasp, only to begin rubbing circles over you. “Pl—ease, Joel!” You arched your back, lifting yourself up to him in an attempt to gain more friction.

“Say it again.”

“Please,” it was barely audible, “please, Joel. Please, please…” Your eyes were hooded as you begged for more. Either he was satisfied by your attempt or took pity on you for coming undone over practically nothing, but he slid the panties down your thighs and threw them over his shoulder. He admired your naked cunt, ghosting a finger over your slit and collecting what you’d already released. He leaned back down and attached his lips to your clit, pushing his finger into you and bending it upwards. You gasped, grabbing a fistful of his hair and tugging, earning a satisfied grunt from him. He rhythmically sucked your clit in time with the movements of his finger, adding another slowly and then increasing the pace. Over and over, he brushed the spongey spot inside of you that made you clench around him, tugging his hair tighter. 

“Go—ing to, Joel, fuck! Joel—!” You were panting, fist gripping his hair.

“No.”

“Please!” You were trembling.

“No.” He was unforgiving, absolutely ruthless as he fucked his fingers into you faster, licking tight and fast over your clit. You were close to tears now, grabbing onto the pillow underneath you to stabilize yourself. You were sweating, and he was the one doing all the work, but, Christ, it took effort to hold off on cumming when he was knuckle deep in your pussy like that.

“Now.” He said, pushing up against the spot you needed him to touch most, sucking hard on your swollen clit. You all but yelled, body turning to jelly, your eyes screwed tight—all while Joel continued his ministrations. He stared at you open mouthed as you trembled. He slowed once you stopped shaking, sliding his fingers out of you and licking them clean. 

“Still gonna act like a bitch now?” He peppered kisses over your thighs.

“F…fuck y—ou, Joel Miller.” You wheezed out. He laughed, standing up to remove his shirt and trousers. 

“’F’I’d known you wanted it I’d’ve done it a month ago.” He crawled over you, pressing kisses into your neck.

“Fuck you.” You finally caught your breath, and he pushed himself up enough to meet you face to face. “You’re a bad person. Everybody in the QZ knows you’re a bad man.”

“Then why are you in my bed?” He was half sincere.

“You tell me.”

“Can see the way you look at me. Terrible at keepin’ secrets. ‘Nother reason you need someone to protect you out there.” He scoffed, and you pulled him down for a kiss. Though bruising in force, you were gentler with each other. Neither of you felt inclined to use teeth this time around.

Joel pushed himself up and onto his knees, sliding his cock over your clit and pushing his tip into you slightly. You whimpered, trying to wordlessly urge him to sink into you. 

“Ask me.”

“Please.”

“More.”

“Please, Joel, need it…”

“Need what, sweet thing?” You closed your eyes, savoring the nickname as it rolled off his tongue. 

“Need your cock. Joel, please, I need you to fu—” He cut you off with one sharp thrust, pushing his full length into you and bottoming out. You felt your eyes roll back in your head, and Joel brought a hand down to rest on the side of your face.

“Atta girl,” his mouth hung open as he began shallowly thrusting into you, “take it all, darlin’.”

You whined, hands scrambling to touch him wherever you could reach; his shoulders, his chest, his thigh if you stretched down a bit further. It only spurred him on.

“Fuckin’ pathetic.” He pushed his hips into yours, attempting to get even deeper inside of your warm, inviting pussy. “Been such a bitch with me ‘nd now you’re so eager, huh? Li’l slut, needed t’get fucked s’all?” All you could do was let out a wonton moan, loving how he stretched you. “Gonna be nice from now on?” You couldn’t respond, could only think the word no as he sped up, sliding all the way out and all the way back into your cunt. “Answer me, girl.”

“F—uck, n—no!” You stammered. 

He brought a hand down harsh on your clit, pulling out so just the tip of his cock was seated shallowly inside of you. You squeezed around it. “Don’t be a bitch,” he spanked your pussy again, “tell me the truth.”

Tears pricked your eyes in frustration, and you nodded your head yes.

“Words.”

“Yes! I’ll be good, I’ll be so good, wo—won’t give you attitude, Joel, I—I won’t be such a bitch, I pr—omise.”

“I like you a li’l bitchy,” he slid his cock back into you, resuming the punishing pace, punching up into you. “Like my pretty li’l bitch. Like this tight fuckin’ pussy.” He flattened himself on top of you, chest pressing into yours with every breath he took and every rough shove of his cock against your cervix. The slight pain was worth the abounding pleasure. He reached under your midriff, sliding his hands between the flannel you still half-wore to meet your skin, wrapping his arms around you and pressing you into him further. You wrapped your own arms around his waist, completely lost in him. 

“Y’needed this as much as I did,” he groaned into your ear, “tell me, sweet thing.”

“Needed—oh, fuck, I needed it.” You whispered against the skin of his shoulder. He managed to reach a hand down between you, fingers finding your clit. You buried your face into him, suddenly very aware of what was happening; your daydreams coming to fruition, winning the game in a manner leagues above what you had hoped for. The attention was staggering. The tears you had held back during his earlier taunting escaped, spilling over your cheeks and smudging into the sweat on Joel’s skin. It was overwhelming in the best way. Anxiety inducing in the worst. 

“So good, being so—so fuckin’ good, darlin’.” He was getting sloppy with his thrusts, rhythm failing as he neared his own high. He pulled away from you, shifting positions to hold you so that you could be face to face. You couldn’t count how many times today you had found yourself staring at Joel Miller. “You’re so good.” A fully earnest sentiment, punctuated by every inch of his cock. “Want you to cum, need you to cum for me again.” He was practically begging, words coming out in moaned whispers. He kissed the tear streaks over your cheek and down to your lips, the wiry hair of his short mustache rubbing against your top lip in a manner that made your skin instantly sore, but it felt too good to be connected to him like this to complain at all. He continued his movements, fingers running over your clit at a heightened pace and cock throbbing inside of you. You squeezed around his cock, arms squeezing his torso, and you felt yourself coming undone. 

“There you go. Feel you fuckin’ squeezin’ me. Gimme one more, sweetheart.” You were pushed over the edge, once again cumming for Joel Miller in a way you had only ever imagined. He held you tight, letting you wrap yourself around him while you came, whispering his name and tangling your fingers in his hair. He managed a few more deep thrusts before pulling out and spilling across your stomach, chanting your name. Your breathing was labored, and Joel admired how he had painted you with his spend.

He stood up, walking out of the room, and you felt the urge to cry again, feeling suddenly abandoned after something so new and intimate. But he walked back in with a threadbare towel, wiping down your stomach and the wet between your thighs. You were both silent as he finished cleaning you up. He exited once more to rid himself of the towel before reuniting with you in bed. He lay beside you for a moment before turning to hold you. You turned to face him.

“It’s a shame you wiped me clean. Wanted a taste.” You failed to keep your tone even and unbothered, the crack in your voice apparent as you tried your hand at humor.

“Next time.” You looked up to find him staring at you once again. His usual scowl replaced by something softer. You fell back into a semi-comfortable silence.

“I am a bad man.” He spread his fingers out between your shoulder blades.

“Joel—”

“I am,” the words came out harsher than he had meant them to, “I’ve done bad shit just to get by. It’s fuckin’ embarrassin’ to kill someone just to see another day of this. Bad’s an understatement.” He took a deep, shaky breath. “I’m hard on you cause I don’t want you gettin’ hurt. Don’t wanna be out with you if somethin’ happens. Don’t wanna be away from you if somethin’ happens. Wouldn’t be able to—”

“I can take care of myself.”

“I know. S’fuckin’ awful. Shouldn’t have’ta fend for yourself.” He swallowed.

“Have to to survive, Joel. Made it this far.”

“No,” he countered, “shouldn’t have to survive. You should be livin’. Shouldn’t need’a run with a crowd like me ‘nd Tess.”

“Don’t you think we’re a little past that? I’d be doin’ the same thing even if I didn’t have you two to do it with.”

“I’ve seen how you freeze up.”

“I knew you’d be there.” You nearly snapped, astonished that after all this he was still hung up over the first run you did with him, despite the effortless shots he had taken. Even more astonished that he hadn’t realized that despite the external bitterness he had fashioned and the constant stream of “no” that left his mouth, you knew even then that he’d keep you protected. He looked away from you, and you nuzzled your face into the crook of his neck, trying to show him that for all your bite you were capable of being docile when the moment called for it.

“Shouldn’t wanna hang around bad people.” Joel’s eyes looked into the nothing of the distance as he muttered. “Shouldn’t have to risk everything just to do bad things.”

“Good men die, too, Joel,” You were firm, “I wanna be…” You trailed off. He looked back to you and traced a finger over your collar bone, admiring the marks that had formed from his kisses. “Wanna be around you. With you.” You saw a faint smile creep across his face.

“Not a good man?”

You scoffed, “Never a good man. Wouldn’t know how to handle me.” He laughed softly. You allowed his hands to roam over your body while you mirrored his movements, tracing your fingers over the scars that littered his chest. “Come with me on the next run.” You weren’t asking.

For the first time in 20-odd years, Joel was unable to say no.

[sp0o0kylights]

Steve And Robin Are Stuck in A Timeloop AU 

Steve's lost track of which time loop this is.

Had lost track pretty much instantly, because it turns out when people die repeatedly in front of you, it kinda takes precedence in your memory. 

Besides, Robin has a list in her head, memorized via some kind of musical code, alongside all the dates and times they wake up in. 

(Steve doesn't see what difference it makes if they wake up at 7:15 am the day of the Championship or 8:25 am, but Robin's insistent that even the slightest variations could mean something.) 

He’ll have to ask his soulmate when he finds her though, because presently Steve has determined they're having one of their weirder loops.

Typically, when the two of them get kicked back in time, they wake up the day of the Championship game. Occasionally it will be the day right before or the day after, but sometimes? 

Sometimes they’re sent back someplace, some time, that isn’t related to 1986 at all. 

Thus far, the Starcourt loop had been the worst. 

("If it happens a third time I'm killing myself." Steve had told Robin after they’d failed that one. 

Robin didn’t even look at him, the two of them huddled up together in Steve’s bed. "No you're not Dingus, not without shooting me first."

"How come I have to shoot you!? Is it because I'm a man? That's not very feminist of you."

"No its because you've seen me shoot, I would miss!") 

Steve had even woken up in an odd place. Not his bed or the couch, but the driver's seat of the Beamer, seated in the high school parking lot.  

It made him immediately uneasy. 

The chair is reclined all the way back, the mass of cars indicating it was a school day. Steve struggled to recall when he's ever taken a nap in his car as he got out of it, trying to decide how he wanted to go about things. 

Felt his pocket and was surprised to find it full of a packet of smokes. 

The sheer implication of that had him pulling out a cig and lighting it before the knowledge that he'd officially quit buying his own cigarettes in 1985 sank in.

Panicked and chainsmokes three, before deciding his best course of action was his usual one. 

Find Robin. 

Which of course means that he found Eddie instead. 

xxx

He’d started his first lap, walking out if the parking lot and round to the more shaded, empty parts of the building when a voice he knew yelled. 

The kind of yell he’d grown intimately familiar with, the one Eddie used when he was terrified and using anger to hide it. 

Steve turns automatically, following the taunts and loud, pained breathing until he finds a handful of jocks encircling the metalhead. He's down on one knee, snarling like a wildcat caught in a trap while some guy Steve barely recognizes holds him by the hair, laughing. 

Red coats his vision instantly, and any thoughts Steve had about being stuck in time (sort of) vanish from his mind entirely. 

The world shrinks down, to that white knuckled grip on Eddie's hair, the way it’s pulling the older boy’s face up so that Steve can see the straining muscles in his throat. 

The protective creature that lives in his chest and likes to punch it’s way out of problems awakens, and a thrum goes through Steve as he feels its demand for blood. 

"Hey fellas " Steve calls joyfully, striding directly into the crowd. "What’re we doing?" 

Two part before him like fish seeing a shark,and a faraway inner voice identifies them as members of the swim team. 

Which likely meant the other two were football players, and for all the tackling they did they were surprisingly easy to scare, if you knew how to play it right. 

Steve absolutely knew how to play it right. 

"Fuck off Harrington. This isn't your business." The one holding Eddie's hair spits. 

"Well that would be where you're wrong." Steve was still keeping things conversational as he positioned himself, arms nice and loose at his sides. He lets the thing that lives inside him, who made him turn right back around all those years ago and charge back into the Byers house, out a little more. Feels the need to protect, to save, to destroy the things that are his, fuel him.  "Seeing as all of Eddie's business is my business."

Eddie stares up at him, wide eyed at the declaration. 

Feeling entirely out of control of his body, Steve sends him a wink. 

"Since when!?" The other football player asks. 

"Since now." Steve declares cheerfully--and then smiles. 

It isn’t a nice smile. 

Thoroughly unnerved, his swim team members shrink back. He’ll have words for them later if he has time--Steve can't ever recall the swim team members being dicks but who fucking knows. 

His memory wasn't the best before he and Robin got stuck in time. 

"You fucking into drugs now or wha--" Their ringleader, still holding onto Eddie by the hair, doesn't get to finish his sentence.

Mostly because his mouth is too busy catching Steve's fist. 

Fighting, he knows, is something he does best when it's too the death and he's armed with something. 

Bonus points if his opponent is a horrific monster from another dimension. 

He has gotten better though, and here the rapid pace he sets feels almost too easy. 

The first guy goes down on the ground before the rest pick up on it, giving Eddie time to lurch backwards as Steve turns and torpedoes into the next jock. 

This one gets in a good shot--Steve staggers with a blow to his side but it's not enough to wind him. He keeps to his feet and advances, delivering one more punch before the swim team guys are trying to call him off. 

"Come on man, you're gonna kill them!" 

Steve almost laughs-- he hasn't come close to killing either idiot-- but backs away, keeping himself between them and Eddie. 

They wave their hands, getting ahold of their bloodied friends as they slowly ease between them and Steve. Make apologizes and promises that it was a poor joke, Munson just got to them, hot heads you know? 

Steve snarls at them to fuck off, and glares until they're gone. 

"What the hell just happened?" Eddie asks him, and Steve turns to find him on his feet, leaning heavily against the brick wall of the school. 

As far as he can get away from Steve. 

"Our football quarterback can't hit for shit." Steve informs him, having finally placed an least one of the guys. "It's probably why we always lose." 

Eddie gives him such a freaked out face it almost makes him laugh a second time.

The effect isn't helped by the fact that Eddie's normally long mane is hovering just over his shoulders, the curls somehow poofier than normal. Clearly he’s still trying to grow it out, but it just makes him look like one of those frazzled dogs. 

Adorable. 

On instinct Steve reaches out to playfully pull a few strands, then freezes when Eddie flinches from him. 

"Sorry." He keeps his hands up, as he takes in Munson's face. "Shit dude, he got your nose good." 

There's blood smeared under it, and given the look of the skin surrounding it? 

Eddie's gonna have an impressive bruise soon enough. 

Steve gets a glare sent his way. "Why do you care?" Eddie spits, back very much still up, and-- right. 

Right. 

Time travel. 

"I'm really bad at explaining it." Steve warns, running a hand through his hair. He did this part plenty without Robin (meeting Eddie that was--Robs usually tackled Nancy.) But he also typically did in it 1986, and with at least three of the kids, not whenever they currently were. 

"We usually start with facts only you'd know, but I don't actually know when I am right now." He finishes, and realizes immediately that it doesn’t make a lick of sense. 

"When you are?" Eddie asks, because of course he clocks that part immediately. 

"Ye--eah." Steve says, dragging out the word. 

He looks at Eddie desperately, like the metalhead will tell him the exact information he needs. 

Eddie just stares back. 

"Look, it sounds really stupid when you say it out loud." Steve says finally, because fuck, it does!

"Comparable to all the other times you talk out loud?" Eddie snips, voice full of venom. 

"Shut up.” Steve replies automatically, but his tone holds no heat. He’s too used to trading banter with Eddie that is friendly.  “I'm gonna preface this by saying I can prove it."

"Oh wow preface. Such a big word for you! Did Nancy Wheeler teach you that one?"

"Robin actually." Then, "Nancy?"

The look Eddie gives him could melt steel beams. "Yeah man. Nancy Wheeler. Your girlfriend." 

"Oh--oh god." Steve says, because that means they're way back. Possibly to the beginning. 

Or worse, before he and Nancy had broken up.

"I can’t handle that breakup a second time." He says wide eyed, the panic gripping him for a second. “I could-no, no I could get Robin to tell her!” 

Because that sure would work. 

Steve can just imagine it now. Robin, sauntering up to Nancy and going ‘Hey, we really haven’t met yet but you’re gonna dump Steve, if you haven’t already and to cut through all the drama, I’m here to just tell you on his behalf that it’s over. What was that? A coward? Why yes, he is one!’

You know, provided she didn’t just laugh in his face and then cuff him over the head when she realized he was being serious. 

“Dude.” Eddie says, sinking a world’s worth of judgment into the single syllable. 

“Yeah, you’re right, bad call.” Steve says, and whatever Eddie was expecting it clearly wasn’t that. 

“Are you on drugs right now?” Eddie finally asks when Steve reverts back to looking to him as if he’s going to help. A bad habit, and one Steve knows he needs to stop doing. 

Even if Eddie, in the original timeline and every one after they got him on board, eventually becomes someone Steve can rely on like that. 

“You can tell me if you are, man, you know I won’t judge.” The hateful air around him is fading into something more confused, and then into something else entirely. The persona Eddie pulls when he’s hurt and trying to hide it with jokes and rants. “Unless you and your buddies bought from someone that wasn’t me, in which case I get exclusive rights to judge.” 

He’s shifting as he finally stands up off the wall, and Steve doesn’t miss how he hugs one hand to a rib. 

Shit. 

He needs to get Eddie up to speed and he needs to do it fast.

Steve sighs and just starts listing Eddie Munson Facts like an unprepared kid who was called on in class. 

"Okay, so your uncle collects mugs, right? And--fuck I don't know when you get all the tattoos,” Steve makes a vague gesture around his chest, “but you have bats on your arm and you gave them all names." 

Eddie's eyes pop wide again, jaw slacking as Steve volleys off a few more Munson Facts. 

"You have this weird fear about red ribbon necklaces because of a book you read in third grade, your first guitar has this giant ugly--sorry dude, but you cannot write legibly to save your life, 'This machine slays dragons' quote across it and--oh!"

 He was so fucking stupid. The answer was literally staring at him in the face, dangling around Eddie's neck. 

Steve snapped his fingers excitedly. "The guitar pick on your neck is your moms!"

Eddie’s mouth open and closes like a fish, long enough that the smile slowly slides off of Steve’s face.  

"How the fuck do you know all that?" He manages after a long, tortuous moment, looking like he’d been sucker punched. 

Again. 

With the most pained look his face can manage, Steve finally answers. "Time travel."

Eddie blinks.

Then blinks again. 

 "Time travel." He echoes faintly. 

"Yeah. I'm from 1986, where things kinda got really fucked up."

"No kidding?" Eddie says, right before he erupts into giggles. 

"Did they get you in the head?" Steve asks, abruptly concerned, as Eddie collapses back against the wall in a growing fit of laughter.  

Concussed Eddie was not a road he wanted to go down but Steve knew better than anyone what happens if you ignore such things. 

"I think my weed just hit." Eddie explains as he wipes away a tear, and Steve wants to shake him, but knows it won't get him anywhere. 

"That's great. That's just great."  He grumbles, hands going onto his hips. "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"To get you a bandage. And then find Robin.” 

Robin, Steve decided, could handle a high, concussed Eddie.

[animebw]

So! In order to keep myself from losing my goddamn mind in the aftermath of that G-Witch episode (how are we supposed to wait two weeks for the next episode I swear to fuck), I want to take a second and focus on something this show has done exceptionally well, but that I haven’t really seen talked about at all. Namely, the fact that Suletta is one of the best examples of an overpowered protagonist I’ve ever seen.

And yes, she is canonically overpowered. As long as she has Aerial by her side, she can curb-stomp pretty much every opponent without breaking a sweat. Time and again, she goes up against impossible odds and wipes the floor with them The best duelist at school? Chump. Facing multiple opponents alone and outnumbered? Child’s play. And honestly, I was starting to get annoyed by it around the end of the first season. How are we supposed to believe Suletta’s ever going to be in danger if she’s so ludicrously stronger than everyone else?

And then The Slap happened, and everything turns upside-down.

See, what makes season 1′s cliffhanger ending so goddamn powerful isn’t just the sight of our cheerful bumbling protagonist liquifying a living person into red paste in front of her horrified fiance. It’s not just the realization of how deep Prospera’s manipulation has twisted Suletta’s sense of identity. No, the real secret behind The Slap’s brilliance is that it retroactively makes every single moment of Overpowered Suletta fucking terrifying. Suddenly, we realize that her overwhelming strength in battle is a direct result of Prospera’s influence, raising her to be the perfect pawn in her little scheme. The reason she’s able to knock the socks off every single opponent she faces isn’t just Latent Protag Syndrome; it’s because her mother crafted her into a relentless warrior with the strength to destroy any obstacle in the path to her revenge. Suletta’s strength in battle isn’t just overwhelming; it’s dangerous, to herself and everyone around her. And the second she has to unleash that strength in a situation more serious than a no-casualties school sporting match, it becomes instantly, horrifyingly clear that she is in no way ready to grapple with the great responsibility that comes with such great power.

In other words, what first seemed like just a case of another anime protagonist winning every fight because reasons turns on its head and makes that overpowered nature a source of fear, both for the audience and for Miorine. So instead of ending up a boring tension-killer where we’re never afraid for Suletta’s safety, the fact that she’s capable of such force becomes the most critical source of tension and conflict driving her and Miorine’s story in the second season. Suletta being so overpowered is an explicit character flaw, at least as long as Prospera’s claws are in her. Because just because she can punch away any physical threat in her path doesn’t mean she’s not vulnerable in countless other areas. She may be the strongest in a fight, but she has nowhere near the strength of character to deal with the political schemes and emotional burdens that come about as a result of that strength. All that skill on the battlefield doesn’t mean shit when you can’t see how that skill is being manipulated for dark ends, or causing you to take on stress and trauma you have no healthy way of coping with. Suletta can smash her way to victory in any fight, and yet she’s the most vulnerable, least protected person in the entire cast, in no small part thanks to the forces that made her so strong in the first place.

There’s a reason characters like Saitama from One Punch Man and Mob from Mob Psycho 100 are so beloved, despite being so overpowered. ONE knows that in order to make an overpowered character interesting, you need to give them struggles beyond the scope of their powers to fix. Saitama can punch a mountain in half, but he can’t punch his way out of existential ennui; that’s just as much of a struggle for him as any normal person. Mob’s psychic powers can’t solve his emotional turmoil or provide him the perfect path toward maturity; he has to figure that out himself. They are overwhelmingly strong in fights, but the primary conflict of their stories has very little to do with those fights and everything to do with their growth as people. They’re stories about how even being the strongest person alive doesn’t protect you from the challenges of life that everyone on this planet faces, and their journeys to self-actualization are enormously compelling as a result. No one remembers the overpowered exploits of Isekai Harem Protagonist du jour; everyone remembers watching Saitama and Mob slowly find their way forward in life, one simple step at a time.

Suletta, in my eyes, is very much in the same vein. Like Saitama and Mob and all the best overpowered protagonists, her writing understands that being incredibly skilled in one area doesn’t mean you can’t be challenged in others- and in Mob’s case especially, how that incredible skill can actually be the biggest obstacle for the challenge you actually need to overcome. Suletta’s skill in battle is made compelling by her lack of that same skill in other areas, and the ultimate conflict of Gundam Witch is a conflict she cannot punch her way out of. If she’s going to survive this chaos and live happily every after with Miorine, she will need to struggle to overcome her years of conditioning and emotional uncertainty. She will need to struggle just as Mob struggled, just as Saitama struggled, not just to learn the skills she hasn’t developed yet, but to push back against the influence that resulted in her being so freakishly strong in the first place. Suletta is an overpowered protagonist who’s overpowered nature is, itself, the greatest challenge she will have to overcome in order to truly save herself and the people she loves. And I think that’s really damn neat.

[deathmetalunicorn1]

What if the giant mermaid ended up in record of ragnarok? How would everyone react to that?

-Odin was the first one who was aware of your existence, after you had suddenly appeared in Valhalla, by some unknown magic, and when he informed the others, many were keen on seeking you out.

-Odin told them that someone very large, larger than most giants, had appeared, which got some riled up, thinking you were a threat and needed to be dealt with, however Odin was able to sense that you meant no harm.

-Poseidon was the one to find you, as you had appeared in his domain and he immediately sought you out, thinking you were a threat.

-As a large shadow loomed over him, when he was inspecting the area where you had appeared, he was not expecting to look up to see such a massive mermaid.

-You cupped your hands around him as he swam up to you, allowing him to sit in your hands and you smiled, “Hello there- do you happen to know where I am?”

-Poseidon didn’t know what to think of you, your massive size made you seem intimidating, and with your power you would be dangerous, but you were smiling down at him so warmly, like you didn’t know who he was.

-He was quick to realize you didn't know who he was, as you weren’t afraid of him, and he informed you that he was a god, the king of the seas. Your eyes went sparkly when he told you this, in complete awe which made his eyelid twitch only slightly.

-He told you that other citizens of Valhalla wanted to meet you, gods and human warriors, and you agreed, a warm smile on your face, showing no fear. Poseidon didn’t know if you were secretly really strong, or if you were just too trusting.

-When you emerged from the water, rising high above those who came to the beach in Poseidon’s domain. Jaws dropped and eyes widened all around the group before you as you lowered yourself down to be on your belly, to be closer to their own height as you beamed, “Hello there! I’m Y/N!”

-Loki immediately was holding onto one of your fingers, “Marry me!” you were surprised by his sudden proposal, but you smiled warmly, “Oh you’re so sweet, but I don’t know you.” Loki wasn’t defeated, willing to get to know you before Odin punched him on the top of his head, telling him to knock it off.

-You told them all what you remembered that you were swimming before you saw a strange bright blue ball of light floating in the water, “I thought it was a big jellyfish, so I went to investigate and when I touched it, I felt like everything got turned upside down around me and I found myself in this ocean.”

-All eyes went to Odin and Beelzebub, the two sharing a look as they pondered out loud, neither one knowing of that type of teleportation magic that brought you there, and you didn’t know much about anything that could be possible in your old world.

-Despite your unusual arrival, they allowed you to stay, much to your joy, and many of them melted, some on the inside, on how pretty you looked when you smiled.

-Since you were unable to leave the ocean, Poseidon welcomed you into his domain, despite not being able to do anything about it, but you did make sure to help out where you could, patrolling and reporting anything out of the ordinary to Poseidon, something he did appreciate as you were able to cover more ground than he and his soldiers were able to.

-You made friends with many of the gods and warriors in Valhalla, as many wanted to test their strength against you, like Thor, Lu Bu, Hercules, and Raiden, but they quickly learned that you only fought it you had to, and you used your tail half as a weapon.

-Loki and Apollo had become instantly infatuated with you- finding you so stunning and they were constantly coming to see you and flirt with you while fighting with each other.

-The day you took them both underwater with you, using your ability to make bubbles that were hard to pop, they were in awe, seeing that you could see under the water.

-When you let the bubble go, to float around, as Apollo asked, “I want to see all of your beauty.” You swam out a bit, showing them your full form, showing them how much bigger you were than them, but you swam so gracefully through the water, almost like you were dancing.

-They were in awe when you grabbed the bubble, heading back to the shore, both gushing at you on how stunning you looked, forgetting their fight, for the moment while you smiled warmly thanking them.

-It was an odd situation, but you were happy to be welcomed so warmly in this new world.

[freestyle-crocodile-trashpile]

Rage

[A/n:Mortal kombat brutality style 😈😈😈. I got this idea after seeing the Orin thingy when she takes Gale.]

Summary:Orin was nothing compared to your fists

Type:Scenario:?: Gale X M!Tiefling!Reader

Version:Bg3

~

The anger filled you so quickly as you watched Orin twitch and snap back into her original form. Gale no longer infront if you.

"What did you do to Gale..." A shiver ran down your companions' spines at the tone of your voice.

Orin snickered, a dark look forming on her face. It only made you want to punch her face in.

"Nothing to bad...yet, once I get back I-" She didn't get to finish her sentence as your fist came in contact with her face.

A sickening crunch filled the room as your fist came in contact with her nose, completely shattering it. She didn't have time to react as you punch her again, and again, and again. You didn't stop or slow down, your tail stiff and twitching behind you as your clawed fingers stabbed into both of her eyes, crushing the soft organ instantly. She screamed, yanking your hand away from her face. Blood streamed down her face, covering her skin and the ground below. You didn't waste anytime, headbutting her while she had a grip on your wrist, your horns scrapped against her skin, tearing at her flesh. Another punch to her face and she stumbled against the wall. Another scream left her mouth. Holding her face as she stumbled away from you, tripping over chairs and bumping into the desk. Pure rage was radiating off you, causing your companions to step back.

"God damn, Soldier!" Karlach laughed, finding this disturbing yet amusing.

You didn't even process her words, storming over to Orin. Your hand grabbed her hair, yanking her head back so far her veins started showing on her neck. If you tugged any harder her neck would've snapped, or tore her hair out.

"Where's Gale?!" Orin punched you weakly, attempting to get out of your grip blindly.

"To hells with you! I'll send you there myself!" Orin Wouldn't be better just telling you. She could feel your rage, even blind she felt superior in this moment.

Another scream left her mouth as you tore her hair from her scalp, a patch of her skin tearing with the blood. A deep growl left your throat as she tried to leave again. Rising your hand, claws out, you grabbed at her face, your claws digging into her skin as you tear the skin from her face. Another scream, louder, more pained.

"Tell me!" All you got was a cry and a tremble as she started chanting something.

You grabbed her jaw, crushing it in your hand. Her chanting was silenced quickly, another cry of pain as you punched her again. She fell to the ground, hastily looking for something to use against you, yet with her eyes crushed and oozing from her sockets, it was way more difficult than ever before. She grabbed a letter opener just as you yanked her back up. Swiftly, she stabbed you in the eye, well, tried to, she just barely missed, stabbing your cheekbone instead. A hiss left your throat, letting go of her temporarily. She shoved you to the ground and dashed away from you, raming into a chair then into a wall. She stumbled, turning around and moving her head as if it'd let her see again. You growled, running at her. Fortunately for her, she dodged.

"I'll kill you!" She ran at you, clawing at your face, which only made you grab her wrists and crush her wrist bones under your grip, twisting her hands the wrong way before twisting her around and slamming her against a desk.

"I won't ask again. Where. Is. Gale." Another cry and a hiss.

"Fuck you" Orin hissed out, her broken jaw making her words slurred and disoriented.

She managed to shove you off her, turning to you and summoning a summon to fight you. You charged at her, lowing your hand and aiming your claws straight at her stomach. Before she could react, your hand went through her stomach, tearing the Armour away with your other hand. A sound if gagging was heard from shadowheart and a wheeze from Orin. Your hand twisted in her, gripped her spine before tearing it from her stomach, snapping the bone as you pulled it out from her stomach. You stepped back, spine clenched in your hand, breathing heavily as Orin took a few steps before collapsed on the ground. Everyone was silent, horror on their faces. You reached down and grabbed Orin, tossing her over your shoulder, spine still in hand as you started walking.

When you found where Gale was being kept, all it took was dropping Orins body on the ground and a glare for them to release Gale. You took the body home with you, just in case. Yet your body was stained with her blood, you reeked of blood. It was so strong your companions couldn't be around you, even Astarion.

~

[A/n:Hehe...I might have gone to far with it, but you know what. Orin needs a good ass beating. I hope you enjoyed]

[ayatotiddies]

'The Ties That Bind Us'

Part 4

Summary - Ever since we were little, Rafe and I have been close. Sometime along the way, something happened though. We changed, got closer in a sort- I always wonder what might’ve changed. What ticks along the way made us what we are today? I guess I’ll never know. All I know is the feeling of his pretty hands, tracing the sides of my face. My best friend leaning in, his soft lips meeting my own. It shouldn’t have happened, but it did and to be honest- I wasn’t complaining...

Warnings - Angst with fluff near the end <3. Jk lots of fluff 😛

Word Count - 1.7k

Fuck. You had to be genuinely kidding. I immediately opened up our messages and started blowing up his phone with text messages. We weren’t in the best place right now, but I still had every right to care. There’s no telling what could happen if he was driving while high and upset. I had a burning ache in my chest that was practically crawling its way up my throat. I felt like I was going to be sick. Until a bubble with dots popped up.

The messages felt like a punch to the gut. Either way I quickly typed back a response asking where he was and why he turned his location off. “None od your fucking bsusiness” My teeth chewed on my bottom lip as I paced. Thinking about all the places he could possibly be. Every possible scenario ran through my head about where he could be- or worse- what could happen to him.

Within minutes, I was in my car, driving down the roads. Looking for anything that screamed Rafe Cameron is or was here. So far my efforts had been useless. Until I spotted a truck parked in a mostly empty parking lot. I immediately knew it was Rafe. I parked across the lot before getting out of my car and walking around the docks. I spotted him, sitting down on the dock. His gray north face jacket was thrown over his shoulders, making him look extra bulky. There was a slight breeze and the rustling and sloshing of waves. It was calm and quiet. He heard me, I know he did. He didn’t move though, he stayed still.

I made my way over and stood behind him. Before finally deciding to sit beside him. Not a word was spoken. I think that was what we both needed most. Just silence between the two of us. His eyes looked so tired but the way his fingers kept fidgeting and picking at the others said otherwise. He would pause and twist his ring around on his finger, only to start again moments later. I caught myself staring a little too hard. So I fixed my gaze towards the sky. Taking in the sight of the stars and constellations with a sigh. Rafe raised his head slightly and looked at me. 

“Rafe.” his lips thinned into a small line before answering. “Yes Star?” My breathing hitched slightly at the nickname before I exhaled. My mouth opened- and then closed. I had to think about what I was about to ask. “Did.. Did you mean- ya’know? What you said that night?” the words left my mouth. I regretted them instantly “Because you’ve been avoiding me like the plague and- I just wanted to know why. I guess.” It just came out like word vomit. I couldn’t control my mouth. Nor could I control my eyes glossing over with tears. Or the ones puddling at the corners of my eyes and spilling over. His body stiffened. His voice was smooth like honey when he finally spoke. “I just didn’t want to ruin things. Which, I know I did.” his shoulders slumped. Rafe’s eyes welled over with tears, none spilled though. 

I drove Rafe back to my house. The drive there was quiet. When we arrived home I helped him stumble into my bed and got him some water. I slid his jacket off his arms to stop him from sweating. No matter how upset we were. He always had a place to stay. Within minutes, he was passed out in my bed. His breathing was soft, like weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He just looked so much calmer when he wasn’t angry at the world or me. Or high. Sometimes I wished every night could just end without the fighting, but where is the reality in that? 

While Rafe cuddled into the pillows, I plugged a spare charger into his phone. Laid his jacket out on the end of the bed for when he awoke and wanted to leave. Even threw a blanket over him. My heart ached at the sight of him. All the feelings I had for him hit me at once. The anger, the sadness, the fear, the love, dare I say lust? Every part of me wished he would prove he meant what he said. Every part of me hoped he would kiss me again and promise he meant it. It’s like I was waiting for a confession that would likely never happen. My fingertips ached in pain, there was a lump in my throat, and what felt like a hole in my heart. I sighed. 

I laid in bed, opposite of Rafe. My own breathing slowed as I thought about how messy the day had been. Thought about what Rafe said on the dock. Thought about the text messages. Thought about the look he gave me when Topper called me over to them on the couch. My eyes fluttered shut as I fell asleep.

The sun shining through my window the next morning wasn’t what woke me up. What woke me up was breathing down my neck and a hard warmth pressed against my back. When my eyes opened and saw Rafe’s arms wrapped around my stomach I nearly died. His soft breaths repeatedly hit my neck. It was nice. The soft light shining through the window. The warmth of Rafe wrapped around me. It was so, so nice. So nice it made me fall back asleep in the muscly arms that were wrapped around me.

I woke up an hour or two later to that feeling gone. I looked back behind me and the blonde was gone. It felt like the air had left my lungs. My body acted before I got the chance to think. Within seconds, I was out of bed and wandering off to the living room. No one. I peeked into the kitchen. No one. Everything in me was screaming, something was wrong. I walked back to my room and yanked my phone off the bedside table. A text from him made me sigh in relief.

But- it also makes me equally curious. My thoughts are roaming all over the place. The few paces to the front door are slow and excruciating. When the door opens, my jaw drops to the floor.

The bouquet was stunning. Rafe had gotten me many before- most were given for birthdays or just because. Sometimes they were given after arguments or disagreements. Just like this bouquet was. I think the best part was the little note attached to the paper. 

‘I bought flowers thinking about you. I mean, I love you.’

That made me smile more than anything. It was different and thoughtful. Not to mention gorgeous. I grabbed the arrangement of flowers and brought them inside. Laid them on the kitchen counter and then texted Rafe back. 

“Thank you for the flowers, they are gorgeous. Where did you run off to????”

While I waited on a response I grabbed a vase and slid the flowers into it. ‘Ding.’  I glanced at my phone on the counter and opened the message. 

“My dad needed me for something work related. Text me if you need me, though. My messages are always open for you.” 

My lips quipped into a smile at the message. Then another one loaded in- to my surprise it wasn’t a message.

What the fuck??? For a minute I questioned if he was actually insane- but no. He was just Rafe. Which made sense. He was always doing something he shouldn’t be.

My phone rang, the contact on the screen made me answer immediately. “Hey, I’m outside.” - “What?” I looked through the blinds and saw Rafe’s truck out front. “C’mon, I don’t have all damn night.” he murmured into the phone. Without haste, I hung up and grabbed a change of clothes. Quickly slipped my shoes on and hurried outside. 

I opened the truck door and climbed into the passenger's seat before shutting it. Rafe had a cocky grin on his face. “What?” I questioned the blonde next to me. “Nothin’, you just look rushed.” The glare I gave him made him laugh. “I wonder why.” My response only made him laugh more, his head thrown back into the headrest. “Shit- okay, okay. Where do you wanna go eat?-” His question made my mouth droop into a frown. “Rafe- you’re joking- You should’ve told me that!-” - “Okay fuck never mind! We’ll pick something up” His hands rose in the air like he was surrendering. 

We drove around for a good 30 minutes before finally deciding on food. Rafe insisted I didn’t eat yet. We stopped on a hillside. He reached behind him and grabbed a blanket from the back seat. “Stay-” his tone was serious as he got out of the truck. A few moments later my door opened. Rafe took the food from me and led me to the bed of his truck. The tailgate was down. The back of his truck was decorated with little fairy lights, the bed was littered with blankets, along with some pillows. 

“I figured I owed you something nice.” He declared awkwardly. His hand came up to scratch the back of his head. The smile on my face was irreplaceable. I pulled the blonde into a hug. I pulled back and looked into his blue eyes. “Thank you.” - His bottom lip trembled. He brushed a piece of my hair out of my face and settled closer.

Ever since we were little, Rafe and I have been close. Sometime along the way, something happened though. “I really, really, want to kiss you.” He murmured. We changed, got closer in a sort- I always wonder what might’ve changed. What ticks along the way made us what we are today? I guess I’ll never know.  “I’m not stopping you.” All I know is the feeling of his pretty hands, tracing the sides of my face. My best friend leaning in, his soft lips meeting my own. Maybe it shouldn’t have happened, but I wasn’t complaining...

@annoyingassleo @rafesno1bae @rafecameronsbunny @rafesthroatbaby @wearemadeofstardust0

Part! - 5 - !!

A/N: I enjoyed writing this one! So I hope you love reading it!

Moodboard - Click It

[bvidzsoo]

Love Me Like A Rockstar (2)

ー☆ Chapter 2: RunRunRun

Author: bvidzsoo

Pairing: Song Mingi x female reader

ー☆ Warning: cussing really ー☆ Word count: 6.6k ー☆ Genre: university!au, enemies to lovers!au, rockstar!au ー☆ Rating: sfw ー☆ Summary: Love. You wanted none of it. You had already been heartbroken very badly once, you didn't wish to go through that ever again. But the Universe works in intricate ways and, somehow, you found yourself webbed up in a local rockstar's life, Song Mingi. He was everything you expected him to be, yet nothing like you imagined him he would be. What happens when you find mutual understanding and have heartful conversations? Will he be able to break down your walls? Will you be able to chase away his darkness?

A/N: Hihi, second chapter is out!! I hope you all enjoy it and leave feedback, I really really appreciate that!! Taglist is still open for those interested. Do not forget to check out the playlist and listen to the song before or while reading (RunRunRun)!! Thank you. Now, enjoy!

Taglist: @orshii @lovely-red2 @juicy-red @scarfac3 @sunaswifes-blog

⟨Series M.list ↭ Previous Chapter⟩

♫Playlist♫

『I always thought it would be easy (easy)

To get you out my mind (mind)』

            Certainly my sleep could’ve been more peaceful, but after the shit I pulled—drew Mingi’s eyes, for fuck’s sake—I knew I was in for a long night of overthinking and overanalyzing everything. Just for a second I allowed myself to place aside all judgement and foulness I felt towards the smug prick and, yes, admitted, that perhaps he wasn’t too bad to look at. Not a little bit, not even at all. However, this thought unsettled me and quickly made me remember how my blood boiled and nerves rose caused by his stuck-up attitude and irritating smirk. He was an asshole full of himself, and there was no way in hell I would allow his mild handsomeness overshadow his good for nothing personality. Guys like him were only by your side for a short while, while the relationship would feel new and exciting, and after that they dip like you have never even existed on the surface of Earth. That thought alone made me groan last night and punch a pillow before I finally willed my mind to calm down and erase the knowledge of his existence—or of the very obvious drawing of his eyes in my sketchbook, which I started considering my journal at some point.

If the lack of sleep wasn’t enough to put me in a sour mood, then the chilly air of the morning certainly made me grit my teeth as I stormed back inside the house to grab my beige and maroon plaid flannel shirt before running off to catch the bus to university. Currently, Seulgi and I were sat in the cafeteria enjoying our lunches—well, she was, my appetite never found me today—as I chewed the last bits of my quite simple sandwich I have packed in a haste this morning, Seulgi’s mouth, despite being full, was constantly moving and spouting information after information. I was only half-heartedly listening to her at this point—I swear to God, Wooyoung has been the center of our conversation for the past half an hour—as I held my pencil between my fingers and mindlessly doodled in my sketchbook. I wasn’t drawing anything particular, just random shapes which my brain felt necessary to draw as Seulgi suddenly hiccupped, face turning red. I cast her a glance as she quickly opened her bottle of water and chugged down at least half of its contents.

“Are you good?” I asked amused as she fanned her face.

“I think I almost just died.” Her answer made me snort as I grabbed the apple off my tray and bit into it, almost instantly regretting it as I was never a fan of apples.

“No wonder, you keep talking with your mouth full.” I muttered and Seulgi rolled her eyes as she went back to eating her lunch, smiling to herself like an idiot. I rolled my eyes but basked in the silence, finally able to have a little bit of peace of mind. I loved Seulgi and her random rambles, but not when they were about Wooyoung. And lately he seemed to be the only thing she talked about.

“Did you get to rest last night?” She asked as she gulped down her soup, eyebrows furrowed as she took in my appearance, seemingly finally aware that I looked tired. I shook my head with a sigh and turned the page of my sketchbook as I have filled the other one with shapes. Seulgi glanced down at the clean page and grimaced, leaning in closer towards me, “Just how stressed are you right now? That’ll be your third page in the past fifteen minutes.”

“I’m not really stressed,” I corrected her, taking another bite of the apple and regretting it again, “I’m just bored and probably restless.”

“Why?” Seulgi inquired and I shrugged, pressing the pencil against the white sheet of paper and carefully starting to draw sharp and precise lines.

“Don’t know,” I muttered, eyebrows furrowing when suddenly the cafeteria was filled with noise as if a whole crowd entered it, “Mom says it’s the full moon.”

“That was like…almost two weeks ago.” Seulgi gave me a deadpanned look and I chuckled, shrugging again. I most certainly wasn’t going to tell her that I haven’t slept well last night because I drew Mingi’s eyes and then freaked out over it, and was still pretty much freaking out about it, because I didn’t know what this meant and why it happened. And I really didn’t want to find out as I mindlessly pressed a small but firm dot underneath the lines I drew on the left side of the paper.

“I don’t know then, Seulgi, you know I have periods when I can’t sleep.” Seulgi hummed at my response and then a coy smile made its way onto her lips and I raised my eyebrows, pressing her to go on and tell me what was on her mind.

“What did you think of Noir Zenith?” I didn’t want to talk about this.

“They were fine.” I answered boredly, drawing a small semi-circle underneath the sharp lines, “Nothing too impressive. I’m now convinced you only like them because of Wooyoung.”

“Stop!” Seulgi shushed me with a blush and pointed her fork at me threateningly, “I actually enjoy their music, alright?! I liked the band before I started liking Wooyoung, so stop being mean.”

“Whatever,” I stuck my tongue out at her as I added a bit of shading to the drawing, “I expected their music to be worse, that I’ll admit, however, I only vibed with Seonghwa and Wooyoung—”

“Yeah, you made that very clear, Y/N.” Seulgi cut me off with a sharp tone and it brought a sheepish smile onto my lips as I was about to take another bite of my apple just as I narrowed my eyes at the drawing, staring at it for a second longer. And then it clicked. Fuck. I quickly shut my sketchbook closed as I threw my pencil on the table, groaning loudly. I couldn’t believe it. Why was I doing this? Why was I drawing Mingi’s eyes again?

『I think I found a new addiction

It feels so right』

“What?” Seulgi asked confused as she gazed at my closed sketchbook.

“Nothing.” I muttered lowly, banging my head against the table once before taking another bite of my apple, trying to ignore the way my heart started to race. There must be something about his eyes if my brain decided to burn it into its memory and recall it at any given time my pencil touched a piece of paper as I let loose to draw mindlessly.

“You’ve been acting weird all day long, Y/N.” Seulgi raised an eyebrow and I sighed, slouching down in my seat as suddenly there was a roar of cheers. I wasn’t interested at all to know what was happening behind me; therefore I found no desire in myself to turn around and look. It was probably the football team or some noisy first year’s having a little bit too much fun in the cafeteria while they totally disregard that, perhaps, some people would like to hear their own thoughts while given a longer break from their studies. My lips pulled into a sneer and I almost turned around to find the culprits I could glower at, but Seulgi found her voice again now that she was done with her lunch, “Wooyoung complimented my outfit twice last night, Y/N, twice! I was seriously freaking out!”

“Oh, wow,” I muttered unimpressed, not having it in me to tell her that she’s told me that information three times now, “and yet you kept stressing about it.”

“I couldn’t help myself,” Seulgi pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, “I was so nervous. It was the first time he invited me to their performance—”

“Haven’t you seen them countless of times before last night?” I asked with narrowed eyes and Seulgi rolled her eyes with a tsk.

“But this was different, Y/N, you’re so impossible I don’t even know why I’m telling you all of this—”

“Yeah, me neither.” I gaped at her fakely, making Seulgi roll her eyes, “This is the third time I’m hearing everything, Seulgi.”

“Well, sorry for being excited about my crush finally showing interest in me.” Seulgi’s voice hardened as she snapped and I pouted, knowing that I have upset her. She threw me a glare as she grabbed her phone, acting uninterested as I reached over the table and softly gripped her wrist. I knew she couldn’t resist when I acted cute.

“Sorry, you know I’m cranky when I don’t sleep, don’t get mad.” I coerced her with a sweet voice and she just spared me a glance before going back to her phone. I sighed dramatically and retreated my hand, falling back into my chair and groaning as I closed my eyes briefly. My muscles were sore from sitting almost all day long, and my eyes hurt from too much light and staring at my sketchbook even when it wasn’t necessary. I opened my eyes and allowed them to roam over the cafeteria as I decided to quickly finish the little apple I have left over and took in the students around us. All groups were enjoying their free time quietly, speaking amongst themselves in a moderate tone, not loud enough to disturb anyone, yet there was one fucking table which just wouldn’t shut up, and fed up with it, I whirled around in my chair and searched for them, nose flaring in irritation. However, when my eyes landed on the culprits, my heart fell into my ass and my jaw clenched as I allowed the vicious glare to overtake my features as I sent daggers towards them. There he sat. At the table closest to the entrance, clad in a much more casual outfit compared to last night with sunglasses obscuring his view—who the fuck wears sunglasses inside—as he was surrounded by at least five girls. Mingi was leaning back in his chair, body falling against it awkwardly as his limbs were too long for it, legs spread out wide as he currently had his hands behind his head, smirking up at the blonde girl from the pub. Huh, so she goes to our university, should’ve expected that.

“Disgusting.” I sneered quietly, enticed by the view as my body wallowed in irritation, hatred and disgust, wishing for nothing more than to slam my sketchbook against Mingi’s head and scream the most creative profanities in his face. He was just asking for it with his smug face and shit eating grin, acting like he was a God, above everyone else, making girls swoon for his ass when he wasn’t even all that great.

“What’s—oh.” Seulgi cut herself off once her eyes followed my gaze and she chuckled. I could see her raise an eyebrow from the corner of my eyes as she watched me before looking back at Mingi, leaning back in her chair as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, “You never explained why you hate him so much.”

“Ugh, just look at him!” That was all Seulgi had to say to set me off, “He’s self-centered and conceited! He’s a jerk and he treats everyone else like they are less than him, and oh, my God, don’t even get me started about his stupid smirk which screams, ‘oh, look! I’m better than you ever will be, and by the way, you’re dumb as fuck!’, God, I hate the guy.”

Seulgi’s eyebrows went up to her hairline that’s how high they were raised as I turned around to look at her, having seen enough of Mingi’s stupid side profile as he smirked and laughed at every stupid thing those girls were probably saying to him, “Okay, Miss I hate his pants so much I can’t stop staring at him; that was intense, what the fuck. Poor Mingi, he didn’t even do anything to you and here you are—dragging his ass like he killed your cat or something, Y/N.”

“That would be the last straw—”

“You don’t even have a cat.” Seulgi deadpanned and I sighed exasperated, throwing an irritated smile her way. She was supposed to be on my side, not defending an asshole when she could clearly see how much distaste I had towards him.

“Whatever, I just can’t stand him, alright?” I muttered at last with a huff and Seulgi cocked an eyebrow as her phone pinged, quickly looking down at it. Her mouth instantly stretched into a huge smile and she started bouncing her legs up and down as she slapped the table once very loudly.

“I’m about to die—” She took a deep breath as she squealed quietly, looking at me like she has won the lottery or something, “Wooyoung finally asked me to hang out!”

I smiled at my best friend, happy that things were going well for her, “So, it’s a date then?”

“Not yet.” She smiled as she was texting back, biting her lower lip with a huge smile on her face, “But perhaps soon.”

“Oh, he better ask you out soon,” I muttered just as another roar of squealing disturbed my pace of mind and I have reached my limit for today, that was it, “Or I’ll make him regret being born.”

Seulgi cackled at that as I grabbed my sketchbook and pencil and showed them inside my backpack, “Y/N! That’s too much, don’t you think—Where are you going?”

“Class.” I answered curtly, throwing my flannel shirt around my exposed shoulders as I wore a dark blue off-shoulder long sleeved blouse, paired with black ripped jeans and fishnets underneath.

“We’ve got like ten more minutes until then—”

“Yeah, but if I hear Mingi’s bitches squealing again in the next three seconds I might go ahead and jump out the fucking window.” I deadpanned and Seulgi bit her lower lip as it quivered, threatening to burst out into laughter. It wasn’t funny, and so, I gave her a harmless glare.

“Oh, God, you’re impossible. I can’t believe you’re this cranky.” She said as she finally started laughing.

“This isn’t me being cranky, this is me being irritated by someone’s whole ass existence, anyways, see you!” I called as I took off before Seulgi could say anything else, I knew she’d be following me soon after as we had to walk to the other side of campus to reach the Art’s building.

『Run, baby, run

Run for your life

I'ma tear out your heart

It'll always be mine』

I steeled my expression and pushed my shoulders back as I took off towards the exit, gripping the straps of my backpack tightly. The closer I got to it—which meant I was also getting closer and closer to the table Mingi sat at—the louder those girls voices got. Anyone close enough could hear what they were screaming about—okay, they weren’t screaming, but they were loud—and it made me bite my lower lip as I started tapping my finger against the strap of the backpack, trying to calm my nerves. But Mingi was just sitting there, basking in the attention, grinning and laughing loudly at the very shitty and poor attempts of flirting of the girls, and I really didn’t mean to, but my eyes landed on them and my jaw fell a little bit open when I noticed him signing some stupid looking banner with his face plastered all over it as a black-haired girl was gushing about his looks and deep voice. Where the hell were we? Highschool?! I knew Seulgi was praying right now to all the existing Gods and asking them to let me pass by their table without no disturbances, but that just wasn’t possible as my cheeks flushed in disgust and anger, shooting a sharp glare at the side of Mingi’s face.

“Even your autograph is pretty.” One of the girl’s sighed dreamily, “Can you get any more perfect?”

“Oh, angel, you haven’t even seen everything and you’re already head over heels for me?” Mingi’s voice dropped a few octaves as he blinked up at the girl seductively and I might have as well thrown up in my mouth. I scoffed as I passed behind him, stomping my feet perhaps a little bit too hard as I noticed two girls glance my way.

“Assuming things once again, aren’t you?” My tone was snappy and ice cold as I threw in the comment in passing. I didn’t intend on stopping, but Mingi’s instant reply made me halt.

“Insulting others once again, aren’t you?” I huffed quietly as I bit my lower lip, whirling around. For a second I was taken aback by the unimpressed looks thrown my way by the girls, but I didn’t let it show on my face.

“Only those worthy of getting put in their places, Mingi.” I allowed a cheeky smile slip onto my lips as I stared him down, his eyebrows slightly furrowing. I was surprised to see the dark eyeshadow give more depth at the outer corner of his eyes, the makeup being absent last night. His lips were shiny and you could see the blemishes clearly on his jawline now, his black hair still covering his forehead messily. His grey jumper was oversized and reached mid-thigh over his denim jeans; matching jacket draped around his chair.

“Isn’t it a delight seeing you today as well, Y/N.” Mingi’s tone was mocking as he raised one eyebrow, making me roll my eyes, “Good morning.”

“My morning was good until I heard your puppets and you giggling as if we were in highschool—and it’s noon, Mingi, thought you were smart enough to know lunch time was during noon.”

“What’s your problem?” The blonde snapped and placed a possessive hand on Mingi’s shoulder, which made him cast her a side glance. His lips twitched, and for a second—just a little second—I was able to see the irritation in his eyes at the unwanted touch; it almost made me furrow my eyebrows and throw a questioning glance at Mingi, but I stopped myself. I was certainly misreading his expressions. He loved this, the attention and praises. He was pathetic.

“You and the dude you’re worshiping as if he were a Greek God—” I sighed dramatically, leaning down a little as I made eye contact with Mingi, “Get over yourself.”

It made him chuckle and his nose scrunched up, eyes slightly becoming smaller, but there was no humor in the sound he made, “At least they don’t show up to a performance without knowing the artists and start shitting on them unwarranted, insulting them as if they were superior to them. I say you’ve got something to learn from these girls, Y/N.”

I scoffed and crossed my arms in front of my chest, “Yeah, like what? How to pucker my lips and bat my eyelashes at you to gain your attention? Or throw in cringey flirting and nonconsensual touches?” 

The girls seemed shocked as I threw them all a glare before my gaze landed on the embarrassing banner as I felt Mingi’s heated gaze on my face. He didn’t say anything as his jaw clenched, palms balling up into fists. My eyes fell back on him and our gazes locked, both of us annoyed at this point, as we stared each other down, glares molding into one sharp look as we both refused to look away first. If he thought I was going to back down, he was wrong. His sharp eyes were narrow as a fierce look glazed over them, and for a split second, my eyes fell on the mole underneath his right eye. The drawing I was doodling not even half an hour ago flashed in my mind and I clicked my tongue, suddenly irritated with myself and with Mingi for getting to me so easily.

『Oh, there she go

Losing my head』

“Your silence says everything I needed to know—”

“Don’t get too cocky, smarty pants, silence speaks louder at times and you’re down right embarrassing yourself right now.” My jaw hung open at Mingi’s next words, which were harsh and hissed out as his raspy voice reached my ears, and I sneered at him.

“The only embarrassing one here,” I looked around, “are your puppets, bro. And that fucking shit ass banner.”

Before anyone could say anything I whirled around and stormed off, aware that Seulgi had seen the exchange from afar and was up on her feet, basically scurrying around to gather her things and come to the rescue of Mingi. I just knew she’d have his back and I really didn’t have the energy to sit around and listen to her chastise me in front of him and his baboons. However, I did hear the girls throwing insults after me, Mingi remaining an awful lot silent. It’s not like he could’ve said anything. And I knew he wished to say them to my face, to see the rise he got out of me. I scoffed as I stormed out the building, wanting to let out a frustrated cry in the meantime.

『Please don't waste any time

The sirens are turning red

I found a whole another vice』

            It had gotten dark outside by the time Seulgi and I headed to our curricular art class, fog slowly settling upon our little town as the lampposts illuminated the dark streets, casting an aery yet comforting feeling. I would have to walk home later tonight, but I found the thought relaxing and much needed after the tumultuous day I have had. I couldn’t stand still all day after the encounter with Mingi and his baboons, I couldn’t help but mull over his words over and over again, so much so, that I got called out in one of the classes by the professor. It was embarrassing, but what was even more embarrassing was that one of the girl’s from the table shared three classes with me and kept sending me unwanted glares, pissing me off to no end. If Seulgi wouldn’t have been by my side the whole day, I probably would’ve confronted the girl and cussed her out, ruining my image more in her eyes, if that was even possible.

I was slouched forward, chin resting on my palm and elbow pressing into my thigh as I listened to Seulgi ramble on about how her hangout with Wooyoung went. Her cheeks had a constant flush on them and I grinned as she sucked in a deep breath as she desperately needed it after talking for a few good minutes without stopping.

“And he bought me coffee too even though I never asked,” She bit her lip, trying to contain herself, “He was waiting for me with it in his hands.”

“That’s sweet of him.” I mumbled and looked behind Seulgi, looking out towards the class. Today not many could make, there was a total of five students sitting around the room, working diligently on their sketches. Today’s theme was the human body, a shape or an outline of your choice. It could be a face, a body, or a shadow like figure. Everyone had free reign of choosing the style as long as it was a human shape.

“I know, and his hands were freezing cold,” Seulgi gushed, “So, I gave him my gloves.”

“The Hello Kitty ones?” I asked with a quiet chuckle, turning the pencil over in my hands. I was itching to get started on our assignment, but Seulgi was on her rant once again and I didn’t want to interrupt her again. I have felt bad all day long for upsetting her in the cafeteria; I shouldn’t ruin her mood just because I’m cranky myself.

“Yes!” Seulgi laughed while covering her mouth, “And he looked so cute wearing them, Y/N! We couldn’t stop giggling about it. Pink might be his color.”

“You should’ve dared him to wear something pink at their next performance.” I added with a chuckle, making Seulgi giggle as her cheeks flushed even a darker shade of red. If she kept up with this, her whole face would turn red and she’d look like a tomato.

“I don’t think that would fit the whole rocker concept they have going on.” She muttered with a chuckle and I just shrugged, glancing at my bare paper. I hoped Seulgi would get the hint that I really wanted to start drawing now, but she opened her mouth again.

“He suggested we take a selfie—” Seulgi let out a dreamy sigh, “I don’t think I have enough self-control to not set it as my lock screen.”

“Wouldn’t that be too fast?” I wondered, raising an eyebrow at her. Seulgi nodded, looking slightly defeated.

“It would, I just hope the day will come when I’ll be able to do so.” Her voice got quieter as she looked down at the ground and I didn’t like the sudden drop of confidence. So, I grabbed her shoulder and gave it a squeeze, smiling at her encouragingly.

“It will come, stop doubting everything and just go with the flow.” I offered her a big smile, “I know Wooyoung is a generally nice guy, but his kindness feels different with you. It’s sweet.”

“Stop.” Seulgi hushed me, lightly slapping my arm, “You’re feeding into my delusions, I don’t want to get hurt if things really don’t end well.”

“Have some faith in him, yeah?” I slapped my hands together as I straightened in my seat, glancing at Seulgi’s usual spot, “Shouldn’t you start drawing, though? We’ve got an hour only today.”

“Shit!” Seulgi exclaimed loudly as if she just remembered where we were and what we were doing, “I totally forgot what I’m supposed to be doing right now, this is embarrassing.”

“Off you go!” I shooed her off with a laugh and Seulgi scrambled to her place, face red as she quickly tied her long hair in a low ponytail, eyebrows furrowing as she opened her sketchbook. Despite Wooyoung being the only thing on her mind, I knew she wouldn’t be drawing him. Seulgi was spontaneous and very creative. She found it easy to draw whatever was on her mind, whether it was human shaped, abstract, or a landscape. She had a natural talent when it came to human figures and she absolutely loved drawing anyone whom she had in mind. Which was the opposite of me. I couldn’t draw just anyone. It took me lots of hours of studying and tracing ones features with imaginary lines, mapping out their faces and bodies in my mind carefully before putting them on paper. I needed a muse when it came to drawing humans, and before dating Yunho, I never even had one. Before dating Yunho, I could barely draw an eye. During our relationship I learned many things about myself, and one of them was that I needed to hyper fixate on something—or someone—if I wanted to place them on a paper. It wasn’t obsession, I wouldn’t call it that, it simply was something I found beautiful and inspiring enough to put on paper. I usually did it mindlessly too, used to always drawing Yunho when it came to this subject, so I didn’t bat an eyelash as I relaxed my muscles and allowed my mind to rest as my hand took over, bravely creating lines on the blank paper.

『I always thought it would be easy (easy)

To get you out my mind (mind)』

However, to my utter shock, it didn’t take long for me to realize that the man in my drawing, even by its simple outlines, wasn’t Yunho. It looked nothing like him. My quiet thoughts started to get louder and louder the longer I allowed my hand to trace new lines, go over the older ones and bolden them. Shadows casted over the sharp eyes as I traced the outline of their tall nose, eyebrows scrunching when it seemed like the man was glaring back at me. I couldn’t help but glare back, repulsed by the nagging name ringing through my mind the second I placed the mole underneath his right eye. Mingi. Song Mingi. I didn’t want to admit it. This wasn’t him. The man in my drawing wasn’t Song Mingi. It looked nothing like him. It was pure coincidence that his nose and eyes and moles were in the same spot as Mingi’s. My hand faltered and grip tightened around the pencil once I got to draw the lips, wondering whether I wanted to finish this sketch today—or any other day at all. Deep down I knew I didn’t, but I also hated leaving my works unfinished and there was something deep inside me telling me to suck it up, to stop being childish. It was just a damn drawing. It meant nothing. It really didn’t. Especially since I couldn’t stand him. His annoying stupid smirk. My jaw clenched when Mingi’s smug face stared back at me, almost as if my brain took a picture of his face during lunch break and decided to taunt me by recalling every single detail as I worked diligently.

『I think I found a new addiction

It feels so right』

I have long finished the drawing, giving up to finishing it thoroughly as I felt my muscles spasm just at the thought of perfecting Mingi’s face in my own sketchbook. Anyone could see this. Hell, the other students in this class could ask me to show them my drawing for some inspiration and then I’d be fucked. There’s no way others didn’t know about Mingi and his band. Perhaps I had been the only one living under a rock this whole time, oblivious to the music department and their endeavors at our university. And if word got out that I started drawing Song Mingi, I’d rather die than face him ever again. That simply just wasn’t possible. I refused to even entertain such thought. I’d rather draw my ex of five years and have others think I still wasn’t over him—I seriously am—and bash me for living in the past than start talking about my—inexistent—crush on Song Mingi. The shuffling of papers and sudden movement of others in the room brought me out of my glaring contest with the fake Mingi on my paper and I turned around when I heard my name being called out.

“Could you check this out for me?” Jake, a second-year student, asked shyly. I nodded with a smile and got off my stool, stretching, before I headed his way. He wasn’t an art major, but he apparently had always enjoyed drawing, so he joined our little club. His skills were pretty good, but he still had a lot to learn. As I stopped by his desk, I was met with the face of a girl. She was smiling brightly and the drawing was really good, the shading lacked, but that wasn’t such a big problem.

“Oh, this one is really good, Jake. You’ve gotten a lot better lately.” I offered him an encouraging smile as I patted his back, “Maybe adding a bit more shading next time will do the trick better, hm?”

“Thanks!” Jake beamed as he started gathering his stuff, making me nod as Krystal, a classmate of Seulgi and I, beckoned me over.

“I suck at human shapes, you know that.” She said with a sharp chuckle, lips pulled into a grimace as she slowly turned her sketch around. Yeah, Krystal was really bad at human shapes but it wasn’t something to get judged for. Drawing humans was very difficult and I couldn’t blame her for struggling with it, when, I, myself struggled most of times. However, this drawing presented itself as her best so far.

“This is amazing, Krystal, what are you talking about?!” I exclaimed as I gaped at the outline of two girls leaning onto each other, hugging around the shoulders. One of them was taller and the other one had longer and lighter hair. It must’ve been her older sister and her in the drawing. Their faces weren’t detailed or defined, but their shapes were very beautiful and precise.

“Good, God, I never struggled this hard in my life before.” She said with a sigh and got off her stool as Jake and Yunjin waved goodbye and left. Seulgi bounced over, curious to see Krystal’s drawing, and squealed when she saw it.

“You have to show this to Professor Yoon!” Seulgi exclaimed, “He’ll pass you in a second straight to next year’s class.”

Her comment got Krystal laughing and I shook my head as I walked away once I noticed Yiren struggled packing her stuff away. She was the youngest in our club and a little clumsy, always bumping into things and dropping paint on the floor whenever we were painting. She thanked me quietly as she scrambled around to pack her things and then rushed away shyly, quietly thanking me as she ran out the door. I stopped for a second and wondered why she always looked so intimidated by me. Seulgi walked up to her desk and started putting her things away as well as I walked back to my place, grabbing my backpack to put my pencils away. Krystal and Wheein greeted us in unison before walking out the door, leaving Seulgi and I alone. She approached me with a huge grin on her face, dangling her drawing carelessly between her fingers. I chuckled as I watched her, raising an eyebrow, “Who did you draw?”

“Oh, Joohyun!” Seulgi grinned and showed me her drawing eagerly, her cousin’s face staring back at me as she was laughing hard. I could hear Joohyun’s cackling laughter echo in my head and I smiled at the drawing, missing the girl. She was a few years older than us and had moved away to a different country in order to pursue her modelling career. Seulgi and Joohyun were like sisters, and being Seulgi’s best friend, I had the pleasure of meeting the phenomenal woman her cousin was.

“This is so gorgeous, Seulgi.” I said with a pout and a sigh, “You made me miss Joohyun now.”

“She’s visiting in two months!” Seulgi exclaimed, the news sweeping excitement into my veins as my eyes widened.

“Really?!”

“Yes!” Seulgi grinned, closing her sketchbook, “I can’t wait for us to hang out, it’s been too long since we’ve seen Joohyun.”

“Indeed.” I sighed and picked up the rubber I have dropped like an hour ago, “I also wish I had your skills when it comes to drawing human shapes.”

“Why? So that you can draw Yunho better?” Seulgi’s cackle wasn’t malicious but there was slight judgement in her eyes as I rolled mine.

“You’re so funny today, have I already told you?” I mocked her and Seulgi huffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“What? Tell me I’m wrong.” But before I could tell her she was wrong, she was speaking again, “I know you drew him again, Y/N.”

“I didn’t!” My response was too fast and defensive and I regretted speaking up the second I saw Seulgi’s eyes flash with interest.

“You didn’t draw Yunho?” She asked shocked, not even bothering to hide it. I sighed lowly, awaiting the questions tumbling off her lips for the next thirty minutes, “Who is it then?”

“No one important.” I muttered, eyes falling on the drawing, making me realize that I had to put it away before Seulgi got the chance of seeing it. I wouldn’t live another day if she got even a glimpse of it, “Let’s go.”

But as I reached for the sketchbook, Seulgi slapped my hand away hard—it started stinging instantly—and ripped my sketchbook off the drafting board. Her eyebrows furrowed for a second as her eyes took in the drawing, and then, a loud gasp left her lips as her eyes shot up, staring at me wide eyed, confusion written all over her face.

『Run, baby, run

Run for your life

Gonna tear out your heart

It'll always be mine』

“This isn’t Yunho—”

“I told you—”

“Bitch, this is Song fucking Mingi?!” Seulgi’s voice raised and I gulped, mentally preparing myself for the screaming and nagging to follow. But Seulgi sounded an awful lot composed despite the various emotions written all over her face, “What is Song Mingi doing in your drawing?”

“That’s not Song Mingi.” Was the best I could do as I scoffed, gripping the sketchbook as I tried to yank it out of her hands, but Seulgi was gripping it firmly.

“Yeah, sure, and I’m fucking blind then—” Seulgi rolled her eyes before giving me a deadpan look, “This is Mingi, Y/N, you’re not bullshitting your way out of this. Now, explain.”

“There’s nothing to explain.” I didn’t mean to snap, but it happened, “It’s not Mingi. Why the hell would I even draw that fucker? It’s just a random face which popped into my head and I drew it mindlessly, alright? Maybe it looks like Mingi, but it’s not him.”

“Yeah, sure, and I’m the fucking Pope in Vatican—”

“Seulgi!” I snapped and tugged on the sketchbook again, finally getting her to release it. She didn’t seem too impressed as I quickly shut the sketchbook and grabbed my backpack, slinging it over my shoulder, “Shut up and let’s just go.”

“The hell am I shutting up, bitch.” Seulgi scoffed as she got her backpack too, “That’s Mingi and you can’t gaslight me with this one. Are you into him—”

“Oh, my God!” I exclaimed with disgust ridden all over my face, “Do you even hear yourself right now?! How could I be into him? I hate his guts!”

“That’s why you fucking drew him—”

“I didn’t draw him!” I finally exclaimed just as we got out the room, Seulgi shutting the door loudly behind us after she turned the lights off.

“You’ve been acting hella weird ever since we’ve been to Outlaw, Y/N, what are you not telling me?” Seulgi leaned against the wall as I locked up the room.

“I am not acting weird and there’s nothing I’m not telling you, so, will you just drop this whole thing?” I snapped, raising my eyebrows at her in irritation. Seulgi bit her lower lip and crossed her arms in front of her chest as she looked like she was contemplating. But one another glance at my face and she knew she wouldn’t get anything out of me, so she just sighed and shook her head as she pushed off the wall.

“Fine, let it be your way,” She muttered, falling in step with me by my side, “At least it’s not Yunho anymore. You’re finally getting over him—”

“Bitch, I’ve been over him for ages.” I threw my best friend a sharp glare and she just chuckled, shaking her head at me. I held back the urge to slap the back of her head hard in hopes that her delusional thoughts would get slapped out of her head with the effort.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” She mocked and before I could go off on her again, she faced me and smiled brightly, “Want to get McDonald’s before we head home?”

All thoughts of Mingi and wanting to hold a whole ass speech to Seulgi about him flew out of my mind at the mention of said junk food and I nodded eagerly, linking my arm with Seulgi’s as she started talking about a girl in her history class and how she managed to embarrass herself and her professor at the same time today.

『Run, baby, run

Run, baby, run』

❱❱ Next chapter

[chion3spid3r]

revealed claws

pairings : e42!miles x fem!reader

warnings : physical injury, slight mention of blood, betrayal (trust issues)

wc : 1k

summary : you find out that miles is the prowler

a/n : first lil drabble, I had some ideas for this scenario 😙

In the dim glow of miles morales' bedroom, you lounged comfortably on his bed, waiting for him to return with snacks for your Netflix and chill night. miles, your boyfriend of two years, was a charming guy—smart, possessive, and always attentive to your needs. the kind of man who made you feel protected and adored. little did you know, he had another side to him, a secret identity as the prowler, a vigilante who patrolled the city streets at night, fighting crime.

as you reclined against the pillows, idly scrolling through your phone, miles entered the room with an assortment of candies, chips, and popcorn. his warm, infectious smile lit up his handsome features as he set down the snacks on the nightstand. "got all our favorites, mami," he grinned, plopping down next to you and handing you a bag of gummy bears—your weakness.

"thanks, babe," you replied, leaning in for a quick kiss before he suggested, "yo ma, can you grab my hoodie from the closet? it's gettin' a lil chilly in here."

nodding, you got up and headed to his closet, fumbling around until you found his familiar faded hoodie draped over a chair. as you reached for it, something else caught your eye—a dark, sleek object hidden among his clothes, partially obscured by a hanging shirt. curiosity piqued, you pulled it out, only for a sharp, metallic claw to slice across your cheek with surprising force.

"ouch!" you cried out, dropping the object in surprise as you instinctively touched your stinging face. warm blood trickled down, and you could feel a deep cut just below your eye.

instantly, miles was at your side, his expression a mix of concern and alarm. "oh shit, what happened? you aight, ma?" he asked urgently, gently brushing your hand away to inspect the injury. his brow furrowed as he took in the severity of the cut.

"i-i don't know," you stammered, tears welling up from the pain and shock. "i cut myself on something in your closet." you gestured weakly toward the fallen object, your voice trembling.

miles's eyes widened as he spotted the metallic claw, gleaming ominously in the room's soft light. his face paled, and he hesitated, torn between revealing the truth and protecting his secret identity—the one he had kept so carefully hidden from you all this time.

before he could react or formulate an excuse, you caught sight of his expression—the flicker of guilt and apprehension that crossed his features confirmed your worst suspicions. you felt your stomach drop as the realization hit you like a punch to the gut.

"is this… from the prowler?" you asked quietly, your voice barely above a whisper as you struggled to keep it from trembling.

miles sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping as he nodded reluctantly. the cat was out of the bag, and there was no going back now. "yeah, it is. i… didn't mean for you to find out like this, mami."

tears welled up in your eyes as you struggled to process everything, the sting of betrayal cutting deeper than any physical wound. "you're the prowler? how could you keep this from me, miles? we're supposed to trust each other!"

your words seemed to pierce his heart, and his expression crumpled with guilt and remorse. "i know, ma," he said softly, using his endearing nickname for you in an attempt to soothe the situation. "but i couldn't risk your safety. didn't want you worryin' or gettin' involved in this dangerous part of my life."

anger bubbled up inside you, mixing with the pain of betrayal and the lingering adrenaline from the injury. "so what? you was just gonna keep lyin' to me forever?"

miles reached out to cup your face gently, his touch surprisingly tender despite the tension between you. his thumb brushed away a stray tear, and you found yourself leaning into his familiar warmth despite your conflicted emotions.

"nah, mami, never that. i just… wanted to protect you from all of this. but i should've trusted you enough to keep it real witchu." his deep brown eyes searched yours, full of sincerity and regret.

you pulled away slightly, still hurt but unable to deny the love and concern in his gaze. "i get that you want to protect me, miles. but keeping such a big secret… it hurts. it makes me question everything."

he nodded solemnly, his heart clearly aching at the pain he had caused you. "i'm sorry, mi amor. should've been honest with you from the jump. you deserved to know the truth."

sighing deeply, you leaned into his touch once more, the anger slowly dissipating and being replaced by a sense of weary understanding. "promise me you won't shut me out again, even if you think it's for my own good. i need to be able to trust you fully, a'ight?"

miles nodded fervently, pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead as he cradled you close. "i promise, mi vida. from now on, no more secrets between us. you'll know everythin' about my life—the good, the bad, and the superhero stuff, for real."

a small, shaky laugh escaped your lips at his attempt at humor, and you felt some of the tension ease between you. "a'ight, bet. but you owe me big time for this, prowler."

a relieved smile tugged at miles's lips as he wrapped his strong arms around you, holding you tight against his chest. "anythin' you want, ma. i'm all yours—the regular guy and the vigilante. no more divided loyalties, you feel me?"

and as you snuggled back into his warm embrace, inhaling his comforting scent, you felt the wounds—both physical and emotional—slowly begin to heal, leaving behind a newfound sense of trust and understanding between you and your vigilante boyfriend, miles morales, the one and only prowler of new york city. it wouldn't be easy, but with open communication and unwavering devotion, you knew you could overcome any challenge together, just like the dynamic duo you had become.

Ⓡ chion3spid3r all rights reserved. please to not plagiarize, repost, or translate !

[last-herondale]

Almost Pt. 6

Bucky Barnes x Femreader!

Bucky POV

Angst, heartbreak, love triangle

Warning: none?

AN: We had state testing this week. My brain is fried. Sorry if this is trash but it’s my trash.

Enjoy 🤘🏼

It seemed that yet again I was standing there, watching you walk away from me after I had undoubtedly broken your heart. Again.

I tried to rationalize with myself that it wasn’t my fault. That the last thing I expected to happen that night was to run into you. Of course, I had dreamed of it. Concocted ways in my head of how I could accidentally run into you, just to see you. Maybe even talk to you. The ache in my heart from missing you had become a constant hurt. I had missed you while you were away, but after seeing you kiss Steve in the kitchen…after seeing you so happy…

I knew I had to step away.

I had been doing so well. Only seeing you when only absolutely necessary. Filling more and more of my time with missions and other distractions like Nadia, who seemed content enough to spend her time with me. I knew I was using her, and I hated myself for it, but I didn’t know how to handle the alternative.There was a certain torment in knowing you were back. In knowing that you were under the same roof as me, having a life that was becoming more and more distant from mine.

After tonight, I would be surprised if you ever talked to me again. I realized instantly that there was no excuse for what I said to you. I had been taken off guard seeing you pinning Nadia to the wall. I wanted to laugh at the scene before me. The shocked look on Nadia’s face, the stern, determined look in your eyes that was immediately overshadowed by the look of pure shock as you locked eyes with me.

There were a million things I wanted to say to you at that moment. A million feelings that came to the surface, and yet like an idiot, the only emotion I could convey, the only emotion I seemed to ever convey, was anger. The moment I began opening my mouth, the moment I saw the light in your eyes die out…

I went back inside of my apartment and grabbed my jacket before stepping out again. I knew there was no chance of me sleeping tonight, not after that. So I might as well torture my body in the training room as some sort of recompence for what I did.

The training room was empty, luckily. I started with the punching bag, made extra durable by Tony, and put the rest of my stupid emotions into that bag. Punch after punch I laid all my frustrations into my fists. The rhythmic thuds were comforting as I felt my chest heave after each breath. Sweat dripped down my forehead.

The slamming of the door took me out of my zone and I jerked in the direction of the entrance to see Steve standing there in the doorway. His body seemed eerily calm, with his hands in his sweat pockets, but he had a furrowed brow as he looked at the floor. I wasn't surprised to see him. I had insulted you, in possibly the worst way I could have. If you had run to tell anyone, it would have been your… I think the ache I felt now was over the fact that it wasn’t me.

“Up late?” I asked, grabbing a towel off of the rack and wiping my face. I didn’t look at him. I couldn’t.

“Yeah, couldn’t sleep,” Steve said in a flat tone, “Then of course I heard yelling down the hallway.”

I winced. Honestly I had been surprised that no one else had come out during the altercation. The amount of people in that tower that had super hearing… I turned towards Steve, trying to fix my face into some sort of nonchalant pose. I knew he would see right through it. Part of me wanted him to see right through it.

I wish he would just come out and yell. Let his anger come out so that I could match that energy. But Steve was never the guy to throw his anger out without cause. He was patient. He was understanding. He was a good man. Everything I wasn’t. So, rather than punching me in the face, he was just standing there, waiting for me to talk.

“Sorry for waking you, it's been a weird night.”

Steve kept his eyes steady on me. I clenched my jaw.

“Look, I don’t know what she told you–” I began

“She hasn’t told me anything,” Steve said calmly, “In fact, I can’t seem to get her to leave her room to talk to me. She won’t even pick up her damn phone.”

I couldn’t hide my shock. I thought surely after the altercation you would run to the man that has been providing comfort to you for the past few months. If you hadn’t then maybe what the two of you had wasn’t as deep as I first thought…

“I heard what you said to her, Buck,” Steve said in a cold tone.

My stomach dropped at his words.

“I didn’t mean it,” I said weakly, “I know I shouldn’t have said it, but I…”

My words seemed to fail me as I sat down on a bench. A couple of moments passed, but eventually, Steve sat down beside me and sighed.

“Bucky, you need to be completely honest with me. Do you love her?”

There it was. The question I couldn’t face. The answer came so easily in my head. Of course I did. What was there not to love? How was I to admit that I was lost without you? That turning you away was the worst mistake I ever made. I couldn’t look at Steve. I couldn’t talk.

Steve sighed again. Out of the corner of my eye I could see that he was rubbing his face. He was tired and exhausted. I was hurting everyone around me.

“Stop that,” Steve said softly.

“What?” I blurted out.

“Stop feeling sorry for yourself. You don’t do yourself any favors by pushing everyone away.”

When I didn’t respond, he continued.

“I know how hard you are on yourself, especially when Nat left. I know you thought you found your person in her, and after everything you have been through you deserve to find someone who not only makes you happy, but fills your heart with so much light that it overshadows the darkness. When you were in that pit of despair, I had no idea how to get you out of it, and I felt like a failure as your best friend. But then, she showed up. She came into both of our lives like a wildfire. She brought back the light in your eyes, and reawakened your soul.”

I felt hot tears down my face, but Steve continued on.

“I won’t deny that I’ve grown feelings for her. I think seeing her love you and care for you as much as I do, makes me see her in the greatest of lights. She is worthy of so much love. I thought maybe you… I thought that maybe you would love her… I thought that was where your story was heading Buck, but you chose differently. I saw her leave my birthday party. I saw how distraught she was. I could only assume that you didn’t have feelings for her as she had for you. That’s why I… that the only way I could live with myself for… feeling these things.

“But clearly, there is something there. You avoid her now like she is the plague. You hardly talk to me anymore and we are brothers, you and I. So, Bucky, you don’t have to say it, but I know you love her. In some capacity, I know you do. You can deny it all you want, but I know you.”

Steve sighed again. “I know you think you don’t deserve to be loved. I know it’s hard for you to see the goodness in yourself, but you deserve love. You deserve to be happy. If she is what makes you happy, you need to let her know. She deserves that, doesn’t she?”

Yes, you deserve everything.

“What about you?” I asked, my voice was shaky as I spoke. I finally looked up at him and saw his expectant blue eyes waiting for me. I was surprised to see that he wasn’t angry.

Steve gave a small chuckle.

“I have never been one to deny you your happiness Bucky,” his voice turned a bit solemn, “I care about her… a lot. She is one of my best friends, and the time we have spent together has been… great. But we have been honest with each other. We both have unresolved heartaches from the past that prevent us from becoming more. She doesn’t hold it against me for still loving Peggie, and I don’t hold it against her from loving you. Maybe in time, we could become something more, but for now our hearts do not beat for each other as they should.”

“So you don’t… love her?” I asked carefully. I didn’t like that I was beginning to sound hopeful. I wanted you to be loved. I wanted you to be cared for. I thought Steve would be perfect for you… I thought there wasn’t a chance in hell that I would be able to…

“I love her, but not in the way that she clearly loves you,” Steve gave me a smirk.

“I don’t know if she does anymore. I’ve been a complete ass to her,” I mumbled, putting my head in my hands.

“Oh I know,” Steve laughed a bit but then looked at me seriously, “So what are you going to do about it?”

I raised my head out of my hands. What was I going to do about it?

“Do you really think she could love me, after everything? After tonight?” I asked pathetically.

“I think,” Steve said carefully, “That you will have to earn her trust back. It’s not about making her love you again, she loves you, has loved you through everything. You messed up, and you realize that, so you need to change. Change for her, change because of her. You already have and you haven’t realized it. Now show her. Give her back the love she gave you, and more.”

Images of you flashed through my head. Memories of you laughing with me, holding me when I was a complete mess. Memories of you consoling me, telling me that I was worthy, that I was more than I thought of myself. These memories warmed my soul, as they always did. I realized that I wanted more memories with you. I wanted to be consumed by them. Enveloped in them. I need you now more than ever. I would always need you. Always want you. Always desire you. And I needed to show you how much you meant to me.

I let out a small chuckle.

“For an old man,” I said playfully, “You are really good at giving advice.”

Steve laughed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

“Remind me to charge you for my services later,” he teased.

I clasped my hand on his shoulder. “Thank you Steve.”

He just gave me a hopeful look and slapped my back.

“Go get her, buddy.”

I was up and out the door before he finished the word. I didn’t know what I was doing, I didn’t know what I was going to say to you. Apologize. That's what I needed to do first. Grovel at your feet. Beg for any forgiveness you would be willing to give me. I was at your door, knocking in quick succession before I could fully think about what I wanted to say.

My chest was heaving and my palms were sweaty waiting for you. I knocked on the door again. Impatient, I put my ear against the door to listen for any sign of you. I heard the soft sound of your radio playing your favorite channel from your room, but nothing else. The sun was rising, and beams of sunlight were breaking through the windows of the tower.

It wasn’t unusual for you to be up and about early in the morning, but after the night we had, I know you didn’t get much sleep. But you wouldn’t be asleep with the radio on. You hated any sort of noise when you slept. I knocked again.

“Please open the door,” I begged.

Nothing.

A sick feeling spread through my stomach like ice. I shoved down the door in one hit. Your living room was empty, no sign of a break in or struggle, but you were nowhere in sight. I called out for you. Nothing. I scanned your apartment, looking for any sign of where you were. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except on your nightside table there was an envelope. I approached it slowly, my hand shivering as I saw the name on the outside of the card.

Steve

[slut4corbin]

Double The Fun

Note : *Dirty thoughts about Baron and Damian have been in my mind recently, so here's this!*

Summary : The reader is given an option to either have sex with Baron or Damian but she can't decide so she just has sex with both of them

Warning (s) : Smut and profanity

Your name (Y/N)

Word count : 1,345

Translations : Adios ( Goodbye ), Qué pasó entre ustedes tres ( What happened between you three ), Ay dios mío (Oh my god ), Senorita ( Miss ), Esta es mi casa ( This is my house ), Sì ( Yes ), Ven aquí ( Come here )

Tag list : @adriennegabriella @dulcesitapr @sassymox @damiansgoodgirll @wwelovergirl @romanthereigns @mysticvampyre @nerdypanda20

I was in my locker room, laying on the couch scrolling through Tik Tok. "Ha, that's funny," I said to myself as I watched the video. After a few minutes of scrolling through Tik Tok, I heard the door open, which caused me to look up from my phone, and when I did, I seen Damian Priest and Baron Corbin standing in the door way. "Oh, uh hi, what are you guys doing here?" I asked, sounding quite confused.

"We need to talk to you Y/N." Damian spoke first. "Oh, why?" I asked once again. "You have a choice either fuck me or Damian you have till the end of the night to choose so choose wisely." Baron chimed in. "W- what you guys can't make me choose." I replied, stuttering. "Yes, we can." Damian said before taking a step back. "Adios Y/N," He said again, and with that him and Baron walked away from the door and down the hall, leaving me speechless. "What the fuck." I said to myself before getting up and walking over to the door and quickly closing it. "Can't believe they're making me choose." I said to myself once again as I leaned my head against the door, trying to take in what they had said.

After a few minutes of silence, my phone started to ring, which caused me to lean up off the door and walk over to the couch and grab my phone. Once I grabbed my phone, I quickly looked at it and noticed that my best friend Rhea Ripley had texted me, "Qué pasó entre ustedes tres?" I said to myself as I read the text. After a few minutes of trying to think of a good response, I gave up and just called her. "Hey girl!" Rhea said. "Hi." I replied with a sad tone in my voice. "So Y/N tell me what happened." She responded, which caused me to sigh before saying "Well Damian and Baron want me to decide who I want to fuck by tonight." "Ay dios mío" Rhea replied with a bit of shock but anger in her voice.

"I got to go. I have to get ready for my match." I said, and with that, I hung up the phone, grabbed my gear, and headed towards the bathroom. Once I was in the bathroom, I quickly took off my clothes and quickly put my ring gear on. "Looks fine." I said to myself before picking up my discarded clothes and heading back to the couch. Once I was at the couch, I laid my clothes down and headed towards the gorilla. After a few minutes of walking, I finally made it to the gorilla but was instantly stopped by Damian and Baron. "What the fuck do you guys want now?" I asked quite annoyed. "Woah senorita, what's with all the attitude?" Damian asked, standing over me.

"I'm about to have my match, so will you two get out of my way." I replied. "Alright, but when you get back, you tell us your answer." Baron said, and with that, I shoved past them and opened the door, making my over to the curtain. "Y/N, you're on in 1 minute." One of the backstage workers said as they walked past me."Okay." I replied. Once I made it the curtain, my entrance music came on, so I quickly walked out into the arena, and with that, I skipped down to the ring and jumped up on the apron quickly got in the ring and waited as Carmella made her way to the ring. After a few minutes of waiting for her to get done with her entrance, she was finally ready, so the bell rang, and I quickly attacked her, throwing punches left and right.

"ESTA ES MI CASA." I screamed in her face, which caused her to gain enough strength and push me off of her, causing me to get angry and attack her once again. After a few minutes of basically beating the shit out of her, I got dragged away from her by a bunch of security guards. "Y/N, calm down and go to the back." One of the guards said as he tried to hold me back. "NOW." He shouted, which caused me to back up and quickly getting out of the ring and walk up the ramp towards the gorilla. After a minute of walking, I finally made it to the gorilla. I quickly walked through the curtain, but once I did, I ran into Damian and Baron once again. "So Y/N have you thought about your answer?" Baron asked, crossing his arms. "Ugh, follow me." I replied, grabbing their hands and dragging them to the door. "What is your answer?" Damian asked.

"I haven't decided because I still want to fuck both of you." I replied with a smile. "But I want it to be a threesome." I continued, which caused their mouths to drop. "You want us to fuck you at the same time?" Damian asked clearly still shocked. "Sì now let's go." I replied, grabbing their hands and dragging them to my locker room. After a few minutes of fast walking, we finally made it to my locker room, so I quickly let go of their hands and opened the door, walked over to the couch, and slowly took my clothes which obviously caused them to shut the door and walk over to me. Once my clothes were off, I quickly helped Baron take off his pants while Damian took his off. "Fuck you guys are big." I said as I got down on my knees and put my mouth around Baron's dick and my hand around Damian's and got to work. After a few minutes of constant moaning coming from both of them they finally came. "Lay down on the couch, Baron." I said whiping the cum from my lips and tasting it.

Once Baron was on the couch, I stepped back and got on top of him and slowly putting his dick in my ass. "Ven aquí Damian." I said, motioning him to come towards me. "Fuck my pussy." I said with a smirk and with that he got on the couch and placed himself at my entrance amd slowly slid into me filling me up just as much as Baron did. "Go." I said, giving them the cue to start moving so they did, which quickly made me throw my head and let out a loud moan. "That feel good? Do we fuck you good Y/N?" Damian asked focusing on his pace. "Obviously, we do she's already moaning, is that right, Y/N?" Baron asked as he picked up his pace. "Holy fuck yes." I moaned out in response to both of their questions. After a few minutes of fucking I felt my climax rising so I moaned. "I'm going to cum." I said through the moans.

"Do it." They both replied as they quickened their pace, and with that, I couldn't take it anymore, so I came. "Damn, that was hot." Damian said as he pulled out of me and got off the couch. "Definitely was maybe we should do this more often." Baron said as he lifted me up off of him and got off the couch as well. "We can do it next week." I replied before getting up and grabbing my clothes and putting them back on, then quickly helping Baron and Damian with their pants. Once they were dressed again, I gave them both a hug and a kiss. And with that, they walked out of my locker room, knowing they made my night a lot better than usual.

[mxdimitrescu]

Unexpected Love

Synopsis: Echo just returned back to her hometown from the Army to land herself in another war between the Cullens and the Volturi.

Genre: Fluff

Pairing: Rosalie Hale x Echo Clearwater

(Masterlist)

Echo

"ECHO!"

After hearing someone call out my name, I was instantly tackled to the ground, which made me let out a grunt. I turned around in the person's hold and changed our positions. I pressed the person's head hard and I heard laughters around me. I looked up to see several Native Americans standing, laughing and pointing.

I immediately recognized the people and looked down to see the person was in fact Jacob. I shook my head and slapped Jake on his head, "What the hell? I just got here and you tackle me bruh?"

I got up from the floor, handing out a hand for Jake to grab and pulled him up. I brushed off the dirt from my clothes and waved at everyone.

"Hey guys! No time long see," I chuckled.

This brought on cheers from everyone and each of them gave me hugs.

"Welcome back," Sam said.

"Bout time you're back," Paul said, punching me in the shoulder.

"""You're back!""" Quil, Embry, and Jared cheered, giving me pats on the back.

""I missed you,"" Collin and Brady, the two youngest shifters, murmured while hugging me tightly. I looked after the two boys when their moms were busy as if they were my own children.

I smiled softly, hugging them tightly, "I missed you both too, kiddos."

We broke the hugs and the boys stepped away for me to see the last two members, Leah and Seth. They stood there for a moment until I opened my arms for them which got them to jump at me, hugging me.

"I missed you guys, my baby brother and little sister," I hugged them tightly, kissing each their foreheads.

"I missed you too, E," Seth murmured while Leah nodded in agreement.

After few moments, we broke the hug and turned to face the group. I studied each one of them and noticed something.

"Brady...Collin...you're tall?" I was a bit confused.

Everyone suddenly got serious. Sam stepped forward with a serious face, "We have a situation and it's bad."

I frowned and nodded. We all went into the pack house where Sam and Jake explained what was happening.

An hour later, I found myself sitting in the recliner chair in disbelief.

"I've only been gone for two years in the Army and I come back to a potential vampire war between the Cullens and their vampire government?"

"Yup.""Pretty much.""Yes.""Correct."

Everyone chimed in.

"So, there are more vampires each day which caused Brady and Collin to phase despite their young ages?" I frowned.

"Yeah, but it's totally fine. I mean, it's awesome that we get to be huge wolf shifters. Although, the patrolling sucks and the smell of the vampires is horrible, it's cool," Collin explained with a smile while Brady nodded in agreement.

I just chuckled at Collin and Brady's nonchalant attitude about shifting and the whole vampire situation. I stood up from my seat and looked at Sam.

"What do we do now?" I asked.

"You take the alpha position back. I was just holding it for you until you come back or Jake takes it but he doesn't want to," Sam said.

I nodded and looked at the pack, "Alright, let's go see the vamps."

Everyone cheered and exited the house and shifted, leaving shredded clothes all over the place. I sighed and shifted, thankfully not tearing the clothes. For some reason, the clothes I wear melds in with me, allowing me to shift freely.

'Let's go!' I spoke into the pack link and we ran off into the woods.

•••••

Rosalie

I was in the living room, chatting with Tanya and Kate when we heard the howls. Everyone in the house snapped their attention to outside when we heard the snaps of the branches as the wolves emerges from the forest. We all headed out onto the patio as the wolves sat in line. I growled softly as their horrible stenches wafted through my nose.

Damn mutts.

Edward, have heard my thoughts, sent me a glare which I replied back one.

Get the fuck out of my head.

Edward shook his head and looked back at the wolves while Carlisle stood forward, "Hello, is there something you need?"

"Sam said that the alpha would like to meet us," Edward spoke for the pack.

Carlisle frowned, "I thought Sam is the alpha?"

Edward shook his head, "Sam said that he was holding the position until their alpha comes back and they did, just today."

Carlisle nodded, "Of course, are they willing to speak with us?"

With that, the wolves parted, allowing the alpha to walk. They were huge, towering at 8 feet tall, with the black fur coat and white tribal marks all over its body. The wolf has bright red eyes, which was a huge contrast compared against the other wolves. Soon, we saw her fur slowly recede, revealing deep tanned skin.

This wolf can shift with clothes? I've never seen that.

The wolf turns out to be a girl, a very tall girl standing at 6'5 feet and shoulder length black hair. She is wearing black loose shorts with light beige baggy shirt and no shoes. From what I could see is that she have multiple tattoos all over her body. She walked up to Carlisle and handed out her hand.

"Pleasure to meet you. I am Echo Clearwater, the alpha," she finally spoke, her voice was deep and rich like honey to my ears.

"Hello Echo, it's nice to meet you. I am Carlisle, leader of the Cullen Coven. These are my family, my wife Esme, my sons, Emmett and Edward, Edward's wife, Bella, and their daughter, Renesmee. And lastly, my daughter, Rosalie. I have two more but they are currently out of town," Carlisle introduced us to her as she examined each of us.

As soon her eyes connected with mine, I instantly felt something shifted inside me and I could tell something happened to her as her jaw drops and her pack starts whining.

Mate. Shit. Fuck.

I frowned and broke eye contact with her, turning my attention to Edward whose eyes were wide when he read our minds.

"Uh...nice to meet you. I-I just want to know the plan for when the vamp government comes," She stuttered.

With that, Carlisle and the others talked about the battle plan while Echo nodded, giving some inputs. It took about an hour before we concluded. During that hour, I spent my time stealing looks at Echo and half of the time, she caught me and vice versa. Echo looked back at the pack sending them a signal and they left leaving her alone.

Carlisle and the rest stared at her confused while Echo stared at me. Edward, being the mind invader, took the hint and spoke, "Let's go in and leave the two alone."

The others were confused until Edward made eye motions between me and Echo which caused them to finally understand and smiled widely. They shuffled into the house leaving me alone on the porch and her on the ground.

"Um, w-would you like to go take a walk in the forest?" She asked, rubbing the back of her neck.

I sighed and nodded silently, jumping off the porch and walked past by Echo into the forest. I could hear her shuffling behind me as we trek deeper into the forest, away from the vampire hearing range. I saw a log sitting in the middle and took a sat on it, turning my attention on her.

•••••

Echo

Damn, she can be quite scary. But, scary hot.

"So, um, you're a vamp...and my mate."

I groaned silently.

Like who the fuck says that? Why am I so fucking awkward? God, first time I talk to her and I go, you vamp? I just wanna die. Shit. I hope the pack doesn't see this or Imma kill myself.

My inner turmoil was interrupted by a beautiful sound, I looked up and saw that she was laughing. My breath was taken away. Her blonde hair shone brightly, her face filled with adorable crinkles, and her golden amber eyes glitter with amusement.

Even though she's laughing at me, she's absolutely gorgeous.

After my fumble, we actually manage to get a conversation going. It was late when we realized that we spent 8 hours chatting about everything. I can absolutely tell you that I was smitten by this girl. I stood up from my spot and brushed off the dirt from my pants from sitting too long. Then, I reached out my hand for her to take which she did.

I decided to walk Rosalie back home and during mid walk, we had our arms down and occasionally, our hands would brush against each other. After couple times, I finally took the initiative to capture her hand in mine and squeeze it softly while staring ahead.

I could feel her gaze at my head and out of the corner of my eye, I can see her look forward with a small smile on her face and she squeezed my hand. We finally ended up at the house and I stopped at the edge of the forest.

"So, I'll see you later?" I asked hopefully, rocking on my heels.

She chuckled softly and nodded, "Yes," stepping into my space. I looked down to see her face while she looked up. It took a second before she stood on her tippy toes and land a soft kiss on my cheek.

Then she backed away and headed for the door, leaving me there stunned while holding my cheek in awe. Before she opened the door, she turned around and gave me a finger wave and entered her home. I smiled widely and in my excitement, I accidentally shifted. I turned around and headed home.