#me in a halloween costume making small talk with my boss while in the back of my mind pondering the death & despair that awaits us all:

[gideonisms]

Do I go to my work Halloween party because they are offering 2 extra hours of pay and a chance to win a $100 gift card for anyone who comes in costume or do I skip it and preserve my will to live

[whaleofatjme1920]

Take two of asking for some gay panic with the ladies, any ladies, all the ladies! Scenario preferably~

Afternoons in the Proxy Commons and Spirit Halloween

[Jane the Killer, Nina the Killer, Clockwork, Kate the Chaser X F!Reader]

[Warnings: none]

[AN: I really want to go to a Spirit Halloween, sigh]

It’s not often that you’re able to spend time in Slender manor. In fact, the place isn’t even really your domain to begin with. You come here every now and then to help with festivities the Slender Man deems necessary for “morale”. This upcoming festivity? Halloween.

Your pseudo boss, the Slender Man, told you to head to the store and get some decorations which was ludacris in itself. He’s an almighty, powerful being and he needs you to go to Spirit Halloween when he hosts a manor full of murderers from all over the country daily?

The answer is apparently yes.

“You may take the ladies with you,” The Slender Man waves off. “They are not doing anything this afternoon.”

You drop your shoulders, knowing that it’s useless to even consider going against his word. “And we’re going to pay for this with what?”

The Slender Man makes noise of amusement before one of his long tendrils opens up a drawer to his left, opening it and producing a - a credit card? He hums quietly and lowers it down to you, depositing the plastic into your hands.

“A debit card? Really?”

“Is that a problem?”

“Where did you even get this?”

“None of your concern.” The Slender Man’s tendril finds its way to your back before turning you towards his office door, pushing you towards it. “The ladies are in the proxy commons.”

You glance over your shoulder at him before nodding, a slight grin on your lips at his general annoyance of you before pushing the big doors open. You mentally begin to think over the way to the proxy commons, the mansion bending its hallways to your destination. The halls here always smell of jasmine.

When you reopen your eyes after zoning out for a moment or two, you realize that you’re standing in front of the arch of the proxy commons. It’s actually relatively empty save for a table full of ladies you’ve only ever met a handful of times. You take in a small breath, almost hyping yourself and your confidence up before stepping in. Soft rays of sunlight pass over your skin as you walk into the well lit room and listen to the gentle hum of passing conversation.

There, sitting at a round table are four of the most influential women in your society. Jane the Killer, beauty in black. Clockwork, timeless in every sense. Kate the Chaser, a subtle treasure. Nina the Killer, devotion like none other.

They’re smiling and laughing, enjoying the afternoon with each other when Nina finally pipes up and notices you. Her eyes widen for a moment before her lips curl up into a beaming smile. “Oh, you’re finally here!” She exclaimed, hopping out of her seat. “He told us to expect you.”

Nina’s hands are cold as she wraps her arms around you, but you welcome her touch all the same. “He did?”

Kate nods, a small hum coming from her throat as she sips at her tea. “Mhm. Already got a car waiting in Rosswood’s parking lot.”

“Ready to go when you are,” Natalie pipes in as she drinks the rest of her beverage.

“Might as well uh, leave now,” you say as you catch Jane’s warm smile, voice faltering for just a moment.

The ladies nod and begin to get up, Nina linking her arm with yours before she begins to drag you towards the mansion’s entrance.

-

-

-

“He couldn’t just use his infinite power and use his own halloween decorations?” Natalie says as she shoves her hands in her pockets, looking up at the reasonably crowded Spirit Halloween.

Kate shrugs and locks the car before plopping the keys into her hoodie’s pocket. “He likes to keep us on our toes, I guess,” she chuckles, nodding for the group to follow her.

Jane matches pace with you and Nina (who has refused to unlink arms with you the entire time she’s been in your presence), before resting her head on your shoulder. “I wanna check out the costumes,” she says, nuzzling into you.

You smile and nuzzle her back, softly melting into her touch as you do so. “Me too.”

“I want to see the decorations,” Nina beams. “I’m thinking we go full Halloween party this year, screw the upper class!” She exclaims, now dragging you and Jane at full speed.

The notion brings a laugh from Natalie as she opens the front door, letting everyone else inside before her. “Don’t get too carried away,” she says. “We’re here to Reader can to a job,” she grins.

“It’s not like we have to make it boring,” Nina pouts.

“I’d also love to see what costumes Reader looks best in,” Jane muses. “Maybe a little bunny?” She jokes, index finger tapping your nose and making you giggle as you scrunch your nose up in response.

“What about a kitty?” Kate suggests as she glances down one of the aisles. “I think that would be purr-fect for her.” Kate grins slightly and holds her hand out to you, watching as you unlink your arm from Nina’s to travel down to the lawn decorations.

You chuckle as Kate warmly holds you while glancing at all the lawn decorations. There’s clowns, slashers, things that you’d genuinely love to have on Slender Man’s front lawn! However, you know that he’d be put off by the “tackiness”.

You turn your head to the side and that’s when you see it - a giant, poorly made Slender Man that wiggles its arms and barely lunges at whoever is viewing it. “Oh my gods,” you say, suddenly letting go of Kate’s hand and stalking towards the ungodly thing like a moth to moonlight.

Kate raises a brow and looks over her shoulder to finally see what you’re looking at, and a laugh escapes her throat. “Oh my gods, guys, look-” she says as she begins to walk over and join you, hands in her pockets.

Natalie, who had been busy talking shit at the poor Pennywise animatronic, was suddenly pulled over by Jane to see the Slender Man reject. She grins and links arms with Jane and Nina, laughter escaping their lips as the thing lunges weakly at you. “He’s so ugly,” she snorts.

“He’s always ugly,” Nina giggles as she looks upwards at the tall prop.

“Yeah,” Natalie adds on, “how dare he exist in the same space as Reader, right?”

Laughter rings out from the group as their eyes slowly move over to you.

“Beauty and the Beast situation,” Kate continues as she slings her arm over your shoulders.

“She’s gotta kiss him to make him pretty?” Nina chuckles as she pokes the animatronic’s spindly arms. “Ooooo, maybe if Reader kissed me I’d become pretty?”

You make a sound of surprise and feel heat rush to your cheeks. “What? You’re already pretty!”

“Think I might need a kiss too,” Natalie hums.

“Same here,” Jane grins.

Kate hums and presses her lips to the crown of your head. “Me too.” You laugh and shake your head before reaching into your back pocket for the list of things you need. “Ladies, we’re here on a mission!” You exclaim in a slightly flustered tone.

“We know,” Jane hums, her fingers gently playing with your loose strands of hair. “But how often do we get to hang out with you?”

“Right,” Natalie nods. “Might as well have some fun with it,” she teases in a joking tone, her hand grabbing yours.

You watch with wide eyes as the clock eyed woman raises it to her lips, gently planting a kiss on the back of it. Heat erupts over your face once more. Your heart is thumping wildly in your chest.

Nina pouts. “No fair!” She stomps her boot onto the linoleum tile. “I was gonna do that to Reader!”

Kate laughs and sways you in her arms. “Reader does have another hand.”

You sigh playfully and relent, watching as the clad in purple woman bounds up to you.

Gonna be a busy shopping trip, huh?

[crazy-sevens]

Heyo, I wasn’t sure eid you took requests, but if you do could you do a part two to “An Excuse to make Christmas Jokes”

This was a long time coming but hope you like it!

Part one here

***

The hero had never felt more humiliated in their entire life. Not when their voice cracked at an eighth grade talent show. Not when they tripped into the punchbowl at prom. Not even when they had to dress up in a pink rabbit costume for Halloween at fifteen because their parents made them match with their little sister. At least there weren’t any witnesses to their embarrassment this time. 

The hero sat tied up in a red ribbon, gagged, and sitting under a Christmas tree. The flush in their face being almost the exact same shade of red as the ribbon. 

The villain had been gone for about ten minutes. And the hero knew that because there was a clock on the wall. Weird for what was basically a prison cell, but the room where they were sitting in was actually a really nice living room. 

Great. That made them feel so much better about this.

They looked up at the Christmas tree as the ornaments glinted in the light. Soon enough the villain would be back bringing whatever torture device that they called the hero’s Christmas present. The hero would have to be gone before then. Gone with what they had come here for. 

But no matter what they couldn’t think around this. The ribbon was tight, binging their arms and legs together so they could barely move. They couldn’t use their powers with the gag on their mouth and nobody around to use them on. And there were dozens of guards out there, so they wouldn’t even make it out, let alone with the device. 

The hero closed their eyes and leaned against the tree. The ornaments clattered together with a soft clink. They were made of glass. At least the villain had some taste.

Wait. Glass. 

The hero scooted themselves around and kicked the tree over. They winced at the sound of the ornaments shattering, but they couldn’t worry about the noise right then. They flexed their fingers and grabbed a shard from the wreckage. It was a little difficult but they managed to cut through the ribbon with the shard. They then tore the gag off. 

They felt in their sleeve and breathed a sigh of relief when they found it; the one thing the villain’s guards hadn’t taken from them- a hairpin. They picked the lock quickly.

They smirked. Sometimes they were so good it was frightening.

And on that note, they tripped on their way out. 

Nevermind. 

Before they could pick themselves up, a boot pressed against the small of their back. “What do we have here?”

The hero reached out with their power. “Hey get off of me!”

The boot’s pressure lessened, but that was about it. Of course it wouldn’t work that easily. “And why should I do that?”

“Um, because,” the hero scrambled for a convincing story, “because you’re unsatisfied with your boss and you want them to respect you more,” they blurted out. “I can help you.” They hoped they had struck the right cord. When trying to convince someone to do something, it helped to give them a good reason to. The power enhanced those feelings and moved the person to act. The hero could only hope that the guard was unsatisfied with his boss. How that fact might relate to letting the hero go, they weren’t sure. Maybe they would actually believe the hero could help.

Who knows? This wasn’t their best work anyway.  

But it actually seemed to be working. “Really?” the guard asked.

“Uh, yes,” the hero said. “Just let me up and we can talk all about your feelings and maybe try to start a union or something.”

The boot left their back. The hero stood up and brushed themselves off. Then they punched the guard square in the jaw. The guard fell over unconscious.

Then they dragged him back into the room, tied his hands and feet together with scraps of the ribbon, then they tied the gag around his mouth. They smirked. Now they were starting to feel better.

They walked over to the foyer, the sounds of music and chatter echoing through the door to their left. They could leave. Sneak out through a vent or something. But they couldn’t pass up this opportunity. The villain thought they were taken care of, so it would be perfect to find the device. 

They snuck through the house. 

No, house wasn’t really a good description. More like a mansion. Or a palace. It wasn’t very inconspicuous, but it was one of the most guarded places in the city so it didn’t really have to be. With that in mind, the hero knew they had to keep sharp, and they had to be patient. 

The latter being the most difficult. 

They regretted knocking out the guard. He could’ve given the hero a tour. But now they were just stuck checking every room. There was nothing for a while. 

Nothing until they found the villain’s office. 

It was pretty average in terms of officeness. No signs of villainy about it. No giant swirly chair to turn dramatically in, no assortment of stuffed creatures, no giant red button that opened a trap door for someone on the other side to drop through. 

It was disappointing to say the least. 

They searched all the drawers, checked for false backs or secret openings, but still nothing. But then they looked in the file cabinet. There were multiple files for people whose names the hero didn’t recognize, but at the front of them all was a file marked, Arch Nemesis.

Of course. 

They grabbed the file and tucked it under their arm. They couldn’t read it now. They only had so much time left before the party ended. If the device wasn’t in the next room they would cut their losses and leave.

But one thing they failed to notice: it was quiet. That wouldn’t be much of a problem normally, but when they had searched before they could still hear pieces of loud conversation and music through the hallways. There was none of that now. The party was already over. 

And the hero realized that too late. 

“Really you couldn’t wait ten minutes for me to come back? Admit it, you missed me.”

Before the hero could turn around, strong hands grabbed their arms, pinning them behind their back. The file dropped out of their hands.

The villain hummed into their ear. “Someone’s been looking into things they shouldn’t have.”

The hero tried to kick but the villain only responded by kicking the hero’s legs out from under them. They bracketed the hero’s hips with their own, and they kept the hero’s arms pinned above their head. 

“Get off of me.” The hero growled.

The villain rolled their eyes. “You really can’t get it into your head that your powers don’t work on me, can you?”

“What can I say? I’m stubborn,” the hero said. “And you’re a liar.”

The villain laughed. “You can hide it all you want, hero, but I know the curiosity is driving you crazy. A problem you could never solve.” 

The hero struggled, but the villain’s grip was like iron. “It’s not a problem. I can beat you without my powers.”

They could taste that lie in their mouth like bile. No they couldn’t. They could never beat the villain without backup and the villain knew it.

They shook their head. “You know I wasn’t going to tell you before I gave you the present, but I really think you’ve earned it.” They leaned in close. “I have the same powers as you do.”

The hero stopped struggling. “What?”

“I know! It was a little . . . frustrating at first, I can’t use my powers on you either, but you’ve been the most interesting hero yet.” Using one hand the villain pulled something out of their pocket. It looked like a dog collar. “I have learned that if you simply disable the other person’s powers, instead of cancelling out, your powers will finally work on them.” 

The hero’s heart stopped. That’s what the agency had sent them looking for. 

It had all been a setup.

The villain’s smile widened. “So, Merry Christmas. I know it’s early, but, hey, you’re worth it.”

“Keep that thing away from m-”

The hero’s voice died when the villain clipped the collar on.

[feliix]

halloween hookup ↠ lee minho

↠ CEO!Minho x Reader

↠ Genre: Smut, fluff(ish), coworkers 2 lovers

↠ Rating: M (18+)

↠ Word Count: 4.9k

↠ Summary: The details of your company Halloween bash are all a blur once you wake the next morning, well, at least until you notice your boss Lee Minho lying beside you in an unfamiliar bed.

↠ Warnings: unprotected sex, creampie, dirty talk, fingering, nipple play, semi-public sex, nudes (but not the kind you think of lmao), dum/sub themes, mentions of alcohol and drinking. (though this fic does not include sexual intercourse following the consumption of alcohol, please remember to drink responsibly and that consent is not consent if you are under the influence!)

↠ A/N: here’s to spooky season and minho day (even though i’m a day late oopsie). and as always thank you to @jinterlude​ for beta reading ily ♡

The bright morning sun creeps through your curtains, scattering light through your bedroom and grazing your bare skin with its rays. A peaceful way to start your Saturday morning, you muse, snuggling deeper into your bed. As you come to your senses, you notice something is quite off. The room smells stale, your sheets feel slightly more scratchy than usual, and something is weighing down over your waist.

Your eyes snap open, realizing that the object weighing down your waist is in fact, someone's arm. The sheets you’re lying over are not yours, and the odd aroma that’s filling the room can not compare to the sweet scent of your own apartment. As if that isn’t bad enough, you’re not able to identify whose arm is slung over your body, pulling your waist backward against their warm bare chest.

Where am I?

Without waking up the unknown man, you carefully shift your weight to release yourself from his grasp. You take your head into your hands, gently massaging your temples trying to relieve the hangover paging through your brain.

The memories from the previous night are stale in your mind. You rack your brain, trying to come up with some reason as to why you’re here and exactly how you yourself got into this position. You sit up in bed, cautiously wrapping the sheets over your body. It seems like a dream or distant illusion, and you can’t quite piece together how it all went down.

You remember being at the company Halloween bash, you remember having useless small talk with a bunch of your coworkers, playing some stupid game that definitely would have been better if it involved some alcohol, and then it got even lamer, so you left with Minho.

Oh my gosh. You left with Minho. As in your boss, Lee Minho.

Your head whips around your body to look at the sleeping body lying next to you as if you’re expecting to see anyone else placed beside you. The memories of what happened last night come flooding back to you, and it went something like this.

The party was held in your office conference room, which was just big enough to squeeze all 20 people in your department into one space, but small enough where you would bump up against the person next to you if you moved too abruptly. Various types of appetizers and finger foods lined the long meeting table which stretched the entire length of the room. There was also a small end table in the corner topped with various types of soda, a bowl of punch, and some booze that George from IT brought. Not that you would ever drink at an office party, that was way too risky.

A few girls from HR had decided to decorate with some cut out pumpkins they printed off some computer paper and orange streamers that were probably leftover from your last boss's going away party.

After your last boss had left, your company hired Lee Minho, a young business professional from a different location that your company owned. Mr. Lee was a pretty laid back guy compared to your last boss. It was pretty weird having a boss as young as Mr. Lee, but he always made sure to bring some fun into the workplace whenever he could, like this Halloween bash for instance. Not to mention, he was the most attractive boss you'd ever had. All the other female employees seemed to agree, swooning over him with every opportunity that they were given.

Mr. Lee also really enjoyed flirting with his employees, male and female. It was hard to tell if he was being nice or just hitting on you the first time he complimented your outfit. The next time he complimented your blouse you noticed his eyes wandering down to your boobs, and you knew it was not just an innocent compliment, but hey, he was attractive so you were definitely not complaining about it.

The feeling of your phone vibrating in your back pocket of your denim skirt startled you, causing you to jump before fumbling your hands back to reach for the device.

Mr. Lee: I like your cat ears ;)

The sides of your lips lifted into a small smirk before picking your head up to look for Minho across the room. He gave you a small smile and finished his gesture off with a wink before you looked back down, sliding open your phone and responding.

Y/N: thanks! where's your costume? corporate won't let you join in on the fun for once :(

Mr. Lee was dressed in his usual attire, some black dress pants, and a black button-down, but accompanied by a very festive orange and black halloween tie. The slender fit of his shirt made his shoulders look especially broad in comparison to his narrow waist.

Before you could even look up from your phone Minho was standing by your side with a cup of punch in each hand, tilting his head towards one of the glasses to offer it up to you. Nodding your head, you smiled a thank you and took the red cup from his grasp.

You coolly leaned your back against the wall behind you, trying to stay out of the way of all the useless chatter going on between the coworkers surrounding you. Mr. Lee was quick to follow suit, sliding his legs down a little further away from the wall so he could match your height.

"This party is kind of lame," he whispered in your ear, earning him a small grin and soft chuckle from you. Most of the employees at your office were much older than you, so it was hard for you to connect with them. They all had their own families and children, where you had just become financially stable enough to move out of your parent’s house.

"You think anyone will notice if we leave?" You said sarcastically, playing along with his charade, just equally bored of the small talk your coworkers were making around you.

"Yeah, but I think I can get us out of it," he replied smoothly, pushing his back off of the wall and walked towards the conference room door, shooting you a quick wink before he made his exit. You had no idea what Minho had in store to get you out of this party but you sure hope it was good.

Not a minute later, the desk phone in the conference room began to ring. Everyone shot each other questioning glares, slightly confused as to who would be calling the office after hours on a Friday. Minho's secretary sauntered over to the phone before holding her index finger over her lips, signaling everyone around her to be quiet.

"Hello this is Amy," she said, cocking her head to the side and furrowing her brows, trying to understand what the caller was saying at the other end of the line. Her expression quickly changed to a small smile as she looked around the room, eyes landing on you before responding to the caller.

"I'll let her know. Thank you, Mr. Lee," Amy replied before hanging up the phone, "Y/N, Mr. Lee needs help with something and would like for you to meet him in his office as soon as possible."

Trying your hardest not to let a smirk creep onto your face, you nodded your head and placed your unfinished drink down on the table. Curious to see what Minho had in-store to get you out of the party, you made your way out of the conference room and to his office.

Peeking through the office window, you saw Minho seated at his desk on his phone. His legs were crossed with his feet placed upon the surface in front of him. The small lamp on his desk dimly illuminated the room, reflecting some light off of his shiny black shoes. He raised his head, eyes wandering away from his phone as you cracked open the door to his office.

"Mr. Lee, you needed help with something?" You inquired sweetly, giving him a grin while making your way into the room.

"Ah, I've been waiting for you." He joked smiling back at you, "Shut the door behind you." You obliged, carefully wrapping your fingers around the handle and closing the door lightly, sure to not make a sound.

"Is everything alright?" You asked, moving closer to Minho as he swung his legs off the desk and placed his feet on the ground.

"Well I figured we could have our own fun, that party was so lame," he said, holding his hand out for you to take. You hesitated, wondering where this was going but you took his hand in yours, curious to find out. He pulled you in closer so your frame stood between his legs, making your heart jump in your chest.

"What did you have in mind?" You smirked, feeling your body beginning to grow warm with anticipation.

"Hmm," he started, patting his thigh for you to take a seat on, "something not so spooky I suppose."

A knot began to form in your throat, causing you to swallow hard before stuttering out the word "Spooky?" and sitting down on his thigh.

Minho softly chuckled, "I've never seen anyone look so sexy in cat ears before, you were driving me insane in there."

Your breathing hitched as he placed a hand on your thigh, gently stroking your skin up to the hem of your skirt. "Is this okay, baby girl?" His eyebrow raised in question, watching your expression shift into a flustered one. You keened at the pet name, feeling heat rush right to your cheeks. Slowly, you nodded your head in response, unable to trust your voice in a time like this.

"Um, I didn't know you thought about me this way Mr. Lee," you stifled out while uncomfortably shifting around on his lap. Minho caught his bottom lip between his teeth, suppressing a low groan before shifting his body as well, feeling his member harden as he leaned further back into his chair.

"Call me Minho," he smirked, brushing his thumb over your cheek and to your hair, sweeping it over your shoulder.

"O-Okay," you stammered, growing flustered from his sweet yet sensual actions.

"Do you think about me this way, baby girl?" He said smugly, almost as if he knew the response you would be giving him in return.

"Yes, Minho," you unknowingly admitted. The words felt foreign coming out of your mouth, it felt odd calling your boss by his first name. But in some weird way, you liked knowing that he felt more turned on by you compared to the other female coworkers that were desperate for his attention.

"What do you think about, hmm?" Minho hummed, a short smirk fixed on his face. Your eyes widened in embarrassment, choking back a whimper as his hand brushed up past the hem of your skirt. Biting your lip in an attempt to control your breath, his hand wandered higher, pushing your skirt further up to expose your panties.

His long fingers grazed the fabric of the underwear over your core. Letting out a short gasp, you quickly brought your hand up to cover your mouth to muffle the sound. Dragging his fingers along the growing wetness on your panties, Minho kept his eyes locked on your expression.

"I, I think about how nice you always look in your dress clothes," you stuttered, "but I really wonder what you look like under them."

Ending the statement confidently, it seemed as if someone else had taken control of your tongue. Minho raised his eyebrows, smirk still plastered on his face from his prior question. As you felt the bulge in his pants begin to protrude under you, he shifted in his chair once again. He cleared his throat, loosening his tie in the process before speaking up.

"We should go somewhere more private." Minho suggested as he moved you off of his lap. "I don't want to be somewhere that anyone could find us," He finished before pacing towards the hall outside of his office. Following behind him you obliged, walking towards the door and into the corridor. Before you could get very far a faint voice sounded off down the hallway.

"Mr. Lee?" Minho's secretary called out from down the hall.

"Shit," he mumbled under his breath, grabbing your hand and swiftly pulling you into the nearest room to avoid Amy.

The copy room was dark. The small touchscreen on the copy machine and the light that peeked in through the small, rectangular window on the door barely lit the room enough for you to see what was right in front of you.

Breathing heavily, Minho pushed your back up against the door trying to remain out of sight as he followed suit beside you. The feeling of hiding from your coworker with your boss was thrilling, something that was easily so wrong, and definitely against HR policy, excited you.

"Mr. Lee? Are you still here?" Amy called from the hallway outside the copy room door. Minho's startled eyes wandered out the small window on the top of the door to see where his secretary could be.

"Fuck," he let out a deep breath before ducking away from the window.

Minho flipped his body so that he was facing you, placing his arms on either side of your head and his forehead resting on yours. He slowly brought his index finger to your lips, motioning you to stay quiet so you wouldn't be found.

Minho's warm, deep breaths met the skin of your cheeks, his long arm hovered over you, restricting you between his body and the wooden door behind you. The mere inches between your bodies left you craving for his touch yet again. You bit your lip to try and ease your breathing, looking up at Minho through your long eyelashes.

He placed his palm over your lips, trying to silence your deep breaths from the woman pacing around the corridor only a few feet away. His gaze was deep and sultry, it felt as though he was looking straight through you and directly to your thoughts. If only he knew the types of things going through your mind right now – such inappropriate things for an employee to think about their boss.

Tension grew as you stood there, body pressed against Minho’s as you waited for Amy to pass. Being in such close proximity to him was affecting you in ways you would've never imagined. Heat flooded to your core with each deep breath you took; Minho’s seductive stare only furthered your desire.

Without saying a word, Minho removed his hand from your mouth and replaced it with his own. The kiss caught you off guard, causing you to let out a small gasp in return. Minho smiled at your reaction, clearly satisfied with how he was taking you by surprise. His tongue swiped along your bottom lip asking for entrance, in which you easily obliged, slowly parting your lips and allowing him to kiss you even more passionately.

Minho’s knee found its place spreading your thighs apart slowly, teasing you as he rubbed it against your throbbing clit in the process. With slight hesitation, he quickly peeked his head up to the window one more time, making sure that the coast was clear before leaning back down to attach his lips to yours. His hands roamed your body down to the small of your back, pulling you in even closer to him.

Pressing your breasts to his chest, you slid your hand between your two bodies. Your hand found its way down to the bulge in his pants, lightly groping it before earning a moan of approval from him. Instinctively he began to grind into your hand, becoming even needier for your touch.

Minho’s breathing became instantly jagged from the moment you first touched his growing member. Perspiration began to gather at the top of Minho's exposed forehead, the small strands of dark hair framing his face hastily became damp. Your callous touch accompanied with sweet kisses to his lips sent Minho into a state of hunger; his demeanor instantly changed, electrifying the mood of the room.

Minho’s fingertips dragged down your body and to the hem of your blouse, tugging on it slightly before seeking approval to remove it from your body. There’s not enough time to respond before you were fiddling with the tie around his neck, loosening it and slipping it over his head to have better access to the buttons that lined his shirt. Your hands moved swiftly trying to undo each one before Minho's hands reached for his belt, causing you to bring your hands back to your own body.

In an unspoken rhythm, you both discarded your bottoms, leaving Minho standing naked as you wore just your silky black bra. A low moan left his lips as his hand cupped your breast, massaging gently before slipping his thumb underneath the thin fabric to play with your nipple. His touch left goosebumps all over your body, taking the sensation of his calloused fingertips against such a sensitive area.

You threw your head back in pleasure giving Minho access to your neck. Hungrily, he attached his lips just above your collarbone, sucking light marks into your skin. His hands moved to your back, unlatching the clasp of your bra and removing it from your body. The stimulation from both his lips and his fingers left your core aching for more, leaving moisture to accumulate between your thighs.

Without a second to spare, Minho’s hand’s were roaming down your body, parting your legs and dragging his finger down your wet slit. You moaned in response, keening into his touch as sweat began to gather on your brow.

With one quick swipe against your clit you were jumping at the contact. “Minho,” you moaned, “need your fingers inside me.”

A stern look crossed his face, making his seductive expression even more dark and lustful than before. “You have to be quiet,” his voice carried a serious tone as he placed a finger to your lips, “we don’t want Amy coming to look for us again, do we?” His question lingered as he leaned in closer to you, whispering the words softly, before leaving with a small nip to your earlobe causing you to shudder.

“Jump,” Minho ordered, grabbing your ass with each hand as you followed his request, jumping as his strong arms secured themselves around you. Each of your legs rested on each side of his body, gripping him tightly so you wouldn't fall. Minho held his body tightly up against you, taking his time by teasing you and dragging his member along your wet slit ever so slowly.

His hard member slid into you carefully, allowing you time to adjust to his size before pushing himself all the way in. You threw your head back against the wall in pleasure, becoming accustomed to the feeling of his hard shaft stretching out your walls. Slowly, Minho began pumping in and out of you at a slow pace. He was careful not to make too much noise, giving you slow and shallow thrusts before working his way to a faster pace.

He soon attached his lips to yours, moaning into the kiss as you basked in the taste of fruity residue left from the punch he was sipping on earlier. The room was becoming hot and stuffy, the window above you becoming cloudy as your bodies perspired. His movements were fluid and intentional, rocking you against the door as he held you tightly in his grip.

"Hold on," Minho whispered, pulling you off of the wall and walking towards the back of the room. His muscular arms held your body tightly against his, making sure no space was left between you.

Minho pulled out slowly, the sensation of your aching pussy berating your thoughts as he and let go of your legs. Your shaky legs were left to steady themselves on the ground, stumbling to hold onto Minho’s firm chest for support.. Grabbing you by your waist, he quickly turned your body to face the copy machine. In one swift motion you watched him lift open up the top of the machine, letting the beam of light underneath the glass panel illuminate your naked figure. His bare chest was placed flush against your back, standing so close that you could feel his racing heartbeat.

"Bend over," Minho ordered as his hand rested on the small of your back, guiding you to push your chest closer to the copy machine. Following his orders, you pressed your body against the machine, shivering from the cold sensation of the glass panel brushing against your sensitive nipples.

Minho grabbed onto your ass, squeezing it gently as he guided himself back into you. You let out a quiet whine, wrapping your fingers onto the sides of the copy machine to try and stabilize yourself. He returned back to a steady pace, rocking into you with ease while his firm hands caressed your back.

"Fuck Y/N," Minho moaned, "you're taking me so well."

His hand grabbed at your hair harshly, making a makeshift ponytail with his fist, as he pulled your head up. Arching your back, you couldn't help but let out a loud moan in reaction to the new depths Minho was reaching in your dripping core.

"I wanna hear you," Minho grunted between thrusts, his strokes becoming faster and harder. Incapable of using your words, you let out another whine squeezing your eyes shut completely, focused on the sensation of his thick member filling you up and the feeling of his hips hitting your ass with each plunge.

"I'm close," your voice was whiny and weak. Minho picked up his pace, snapping his hips harder into you as one hand left its position on your hip. The loss of contact made you whine, but his hand soon found its place between your legs. His fingers lightly brushed against your swollen clit, the sensation making you see stars. Legs beginning to shake, your grip on the copy machine became firmer, needing to hold onto something in order to steady yourself. The added pleasure from his fingers sent you spiraling, choking you up and causing your eyes to water in bliss.

"Come for me Y/N, I wanna feel you cum all over my cock," he grunted, his voice low and sensual. Moving his hand faster, your clit was rolled between his fingertips. Your orgasm was just out of reach. The satisfaction was just out of reach. But Minho’s tender touch sent you over the edge, relying on the copy machine to hold his unstable body up.

"Minho," you mustered out, riding out your high, pussy throbbing around his dick. He hummed in response, too focused on chasing his own high to form any audible words. The low grunts leaving Minho’s lips became more and more frequent as his thrusts slowed, growing sloppier and careless. But his hands gripped your hips firmly, holding you still as he let out a string of profanities before collapsing onto your back.

Minho rested his head between your shoulder blades, chest heaving as he regained his composure before pulling out of you. Slowly, he stood up, taking a deep breath and admiring your exhausted figure before you followed behind him.

"Wow," was the only word that you could manage, wiping your forehead with the back of your hand as you turned to face him. Minho chuckled in response, smiling gingerly as he picked up your clothes, handing them back to you so that you could get dressed.

After pulling your top over your head your eyes did a quick scan around the room, confirming that you weren't leaving anything behind. If someone were to find an undergarment in here, it would be the talk of the office for at least a week. In the corner of your eye, you spotted a sheet of paper resting on the tray of the copy machine. Raising an eyebrow, you paced back over to the machine and lifted up the sheet.

"Oh. My. God."

You were frozen in place, eyes wide with shock as you look at the image before you. Minho soon whipped his body around, finishing off the buckle of his belt before wandering over to the copy machine.

"I'm so keeping that," Minho said, looking over your shoulder at the picture of your bare breasts printed on the paper gripped harshly in your hands. A smug smirk was plastered on his face as he continued to admire the crude photograph.

"Minho, do you know how this happened?" Your voice was filled with concern, turning your head to face him, sure he was up to something. His eyes were glued on the graphic photo you held in your hands, too zoned out to hear you speak.

"Minho," you repeated more firmly this time, finally gaining his attention back to you from the image, "did you do this?"

A small grin formed on his face, one side of his mouth lifted while he raised his eyebrows. He looked smug...too smug.

"Can't have anyone finding this, now can we?" He chuckled, taking this paper in his own hands and taking one last glance before ripping it into small pieces before tossing the pieces into the recycling bin and extending a hand to you. "I say we go celebrate the occasion with a drink, you in?" Taking his hand in yours, you nodded your head in agreement, following Minho out of the copy room.

"How does a some more punch sound? George brought an extra bottle of juice that I can snag and I’ve got a bottle of vodka at my place with our names on it." Minho spoke, earning a smile from you before walking out the office doors.

Suddenly you feel the mattress shift beside you, pulling you out of your daydream. Minho rolls over to face your direction with his eyes still closed, his mouth slowly opening before taking a deep breath.

"Good morning," he speaks, eyes fluttering open and taking in your disheveled appearance.

"Morning," you manage to mutter out, quickly breaking eye contact, unable to face him from the pure embarrassment filling your system.

"Last night was fun, huh?" He asks, the cheerfulness barely peeking through the groggy tone of his voice. "Last night?" You know exactly what he was talking about, but hope he’s referring to anything except what happened in the copy room.

"Yeah, we came back here to have a drink after we–"

"Oh okay yep! I remember. No need to go into any more details!" You cut him off before he can continue any further, covering your eyes to shield you from his gaze. The flesh on your cheeks are scorching hot with embarrassment.

As you go to stand up from the bed, hoping to quickly gather your things and rush out the door before Minho could mention anything else, his hand reaches for yours. He pulls you in closer to him until your face is near enough to touch; grazing the side of your warm cheeks before speaking again. You lower your head in embarrassment, unsure of what Minho is about to say.

"I really enjoyed our time together last night, I wouldn’t mind having you over again." He brushes the stray hairs away from falling into your eyes, lifting your chin up to meet his gaze afterward. Heart fluttering in response, you catch your lip between your teeth in an attempt to hide the large smile that’s threatening to peek through.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Minho stands up, reaching into the pocket of the pants he wore last night and pulling out a small folded up piece of paper.

"I believe this belongs to you," he curls up the ends of his mouth, biting back a smile while handing it to you. Confused, you unfold the paper revealing a picture of your very own breasts. As if the situation could not get any more embarrassing, Minho stares down at the paper in your hands, admiring your bare chest plastered in black and white, letting out a small chuckle.

As mortified as you are, you figure that the natural instinct to never talk to this man again would not work, seeing that Minho is your boss. Taking a deep breath, you try to find any sort of confidence that could still be left inside you. You look back up at him, cocking your head slightly to the side before reaching your arm out and handing him back the photo.

"Keep it, think of it as a Halloween gift." You say shooting him a smirk, internally crossing your fingers hoping for a good reaction. Minho snickers, taking the paper from your hand and looking at it one last time before folding it back up and holding it tightly in his palm.

"I'll keep it somewhere safe," He gives you a wink and shoves the paper deep into the pocket of his pajama pants.

"Happy Halloween, Minho."

‘Halloween Hookup’ is copyright 2020 @chaangbin​, all rights reserved. Please do not repost on any platform or translate without permission.

[shuadotcom]

Hello Nurse | PJM (M)

✚ Summary: When you and your least favorite person show up to the company Halloween party in the same costume, you can’t help but notice just how much better it looks on him. ✚ Pairing: Jimin x Female!Reader ✚ Genre: Smut, pwp ✚ Rating: 18+ (MINORS & AGELESS BLOGS DNI. YOU WILL BE BLOCKED) ✚ Warnings: Cursing, oral sex (f receiving), mention of oral sex (m receiving), penetrative sex ✚ Word Count: 2.8k ✚ A/N: Written for @btsholidaybingo​! Major thank you to the amazing Elle @wheresmymoniat​ for giving this a read and helping me with the ending ❤️❤️ Bingo Square: Sexy Costumes

Park Jimin was easily the most arrogant, annoying person you have ever met. He was also, hands down, the most attractive person you have ever met, which complicated things. The tech start-up you both worked for was so small that not only did you have to interact with him every day, but you also sat next to him.

Day in and day out, you had to listen to him brag about a new promotion or project he had gotten approval for, or worse, about how many people he sleeps with. If he wasn’t talking to Jungkook and Taehyung about that as loudly as possible from the cubicle next to you, then he was flirting with you at any given chance. Admittedly, you did flirt back, but he also knew you weren’t his biggest fan. You wanted to punch his lights out just as much as you wanted to fuck his brains out, and you knew he knew.

When your boss Seokjin announced he would be throwing a costume party for the company to celebrate Halloween, you knew Jimin would be here, but in no way were you prepared to see him in the same costume as you.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” you gape as soon as you see him. You’re leaving the kitchen with a fresh drink in hand to rejoin Nayeon in the living room when you see he and Jungkook come through the front door.

Jungkook is dressed in a sinfully tight police uniform, and you can’t help but ogle his thick thighs for a few seconds before your eyes meet Jimin’s. The white and red nurse dress is as short and form-fitting on Jimin as it is on you, but Jimin fills it out differently than you do, and it’s infuriating. The zipper on the front of his dress is unzipped lower than yours, and you can see the smallest peek of his nipple when he turns to greet someone. While you opted to not don any hosiery with the costume to amp up the sex appeal, Jimin’s lean yet muscular legs are wrapped in fishnet stockings, which look so right on him.

You hear a gasp from next to you and turn to see Nayeon. The receptionist’s red mini dress is rumpled, and her devil horns look like they’re about to fall off her head. Clearly, she and Namjoon have been busy since you left the room, but you would address that later.

“I can’t believe he even looks this good in a dress,” she mutters, staring directly at Jimin as he notices the two of you standing there. A smirk plays on his lips as he saunters over to you, his heeled ankle boots clicking with each step.

“Well hello there, nurse,” he lets out a low whistle as he shamelessly scans your body.

“Jimin, are you kidding me right now? Out of all the costumes in this world, you pick the same fucking thing I decide to wear?”

“They were out of men’s costumes, and it was either this or a sexy clown, so I went with the sexy nurse.” Jimin shrugs. “Besides, my ass looks amazing in this dress.” His ass does look incredible, and you hate it.

“Well, one of us has to change, and it’s not going to be me.” You cross your arms and watch as Jimin’s eyes dart down to your chest. Your zipper was low enough for a fair amount of cleavage to spill out, and you certainly didn’t mind his gaze.

“It’s not going to be me either, babe.” He stretches his arms above his head, the short dress riding up, exposing more of his thighs. He catches your stare and smiles before turning and heading towards the bathroom, making sure to swing his hips as he goes.

“Wow,” Naeyeon breathes, “You can cut the sexual tension with a butter knife.”

“What? There is no sexual tension. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You’re lying, and Nayeon knows it, which is why she starts laughing after you say that. You let out a ‘humph’ and stomp your way into the living room to join the rest of the party with your friend following behind.

Three red solo cups of jungle juice later, and you’re ready to go home. Nayeon and Namjoon have just about melded into one person with how hard the two have been making out all night. You’re happy for her seeing how she’s been aching to get the engineer’s attention for the past two months, but you’re bored now.

Hoseok, your closest friend at work besides Nayeon, greets you and the two of you dance to a few songs, but as soon as Jungkook tells him there is a DDR machine in the game room, he bids you farewell and practically runs after him. You dance with Taehyung after Hoseok abandons you, and make no move to swat away his wandering hands, but draw the line when he tries to kiss you. He’s cute, but the salesman isn’t your type. He isn’t too torn up about it; as soon he sees Seokjin’s cousin Yoongi enter the room, who also happens to be the CFO of your company, he’s at his side in a blink of the eye. Maybe he’ll get lucky with his crush as Nayeon has.

Eventually, you decide to take refuge in the kitchen, sipping on a rum and coke and stuffing your face full of the Halloween themed hors d'oeuvres Seokjin made. You’re sat on the counter, heels off, and a fourth bat-shaped sugar cookie in hand when Jimin strolls into the room.

“Oh, Y/n, lovely to see you. I’ve been looking for you all night.”

“Have you now? I’ve been in the same room with literally the rest of the party for the last two hours. I wasn’t hard to find.”

“What I meant to say was, I’ve been looking to get you alone all night.” He’s in front of you in only a few strides, his hands ghosting over your thighs. Sitting on the counter has made your dress ride up impossibly higher, an inch away from exposing your panties.

You finish the cookie in your hand, paying attention to the way Jimin watches you as you lick the frosting from your fingers, one by one. “And what exactly is it that you want with me, Jimin?” You ask, leaning back against your palms. For the second time that night, Jimin’s eyes are on your chest, but he makes no move to look away.

“I think you know what I want. How long are you going to let me keep flirting with you before you let me do what I want with you?”

It has to be the moderate amount of alcohol you’ve consumed tonight, but you decide then to take Jimin up on his offer. You’d be lying if you said you hadn’t had your fair share of wet dreams about him, even if you didn’t particularly like him. Why turn down an opportunity when it presents itself right in front of you.

“Show me what you want to do with me.”

Jimin doesn’t hesitate as he leans forward and kisses you hard. He grabs your waist and pulls you to the edge of the counter as his tongue pushes its way into your mouth. He takes control of the kiss as it turns sloppy, and he bites at your bottom lip. Jimin leaves you gasping when he pulls away suddenly, sliding your zipper down to your bellybutton where it ends and pulling your breasts out of the cups of your bra.

“Your tits are beautiful,” he marvels. His fingers are tugging at your nipples, and you can feel yourself getting wetter with each yank. Jimin’s hands feel like magic. He gropes and rubs you all the right ways as if he knows your body already. You can’t help but yearn for his hands to be elsewhere.

As if reading your mind, Jimin moves his lips to your neck while pushing the bottom of your costume higher. You lift your hips to help him, and he also uses the opportunity to pull your panties down.

“I’ve always wanted to know how sweet you taste,” he whispers. Jimin drops to his knees in front of you, hooking your legs over his shoulders. You open as wide as you can, not caring that you're basically on display for anyone to see if they were to walk into the kitchen.

Jimin grips your thighs and leans forward, sucking your clit into his mouth. You hadn’t expected him to get straight to it, so you can’t help the way your body jumps, fingers moving to thread in his peach locks.

“Fuck, Jimin.” Your legs are already shaking, and he barely started. He brings his head even closer to you, and you feel his tongue slip into your pussy. He moans into you, buzzing through your entire body. The number of times you had heard Jimin talking about eating girls out in the office was absurd, but in the back of your mind, you were always curious. All of his bragging seemed to hold true with the way his tongue is darting in and out of you. His nose is brushing against your clit with every move of his head, and you’re so close to cumming already.

Jimin comes up for air and replaces his mouth with his fingers. He’s two fingers deep, watching your face contort in pleasure as his wrist moves.

“Y/n,” he says, his voice is thick, and his words are slow. “I want you to cum all over my face, and then I’m going to fuck you right here. Is that okay?”

“That’s more than okay, just please make me cum.” Under normal circumstances, you would never beg Park Jimin for anything, but if it gets you closer to orgasm, you will do whatever he asked of you at this point.

He doesn’t respond and gives you a salacious grin instead. His mouth is at your core again, his tongue frantically flicking at your sensitive bud while his fingers work you open. He fits a third finger into you, this one brushing against your g-spot, making you see stars. It takes only a few moments before your head is hitting the cabinets behind you, and you’re moaning Jimin’s name.

You slump against the counter, your body already spent, but Jimin gives you no time to regulate your breathing. He reaches under his costume and pulls his fishnets and underwear down far enough for his length to spring free. You’ve never thought a cock could be described as beautiful, but seeing Jimin has your mind going blank. He’s wonderfully thick and flushed a pretty shade of pink. His cock is just as beautiful as the rest of him, and it’s just not fair.

“Maybe one day, I’ll let you put that gorgeous mouth to use,” he fists himself and brings his other hand up to your mouth. His thumb swipes across your bottom lip, smudging your lipstick. “But right now, I just need to feel you.” Jimin opens the nearest drawer and rifles through it before producing a condom. You frown as he rolls it onto himself. “Seokjin is a chef. His favorite room in his house is his kitchen,” he shrugs.

The thought of your boss fucking someone in this exact spot you’re splayed out on only cuts through your haze of desire momentarily. Jimin brings you back by pushing into you slowly, and you already feel the wonderful way he’s stretching your walls.

Jimin gives you time to adjust to him, moving slowly as his fingers dig into your hips. When he starts to move faster, you cling to his shoulders, the pace already making you feel dizzy.

“You feel magnificent,” he grunts. His eyes are closed, and he’s biting his plump bottom lip. Everything about him has you in awe, even with the sheen of sweat already gathering at his hairline. His next thrust is rougher than the last and has you squeaking. Jimin’s pace quickens, the sound of your bare skin smacking fills the room along with your moans.

You wrap your legs around his waist to pull him closer, your heels digging into his lower back. Everything you’ve ever heard Jimin brag about is turning out to be true. The large size of his cock, the sinful way in which he knows how to move his hips, how expertly he can have women begging and nearly sobbing for him. As be continues fucking into you an almost bruising pace, the only thing on your mind is Jimin.

“You feel so good around my cock,” Jimin groans. His face is buried in your neck while he leaves bites on the sensitive skin there. “How do you feel, baby? How am I making you feel?”

“S-so fucking good. You feel so fucking good.” Tears are brimming your eyes as Jimin’s hand snakes between your conjoined bodies and rubs at your clit. “I’m so close. I-I’m cumming again.”

“Cum all over me. Make a mess all over my cock.” He pulls you impossibly closer, his other hand has barely enough room to tap at your bundle of nerves. He’s whispering about how good your cunt feels, and when your second orgasm hits you, it’s much harder than the first. Your eyes screw so tightly shut that your lids begin to hurt as you’re nearly screaming for him.

Through the sound of your blood rushing through your ears, you hear Jimin moaning your name in a high pitched tone as you feel him fill the condom he’s wearing. You’re both panting; the aftershocks of your orgasm still have you trembling as he slowly pulls out of you.

With shaky hands, you zip your costume back up while Jimin disposes of the condom and tucks himself back into his underwear and stockings.

“Um,” you rasp, your voice feeling raw. “Can you help me get down?”

Jimin chuckles and offers you his hand. You lower yourself back to the kitchen tile on wobbly legs and pull your dress back down. A beat of silence passes between the two of you. What do you say to a man you usually find bothersome that you just let fuck you stupid in your boss’s kitchen?

“I’m going to go tell Nayeon I’m going home,” you clear your throat before continuing. “I’ll see you at the office on Monday.”  Jimin doesn’t respond, instead placing a kiss on your hand, which he’s still holding, then lets you go.

Nayeon is still in Namjoon’s lap when you say your goodbyes, but she manages to demand that you text her when you get home. Of course, you do, and your weekend continues with Jimin still on your mind.

Come Monday morning, you’ve nearly gotten your time with Jimin out of your head until you see a small gift bag sitting on your desk.

Inside are your panties from the Halloween party that you hadn’t even realized you left without and a note from Jimin.

Figured you’d want these back. I wanted to keep them as a souvenir to remember the other night, but I’d much rather make another memory with you at lunch today in the copy room. What do you say?

Jimin is still the most arrogant, annoying person you have ever met and is still, hands down, the most attractive person you have ever met. The latter is why you meet him in the copy room at lunch. And why you met him in the stairwell the day after that and in any other vacant room you can find, every day for the next two weeks. You didn’t mean for this to become a thing, but the way he made you feel that first time and the way he looked in that nurse costume was too much for you to forget.

“Hey,” you choke out the next time you two are together. You’re locked in one of the women’s stalls before anyone else has gotten into the office. He’s holding you against the stall door, fucking into you slowly to lessen the chance of someone overhearing. “When are you gonna wear your costume for me again?”

Jimin lets out a chuckle and adjusts his hold on you. “I would’ve worn it under my clothes today if I knew how into dressing up you are.” Your eyes light up at the thought, and he doesn’t miss your reaction.

“Does this mean you’ll wear it for me tomorrow?” You whine when he pulls out of you, the loss of him making you feel empty.

“If you let me cum down your throat, I’ll wear it for the rest of the week.” Not needing to be tempted any more than that, you scramble to kneel in front of him.

The thought of him in those fishnets again has you panting as he slides his cock into your open mouth. If you play your cards right, maybe you’ll be able to get him into a sexy maid dress or even a sexy cowgirl outfit. With the endless possibilities swirling around your mind, you fully intend to make this the best blowjob of his life.

[tomfreakinghollandneedsaoscar]

Ice Cream Princess

Pairing: JJ Maybank x Reader

Summary: There isn't a day that JJ doesn't come to visit you at work. On the day he doesn't, you decide to visit him at work instead.

Word Count: 1,876

Note: A Stranger Things and Outer banks crossover imagine that no one asked for. Please give me feedback on anything but the title, I'm judging it and laughing at myself because of it. I hope you love it!

An ice-cream parlor opens up across the street of The Wreck. The owner quickly judges all of the teenagers that come in looking for a part-time summer job. Luckily for you, your older cousin Robin sweet talks her way - agrees to watch his daughter- to get Hopper to hire you on the spot.

Your favorite co-worker is Steve. Both of you share stories and talk about anything and everything. You're weren't too surprised to find he hang outs with "lil punks".

He has a childish side that comes out when it's you two in the shop. If a touron gives you a weird feeling and tries to flirt with you, Steve takes over like a protective older brother. You started calling him mom when he bossed you around the first time.

Last night there was a party held by the Pogues at the Boneyard. When Robin's girlfriend texts you saying that she woke up with a hangover, you agree with her that it would be best if you cover her shrift.

When you get to the shop on your bike, you park it next to Steve car and cringe when the annoying front door bell rings as you enter. "I'm surprised to see your face this morning."

"Good or bad surprised, mom?" He rolls his eyes as you walk past him and pat his shoulder.

He yells, "the worst!" As you make your way to the small back room and put your backpack in your locker.

You grab the lanyard Pope gave to you and trace the lil doodles Kiara drew on your nametag.

Clocking in, you wave at Hopper through his open office window. He learns further in his chair, arms across his chest.

"You work too much."

"You don't pay me enough."

Humming to the radio that's connected to the speakers that hang from the ceiling, you look over Steve shoulder to see which Playlist he's playing.

You mutter, "I hate that thing" when the bell rings.

JJ is leading everyone, arms flaring around as he jumps on top of the counter. He bends one knee underneath his other leg to sit more comfortably sideways and grins at you.

"You're ass is going to break that and you'll have to pay for it."

"Are you telling me I have a fat ass?" He puts a hand over his heart and fakes cries. "That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me, Princess."

You shove him off, chuckling when he almost doesn't save his fall and trip over his own two feet.

"So dramatic like always and Y/N is still my name." You point down at your nametag. "Y/N. Not Princess."

"What do you guys want today?" Steve asks.

JJ glares at him but smirks when you pick up a scoop. He leans over the counter and says, "I'll like a lick of that."

You tell Pope thank you for slapping JJ in the back of the head, making his gray and red snapback fall off.

He runs his fingers through his hair and you barely catch it when throws it towards you.

"You would look better in it than that." He reaches over to tap on your uniform hat wear.

You blush at the hidden complaint and slap his hand away.

"Stop flirting." John B says as he hands over JJ his ice cream.

Kiara slightly pushes him towards the table, they always sit at.

Steve smirks as he leans against the counter. "Princess?"

In the corner of your eye, you see JJ giving himself whiplash. You know Steve is on a mission to find a nickname for you, especially something that you hate as much as he hates 'mom'.

But JJ doesn't. "It's a long story."

"I'll love to hear it someti-"

JJ claps his hands together as the chair slides across the floor as he stands up. "Once upon a time, little miss Y/N dressed up as a princess one Halloween. There was a picture of proof that her mother gladly showed me. Ever since, I've called her Princess and one day she'll call me her Prince. The end."

Sarah 'awwws' and says, "That's actually really adorable."

"Thank you, I know." JJ says proudly and you both smile at each other.

─────

During your next shift, it's only John B and JJ.

"Well hello there boys."

JJ takes off his sunglasses off slowly and puts his arm on the counter. "Princess."

You try not to pay attention to how good his arms look with his gray tank top.

You're the one who breaks eye contact. You don't miss the little fist pump he does but you miss how his shoulders drop when you look at him after seeing how panic John B looks.

Oh, right.

"We need to get the biggest bowl of Sarah's favorite ice cream. Her monthly came to visit and John B, the sweetheart idiot he is, doesn't remember her flavor."

You make 'o' shape with your mouth. "Got it. It's the end of the world for him. Well lucky for you, I know it."

John B screams out, "I owe you one" as he grabs the cup container from you and runs out to the Van.

JJ puts money in the tip jar. "From future Sarah."

After you watch him put his sunglasses back on and the door bell rings when the door closes, Robin pinches your leg.

"Are you going to start helping me again with this or am I going to have to restock everything myself?"

Blushing, you say, "I'm not Steve."

She stops laughing after a few seconds to say, "I bet you that JJ knows his Princess favorite ice cream flavor."

"Shut up."

─────

Pope, Kiara, and JJ all give you a pointed look when they stop by the shop before seeing a movie. The movie you agreed to go to one minute but then the next you said "wait sorry, I have to work." and hanged up on JJ.

"I'm about to drag you and your cute stubborn ass out of here for once and all, Princess."

Kiara has a hand on her hip, when she says, "You need to take a break."

You close your eyes and throw your head back, annoyed that she's right. "You guys know how much I need this job and the money."

A look of understanding crosses JJ's face but he straightens himself and says in a stern voice, "You are also supposed to have fun with your friends once a while."

"I know that!" He doesn't flinch at you raising your voice.

Thinking he's used to it, your heart and face fall.

"I- I'm sorry. How about we all hangout tomorrow at the Chateau and relax? Or we can do anything you guys want to do. Let John B and Sarah know and-"

JJ strides behind the counter and pulls you in a hug. No one words are needed when you shove your face against his chest and catch your breathing.

Pope puts a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, JJ. We're going to be late."

"You know what? I'm actually in the mood for ice cream not theater popcorn. Go on without me."

Kiara tells you both goodbye and Pope mouths "whipped" and does the wrapped around a finger hand's motion as she pulls him away.

You look up at JJ. "You didn't have to do that."

"Do what?" His cocky grin becomes bigger when you roll your eyes before helping a costumer. He leaves the counter to sit at the table, hands on the bottom of his chin as he does silly faces from behind the stranger's shoulder.

─────

Steve looks up when he hears the bell ring and watches as JJ loses his step.

Before he can walk away, Steve says, "She will be back shortly. I sent her to the bank real quick for more change."

JJ lets the door close behind him. He takes a big breath in as he turns around. "You trust her that much, huh?"

"Don't you?"

JJ lets out a dark laugh. "It's different. You get payed to see her, I do it because I want to."

That's Steve's breaking point. "Okay, I don't understand why or how you started hating me the first time you met me but I think I can get a wild guess why. A attractive, couple of years older comes into her life. You're jealous over nothing, dude. I see her as annoying little sister. And yeah, I get payed to do this shitty job but when she's working too, she makes it fun."

"Are you done?" JJ is looking at anything but him.

"One more thing, don't waste anymore time."

Steve looks at the clock on the wall and figures you'll be back any minute.

"I have to get to work." JJ looks over his shoulder.

He opens his mouth but changes his mind, and closes it and walks out.

On the other side of the sidewalk, he doesn't stop when you call out his name.

──────

"Funny seeing you're here."

JJ slams his tray down on the table next to yours. "I work here."

He stops wiping it down and gets the sudden urge to squirt you with the cleaning product bottle when he hears you tapping your feet against the chair across on of your table.

When he looks around and notices there aren't a lot of people in the dinner room he sits down and huffs and puffs. "Why are you here?"

"What? You can come visit me at work but I can't?"

When you both notice another bus boy, you let JJ grab the nearest glass pitcher and pull you some water.

"Now you can't walk away and ignore me, like how you did a couple of hours ago."

"I'm sure Steve told you all about it." The biter in his voice makes you lean over the table to grab his hand.

He jumps but doesn't pull away.

"He told me that you came in the shop, you looked like a little lost puppy when you made eye contact with him instead of me. You guys actually had somewhat of a conversation, which, I'm surprised actually happened."

JJ smiles a little as you start spinning one of his rings. "Steve didn't tell me what it was about...at first."

JJ can't sit still.

He stands up and as he talks, he walks in pace. "He, he uh- shit. Fuck, okay. He got in my head. I couldn't talk to you cause I didn't want to say something that would ruin our friendship. I didn't even know how I would say it-to be honest, still don't but you're smart, I think you know where am I going with this-"

He stops talking, mid-sentence when you laugh. "JJ, just say it or I'll crush your ego by saying it first."

"I love you." He says it over and over again in the middle of the kisses after you say it back.

He stops when someone yells his name and tells him to get back to work.

You give him a quick peak and have to put your hands on top of his to move them off of your hips.

"I'll see you later, JJ. We can go watch a movie?"

"Sounds like a date, Princess."

[katytheinspiredworkaholic]

Deleted Scenes: A Character Study (Part 1)

Longer title -- “Deleted Scenes: if the Criminal Minds writers had any idea how to incorporate dramatic back story into a working narrative, A Character Study”

Every once in a while I get impassioned about something that happens in the show, or more importantly that doesn’t happen in the show -- but should have. This will probably be one of at least a handful, but for now, enjoy the pinnacle of my rage. Fueled by all the OPENINGS for Hotch to talk about his past and the writers taking advantage of NONE OF THEM, but this was my breaking point.

Rating: General 

Warnings: mentions of past child abuse

Pairing: none

Characters: Hotch, JJ

Episode, and placement: Season 10, Episode 05, “Boxed In”; after the episode 

Word count: 2,404

Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29796501/chapters/73302726

--

A Prime Example

--

Very few things get to Aaron Hotchner. Especially things that are said with no relatable context to him or the details people don’t know about his life. His past, in particular. He pushes them back in compartmentalized little boxes, carefully labeled and sorted and set aside to be unpacked at a later date. They aren’t important when he’s on a case. When a twelve-year-old boy is missing and his life hangs in the balance. When time is of the essence. 

Which is why, on numerous occasions, he lets the things people say slide. 

Especially on the topic of Nature versus Nurture. 

He, himself, has written a handful of papers and reports on the very argument. There’s no doubt that Nature and Nurture have complicated roles in why ‘bad people do bad things’, in layman's terms. But the stigma surrounding it, cutting it into a black and white, all or nothing scenario will always rub him the wrong way. Not because he believes in it, one way or the other, but because he lives it. Day after day. 

It’s not his team’s fault that they don’t know that. Hotch keeps those parts of his life to himself. Lessons only he has learned, and has grown from, and keeps as careful guidelines. 

Until this case.

“I guess we all become our parents at some point.”

The way JJ had said this -- steady, with no hesitation, despite the choice in phrasing indicating it could be a right or wrong assumption -- gave the statement an air of inevitability. Creating a precedent in her mind that set Hotch's teeth on edge, though it had not been the appropriate moment to correct her on it. But it's not the first time JJ has said something along those lines. 

“Does the son of a sociopath even really have a chance?” 

Not a lot gets to Aaron Hotchner. Every other remark, observation, detail of an unsub’s correlation between their upbringing and their crimes he doesn’t let sting his exposition. It has never affected him before, and he vowed it never will. His father doesn’t get to take that away from him, too.

But the inevitability of her statement, indicating it was only a matter of time. No matter what he has done with his life or the person he has worked so hard to become and imbody, ultimately it wouldn’t matter in the end. That one day, Aaron Hotchner would be just like his father. He doesn’t know if he’d be able to live with himself, if that were to happen. 

That single, throw-away sentence, with a pedestrian phrasing he has heard over and over again, gets to Hotch. It buries itself in him like a tick and refuses to let go, not for tweezers or fire or smothering indifference. It is still there, echoing in his head as if shouted down a long tunnel, even after they get back to Quantico and are finishing up the closing paperwork later that week. He finds himself barely able to glance at JJ for longer than a moment without hearing her words once more, and Hotch berates himself for it. Over and over again. This is why he shuts it all down and doesn’t talk about it. This is why he keeps it buried, where it will never resurface. It interferes with the present, with his work and his friendships and his relationship with his son. 

His past needs to stay dead and buried in a plot in rural Virginia, where it belongs.

“I have those reports for you, Hotch,” JJ says, as if procured by his musings. He glances up for the briefest of moments, barely a blink, to acknowledge her and nod in thanks as she leaves the folders on his desk. Then he’s turning back to the SWAT team justification reports and expects that to be the last of it. Drowning himself in his work, where everything is strict codes and formal speech patterns and no emotional influence whatsoever.

Which is why he is surprised to hear JJ address him, again. Never having left his office. 

“Sir?” The formal term catches his attention even more. “Is everything alright? Did something happen after you missed Halloween night?”

“What?” The question genuinely throws him off, though it doesn’t show on his face. He had missed Halloween, the first time he had ever done so, but Jack understood. He was always much more accepting of the parameters of Hotch’s job than Haley ever was. It was all he’s ever known. “Oh, no -- Jack had a fun night. Slept on the couch so I could see him in his costume when he got home. How was Henry’s night?”

“He and Will had a great time,” JJ answers, her careful, worried expression not waning in the face of Hotch’s slightly more upbeat tone. It’s something he slips into subconsciously when speaking about Jack, or to Jack, or anywhere Jack might hear. Compartmentalization. “I just… noticed you seem off.”

Hotch nods once, in acknowledgement, because he knows he has. He’s working on it. There was no need for an intervention like this. He’s the Team Leader and Unit Chief, he wasn’t the one people were supposed to be checking on.

“Delayed reaction to the case,” he answers, looking back to the SWAT team report and signing off on another section for mobilization after hours. Overtime justifications. Bureaucracy needs the ‘i’s dotted and ‘t’s crossed. “Nothing to worry about.” 

JJ takes pause, and still doesn’t make for the door of his office. Like she needs to elaborate somehow, now that Hotch has left a small crack of an opening into his inner sanctum. 

“I know we all have cases that hit us too close to home,” she concedes, the start of a much longer speech. “Young boys, even the troublemakers --”

“No, JJ, I appreciate the concern,” Hotch interrupts, and does his best to appease her by keeping the hardness off his face. “But it’s nothing to do with Jack or facts we found. It’s a personal matter.” 

“Of course, it’s just --”

Years ago, that would have been that and JJ would have left his office. But time and history have blurred their relationship from boss and subordinate to friends and family. Personal matter no longer meant private, it meant a switch in barriers. It meant family. 

She steps closer to his desk.

“You are always there for us, for these kinds of cases.” Her blue eyes bore into his, a technique Hotch recognizes as a fellow parent, to get through and make sure the person they are speaking to is really listening. “But, do you ever allow anyone to be there for you?”

He sighs through his nose. She’s not going to let this go, he can see that. No profiling needed.

“Sit.” 

Closing the file, Hotch resigns himself to the fact that this was something inadvertently he’d been wanting to talk to JJ about, anyway. She had been a profiler for the team almost nearly as long as she’d been communications liaison, now, and although this could have waited for her performance review -- it tied into what was bothering him. The small smile of victory, and relief, slips from her lips as she sees the serious set to Hotch’s mouth. JJ is one hell of a profiler. The best ones did it without even knowing they were doing so.

“Wait… is this about me?” she looks mildly scandalized to even have to suggest it. Although really, it shouldn’t surprise her too much. Hotch knows he isn’t great about making things about himself, even when the conversation is supposed to be. So he gathers his thoughts, with such little prep time, and decides to start with where this whole debacle had begun. 

In the car. When JJ had made her off-handed comment.

“The events of our lives shape us, and bring us here. As they do for everyone. It’s a technique that also helps us narrow down our profiles. How we were raised, what he have gone through. Heredity factors.”

JJ is staring hard at him, now. Deciphering the point, attempting to look ten steps ahead when Hotch has barely revealed three.

“You’re talking about Nature versus Nurture.” 

“You could say that,” Hotch acquiesces. “In a lot of ways we are our parent’s lineage. Unless we choose not to be. I only became a prosecutor because my father was. But now, here I am.”

The parent’s lineage is a direct drop towards the conversation in the car. Both JJ and Hotch are intelligent adults, as is the entire team. Sometimes the most direct reference isn’t needed. Sometimes a key phrase is what links the mind back to the moment, replays it in the mind’s eye so it becomes fresh and there’s no confusion. Fewer words can connect more than a thousand, Hotch had learned that early on as well. 

“I was… I was speaking more toward behavior,” JJ elaborates, still unaware where the conversation is going. How this has correlated to Hotch’s odd mood. 

“I know you were. And my statement still stands,” Hotch answers plainly. “I’ve noticed that sometimes agents, myself included, let bias dictate their profiles. And we need to stray away from that kind of influence.” 

JJ’s slight frown becomes defensive. Confused, but not angry. She’s learning quickly, Hotch notices. 

“Nature and Nurture are a part of standard psychology practices. With a lot of information and testing to back it up. Spence could give you statistics for days, I’m sure. It’s proven.”

“Yes, as a theory. Not as a rule.” Hotch continues, giving her that steady, stern but gentle tone that borders on chastisement. 

“I have yet to see an exception to that rule, when it comes to children of violent offenders,” JJ buckles down. “If they are the target of that violence, it warps them, Hotch. Plain and simple. How do they recover from something like that?” She’s shaking her head, getting caught up in the emotional aspect of it all over again. The hopelessness of its appearance.

“Any way they can.” 

Now he has JJ’s attention, because she hears the shift as soon as it forms on his tongue. The air heavier, hazy like an old memory.

“Sometimes they leave home as soon as they graduate just to escape the situation, and spend their whole adult lives trying to eradicate it. By burying themselves in, say… Law School.” JJ’s stare goes vacant, and Hotch at least has the decency to look away from her as he continues. He has a point to make. “So they can put away people like their abuser. But when that’s not enough, prosecuting after the fact, they start to focus on ways to catch the offenders in the act. Save victims in the real world. Use what they know from experience, but in the field, so no one else slips through the cracks.”

“H-Hotch, I--”

“If there was a file on me as detailed as these on my desk, and there probably is somewhere in this building,” Hotch barrels on, not letting JJ get a word in edgewise. “Then the first seventeen years of my homelife would look nearly identical to John David Bidwell's childhood.” He didn’t need to go into further detail, though bullet points from the case all bust flash between them in neon. 

Strict, domineering father figure. Church every Sunday, as a control and appearance factor. At home: a constant deluge of beratements, fear, shouting and fists. Something was always wrong, someone always deserved a punishment. No one was safe. They did what they could, followed the rules to a tee, but that wasn't always enough.

They survived, because that's all that they could do.

And he had.

“If you really require a physical, living exception to the rule, I’d like to hope we know each other well enough that you would consider myself that exception.” It’s the closest he’s ever come to admitting what happened in his father’s household, and Hotch knows that’s as far as he will let it go. No elaboration needed. “Even if I can be ‘a bit of a bully’.” 

Stunned and shocked, the last part probably wasn’t needed. But, again, Hotch has a point he’s trying to get across -- and he wants it to make an impact.

“Hotch, I’m so sorry,” JJ croaks out, and he still can’t look right at her.

“Don’t be, you didn’t know,” he soothes her, swallowing a little hard. “No one on the team does, not even Dave.”

“--No one?”

“The only one who probably did was Gideon, but not because I told him. He was just that good of a profiler. You will be, too, one day -- I see that level of potential in you. Profilers are always learning, evolving, developing their skills.” Hotch finally turns his head, and catches sight of JJ with her eyes bright and her nose red. Her tell-tale physical signs that she’s been holding back tears. “Let this be one of those moments.” 

She nods, wipes at her eyes discreetly, and collects herself with more strength than Hotch or anyone else ever gives her credit for.

“Was he ever convicted? Your father?”

“No,” Hotch says, level. “He died of colon cancer ten years ago. He never even met Jack. Neither did my mother, though I am sorry for that.” 

Silence stretches in the wake of Hotch’s reveal, and JJ only breaks it when she can’t seem to keep it back any more.

“You’re… you’re not really a bully. You know.”

“Yes, I am,” Hotch tells her, the smallest traces of a smile smoothing the sharp edges of his face. “But only when I choose to be. When it matters.” 

JJ huffs out a watery laugh, scoots to the edge of her seat as if to stand, but hesitates once more.

“You didn’t have to tell me. But thank you. I’m… I’m glad you felt that you could.” 

The sentiment warms the inside of Hotch’s chest, ice cold from the memories he never dredged up if he could afford it. It helps ease them back under the floorboards of his mind, where they belong.

“Thank you for listening.” 

She was right. He didn’t confide in anyone, and he doesn’t know if this will help him -- more than likely, not -- but it helped JJ. And that’s what mattered. His team. His family. Growing, learning, becoming all the better for it. The best people he had ever known. 

The family he had chosen for himself.

“Goodnight, Hotch.”

“Night, JJ.”

-end scene-

[alolowrites]

Everyone’s Got a Sweet Tooth!

Summary: Bakugou hates sweets. You don’t think this is true and begin a mission to discover his favorite candy. After all, you are the brilliant Candy Master who won’t stop until Bakugou’s sweet tooth is satisfied.

Author’s Note: Hello everyone! I’m so glad I was finally able to write a full fic for Bakugou; it’s been so long. Originally, this was supposed to be for the bingo event, but had trouble fleshing out the story’s direction. I really wanted to write this story since the plot was hilarious to me, idk why. 

Please enjoy!

10.30.21 UPDATE: HI!!!!! I went back and edited the heck out of this baby since it’s my favorite Bakugou story I’ve written. I hope it is now decent lmao. Happy Halloween!! 

Word Count: 2.4K+

“Katsuki, what is the meaning of all this?!”

“The hell are you talkin’ bout?”

“This!” 

You marched with purpose and plopped down on the couch where he sat. Bakugou remained unfazed, clicking on the remote control. He mindlessly surfed through the channels with an attention span of an HR recruiter combing through a mountain pile of resumes. Stupid sitcoms, fake ass “reality” tv shows, QVC advertising their products like it's Black Friday all day, every day. Bakugou frowned—why does he pay so much for these useless channels? 

His eyes teared away from the screen as the phone waved frantically on his left. 

You huffed. “According to Maximus Heroes, you—and I quote—‘bleeping hate sweets!’”

Bakugou clicked his tongue. “Damn idiots censored my words.”

“That’s not the point!”

“Then what is?”

“That you hate sweets!” 

You viciously smacked a pillow at him, ignoring his yells. Bakugou snatched the weapon with a growl. For a soft pillow, it felt like a firm foam roller. You stood up and paced around, arms flailing in the air. 

“How can my boyfriend say such a thing?!” You pointed at your signature black top hat. “Do you know who I am? I’m the lovable Candy Master, CEO of the Candy Basket Factory!” 

Bakugou shrugged. “So?”

“So, you can’t say you hate sweets!” You gripped your chest, sniffling a bit. “I feel as though I’ve been betrayed.”

“Would you sit your ass down?” 

Bakugou tossed the pillow at you and crossed his arm; he was too tired to deal with this nonsense. Somehow the QVC channel looked more appealing now. You begrudgingly plopped on the couch, a small pout growing on your face. Bakugou snuck a glance and sighed, tossing the remote aside. 

“Are you seriously so upset about this?” Instant regret flooded through his mind as he remembered that ridiculous day. “It was a freakin’ answer to a stupid question in a stupid celebrity article.” 

“…maybe…”

Bakugou rolled his eyes. You took off your signature hat and examined it; the hat was firm yet soft and had three peppermint candies artistically attached like a beautiful brooch. You moped silently for an eternity until an exciting idea rushed into your mind. Bakugou jumped as you squealed, his mouth ready for snarl, but you beat him to the punch. 

“I got it!” Two hands eagerly cupped his sharp cheeks, your whimsical eyes meeting his feral ones. They did nothing to damper your beaming smile. “You don’t hate sweets; you just haven’t found your favorite candy!”

Bakugou grabbed your wrist yet didn’t pull them away. Another giggle rang throughout the living room as you shot up from the sofa. A specific look crossed your face—one that both irked and frightened Bakugou to no end; he was through dealing with your shenanigans. 

“Whatever you’re thinkin’ about, the answer is no!”

“Too late! The mind is churning,” you piped, taking a cheerful step toward the doorway. Spinning on your heel, you gave a hat tip to Bakugou and declared, “I won’t rest until that sweet tooth of yours is satisfied!” 

Yup, it was too late. Bakugou had no choice but to go along with this dumb idea. Closing his eyes, he slammed a pillow over his face and screamed.

༛༛ ༛ ༛༺༻༛ ༛ ༛༛

Ground Zero’s hero agency was buzzing with life. Phones rang off the hook, yet all were answered to avoid the voicemail machine. Interns carried endless stacks of papers, their dying arms begging for relief and fingers stinging from brutal paper cuts. The afternoon shift sidekicks clocked in their arrival while the morning ones yawned out the door.

Everything ran like a well-oiled machine, just how Bakugou liked it. He took great pride in this, hiring only the best and brightest. However, none of them held a candle against him—the number two pro hero. Unfortunately, being a prominent hero brought lots of reports he needed to sign.

And he was not excited about this.

“Um, sir?”

“Damnit, Small Head,” Bakugou growled, halting his pen’s movement. Fiery eyes glared at the man peeking around the ajar door. “If you bring me another paper to sign, I will stab this pen in your damn eye!”

“I-I assure you that I bring no reports, sir!” Kioshi, Bakugou’s personal assistant, waddled inside the office, fixing the tie that was strangling his neck. He slid a peculiar package toward his boss and bowed his head. “You have a special delivery from the Candy Master.”  

Bakugou scrunched his eyebrows. On his desk was a white box with an orange ribbon wrapped neatly in the upper left corner. A tiny card sat underneath it, and with closer inspection, had his first name written across in gold letters. Bakugou shooed Kioshi away, waiting to hear the door close to ensure absolute privacy.

At first, Bakugou had a mini stare-down with the gift. When it didn’t burst into flames, he sucked his breath and snatched the card. Bakugou turned it around to read the following message:

Everyone knows you got a sour attitude, but only I get to see that sweet side of yours. Figured these treats might do the trick. I made them just for you!

Enjoy,

C.M

P.S. These are an ~exclusive~ batch from my top-secret collection! So hush-hush!

Bakugou snorted at your writing, tossing the card aside and opening the box. His eyes narrowed at the vibrant gumdrops nestled above the black tissue paper. White sugar lightly coated the green and orange candies, each twinkling under the natural light that shined through his large window. A smirk curled on his lips; the whole package reflected his hero costume.

“Let’s see how good these are.”

Bakugou ate the green gumdrop. It was chewy and sour, the lime flavor making him twitch a bit. The sweetness kicked in ten seconds later. Bakugou tried the orange gumdrop next, and the acid was strong too but enjoyable. He soon devoured the entire box in one sitting.

Once that was done, he marched out of the office to start his daily patrol. It didn’t take long for a stupid thug to cross his path. Bakugou slammed him against the concrete wall, hauling him up with just one hand. The man trembled in fear but stopped squirming and cocked his head to the side, dumbfounded. 

Bakugou growled. “What the hell are you looking at?”

“Your tongue...it got weird colors, man.”

“Eh? The fuck are you talking ‘bout?” 

Bakugou peeked at his reflection on the store’s window. He recoiled when he saw the horrible swirls of green and orange covering his tongue. A vicious scowl crossed Bakugou’s face, his iron grip tightening around the thug’s collar. The guy’s high-pitched yelps fell on deaf ears. 

“Fuckin’ gumdrops!”

They were crossed off the list.

༛༛ ༛ ༛༺༻༛ ༛ ༛༛

“I don’t want it.”

“But, sir, the gift—”

“I know who it’s from, and I’m telling you no.”

“Sir,” Kioshi gripped the massive, cherry red treat in his hand. A black ribbon with long strings almost reached the floor. The assistant sighed. “It’s just a lollipop.”

“Do I look like a fuckin’ baby to ya?” Bakugou crossed his arms, refusing to budge on his childish decision. The irony made Kioshi roll his eyes mentally. “Give it away or something. Now get out.”

“Yes, sir…”

Lollipops were crossed off the list.

༛༛ ༛ ༛༺༻༛ ༛ ༛༛

Another day, another gift Bakugou received from you.

They came sporadically and kept the hero on his toes. He never understood why you sent the gifts directly to his office; you both lived in the same apartment for crying out loud! Worst of all, he could never get a single hint on what candy he would receive next. Every time he asked—or more accurately, demanded—you shot him a coy smile and purred, “Ah, ah, ah! It’s a surprise!”

Bakugou wanted to rip his eyeballs out.

However, he reluctantly played along with your stupid game. Whenever Kioshi entered his office, Bakugou masked his slight interest with the usual scowl. If the assistant didn’t bring candy, then Bakugou blamed him for interrupting his private time. The anger was worse if Kioshi brought more reports for him to sign.

Kioshi was thankful for the days when a new candy gift arrived.

Unfortunately, the last three gifts were complete failures. The first was the strawberry licorice, which dangled in Bakugou’s hand. He took a few bites and complained that he was eating a rubber wheel. Next was a bag of colorful gummy worms. Bakugou shoved a couple in his mouth and swore he felt one of them move on its own. Finally, there was the lemon green jawbreaker; it was the size of a baseball. One look and Bakugou shouted over the phone: “You tryna give me dentures?!”

All three candies were crossed off the list. Still, you didn’t give up and sent another gift to Bakugou. He read the simple message on the card:

Chew and blow to your heart’s content, babe!

Love,

C.M

P.S. I promise this won’t change the color on your tongue, haha!

Bakugou opened the sleek, rectangular box and found a bubble gum packet inside; there were three thin pieces. He slipped one in his mouth, surprisingly pleased with the bold raspberry flavor hitting his taste buds. Bakugou skimmed the card again and did as instructed—he chewed.

Typically, an ordinary bubble gum would lose its flavor after five minutes. But the flavor in your gum only got juicier; it encouraged Bakugou to continue chewing. He then blew a tiny bubble before popping it in his mouth. Not bad, he thought as another bubble expanded in front of him. His chews became more aggressive, and the bubbles more prominent than the previous ones. Stupidly, he puffed out a massive bubble, and it grew…

…and grew…and grew until there was a loud pop.

Bakugou’s roars shook the entire building, spilling cold tea all over Kioshi’s shirt. 

Bubble gum was crossed off the list.

༛༛ ༛ ༛༺༻༛ ༛ ༛༛

Everything was going well down at the Candy Basket Factory. People lined up outside for the magical tours that ran every hour. Kids bounced off the walls as if they were on a sugar rush while their parents felt a migraine pounding on their heads. Inside the factory, the ceilings were high, and the walls were vibrant like the sun. Laughter rang from every corner as employees chit-chatted about their daily lives; they were relaxed yet efficiently worked to the same drumbeat.

A soft smile crept on your face. You were glad everyone was happy; it was the driving force behind your factory’s joyful spirit. Eventually, that spirit would leave these doors and touch billions of people’s hearts with your precious candies.

Just as you closed your eyes, someone barged into your office and barked your name. You chuckled, spinning the leather chair around to meet a furious Bakugou. His nostrils flared like a bull, and his menacing eyes looked ready to kill. However, the gum’s blobs stuck on his porcupine blonde hair squashed the pro hero’s intimidating aura.

“You—”

“—I’m so sorry, boss!” Nozomi panted into the room, hands on her knees as she caught her breath. “I tried stopping him, but he wouldn’t listen.”

“It’s quite alright, Zomi!” You chirped without breaking Bakugou’s intense eye contact. “I can handle him. Please let everyone know I’ll be busy with an important meeting.”

Nozomi bowed and closed the door behind her. Bakugou wasted no time complaining, his hands slamming on your desk. 

“Quit sending me your cavity-infested garbage! I’ve had it with this fuckin’ game.”

“Oh, come on, babe!” You rolled forward and rested your chin on your gloved hand palm. “Can’t I just send my dashing boyfriend some sweet gifts? Get it!” You jokingly slapped his forearm. “Because candies are sweet? Man, I crack myself up at times…”

“You’re insufferable.”  

You winked at him. “But that’s what you love about me!”

Bakugou gritted his teeth and looked away. A light blush tainted his cheeks; he hated how right you were. You walked around the desk and stood beside him, wiping off the fairy sugar dust on his shirt. He probably barged through the sample stand near the entrance, scaring off the poor intern. 

“Alright, alright.” You gave a gentle pat. “Sorry for going a little overboard with the gifts. I was just excited about finding your favorite candy! I don’t want you hating them.”

Bakugou’s anger subsided. “Why is this so damn important to you?”

“Because I love spreading endless joy through sweets.” 

The answer was simple and innocent. Bakugou blinked and was taken aback by the gentleness in your eyes. 

“Candy makes everyone happy,” you chirped. “Knowing someone’s favorite candy helps me bring their smile back whenever they’re upset or lost. Can’t have the world be all mopey now, can we?”

Your fingers hovered above Bakugou’s head. The gum moved under your command and floated in the air. You flicked it into the trash bin with ease, and Bakugou murmured a quick ‘thanks’ under his breath. After ruffling his hair, you suddenly remembered something sitting on your shelf. Bakugou stared at the small pyramid of chocolate truffles coming toward him.

“I made these babies a few minutes ago,” you said, eying the plate with a proud grin. “Normally, I do a taste test and then send the gift if it satisfies my expectations. But, I got a feeling you’ll love them.”  

Bakugou’s face was unreadable. You gave him a gentle nudge and encouraged him to take one. He sighed before picking a chocolate truffle; it was warm and soft, the cocoa powder dusting his fingertips. After suspiciously staring at the truffle, he ate the entire thing in one go. His eyes widened as all the flavors exploded at once. The crushed red pepper flakes, the hints of rich cinnamon and orange zest, and the bittersweet dark chocolate made from the finest quality found on Earth all danced perfectly together with every bite. 

“So…” You placed the plate on the desk, watching Bakugou swallow the truffle down. “What do you think? Give me your honest opinion! Don’t sugarcoat it, haha! I’m on fire today!”

Bakugou turned away. “I’m leaving.”

“No, wait!” You hugged his bicep with a pout. “I’m sorry, I’ll stop. Just tell me if you liked the chocolate truffles.”  

“They’re good.”

Your smile grew. “Good enough to be your favorite?”

“Sure,” he smirked, shoving another truffle into his mouth. You cheered on the spot after weeks of constant failures. Of course, some of the complaints were nonsense which didn’t surprise you. Bakugou was a picky bastard; the lollipop fiasco served as a great example. You were glad he thoroughly enjoyed the chocolate truffles.

Before you walked away, Bakugou pulled you close to him and crushed his lips on yours. He caught you off guard, but the surprise was certainly welcomed. You soon melted into the kiss after tasting the rich dark chocolate and spices on his lips. Bakugou’s arms snaked around your waist as your hands gripped his broad shoulders.

“You know,” Bakugou’s hot breath tickled your right ear, sending shivers down your spine. “I think I got a new favorite candy.”

“Is that so?” You hummed, a coy smile plastered on your face. 

“Let’s hope it satisfies your sweet tooth then, Ground Zero.”

“Oh, it will.”

After all, you were the one and only Candy Master.

As always, thanks for reading!

10.18.20 UPDATE: Story’s sequel, Gold Coins and a Gold Heart now uploaded. 

[feeling-weirdy]

This is very random but for the drabbles Vision and Wanda shopping and Vision getting scared/jumpscared by halloween props/ anamatronics?

Eyeing the building with disdain, Vision hesitated.  How desperate were they exactly to buy these Halloween decorations anyway?  Halloween had easily become one of the days of the year he least looked forward to every year.  He kept his mouth shut, however, learning early on that Wanda planned the event months ahead of time.  New matching costumes for each of them, handpicked with love and care as she adorned every inch of their house with spider webs, pumpkins, and whatever else she was able to get her hands on.  There was nary a space left untouched by her decorating prowess.  

And every year, on cue, the strange pop-up store would only send her into overdrive.  New decorations were always necessary as the ones from the years prior would mysteriously disappear without fail.

Despite how excited Wanda got for the holiday and her decorations, Vision never had quite figured how to raise his holiday cheer.  Instead, he tried to find solace in the excitement his wife and two boys shared.  The elation was scarce this day in particular as he faced down his annual foe.

“Honey, don’t you think we have enough decorations?”  Vision asked, shoving his hands in his pockets as he looked down at his sweet wife.  He mentally begged her to allow him to be free from this particular shopping trip.  There had to be something else he could be doing...anything he could do to help that didn’t involve him crossing that threshold.

“Heavens no!  It’s important to stock up on the essentials every year so we can stay on top of things.”  She laughed, sliding her hand into his with a happy grin.  “Besides, you looked in the attic yourself.”

He took a shaky breath, trying to keep himself steady as the automatic door slowly slid open.  The family of four entered the store, Tommy and Billy, who had been unusually quiet, immediately ran off to the other side of the store, giggling.  Clearly, they were up to something, but with those things so close it was hard to keep focused.

“Yes, but surely they have to be somewhere...I distinctly remember us purchasing all sorts of decorations last year,”  Vision continued, focusing on the conversation with his wife to keep himself thoroughly distracted.

“Well, you know how these things go.”  Wanda pulled a pirate costume off the wall, looking over it thoughtfully with a hum.  After a moment of silence, Wanda looked back toward him with an amused expression.  “Vis...those animatronics still don’t freak you out, do they?  I thought we got over that.”

“I did, I did...I just-”  He stopped himself, warily checking in the direction the machines stood, sitting in silence as they waited for the next victim to walk across the small square plastered in front of them.  "They're just so lifelike..."

Wanda chuckled softly.  "Vis, sweetheart, you're a-"

"I know, I know...don't say it. They just give me the willies."  He shuddered, not entirely sure himself why the machines bothered him so much.  They were just like any other machine...only following their programming.  Whoever designed that program ought to be happy that he had no idea who they were or they would really be in for it.

No sane person would design a program solely for scaring those around them.

"Well, we will make sure to stay far away from them, and then you'll have nothing to worry about, okay?"  Wanda patted his arm, trying to assure him the best that she could while still keeping her attention on her shopping.  Her weak attempts to cheer him up did nothing to quell the anguish that steadily crept up his chest.

“Yes, dear,” Vision responded quietly, following closely along behind her as she made her way around the store.  Flickering candelabras, skeletons, tombstones, Wanda had really gone all out with her shopping this year.  Focusing on how happy the decorations made her happy, Vision all but forgot about his fear by the time they reached the other end of the store.  The machines were just that.  No different than the toaster and microwave that sat idly in their kitchen. 

He felt himself relax as he talked himself down.  They were just machines.  They weren’t going to scare him as long as he stayed out of their little death box.  They weren’t-

A chill ran up his exterior as a small, skeletal hand crept along his shoulder.

“We found yooou...”  A small, yet eerily creepy voice sounded from behind him.  A loud cackle ripped through the air, sending a wave of panic through his body as he turned to face the machine head-on.  He wasn’t going to allow these things to torment him any longer.  He was a sythezoid, far capable of programs this bloody thing could ever dream of and it was time to show it who was boss.

“Wanda, stand behind me!”  Vision ordered, allowing a strong beam of energy to flow through the Mind Stone.  The large, skeletal figure burned at the contact, a giant hole forming right in its center. 

He could hear a quick shriek come from each of the boys as they ducked out of the way, covering their ears to protect themselves from the sound. 

“Dad!  Dad!  It’s just us!”  Tommy shouted, waving from behind the monstrosity.  Noticing the small hand shoot out from behind it, Vision stopped the beam with a ragged breath. 

Wanda sighed, looking at the carnage that sat in front of her. 

“Well great, now we have to pay for it.  Honestly Vision...”  Wanda gave another heavy sigh causing Vision to grimace.  Perhaps that was a bit much.  Turning her attention to Tommy and Billy, she placed her hands on her hips.  “Boys, apologize to your father.”

“Sorry, dad...”  Billy said, his voice dragging.

“Yeah, sorry dad,”  Tommy added, smiling sweetly.

Vision nodded, taking a deep breath.  “It’s quite alright...I think...I’m alright now, but can we please get out of here.”

Check out my other drabbles here or feel free to request some!

[teenage-mutant-ninja-freak]

Heart Shaped Bed

Mob Boss! Mikey x fem reader

Summery: It’s Halloween and you’re just looking for some fun of the dangerous variety. Enter: Michelangelo. A psychotic mob boss from hell who is in love with your best friend. Can you win him over and at what cost?

Warnings: NSFW, violence, alcohol mentions, car accident

((A/N: I have trouble writing crazy character despite being labelled as crazy myself, Mikey is tricky to write for in this AU so just bear with me))

October 31st, the night where all the ghouls and ghosts come out to play and superstition is at it’s highest since it’s rumoured that the veil between our world and the next is at it’s thinnest. You pull your skirt down your leg a little and take another sip of your free beer, one of the only perks of having a best friend who works at a bar. Paddy’s is always packed at this time of year, everyone is in costumes and drunk out of their minds; you are no different. You’re dressed as a sexy school girl because originality was never your forte and you wanted to show off your boobs a little, so what? You have the outfit down, complete even with bows on the thigh high socks and you look damn good.

It’s too loud to have a decent conversation with “Monster mash” blaring over the small speakers on the bar so you sit and give Sophie (Peach, as you know her) a forlorn look as if to say “more beer, please” and she complies. Peach looks radiant as she pulls the tap to refill your glass. Her light peach hair trailing down over her shoulders and her uniform or black slacks and a white t shirt with dark green hem hugging all of her curves. She was difficult to compete with but she was still so modest and complimentary of you it was hard to hold it against her. You knew half the regulars only came her to watch her, it didn’t stop you going after them though.

Looking around the room you watch and drunk idiots spill their drinks and desperately try to find someone to take home despite looking a mess, covered in fake blood or with vampire fangs. It was really something to watch. A guy in a ladybug costume fawns over a women dressed as Moticia Adams only to get the cold shoulder. You chuckle to yourself. Sat in the far corner of the room, at their usual table, sat the Turtle boys, a notorious gang in upside New York. They weren’t in costume, too good for it you assumed, and they didn’t look happy. You were aware, through Peach, that they made unsavoury deals in the back office of the bar and maybe tonight something went awry.

“Hey, babes!” you call over to Peach who is passing the incredible hulk a bud light “What happened over there?” you say gesturing subtly to the four well suited turtles.

“Not sure, I heard some yelling from the back room and then they came out. Something to do with that serial killer I think” She replies.

So a serial killing is hurting business. Huh. That explains their looking like someone died, someone has... You couldn’t keep your eyes from flitting towards them, sitting there so stoic and commanding while nursing a few now almost gone whiskys.

“Hey” you call over again. Peach turns and gives you a smile to let you know she’s listening “Isn’t that one the guy who-”

“- who choked out Steve for grabbing my ass? Yeah, that’s the one” she finishes your sentence for you.

You smile to yourself, Steve definitely deserved it. Pervert. You knew the turtle’s name but, like all residents of the bar, were reluctant to use it lest they hear you. But, tonight was a night to be brave and take chances, and you’d always wanted to bed one of them. Think of the status that gives you, sleeping with one of the most violent, deplorable men in the state. You know Mikey has a thing for Peach, on other nights his eyes don’t leave her, not that she notices; a good girl like her doesn’t have time for those “downworlders” as she calls them.

“Barkeep! I’ll take 4 martinis if you don’t mind. It’s time to take my shot” you announce to Peach who gives you a weary smile as she makes your drinks and places them on a tray in front of you.

You adjust your green and navy blue pleated skirt, hiking it further up so that the bottom of your ass cheeks would be on view and head over to the turtles, tray in hand.

You set down the drinks in front of them and say, with a smile:

“We have a special offer on tonight, boys. Buy four drinks and get me for free”

They stare at you completely unamused, but their looks weren’t going to discourage you now.

“Oh come on” you begin “That line would have killed two tables over”

Michelangelo takes a finger and runs it around the rim of his glass a few times before tipping it over, the contents of the glass spilling all over the table and onto your skirt. You jump back.

“Hey, what the fuck!” you cry out

“Act like a slut, get treated like a slut” he states.

With your tail between your legs, you huff and walk away. They didn’t have to be such assholes about it, and it kind of stung that you basically offered up your pussy on a plate and they sneered at you.

Back at the bar Peach raises her eyebrows as you take a few napkins and try and dry off your skirt.

“So, how’d it go?” she inquires

“About as well as you can expect from four mutant, snobby, rich dickheads”you reply. Peach leans over the bar and gives you a small hug and kiss on the cheek as her condolences.

Suddenly you feel eyes on you and turn around to see Michelangelo staring at you, mouth slightly agape and a strange look in his eyes. You would have called it regret, if you thought he was capable of feeling that. You ignore it and turn back to your drink.

You sense a presence behind you and turn once more to find him standing next to you looking awfully sheepish.

“Look” he begins “I’m...I’m sorry about that. I didn’t know you were a friend of- is there some way I can make it up to you? Is what I’m trying to say”

“Do you have a fresh size 3 shirt in that booth with you?” your snarky side is coming out

He laughs it off 

“No, but can I buy you a drink or” He looks you up and down “Interest you in any extra curricular activities?” His smile is so bright and charming, you feel yourself almost forgiving him for what had just occurred. And he was devilishly good looking, which helped a lot.

You trace your fingers lightly up his arm until they reach his shoulder.

“You wanna get out of here?”

He smirks, looks down and then back up at you

“Sure”

_____

Outside of the bar is freezing, especially in the tiny outfit you’re wearing and you shiver in the cold October air. Mikey shrugs off his blazer and puts it over your shoulders but you get the impression he’s doing this out of obligation rather than affection. It’s something about his movements, they feel more...Awkward and unsteady than fluid and confident. You know this isn’t his first time taking a girl home from Paddy’s, so you don’t fully understand what his deal it.

You arrive at his car, and despite knowing nothing about vehicles you can recognise that he drives a black Bentley and it must have cost him a fortune, not that he didn’t have the money. He could buy it 100 times over and still have more cash than half the people in New York.

He opens the passenger side door for you and you get in.

“So, my place or yours?” you ask

“Motel” he says plainly.

Curiouser and curiouser... You try and make a list of everything you know about him. He won’t take you home, he’s hot then cold and he has a thing for Peach. It clicks in your head. He’s using you to get closer to her. You almost smile, this was such a typical thing to happen to you, of course he only wants you for your relationship to her. It doesn’t matter either way, you’ll warm him up for her.

He drives fast and it’s not long before your on a highway and definitely breaking the speed limit.

You had been making casual conversation, the drive was always the worst part of a hook up, now you have to actually talk to them instead of make out. 

“I feel like we should have taken an uber” you say

He doesn’t turn to look at you or speak

“Because that way I could be touching you right now” You place a hand on his thigh and he still gives you no response. “Anndd you’re not listening. Great.”

He takes his eyes off the road and turns to you

“You’re the oldest in your family, you work as a manager in a clothing store but can’t fucking stand it there and you feel like we should have gotten an uber so you could be touching me right now. Did I get that right?”

You stare back at him slightly aghast and he continues to watch you. Suddenly you realise he hasn’t looked at the road this entire time and the car in front of you is slowing down

“Watch out!” you scream and the car swerves before he gains control again and brakes, the car rocking side to side a little from the sudden movements. You’re breathless and you turn to look at Mikey who simply bursts out laughing while he continues to drive, his eyes wide as full moons. He’s sick you think to yourself. Lucky you like that in a man, and there’s nothing like a near death experience to get the blood pumping.

You continue the car ride for a while in silence apart from the odd laugh from him who still seems amused that you nearly crashed.

He pulls off the side of the road into some shitty looking motel. A huge florescent sign that reads “Blue Moon Motel” sparks a little which doesn’t offer you any comfort. This place was a dump, but if it had a bed it would do.

________

Inside the room you shake off the blazer he gave you onto the chair in the corner of the room, by the end of the bed. The interior was cute, all shades of blue and white and the bed sheets has little lace style trimmings.which was delicate and sweet.

You fling yourself onto the bed, kicking off your shoes and pull out your phone, you decide you need music for this momentous occasion. You settle on “Heart Shaped Bed” by Nicole Dollanganger and press play. It’s creepy enough to be fitting for Halloween but slow enough to be romantic. The opening notes of the piano begin to stream from your phone which you place on the nightstand.

*lay me down, on a heart shaped bed Pretend it’s out wedding, pretend we just met*

“So” you spread your legs a little and look at Mikey “How do you want me?”

He gives you a wicked smile and then he’s upon you, biting and sucking at the delicate flesh of your neck with vigour. Clearly he couldn’t wait any longer you thought to yourself.

*Pretend we're in one of those movies They rent in the back of every seedy place We pass on the interstate*

You angle your head to kiss his mouth but he pulls away, making it clear that this is not a romantic occasion, this is just fucking and he doesn’t want you in that way. It doesn’t bother you, it just heightens the whole “big bad mob boss” fantasy although you’d be lying if you said you weren’t at least a little disappointed by it.

he tears your blouse open revealing your chest and begins his work sucking and biting at your nipples and the tender skin of your breasts, you look down and can already see pinky purple bruises forming, a treasure map of where his mouth had been.

You moan a little at his touch but he continues his work down your stomach and towards your most sensitive area. Lifting up your skirt he places a kiss on you clothes mound before peeling off your underwear. You raise your hips slightly to help his get them off with ease and then he returns back down, licking between your folds until his tongue passes over your clit and causes you to moan hard.

*Just hold me through these lonely nights We'll have a blue wedding tonight*

“You want this?” he says from between your thighs, you can feel his hot breath against your skin, a sensation that is more than pleasant. 

“Yes, god yes” you squirm

“No.You wanna act like a slut, you get fucked like a slut” he returns.

Before you have time to respond her grabs you by the ankle and flips you over onto your stomach before pulling your hips up so that you’re on your knees with your shoulders and face still down on the bed. You hear him undo his flies and think for a moment as he lines up with your entrance

“wait, don’t we need protectio-” before you can finish he’s inside you and thrusting hard and deep, he gives you no time to adjust to his size and he is very sizeable... You cry out in the mixture of pain and pleasure that he’s giving you. As well as the music, the room fills with the obscene sounds of his flesh pounding against yours and the wet noises your pussy makes as he pushes in and out of you.

“you think sluts use protection?” he mocks

He feels to good for you to want him to pull out now, so you go with it, but raise yourself onto your elbows. His hands are on your hips but he trails one down your back to grab at your ponytail and pull your head back.

*So get the room with the heart shaped bed Make something gross feel romantic*

Your walls tighten around him and that elicits a grunt from him as he begins to pound harder into you, smacking your ass hard as he does. He pulls out and flips you over back onto your back and holds your legs up to your chin, his strong arm keeps them in place as he realigns himself with your entrance and pushes back in. This new position allows him to get deeper which you think is what he was hoping for.

*Make me so no one will ever want me again*

Now he has a full view of your face, eyes squeezed closed and face contorted in pleasure

“Open your eyes” he demands “Look at me when I’m fucking you”

He’s still fully clothed which you’re a little unhappy about, so you open your eyes and begin to undo his shirt. Your fingers tremble slightly partially from the force at which he’s fucking you, partially do to the alcohol you had that night.

*'Cause when I sleep with faith, I only Find a corpse in my arms on awakening*

You slide his shirt over his shoulders and throw it across the room, raising your head a little you bite into his now exposed shoulder to stifle your moans. You don’t understand how he can bring you so close to the brink this soon, but his pace is unyielding and unwavering. He fucks you like he’s punishing you.

He grabs you by the chin and squeezes 

“Open your mouth!”

you do as you’re told and he purses his lips, pauses and then spits down your throat, pushing at your chin to close your mouth and encouraging you to swallow. He’s disgusting but being treated this way only turns you on more, much to your shame, you can feel your cheeks flush with blood as he smiles down at you one he hears that familiar *gulp* sound.

*Just hold me through these lonely nights We'll have a blue wedding tonight*

He pulls out once more and gets of the bed which confuses you for a second, until he pulls you up by the hair and leads you to the wall. He spins you around and so you’re facing it and pushes your shoulders forwards and pulls your hips back so he has easier access to your pussy. He plunges his cock back inside of you and you rest your face against the wall as you take him in all the way. You think you might start seeing stars if he continues like this. Never mind him being a probable killer, they should lock him up for murdering your pussy.

One of his hands rakes through your hair and pulls back your head while the other reaches around to your face and pinches your nose shut while covering your mouth. You can’t breath at all and begin to panic slightly but also whine into his hand because of how good he feels inside you.

you feel that tightness in the pit of your stomach and know that you’re close, you try and moan into his hand, shaking your head a little from side to side to try and get him off your face but it’t to no avail. So you use your hands but he simply lets go of your hair and pins your arms behind your back. You still can’t breath and now you’re so close to cumming and black dots and filtering in and out of your vision, you think you might be close to passing out.

Finally that knot in your stomach releases and your orgasm washing over you, you practically scream into his hand before he lets go and you fall to the floor, gasping for air.

*Just hold me through these lonely nights We'll have a blue wedding tonight*

He hasn’t cum yet so he stands over you, stroking his dick, smirking at what he did to you. If it weren’t for the afterglow of your orgasm, you’d be furious and give him a peace of your mind but you were still desperately trying to catch your breath.

Mikey throws his head back before cumming on you, some of the milky fluid getting in your hair and you lift your hand up to shield your face from it. Was this to insult you? Or was it still part of the whole ‘you’re a slut’ role play thing because you couldn’t tell anymore.

He tucks himself back into his finely tailored trousers and walks across the room to put on his shirt and gather his blazer from the chair you threw it on earlier. He pulls a small rectangular card out of his pocket and throws it on the nightstand next to your phone which started playing the next song a while ago.

“You can spend the night here, if you want. Anything you get from the minibar will be charged to my card so don’t worry about it” He looks down at you, still on the floor, bright red in the face and still breathing rather heavily “G’night, sweetheart” he winks at you before heading to the door and closing it behind him.

You pull yourself up to your feet and head over to your phone, opening it and typing out a message to Peach.

[Hey girly, you won’t believe the night I just fucking had] the text reads.

You flop down on the bed and await her response. A shower could wait for 5 minutes while she replies.

Fin

[seasonsofeverlark]

Worth the Wait

Author: @ameliaodair​ 

Prompt: Modern AU: Peeta and Katniss were on vacation in Argentina. Their days are up now and they’re on their way back to the US, however, a tornado alert gets them stranded in Lima, Peru. It’s Halloween and they were supposed to go trick or treating with Finnick and Annie and now here they are. What they didn’t know, is that in Peru they celebrate something called Día de la Canción Criolla, and they get swept into the joyous atmosphere. Dressing up as the locals, Everlark celebrate Halloween in a different way. [submitted by @evestedic​]

Rating: T

Author’s Note: I tweaked the prompt a little, hope you still like it :)  This is my first time writing for one of these, so I hope I did it right, and I hope I did the prompt justice.  Enjoy :)

I always want to say thanks to my wonderful beta @eiramrelyat​.

____________

Part 1

Katniss tosses her suitcase into the trunk of her car, irritated that her flight was cancelled.  She promised her sister she would be home tomorrow, in time to see her niece and nephews’ costumes for their very first Halloween.  If there was one thing in this world that Katniss despised, it was disappointing her baby sister.

“A tornado?  Seriously, a freaking tornado in Peru!  Just wonderful!”  She mumbles to herself, securing her seatbelt in place.  Before leaving the parking lot she reaches for her phone, browsing for somewhere to stay for a night or two; at least until she can catch the next flight home.  “Great, no service.”  Could anything else go wrong today?  She thinks to herself, tossing her phone back into her purse.

After being stuck in traffic for nearly an hour, only going at a speed of ten miles per hour, she tries to summon the courage to call her sister.  Gripping her hands firmly around the wheel and tapping her fingers nervously, she finally speaks to the car’s navigation system. “Call Prim.” 

“Calling Prim” The car responds.  Prim answers on the second ring, the excitement laced in her voice.

“Oh my gosh Katniss, I am so excited for you to see the twins’ costumes!  Are you in the states yet?  What time is your flight?  Do you have an estimated arrival time?  I can come and get you, or…or—" 

Katniss cringes at her sister’s questions before deciding to interrupt her. “Prim, I um…there was a problem- no, there is a problem.”  Katniss looks out the window, noticing how crowded the streets are, and the people seem to be dressed rather…vivaciously.  ‘I wonder what that’s all about?’ She thinks to herself.

“What’s wrong, are you okay?”

“Yeah, of course, I’m fine.  It’s just that…my flight…well, it got cancelled.  I mean…not ‘cancelled,’ cancelled, but more like…delayed.  There’s like…a severe tornado warning or something and they’ve grounded all flights until further notice.”

‘Are they…dancing?’ Katniss thinks to herself, seeing a woman be twirled around in an immaculate dress, the dress fanning out to reveal the beautiful colors.

“Seriously?  Katniiisss….”  Prim whines like a toddler, elongating Katniss’s name.

“Give me a break, Prim, you’ll take a zillion pictures, we’ll facetime, and you can dress them up when I get home.  They’re babies, they won’t even know the difference.”

“But I will.” Katniss despises it when Prim does this.  Looking out the window again, Katniss sees a group of small kids dressed up in costumes.

‘How adorable.’  She thinks to herself, smiling.

“Come on Prim…This is totally out of my control.  You know I would be there if I could.  Plus, don’t you have a wonderful husband to keep you busy?”

“Yeah…I do—” Katniss can hear the smile in Prim’s voice and that always makes her happy.  Even after being together for five years, Prim and Rory are still so sickening in love with each other; it would make Katniss sick if she didn’t love her sister so much. “But he’s not you.  No one can replace you, big sister.”

“I know Prim—” Katniss cranes her neck out the open window to see what all the commotion is about.  “Prim, I need to go…there is something…I don’t know what it is, but I’ll call you later.  Take lots of pictures for me!”  She says just before ending the call, not giving Prim the opportunity to make her feel any worse.  As if that is even possible.

A month ago the company Katniss works for asked someone to take an impromptu trip to Argentina, just before the holiday’s no less. To have the opportunity arise to be the mediator in an attempt to merge their company with one of the hotshot rivalry companies nearby, Katniss was the first to volunteer. 

With no life other than her sister and her sister’s family, Katniss had no obligations which left her the perfect candidate to leave the country.  Everyone else had families they didn’t want to leave, not knowing how long it would take to do the negotiations, they did not want to risk being in another country for the holidays.

It had been almost ten years since she lost the love of her life and she had accepted the fact that you only get one of those per lifetime.  She was secretly hoping for better luck in her next one.  He was beautiful and he was perfect, and she thought their love transcended time and space.  So what if they were only teenagers, and so what if she had not seen him in almost ten years.  It did not seem to matter how many times she tried to find love, it just never felt right. 

At seventeen years old, she and her sister became orphans.  Social Services came to her house early one morning and loaded her and Prim into a car, refusing to allow them to say goodbye to anyone.

Katniss no longer cries from the anguish of losing him, but the agony from missing him is still as fresh as that first night.  When she turned eighteen, she could have gone back to Panem, but she was too scared.  What if she went back and he had moved on?  Found someone else to love, got married, and…no, not knowing was better.  Rejection would be worse.   

Katniss hoped this trip would give her some insight as to what she might do with the rest of her life.  She cannot continue to lean on Prim forever; she has her own family now.

Katniss finally makes out what the commotion is ahead of her and a smile forms on her lips when she catches sight of the herds of people dancing in the street, causing her to remember their dance competition.  With him.  “Dammit Katniss, stop it.  Why do you keep thinking about him today?”  She scolds herself before spotting a hotel across the street.  She pulls into a parking space, crossing her fingers they have a vacancy, but by the looks of the massive hoards of people crowding the streets, she is not very confident.

She reaches up to her neck where her collar bone dips in, and with her thumb and forefinger, she pinches the pearl that hangs from her necklace.  From him.  It is the necklace he gave her on her sixteenth birthday.  ‘As long as you wear this necklace, you will know how much I love you. Always.’ 

‘Always.’  It was their ‘thing.’  Some people made promises of forever, but not them.  No, they promised for always.  She remembers his exact words, and for some reason, he feels closer than ever.  Close enough to touch.  Something in the back of her mind says.

Shaking her head to rid her mind of the penetrating thoughts, Katniss decides to make her way into the hotel to see if there is a room available before unloading her suitcase.  She locks the rental car and pushes her way through the crowded streets and into the entrance of The Holiday Inn.

Upon entering the building, Katniss is greeted by a beautiful woman with perfectly golden hair and a smile bright enough to light up the entire building.  She says something in Spanish that Katniss cannot understand, confusion written all over her face.

“Crap, I left my translator in my car” Katniss mumbles under her breath after reaching over and checking her purse.

Realizing that Katniss does not understand her, the woman speaks again, this time in English, laced with a heavy accent.  “Welcome to The Holiday Inn, can I interest you in a room?”

“Oh, you speak English!” Katniss says, more excited than she should be.

“Effie does not allow any of her employees to man the front desk unless they are fluent in English.  We get a lot of tourists.”  Madge says, explaining to her.

“Effie?”  Katniss asks, finding the name strange.  Like she’s one to talk.

“Effie is the boss.  This is her hotel.  She’s more of a designer if you ask me, but she’s famous for dressing people up for the Dia de la Canción Criolla!  She will be knocking on your door within the next hour!”

“Dia day what?”  Katniss asks, not hearing what Madge said due to how fast the words seemed to escape her mouth.

“Dia De La Canción Criolla.  It is a celebration of Criolla music.  There will be dancing, lots of dancing!  And music, yes…beautiful music!  You should come, it’s so much fun!”  Madge tells her with stars in her eyes, as if she is remembering a heartfelt moment.

“Oh, well…I’ll think about it.”  Katniss says timidly, giving Madge a smile.

Katniss is thrilled the hotel has a vacancy and hands Madge her credit card to confirm her room for the night.  While she waits for the transaction to process, she and Madge make small talk.  Madge returns her credit card and ID along with the plastic key card with the numbers ‘12-13’ displayed on the front, as well as a brochure.

“If you take these elevators up to the twelfth floor and make a quick right, room thirteen will be on your left.  Here is a list of amenities as well as numbers if there is anything you need.  And Katniss?”

“Yes?”

“You should come out for the night.  You only live once.”

With a polite smile, Katniss nods her head, turning her back to Madge to retrieve her suitcase from her car.

Nearly half an hour later, she returns to the hotel with her suitcase in tow and steps onto the elevator.  Just as the doors begin to close, she spots a man running, trying to catch the elevator before the doors close.  Katniss presses the button to keep the elevator open, but she is just a moment too late.  With a mind of its own, the doors seal themselves shut, rising her up to the twelfth floor.

‘Why do I keep thinking about him today?  Why does he feel so close to me?  I’m in Peru for Heavensbee’s sake!’  Katniss says smiling to herself, reaching for the pearl again.  ‘Heavensbee’s sake’ was one of ‘their’ inside jokes.  “Perhaps this ‘Dia De La…whatchamacallit is just the thing I need to distract my mind from him.  And who knows what’ll happen.”  She mumbles to herself, entering her hotel room. 

When the door slams shut behind her, she hears the distinct ‘ding’ from the elevator.  ‘Whoever that man was must have made it up.’  She thinks to herself, recalling the flash of blonde hair, with those bouncing blonde waves, just like him.  ‘No, stop it.  He is not here Katniss.  It has been ten years.  Ten years.  You should be over him by now.  So, just…Get over it.’

But she’s not, and she can’t.

Freshly out of the shower, with one towel wrapped around her body and another one on the top of her head, she reaches for the phone and proceeds to call the number Madge had given her.  She needs to do something to distract her mind.  She is going to celebrate Dia De La Canción Criolla like a Peruvian.

“Give me a break Dad.  It’s Halloween, it’s not even really a holiday.  The bakery will survive if I’m gone for another few days.”

“I know kid, I know.  I’m sorry…I just…you know…I miss you.  You’ve been gone for like—”

“Two weeks.  I have been gone for two weeks.  And I will be home in a few more days.  Control over the weather is not a power I have homed in on as of yet.”  Peeta’s dad chuckles at his words but is still disappointed.  “Listen dad, as soon as they open the flights back up, the airline promised to call me, and I’ll be on the first flight back to the states.  Now look, I’ve gotta go, the streets here are insane and I need to find a place to crash for the night.  I’ll let you know when to pick me up.”

“Okay, son.  Oh, and Peet?”

“Yeah, dad?”

“Try to have some fun.”

“Yeah, okay, I’ll try.  I’ve gotta go, bye dad.”  Peeta ended the call before giving his father any more fuel to drag the call on longer.

Peeta woke up that morning with an uncanny feeling that something was wrong.  When he got to school that morning and she wasn’t there, that feeling in his stomach intensified.  They talked to each other every day before and after school.  She was his best friend, and he was hers.  They told each other everything, so when he still had not heard from her by dinner that night, he knew deep in his gut something was wrong.  Really wrong.

The next day, Magnolia, one of her sister’s friends, came to him asking if he had heard anything from either of the girls.  For two days now, both girls have been missing from school.  Magnolia did not know it, but she had just confirmed the gut-wrenching fear in the pit of his stomach. 

For days, Peeta hounded the adults to no avail, questioning anyone he could as to her whereabouts.  She would never just up and leave without telling him, at least not without saying goodbye.

After two weeks, Peeta’s father realized that Peeta needed answers, that he would not be able to rest until he knew what happened to her, so using his connections he was able to obtain some information.  Peeta cried in his father’s arms as he told him what happened.  Social services came that morning, came before the sun was even up, and basically kidnapped the girls.  Both of their parents died in a car accident and at sixteen and a half years old, she took over the role of mom and dad to her little sister.  Apparently, someone placed an anonymous call, claiming to be “worried,” about the girls, hence social service ripping them from their lives.

For years, Peeta tried to find her.  But when his father lost his job, they had to relocate to another state.  Peeta did not want to leave if by some chance she came back looking for him, but he was only a kid himself, so he didn’t have a choice. 

At one point, he hired a private investigator, but so far; nothing has come up.  All his friends and family keep insisting he “move on,”  But he just couldn’t, he can’t.  “You don’t just move on from your soulmate, from your one true love” he told them all.  There is no one else, only her.  If I am not with her, then I will just be alone.  One day, he will find her, he is certain of it. 

“I know I’m probably asking the impossible, but would you happen to have a room for one?”  Peeta asks once he reaches the desk, giving the beautiful girl his most charming smile.

“Oh, don’t let the streets fool you, sir.  It’s Día De La Canción Criolla, the Peruvian festival of Music.  And to answer your question, yes, in fact we do.”  The receptionist, Madge, proceeded to tell him with her heavy accent and dazzling smile, staring at the computer screen in front of her, typing away.

A few minutes later, Madge hands him his plastic key card to his room in the penthouse along with a brochure filled with amenities, phone numbers, and information about this “Dia De La Canción Criolla.”

“Since you are already here sir, you should come out tonight and check it out.  Have some fun.”  Have some fun, those were his father’s exact words.

But dancing…especially that kind of dancing brought him back to memories of her.  She was the captain of the dance club in high school and she convinced him to enter a couple’s dance competition with her.  Never able to tell her no, he agreed.  He was never as good as her, but where he lacked, she excelled.  It was like that with everything they did.  They picked up each other’s slack.  When one was weak, the other was strong.  Always.

As he is scribbling his signature on the consent form to bill him at checkout, for just a split microsecond he thinks he sees her.  Heading onto the elevator is a woman with the same shade of hair, in that same over the shoulder braid she would wear, and the same olive complexion.  It had been almost ten years since the last time he saw her face, ten years since the last time his lips touched hers, but he is certain that one-hundred years could go by…no, a thousand years could pass, and he would always know her. Always.

Once his ‘T’s’ are crossed, he politely excuses himself from the receptionist, and runs to the elevator.  He can’t make her face out as the doors slide shut, but he can tell she tried to hold the door for him, but it was too late.  The elevator has a mind of its own and she slipped through his fingers.

“It’s not her, it couldn’t possibly be.”  He tells himself, his head hanging down as he presses the button and waits for the elevator.  He rides up to the twelfth floor and as soon as the doors open, he hears a door slamming from around the corner.  He finds his room, walks into it, and plops down on the bed.

Lying back on the bed, something in Peeta’s pocket begins poking his thigh.  He reaches into his pocket and grips firmly onto the pocket watch that he always keeps with him.  From her.  

At fifteen years old, he began saving his earnings from working at the bakery for eight months in order to buy her that necklace.  When he first saw it hanging in the shop, he knew he just had to have it.  He knew it was made just for her. It had been sitting in his underwear drawer for almost two weeks before he gave it to her on her sixteenth birthday.  His gift brought tears to her eyes because of what it meant.

She wanted to give him something too, but he insisted that it doesn’t work that way.  You do not give a gift to someone because they gave you something.  That was the first time she said those three magical little words.  She told him, “I’m not giving this to you because you gave me this necklace, I’m giving this to you…I want you to have this because I love you.”  It was her father’s, a gift from her mother.  It meant the world to her, so he knew what she was saying before she even said the words.

“Dammit Peeta!  Get a grip.  It isn’t her, I’m in Peru for Heavensbee’s sake!  An entire country away!”  Peeta yells at himself, confused as to why she is on his mind so hard today.

Peeta jumps into the shower, having decided that maybe he will join the festivities, if for nothing else, then to distract his mind from her.  He picks up the brochure and places a call to one of the names Madge had recommended.  If he is going to a Peruvian festival…(or is it a party?), he is going to need something to wear.

 Part 2

“Hi Katniss, my name is Cinna and I’ll be your stylist.”  Katniss lets the man in that Effie had recommended helping her find something to wear for tonight.

“Come in, it’s nice to meet you Cinna, I’m Katniss.”  Katniss sticks her hand out to Cinna, but he ignores it and wraps his arms around her, pulling her into his embrace.  He then pulls back and circles around her, inspecting her from all angles.

“You’re not from around here, are you?”  Cinna asks after he finishes orbiting her once.

“What gave it away?  My accent? Or the constant look of confusion permanently embedded on my face?”  Cinna chuckles at her, deciding that he is going to like this girl.  She is something special.

“I’ve met everyone who comes through here, and I am certain I would remember a face as radiant as yours,”  Cinna says, noticing the rosy hue filling Katniss’s cheeks.  There is a knock on the door, startling Katniss.  Cinna reaches for the doorknob and opens the door, and three strange-looking people come bouncing in.  Their hair is quite flamboyant, they wear some rather vivid and strange colors, but they look at Cinna as if he were the sun.  But most importantly, they seem truly happy to be here, to help her.

“Katniss, these are my assistants, and they will be helping me in getting you ready for tonight.”

“Okay.  But, you do realize that I’m dressing up for this Dia de la Festival thing and not my wedding, right?”

“Dia de la Canción Criolla.”  Octavia, one of Cinna’s assistants says so fast, Katniss only heard gibberish.

“How do you guys say that so fast?”

‘I wonder if they do this often?’  Katniss thinks to herself when Flavius, another of Cinna’s assistants rolls in this cart filled with the most immaculate, dazzling dresses, shoes, and so many other accessories Katniss would never dream of wearing.

They get right down to business, no dilly-dallying.  Katniss tries on dress after dress for what felt like hours, only to have them settle on the first dress, much to Katniss’s irritation.  Each dress takes all four of them to help her into, which Katniss could not begin to fathom why it was so difficult. 

The dress they decide on is more beautiful than she is able to put into words.  The upper half clings to her form, accentuating each of her womanly curves.  It is a modest dress, for when she looks in the mirror, she feels beautiful, but not provocative.  It shows just enough cleavage, but not too much.  The skirt of the dress is loose and free-flowing, if anyone happens to twirl her around tonight, it will fan out in immaculate precession.

“Oh, Miss Katniss, just you wait till someone spins you around in this baby.”  Katniss looks startled as she scowls at Flavius.

“Wh-what’ll happen?”

“I can’t give away all the secrets, now can I?”  Flavius looks at her conspiratorially.

“Don’t worry Katniss, nothing bad will happen.”  Cinna places a hand on her shoulder reassuringly.  But it isn’t his touch that calms her, but the gentle tone of his voice.  She cannot help but notice that Cinna has this natural air about him, he makes her feel calm just by entering the room.

Once they finish adding the final touches to her dress, they chain her to a chair, (figuratively speaking) and get to work on her hair.

“So, is there a special someone we’re fixing you up for the night?”  Just as Cinna asks the question, Effie walks into the room.

“Oh, hello guys, don’t mind me.  I just wanted to observe the divine Cinna at work!”  Effie pulls up a chair, making sure she isn’t in the way, and watches as their experienced fingers intricately style Katniss’ hair.

Katniss is hypnotized as she watches four sets of hands intricately brush, comb, part, separate, and braid her hair.

Remembering Cinna’s question, Katniss blushes before saying, “Oh no.  There is no one, I just…I just…Well, since I’m already here, I figured I should get the full Peruvian experience.”

“Oh, you have a man back at home, do you?”  Octavia blurts out.

“No.  No, there isn’t anyone.  Well, once…No, never mind.”

“Awe, come on! Tell us!”  Flavius pleads with her.

“PLEEEEASE!!”  All three assistants beg at the same time in a sing-song voice.

Katniss hesitates for a moment, realizing there is no harm in confiding in these complete strangers, she starts.  “Well, there was this one guy, once.  When I was younger.”

“Ooooh, was he handsome?”

“What color were his eyes?”

They each spit out their own questions, curious to the man who once held her heart, forcing the image of his perfect face into the forefront of her mind.

“No, he was not handsome…. He was…he was beautiful.  He had the bluest eyes, bluer than the ocean and the sky mixed together.  And his hair…it was this sandy blonde, with just the right amount of waves, you know…not too curly but definitely not straight.  He was my best friend, my soul mate.  He was everything to me.”

“So, what happened?”  Flavius blurts out.

“You speak of him as if you’re still in love with him,”  Vennia says, giving Katniss a forlorn look.

“I got…I got ripped away from him.  And I haven’t been able to find him since.  But someone as amazing as him, surely he’s married with a few kids by now.”  Katniss omits how she is actually too chicken to even look for him as she hangs her head down, the pain of him with someone else cut like razors.

Effie’s eyes go wide as she recognizes this story, without excusing herself, she gets up and storms out of the room in a dash.

“What was that about?”  Katniss asks inquisitively.

Flavius does a motion with his hands and rolls his eyes.  “Who knows?  That woman is a bit cuckoo.”  However, Katniss notices the knowing look being shared between Cinna and his assistants.

“Perfecto!”  Vennia says once her hair is complete.

“Now, one last thing,”  Octavia says, reaching for the clasp around Katniss’ neck.

Katniss spins around to face Octavia, “Wh-What are you doing?”

“I have a better one for you to wear tonight.”

“No, the necklace does not come off.”  The firm tone in Katniss’s voice tells everyone not to argue.

And they don’t.

 Effie storms back into Peeta’s room- the busy body she is- and pulls up a chair next to Peeta as Portia and her team get him ready for the night.

“Peeta?  Will you tell me about your girl again?  The one from your childhood.”  Peeta raises an eyebrow, making sure to hold his head still as Portia does whatever she is doing to his hair.  He isn’t sure why it is taking so long, but he doesn’t question her.

Peeta’s eyes light up at the thought of his girl.  “Oh Effie, she was…she was perfect.  She was the sun and the moon and the stars, all in one.”  Effie notices the sparkle in Peeta’s eyes as he speaks of the girl.  “She was so beautiful, and her eyes…I’ve never seen the same shade on another human being’s face, silver as the moonlight, intense as the night sky.  Her hair, well back then it was long, nearly to the middle of her back.  But she always wore it in this braid over her shoulder—” Effie’s eyes go wide as she listens to Peeta, realizing he is describing the girl in the next room.

‘Could it be?’  Effie thinks to herself.  “Peeta, I think you should meet your neighbor.  Maybe you could share a dance with her…Spend a night on the town—”

Peeta chuckles before interrupting her.  “That’s okay Effie.  I’m going home as soon as the airlines call me anyway.  I just wanted to experience Dia De La Canción Criolla Peruvian style.”

Effie shrugs her shoulders, getting up to leave as an idea comes to mind.  If her plan is to succeed, she will need help.  “Okay, Peeta.  Your loss.”

Effie waits in her office until she sees Miss Everdeen exit the hotel.  Once she knows Cinna is free, she immediately goes to him and shares her suspicions.

“Cinna, we must, we absolutely must bring those two together!”

“Effie, what are the chances that the true love they lost and speak of just happens to be in the next room?  An entire country away?”  Cinna asks, exasperated by Effie’s infatuation with true love.

“Okay, so maybe I’m wrong…But what would it hurt?”  Cinna thinks about it for a moment, deciding no harm could come of it, he listens to Effie’s plan.

x – x – x

“Thank you for coming with me Portia, I felt a little strange coming out here by myself.”  Peeta gives Portia a smile as they leave the hotel and join the crowded streets.  There are people dancing everywhere, children carousing the streets alongside their parents dressed up in their costumes. 

“Would you like to dance Portia?” Portia scans the area, looking for any sign of Cinna, and then nods her head.  She will dance them closer to where Cinna is with his girl.

“Where did you learn to dance Peeta?  You’re quite good.”  Peeta blushes at Portia’s compliment.

“Katniss.”

“Katniss?  Was that her name?  Your sweetheart back home?”

Peeta nods, just as a handkerchief flies into his face.  He reaches for it, holding it in front of him with a confused look.  “What the—”

“It means there is a lovely lady who wishes to dance with you.”  Portia maneuvers Peeta’s body, turning him around and pushing him toward the woman standing next to Cinna.  The darkness of the night, in addition to the lack of streetlights, prevents Peeta from clearly seeing her face.  All he can make out is the silhouette of her face, yet the moment their fingers brush against each other, he instantly feels that familiarity…he feels at home.

But Peeta would know her anywhere; at least he thinks it is her.  No, no.  His mind is just playing tricks on him.  Either way, he extends his arm to her, and she accepts graciously just as The Marinera begins to play.

It is their dance.  Katniss and Peeta’s dance from high school.  Peeta circles her once, and then again.  She smiles at him flirtatiously, swinging her hips as she sways to the music.  They tease each other back and forth throughout the night.  It is as if they had spent their entire lives perfecting their moves, as if their bodies are meant to be as one.

The familiarity that overtakes them when Peeta places his hands on Katniss’ hips sends shock waves surging through their bodies.  ‘Why does this feel so familiar?  Why does this feel so right?’  Peeta thinks to himself after their second dance.

They dance the night away with each other, oblivious to the identity of their dance partner.  The chemistry surges through Peeta’s body, and he knows she feels it too.  There is something familiar about this woman, but Peeta cannot quite put his finger on it. It isn’t until the light of the moon casts its glow, causing the pendant on her necklace to shimmer in the moonlight, which is when Peeta freezes.

It can’t be, no, this girl just happens to have the same necklace.  But then he sees the tiny inscription of the word “Always” in elegant script at the base of the pearl.  That is when he knows.

It is her.

His Katniss.

  Part 3 

Turning away from the familiar stranger, Katniss hikes her dress up and runs back to the hotel. She rushes onto the elevator and presses the button for the twelfth story. When the doors open to her floor, she takes off in a sprint again, toward her room, then slams the door behind her once she’s inside.

“Get a grip, Katniss, wake up.  It’s not him. You are just dreaming!”  She yells at herself, lightly banging the back of her head against the door.  ‘How does he know my name?’  she asks herself.

Less than a minute later, there is a knock at the door.  “Katniss? Katniss, are you okay?  Please open the door. I know it’s you.  It’s me, Peeta.  I’m sorry if I scared you; it’s just…can you please open the door so that I can see your face?”

Can it be him?  Is it truly him?  So many times, Katniss thought she saw him, only to be disappointed when it turned out to be someone else.  Her heart cannot take another beating.

With her hand on the door handle, Katniss closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, preparing herself for the inevitable.  Slowly, she opens the door just a crack, peeking through the small space.

“Peeta?  Is it…is it really you?”  She asks, slowly nudging the door open.

They stand there with their eyes locked, staring at each other while time stands still.  A loose strand of hair blows in Katniss’s eyes, interrupting their trance.  It is enough to reel her back into the present, and Peeta extends his arm, stroking Katniss’s cheek.

“Katniss,”  Peeta says, staring longingly into her eyes.  He slowly lowers his hand, pinching the tiny pearl hanging from Katniss’s neck.  “You still…I can’t believe you still have it.”

Katniss glances at his left hand that grasps her pearl, and her heart speeds up at the absence of a ring.  Peeta reaches up and places his hands on either side of Katniss’s face, bringing his face closer to inspect that it is really her.

“I never…I never take it off,”  Katniss says, licking her lips.  “Do you want to…come in?”  Katniss asks him.  

Peeta gives her a nod and walks past her and into the room.  Katniss closes the door behind him, and when she turns around to face Peeta, he pulls her close, slamming his lips onto hers.

The kiss is deep, sensual, and passionate, everything they have craved over the years.  Peeta takes Katniss to the bed in the center of the room, removing his jacket and slinging it behind him.

Katniss allows Peeta to take control.  He lays her back against the sheets, then follows after her until he’s, hovering above her.  “My God, I have missed you.”  His voice reverberates between their connected lips.

There is no denying it. It is her.  The only thing that matters is Katniss.  His Katniss.  Right here, right now, she stands in front of him after all this time.  He cannot take it anymore and closes the short distance between them, slamming his lips against hers. Peeta plunges his tongue deep into her mouth, devouring her. Tasting her.  Reveling in her.

The moment their lips connect, they knew they had finally found each other.  And yes, it was definitely worth the wait.

  5 Years Later

“I can’t believe you are getting married in Peru on Halloween!”  Prim squeals, zipping the back of Katniss’ wedding gown up.

“It’s not Halloween in Peru, Prim. It’s Día de la Canción Criolla.  And it’s when Peeta and I found each other again.”

“I know, sissy. I still can’t believe you guys found each other in Peru of all places!  I mean, I don’t remember a whole lot from…from before, but I remember how happy you guys were when we were kids.  And then I remember how sad you were when we had to leave, and…and I’m just so glad you found him!”  Prim says, turning Katniss around and adding the finishing touches to her hair.

“I’m just glad that you, Rory, and the kids were able to come.  Have you seen Peeta?  Is he okay?”

“No, you are not seeing him until the wedding. No exceptions!”  Prim tells Katniss, pointing a sassy finger in her face.

When Peeta catches sight of Katniss walking down the aisle to marry him, in the captivating dress with pearl accents, his heart stops in his chest at how beautiful she is.  When he finally found her after so many years, he thought he had died and was living in his dreams.

He finally found her, and she was now his to love.  Always.

[falcor-thee-luck-dragon]

Diego Hargreeves x reader

Summary: You and Klaus cause some mischief in the local liquor store while Diego does a terrible job at stopping you.

It’s a cold October night, Diego would honestly love nothing more then to cuddle up next to you on your guys bed back in your warm apartment. But the universe appears to have other plans, so here he is, standing behind you and Klaus as the two of you discuss amongst yourselves which brand has the best alcohol. You’re completely oblivious to Diego’s inner thoughts as your eyes scan over the different labels and their prices. You don’t notice when Klaus’ attention shifts from the various beverages to a festive poster on the nearby store window. He chuckles when he spots the poster of Dracula holding a red glass of wine as little black bats dance around him. Klaus’ head turns towards you and then at another store patron who’s just trying to mind their business.

“Vhatch out for Y/N...she’s come to svuck your vlood.” Snickers Klaus in his best Transylvanian accent as he holds up his pointer fingers near his mouth to show off mock vampire fangs. The random lady nearby just gives him an odd look, turning away and making a beeline for the next isle. Klaus snaps his attention back to you as he continues his little theatrics, you just do your best to suppress your laughter.

“Stop it Klaus.” Warns Diego with a brotherly roll of his eyes. You turn to Diego with a mischievous smirk as your eyes playfully darken. 

“He’s right Diego, I’ll turn you into one of my minions.” You retort as you fake growl at him, he just shakes his head as a small smile forms onto his lips. Deciding to have a bit of fun with your two favorite boys, you indulge in Klaus antics.

“I am a vampire seductress who wants something delicious to drink this fine evening. Klaus my dear, pick the flavor.” He nods with a cheeky grin as he turns to scan down the long isle, looking for just the right bottle.

“M’lady whateth should I choose? I’m thinking the most pricey, would you agree?” Asks Klaus, now choosing to really play the part as a medieval peasant of sorts, throwing in an accent and everything. You turn to him, he’s holding up a beautiful ruby red 200 dollar bottle of the good stuff, your eyes go wide in excitement.

“Brilliant. We’ve got our treasure, now let us make off with the loot.” 

“Y/N cover me while I hide it.” Whispers Klaus, you walk over to him and as casually as ever to block anyone’s view from watching as he shoves the expensive bottle into his jacket, like this is the most normal thing in the world. Diego attempts to look over your shoulder to put together what the hell you two are doing. You swiftly twist around to face him like nothing out of the ordinary just happened, you and Klaus definitely did not just steal anything.

“Did Klaus just steal that bottle?” Wonders Diego as he crosses his arms over his muscular chest. You furrow your brows in false confusion while Klaus stops to stare an accusing eye at Diego. 

“What? Did you see someone stealing something?” You ask him casually, he gives you an amusing are-you-actually-kidding-me face in reply. You just smile up at him as sweetly as ever, “That’s illegal you know.”

“Very, so if you saw something you better report it. Never know what kind of delinquents are running these streets.” Adds Klaus with a knowing look, the both of you flash Diego a tight lipped smile before walking past him towards the end of the isle. The both of you heading straight for the glass doors at the front of the store when suddenly Diego catches both your arms, one in each of his own hands, you and Klaus snap your heads to him with annoyed faces. 

“You two aren’t stealing anything.” His voice is serious and calm as his dark eyes flash in between the two of you.

“What’s this Klaus? A goblin trying to take our stash, I think not.” You announce to Diego and Klaus with a sassy hair flip. Diego releases the two of you as he gives you an frustrated glare.

“My vampire mistress will put a spell on you, and HA HA you won’t be able to rain on our picnic anymore.” Whisper yells Klaus as he sticks his tongue out at Diego. Diego lets out a tired sigh, putting his gloved hands up in surrender, deciding it wise to let you two have your fun. He honestly really wants to see if you’ll get caught or not, giving him another reason to possibly catch up on the dealings around the police department. You and Klaus link your arms together as you both continue to walk down the long isle of various alcoholic beverages. When you make it to the carpet at the front door, the 78-year-old half blind cashier calls for you guys to stop and turn around. Your nerves prick, more-so in annoyance then anything else, but like the veteran thief that you are you know exactly what to do to charm the old fart. Giving him the sweetest of smiles you walk in front of Klaus and slowly up to the cash register.

“How’s ya evin’ Marv?” You ask with a bit of Brooklyn charm, you’re a slight regular at this joint and he’s always in the mood to talk to you. Better yet, Marv’s incredibly easy to convince and you’re about to work your magic like a boss. 

“Oh you know, same old same old. Always nice when you come ‘round these parts.” You keep a forced smile as you quickly shift your eyes to the right, catching a surprised Diego who catches your gaze before he heads out the door with a disapproving shake of his head. You turn to fully face Marv once again, batting your lashes like a teen in love. 

“Is that a new shirt? I’m loving the whole Hawaiian floral get up, it adds a bright splash of color to the usual dreary autumn weather.” 

“Oh yeah, you really think so? Aw sweetheart you’re just saying that.” He gushes with a wave of his wrinkled hand. You let out a small fake laugh, keeping the mood light and fluffy, just giving enough time for Klaus to make off with the riches. 

“No I’m one-hundred percent serious it suites you well.....uh anyways..Marv its been a time, but I really gotta go. See ya when I see ya.” You say with a tiny wave of goodbye, but as you turn to leave you “accidentally” bump into the side of a large cardboard cut-out of the latest Budweiser can. It goes down with a less then dramatic crash to the grubby tiled floor. Your head snaps up to Marv with the best sad face you can muster as you clutch your hands together like an abashed Victorian maiden. 

“Shit I’m such a klutz. Your poor sign.” You exclaim, he just chuckles as he walks around to where the sign has fallen. 

“Oh no worries. Anyone coulda sent it tumbling, I’ll just havta move it to the other side is all.” Replies Marv while he leans down to pick up the large cut-out, you give him a friendly smile as he walks over to the other side of the counter setting it down and walking back behind the register. By the time he reaches the counter which feels like a thousand years later, you’ve reached the front doors. You say a last goodbye before hearing the bell chime when you open up the doors and swiftly make your way out of the liquor store. The air is crisp and a burst of wind smacks you right in the face, sending your hair in various directions. You flick it out of your face, unbothered by the current weather conditions you walk further down the sidewalk, heading straight for Diego’s car. Like the sly fox you are, you reach into your coat and casually pull out the concealed bottle of top of the line tequila you may have just stolen. You catch the wide eyes of Diego from inside the car as your face breaks out into a huge smile while you joyously raise your bottle into the air like you’ve just won the World Cup. You quickly open up the passenger side door, getting in and shutting it to keep the cold out. 

“One hundred points for Vampire Seduction.”

“Y/N you sly motherfucker.” Smiles Klaus from the backseat as he shakes your shoulder, impressed with your thieving skills.

“I played that old bear like a violin. He’ll never suspect a thing.” 

“Cheers to that m’lady, we’re like....pirates.... truly amazing.”

“You know Klaus you kinda look like Jack Sparrow, just grow out the hair a bit and find a red bandanna and wallah, pirate.”

“Y/N you’ve just found my Halloween costume. Oh hey, you could be a vampire mistress and Diego could be the seduced servant guy.”

“You two just stole from a store, that’s a crime.” Interrupts Diego like a mother goose telling off her naughty children. You just let out an amused huff of air as Klaus blows a raspberry at Diego.

“Oh come on bro, have a little fun. No cameras and that dude is practically blind. And anyways, look at the cool shit we got.” Replies Klaus excitedly while he holds up his bottle, Diego glares at the two of you as you suppress the urge to laugh once again. He’s so dramatic sometimes with his whole vigilante hero/ failed cop persona going on, you forget that not everything you do is agreed upon in his eyes when it comes to breaking the law. You can’t help it that stealing things with Klaus is incredibly entertaining to you, sometimes being the hero all the damn time can get so boring. 

“Still a crime.” Grumbles Diego, you suddenly lean in close to his face, staring deep into his chocolate irises, his breath catches in his throat. You smirk at him, “Or whatta gonna do pretty boy? Turn us in?” Klaus lets out “ohhhh” from behind the two of you as Diego seemingly forgets how to speak. He looks rather adorable all flustered from your abrupt change in positioning. He opens his mouth to probably reply with something sarcastic or heroic, so to shut him up you crash your lips into his. The kiss is a quick one, but it’s all you needed to do in order to shut that pretty mouth of his. You sit back in your seat, a satisfied smile appearing onto your lips while you hold the bottle of tequila in your lap. 

“Diego she just used Vampire Seduction on you. Y/N that was brilliant, now make him take us to the trampoline park.” Says Klaus while unknowingly breaking the sexual tension between you and Diego. You giggle as Diego blinks, snapping out of the brief post kiss confusion you just handed him. 

“Uh...no trampoline park, you’re going home and then me and Y/N are going to have a fun rest of our night with that bottle of tequila.” Your eyes glance over to a grinning Diego, it appears that your simple plan to quiet him has suddenly turned his mind onto you. And everything he plans on doing with you once Klaus is gone and you’re back at the apartment. You bite your lip in anticipation while Diego drives down the road, your own mind swirling with images of a soon to be shirtless Diego and other fun nightly activities to follow.

[thebrotherssalvatore321]

Keeping Secrets Ch. 7

Keeping Secrets Masterlist

Pairing: Damonxoc, Tylerxoc, Elijahxoc, Klausxoc endgame. Warnings: Physical and mental abuse.

For the next month Bonnie kept to herself, staying busy with her grams on the weekends, Stefan and Damon had their hands full trying to teach Vicki how to be a functional, non harmful vampire. Elena was overseeing the process while Katie decided to stay out of it. So, for the most part, things were as normal as they could be given the fact that there were vampires in Mystic Falls.

Damon made himself stay away from Katie. If she was working at the grill he would make sure to sit at a table that wasn't in the section she was working for the night. He’d been doing a good job of giving Katie time to decide if she could forgive him, but when he walked into the grill on Halloween and saw her working, dressed as a sexy German barmaid, he couldn't resist sitting in her section. When Katie saw him she felt like switching sections with someone, but she wasn't close enough with any of her coworkers to ask. So with a sigh and a knot in her stomach she grabbed her pad and pen out of her apron and walked over to Damon. "What can I get you?"

"Shouldn't you be dressed like a leprechaun? I thought Finnegan was Irish." He asked with a charming smile.

"My father was Irish my mother was German." She answered in a flat tone. "Now what can I get you?"

"I miss you." He told her as all playfulness fell from his face.

She made a buzzer sound, "Wrong answer."

She turned to walk away, but he grabbed her hand stopping her and she turned back to him. "Bourbon on the rocks."

She simply nodded and walked away while Damon's eyes took in her black heels and thigh high stockings that stopped a few inches before her short skirt started. Instead of breaking the law and making his drink herself like she usually did, she turned his order over to the bartender.

Katie couldn't help but notice when Damon moved to the table where Mrs. Lockwood sat, dressed as a Great Gatsby character, and started flirting with her. An ugly bubble of jealousy grew in the pit of her stomach as she moved to the bar and started taking food orders. She had been trying to move on from Damon, but it was easier said than done.

After what felt like forever, Mrs. Lockwood left Damon and he came over to where Katie stood wiping down the bar that the bartenders had been neglecting all night. "I really do miss you." He told her as he sat down.

"You say after you try to flirt the pants off of a married woman." Katie quipped.

Damon rolled his eyes. "I was getting information."

"Good for you." She gave him a sarcastic smile in return then walked to the back.

"Hey, you're supposed to be on break." Her boss said from where he stood at the grill.

"I know I got tied up. I'm going now." Katie hung her apron up and went through the back exit to avoid Damon.

She met Bonnie across the street at the Halloween party. "Hey barmaid." Bonnie greeted her. "Recycling last year's costume huh?"

"Yeah. I wasn't really feeling Halloween this year." Katie shrugged and as she got closer she noticed the crystal that Damon had gotten from the founders party around her neck. "Hey, cool necklace."

"Eh it's just an ugly costume piece that came with the dress." Bonnie said with an indifferent expression and a shrug.

"I don’t think that's a costume piece. Do you mind?" Katie asked with a point to the necklace.

"Sure." Bonnie lifted it off her chest and placed it in Katie's hand as she leaned in to look at it.

As soon as it touched her skin a sharp electrical wave shot through her hand. "Ah!" She pulled her hand back and looked at Bonnie with wide eyes. "What the hell was that?"

Bonnie stared at Katie with wide eyes and parted lips as she backed away from her then turned and ran. Katie pulled out her phone and pulled up Damon's number then hit call. "This is a surprise." He answered.

Katie crossed her arms over her chest and looked absentmindedly around the party. "Are you still at the bar? We need to talk."

"Nope." Hearing his voice behind her she jumped and spun around. "Damn it, Damon." She closed her phone in her fist and punched his shoulder. "You're gonna give me a heart attack one of these days."

"What do we need to talk about?" He asked with a smile as he watched her place a hand over her pushed up chest.

"Did you lose the crystal?" Her question made him stop and think with a frown.

"Now that you mention it, yeah. Why?" He asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Because I saw it." His eyes grew big. "Bonnie was wearing it tonight."

"Did you get it back?" He asked, looking at her hands to see if she was holding it.

"I was going to try, but when I touched it the stupid thing shocked the crap out of me and she ran.” She answered looking up at him.

“How did she even get it?” he asked, talking more to himself than her.

“I don’t know, she said it came with her costume.” She answered.

His phone started ringing. “What?” Katie was sure that it was Stefan by the tone of his voice. Damon’s face played out a range of emotions as he listened to Stefan then said, “Yeah I’ll take care of it.”

“What happened?” Katie asked as he closed the phone. He didn’t answer and started to walk away but she grabbed the leather sleeve of his jacket and stopped him. “Please answer me.”

“Come on.” He jerked his head for her to follow him so she did. When they were out of earshot of others, walking around to the back of the school he started talking.

“Vicki tried to kill Elena. Stefan staked her in the heart.” Katie placed her hand on her stomach that started churning. “You okay?”

“What’s the cover up?” Damon looked at her out of the corners of his eyes. “I’m assuming you’ve been called to do the dirty work since you’re the one that turned her in the first place.” They walked around a bus and Elena, wearing a bloody nurse costume, came into sight sitting next to Vicki’s body. “Elena, are you okay?” Katie asked as she walked over to her and tried to look at her shoulder, but Elena pulled away.

“You two should go. I got this.” Damon told the girls.

Elena stood up, glaring at Damon. “This is all your fault.”

“I know.” While Damon’s eyes looked at Katie apologetically his tone was just the opposite. Elena tried to shove him, but Damon stood strong, pissing Elena off all the more and she slapped him. “You done?”

“I hate you.” Elena said shakily through gritted teeth.

“You need to leave, both of you.” Elena just stared at him. “Elena, your wounds are bleeding…you need to leave.”

“Elena?” Katie asked, getting Elena’s attention. “Come on, I’ll drive you home.”

“I can drive myself.” She sighed and left.

Katie looked at Damon and he jerked his head for her to follow Elena. So she did. She got in her car and followed her to her house. When she walked up on Elena’s porch Stefan was sitting on the wicker bench next to the door. “She’s talking to Jeremy.”

“How is he?” she asked as she walked over and leaned against the white column across from him.

“He's a mess.” He answered not looking up at her.

“How are you? I know I haven’t been very involved in this whole Vicki thing, but I know you were trying to help her.”

“I did try to help her, but…” Stefan just shook his head.

“But it’s not your job to clean up your brother's messes.” She replied and movements out of the corner of her eyes made her look over to see Elena standing at the door wrapped in a maroon blanket.

Seeing that they needed to talk Katie walked over to the other end of the porch and sat down on the steps. She could hear the murmur of Elena and Stefan talking, but couldn’t make out what they were saying just as she intended it to be. So when Damon walked up beside her, giving her a small smile as he walked up the steps and said, “I can do it.” Katie stood up and walked over to stand next to Damon. “If this is what you want. I’ll do it.”

Elena looked over at Stefan and said, “It’s what I want.”

“What do you want him to know?” Damon asked and Katie started to catch on to what they were talking about.

“I want you to tell him that Vicki left town and she’s not coming back.” Elena told Damon with tears in her eyes. “That he shouldn’t look for her or worry about her. He’s going to miss her, but he knows it’s for the best.”

Damon nodded and went inside. Katie didn’t agree with what they were doing, but as much as Katie saw him as such, Jeremy wasn’t her brother and she knew it wasn’t her call. So instead of arguing with Elena about it she walked back to her place on the steps and sat down. After a few minutes Damon came back out and said, “It’s done.” Katie didn’t look at him until he walked past her and stuck his hand in her face. Her eyes traveled up his arm to his face. “Take a walk with me?”

Katie thought about it for a minute then against her better judgment took his hand. “You can walk me to my car.” She told him letting him know it was going to be a short conversation.

Hand in hand they started walking. “I know I screwed up. I should’ve just come to you.” he told her and she let go of his hand.

“Yeah, you should have.” She told him as she pulled her car door open.

“I’m sorry.” He told her and she stopped, one foot in the car.

“You think that’s enough?” she asked, glaring at him as she held on to the top of her car with one hand.

“No.” he answered with a scoff. “Nothing will ever be enough.”

“Then you understand that this conversation is over.” She took her eyes off of him and got into the car, but after she shut her door she looked over to see him sitting in the passenger seat.

“It’s not over because we’re not over.” He insisted and Katie ignored him and started her car. If he wanted to come along for the ride who was she to stop him? “I miss you Katie. I miss spending time with you and I need you.” Katie scoffed and pulled into her driveway. “You’re the only person I can talk to without getting looked at like I’m the biggest monster on the planet. I need you to be my moral compass.”

Katie killed the car and pressed her forehead to the steering wheel with a sigh. “All I can say right now is I need more time.” She picked her head up and looked at him. “Can you give me that?”

Damon leaned across the center console and pressed a kiss to her forehead. In a flash he was gone.

TVDTVDTVD

The next morning Katie woke up with a stretch, pausing when her fist touched cold flesh. As his eyes traveled to her fist they landed on Damon’s smiling face. “Damon it Damon!” she swore and punched him in the chest.

“Hi to you too.” He smiled as she got out of the bed and walked around to face him.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she asked.

“I told you, I miss you.” he answered as if it were the obvious one.

“And I told you I need more time.” She said realizing she was standing in front of him in nothing but a tank top and black lace panties.

“I decided that you’ve had enough time.” He said as he watched her grab a robe off of the back of her bedroom door and put it on. “No, no, don’t cover up on my behalf.” His smirk made her roll her eyes as she tied the robe.

“Don’t you think that’s for me to say?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest uncomfortably.

“Nope.” He said popping the p at the end of the word. “You miss me too or you wouldn’t have been so catty about me flirting with Mrs. Lockwood.” He said as he reached behind his head and grabbed the first thing that his hand landed on. “What is this?” he asked as he started to open the picture album in his hands. Katie jumped and snatched the book out of his hands. “What? I thought you said I could snoop through anything in this room except your journal.” He said with a displeased look as he held his hands out to the side.

“No picture albums.” She told him with a glare as she set the book down on her desk. “I’ll ask again. Why are you here?”

“Because you miss me and you know it.” he said as he got up and grabbed her cell phone off of her desk and started scrolling through her contacts. When he got to his that was still labeled “The Hotter Salvatore Brother” he turned the phone for her to see. “Otherwise you would’ve changed this.” He said with a nod to the screen.

“Fine, you’re right. Is that what you want to hear? I was jealous when I saw you flirting with Mrs. Lockwood. I miss waking up to you playing with my hair. I miss you showering me with kisses and playing keep away with my stuff, but none of that changes anything. I can’t trust you and you will never stop hurting people.”

She thought he was going to kiss her as he walked over, staring her down as he did, but instead he grabbed her face and looked into her eyes. “What if we make a deal?”

“Damon…” she whined.

“Hear me out.” He let go of her. “If I promise to stop feeding on and killing humans will you give me a second chance and do me one tiny favor?”

“Depends, what’s the favor? If it’s getting you the crystal back I can’t. I tried.” She said as she moved around him to her bed and sat down.

“I need you to throw a party tonight.” He said with a look that told her he knew how out of her field of expertise the request was.

“Why?” she drawled suspiciously.

“It’s Stefan’s birthday.” He answered.

“Nope, I’m not buying it. You hate your brother. What’s the other reason?” she asked as he walked over and sat down next to her.

“You know how I told her there was a council here back in the day?” he asked and she hummed a yes as they both scooted back to lean against the wall. “They still exist and they know that vampires are in mystic falls again.”

“So how does throwing a party come into play?” she asked with a frown.

“There’s another vampire in town. If you throw a party they will come and I will help the council kill them. Therefore…” he made a motion with his hands for her to finish the sentence.

“Therefore taking you off of the suspects list.” She finished with a sigh.

“So do we have a deal?” he asked as he looked across his shoulder at her.

She moved to sit on her knees facing him so that she didn’t have to crane her neck to look at him. “You promise not to kill anyone other than this vampire?” she asked and he hummed a positive answer. “And you’re not going to feed on anyone?” he hummed again. “Then we have a deal.” With a smile he leaned into her and pressed his lips to her in a kiss that quickly turned passionate. But as he started to lay her back she pushed him back and stood up.

“What? I was just sealing the deal.” He defended with a smirk and he stood up and tried to kiss her again.

“You’re such an asshole.” She laughed and shoved him, he stumbled back just to humor her.

“Yeah, but you like me anyway.” He said cockily.

“Yeah, whatever. Get out of here I have a party to plan.” She told him as she jerked her head to the door.

“Thank you.” he said as he grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it.

“You’re welcome now go.” She told him then watched him leave.

After he was gone Katie called the best party planner she knew, Caroline. She was resistant at first, but when Katie pointed out how boring the town had been since Vicki’s disappearance and needed a pick me up, Caroline was all in.

Since the party was being thrown at the grill Katie got called in to work for it. She was taking food orders at the bar when Damon came in and ordered a drink. “You got Caroline to help with this huh?” he asked as Katie made him a glass of bourbon and set it in front of him.

“If by help you mean I tossed out the idea of throwing a party and she ran with it, then yes.” She said with a smart ass smile.

Damon just smiled as Katie got back to work and let him enjoy his drink. An hour later she was serving a booth when a tall beautiful blond she had never seen before walked in and Damon greeted her. Katie wasn’t sure but it looked like she blew him off. Not long after Stefan showed up and started dancing with the blond.

After seeing Elena talking to the blond Katie caught a break for two seconds and headed over to her friend. “So who’s the blond?” Katie asked as she crossed her arms over the table that Elena was standing at.

“Her name is Lexi. She’s a friend of Stefan’s.” Elena said not looking away from where Stefan stood playing pool with her.

“Is she a you-know-what?” she asked.

“Yep apparently her and Stefan have been best friends for, like, ever.” Elena said, making Katie remember Damon’s plan for tonight.

“I gotta get back to work.” Katie said as she started looking around for Damon, spotting him sitting at the bar.

With flared nostrils she headed over to him, grabbed his drink from his hand and downed what little was left in it. “Whoa, what was that about?” Damon asked looking down at his now empty glass.

“Is it Lexi?” Katie asked, ignoring his question.

“Is what Lexi?” he played dumb.

“Don’t play stupid. You know what I’m talking about.” She told him as she refilled his glass.

“Yes, okay.” He answered as he took a drink.

“She’s Stefan’s best friend, Damon. Please don’t do this.” She whispered.

“Too late. The plan’s already in motion.” He told her before Lexi walked over and slid him some shots.

Katie scoffed at him and got back to work. Not long after Damon and Lexi started talking Sheriff Forbes came in and stabbed Lexi with a syringe and drug her away. Not thirty minutes later the bar was closed and everyone was asked to leave.

Katie had just gotten out of the shower when she heard a thump on the roof. So she went to her room to find Damon sitting on her bed with blood on his shirt. “Oh my god what happened?” she asked running over to him, holding her towel around herself with one hand, afraid that the council had seen through his plan and attacked him.

“Stefan staked me.” He replied and Katie scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“You deserved it.” she said as she went to her dresser and grabbed some panties and a

“I can’t say I disagree with you.” he huffed and lifted his shirt revealing a bloody circle where the stake had gone through.

“Is this what we are…what we’re always going to be? You do and say whatever it takes to get me to do your dirty work?” she asked as she twirled her finger telling him to turn around. He rolled his eyes but stood up and turned his back.

Just to be mean she tossed the towel on the bed, purposely pointing out that she was completely nude. “It’s not what I want it to be.” He said with a glance behind him at the same time Katie walked over to her closet and pulled out an oversized short sleeved shirt.

“Then what do you want us to be because I can’t be whatever we are right now.” She said as she pulled the dark grey shirt over her head. “Half truths are still lies.”

“At first I just wanted us to be friends, but then you made me that offer and things got messy.” Katie just glared at him with her arms crossed over her chest. “I got to know you and I started wanting more than just your friendship and your blood.”

“You got to know me?” she asked walking around him to pull the curtains closed. “What do you know about me, Damon?”

“I know that you will do anything to protect the people you care about.” He started.

“A fact that you have exploited.” She pointed out with flared nostrils.

“I know that you hate chocolate, which is crazy by the way.” He told her with an exaggerated expression. “I know you actually like studying. You take a tablespoon of creamer and no sugar in your coffee. You pick at your cuticles when you’re nervous. You look stunning in blue. You have the most soothing snore I have ever heard and you talk in your sleep sometimes. You-”

“Okay I get it.” she snapped, cutting him off. “So what more do you want from me?”

He walked over to her and grabbed her hips, pulling her into him as he pressed her forehead to hers. “I think you know and I’m not talking about sex.”

“How am I supposed to give that to you when yours belongs to someone else?” she asked as her eyes slipped closed.

“It is possible to love two people you know.” He whispered. “Do you forgive me for tonight?” he asked, changing the subject.

She pushed him back and moved to her desk chair, sitting in it backwards. “Every cell in my brain is screaming at me to say no, I can’t trust you, but…yes, I do forgive you.” He walked over and leaned down, placing a light kiss on her lips. After a few seconds she pushed him back. “You can’t do that.”

“Please…” he drew out the word.

“No.” she shook her head and he flopped back onto her bed. “Not until you prove to me that I can trust you.”

"Okay." He told her with a nod as he sat up.

"Really?" She asked with a skeptical glare.

"Really. I'll do whatever it takes to get my fun girlfriend back." He told her as he tucked a wavy lock of hair behind her ear.

"All it takes is for you to stop killing people. Stop feeding on people and stop mentally, physically and emotionally hurting everyone around you.” she told him then sat down on her bed. “You have to earn my trust. I was stupid to just hand it over to you in the first place.”

“Okay.” He said as he stood up and grabbed her hand, pulling her up to stand in front of him. “I’ll earn your trust then.” He kissed her on the forehead then opened her bedroom window, walked out onto the roof and stood at the edge.

“You know you can use the front door right?” Katie asked and he looked over his shoulder at her with a smirk.

“Where’s the fun in that?” he smiled a toothy smile then said, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Damon.” She watched him turn away from her then jump.

TVDTVDTVD

During lunch Katie sat with Elena and Bonnie eating a salad talking about how Bonnie hasn’t been sleeping well because she keeps having dreams about her ancestor, Emily.

“Have you tried just not wearing the necklace when you sleep?” Katie asked and Bonnie nodded.

“It ends up back on my neck every time.” Bonnie said looking freaked.

“Weird.” Katie said, cocking her head to the side.

“Do you believe in ghosts?” Bonnie asked.

“Yep.” Katie answered not even having to think about it.

“Two weeks ago I’d say no, but now…” Elena answered with a sigh.

“I think I’m being haunted.” Bonnie admitted in a rush.

“I don’t get it, why Emily?” Elena asked.

“Grams said she was a powerful witch back in the civil war days and that this medallion was hers…a witch’s talisman.” Bonnie explained.

“So maybe Emily needs to tell you something and she’s just being cryptic about it.” Katie asked and Bonnie shrugged.

“What does Grams say about it?” Elena asked, ignoring Katie.

“I can’t call her. She’s going to tell me to embrace it. I don’t want to embrace it. I want it to stop.” Bonnie complained before the bell rang.

She was leaving the building headed to her car when she saw Damon blocking Bonnie’s way to her car. “Damon?” Katie asked as she walked over.

“Did you tell him about Emily?” Bonnie asked her with wide eyes.

“No, I haven’t spoken to him in, like, two week.” Katie answered. “Besides, you swore me to secrecy, remember?”

“Look, the next time Emily comes out to play do me a favor and remind her that a deal’s a deal.” He said as he stepped back and opened Bonnie’s car door for her. Bonnie got in and he shut it.

“What was that about?” Katie asked as she started walking to her car with Damon beside her.

“You couldn’t get the crystal back so I was just trying to get her to give it back myself.” He answered as if it were no big deal.

“Why did she look scared?” she asked as she stopped at her car and unlocked the door.

“Because I knew about how Emily’s been haunting her.” he answered as he reached down and opened the door for her.

“How do you know about Emily?” Katie asked, resting her arm on the roof of her car.

“Who do you think sealed Katherine into the tomb?” he asked. “Emily Bennett was Katherine’s handmaiden.”

Katie sighed and shook her head. “Okay one of these days you are going to sit down and you are going to tell me absolutely everything about your past here in Mystic Falls. Including pictures if you have any.” She told him with a smile. “I’m kind of interested to see what you looked like back then.”

“Oh I was handsome.” He said with a cocky smile.

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” she told him as she slid into her car then pointed at him. “Stop scaring my friends and I’ll see what I can do about getting the necklace back.” Damon was about to say something back when Katie’s phone started ringing. “It’s Elena, I’ll see you later.” She told him and he shut the door as she pressed talk and put the phone to her ear. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Do you have to work tonight?” Elena asked.

“Nope.” Katie answered.

“Well Damon scared the crap out of Bonnie and she’s dealing with this whole Emily thing so we’re having a sleep over. You, Me, Bonnie and Caroline at my place.” Elena told her.

“Okay. I have to go home and do a few things, but I’ll be over as soon as I can.” She said then hung up.

When Katie made it to Elena's, she and Stefan were standing on the porch talking. “Hey, do you know what Damon wants with Bonnie’s necklace?” Stefan asked her as she walked up the steps.

“All I know is he stole it from the Lockwood’s during the founder’s party and he wants it back.” Katie said with a shrug then headed inside.

Not long after Elena came inside the girls stood around the island in the kitchen in awkward silence waiting for Caroline to get there with the food. Elena finally asked, “So you knew that Damon wanted Bonnie’s necklace?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think he would try to scare her into giving it to him.” Katie answered.

“So you haven’t been trying to get me to take it off just so Damon could get it?” Bonnie asked.

“No I told you to stop wearing it because of the nightmares it was giving you.” Katie answered then realized that Bonnie was no longer wearing the crystal. “Wait, where is it?”

“I threw it into a field.” Bonnie said expecting some kind of reaction.

“You threw what in a field?” Caroline asked as she walked in with a bag of food in her hands.

“Bonnie threw away that ugly necklace she’s been wearing.” Elena filled her in.

“Oh, okay.” Caroline set the bag down on the counter and Elena and Katie started taking out the food. “So are we going to talk about some stupid necklace all night or are we going to do manicures?” Caroline asked. “Who brought their kit?”

“Mine’s in my bag.” Bonnie told her.

“So Elena,” Caroline started as she headed over to Bonnie’s bag that was on the dining table, “how long do you think this breakup with Stefan’s gonna last? Is it a permanent thing?”

“I don’t know Caroline.” Elena sighed while munching on a French fry.

“I thought you said you threw this away.” Caroline said and everyone looked to see her holding up the necklace.

“I did.” Bonnie said with wide eyes as Caroline walked over and set it down on the table.

“It’s true I watched her throw it into the field.” Elena defended.

“I believe you, but I think we need to face the fact that Emily wants you to keep it.” Katie said.

“Who’s Emily?” Caroline asked.

“The ghost.” Bonnie answered.

“Oh, so the ghost has a name now?” Caroline mocked in her usual style.

“Caroline, please.” Elena told her while holding a hand up.

“I wonder why she won’t leave me alone?” Bonnie asked no one in particular.

“Okay what is going on?” Caroline asked, getting mad at them. “Why am I not a part of this conversation? You guys do this to me all the time.”

“That’s not true.” Elena started.

“Yes, it is.” “It kind of is.” Bonnie and Katie spoke at the same time.

“I can’t talk to you, Caroline. You don’t listen.” Bonnie continued.

“That’s not true.” Caroline argued with a sway of her head.

Bonnie sighed and said, “I’m a witch.”

“And don’t we all know it.” Caroline replied snarkily.

“See? That’s what I’m talking about.” Bonnie said. “I’m trying to tell you something. You don’t ever hear it!” Bonnie yelled and walked off.

“I listen. When do I not listen?” Caroline asked Elena and Katie.

“I’m going to let you handle this one.” Katie sighed and followed after Bonnie. She found her in the living room sulking. “So you’re admitting it now?” she asked as she sat down next to her. “When did I miss that?”

“I know you’ve always believed. I guess the rest of us just needed more convincing.” She said with a smile. “About a month ago maybe. Grams started teaching me some stuff. Here, watch.” She grabbed a piece of paper that was sitting on the kitchen table and set it on the couch between them. She placed her hand over it and wiggled her fingers as she lifted her hand, the paper followed.

“Bonnie that’s awesome.” Katie laughed as Bonnie set the paper down and smiled at Katie proudly. Katie wanted to ask more questions, but Caroline walked in and gave her a small smile. “I’ll give you two a minute.” She got up and headed to the kitchen where she knew Elena was.

After a few minutes they heard Caroline yell, “You guys can come in now we’re done.” So Katie and Elena headed into the living room and plopped down on the couch with their friends. “Well there is just way too much drama in this room.” Caroline said as she looked around the room. “What do you guys want to do?” she didn’t give anyone a chance to answer before she gasped and sat up on the couch. “I have an idea. Why don’t we have a séance?”

“I was going to say let’s watch The Notebook but that works I guess.” Katie sighed sarcastically and pushed herself off of the couch.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Bonnie said as Caroline walked around the couch and started grabbing some candles.

“Come on, let’s summon some spirits. This Emily chick has some serious explaining to do.” Caroline argued and headed up to Elena’s room with the candles.

As they set out the candles and sat down in a circle in the middle of Elena’s room Katie finally spoke up. “I’m no witch but I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Shush.” Caroline snapped as they all joined hands. “Be quiet and concentrate.” Katie felt like she was back at cheer camp all over again. Caroline the ring leader back at it again. “Ok, close your eyes.” Katie rolled her eyes as she closed them. “Take a deep breath.” All four girls took in a deep breath and let it out. “Bonnie, call to her.”

“Emily, you there?” Bonnie asked not really playing into the whole scene Caroline had set.

“Really? Emily. You there? That’s all you got?” Caroline complained and Katie laughed. “Come on.”

“Fine, jeez.” Bonnie said. “Emily, I call on you. I know you have a message. I’m here to listen.”

After a few seconds the flames on the candles spiked. “Holy, sh-” Katie gasped as they all let go of each other's hands and leaned away from the candles.

“Did that just…” Elena asked.

“Yeah that just happened.” Caroline answered.

“I told you guys I had a bad feeling.” Katie said as a chill took over the air making Caroline shiver.

“It’s just the air conditioning.” Bonnie said, trying to pretend that it wasn’t happening. But the candle flames spike again proving that it wasn’t just the air conditioning.

“Ask her to show you a sign.” Caroline told Bonnie who shook her head. “Ask her.” Bonnie refused so Caroline asked, “Emily, if you’re among us, show us another sign.”

After a few seconds with nothing happening Bonnie said, “See it’s not working.” As soon as they started to relax the window behind Bonnie flew open. “No, I can't, I'm done.” She threw the necklace to the floor next to the candles as they blew out. “The light’s get the lights.” Bonnie cried, freaking out so Elena got up and ran to the light switch.

As soon as they flicked back on Katie turned her eyes to Bonnie. “Are you okay?’

“Katie the necklace is gone.” Bonnie said pointing to the floor. “Please tell me you took it.”

“No, I promise you I didn’t.” Katie answered.

“Come on Katie just give it back.” Caroline pushed.

“I swear I didn’t take the stupid crystal.” Katie argued, getting mad that they didn’t believe her.

Katie jumped when she saw something move outside in the hallway, so did Elena. “Did you see that?” Katie asked her.

“What, what happened?” Caroline asked, turning to the door.

“Nothing.” Elena answered as she walked over to the door. “Jeremy, are you home?” she called but didn’t get a response.

“Um, guys…” Bonnie said, getting their attention as she walked into Elena’s bathroom.

The three girls watched her walk into the bathroom and pick up the crystal. As soon as she did the bathroom door slammed shut and Bonnie started screaming. The lights started flashing and while Caroline and Elena beat on the bathroom door in Elena’s room Katie ran to the hallway and started trying to open that door.

Just as fast as it all started the lights stopped flashing, Bonnie stopped screaming and the doors unlocked themselves. Katie opened the hall door while Caroline and Elena opened the other door. “Bonnie?” Katie asked as her eyes adjusted to the light and she saw Bonnie standing in the middle of the bathroom with her face in her hands.

“What happened? Are you okay?” Elena asked and Bonnie uncovered her face.

“I’m fine.” Bonnie said and Katie immediately noticed something was off about the way Bonnie was talking.

“Unbelievable.” Caroline scoffed. “You were totally faking it.”

“Caroline, come on.” Elena sighed.

“No, you scared the hell out of me!” Caroline yelled then walked off.

Katie walked around Bonnie to stand next to Elena. “Hey, really, are you okay?” She asked, noticing the way Bonnie was standing with her hand clasped together in front of her.

“I’m fine. Everything is fine.” She answered as she walked by the two girls and out of Elena’s room.

Elena and Katie shared a look. “I can’t believe I fell for it.” Caroline scoffed following Bonnie out of the room.

“I must go.” Bonnie said as she headed out into the hallway and to the stairs.

“If she’s leaving I’m leaving.” Caroline said angrily.

“You guys can’t leave.” Elena tried.

“Oh, I can.” Caroline said to Elena as Katie watched Bonnie walking down the stairs.

“Bonnie?” Katie called trying to get her attention.

Bonnie just turned to them and said, “Thank you for having me. I’ll take it from here.”

“Where are you going?” Elena asked while Katie was too busy trying to figure out what was wrong with Bonnie.

“Back to where it all began.” Bonnie answered then started walking down the stairs faster.

“Emily?” Katie asked and Bonnie stopped and turned to her as Katie started down the stairs.

“I won’t let him have it. It must be destroyed.” She turned from Katie and ran to the door, but before Katie got to it Emily slammed it.

As she was trying to pull it open Caroline and Elena came up behind her. Katie let go of the door and Elena took over trying to open it while Katie grabbed her phone and called Damon. “Well this is a surprise.” He answered in his usual cocky manner.

“Emily is possessing Bonnie.” Katie said in a huff, adrenaline pumping through her veins.

“What?” Damon asked confused.

“She said something like I won’t let him have it. It must be destroyed and she left.” Katie answered to the best of her ability.

“Did she say where she was going?” Damon asked.

“She said something about going back to where it all began.” She answered before it clicked. “The church, the old Fell church. That’s where she’s been taking Bonnie in her dreams.”

“Stay there where it’s safe. I’ll take care of it.” he told her before he hung up. A few seconds after she hung up with Damon Elena hung up her phone and started out the door.

“Where are you going?” Katie asked, running after her.

“The church, Bonnie needs us.” Elena answered as she pulled open the door of her suv and Katie followed. “So you and Damon are talking again?” Elena asked as she sped down the empty roads to the church.

“No I just didn’t know who else to call.” Katie said with a sigh.

When they got to the church it was easy to spot where they were by the fire that was set in the woods. The two girls ran over just as Emily tossed the crystal into the air sending sparks through the air. When the fire burned out Katie’s eyes finally found Damon and saw the Veins popping under his eyes as he glared at Bonnie. “Damon no!” Katie screamed and tried to run to him, but she didn’t get to him before he sank his teeth into Bonnie’s neck. Stefan whooshed over and pulled Damon off of Bonnie. Katie ran over and fell to her knees beside her friend, pressing two fingertips just below her jaw line. “Her pulse is there, but it’s weak.” Katie told Stefan who kneeled down next to her. “Will you help her?”

“Yeah.” He answered then bit his wrist. Seeing that Bonnie was going to be okay Katie stood up and started to walk over to Damon. “Katie don’t.” Stefan said and she turned back giving him a questioning look. “Not just yet. Give him a minute.” Katie nodded and stayed with Elena and Bonnie as her neck healed and they helped her to the car. “I’ll be back.” Stefan told Elena as the girls stood with Bonnie in front of Elena’s suv.

A few minutes later Stefan came back and jerked his head for Katie to go talk to Damon. “I’ll be right back.” she told her friends before she headed to the direction Stefan had jerked his head to. She found Damon sitting on the stone remains of the church. “So,” she started as she sat down next to him and he just kept staring off into space, his arms draped loosely over his knees, “why did Emily feel the need to destroy the crystal?”

“There are twenty-seven other vampires in the tomb with her, she couldn’t risk letting them out too.” He answered emotionlessly.

“And there’s no other way to open it?” she asked and he shook his head.

“I am so, so sorry.” She said, craning her neck to try to get his attention.

“Are you really though?” he asked, finally looking at her.

“I’m not going to lie, I’m jealous as hell of Katherine…but yeah I am.” She said looking away from him to the ground. “It hurts to see you hurting.”

“Well, you won’t have to see me hurting much longer. I’m leaving town.” He said turning to look off into the distance again.

“What? No.” Katie asked with wide eyes.

“Yes, Katie. I have no reason to stay.” He answered numbly.

Katie got up and straddled him, sitting in his lap. “You have me.” She grabbed his face in her hands and made him look at her.

“I’ve made your life a living hell.” He answered with wet eyes, but no tears were falling.

“You have made my life better.” She stated as she brushed her thumbs over his cheekbones. “A little more complicated…but better. Thanks to you I know how to do this.” Katie pressed a kiss to his lips and for the first two seconds she wondered if he was going to kiss her back, but then his arms snaked around her waist and pulled her tighter to him as he started kissing her back.

After a minute he leaned forward laying her back on the grass as he started kissing her neck. He kissed her earlobe and said, “Goodbye, Katie.” And in a whoosh he was gone.

With tears slipping down her cheeks she went back to where the car was to find that they were already gone. So she walked to Elena’s and when she knocked on her door Aunt Jenna answered. “Hey, are you okay?” she asked as she saw her red eyes.

“I just really need to talk to Elena.” She said, hugging herself like a little kid.

“Of course, her and Bonnie are upstairs.” She said as she stepped out of the way and let Katie in.

When she walked into Elena’s room both girls had tears streaming down their faces. When they saw Katie they opened their arms up for her to join them. A new wave of tears took over as she embraced her friends. They had a heart to heart that night. Katie told Bonnie about her grandfather and how Damon helped her and everything in between.

[lostbetweenvampiresandmusic]

Hi! I work at a Halloween store, so I was wondering if I could request something where the boys love to come into the store to fool around and David has a thing for the girl behind the register? ☺️

I hope you like it!💕 (Also- that sounds so awesome!!! I wish we had Halloween stores here😊)

-----------

At the end of August there would be more customers. You sighed, as you put some boxes away. The store had been close to empty for days, and the new owner had demanded that the store was open till eleven thirty. It was only six, and you had been lucky to help five customers today. You had wondered if you could just close up - it's not like the boss was going to know it - when the door opened.

Four rough looking guys walked in. The two blondes practically ran to the aisle with special effect make up and props, while the brunet looked at some of the masks hanging on the back wall. It was their leader, a platinum blonde, that leant over the counter, smiling at you.

"If you ask me if I come here often, I'll have to kick you out," you say, without looking up. You knew this type - the typical bad guy, flirting his ass off and then dumping the girl when he got what he wanted.

Instead of him being offended, he just chuckled. "Feisty."

"You know it."

You were about to turn back around, when you heard a crashing noise. The wild haired blonde had jumped on the back of the brunet, screaming.

"Run! They're coming to get you-"

From behind them the other blonde popped up, growling and wearing a zombie mask. He chased after the other two. You had a faint yet tired smile on your face, as you realised you had to call them to a stop.

"Please dont break down my store."

They didn't say anything, they just grinned as they looked at each other.

"Any reason you guys came in here tonight?"

"We just wanted to take look at the merchandise," the leader grinned. "I'm David."

"Hm. I'm not that interested."

"These idiots are Marko, Dwayne and Paul."

You nodded - not really knowing what to say. Good for them? Congratulations? That's nice? Nothing really worked, so you decided to just leave it.

They hung around more often after that night, David always coming up to talk to you. After a few times you realised he wasn't as bad as you'd thought, and that maybe you ought to give him a chance.

The other guys? They were beyond hopeless. The amount of times you had to clean up the fake puke, the masks, even help Paul out of one of the Princess dresses... They sure did liven up your job.

It was one night, close to Halloween. An old vampire movie was playing on the TV in the store, and some teens were looking for some last minute costumes or decorations. The door opened, and the four of them walked in again, covered in blood, looking horrified.

"Oh my God, what happened?" you ran to them, pulling them inside and getting them to the back of the store to help them clean up.

"It was terrible - they came out of nowhere and then they just -" Marko made slashing noises.

"We barely escaped..."

They did sound scared. You quickly grabbed them a towel, trying to help them clean of the blood when a drop landed on your finger. It was sticky. Blood wasn't that sticky - you'd pricked yourself in the finger often enough while sewing that you knew blood felt different. You looked at the boys - who were still holding up their horrified looks - and took a small taste.

"Corn syrup?"

"Just like in Carrie," Dwayne chuckled.

"Guys you really scared me.."

"Don't worry kitten," David grinned, pulling you close to him. You looked at him shyly, suddenly noticing how close he actually was. You could see all the details in his eyes, the kindness they held and yet the danger they seemed to hide. "I can protect you."

"Oh-?"

Before you could finish your sentence he'd kiss you already, softly, but firm enough to let you know that he was serious about this.

"Go on back to work," he chuckled, "I'll take you out to dinner afterwards."

You looked at him, a smile forming on your face, as you nodded. "Sounds good."

Walking away you failed to notice the grins of the four boys, exited to have a new member added to the family soon.

[prose-for-hire]

I know what you did last Halloween...

Part Two // Part Three // Part Four

Pairing: Scooby gang x reader (platonic)

This is a platonic story with the reader as part of the Scooby gang. Set season 3. It’s going to be a small multi-parted serial killer/slasher fic for Halloween. Reader lives with Giles, but is not related. The deaths in this part are not described in much detail. 

Not sure how popular it’ll be with you guys, but I’ve enjoyed writing it so far !! 🖤🦇

Warning: It is a serial killer fic, main characters are going to die (I’m sorry, it’s Halloween). Violence. Blood mention. Threat.

Sunnydale Scare? Scythe-wielding killer strikes again

Sunnydale Express, October 1999.

Sunnydale High school, not used to such horror inflicted on their student body since Principal Flutie’s unfortunate death in office [His memorial will be on the 31st as his family reveal it was his favorite time of year].

The scythe-wielding killer, who was seen wearing all-black with a festive mask, has claimed his most recent victims. Two members of the swim team found themselves in hot water after they were found with brutal and fatal injuries. The wounds matched the scythe that is commonly associated with the widely termed ‘Sunnydale slasher’.

It makes us wonder at the Sunnydale Express, why and how this idyllic town has managed to create such a monster?

You and the Scoobies were good friends. You helped save the world more than once whilst fighting algebra homework and Principal Snyder. You had moved from your hometown to Sunnydale at the same time as Buffy, meeting her on your first day and becoming best friends since that day. You had moved into Giles’ spare room after your parents had wanted to move on again. You had been sucked into the slaying and you couldn’t leave the others. Giles had been very accommodating and very much like a parental figure. Things had been going well, you were close to graduating and finally getting the hell out of there until one life-changing event that would forever be ingrained in your minds.

You and your friends were sat around the school canteen. The mood was pretty low and you were collectively checking over your shoulders every so often. You had been discussing the latest spate of murders. Surprisingly, it was widely covered by various news outlets and hadn’t been brushed under the rug as the usual demon relating killings were.

Buffy and Faith had been doing double patrolling, making sure there was always someone out after dark. Giles had been pleased but he wasn’t aware of the real reason. Although he had noted a difference in your mood in the past year. Despite the extra patrolling, no matter how many demon-snitches they beat up and threatened, there was no changing the answer they didn’t want to hear.

“So this… slasher? He’s-it’s-she’s-?” Xander spluttered through the pronouns in his disbelief.

“Yep. Human” Buffy shrugged, sighing and staring down at her food. Nobody had eaten anything. The lunch you all had set out in front of you was just for show. None of you could stomach much at the moment.

“Shouldn’t we have found them by now?” Willow wondered, her brow furrowing in frustration.

“It could be anyone. And I’m guessing they’re not exactly wearing their ‘I’m a killer come catch me’ sweater”

“Yeah, Giles says he’s gonna look into it, but unless it says ‘Scythe killer was here’ in one of those big old books…” You tail off as Buffy picks up your sentence.

“We’ve got zip. Nothing” Buffy nodded again. Conversation then turned. You had been in a deep discussion of something in low murmurs, that was until your best friends boyfriend walked in. A dead silence blanketed your table.

“The blank stares and silence make me feel at home” oz deadpanned and you all laughed slightly too loud at this. He squinted around the room, shrugged and then kissed Willow’s forehead before staring around at the odd vibe. He had noticed that none of you had been the same for at least a year, but anytime he tried to talk to Willow about it she just shook her head vigorously and locked herself in a different room until he dropped it.

“Well, I have some place to be that’s else. Or about three tables that way” He gestured with his head to where one of his bandmates were sat. Willow assured him she would come over and sit with them in a minute. After you finished a very important conversation.

“I can’t do this anymore, lying to him hurts my heart” Willow said sadly, shifting uncomfortably as if her heart was physically aching her, “I have to tell him”

“And how’re you gonna do that exactly, Will? Oh, hey there Oz remember last Halloween, well we-” Xander cut in harshly, trying to make Will be realistic.

“Stop it! We can’t talk about this here. Anyone could overhear, they already suspect I’m a slayer” Buffy said firmly.

“We have big mouths, sorry” You shrug, smiling tightly.

“This isn’t funny!” She snapped, the events of last year had her wound even more tightly than usual. She had more responsibility than she could handle on her shoulders as it was, let alone this secret weighing down on her like a

“I’m not laughing, Buff… I’m sorry” You whisper. You did feel guilty. You felt horrible. Some nights you barely slept, and when you did you had these horrible nightmares.

Oh, right. That guy that you killed. Well, it was a total accident and you were all very sorry at the time. I mean, you still are. But, thing is, you just didn’t happen to tell anyone or alert the correct authorities. Must have slipped your mind.

Let me paint the picture in case you managed to forget…

Last Halloween, you and your friends had been attending a Halloween party. Your collective night off from saving the world. Oz, who didn’t appear to be wearing a costume, had explained it was a shindig and you had all enjoyed the live music and spooky theme. Even Buffy had managed to relax.

Buffy had chosen little red riding hood and Willow was dressed as a knight in historically accurate chainmail. Cordelia was a cat, it was the back-up she always had in case her first choice fell through. She had shrugged, at least she looked good in it. You had decided on a werewolf, after apologising profusely to Oz who didn’t appear phased.

Xander was walking around in a karate outfit, something about being inspired by the copious violence he enjoyed on screen. Every so often he did a karate chop in mid-air and you and your friends would share a collective eye roll. Especially when he chopped some jock guy that he spent the rest of the evening hiding from. Whereas Faith was wearing as little as possible and appeared to be dressed as herself.

The band was playing decent music and the atmosphere was electric. You and Buffy had danced together while Willow and Xander laughed by the punch bowl. Out of nowhere, Faith joined the both of you and muscled you out of the way to dance with Buffy. You rolled your eyes, but knew better than to make a fuss so you went back to your other friends and joined them in conversation.

Buffy had borrowed her Mom’s car and had sneaked out while Joyce was sleeping. Joyce had been feeling a little under the weather and hadn’t noticed. When it was time to leave, she drove (badly) through the streets to drop everyone home. Oz was doing another set and would get a ride with the rest of his band.

You were squished in the back with Cordy, Xander and Willow. Faith had called shotgun. There were more people than there should be, with Cordy sitting precariously on Xander’s lap. It meant you and Willow were crushed together sharing an annoyed look as the pair continued to kiss.

Buffy looked out of the side window for a nicer view and managed to hit something in the road. You all screamed as she broke suddenly. You had hit something. Something big. You all got out to investigate and saw that it was a man. You went and shook his shoulder and he immediately sat up and grabbed at you. His grip tight and strong. You screamed as you looked at his face, there were fangs and his face looked bumpy. The others saw it too and Buffy pulled you away as Faith moved in and staked him.

The man struggled for a moment before going still. Blood had started to run from his heart and the stake that had been stabbed through it. You all just stared.

“W-why isn’t he going poof?” Willow whispered as you all just stared in horror. He had been human after all.

“It was a costume!” You shrieked in horror. Everyone’s blood turned cold. 

“We’ll have to bury him” Faith said quickly. Xander stayed silent, his eyes glazed in fear.

“We can’t!” Buffy said firmly.

“Look, it’s that or another stint in juvey and I’m not goin’ back there” Faith muttered and you all frowned, having not realised she had ever been.

“I think we should see if he has any ID, maybe we could-” You started, Willow nodding along.

“No, Faith’s right. We bury him” Xander said suddenly.

“Who made you decision-gal?” Buffy said, her usual fun language lost on the moment as she stared through Faith.

“I’m a slayer too, B. You’re not the boss” Faith tilted her head to the side and shrugged. You paused, thinking it over for a while.

“Buff, we can’t risk it. You and Faith are needed here – we can’t go to prison” You sigh, not sure if you fully believed what you were saying.

“Th-that’s actually true…” Willow said eventually, not looking anyone in the eye. It was hurting her conscience.

But that’s what you decided. For better or worse. You were all complicit now as you put him in the trunk and buried him in the graveyard in the early hours of the morning.

Nobody spoke as the sun started to rise and the plot you had chosen was no longer vacant. It had been hard to come to terms with ever since.

Missing – have you seen this man?

Sunnydale Express, 1998. November 2nd.

Mr Bates of Sunnydale California has been missing since Halloween night. Last seen leaving a party in the early hours. His wife and children are anticipating his return, although with the current rate of people vanishing often with no trace the Express, with their condolences, fears that Mr Bates may be one of a hundred Sunnydale citizens on Halloween night that will never return to their families.

This begs the question, where are all the missing going? Sunnydale has one of the largest cases of missing persons never being found in the state of California and statistics suggest it has the highest number compared to towns in neighboring states.

It had been a few days and something had shifted. Your friend’s mood was lower than ever and you were really worried about her. The guilt was eating away at her. It was so bad she finally had to talk to someone about it. Buffy was the most outwardly guilty one of you all. Covering for this went against everything she believed in. Fought for. Which is why she was probably being targeted the most.

You closed your locker and jumped, she had been standing behind it, waiting for you to notice her. She gave you an apologetic glance but still asked, “Hey, y/n, can we talk?”

“Sure, I didn’t wanna go to English anyway” You smile at her as you walk to the usual place under the stairwell you would hide when you needed to talk. She pressed a note into your hand which you unfolded and read:

‘I know what you did last Halloween…’

You gasped, looking around before looking back at her for some kind of explanation, “It was in my history textbook, so, it might have been there for at least a month” Buffy said “Did you get one?” she whispered. You shook your head, nobody had left anything for you. You would remember. Buffy’s note struck a sense of fear you hadn’t felt since that night. A bubbling guilt that was squeezing your insides and threatening to spill them out. You had felt numb since then, unable to cry or even think about the events.

“We need to tell someone. Maybe Giles? I can see how much this is killing you, Buff…”  You say, trying to comfort your friend the best way you knew how.

“I know, I try and I try but I can’t tell him. He’ll get all moral and Giles-y”

“Maybe we need that. What we did was stupid, but still an accident. I wish I had never agreed with Faith” You muttered as Buffy nodded along silently. She wished you hadn’t agreed with Faith too, you had been the type people came with for answers. Advice. So you agreeing with Faith was probably the deciding vote. She told you she would meet you later and appeared to be in deep thought as she walked away.

Willow and Cordy looked spooked, sitting down silently during the break between classes. Their notes had fallen out of their lockers and they were afraid they had been seen picking them up. Buffy revealed to the others hers had said the same thing just as Xander ran in, very visibly panicking and checking behind him with every step he took.

He just slammed the note in the middle of the table without comment. He had nothing he could say. No jokes could mask the horror that came with

“That settles it. We go to Giles” Buffy said firmly. 

“No-” Xander tried to assert, but he was outvoted this time.

“We have to. He’ll help us, I know he will” You confirmed, “Walk home with me tonight, we’ll tell him then” This was to give you some time. None of you could face going to the library for the rest of the day.

The bell rang and it felt as if it were tolling for a funeral march. The walk to Giles’ house was slow. You had swung by Faith’s motel on your way, taking a detour as you explained you would have to tell him. She surprisingly didn’t put much of an argument against.

The door creaked open and you shouted to announce your presence. But when you get there, you felt it instantly. You dropped your bags and walked into the living room. Every step felt heavy and echoed around the room. 

There he was. On the floor. Surrounded in his own blood.

Your knees buckled and you had to steady yourself against the sofa. The blood-stained sofa. Someone’s arms held you up. There were gasps and mutters but your ears were ringing, you felt very far away. He was cold, his body mutilated.

It took you longer than the others to see the new centrepiece of the room. 

‘I know what you did last Halloween’ was written in what could only have been Giles’ blood smeared across the wall of his living room. It was your warning. Your note.

A warning that turned your stomach. Knocked you all sick. He was one of you and he was gone. You tuned back into the conversation around you after having stared at the words. The words meant for you. Every time you blinked, those words were now stamped into your vision.

“It’s the same thing that was written on the notes”

“Oh, I got one of those but I threw it in the trash” Faith shrugged, but she wavered. This was hard to look at.

“We’ll have to clean it up” Xander said flatly. Gesturing at the writing.

“What?! We can’t-”

“Xander Harris, your brain is barely functional anyway - but this is totally the worst thing that’s come out of your mouth!” She shouted, her voice getting higher as she continued, “I am not cleaning the bloody writing off our dead librarians wall!” She warned. They had broken up since everything had happened. Everyone collectively winced as she said Giles was dead. It hurt. It sliced too close to the bone. At least when it had been a stranger, there was some degree of separation. But now it was even worse. 

“They’ll know or start to look into it - we gotta do it” 

You stayed silent this time, every time someone’s eyes looked at you you kept your expression blank. Until you were handed a cloth and some bleach and you grimaced but followed the others. Cordy joined you, nodding her understanding at your blank look. She took the cloth and the liquid from your shaking hands and started to help with the clean up.

Teen scream

Sunnydale Express, October 1999.

Reports of a large number of young people are now rejecting the upcoming holiday in an attempt to preserve their lives. Many say that this is a kneejerk reaction and that many will lose out of the best years of their lives to fear – which is what the killer will want.

Despite this, there has been a curfew agreed amongst the young people of the town and the Mayor’s office, reports suggest. Time will tell if this will be kept or if it another attempt by those cautious to get a re-election rather than improving the spate of missing persons that has only doubled since the year previous.

You were all waking in a group. You couldn’t face staying at Giles’ place so you were going to stay over at Buffy’s for the night. There was still an argument going on around you that you weren’t listening to. Faith had lit up a cigarette and kept telling everyone to calm down. That nobody could know or people would be hauling you all off to jail. That you had chosen the right thing.

“I’m sick of you all, I’m going out. There’s a party down the block. Anyone coming?” She looks around. This, you had heard. You shrug, resigning yourself to it. You made plans based on alibis now. With this cynical thought, you manage to convince everyone else to come too. You never know, it might relax them.

...Or not. 

You and the others all sat around in silence as the bass, and Faith, jumped around you. You barely spoke, you just stared into your cups. There had been some hugging when you first left the house but since then you all felt so alone. So disconnected despite being in this together. What you had chosen to do didn’t feel right and without your constant, your compass that had been Giles you didn’t know what to do.

 “Hey, man, it’s not Halloween yet!” Someone shouted. It caught all of your attention. A collective feeling of dread. That had been before all of the screaming had started.

The figure loomed over you. Everything about him screamed menacing. He frightened you more than any demon. He was stood in a Grim reaper costume, complete with blood stained scythe. He turned, spotting you finally. He had been slicing kids down as he walked. He wasn’t aiming, just wildly enjoying the chaos he caused.

He stopped in the centre of the room, facing the group of you that had just risen to your feet. He pointed. He stood still and pointed at you all. The Scooby gang.

In that moment, you knew. You knew he was the one that was taunting you. And so did every one else.

“Well, one of us has a brief scythe of life” Buffy stated, “…and it isn’t me” She ran at him, her fists raised as Faith came up behind her. In the chaos it was hard to see what was happening, all you could feel was this descending feeling of foreboding. You knew it had happened before you saw it.

To be continued…

[artificialqueens]

Galactica, Chapter 41 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

A/N: Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). 💫

Last Chapter: Halloween

This Chapter: Things look up for Violet but turn iffy for Adore.

***

Pearl swayed a little in her heels as Adore’s lips trailed down her neck. They were half-dressed at this point, making their way to Adore’s bedroom. Adore’s jacket and shirt had been discarded, leaving her in just a thin undershirt, suspenders dangling around her waist. Pearl’s skirt was around her ankles, sweater somewhere on the floor.

She stepped out of the skirt, a sharp inhale leaving her as Adore shoved her roughly up against a wall. Her hands threaded into Adore’s hair, which was up in a tight bun, and immediately began pulling it apart. She loved the whole butch look that Adore was rocking tonight, but she loved it even more when she got to unravel it. Pearl’s hand traveled along the wall, reaching for the door handle, finally pushing it open and pulling Adore into the bedroom.

“God, you’re so fucking hot,” Adore breathed, pushing Pearl onto the bed.

Pearl smirked, enjoying the desperate edge in her voice as her hands groped for her bra clasp, the unrefined way she clawed at her panties to yank them down. She spread her thighs, head falling backward, hand tangled into Adore’s hair to guide her along.

“I love your pussy,” Adore continued, lapping her up vigorously, fingers digging into her thighs. “You’re perfect, so perfect…”

Adore kept lavishing praise on her, and Pearl could feel her muscles tense. She tried to squeeze her eyes shut, to close it out and focus on the way her body was responding, but it quickly became impossible. She took a deep breath and rolled Adore over onto her back, thighs straddling her face.

“Stop talking.”

Adore panted up at her, surprise all over her face as her eyes went dark. “Are you gonna punish me?”

The way she just immediately folded, immediately ceded all power to Pearl, was even more intoxicating than if she’d been submissive all along.

“I should,” Pearl said hoarsely. She ran a finger along Adore’s bottom lip. “I should show you who’s boss.”

“Do it.” Adore trembled beneath her, gripping her thighs for dear life.

Pearl took hold of the headboard and lowered herself until her pussy was pressed up against Adore’s face, riding her slowly, dictating the pressure and pace, all the while watching the blissed-out expression in Adore’s eyes. By the time Pearl came with a satisfied groan, Adore’s panties, her usual boy-cut cotton briefs, were soaked through.

It was hard not to laugh. This was the same girl who, just hours earlier, had been manhandling her on the dance floor as if she were the king of the world. And now, all it took was a few swipes of Pearl’s thumb to reduce her to a whimpering, shaking mess.

“You like that?”

“B-baby, please,” Adore begged, pupils fully dilated, hands clutching at Pearl’s hair and shoulders. “I need to come, I need-”

“Shh, shhhh…” Pearl silenced her with a kiss, finally plunging her fingers inside to give her what she so desperately wanted, stroking her g-spot until she cried out, then continuing to play with her until she was wrung out, too weak to even lift her head.

Afterwards, Pearl sucked her fingers into her mouth with a satisfied grin, letting Adore curl against her as usual, wrapping her warm body into a sweaty embrace.  

***

Sutan woke to the ever familiar scent of lavender, and the sensation of Violet’s hair up his nose.

He huffed, moving his face away, only to smile when Violet groaned, her hand coming up to grab his arm and pull him back down, forcing him to mold himself back against her back, the bed creaking underneath them.

Last night, they hadn’t returned to Sutan’s place as he had originally expected, instead, they had ended up in Violet’s apartment because Violet had insisted that she would die if she didn’t get pizza from a specific pizzeria near her building, and who was Sutan to argue with that?

“Morning gorgeous.” Sutan smiled, pressing a kiss against Violet’s shoulder, but the action only earned him another deep groan, Violet for once very clearly hungover. “Where is your bed frame?”

“Only rich people have bed frames.”

“Sure.” Sutan snorted, burrowing his face in Violet’s hair, pulling her against him.

It was strange to be in Violet’s bedroom, Sutan realizing last night with a flash of embarrassment that this was the first time he had been inside Violet’s apartment. He had picked her up from her building countless times, but they had always stayed at his, Sutan not even entertaining the idea that he should come up.

“Is there any leftover pizza?” Violet looked over her shoulder, a little bit of the mascara she hadn’t managed to get off smudged under her eye.

“You only had two slices.” Sutan had bought a pepperoni pizza for himself, Violet for some godforsaken reason going straight for pineapple and only pineapple. “I put it in your fridge.”

Sutan had never expected Violet to be someone who enjoyed cooking, but he had been shocked when he had opened her refrigerator last night, a bottle of carrot juice, a carton of almond milk and a half eaten takeaway salad all he had spotted in there.

“I’ll go get it.” Violet slipped out of bed, and Sutan couldn’t help but smile as she was wearing the tiniest pair of panties, her Hepburn jewels still around her neck since Sutan hadn’t been able to figure out the lock with a drunk and sleepy Violet in his arms.

Sutan sat up, running his hand through his hair as he looked around the bedroom, a tower of brown moving boxes in the corner. Violet’s clothes were all put away, two clothing racks holding dresses Sutan immediately recognized, but beyond the wardrobe, the room was strangely bare and devoid of personal touches.

“Huh.” Sutan bit his lip, getting out of bed. He grabbed his undershirt from the floor, cursing to himself when he realized that he didn’t have his reading glasses, using his phone without them a surefire way to feel like shit after a night out.

“Do you want coffee?” Sutan turned his head to see Violet standing in the door, now wrapped in a robe, a plate and a slice of pizza with missing bites in her hand. “I’m afraid I only have instant.”

“Instant is fine.” It wasn’t really, not when he was used to his top of the line espresso machine, but he wasn’t going to create a fuss. “Do you have anything that isn’t pineapple pizza?”

“I can make oatmeal?” Violet smiled, and he guessed that somewhat explained the strange lack of food in her fridge.

“How about I take us out for breakfast?”

***

“Raaaaaaaj,” Raven whispered, her lips right next to her fiancée's ear. “Wake up.”

They had come home from the party last night, Raja helping her out of her costume, the two of them falling into bed, drunk sex always a fucking treat, the feeling of Raja’s fake mustache against her inner thighs so strange they had both been hiccuping from laughter.

“Mmmh?”

“I’m hungry.” Raven smirked as she felt Raja’s hand travel up her back, the other woman finally awake.

“Make breakfast then.”

“I wanna go out.” Raven nuzzled her nose against Raja’s neck.

“You can starve for all that I care.”

Raven laughed. Grumpy Raja was one of her favorites, the whine in her voice one that never came out anywhere else, being allowed to see her like this, a treasure Raven guarded with her life.

“Please-” Raven nuzzled her face even closer against Raja’s neck, pressing kisses to the warm skin. “I want buttered croissants.”

“Mmh-” Raja hummed, her fingers finding the ends of her hair. Raven knew she wasn’t actually tempted by the promise of bread, Raja beyond annoying with how easy it was for her to not give in to culinary temptations.

“If you put some pants on, I can call for a car-”

“No can do buttercup.” Raja started petting her hair. “The moment I leave this bed, I have to work.”

“Seriously?” Raven sat up on her elbows, Raja actually opening her eyes now, a bit of glue still on her top lip. “Don’t look at my tits.”

“Sorry,” Raja smirked, her eyes still focused on Raven’s chest.

“You have to work? Again?” Raven wanted to throw a fit. It wasn’t a new thing that Raja worked on the weekends, it wasn't a new thing that she was constantly fighting for her attention, but this, this was a new low, both of them naked and hung over. “It’s Sunday?”

“The preparations for the Spring collection are right around the corner. You know people depend on me and Fame has unfortunately handed me a mug.”

Raven huffed, throwing herself back down on the bed, turning her back to Raja as she pulled the duvet under her chin.

“Princess-” Raven felt Raja curl around her back. “Don’t be upset.”

“And what about me? I depend on you too,” Raven grumbled, the words caught by the duvet, but Raja somehow still heard them.

“I know.” Raja peeled the duvet down, pressing a kiss against Raven’s shoulder blade. “How about we order in, eat in bed-”

“Hm?” Raven turned her head.

“And when I’m done with my very important job,” Raja smiled, her hand sneaking under the covers and settling on Raven’s hip. “I spend the very important money I make on buying very important things for our trip to Aspen?”

“Mmh,” Raven chewed her lip to keep the smile off of her face. “I guess that’s acceptable.”

***

“Ah, that hits the spot.”

Violet smiled to herself as she watched Sutan take the first sip of the double espresso he had ordered. They were sitting at a small cafe, Sutan actually cleaning up surprisingly nicely for the fact that he had only had his costume from last night at her place.

“Glad to see your craving could be satisfied.”

“Oh?” Sutan grinned, tapping his foot against hers underneath the table. “Do you really think you have room to be snarky, Miss Pineapple?”

Violet bit her lip, her cheeks heating up. She couldn’t exactly remember the entirety of last night after bumping into Courtney, Raven talking her into yet another round of shots, but she did remember Sutan’s hand on her back, did remember unlocking her door and whining when she couldn’t get her necklace off.

“Concentrate on your breakfast.”

Sutan laughed, trapping her foot between his own before he dug into his cinnamon French toast. Violet herself had opted for a sunnyside egg and a smoothie, the pizza slice she had devoured before Sutan was ready to leave sitting heavy in her stomach.

Sutan was chatting about last night, telling her a story about Detox, the two men surprisingly close for how different they were. Violet wasn’t truly listening, but it didn’t seem to matter, Sutan more than happy to just up the space.

“Lovely eyes-” Violet was pulled out of her thoughts, the man watching her with his brown eyes. “You’re tapping along with the music.”

Sutan was pointing with his fork, and Violet looked down at her fingers, her almond-shaped nails tapping on table.

“Huh…” Violet hadn’t even noticed, hadn’t even listened to the music, but now that she was aware, she could hear the notes of Waltz of the Flowers, the cafe for some reason playing Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. The music was such an ingrained part of who she was, the ballet one she had danced every December since she was 6 years old. “I’m sorry.”

“Bringing back memories?” Sutan smirked, a kind look in his eyes, but Violet felt her entire body run cold.

“Yes.” It did bring back memories, the sensation of leg warmers and sitting on hard dance floors, of chewy protein bars and being soaked in sweat, of the unbelievable satisfaction when a move was finally executed just right and she could collapse in exhaustion. “But how-”

“Did I know?” Sutan put his fork down, clearly beyond pleased with himself.

“Yes.”

Violet hadn’t told anyone in her new life that her first career had been as a dancer at the New York City Ballet, that she had been a soloist on the track for principal before her life had changed forever at 17.

“I’m a modeling agent, lovely eyes.” Sutan took his coffee cup. “I can spot a dancer from a mile away, and everything about your posture tells me that you have done ballet at some point.”

“Ah.” Violet nodded, a rush of relief coursing through her. Sutan didn’t know, hadn’t truly guessed who she used to be. “You got me.”

“What can I say,” Sutan grinned, putting his cup to his lips. “I’m the best.”

She’d tell him one day, tell him her entire story, but that day wasn’t going to be today.

***

When Violet had first started in design, she had wondered why they had several couches scattered around the room. It had started to make sense as she had seen just how social her new coworkers were, the furniture often taken up by people talking, working or even napping.

Violet had never used the couches before today, her desk and her desk chair all she needed, but while Trixie was upstairs for the  department head meeting discussing the Spring line, she had figured that it was time to test out if Trixie was actually serious about wanting them to relax.

Which was why she was on the couch, attempting to pass the time while she waited anxiously for Trixie to return.

It felt incredibly weird not to be in the boardroom, to not be standing against the wall taking notes as Fame and Raja presented the new concepts for the collections, Violet’s spine itching with annoyance over the fact that she wasn’t there.

She had considered texting Courtney, but she wasn’t sure Courtney could actually tell her anything interesting, the blonde incredibly talented at hearing but not listening, so instead, Violet had brought her backlog of magazines with her to work.

Violet had started collecting fashion magazines at 17. At first, she had only read American Vogue, but as she had started to get more and more into fashion, her monthly collection had started to grow.

Now, she bought American Vogue, British Vogue, French Vogue, Italian Vogue, Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar and French and American Elle, her preferred newsstand knowing her by sight.

Violet knew that she could look online for fashion inspiration, knew that it was what everyone around her did, but she had always preferred either print or watching the real people of New York walk by.

Violet wasn’t sure what she was looking for, but as she flipped through the pages, she knew she’d find it sooner or later, at least one of the spots in the Spring collection belonging to her, even if she had to fight for it. Violet almost rolled her eyes as she revealed yet another page of british street style, the fabrics and cuts absolutely horrendous.

Every time the door opened, she would sit up straighter, thinking it was Trixie back with news. After 3 or 4 excruciating false alarms, he finally returned, smiling at the designers, knowing they were all on pins and needles at this point.

“Attention Team! This is not a drill!” Trixie joked. “Everyone meet me in the conference room in 5 minutes for an update on the Spring collection!”

Violet stood up immediately, hurrying directly to the conference room with her notebook, excited to hear the news. Trixie was busy sticking a handful of reference photos onto the whiteboard: A ceramic cup, an egret, a skyline of what looked to be a coastal village somewhere in Turkey, a wheat field at sunrise, a collection of fabric samples stapled together into little booklets the designers could take with them to their desks.

Apparently, this year, Fame wanted a light and breezy Spring collection. Functional and elegant with a touch of whimsy. The color palette was true Galactica: dove grey, cream, straw, ivory flecked with gold, very sparing accents of delicate pink and dusty lilac.

Violet’s mind raced with ideas of ways to manipulate silk so that it rustled and and fluttered beautifully on the runway. Of clean, beautiful lines: crisp linens and soft, feathery edges. Her fingers itched with excitement to get started as she carefully wrote down their deadlines: Thursday to turn in sketches for the in-store prêt-à-porter collection, and the following Thursday for the opening and closing runway pieces.

She knew, of course, that Alexis, Jovan, Gia, April and Maxwell had guaranteed spots in the collection, that group of designers the defining factors in the current Galactica style. She was also well aware that as a new designer, she would be doing foundation pieces.

She would be expected to pay her dues and make sure her collection pieces supported whatever final direction the senior staff chose, but Violet had never been a settler, and she was going to give being in the collection her best shot.

***

Adore sighed happily, swaying to the pounding bass of the house music, surrounded by a sea of sweaty club goers. She and her band had just played an electrifying late-night gig and she was still high on the adrenaline.

She loved being out, loved showing people why her and her band were the next big thing, but the best part of the night was that Pearl was there, had been right there in the front of the crowd cheering her on.

“Hey…” Aja came up to her, a look of concern creasing their brow, Aja’s outfit for the night a light blue latex number.

“What’s up, baby?” Adore asked, pressing a kiss to Aja’s cheek, wrapping her arms around their waist. They’d known each other since Adore first moved to New York to live with Bianca, almost 10 years ago, had been classmates at the performing arts high school along with the rest of her bandmates.

“Uh, it’s just… Dahlia is being a bit of a thot and Pearl looks… Into it…” Aja bit their lip.

Adore turned to look where Aja was gesturing, saw her friend and bass player sitting perched on a stool, back arched, plaid shirt almost entirely unbuttoned and slipping off one shoulder. Pearl stood close to her… Maybe a little closer than needed, a beer in her hand as she chatted her up. There was a bored, almost challenging look on Dahlia’s face as Pearl spoke, and the whole thing set Adore’s teeth on edge.

“Well…” Adore swallowed, fighting her impulse to march over and pull them apart, fixing a nonchalant expression on her face as she turned back to Aja, “They’re both big flirts. So what?”

“So, I don’t know if I’d be cool with it. I’m shocked you are.”

“There’s no reason for me to be a jealous bitch. I knew that Pearl was like that when we got together, so how could expect her to change? And anyway, she’s coming home with me, not Dahlia,” Adore said.

“You sure about that?” Aja asked.

Adore’s eyes narrowed, shooting a nasty look at her long-time friend, who laughed.

“Alright, alright. I didn’t realize that you were so chill.”

“I’m the chillest,” Adore said, taking a sip of her cocktail. But whether she was trying to convince herself or Aja, she wasn’t totally sure.

*

“So can I buy you a drink?”

“You can fuck off,” came the sneering reply.

“Oof,” Pearl smiled, resting her head on her hand, her elbow placed on the bar. “Kitty got claws. What got you in such a mood?”

“The company.”

There was something strangely familiar about Dahlia, but Pearl was 99% sure she hadn’t had sex with her before. She’d given up trying to place her, instead just enjoying her ice queen vibe. “I don’t think you mind my company all.”

“Don’t I?” Dahlia raised an eyebrow, her plump lips pursed, her beautiful face the picture of disinterest, but Pearl had caught her eyes flickering to her arm, had seen her notice exactly how strong Pearl was in the places where it was needed.

“I know women.”

Dahlia was hot as sin, everything about her soft and delicate, her dark hair styled in careful silky curls, the freckles on her shoulder the most delicious tease, the garterbelt that poked out from under her denim shorts promising Pearl that she’d find mouth-watering lingerie underneath Dahlia’s clothes if she ever got that far.

“I’m sure you do.”

“I could show you?”

“No.”

Pearl had to bite her lip to swallow a moan. There was something about her hyper femininity, something about how she was just a little bit mean, Dahlia radiating a promise of pink pillows, cherry chapstick and fruit scented shampoo that Pearl hadn’t even realized she was missing so fiercely it made her nipples tighten.

“Also,” Dahlia looked over her shoulder. “Your girlfriend is right over there.”

Shit.

***

Violet walked out of the elevator, a cup of steaming hot coffee and a banana in her hand. It was a little after 8--security had finally realized that her company card opened every door and locked her out, but she could still make her way to the design floor without a hitch.

Violet had come directly from the gym, her hair in a ponytail and still damp from her shower, the shoes on her feet running shoes instead of the heels she normally wore. She’d had this routine for awhile now--getting to the office early to do her makeup and hair in the big, clean Galactica bathrooms where, unlike the gym, she didn’t have to fight for mirror space, smile at strangers, or pretend to be interested in small talk. She’d have time to finish her routine and settle in to work just as the other designers began trickling in.

Today though, as she opened the big double doors to the design department, she was surprised at the sight that met her. It wasn’t one lone designer who’d arrived earlier than normal, or two people finishing a project, but rather, at least five of her colleagues sitting at their desks, busily working away already.

Violet had no idea why they were there, seeing so many of her coworkers this early honestly shocking. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like they had noticed her, so she made a beeline for the bathroom, vowing to herself that she’d get fully ready before coming into the office from now on, the risk of her coworkers seeing her as anything less than perfectly put together not one she was willing to take yet.

***

Maxwell stood by the printer, waiting for the sketches he had done on his iPad to come out. For years now, he’d been almost solely responsible for all of the business separates in the Galactica line, and it suited him just fine.

Over the years, he’d perfected the kind of crisply tailored and yet graceful and feminine lines that Miss Fame preferred, which had earned him her favor again and again and again.

When he’d seen the inspiration for the Spring collection, he was immediately flooded with ideas, and after almost 2 days of working, he was quite pleased with the sheer volume and range of choices he was going to present at the meeting, already imagining the pleased nod he’d get from the head of the company.

Violet appeared in the little printing alcove, doing a jump of surprise when she saw someone else in there. “Max, hi-”

“Sorry to scare you,” Maxwell smiled. “My job’s almost done,”

“Thanks,” Violet said, taking a step in, their elbow almost bumping against each other as she snug a peak at the printer. “Wow,” Violet turned her head, looking at Maxwell. “Are these your sketches? There’s so many already.”

“Well, you know Fame and Raja. They like to have options. ” Maxwell grinned, knowing that if anyone did know, it’d be Violet. “My technique with prêt-à-porter is to give them as many choices as possible, with lots of variation. Kind of ‘throw all the spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks’ approach, you know?”

Violet nodded, a very serious expression on her face as she listened.

“I started with a bunch of different suit options, and then I’ll use these to whip up all the other coordinating separates.”

“I just can’t believe that you’ve done so many in only 2 days,” Violet said, looking quite uncertain.

“You’re pretty fast yourself, so I wouldn’t worry.” Maxwell picked his sketches up. “Are you working on any for this week, or straight for the couture spots?”

“Yes.” Violet moved up, pressing on the printer to make it spit out her own sketches before she apparently realized that just yes wasn’t actually an answer to his question. “Prêt-à-porter isn’t my strength-“ Violet bit her lip, “But I’m not a one trick pony, and I want to play ball.”

“My advice? Be ambitious. This isn’t the time to hold back,” Maxwell said, smiling kindly. In spite of his initial reservations, he’d found himself quite charmed by the newest designer. And if he could help her get a leg up, he definitely wanted to do that, adding, “Let me know if you want me to review anything before Thursday!”

“Thanks,” Violet smiled. “I appreciate that.”

***

Courtney rushed down the street in the chilly air, in a desperate hurry to get to Broadway Dance Center in time for her class to start.

She hadn’t really given her personal dreams much thought since beginning at Galactica. But recently, when Adore was telling her all about a series of gig she’d gotten--ones Courtney couldn’t attend because they were all super late at night, mid-week, and all the way in Brooklyn--a rush of envy over Adore’s ability to focus on her music completely had overtaken her, immediately followed by guilt over such an ugly emotion.

Just because Adore had someone supporting her didn’t give Courtney any excuse to be jealous of her friend’s good fortune. Maybe things would be harder for her--that didn’t mean that she shouldn’t try. Instead of worrying about what she didn’t have, she decided to instead look to Adore’s achievements as inspiration.

She’d found an 8 pm class, figuring that it was late enough not to interfere with her work responsibilities. After all, taking an hour for herself one evening a week seemed like the kind of thing she should be able to do without a problem, right?

However, today had been even crazier than usual, with the holiday collection now being finalized, the Spring collection underway, and Fame working on a deal to expand Galactica’s flagship stores in Europe. Fame herself hadn’t even left until just before 7.

Courtney had finally managed to get away, currently sprinting the 15 blocks to BDC--she’d even had the foresight to bring sneakers. If she was fast enough, there was a chance she’d make it in time for her class.

With less than 2 blocks to go, Courtney realized that her work phone was buzzing in her hand. She paused at the corner, trying to manifest some positive energy before she answered. This will be something small. Something I already took care of. This call will end with Miss Fame pleased and happy...

“Hello?”

“Why are the Berlin contracts not in my bag?” Fame demanded.

“You...wanted to take those home?” Courtney asked, though she already knew the answer. Why would Fame be calling her otherwise? She cringed at her own carelessness, stupidly assuming that she’d review them the next day at her meeting with Patrick.

Fame seemed to be just as annoyed with Courtney as she was with herself, sighing and saying, “Deliver them now. This stress is not good for my skin,” and then hanging up even before Courtney’s “Yes, Miss.”

Courtney stood on the corner for a few moments, catching her breath, before turning around and trudging back towards the Galactica offices, shoulders slumped in defeat.

So much for dance class.