#middle part link holds a special place in my heart

[onebizarrekai]

you ever think about the fact that link having golden blonde hair and a middle part in ocarina of time probably only happened because it was the 90s and even though it's arguably one of the most memorable designs of link, that hairstyle of his never came back for a reason

[seventhcallisto]

PROLOGUE

—Deep Down.

Toc/cw; scenting. omega in heat. talk of s3x. featuring alpha g-idle. Language. Mature Content! Talk of gender, sex, and the weird system that a/b/o roles have, including the terrible hierarchy system. It's my series so I make my own rules, period!

Never, absolutely never, does a person get their second sex when they're born. It's no surprise they get it towards puberty, yet the majority of times, heats or ruts do not start happening until they're in their late teens- early twenties. Betas never went through that issue. They hardly ever were considered more than peace makers. For a while, they were the least chosen. While not as valuable as an alpha or as wonderful at comforting like an omega. There was still some dull middle ground. They weren't that special.

That was only for a bit, anyway. Eventually, omegas took that spot, lower on the hierarchy, whilst betas gained the middle place. You didn't agree with the system, though. It doesn't matter your second sex. It matters how you hold yourself, how you go about through life with a second sex.

And you stood by that for decades.

You took hold of a company and shaped yourself to fit their mold. Although a foreigner in this strange city, following a dream you didn't know you could grasp, you still went for it. You molded yourself to fit whatever they wanted. A calm, level-headed, peace-maker, beta. With a heart of fire and determination that'll set a field ablaze. You worked your ass off. Getting up as early as possible. Practicing. Making something of yourself. Training yourself. Learning the language.

Someone who could make even the quietest of omegas open up, and the loudest of alphas silent. You were a patient and composed person.

And when you came out on top, the very top, unreachable and untouchable, you knew you maxed out your potential. It was only then that you let it slip from your hands and into the grasp of another. You let them see what you could do, and now it was their turn.

They took it with stride. Quickly, you found yourself linked to a group you'd be a part of for life. You were surprised, to say the least.

"It smells like testosterone in here," you grimaced.

Eventually, you did get used to the stench of 8 alphas. Soon enough, you could actually smell their undertones. A mix of everything drowns every corner of the apartment you live in with them.

You were fairly the least popular in the group by a good amount. Sometimes, you chalked it up to people being oblivious. It never hurt you, why would it? You're a rare gem. Sometimes, it needs a light shined on it to really sparkle.

It's years later of cleaning up after messy alphas and teaching yourself tricks to get used to their behaviors, that you suddenly notice a difference in yourself.

"Hey, you smell different," seonghwa scruches his nose, a pleasantly surprised look on his face. You slip your shoes off in the doorway, closing it behind you. "New perfume," you reply, half hazerdly, sliding your keys into the key bowl. "I thought you liked your own scent?" He comes over and helps you with the handbag in your arm.

You hand it over to the taller guy, slipping your mask down your face. "I'm starting to stink, so i changed my perfume scent. Maybe your guys' stench is making me allergic, or I'm getting sick." You sigh tiredly when he hangs your jacket up in the closet. "No, not sick. I know what you smell like when you're sick," seonghwas eyebrows scrunch.

"You smell.. sweeter.. have you been hanging out with any omegas lately?" He questions, folding his arms over his chest. His white sweater is rolled up his arms, and his black pants hang loosely. Surely, if seonghwa is to lounge around, he's gonna do it with style. You laugh, avoiding his eyes when he catches you looking him up and down. "Ha, yeah, actually. I'm helping Kimmie prep for her heat. She plans to have a couple of mini devils running around this summer. Can you believe it?" You scoff, mentioning your long time once-trainee close friend who you grew attached too.

"Kimmie with kids, I would have never thought," you mumble under your breath, years ago you would of scoffed at the idea of young- impressionable kimmie, mature enough to consider having kids with her beta husband whom you also knew to be a trainee from before. Are you really getting that old? Seonghwa stares for a couple of seconds. His piercing eyes guide you up and down. You're staring back now. Seonghwa doesn't flinch. "Right, let's hope kim is ready for that," he laughs, and just like that, the tension breaks.

You both shuffle into the living room. Calling it a night.

Not even two days later, you're on the couch scrolling mindlessly on your phone whilst you wait for the guys to get dressed. The practice video for one of your group songs is soon. You've only been able to practice by yourself up until that point.

Yeosang takes a seat next to you, pushing you into his side. The alpha gently taps your leg to gain your attention. "What's up?" You put your phone down, giving him your full attention. "My scent is wearing off on you," he almost pouts. You smile, turning towards him and opening your arms. "Okay, c'mere." You beckon his face into your neck. Afterward, you let him take the lead.

It takes two seconds for you to realize he's not scenting you anymore. He didn't even start. "Yeosang?" You call out, threading your fingers on the back of his neck hairs. He hums, and it sounds so far away. His scent grows heavier. "You okay?" You attempt to pull back. he chases your neck. You can hear him breathing heavily, struggling to catch his breath after every strong inhale. His soft hand snakes around your neck, gently leaning your head the opposite way so he can get more room.

You follow, cause you trust your pack member. You can feel his mouth part, his lips drawing closer to your pulse. Your eyebrows furrowed. What are you doing? Obviously, something is up. You pull away from yeosangs grasp. Backing up just a bit. You put a hand to his chest to distance yourself. It's a few seconds before yeosang seems to come back, his foggy eyes focusing. "Sorry, I.. you smell really different lately," he admits, twisting his fingers in his lap.

"How so?" You question him. "Like.. sweeter. I can smell it linger, deep down under our scents I can smell.. an omega," he admits, his eyebrows twitch down. You haven't been to Kimmies house since seonghwa asked, yet you've completely washed and cleaned yourself of her scent entirely. You don't know what to say.

"Well," you fold your legs into your lap. "I think I might be coming down with something, I changed my perfume. It could be that, too?" You can't tell if you're reassuring yourself or yeosang. He hums. His eyes search your front, glancing up at you and then down to your neck where your scent glands are. "Could you wear one of my shirts for practice? I didn't get to properly scent you, and it'd make me feel better. " his tone is more of a demand yet hes still a little shy with it. Behind his eyes, you can see the strange look he casts aside.

You smile wearily. "Sure."

Yeosang had picked a black shirt he wore very often. It took him a hot minute, but by the time you watched him go through everything in his closet, the guys were done and slipping on their shoes. Once he was satisfied with his choice, he handed it to you. A shirt that would be tight fit for yeosang hanged off you. The deepest scents you can pick out are cocoa butter and honeyed citrus, like lemonade. There's the distant scent of strong tea. The cocoa butter blends well into his scent, perfectly layered. Perfectly yeosang.

You took a deep enhale, liking the freshness of his smell. Not noticing the satisfactory smile on yeosangs face, you slipped off into his bathroom and exchanged your shirt for his. Leaving yours behind. Once you came out, you were surprised to still see him there. His scent is everywhere in this room, heavier than normal.

His eyes look your form up and down. You give a tiny spin, smiling awkwardly. Finally, his eyes meet yours, clouded with an unknown emotion. It's a few seconds of silence. You never break off eye contact.

"We're gonna be late!" Hongjoong shouts out from the front door. His voice echoes in the hallway, leading to yeosangs' room. Yeosang smiles, looking away. He makes haste to the door and leaves you. You let the breath out you were holding. What was that?

Practice takes a hard minute to start, the coolness of the room makes it easier to warm up. You're not sweating when you begin repeating steps, adjusting what you deem unfinished or sloppy. Not long does the heat kick into the room. You find yourself removing your hoodie.

"Let's get started" the manager hits the button on the camera, beginning the recording. Your eyes follow your own movement. All of ateez has said you're the ace of the group, in everything you do it seems well-executed. You doubt that sometimes.

Every move and every breath is conditioned from years of practice everyday 'til you couldn't feel your legs. Sometimes you'd go as far as to even run, dance, and jump in terrible stilletos. Which worked out in the end since the majority of the time you'd have to wear heels or platforms to match the height of the guys during every event and performance.

Sweat pools on your collar, your neck, and your forehead as you work across the room. You can smell every one of the guys as they pass around you, a flurry of scents clog your senses. You try to focus on the choreography.

You tried until your shoulder slams into someone, throwing you off balance and onto the hard wood floor. Your elbow bounces off the wood. You slide to a stop quickly. "Fuck!" you curse at the sting in your leg, hip, and ankle. The room grows extremely quiet, the music stops as quickly. Mingi bends down to your level, shock still evident on his face. "Sorry! shit, my bad, are you okay?" He reaches for your head.

"Ow" you whine, like actually whine, instead of brushing it off like you normally would. Touching your elbow. You both simultaneously notice the blood dripping off your elbow. "Why aren't you watching where you're going!?" Yunho walks up to mingi. Mingi stands up from next to you. "I didn't do it on purpose!" Mingi defends, his jaw clenches. The two stare daggers, a tense standoff so sudden you don’t know truly if you falling is the cause of it or if something else is at play. Hongjoong steps forward to stop them. A heated discussion begins.

Wooyoung and San stand back, Jaws clenched, at any moment they look ready to pounce. Yeosang stands with Seonghwa and Jongho, who look just as concerned about the growing argument, yet their faces murge into something completely different at the smell in the air.

It's something no one can put their finger on.

Your ever growing weirdly sweet scent is surprising to even you, your gut twists in an unsettled way. You don't look at their faces, trying to understand the smell and your sudden shift. What the hell is going on with you?

"Boys, out in the hallway now, please" Jongsik. The manager you've had for years steps forward. As the oldest in the room take charge, the guys looked challenged. "What about her!?" Yunho shouts out, fustrated. In the distance another aurgument begins. Mingi squats back down to your level, gently pulling your attention back to him with his hands on either side of your face. "it's not that bad, yeah? It's alright?" He wants to reassure you. "Mingi" you practically whine, pulling at his wrist. The smell of harsh and swirling emotions makes your nose scrunch, it's intense and somewhat intoxicating.

You're dizzy.

Jongsik stands firm. "Out!" He repeats himself pointing to the practice room door. He reaches for mingi's shoulder. He who pushes the older man off, standing abruptly.

Hongjoong, the pack leader, is the one that rounds up the boys and pushes them out, even mingi. Before he shuts the door. He looks at you. He's so tempted to just run back in, coddle you and wrap your elbow in bandages. Yet he closes the door anyways.

There's no defiance or whining from you. because jongsik is a beta, and already mated. He's taken on a fatherly role to you when he pulls you to your feet. "I don't feel good.." You slur. Placing a hand on your head.

"Hey, it's gonna be alright. We're gonna get you to the hospital, alright?"

You lay on an examination bed, squirming by yourself. Anxiously you wait twirling your hand around the bandage on your elbow.

"This is something we've never seen before." With your heightened hearing, you can feel they're talking about you.

"She showed signs of being a beta for years. How could something like this happen so suddenly? It's impossible." Whispers echo in your mind.

What the hell is going on?

"Hello," a doctor, also a lady, steps in. her face is covered with a mask. "I'm Dr Liana." You try to focus, but the ache in your stomach is distracting. "It seems to have been there for a while, most likely due to continuous, omega activities, from what my colleagues and I have assumed."

"Have you been noticing anything different from your usual routine?"

You recount what you can, anything you find weird yourself. And there's so many clues, like when you stole each hoodie and wore it from everyone for a week straight just because 'you wanted too'. Or how touchy you've been recently especially with hongjoong, your pack leader. The scent change, the continuous need to please your members and let them have their way lately.

How you, oh God, how you've started collecting everyone's clothing in your closet, you called it a clothing pile. It's a nest. You've been nesting.

You've been not so subtlety feeding this hunger within you.

Realization has dawned on you for the first time in a month. And after a few more tests, you've spent a total of two days in the hospital.

Once you're out, you're immediately escorted to a heat sanctuary. A common locked and secure place for omegas going into heat.

"What I'm hearing is you're about to go into heat. It'll be a difficult process for you considering you're a beta turned omega, and it's fairly late for you to be getting your first heat, but I'm sure there's plenty of options for you."

There were plenty of other options, yet you opted for the least embarrassing and least dreadful one. It was too late to take heat suppressants. Now, you're stuck in a somewhat luxurious hotel room with glorified room service and plenty of meds to sedate you for a week or less. They're actually so you can't feel the actual pain that comes with a heat without having a knot to sedate the feeling. If you really hoped you could sleep it off, you'd be dead wrong.

The specific question of; "do you have anyone in mind that could take care of you during your heat?" Really lingered. You thought about it. Maybe more than once, but you turned it down. No way. Nooo wayyyy. You wouldn't dare go past the first pack of alphas your mind landed on. Wouldn't even touch that book or open it in your minds eye.

Everything is very sensitive for the first day. You sweat a ton. You feel like you've lost weight, although you eat when you're not... 'foggy'. You feel the sweat pool at every corner of your temporary bed.

Anything you can get your hands on you pull, hard, and rip and tear. A pile of blankets and pillows are strewn on the floor in one giant large pile. Every once in a while you'll come back to your senses and childishly get upset at what you're doing.

No you've got nothing against omegas. You just didn't ask to be one, so therefore you're mad about being one.

Once satisfied, you spraw out and get to working on yourself with whatever you can, clothes and all. Toys. Plugs. Lube. You would have never guessed you'd end up this way. You name it, and they have it. They say there's nothing more satisfying than a knot, yet you don't enjoy the idea of what comes after. Pups? Ew. Is there even anything to counteract that? How do people just sleep with a stranger during a heat and not feel scared about what will happen in the moment? There's nothing wrong with it. It's just not your particular cup of tea.

As a beta, or.. when you were one, it wasn't very hard to find someone to hook up with. Betas have the abilities to hook up with anyone, alphas, omegas, and other betas. Although pregnancies and knotting aren't as easy for betas(you're not a big fan of wrapping it) it'll work eventually if tried enough. There's this middle ground for betas who can have it all. Relationships get difficult when you aren't as drawn to each other as an alpha and omega are, but with patience, it'll work.

There's this gross scent lingering under your skin, you can still smell the scent of your old skin, the beta you once were is suddenly being washed away by a sweet, tropical smell, an omega in full bloom. It's your second day. Yet you couldn't get more miserable. Two or three more days of this? Seriously.

You've never been a girly girl, begging for your way or kissing up to get it. You were commonly told you were a tomboy growing up. Maybe that played its role on your first designated sex. Your company pushed that role, too. Tough girl act. Rapper, Dancer. Never the face of the group. But you weren't complaining. You were the top of top trainees. Nothing could beat you down.

Yet, dressing up in baggy clothes and never looking sexually appealing was your role in the group. Tomboy rapper. Compared to the beginning of fourth gen, you were considered a girl crush but nothing else. least lines, least screen time, least roles. I mean. You trained for this, right?

Now you're stuck with a new second gender you didn't ask for. Pushing you farther behind the scenes. Just your luck.

As soon as your first heat ends. You realize you weren't as bad. Apparently, the first heat ever is the easiest. You're supposed to get worse. Seriously. Worse? God. You can't take this. You go to the only people you know won't make a big deal out of your new.. thing.

Soyeon places a hot cup of tea right in front of you. And you can smell the scent suppressant coming from the steam. "this is supposed to help?" You sniff at it warily, grimacing at the factory like smell.

"You came to us, at our dorm, smelling like the biggest ball of 'fuck me please', take it or leave it." She clicks her tongue at you, propped up on her bed. Minnie takes a seat opposite of you, as does shuhua. "You cant even smell me, you're on scent suppressants" you groan, swirling the tea. "How do yall cope." You sigh and chug the content of the large tea cup. Soyeon laughs, minnie grimaces, and despite having a shocked look, shuhua pumps her fist in encouragement.

You've come to the group of alpha women cause, well, they're your best friends. And they're the most encouraging about any and all supplements and suppressants. They've single handedly encouraged everyone you know to take suppressants. From the front door, you hear it open and close, stepping down the hallway comes yuqi and miyeon, who do a double take.

Yuqi takes a giant whiff, and her eyes bulge. "What happened to you!?" She coughs at the stench of omega. Something she doesn't find common in their room when you're around. Miyeon scoots to the side when Soojin pushes through with a cake of some sort and a tiny charcuterie board. She places it down in front of you. You can tell the alpha in her is desperately trying to please you.

"Somehow, our poor, once beta, girl friend has changed sex." Soyeon speaks through a bite of twizzlers. You don't comment at her choice of words. Yuqi and Miyeon scoot into the room, staring at their doting member.

"There you go." Soojin pats your head and takes a seat on the bean bag in front of you. "Thanks," you sigh, digging in. The cake, which soojin explains, is a long-lasting scent changer. Magic is baked into every bite.

As for the charcuterie board. It's just something to get you some protein with the lack of good supplements in your system. In her eyes, you've lost at least half of your body weight. You haven't. Yet she's still encouraging you to take care of yourself from such a rushed heat.

"Poor girl," miyeon sighs, "I've never heard of that happening to anyone before. How's that even possible?" She takes to removing her hoodie and placing it down properly. Yuqi shuffles off her bag. Plopping onto the bed next to you. "How'd the guys react?" She steals a piece of meat from your board.

"I haven't told them" you sigh, the room goes silent.

"That's fucked up" yuqi laughs. Miyeon slaps her ankle. "So we're the first to know?" Shuhua confirms, you nod. "Wow, I'm sure they'll be happy about that," soyeon laughs lightly. You tear your eyes off shuhua. "What do you mean by that?" You clearly speak, eyebrows pulled down. Minnie places a hand on your ankle to get your attention. "Well, we're your girl pack. We'll always be your girl pack." she looks nervous.

"But the last time I hung out with you, your boys stared at me like I was an intruder in their territory." she pats your ankle. Your eyebrows pull taunt. You want to defend them. "What? No way.." You truly think about it. "Whatever you say, your boys aren't as good as we are at keeping up with our contribution to not being alpha whores" soyeon sighs pushing to sit up. "Especially mingi, he's the whoriest of them all, he goes into rut every week it seems. He needs a heavy dose of rut suppressants." she takes another chunk off her twizzler.

"You shouldn't feel obligated to tell them first. Butt.. you shouldn't be surprised when they get upset about you telling us first." The girls all nod. You fall back onto soyeons pillows. A puff of sandal wood and cinnamon surrounds you. Slowly dying down as the tea takes its hold on your heightened senses. "Maybe I should have thought this through," you rub at your eyes.

"You're always welcomed here." soojin clears your mind, patting her hand against your hip in a friendly gesture. "This won't change anything. You're still my- our best friend," soojin speaks on behalf of the girls. Everyone hums to confirm.

"Thanks," you say genuinely. "It's a bit late for you to get a drive all the way home, What'd the company say to the guys?" Miyeon perks up from the edge of the bed. "Something about me needing medical evaluation. I'm pretty sure they think I'm still in the hospital." Yuqi scoots up next to you. "Did you check your phone?"

You didn't even think about it, pulling it from your pocket. You try to power it on. "No, everything was rushed. I didn't have a chance to check anything before I had to give it up so I wouldn't expose the place I was at." The screen doesn't light up. It's completely dead.

"It's dead," you pass it to soojin, who already had her hand out to take it. She plugs it into soyeons charger. "Well, I guess you're stuck here." Shuhua and yuqi topple on top of you, squishing you into the mattress.

"Sleepover!"

The next morning, you wake up sore. Not because of anything the girls did but because of such a long trial of whatever you did to yourself in the haze of heat. You groan when you shift your hip, burying yourself closer to the center of the makeshift bed you made in the living room.

The night was full of movies and being doted on by every one of the girls. Things aren't supposed to change because of your new sex, and that's remained true. They just baby you a little bit more than usual. "Shuhua, 'mega! Come eat! Now!" Minnie yells from the kitchen. The nickname startles you, something you've never heard before is somewhat pleasent to your ears. There's stomping towards the living room. Your head slams back down onto the pillow, pretending to sleep.

"I know you're awake." yuqis smile can be heard through her words. You can't help the prying of your lip. "Nu-uh," you grin, eyes still closed. "Get up!" She jumps on you, pulling you into a suffocating hug that she wiggles around in. You laugh and pull her equally as close. After the struggle of a couple of seconds, your exhaustion returns. Your arms fall limply around her waist.

"You doing alright?" She asks, picking herself up and off of you so you can breathe. "Yeah, I just tired myself out this week." you laugh, embarrassed. "Don't worry," shuhua perks her head up from the couch next to you. "You should have heard when yuqi had her first rut," shuhua laughs menacingly, yuqi springs up. "Shut up!" She yells. "She wouldn't stop! All night and day! We had to quarantine the whole top floor!" Shuhuas words stop on occasion when yuqi is wrestling to cover her mouth. You laugh at them.

"Hey," soojin stands over, ignoring her members. "Hi," you smile back. "Hungry?" She lends you her hand, pulling you up off the floor. "Starved," you take it, embracing her rose filled scent.

A platter of delicious food is placed right in front of you. Breakfast in their apartment is somewhat new to you. You've never really been able to stay long when you visit. Maybe you're starting to realize the guys have a stronger hold on you than you thought. Speaking of the guys. As soon as you finish your plate, Soojin places your phone down in front of you. The screen is still black, signaling she hasn't turned it on.

"You're gonna want to answer your boy toys before they stalk you down themselves," soyeon gestures. She's not wrong.

You power your phone on and let it reboot for a second. Yuqi is still eating with shuhua, talking to miyeon and minnie about something you don't pay attention to. Your phone makes a continuous notification sound when all of your messages pop up.

104 missed messages. 32 missed calls.

You're in deep shit.

Taglist: @0325tiny @bratty-tingz @lelaleleb

(Thank you for reading ♡)

[something-tofightfor]

On Deck Part 5: Ahead In The Count

Pairing: Jack Daniels x Female Reader Baseball AU

Word Count: 10,857

Rating: NSFW. This is a smut - and a lot of it.

Summary: Once at Jack's place, the two of you clear up a few things about what's going on between you - and to your surprise, it's him leading the conversation. Later, it's Jack that caves first, much to your surprise.

Days later, Jack makes you an offer that you're not expecting - and couldn't possibly refuse.

Author’s notes: 

HAPPY MLB POSTSEASON MY TEAM IS CURRENTLY IN THE MIDDLE OF FIGHTING FOR THEIR LIVES IN AN ELIMINATION GAME.

This chapter is a true shift for Jack/Reader, even if neither of them are ready to admit it. I absolutely love writing for these two, and the very very end of this is one of the first scenes I pictured while coming up with this story - even back before I wrote any of the "extras".

(On Deck universe masterlist for all the extras!)

While there are a lot of baseball references within this story, you only need to know the basics to enjoy it and understand what's going on - we're not getting overly technical here.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out. Thank you so much for being patient with me; I promise updates on this will be coming more regularly.

“Ahead in the count” can be used to describe either a pitcher or a batter, depending on the situation. This term refers to the number of balls and strikes accumulated during a plate appearance. The player that is ahead in the count has the advantage during that at bat - but the description is fluid, and advantage can change pitch by pitch. 

The nerves didn’t set in until you parked your car in his driveway, but the longer you looked at Jack’s townhome, the more you realized that your worries were unfounded. It’s just Jack. 

There was a light on over the front porch, well-tended bushes and even a few flowers near the door, which gave it a lived-in look. He told me it was nothing special, but I still didn’t expect normal. That thought got you out of the car, your bag slung over one shoulder, but the moment you stepped into the light on his porch and caught a glimpse of the bright yellow material you were wearing, you were nervous all over again. 

You contemplated taking it off before ringing the bell, but Jack didn’t give you the opportunity - as you raised your hand to push the button, you saw the knob twist. 

He didn’t speak as the door swung open, but at the look in his eyes - and the way his grin widened - the tension you felt eased again. I like it when he looks at me like that. “You going to make me stand on your porch all night, or actually invite me in?” 

Jack took a few more seconds to stare at you and then reached for you with one hand, waiting until you took it to clear his throat. “I want you to c’mon inside, darlin’.” Warmth filled you at that admission, and when you finally stepped over the entryway and into his home, it lingered. 

You wanted to look around but didn’t want to seem nosy, though you didn’t think he would have been upset if you took a peek. Maybe later. “I was surprised to hear from you tonight.” Your fingers were still linked, Jack’s thumb circling over your knuckle. “I figured you’d want to celebrate with the team.” 

“Nah.” He pulled you closer, his other hand sliding under one side of your jersey and settling against your hip. “We already did that on the field.” He eyed you again, his gaze sliding downward and then back up, smile never faltering. “Looks much better on you than it did on me.”

“Bullshit.” Your voice was quiet, heart pounding as you tried to convince yourself not to make the first move and appear desperate. “You look handsome as hell out there and you know it, Whiskey.” 

That was all it took. Jack tilted his head and leaned in, giving you ample time to stop him. When you didn’t, he kissed you, his grip on your hip tightening at the same time he let go of your hand and brought his to the side of your head, holding you in place. 

His mustache tickled your upper lip, but before you could worry too much about it, the kiss ended, Jack clearing his throat as he straightened up. “Y’know, I’m not sure I should have done that.” Your face fell, and Jack noticed immediately, the man muttering your name and pulling you even closer. “Not because I didn’t want to, but because I didn’t ask you if you wanted me to.” 

“Jack, I came to your place in the middle of the night, I think that implies that -” 

“It doesn’t.” He let go of your hip, sliding his hand around to your lower back while the other one moved over your shoulder and then down your arm. “It tells me you wanted to see me, and nothing else.” It didn’t surprise you that Jack was confirming what you’d hoped to be true about him. 

Instead, it made you want him more, your thoughts racing as you tried to reconcile what he was saying with what you thought you knew about him. “I did want to see you.” Biting your lip, you sighed out a long breath. “And I definitely wanted to kiss you.” But. “But I don’t want to read too much into this, Jack. Tonight was really fucking overwhelming and I’m still trying to play catch up.” 

“How’d you like the suite?” He grinned then, the expression somewhat cocky. “Nice surprise?” 

“Too nice, honestly.” You rested your hands on his hips, realizing for the first time that Jack was already changed for bed - and that he was wearing sweats that hung low on his hips. This man is going to be the end of me. “It was great. The food was amazing and the privacy was perfect. Not having to share a bathroom is -“ 

“And the view?” He cocked an eyebrow, tilting his head slightly. “You were right up close to the action.” 

“Oh. Yeah.” You frowned, pretending to think. “I guess that was pretty cool, too.” Humming briefly, you finally nodded. “Your teammate? Number 11? His ass looked fuc-“ 

“I can’t believe you.” He groaned, but you saw the smile he attempted to hide, Jack once again closing the distance between you. “Woundin’ a man’s pride on the day he comes back and …” He trailed off when your mouths met, the kiss brief. “Guess I’ll have to step it up next time since that didn’t impress you.” 

He was teasing - and you knew it - but when he backed away, you were struck with panic. What if he thinks I mean it? “Tonight was perfect, Jack.” Closing your eyes, you nodded. “You have nothing to step up. I have no idea how you’d even manage to do that.”

“I can think of a few ways.” He hooked two fingers into your belt loops and tugged, urging you forward. “But since I am a gentleman, I’ll offer you something to drink first.” 

“I … actually, yeah.” You bit your lip, nodding. “That would be great.” He seemed surprised but didn’t miss a beat, grinning before he pulled his hands away and turned so that his back was to you. 

“Kitchen’s this way.” You followed him down the hallway and into the room. When he flipped the switch on, bathing it in warm light, you inhaled sharply, eyes going wide. “What’s that noise for?” 

“I figured this would be a typical bachelor kitchen, not …” You looked around, stopping near the end of the kitchen island and putting your bag down on top of it. “Not look like you actually use it.” 

“Oh, I use it.” He looked over his shoulder at you, one hand on the fridge’s handle. “I love to cook. Don’t have as much time for dinner during the season, but …” He opened the door. “I make myself breakfast every morning.” The idea of Jack in the kitchen - and cooking for himself - sent a wave of warmth through you. Another thing I got wrong. “What do you want? I had groceries delivered yesterday but because I’m outta here Sunday, there’s not much. Juice, water, coffee…” He rustled around. “There’s a couple beers, some whiskey.” 

“I had a few drinks at the game, so if I’m driving, I probably shouldn’t have another.” You sighed, leaning back against the counter. “Water is alright.” 

“Why would you have to drive?” He stood up, two beers in his hands. “I’m not gonna kick you out.” You hadn’t even considered that Jack would want you to stay, even though he’d tried to reassure you the previous time that leaving wasn’t his typical behavior. “So if you want a beer, please have one.” 

“I…” Keeping your eyes on him, you made your decision. “OK.” 

He opened both bottles swiftly and then made his way to where you stood, handing one over. “No way in Hell I’d expect you to leave in the middle of the night.” 

“I just didn’t want to assume.” You took a drink, waiting until Jack did the same. “I overthink shit like this, Jack. Especially since I’m not quite sure what this is or why I’m here.” 

“What do you mean?” He frowned, but the expression was more confused than upset. “This?” You hadn’t planned on bringing it up, because you didn’t want to be that woman, but you figured that being clear with him was the best possible call. 

“Not this as in “what are we” because that’s ridiculous, but more like …” You took a sip and then shook your head. “More like …if I hear from you when you’re in town, am I allowed to look forward to seeing you? Can I assume that we’re friends, or that I can kiss you hello? ” He took a swig of his beer, eyeing you, but Jack stayed silent. “Because the sex was great, Jack, and if going straight for that’s what you’re looking for when you reach out, I’m into it. But I’d be lying if I told you that I didn’t think we get along well, and that I like the way we greeted each other when I got here.”

“You’re really standing here and askin’ me if …” He set the bottle down and shook his head, moving closer to you. “Darlin’ you can kiss me any damn time you want to when we’re together.” What? He paused, rolling his eyes. “Any time I’m not in uniform, I mean.” Jack laughed, reaching out to grip the counter’s edge on either side of your hips, but then he tilted his head to the side, staring at you. “Can’t just be leanin’ into the crowd and kissin’ people in the stands in front of all those kids, can I?”

“No, I guess you can’t.” You bit your lip, putting your bottle down next to his before reaching up with both arms to wind them around his neck. “But there’s no kids here right now.” 

“You’re damn right.” He mumbled the words before your mouths met, and you could feel that he was still smiling, even through the kiss. He rocked his hips against yours as he nipped at your bottom lip, the edges of his teeth catching the plush of it, and when Jack straightened up, the smile was still there. “And to answer the ridiculous question that you never asked, this is …” He shook his head, shoulders rising and falling in a shrug. “I don’t know what this is yet, or what it might end up being. But I do know that I like spendin’ time with you. And I also know that even if you hadn’t invited me back to your place last week, I still would have wanted you in that suite and over here with me tonight .” 

“Jack, wh-”

“So yeah, you can kiss me when you want to. And we can have sex if that’s alright with you, because I definitely want to. But I need you to know that no, that’s not all that’s gonna be on my mind every time you hear from me.” 

It was almost too good to be true. 

Jack was basically telling you that he was interested in you - even with the physical aspect of your relationship removed. It was entirely possible that he was playing a game - saying the right things and what he thought you wanted to hear to keep you close. But that doesn’t match up with what he’s done before. That isn’t… 

“I like spending time with you too, Jack.” Moving one hand to his cheek, you dragged your thumb over it slowly. “And I know that you won’t have a lot of time for the next month and a half, so I don’t expect…” You trailed off when he moved one hand from the counter to your hip, pushing it beneath the jersey and curling his fingers against the denim of your shorts. “I don’t expect anything.”

“Good.” He smiled, his dimple deepening. “Means I can’t disappoint you then.” You laughed, tilting your head back - and Jack used that to his advantage, leaning in and ducking his head so that he could kiss your neck. The laugh cut off, turning into a quiet moan, and the hand on his face slipped back and into his hair, your fingers tangling in his locks. 

He didn’t stop you, continuing to kiss his way across your throat and then down, the touch of his lips sending a shiver through you. “Jack, wait.” You forced the words out, and then exhaled, your breath shaky. “Hold on a second.” 

He backed off, confusion on his face. “What’s goin’ on? You alright?” 

“Yeah.” You pulled your hands away and then used both of them to support you as you climbed up to sit on the counter, tipping your head to the side as you widened the spread of your legs. “I just figured you could get closer this way.” He grinned at you, both of Jack’s hands back on your hips as he stepped forward and between your knees. 

He urged you forward, guiding your hips to the edge of the countertop - and when you wrapped your legs around his waist, Jack encircled you with his arms, eliminating all of the remaining distance between you. 

He kissed you hungrily, and you could feel how much he wanted you - Jack’s desire pressed against your core with only a few thin layers of clothing in the way. It backed up what you’d been talking about, and what he’d said to you, and when you pulled on Jack’s hair and he groaned into your mouth, it was you that smiled against his lips, your legs tightening against the backs of his thighs. 

You shifted and then jerked away from Jack with a gasp as one of the beer bottles fell over and rolled into the sink, but he didn’t let you go far. “Jack, it spilled on the -”

“Don’t care.” He kissed you again, shaking his head. “It’s fine.” 

“Maybe it’s a good thing it fell over.” You combed through his hair, taking a deep breath. “Otherwise we would have gotten a little carried away here, and since you cook on this counter, I don’t want to …” He laughed, rolling his eyes. “What?”

“You want my opinion? We didn’t get carried away enough on this counter.” That made you laugh, too, but you stopped abruptly at the feeling of Jack’s palm sliding over the top of your bare thigh. His eyes dropped to follow the movement, and yours did, too. 

You liked the way his hand touching you looked. You liked the way it felt, too, the tips of his fingers pushing beneath the bottom hem of your shorts and his thumb curling against the inside of your thigh. He squeezed gently, and then said your name, his voice quiet. “Hmm? I’m sorry, I was just distracted.” 

“D’you want to move this to my bedroom?” His other hand dropped to your opposite leg. “Protect the integrity of my counter an’ all that?” 

That made you laugh, but you nodded without pause. I want that very much. He stepped back, giving you space, and you bit your lip at the sight of his tented sweats, Jack reaching down with one hand to adjust himself through the material. I did that. “Um.” Hopping off of the counter, you gripped the back of your neck. “Do you have a charger down here? My phone’s low, and I -”

“You can plug it in upstairs.” He let out a breath. “I’ll show you.” Jack held out a hand and you took it, letting him lead you forward and out of the kitchen. You picked up your bag on the way, holding onto it with the hand that wasn’t linked with Jack’s. 

It was a big deal - he’d told you that he didn’t want any photos or videos of your time together, and yet he was encouraging you to bring the phone with you up and into his bedroom. I’d never take pictures here, though. That’d be an asshole move. 

He flipped the light on and then urged you through the doorway. “I’m not sure what you were hoping for, but … here it is.”

You laughed when your eyes landed on the laundry baskets, lowering your head as your fingers tightened against his. “You’ve only been home for two days, how do you have so much laundry?” 

“Some’s from last weekend.” He squeezed your hand and then let go. “I’ll throw a load in tomorrow. But if you’re gonna give me shit about the laundry, you can go right back down and out the -”

“No.” You held up your hand. “I’ll stop. But fuck, Jack. I kinda thought you were kidding the other night.”

“Hell no.” He turned to face you, lifting one hand to point at the dresser over your shoulder. “Cord’s over there.” You turned away from him and dug into your bag, pulling out the device and checking to see if the volume was off. After you’d connected the charge cable, you flipped it face down and then set it atop the dresser, putting your bag beside it. Ok. Now it’s just … us. 

When you turned to face him again, you saw that Jack was sitting on the end of his bed, knees spread and both feet planted on the floor. “How’s your arm feel?” Stepping forward, you let your arms hang by your sides. “I know I need to be careful, but -”

“Feels good.” He reached out, his hands finding the edges of the jersey’s front and pulling you closer. “Ginger gave me the all clear, and I trust her.” You nodded, biting your lip and reaching out to run your fingers through his hair. 

“You want to help me out here, Jack? As much as I like wearing this, I think I’d like to have you take it off of me more.” The neutral expression on his face slowly turned into a sly smile, but instead of Jack easing the material from your body, he pulled his hands back - and then raised them above his head. Wait, what? 

“Jack?” You caught the slight hitch in his arm, but chose to ignore it, instead staring into his eyes. “You -”

“You gonna keep me waiting, darlin’?” He winked, poking his tongue into his cheek briefly. “I hope not.” You didn’t want to. Without any further delay, you bent forward enough so that you could grab the shirt and ease it up over his torso.

Every inch of his bared torso was like a gift, and even after the conversation you’d had in his kitchen, you reminded yourself to take note of what you were seeing - to drink in the sight of his tanned skin and freckles, of the way the trail of dark hair disappeared beneath his waistband, of just how broad his upper body was. 

His eyes were bright when you removed the shirt entirely, and before you could even let it fall to the floor, his hands were back on you and pushing the heavy material over your arms. “Wait, Jack, don’t let it fall onto the floor!” He mumbled something about how it didn’t matter, and even though you disagreed, you let him remove it, leaving you in your sleeveless shirt and shorts. “If you say so.” You muttered the words, following the way Jack’s gaze moved over your body, his hands going back to your hips. “You’re a real charmer.”

“I know.” He moved one hand in, using two fingers to unbutton your shorts. “Heard that once or twice before.” You stiffened, but Jack shook his head slowly. “Not from who you’re thinkin’ either.” He slid the denim down and over your thighs, his head tilted downward to watch what he was doing. “My teachers.” He sighed, the man’s knuckles against your skin making you shiver. “My Momma.” They fell to the floor and you kicked them to the side, taking a deep breath as Jack looked back up at you. “Janie.”

“Oh, Jack.” Lifting a hand, you covered your mouth with it. He brought her up. It wasn’t me. “I didn’t -”

“No, it’s alright.” He stood, winding both arms around you and pulling you close. “Must be the truth then.” The fact that he’d so brazenly brought up the other woman while you were both in various states of undress was a shock to you - as was the fact that he was comparing the two of you. But it’s not like that. We just talked about this. 

“I’m in good company then.” Pressing your palm to his chest, you locked eyes with him. “And hell yeah it’s true, because you literally just charmed my pants off, so…” You weren’t expecting him to laugh. And you also weren’t expecting him to walk you backwards until your back hit the wall, your lips parting in surprise as you sucked in a breath at the contact.  “Jack.” 

That was all he let you say before his mouth met yours, the kiss hard. You tilted your head and dropped your hands to his hips, the waistband of his sweats bunched against your palms as the bulge beneath them pressed against your thigh again. 

When Jack slipped his tongue into your mouth, he accompanied that with a roll of his hips - which you answered with a moan. Being so near him was overwhelming, and when your thoughts wandered they didn’t go far, lingering on the fact that you wanted to touch more of him. I don’t want to stop touching him. 

One of your hands slid between his pants and skin, fingertips following the curve of his ass before you squeezed. It was small but firm, and at your touch, Jack groaned, teeth grazing the fullest part of your lower lip. He broke away a few seconds later, kissing his way over your cheek and toward your ear. 

Once there, he paused, turning his head enough so that he could press his cheek against yours. What is he doing? “Get in bed.” He spoke slowly, voice quiet. “No reason to rush tonight, so I’m going to take my time with you.” 

— 

When the two of you separated some time later, you couldn’t tell which of you was breathing harder. 

Jack rolled onto his back and brought one hand up to rub at the space between his eyebrows, his chest rising and falling rapidly. You laid on your side, facing him, and didn’t speak - instead letting yourself stare as he tried to catch his breath. 

Unlike the first night you’d been together, both of you had approached things with some restraint. He’d kissed his way across your upper chest and then moved down, mouthing against your breasts and belly before peering up and cocking an eyebrow in question. 

When you’d asked if his rule was still in place and he’d said yes, you shook your head, hoping that your expression didn’t betray how much you wanted to give him a different answer. He’d been surprised but nodded in agreement, lowering his head and then making his way back up your body to kiss you soundly. 

You hadn’t been facing away from him that time, but you also hadn’t quite been in charge like he’d promised. It didn’t bother you, though, especially when Jack slid into you without breaking eye contact and you got to watch the way his eyes flashed, his lips parting in a quiet grunt. 

And it bothered you even less when Jack lowered his head to speak into your ear - telling you that he needed to feel you come, that he wanted to make you feel good, that all you had to do was give it to him. 

So you did - pulling on his hair and crying out, lips not far from his ear when your body reached its peak and you shuddered beneath him. The sound turned into a low moan of his name, and then Jack came, too, the man stilling inside you briefly before he resumed the thrusts of his hips. 

“I still feel like that was real quick.” He sighed, turning his head toward you. “Feel like I could have gone longer.” He narrowed his eyes and wet his lips, one hand resting against his stomach. “Feel like I should have gone longer.” 

“Nah.” Scooting closer, you grinned at him. “Makes me feel better about myself if it’s not taking long.” He smiled at that, but stayed quiet. “Are you sure you want me to stay? It’s not that late, and I live close.” 

“Yes.” He said your name, and then frowned briefly. “Stay.” You eyed each other for a few seconds, and when you nodded in agreement, he visibly relaxed, both eyes closing. “You can use the bathroom in here, I’ll go out into the hallway.” 

He got out of bed before you could say anything, reaching down to grab his sweats and then heading for the door. You watched him go - focused on the way his toned thighs looked in the moonlight, and when he was gone, you rolled forward, pressing your face to his pillow and opening your mouth in a silent scream. I want to stay but I don’t know if it’s a good idea. 

You decided that you needed to clean yourself up before you made any decisions, and so you sat up and then got out of the bed, bending over to grab the jersey before striding the few paces into the bathroom. 

Once the door was shut behind you, you let out a whoosh of breath and hung your head, fingers gripping the edge of the sink. Shit. You didn’t want to get ahead of yourself, but the night was going well. Your friendship with Jack was leaping forward, and if nothing else, you were sexually compatible. Very much so. 

Turning the water on, you eyed the countertop and sucked in a breath at the sight of the rectangular jewelry tray next to the sink. His chain. And the pendant. You’d seen it countless times before in pictures and on TV, and even though you knew it wasn’t yours to touch, you reached for it. 

Lifting the jewelry and letting it rest against your palm, you traced over the smooth surface with your other thumb, lips curving up and into a smile. He’d worn it for years and considered it a good luck charm, so the fact that he didn’t have it on at home was a surprise to you. But maybe it’s just a baseball thing. Maybe it’s just one of those superstitions. 

With one final smile, you set it down and then returned to the task of cleaning yourself up. It didn’t take too long, but by the time you pulled Jack’s jersey back over your shoulders, you were  calmer. I’ve stayed over with hookups before. This is no different. Eyeing yourself in the mirror while you rinsed your mouth out with mouthwash, you smirked at the way the open front hid just enough, and the length of the hem in the back covered your curves. 

But when you stepped back into the bedroom, Jack was already there, too, standing with his bare back to you and looking out the window. “Find everything alright?”

“I did.” Biting your lip, you moved closer to where he stood, crossing your arms. “Hope you don’t mind, but I picked up your -”

He spun to face you and you watched the man’s expression change - his eyes going wide before they raked over you, lingering on the strip of skin visible on your torso. “Well goddamn.” He breathed the words out, taking a step forward. “Look at you.”

You wondered if it was something that he’d known was a turn on - and if some small part of him had hoped that the night would end with you in his bedroom wearing only a piece of his baseball uniform. Even if he didn’t, it’s happening now. “That’s how I feel when I see you on the field, Jack.” You moved closer, cocking your head to the side. “So I’m glad you …” 

You sucked in a breath as he moved away from the window and toward you, the look in his eyes unreadable. But he’s focused. He’s focused and he … oh. Jack’s kiss was hard, his lips crashing into yours as his hands found their way to your hips again before they slid down and curved to your body. He squeezed, pulling you closer, and you moaned into his mouth, the fingers of one hand resting on the back of his neck and the other gripping his bicep, his skin almost hot to the touch. 

Jack kissed you soundly, hands remaining in place until he broke away for air. “You’re drivin’ me wild, darlin’.” His voice was hoarse, Jack clearing his throat before he leaned closer and rested his forehead against yours. “I need know what you taste like.” You trembled at the words - and at the tone he used to speak them. “Please.” 

“No.” It almost hurt to deny him, but you forced it out, shaking your head. “It’s not fair if I let you, because -”

“Fuck the rule.” He groaned again, one of his hands sliding inward so that he could curl his fingers against the inside of your thigh. “It’s a stupid ass rule anyway, and -”

“Wait, are you serious?” You leaned back, narrowing your eyes. “Jack, I don’t…” Your heart was pounding, but he didn’t flinch, the man’s head moving up and down as he nodded slowly. He means it. “Ok.” Swallowing hard, you locked eyes with him. “Where do you want me?”

“Bed.” He smirked at you, jerking his head to the side. “Easier on my knees.” It shouldn’t have made you laugh, but it did, and you caught the roll of his eyes before he let go of you and turned back toward the mattress. 

“You’re not just saying this, right?” You moved to stand behind him, putting your hand against his back. “You’re not just trying to get me to let you -”

“Hell no.” He turned slowly, lifting both hands to frame your face. “I promise.” He hadn’t given you any reason not to trust him, and so you nodded, turning your head enough so that you could kiss one of his thumbs. “Now get back into my bed.” He curled his fingers briefly and then let you go. “And get comfortable.” 

Your heart was pounding, but you did as he requested, bouncing gently against the mattress with each motion as you scooted backwards. Jack stood at the foot of it, just watching, and even though the room was dark, you could see the bulge beneath the sweats again, straining against the material. He hasn’t even touched me, that’s … impressive. 

Leaning back against the pillows, you took a deep breath and then opened your mouth to speak - but Jack didn’t let you. 

Instead, he climbed in with you, kneeling at your feet before using both hands to ease your legs apart enough for him to move between them. He touched you gently, working his way up your legs with both hands, thumbs circling over your skin - and even when he lowered his head for the first time to press a kiss to your calf, you couldn’t look away. 

He was methodical without being slow, Jack’s lips moving over your skin with patience and determination. He lingered near your knees, urging you to bend one leg, and then pressed a kiss there, sucking your skin between his lips briefly before he released it and continued his journey up your body. 

The closer he got to your center, the more uneven your breathing became, but Jack gave nothing away. His large hands caressed your skin, fingertips curled over and around your thighs - and then Jack lifted his head, meeting your gaze without blinking. 

“You doin’ alright?” His voice was lower than usual, and though it didn’t catch, you heard the desire in it, watching as he wet his lips and then glanced down before saying your name. “You’ve gotta tell me.”

“I… yes.” You nodded twice, reaching down with one hand to run your fingers through his hair. “Better than alright. I’ve … been thinking about this, and -”

“Me too.” He turned his head to the side, dragging his nose along the inside of your thigh. “More than I should be.” You didn’t know exactly what that meant, but you didn’t want to question it. I’ll ask later. “You want me to stop, you tell me, alright?” You nodded, still staring into his eyes. “Hook this leg,” he continued, fingers tightening. “Over my shoulder.” You did that, keeping the other foot on the mattress and grinning as you realized that he’d positioned you so that he could put more weight on his good arm while still keeping you as open as possible. Oh, Jack. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” You let out another shaky breath, nodding. “Anything else?”

“Mmmhmm.” His smile widened and then Jack winked at you, taking a deep breath. “Don’t you dare try an’ keep quiet. I want to hear you.” His smile remained at your surprised inhale of breath, but Jack just lowered his head and settled his lips against the crease where your leg met your body. 

He didn’t stay there long, though, turning his head inward - and when you felt his mouth move, too, you hummed out your approval and flexed your hips upward a few inches, widening the spread of your legs. He chuckled, the sound drawing your focus until you felt the drag of his tongue across your skin followed by his mouth settling into place between your legs. 

You moaned at the feeling - and that spurred Jack on, lips and tongue laving over you while the fingers of one hand held tight to your hip and the others slipped over one thigh and under your body to squeeze the back of it. 

You were still sensitive from earlier, but that only added to what you felt, your hips rolling against his mouth as he alternated between flicking his tongue and pursing his lips and sucking. The fingers in his hair tightened, too, and you arched your back, urging Jack even closer, the tip of his nose rubbing against you and making you shudder. But it feels so goddamn good. “Jack, pl… please. Keep going, please k-” 

It broke off into a long, loud moan, and you dug your heel into the center of Jack’s back as he used both hands to pull you closer, his groan vibrating against your skin as he circled his tongue against you. He’d hardly had an opportunity to learn your body and what you liked, but he’d had no problem letting it guide him, and even through the haze of pleasure you felt, you hoped that that night wouldn’t be the last time you felt his mouth on you. Because he’s fucking good at this. He’s so fucking - 

“I’m gonna come, Jack.” It took you by surprise, your admission tumbling out as the heat gathered in your belly, the fingers in his hair loosening and then releasing him before they moved to your belly and then down. You used them to touch yourself, spreading Jack’s saliva over you - and giving him the opportunity to shift his focus lower. 

But he didn’t, instead chasing your fingers with his mouth and sucking the tips of them between his lips. That made you cry out again, and with one final flick of his tongue against you, you came hard, toes curling into the blankets and your head whipping to the side, mouth open in a wordless gasp. 

Jack kept going, his hums and sighs those of a contented man, and when your body finally went limp you took a deep breath and cleared your throat as you touched his temple. “Jack, hey.” He lifted his head enough so that he could look at you, eyes glittering in the low light. “That was fucking great.” It took a few seconds to get the words out, but the smile he gave you in return was well worth the effort. “But come up here.” 

Rising onto both elbows, you swung your leg down from his shoulder and caged his body in between them, Jack carefully repositioning his arms so that he could do as you asked. But he didn’t hurry, instead kissing his way slowly up the center of your body and using both hands to expose your skin by pushing the material to the side. 

You felt him pressing against you as he moved, Jack’s hips rocking forward and trapping himself between your bodies. “Was worth it.” He mumbled the words against the swell of your chest before sucking a nipple between his lips and releasing it with a pop. “So fuckin’ worth it.” He moved up and grazed your jaw with his teeth before pressing a kiss to the hinge of it.  “Not gonna last long,” he rasped into your ear, his hips thrusting against your core again. “Feel that?”

“Yeah.” You nodded, turning your head to the side and using one hand to move his to match. “I feel it, Jack.” It was you that kissed him then, alleviating his need to ask you if it was alright. And it was a deep kiss, Jack’s tongue stroking along yours as you rested one hand on his back and the other one on his hip, fingers dipping below the waistband of his pants. He moaned into your mouth, but then pulled away and looked down at you, his smile crooked. 

“You gonna cash in now?”Jack’s brow rose, his tongue swiping slowly over his lower lip. “I wasn’t kiddin’, it won’t take much, and -”

You wanted to. You wanted to tell him to lay on his back and let you return the favor. You wanted to feel him swell and pulse in your hands and against your tongue, to know what he tasted like. But what if that’s not what he wants? You let out a shaky breath and then closed your eyes, sighing. 

“It’s your call.” You reopened your eyes and swallowed hard, staring up at him. “That was my plan. But now …” Reaching up, you pushed his hair back from his face, smiling at the way the roots were damp and making the rest of it curl even more than usual. “You tell me what you want. That, or …” Lifting your hips to drag them against his, you saw the way his nostrils flared at the increased pressure, Jack’s jaw twitching while he waited. “Or you can make good on what you promised me the other night and let me take charge.” 

“I thought you wanted to…” He frowned for a few seconds, the lines between his brows deepening as his gaze flicked down to your mouth. “Isn’t that what you wanted?

“It is.” Using your thumb, you smoothed the wrinkles at his brow, biting your lip. “But I also don’t want to be quick, y’know? You just told me it probably won’t take much to get you off, and I don’t want …” You lifted your hips, rocking them against his. “I don’t want that to be my first -”

“So I’ve got something to look forward to?” He arched a brow, the smile on his face growing. “Somethin’ to think about while I’m on the road?” You hadn’t thought of that - hadn’t even dreamed that while he was in other cities with hundreds of potential opportunities to take other women to bed, Jack would think about being back in Louisville - and back in bed with you. “This all part of your plan?”

“Yes.” You evened your expression out, hoping that you looked serious. “My master plan. You’ve got me all figured out, hmm?”

“No.” He leaned down, resting his forehead against yours and taking a deep breath. “Not yet.” You kissed him because you didn’t know how else to reply, but even that was short, because there was still a pressing matter to attend to. 

“Lay on your back, Jack.” You whispered the words against his lips, nodding. “Relax.” He took your lip between his teeth and tugged, but when he released it he moved off of you and laid down, bending his arm and sliding one hand beneath his head while the other rested on his belly. You sat up, turning to reach for the condoms on the nightstand.  

He took one from you wordlessly, but made no move to pull his pants down to put it on - and so you got into position, kneeling next to him and reaching for his waistband with both hands. Wait, though. Diverting one hand, you dropped it to rest against him, Jack’s hips rising to press against your palm. He grunted at the contact, and you curled your fingers around him, nodding. “Fuck.” 

He was hard to the touch, and when you moved your hand slowly, stroking him through the soft fabric, you were smiling, too. “Lift your hips again.” He did, and after giving him one final squeeze, you pulled the material down carefully, chuckling when he kicked his pants all the way off. You wanted  to touch him again, but Jack didn’t give you the opportunity, 

Instead, he opened the foil wrapper and pulled the condom free, using one hand to steady himself while the other rolled it down and over his length. Once it was securely in place he met your eyes and gave you a nod. You could see the excitement in his, the anticipation almost tangible. Ok, here goes nothing. 

You rose up, using one hand on his thigh to brace your weight as you moved to straddle his body. “You’re gonna need to tell me if I’m doing this how you like it.” Scooting up, you glanced down to watch as he adjusted his positon, lining himself up with your body. “You good?”

He nodded once and you took a deep breath, sinking down slowly and taking him in, inch by inch. He swore under his breath, his eyes closing, and you hummed at the way he filled you, widening the spread of your legs until you couldn’t take anymore. Fuck, he feels good this way. 

Instead of rising up again to sink back down, you rotated your hips and then rolled them a few times, getting comfortable with the position - and letting him do the same. “I could get used to this.” You weren’t sure you’d heard him correctly at first, but when Jack moved his hands to settle them against your hips, he continued. “Seein’ you on top?” 

“Oh yeah?” He nodded, eyeing you as you tried desperately to keep from giving yourself away. Is he just saying that? Is he just caught up in this? Does he mean it? “Good.” 

You started moving then, up and down, letting him drag slowly through you but never moving enough that there was a chance he’d slip out. Every rise and fall of your hips gave you more confidence, thanks to the way he held you and the way you could feel the muscles in his thighs tensing in anticipation. Watching Jack’s chest rise and fall as you rode him, you wondered what was going through his head - and if he’d say anything to you about it after. 

He met your movement with upward thrusts of his own, but to your surprise after only a few minutes, he moved his hands to tug on the jersey you wore, murmuring your name. “Take it off. Let me see you.” You slowed down enough that you didn’t need both hands to balance and let it slide down your arms before tossing it to the side. “Gorgeous.”

His praise gave you confidence, and when you began to truly ride him in earnest, you let yourself get lost in it - in him, and the way he felt beneath you - the way he filled you over and over again, one hand steady on your hip and the other moving over your thigh and side, occasionally squeezing as he grunted out encouragement. 

“Hey.” You reached down, flattening one palm against his abdomen as you slowed your movements. “Tell me what I need to do to make -”

“Don’t wanna come yet.” He released a breath, eyes closed. “‘M enjoying this too goddamn much.” He sighed, taking another breath. “You can c’mere though.” His hands slid up your sides and then around to your back, easing your upper body down to press against his. “Like that.” You supported your weight with your forearms on the bed, fingers combing through his hair as Jack’s spread across your skin to hold you in place.

Jack kissed you softly, his lips parted enough that your lower one fit between them, but after a few seconds that changed, his grip tightening at your quiet whine and his lips parting further, tongue pushing forward and into your mouth. 

He thrust upward slowly, the new angle hitting a different spot inside of you, and even though neither of you could move as much, you liked the way it felt. Too much, I think. I like it too much. Pushing backwards, you ground down onto him, the grip you had on his hair tightening. “Feels good, Jack.” Breaking the kiss, you turned your head so that your mouth was near his ear. “So fucking good.” 

His lips dragged over your cheek and when you dropped your head, letting it rest against his shoulder, he pulled your hips closer, Jack’s rotating before he withdrew a few inches and paused. “So do you.” He took your earlobe between his teeth and tugged, the sharp pain making you gasp. He released it almost immediately though, and when you shot back up into a sitting position, you saw that he was grinning, his eyes bright. “You wanna make me come?” 

“Yes.” Moving your hands to press against his chest, you nodded, hips moving slowly. “I do.” 

“Faster.” He swallowed, reaching up to drag one thumb over your peaked nipple, your back arching in response to his touch. “Just move faster and it won’t take long at all.” 

Nodding, you bit your lip and then resumed the pace you’d set before, never looking away. 

— 

You thought about him for days afterward, and even though you tried not to let yourself miss him, it was difficult not to. 

You’d woken up to his arm curled around you the following morning, Jack’s sleep-tousled hair hanging over his eye as he’d asked you if you could stay for breakfast. And he’d cooked, the two of you moving through his kitchen together as you got plates and cups out, setting the coffee pot to brew while he stood in front of the stove with a spatula in one hand. 

You hadn’t lingered long after finishing your meal, though, because you didn’t want to be that person, or overstay your welcome - and because you wanted to give him time to relax before he had to be back at the stadium. 

Jack had seemed surprised, but hadn’t tried to convince you to stay. However, he had made it a point to tell you that everything he’d said the night before was true. He wanted you to reach out whenever you wanted, wanted to keep in touch with you, wanted you to feel comfortable being his friend. “It wasn’t just a line to get you back into my bed,” he’d promised, his arms around you as you said goodbye at his front door. “I’m gonna be gone for ten days starting Sunday, and it’ll be nice to hear from you while I’m on the road.” 

He’d been the first one to reach out, sending a text before that night’s game to show you a pair of painted and personalized cleats he was wearing, and that had opened the floodgates. 

You hadn’t seen him again before he left, but that didn’t stop you from talking to each other. The communication wasn’t overly flirty, but he seemed interested in getting to know you, one short message at a time. 

As you packed on Tuesday to catch a flight from Louisville to New Orleans to meet with your client the following day, you debated over letting Jack know that you were also going to be out of town for a few days, and finally decided to do so, keeping it simple. 

May not be able to answer as quickly as I have been on Wednesday and Thursday. Traveling to meet a client, and I’ll be in their office all day both days. 

He didn’t respond right away, but when he did, it was with a phone call, his voice bringing a smile to your face, even through the speaker. “A client? Where do you get to go?”

“New Orleans.” You laid back on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. “For at least two days, maybe three, depending on exactly what they need. I’ll probably fly back home sometime Friday or Saturday so I can work Monday.” He was quiet for a few seconds and then sighed. 

“You’re gonna be close, then. We’re in Texas this weekend.” You’d known that, though you hadn’t wanted to be the one to bring it up. “My parents are comin’ to the game on Thursday night. Haven’t seen them in a while, so that’ll be nice.” 

“Is it far for them?” You knew where he’d grown  up, but didn’t know distances between Texan cities offhand. 

“Couple hours. They’re getting a hotel so we can see each other before the game Thursday and then during the day Friday before they go back, but it’s a quick trip for ‘em. I’ll be back when the season’s over, they’re just worried about my arm and my Momma wants to check on me in person.”  

“How’s that feeling?” You closed your eyes, wondering if asking was overstepping. “I saw you swing last night, and it looked like you winced once or -”

“You watched the game?” He cut you off, amusement in his voice. “Didn’t you get enough of me last weekend?” Shit. 

“I like baseball, Jack. You just so happened to -”

“Bullshit.” He laughed and you did, too. “But no, my arm’s fine. It was actually my lower back that bothered me last night, but me an’ Ginger worked it out between innings. It’s better today.” Good. I’m glad to hear that. “I actually have to get going, though. Team meeting at the stadium in a little while, so we’re all taking the bus over early.” 

“Ok.” You sat up, fingers closing around the phone. “I hope you have a good game, Jack. And if I don’t talk to you for a little while, I -”

“Let me know you make it to New Orleans.” He said your name, clearing his throat. “And just because you’re working doesn’t mean you can’t reach out if you want to.” Jack paused. “Shit, that sounds real needy, doesn’t it?”

“Nah.” You wanted to reassure him - because you were thrilled to hear him say it. “And if you really want me to, I will. I just didn’t want to bother you while your parents are there, or while you’re -”

“You’re not bothering me.” He laughed, and even though you couldn’t see him, you had the image of him dragging his fingers through his hair in your mind, the corners of his eyes creased as he smiled. “If you were botherin’ me, I wouldn’t answer. Or call you. Or invite you over to my place in the middle of the night and spend hours in bed with you.” 

“Those are all very good points.” You stood, your own smile wide at the memory of those hours. “Go to your meeting. Have a good game. I’ll let you know when I land tomorrow. I’m on an early flight so that I can work when I get there.” He agreed, and even though you knew that you wouldn’t speak to him again that night, you were still energized by the call and the outcome. 

The flight the following morning was uncomplicated. 

You even managed to nap for a little while on the plane, waking up to an empty seat beside you instead of Jack, like you’d been dreaming about. You waited until you were in the rideshare line to text him, sending a picture of the line of people and a message that said I’m here and I might be for a while. 

He didn’t answer until you were almost at the office, and Jack’s reply of that’s a long ass line, holy shit made you laugh out loud in the car. It was nice to hear from him - and on a regular basis - but you knew that you couldn’t get used to how he responded to you, or even how frequently you spoke. Because in a couple months he’ll be back in Texas and he’ll be enjoying that. 

The client you met was nowhere near as needy as you’d expected. After only an hour and a half of touring the building, you were able to nail down plans for your stay - and the work you’d be doing, signing the final contract and getting started.

And you worked quickly, both on your own and with the other employees. It led to you walking out the door at 4:05, and making the short trek back to your hotel room to decide what you wanted to do with the rest of your night. You were close enough to the French Quarter that if you’d wanted to, you could have gone out for dinner and drinks, but after taking your shoes off and sitting down on the edge of the bed, you realized just how tired you were. 

I’ll take a nap, and then I’ll figure it out. Dragging yourself out of the bed, you put on your pajamas and plugged your phone in, then turned to the window and pulled the curtains all the way shut. You thought about sending a message to Jack but chose not to, instead climbing under the covers and settling in. 

You woke up disoriented, groping for your phone and were stunned to see that it was almost 10 pm, and you had two missed texts and a missed call from Jack. “Shit.” Sitting up, you rubbed at your eyes, yawning. You needed to be back at the office at 8:30 am the following morning, so your options were limited - and it meant that you didn’t really have time to go out and explore. 

So you ordered room service and then got in the shower while you waited. Once you were clean and redressed for bed, you turned the TV on and flipped through channels, trying to find something to watch. And when the food came, you took a few bites before you reached for your phone, reading what he’d sent to you hours earlier over again. 

How’d your first day go? 

You must be out and enjoying things. Hope you’re having fun. 

He’d tried to call almost an hour later, right around 5 PM his time but hadn’t left a message. After a quick check, you realized that it had been just before he’d taken the field, since that night’s game had a 6:10 start. You wondered if it meant that he was worried since he hadn’t heard from you, or if it was just Jack being Jack. 

It didn’t matter, though, because there was no way to know until after the game ended. And he’ll be on his way to the airport immediately, so I can’t even call him then. You ate a little more and then muttered fuck it before texting him back, fingers flying over the screen. 

Went great. I’ll be able to finish tomorrow. Took a nap when I got back to my room and I just woke up. UGH. Hope you have a safe flight to Texas. 

While you ate and halfway paid attention to the TV, you thought about Jack - and whatever it was that was going on between the two of you. 

In the weeks since you’d known him and exchanged numbers, you’d spoken to his just as much as you’d talked to Erin, and more than some of your other friends. That didn’t track for a casual hookup, and even though Jack had assured you that you were friends, too, it still gave you pause. Because getting closer to him, and getting to know him better would make it harder when it inevitably changed between you … and you knew that he was with someone else. If I like him this much already, there’s no way around that feeling. 

You were under no assumption that because he’d slept with you a few times, there wouldn’t be anyone else in his bed. It couldn’t matter to you that he’d admitted he’d be thinking of you and looking forward to what you still had to explore together while he was on the road. 

Jack was Jack, and had plenty of opportunities to choose someone else to occupy his time. So, if you were going to continue what was going on between you, that was something that you had to be alright with. But am I? Can I be his friend and sleep with him and not care if he’s also sleeping with other people? 

For the moment, you thought you could. For the moment, you would, because you were having fun getting to know Jack, even in the limited ways you’d had the opportunity to so far. It was a dangerous game you were playing, and you knew that you’d likely need to reevaluate things as your friendship progressed. But admitting it is the hard part. 

You checked the score of the game - The Statesman were losing by one in the 8th - and then opened your laptop, spending some time going over what you’d be doing the following day. You also checked potential flights home on Friday and Saturday. There were multiple options for you, and you decided to hold off on booking until you were certain that nothing else would come up, lengthening your stay. 

It was after 11:30 when you finished, and even though you’d just woken up, you decided it was time to get back to sleep, since you had to wake up early enough to get ready for work. But Jack had other plans, and his name lit up your phone’s screen just as you got comfortable in bed. 

“Takin’ naps in the middle of the day?” He bypassed the greeting and went straight into questioning, his voice quiet but full of amusement. “You’re gonna be up all night now.”

“Actually, no. I’m back in bed.” You stretched, rolling onto your back and staring up at the ceiling. “I sleep really well in hotel beds for some reason, so even though I’ll probably be done with work tomorrow, I might wait to fly back home until Friday or Saturday, since I’ve got the room until -” 

“You’re gonna be done tomorrow?” You heard some noise, which was likely Jack shuffling the phone from one hand to the other. “That’s quick.” You caught him up on what the scope of work was, explaining that it hadn’t been as complex as you’d imagined and he hummed while you spoke, but didn’t speak. 

“Are you excited to see your parents?” You decided to ask something personal, figuring it was a good opportunity to change the focus from you to him. “And did you guys end up winning tonight? I checked and saw you were down by one.”

“We lost. Their pitching was fuckin’ great tonight. It’s fine, though. And hell yeah. They’re bringing brisket and all the fixins for all of us, so the entire team’s excited. But I haven’t seen ‘em in so long that even if they weren’t, I’d be just as happy.” 

It was something else about him that you’d learned almost by accident - that his parents were still just as involved as they had been when he was young, and that their cooking was good enough that it got an entire baseball team amped up. 

“You’ll have to tell me how it is.” You paused. “Take a picture, or -” 

“Well, about that.” He cleared his throat and then the line went quiet for a few seconds. About what? “You could try it yourself, if you wanted to.” 

“What?” Gripping the phone tighter, you sat up, eyes narrowed. “How?” 

“It’s a short flight from where you are to where I’ll be, and …” He swore, and your heartbeat raced as you realized what he was suggesting. There’s no way this is happening. “And I’ve got a room all weekend for the series. You could come to the games, or just do whatever while I’m gone, but I’ve … I’ve been thinkin’ about you all week that I’ve been gone, and… I’d like you to come out.” 

“Jack, that …” You wanted to say yes - wanted to scream it into the phone and the dark room, but instead you forced yourself to remain calm, taking two steadying breaths before you opened your mouth again. “You really want me to fly to Texas and spend the weekend with you?”

“Sure do.” He cleared his throat. “My parents will have my tickets tomorrow night, and then if they decide to stay Friday, they’ll have them, too, but I can still get you in no problem.” You stayed quiet, thinking, and Jack went on, his words rushed. “This was a stupid idea. I don’t know what I was thinkin’, I just figured since you were just going to go home and didn’t have any plans, I -”

“I need to look at flights home on Sunday, and see if I can aff-”

“I’ll fly you home.” He scoffed. “‘Course I will. I wouldn’t expect you to pay for somethin’ I suggested. I’d pay for you to come out here, too, if you wanted me to.” All of this for someone you’re casually sleeping with? This makes no sense. “Is this … something you’d even want? Fuck, I don’t know if I’m bein’ an asshole.” 

It felt wrong to let him flounder, but to be truthful, you were stunned that he’d made the offer, especially when he would be home in the middle of the following week and could just see you then. You thought back to what you’d been considering only minutes earlier about the nature of your relationship with him, and gave yourself a few seconds to think. 

It was him initiating the invitation, just like it had been him to invite you to his home. It was him making the most effort to contact you - and the repeated attempts to reach you earlier that night backed up the fact that he had been thinking of you. He wouldn’t string me along just to get laid. He doesn’t need to.

“You’re not an asshole, Jack.” Biting your lip, you reached for your laptop and opened it, navigating to Google Flights. Just to see. “I want to see you, too. I just wasn’t expecting this.”

“Neither was I.” He sighed. “Not at all.” You heard noise on the other end of the line and wondered where exactly Jack was… until again, he answered a question you didn’t ask. “We’re gonna be takin’ off soon, so if you want to sleep on it and let me know tomorrow, you can. But the offer’s open. There’s only one bed in my hotel room, but -”

“Only one bed?” You gasped, hoping that your sarcasm translated over the line. “Oh no, Jack. How would we ever figure that out?” He laughed, the sound a relief to you, and then you continued, feeling a little more settled. “There are two afternoon flights that will get me there tomorrow. There are open seats on both, and if I take my stuff with me to the office, I can go straight to the airport. I should be done by 2, and that’ll be cutting it close for the earlier flight, but …”

“So you’re going to come?” You heard his voice change, anxiousness turning into relief, and at the sound of it, you knew you’d made the right decision. “I’ll leave a note at the front desk that they can give you a key to my room, and I’ll let you know what room I’m in as soon as I check in, if that works.” 

“Jack, I have no idea if I’ll be able to make the game. If the flight’s delayed, or if I get delayed, or -” 

“Don’t worry about that. You’ll have a ticket waitin’, but if you can’t be there tomorrow, I’ll see you when I get back to my room afterward.” He paused, and then said your name. “I’m glad you said yes.” 

“Me too.” Sighing, you covered your face with one hand and then said goodnight, telling him to enjoy his flight and get some rest.

When you hung up, you sat motionless for a few seconds, and then without pause, reached for your laptop again to begin the process of booking a plane ticket to Texas - giving yourself no time to second guess it. 

---

[crackedpumpkin]

|| ꜰᴀᴠᴏᴜʀɪᴛᴇ ᴛʜɪɴɢꜱ || ʀɪꜱᴇ! ʟᴇᴏ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ||

a/n: surprise! lololol enjoy <3 ((this was definitely not super self indulgent)))

Inspired by:

— — — — 

“My favourite things about us is when we talk till the A.M.”

— — — — 

“Shut up.” 

“Make me,” Leo cackles over the phone, and you scowl playfully at your screen. 

“I’m never calling you ever again.”

“What!” He gasps, offended by your snide remark. You chuckle, watching him roll his eyes on your screen with a grin. 

“Look, it’s not my fault I happen to be irresistible.”

“Irresist-this,” You hold up your middle finger to your camera with a blank expression. Your lips quiver, threatening to curve into an entertained smirk at his slack jaw and parted lips as he looks at the screen incredulously. 

“You have a special place in hell. I hope you know that.”

“But you’d follow me to the ends of the Earth, won’t you, babe?” You sit upright, frowning at your screen when he doesn’t respond, averting his gaze to look at his bedroom wall. 

This fucking bitch-

��Of course, mi amor! I’d never leave you there to rot by yourself….” Leo chuckles nervously. You flop back down into your bed with a sigh, deciding to mess with him as payback.

“I can’t believe you don’t love me anymore,” You groan, letting your hand fall to your side, the phone screen now facing your ceiling. 

“Of course I love you! Just not to hell and back.”

You start to sniffle quietly, hiccuping slightly. You silently count down in your head. 

5….4….3….2….1.

“I didn’t mean it, Corazón,” Leo sighs in defeat, rolling his eyes when you lift your phone back up to show your pleased grin and devious eyes.

“Gottem.” You state.

“You’re lucky I love you.” 

“I know, I’m lucky to have the best boyfriend ever. He’s sweet, he’s kind, he’s a pain in the ass….” You list off, only to be interrupted by his scoff. You pause, narrowing your eyes as you look at him. 

“What ass?”

“...Well, this was nice while it lasted.” You retort instantly, moving to lay on your side and stare at your boyfriend. Your eyes study every pixel of his face on your screen, Leo remaining passive. He’s used to this habit of yours now, even enjoying it and showing off sometimes while you stare.

— — — — 

“When we’re looking up dream apartments, in cities we’ve never heard of.”

— — — — 

“Are there any places you wanna visit when we’re older?” You ask absentmindedly. He hums in thought, fingers tapping his chin while his free hand props his phone up against a stack of comics on his bed so he can continue to see your face.

“Paris and Sydney.” 

“Oh?” You raise a brow, curious about the reason behind his second chosen destination. 

“Babe, they have this thing called a Tim-Tam Slam. A TIm. Tam. Slam. And they call flipflops, thongs. They are my people.” He explains enthusiastically, and your heart melts at his bright smile. 

“Really? Even with all the bugs?” 

“Relax, I got these babies. I’ll protect you, my damsel in distress.” He moves his phone to show you his katanas resting against the wall, plopping himself back down on his bed again.

“What about you?” 

You answer easily. “South Korea and Santiago.” 

“Why’s that?” He pipes up, looking at you with intrigue. This is the first he’s heard of your dream destination. 

“Well, I wanna go to the amusement park in South Korea and eat my way through Santiago.” You reply with a chuckle at his awed expression. 

“I can’t wait to move in with you,” Leo murmurs with a soft smile, adjusting his pillow so that it’d prop him up at a better angle for you to see him, “What did you think about the apartments I sent over that we can rent? I really like the third option.” 

“You mean in…” You take a moment to double-check your messages, “Oslo?” It’s a place you’ve never heard of, much less known before he spammed you with various links for apartments. 

“There’re Viking Ships. Not one, not two, but three.” He points out with unadulterated glee. “I can finally do what I’ve always dreamed of: Becoming a pirate.”  

You bite your lip to stop the amused smile from forming. “Mmhm,” You nod, trying your best to be serious.

“Babe. I could be a ninja pirate.”

“What about pirate ninja? Oh, never mind. I see why you decided to go with ninja pirate.”

“Rolls off the tongue better.” He agrees with a solemn nod.

— — — — 

“My favourite things about us is when we argue and make up.”

— — — — 

“Remember our first date?” You’re surprised by his sudden question, nodding in response. 

“How could I forget? You called me the McNugget to your Cheeseburger.” Laughter bubbles past your lips at the memory of Leo having dressed up in a suit and telling you to wear something formal. You chose to wear a sky-blue gown that reached your calves, along with white heels.

You ended up having your first date at a McDonald’s.

You found the entire ordeal amusing, especially when he had cooly said he’d take care of dessert, only to return with two Oreo McFlurries. That’s when you knew that you had fallen hard for him.

“It was the best date I’d ever been on.” You admit, your cheeks aching from the sweet smile on your lips. 

“Was all part of the strategy and natural charm. I bet no other guy’s ever done that before, either.” Leo states smugly with a charming grin, having turned to lay on his back, though his head is still turned to look at you.

“I will admit, it worked.” 

You hear him hum in agreement, glancing at the clock and realizing it’s now four A.M. 

How long had you even been talking for?

You can see him struggling to keep his eyes open, choosing to stay quiet until he falls asleep. His small snores bring you comfort through your phone’s speaker. You continue staring at him until your eyelids grow heavy, gradually dozing off as well.

— — — — 

“When I wake up right next to you, I don’t feel like I’m lost anymore.”

— — — — 

You groan softly, scrunching your nose and burrowing deeper under your covers as the late morning sun chooses to ruin your peaceful sleep. You blink sleepily, making an effort to move your hand out from under the warm blankets to draw the curtains shut just a smidge. 

You glance down at your phone, which had fallen during your sleep, the screen facing up and showing Leo, whose eyes are still closed, sleeping peacefully. You prop it back up, snuggling into the turtle plush he bought you and staring at the screen.

Your heart warms at the sight, watching his plastron rise and fall with each breath. You make a mental note to thank the inventor of the smartphone on Instagram. You’re oddly awake, content with staying in bed with your boyfriend (even if he isn’t physically beside you).

You reach out, brushing your thumb against the screen with a soft smile. The words are caught in your throat, but you have to say them. You lower your voice into a whisper so you don’t disturb his rest. 

“I love you.”

— — — — 

“I never thought we would make it till this far.”

— — — — 

[blizzardfluffykpop]

Hello, ‘tis I. As my primary resident The Boyz stan mutual, I am humbly asking for some suggestions about getting to know them since I’m seeing them at the end of July. I like, know their names but couldn’t put them to faces really. I know Ju Haknyeon because P101 s2, but he was like 16 or 17 at that point so I’m sure he’s pretty different now. Anyway, I’ve already gotten some info from others but I know that if anyone has lots of knowledge about The Boyz, it’s you.

Hello 🤭💖 good to know I earned that title~ I have many suggestions- But I think I'll do a thorough answer beneath this paragraph- and base them on content and things~ But omg you're seeing them at the end of July!? I'm seeing them in New York in the middle of July! That's so cool that we're both getting to see them this year! I absolutely understand- Oh heck yeah- I only have seen clips of that but I'm glad you already have a slight start~ I wonder what you've learned so far 👀 But it's so sweet to know that you turned to me for this 🥺💖(this is gonna get really long and it's just because I cannot shut up about them even if I tried- I really hope this helps).

For me I really like Idol Human Theaters and always enjoy them. And I think that's a good place to start they helped me get to know them- It really shows you how funny they are. I really suggest going in order and I'll link that here ~ Personally my favorites are their Athletic one (Killing both the stage & Cloth P.E. Students) and their drinking one (What Happens On Daytime Get-Together).

Now if you lean more into scary content I def suggest Wings of Escape ep 1, & Episode 2 (tbh as a person who really can't take scares- it's only scary for the 1st 5 minutes) I spend the rest laughing- it's so silly- I go back to watch it all the time. For me, I really like knowing who the cowards are- as a coward myself :) (how I ended up biasing 2 noncowards idk-at least I bias one that is) Like Q- man is giddy over the scares and is so excited to go in- (His team is my favorite) But Ju Haknyeon is the coolest- he's the type of friend you want if you're going somewhere scary. Sunwoo is my representative in that escape room.

Now if you love mafia content (they have several) but like "high quality" The Boyz (1): The Convoyz (2) is sososo good- You get to see how they lie and trick and figure each other out. (I've never seen a group with no sense for mafia before them 😭 I love them sm) And then in the second episode you see them play by teams against each other and it really shows their team efforts!

Now this will be a longer one but The Boyz Come On! God Saeng 😭🥺 holds such a big and special place in my heart- it made me fall for each of their personalities even harder. Like Jacob drives so much like me and has sm fun and takes care of "the kiddos" while Sangyeon's car- everyone falls asleep cause he drives so gently. And when they all went to go to bed how they each talked 😭😭 It's so gentle- they have sm fun- (there is a part I hate just because of the producers but tbz themselves... oh yeah that's my soft spot) I really could go on about each member- but the way Juyeon volunteers for dishes- and how they cheer on each other for bowling (even on opposite teams)... Oh yeah I bawled my eyes out :)

My favorite content is one of the first contents of their own that watched was Deobi University (1): Vacation (2) ! It's so funny, but it's one of those contents when you watch it again with more knowledge about them that it truly becomes hilarious, so that's why it's at the bottom of the list. But the way they play around in the water, and everyone enjoys themselves- and the game they play inside the house!? (These little weirdos 🥺💖)

Now for regular content that isn't "funny" I really suggest if you want to know more about their hard work and dedication- (other than their kingdom & all that) there is Off The Boyz their behinds- I have one that I always watch and it's 2023 SBS performance behind one. It really shows their talents and there is a vv funny moment with Kevin (he looks like humpty dumpty for a second). The performance from that: Intro + Watch It 2023 Gayodaejeon (am I little salty about Juyeon not getting the spotlight when he prepared so hard for his part of the intro dance... yes, but that's besides the point- it is still beyond amazing) But there's also their Zeneration preparation for their tour last year- and you'll see how much hard work they put into it- like seeing Hyunjae trust the rest of them to catch him- and nail the Only One move after not doing it for so long was just incredible. And then Younghoon is the thumbnail with the kitty~

If you wish to cry your eyes out, I got just the content for you it is very long but it really digs into their dynamics one on and one. Dear.THE BOYZ (which "Dear." also a song they produced for their fans that they all partook in 🥺) Here's the encore concert version of the song

[I have an older deobi friend from insta and if you'd like I can grab some of her suggestions (they're on my phone and she always makes me little playlists to catch up on haha) And she also has given me little introductory twitter threads of "The Boyz and their animals" and whatnot so if you'd like any of that kind of content pls lmk~]

I won't lie ik this is prolly a lot and if you want different suggestions- or more narrowed down suggestions pls lmk! I'll be happy to provide- say you want really cool stages Shine Shine + The Stealer or their solo stages feel free to ask again~ I wasn't too sure what kind of content would help you get to know them better- but I tried my best and I hope you enjoy at least one of these! (If you like interviews more so I do know a few good ones too)

And I also have live performances suggestions~ And if you figure out your bias I can prolly give you more personalized suggestions that way too~

One LAST thing: If you wish to talk about them/the concert and any of their content- I'm all ears~

[sunnydreams17]

Hey, so this is part 3 of " Hannibal: A Heart That Bleeds Gold"

If yall find it easier to read on Wattpad here is a link to the story on there. I have an account on there and i post all my stories on Wattpad too lol

If you've not read part 2 here is the link to it. There is also a link to part one as well in part 2 story if you've not read part 1 lol

The sun was setting as the carriage pulled out of the kingdoms walls. Will sat in the carriage holding onto his papers and suitcase as he looked out the window. The night sky starting to come into the world as the stars above started to show themselves. Night though was seen as something evil from where Will is from. A time where all evil and all types of beast come out and do their deeds

" Will be at the camp in less then 10 minutes! Commander Lector will be there to greet you"

Will heard one of the soldiers say " thank you " he calls back and sighs leaning back as his eyes fall on Jack " I didn't except you to come along

" I'm only coming along to make sure you get to the camp safe. I won't be staying if that's what you're wondering " Jack rolled up his sleeves a little " your emotions are showing to much Will

" what is that supposed to mean Jack? "

" what it means is that if I can see you're nervous and not up to this, then I sure as hell know that a mad killer can sense it a mile away. Keep your eyes wide open Will "

Will couldn't help but roll his eyes as he taps his fingers against the paper " .... Jack, I know how to take care of myself without your help. I've done it for years and I can do it again. My only job is to see what's happening to the golden soldiers that's it."

" I can't worry even a little? You're my best profiler. I also made a promise.... to Alana Bloom.... that I wouldn't let you get close. Don't make me break that promise Will"

Jack was a weird man because in one hand he seemed to care about Will but then on the other hand Will could tell Jack only wanted him because of his mind.... of how 'special' it was. Though, Will didn't see like Jack did. He saw things differently so the fact Jack made a promise to Alana that they both knew would be broken bothered Will. Will knew better then to say that to Jack and the silence that took over the carriage was huge. Till the carriage stopped and Will looked out the window seeing the military camp.

The camp had green tents all around and in the middle was a fire to keep the soldiers warm and to keep the dark spirits and animals away from camp. The smell of roasted chicken filled the air and the small sounds of laughter as well

" I'll try to make sure this promise isn't broken " Will grabbed his things and opened the door stepping out of the carriage " goodbye Jack " and with that Will closed the door and stepped away from the carriage. His eyes wondering around and taking in his surroundings. The buzz of excitement filled the air and also a small dark mood as well. Will was so deep in thought that he didn't hear one of the soldiers come up to him till he was tapped on the shoulder.

" you must be Mr. Will Graham! Yes? Commander Lector told us you'll be coming. His right in that tent over there " the young shoulder pointed to the largest tent in the far end of the camp. A weird place for someone so important to be in. Why was Hannibal basically on the outskirts of the camp? Usually, a commander was in the middle of the camp for safety and also to know what was happening at all times.

" thank you" Will says and slowly started to make his way to the large tent. This was like a huge target on Hannibals back. A large tent was always for the commanders. If the reds launched an attack then Hannibal was as good as dead. Then again.....why should Will care? Hannibal was the man that all reds feared. The fact Will was even this close to the man that had thousands of reds blood on his hands was already far to much.

The smell of medicine hit Wills nose first and as he walked into the tent and saw inside he stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes fall onto a dead body.... if you can even call it that. The body ripped up to the point you couldn't even make out the face. The organs almost all gone except a few

Will tightens his grip on his bag as he looks over to where Hannibal sat. The commander reading over notes as his legs were crossed and his posture perfect. How could this man act so.... fancy? Gentlemanly?.... perfect? When there was a dead body not even a few feet away from him.

" ah, Will you've arrived pretty early " Hannibal didn't look at Will as he flipped through the papers " I thought you were coming a little later "

" I wanted to get here a little early before night fully set in. Though, it seems I should have came faster " Will glanced over at the body " .... isn't this your personal tent? Why is there a dead man in here?

" I do enjoy when people arrive early. Makes them more respectable in my book" Hannibal finally put the paper down and looked at Will. It felt like some sort of wolf eyeing up its meal. Will felt Hannibals eyes go over his whole body. Hannibals eyes took every inch of him in and God did Will feel like he should have put on an even bigger jacket to hide his body. Though, something told him that no matter what he had on.... Hannibal would always make him feel like this.

" this isn't my personal tent, my tent is more deep into the camp. This tent is used for medical practice and research " Hannibal got up walking to Will " the body is one we found a few nights ago. My soldiers came across it when they were on their way to fight the reds. After the battle I went to see what happened and this is what we found. I was hoping to see if you could give me any information on this person.... I would also like to see how good you are at your job" Hannibals face was cold but his eyes showed a glint of amusement.

Will for the first time ever had no idea what to even say. He looked up at this strange man in front of him.... how the heck did he get himself into this problem? " you're testing me? "

" no, not testing you " Hannibal turns to the body " I just want to understand you...that's all "

" understand me? I don't need you trying to figure out how my mind is like if that's what you're trying to do commander...."

" now Will " Hannibal frowns " no need to act so rude. I wouldn't wish to dig in your mind~ I'm no doctor " or well not anymore " all I ask is for your help and you are here to help... yes?"

"..... yes " Will turns his attention to the body. No matter how much he wanted to leave and tell Hannibal to go fuck himself... Will knew better then to do that. He stood right next to Hannibal and mumbled " the body should be decomposing by now.... why isn't it? "

" that's what we're trying to figure out... I'll leave this to you " Hannibal backs away and sat back down onto the chair " take all the time you need "

Hannibals voice was soft and soothing. It shocked Will a lot how fast his body started to calm down. Will didn't know what the hell was happening but he ignored Hannibal. He closed his eyes pushing out all sound and allowing himself to concentrate. When he opened his eyes he started to see.

" rip by rip I destory this monster. I rip open every part of their body to show their beauty from the inside. The outside isn't beautiful to me only the inside. I wish to make the world a more beautiful place. I want everyone to love what I've given this person!

The organs will go first.... though I don't have much time till the military come so I make haste as I pulled out any organ I wished. Each one placed in a small bag that I will toss away later.

The sounds of footsteps in the distance is what makes me work faster. I become sloppy not being able to finish my work. In my final act as a sign of sorry to the monster I've killed. I slowly pour over there body a liquid that will make their decay slower. The slower it is the more beautiful they will be

I love beauty.... I love preserving....

This is my design"

Will snaps open his eyes and felt himself breathing hard as two large hands were on his shoulders

" Will? Will are you ok? " a concerned voice filled the room. Will glanced up a little and when he saw Hannibal he moved away " yes " Will said fast... damn it why the hell does Hannibal make him always act weird!

" are you sure? Don't lie to me Will... you don't seem fine to me " Hannibal reached out and takes Will by the arm pulling him out the tent " come " he says and walks off back into the camp. Will felt so out of place in this world as he tried to process what he had just seen " I'm fine " he said again but his words hit deafs door. He followed Hannibal into another tent that was big enough but not as big as the medical tent " is this your personal chambers?

" yes, no need to worry I don't sleep much so you can sleep in here." Hannibal leads Will inside to a small cot and placed him onto it " I work at my desk.... I hardly even use my bed

" what?" Will tried to get up but Hannibals hold was firm " I don't need to sleep in your bed"

" Mr. Graham, I fear you must have gotten the wrong idea of what things will happen here. I am here to protect you and if you thought you could just leave my sight then you're sadly mistaken. I promised Jack that I will keep you safe and I intend to do so. " Hannibal moves his hands away slowly

" why? Why does everyone feel the need to protect me? I'm a grown man " Will felt aggravated by everything

" because a gem like you is worth protecting Will" Hannibal went to his desk sitting down " now, what did you see?

Will dug his nails into the bed but slowly takes a soothing breath. He sighs and looks at Hannibals desk " this killer craves to make things more beautiful. He sees regular people as monsters. "

" just like the other killer?" Hannibal asked and when he got a weird looked from Will he smiled " there is a paper going around called " tattle crime news" it has a lot of things you've said about cases. I remember reading one about you finding a woman with flowers inside of he stomach yes? You said that the killer was someone that liked art...so I'm wondering if the killer is the same killer or not?

" what paper?.... I've never heard of a paper documenting all the stuff I've looked into.... " Will felt more annoyed then disturbed then again he worried....how long has this paper been going around? Did they know more about him too? " This killer isn't the same as the other one. The killer you speak of is someone that's carful and educated. That killer knows when to strike and how to.... they know when is the best time to get their next kill. This killer though.... this killer is sloppy with their work. This killer doesn't want to make art... he wants to just make the world more beautiful. The other killer though they want something far more higher level then this copycat "

" copycat? So you know that much already just by looking at the body?" Hannibal said more to himself " the paper has been around for a few years now. Most of your cases you've done are on there."

Will pushed his brown hair back a little as he started to feel a little hot " trust me, this killer is a copycat...his not on the same level as the other killer. This killer is sloppy to the point they didn't get all the organs...they didn't finish their job at all. That's why the body isn't decaying as it should. The killer wanted to show how sorry they were for not finishing their masterpiece"

" masterpiece?..... well now that we know this is a copycat we can sleep safe to know they won't be as smart as this other killer that's out there hmmm?

" a killer is a killer...commander " Will gets off the bed fixing his clothes up " this one will kill again but this killer isn't the one after your soldiers. They just found this one and killed him because they wanted to. That's all that's to it"

" that's true Mr. Graham but I can tell a threat like them is low. They won't kill again that's for sure "

What did Hannibal mean by that? Will was actually taken back by that statement " and how do you know that? "

" a commander knows all" Hannibal gets up and gently placed his hand on Wills shoulder " now sleep " he turns away going to the tent flap " I need you well rested for tomorrow "

And with that Hannibal left. Will was left alone in the tent and he was left wondering one thing

Did he do the right thing accepting to work with Hannibal?

(( hope yall enjoyed this part 3!

[foxybananaaaz]

Hey! Been a while!

I haven't forgotten, don't worry!!! I've hit a bit of a roadblock is all.

Yaz, you asked, and here I am to recieve.. (Nope, that's wrong.)

YAZ! You asked, and I am here to deliver!! (That's better.)

Here is a link to my Masterlist. Mostly Elucien, not gonna lie. But there's a few others in there. Emorie, Nessian, Feysand. That link is right,

HERE

But I'm here to recommend also, one that's done really well, one that underperformed due to not reaching many people, and one of my personal favourites. Then, I'll have a fic for people who don't mind when things take a rather dark turn.

Here we Go

First up, we have the Their Melody series! Now, this is a five part series, but you do not have to read the whole thing. You can stop after the first part or the second part. The most popular is part two, Her Song. Their Melody always holds a special place in my heart. The whole series is Elucien.

Their Melody

She looked away—toward the windows. “I can hear your heart,” she said quietly.

He wasn’t sure how to respond, so he said nothing, and drained his tea, even as it burned his mouth. “When I sleep,” she murmured, “I can hear your heart beating through the stone.”

— A Court of Wings and Ruin

Next, we have Its Only Temporary. I worked hard on this. There was hype, and I guess I posted at the wrong time because there wasn't much reach, and it just underperformed. I really like it. It's a one-shot, Modern Setting Elucien.

It's Only Temporary

Summary :: Elain gets a call, from the hospital, in the middle of the night, and learns that her fiancé has been in an accident.

Now one of my personal favourites(who am I kidding, I can't choose a favourite. I just want to get this out there more, because it's more unique) Finding Peace. I loved writing this. I don't want to go too into detail about it, except that it's Jesminda centric!

Finding Peace

♡ Summary ♡ Some say your heart will always be tied in some way to your first love. Jesminda had not immediately found the the promised eternity after passing.

Next is a fanfiction series I haven't added to in a while. It's got two parts, and I wrote them both when I was in a darker headspace. Perfect for people who like the darker fics. They still turned out well. People enjoyed them. But there are trigger warnings on the cover post for these two fics in this series. This one follows an Elucien daughter.

The Voice Of Jessie

Summary - Life becomes hectic when Elain and Lucien welcome their first child, a daughter.

Finally, the last one I'll mention here, is my ongoing fic, The Failed Resistance. Is it unfinished? Yes. Do I take forever between updates? Also yes. I put my whole being into writing chapters, and then it comes to the next chapter, and I'm at a block. But, it's turning into my baby, so I can't NOT include this here. It's Elucien, and currently has five chapters, plus a prologue! So six parts to read!

The Failed Resistance

Summary ● Elain finds herself once again in the Human Lands.

I also want to collect titles to give a shout out on bookstagram since I often get asked about fanfic recommendations.

So don't be shy and let us know 🥰 These are the most popular ships but if you also have fics for different characters that's fine too!

[azulera]

Bisous

Pairing: Kylian Mbappé x Black Reader

Summary: 5 different ways that Kylian gives you kisses.

Notes: this is 1 of my favorite things i've ever written I think! qué emoción. Gentle feedback is very welcome + ao3 link

————————————————————————

I.

You have a life of your own, and a busy one too, but you always make time for small moments with your lover - a trip to the café, or a night at the cinema. What was small before, with Kylian, suddenly swells to the size of France, the size of Europe, to the size of the world. You’re unpleasantly reminded while waiting in line for a ticket to a 10pm show, and standing impossibly close to each other to brave the weather. The Parisian chill brings out his chivalry, so your hands rest in the pockets of his own jacket.

You look up into your boyfriend’s face colored by streetlights, at his lips gone slightly chapped in the wind and want to kiss them smooth, but think twice, knowing unfriendly eyes and cameras are always watching. It’s as if he can read your thoughts in your eyes, though, as he instead presses a kiss onto your hair that has gone even curlier with the chill. You pretend you can feel the heat of it traveling through your head, down to your chest and all throughout your body. When you see the flash of a phone camera, you go cold, turning and hiding your face in the wall of his chest. When the lights turn to voices, questions, and yells, you begin to pull away, but his hand finds yours and squeezes. The ticket line moves and he is diplomatic, talking his way out of a crowd all while his other arm weighs solid across your shoulders. You hold so tight to his fingers, you think you might break them. But he never lets go.

II.

At family dinners at chez Mbappé, French and English and Arabic blend and blur, and yet everyone is understood. You are even introduced to a cousin, with whom you and Kylian can flex your well-practiced Spanish. Over bowls of salad and rice and stew, conversations, jokes and memories fly and land and a picture comes into focus: in each of his loved ones a piece of the puzzle that makes him who he is, plus that special, unnameable thing that drew you to him in the first place. In the warmth of their presence, that thing grows and blossoms into its fullest form, stress and responsibilities shedding away until only a playful joy is left. Soon you fall under this spell, too, chatting with the adults and playing games with the children, both by his side and on your own. The fullness in your heart at what this means leaks out through your smiles, which come and stay until your face hurts too much from laughing.

What you see shining in his eyes over your dessert napkin later in the night almost frightens you with its tenderness. There are no words to describe what he wants to say, and this is no place for grand gestures, but the silent press of his lips against the back of your hand says a million words, in all of the languages you both speak.

III.

On rides home after a match, whether thrilling win or crushing loss, Kylian is defeated. He slumps into the backseat like a man twice his age, having given the most youthful part of himself to the grass and dirt glowing beneath stadium lights. You, instead, vibrate with energy, adrenaline surging so much from watching along that even your brown cheeks mimic the red stripes on his jersey. So, the two of you meet somewhere in the middle. Seatbelts are forgotten, his head rests on your chest, and your arms circle his back while you wait for your heartbeats to reach a common level.

When his lips latch on to your neck in the dark of the car, you know they are only kisses for kissing’s sake. They are a promise, a reminder, a shadow of a desire hindered only by an exhaustion that permeates his bones. So, you hold him up, enjoying the feeling, and letting him know so, fingers dragging gently along the nape of his neck. Tomorrow he will be bright and buzzing again, but for now he is a gentle giant, calm and docile as a baby, a warm weight between your arms. If he leaves marks to be found in the morning, you know what they will really mean is “thank you”.

IV.

In the mornings, you hear his voice before you see his face, and it is low and rich and as sweet to your ears as a song. His body is soft and warm beside yours in the breaking sunlight, yet he pulls you closer, hands reaching for your golden skin as if you were the sun itself.

“Ma fille d’or,” He calls you, breathing in your scent with his nose between your neck and shoulder. “I have to go.”

“Je sais.” You speak with your eyes closed. “Do you want me to get up with you?”

“Non, just stay there, just as you are. Tu est vraiment belle, tu sais?"

“J’ai entendu ça déjà, oui.”

He laughs, so close to your face you can feel the vibration, and then his lips, against your cheeks, eyelids, nose and chin. Tickling you, teasing you, and making you miss him already. You are so swept up you hardly notice when he’s stopped. You open your eyes to his apologetic, smiling face.

“A bientôt, mon amour.”

“A bientôt.”

“Au revoir.”

“Au revoir.”

He is making leaving harder than it has to be, but a final kiss on your bare shoulder makes it softer. He leaves to go get ready for training, and you turn over in bed slowly, carefully. If you don’t ruffle the sheets too much, and stay very still, you can close your eyes and imagine he’s still there.

V.

On empty evenings in your bedroom, where it is the two of you alone, your affection for each other is no longer burdened by place or time. Here, you could kiss him for hours and he would not get tired, and he is as persistent and insatiable as he is on the pitch. Whether you are on top of him, beneath him, or beside him is no matter - the sinews of his body are agile as they bend to you, your mouths drawn to each other as if by magnets behind your teeth.

Here, his kisses punctuate his needs and wants: “Non”, “Oui”, “Look at me”, “Don’t stop”, and you learn to identify his desires by their pressure. There are deep kisses, him swallowing all the sounds you make, and shallow pecks that force more sound out of you, but in each variation there is something the same. Three words, one phrase, whispered, shouted, and cursed, before, during, and after. He speaks them into your open mouth, one time in French, in Spanish, in English, and you think that no lips have ever uttered anything more beautiful. You are breathless, cradled in his strong arms, and lost in his eyes when, one by one, you kiss them back into his.

[writingseaslugs]

Heartslabyul: Halloween with Them

Heyo, so doing this mini-series for Halloween. Each dorm is going to be posted today, every few hours~ Also, each dorm is going to have its own theme for it, but the Reader is different for each character. These are romantic but don’t lean crazy heavily into them. Don’t worry about when I get to Ignihyde; it’ll be totally platonic for Ortho. I’m not being super anal about making each character have the same word count, though, so some might be longer or shorter than others; it depends on my inspiration for said character. On a final note, I’ll link each part together once they’re all posted.

Disclaimer: All characters in this series is aged up. For more information about my version of this world and the type of reader you can expect, please do a quick read of THIS post.

Heartslabyul (You're Here) | Savanaclaw | Octavinelle | Scarabia | Pomefiore | Ignihyde | Diasomnia

Halloween with Them

Theme: Party Prep

The Queen of Hearts was known for her many extravagant parties, and Halloween was undoubtedly one of those holidays she would celebrate with a tea party. With that being said, of course, Heartslabyul would be partaking in the tradition as well, though held a week before due to the night of Halloween being a Night Raven College celebration. Rules that normally applied were no more and replaced with special ones just for this tea party. Instead of the normal beautiful red roses, they were to be dyed orange and black; pumpkin pastries were to be served alongside some freshly brewed black tea. There needed to be perfectly carved pumpkins, and students had to find a proper costume to wear that suited the theme of the year.

Everything had to be perfect, or so Riddle claimed. In his opinion, Heartslabyul celebrated it best since they partied up until the midnight hour, which they then cleaned everything up and were in bed by one in the morning and allowed to sleep in the next day.

That being said, there was a lot of preparation to be done, and if you were attending, you needed to pitch in.

Riddle Rosehearts

“Riddle.” You called out as you finished placing all the fancy cutlery at all the tables. A few of the students you had been working with were still adjusting table clothes and making sure the fake spiders were placed just right in the middle of every single plate. You heard the telltale sign of Riddle’s boots clicking against the concrete walkway of the Heartslabyul entrance, and you turned to see him. He looked pretty pleased and smiled upon seeing you.

“Prefect.” He greeted, his eyes going a bit softer at seeing how you almost brightened up when he called you. You walked over, smiling happily as you looked over the garden. Some people were still painting roses while others were working on carving their Jack-O-Lanterns. It was all coming together swimmingly and you were so excited for it to finally be the day.

“House Warden.” You greeted back as you looked over at him. He was already dressed in his costume, as were most students. He offered his arm for you to hold onto, signaling you that you’d need to follow him. Without thinking, you grabbed onto his arm and walked alongside him as you entered the dorms.

“As you know, we theme our costumes every year depending on the last number the year falls on.” He said, and you hummed along, “This year, we have themed it after the Mad Hatter; if I’m not mistaken, you don’t have a costume?” That much was true.

“I hadn’t had time to prepare it.” You admitted. You were far too busy with all your responsibilities at Night Raven to have gone out and searched for a costume.

“That’s alright; I took the liberty of making sure you had one prepared.” He said, approaching his dorm room. He opened the door and let your hand fall, letting you in first. It hadn’t been your first time in Riddle’s room, and you knew it wouldn’t be the last. You noticed the costume immediately sitting on the nightstand.

“I had Crewel make it for you since he already had your measurements for your birthday suit,” Riddle said, and you noticed the faint blush on his cheeks.

You went over and picked up the costume and noticed it looked almost exactly like Riddles, with a few modifications here and there, “I love it, thank you.” You said, placing it over your form. You were certain it would fit you without a problem, “Give me a few minutes, and I’ll be out.” You said before pausing, “Oh, and Riddle?”

Riddle hummed, about to walk away when you came over. You quickly kissed his cheek, chuckled at how he turned red, and placed a hand over his cheek, “I can’t wait to spend the party with you.”

Trey Clover

You already knew exactly what you’d be finding the moment you walked into the kitchen. Trey had an apron on and some flour coating every part of his body, and you even noticed some pumpkin puree on his cheek. You laughed as your approached your upperclassman, loving how concentrated he looked as he mixed in the filling for the pumpkin tarts. Your laughing made him turn, concentration lost as he looked over.

“Need help?” You asked, already grabbing one of the spare aprons in the kitchen. You were surprised he didn’t try to take over the school cafeteria’s kitchen with how much food you guys had to make. Trey smiled, his glasses sliding down his nose a bit as he did. He went to adjust them before noticing how much stuff he had on his hands. You huffed in amusement, walking over to him.

“A little help would be nice.” He said as you adjusted the glasses back on his face. He blushed a bit at the close contact and how you ruffled his hair when you finished.

“Alright, what all are we making?” You asked, looking around at everything. There were tarts, pies, mini cupcakes, and what seemed to be a sponge cake. It all looked mouthwatering, and you had to stop yourself from trying to eat some of it.

“Well, I’m almost done making this pumpkin tart, and then I need to put the cream on the cupcakes and grate for nutmeg to sprinkle on top.” Trey said, trailing off as he looked at everything that still needed to be done, “It’s going to be a long day.” He sighed.

“A fun one, though.” You said, going over and grabbing one of the piping bags and filling it with the icing in the fridge. Trey had taught you the basics of icing a cupcake before, and you figured you got a handle on it. The sweet cream had a slight orange-brown tint to it, and you could only assume it was caused by some pumpkin spice.

“Then I’ll get the pies into the oven and make the nutmeg,” Trey said, already going over to do just that. You began concentrating hard on the task at hand and didn’t even notice Trey was done with everything as you began doing the last cupcake. Trey placed his hands over your hips, startling you and making you squeeze a bit too much icing on the last cupcake, making an unattractive blob on it.

You turned to glare at Trey, who had an unapologetic smirk. He reached around you as you opened your mouth to scold him and noticed he grabbed the cupcake and took the wrapper off it. “What a shame, the last cupcake turned out like this. Guess the only thing we can do is eat it, right? Riddle won’t allow it if it looks like this.” Trey said, splitting it in half and handing it to you.

You sighed before smiling and shaking your head, “You’re horrible, you know that?” You asked, taking a bite and savoring it. The cupcake was vanilla, but the icing itself did indeed have that pumpkin spice to it that made it melt in your mouth.

“I know; I’m even worse because it would taste so much better with nutmeg.” He trailed off, and you looked over at the cupcakes.

“Sure would be a shame if we sprinkled too much nutmeg on one of the cupcakes.” You murmured.

“It certainly would.”

Cater Diamond

“You’re once again stuck painting the roses again?” You asked, watching as Cater flung some spells around. Watching how he managed to use the spell to make the roses orange that gradient into black was pretty impressive. It was something you never really saw at Heartslabyul, but you guessed Halloween was special. It did help set the mood, though, and how all the tables were decorated accordingly.

“Ya, lots of the little freshies don’t have the ability to do two colors at once, and since this is going to be done in a day, they need upperclassmen to do it.” Cater said with a sigh before chuckling, “Oh, how I wish I could be carving the pumpkins right now.” He said with a dramatic sigh.

“Well, Riddle asked me to set up the tables, but we finished pretty early.” You said, and Cater perked up.

“So you’ll be helping me paint?” He asked, and you shook your head while laughing.

“Absolutely not. Painting them a solid red is one thing, but doing the gradient? No, I don’t think I will. Not without magic, and, I don’t know if you heard, I don’t have any of that.” You teased and watched the playful pout fall onto Cater’s lips. It was soon replaced with a smile as he dug around his pockets and found his phone, dangling it in front of you.

“Well, if you won’t be helping paint, then help me take photos.” He said, and you raised an eyebrow, “People want to see what Heartslabyul is up to. A behind-the-scenes kinda thing.” Cater explained to you as he handed you his phone.

“So you want me to take photos of you throwing spells around to make the roses look nice?” You asked, and he shook his head while waving his finger. He clicked his tongue as though he were looking at a total social media rookie.

“Not just that, but the other students too. Also videos. I’ll make it into a collage later and post it tomorrow after the photos of the party are up.” Cater explained, and you huffed before grabbing the phone and opening up the camera. You took a photo of Cater, who was caught off guard, and he frowned, “Make them look nice, at least.”

“I think this looks nice.” You said before a startled yelp escaped your throat. Cater grabbed his phone and pointed it at the two of you. He swiped his thumb over your cheek before taking a photo with his head on top of your own. You gasped as you noticed some orange paint now staining your cheek.

“Cater, you got paint on me!” You cried out.

“Ya, it makes you look like you contributed; you’re welcome.” He shot you a wink, “Now run along and grab me some photos. I’ll be expecting tons by the time the party starts up.”

Ace Trappola

You could see how frustrated Ace was as his arm was elbow-deep inside a pumpkin, pulling out all the innards and tossing them into a giant bucket next to him. He had a scowl on his face as he looked at the now hollow pumpkin and pushed it off to the side in order to gut the next one. You chuckled at how grumpy he was being, like a kid who lost the lottery. Ace paused in cutting the top off and noticed you.

“Why so mad?” You asked, sitting down next to him and grabbing one of the many pumpkins he had surrounding him. Ace huffed, blowing some of his bangs out of his face. You began cutting it open to hopefully help speed along the process.

“They put me on ‘gutting’ duty.” Ace said, stabbing the pumpkin a bit more violently than needed, “Said I sucked at carving them so I could gut them and save the seeds to make for later.” He grumbled. You would’ve paid good money to see his face when he was told that. You did pity him just a bit, though. Having to do the boring part and getting the guts of the pumpkin out so somebody else could have fun carving into it has gotta be sucky.

“Well then, guess I’ll be the one helping you.” You said, sticking your hand in the pumpkin and trying not to gag from how mushy the inside was. Ace noticed your discomfort and laughed before doing the same for how own pumpkin.

“It’s so gross, huh?” Ace said, grabbing a glob and tossing it into the bucket. You felt back for whoever had to sort the seeds, clean them, and cook them. There had to be over one hundred pumpkins here, and Ace had barely made a dent in them.

“Disgusting actually…and don’t laugh at me. I’m the one helping you, remember?” You said, grabbing a glob and trying to toss it over Ace’s lap to make it into the bucket. What you ended up doing was tossing the glob directly into his lap. Ace made an annoying noise as he tried getting it off him and glaring. Then a smirk appeared on his face, and you were screwed.

Ace grabbed a chunk and threw it right over at your face, making you sputter as you tried wiping off pumpkin guts. You shot him a glare, “Mine was an accident, asshole.” You said, grabbing another glob from your pumpkin and throwing it. Ace managed to dodge the chunk and went to toss more at you.

That’s when you heard someone clearing their throat, and you both froze, turning over to look at Riddle, “Having fun there?” Riddle asked, clearly not impressed by the food fight that hadn’t even reached its full potential.

“…No…” You said and looked at Ace. Riddle’s annoyed smile came over his face as he looked between the two of you.

“It looks like you’re having a great time. In that case, I’m sure you two don’t mind gutting all the pumpkins by yourselves?” Riddle said, and both you and Ace groaned, looking at one another. Totally not worth it.

Deuce Spade

You couldn’t help the impressed whistle from leaving you while walking along the carving tables. Some of the students had some amazing talent, and that’s when you came across Deuce. You knew he was good at certain things, but carving pumpkins…well, add another random talent to his list. It looked almost like it was a professional making it as he whittled away at some pieces to make it thinner.

“Damn, where’d you learn to do that.” You asked, grabbing a spare chair and moving it over to him so you could sit. Deuce flinched a bit, clearly not noticing you until just now. “Ah, sorry, thought you heard me walking up.”

“It’s fine…what are you doing here, though?” Deuce asked, putting his carving tools to the side to get a better look at you. You shrugged, grabbing one of the already gutted pumpkins to try your hand. There were, thankfully, stencils to go off of, so it wouldn’t be too hard getting the pumpkins to look consistent with one another.

“Well, I’m attending the party, so I gotta help set it up. Figured I might as well do the fun activities.” You said, grabbing one of the carving tools and placing the stencil in place. Deuce smiled as he grabbed his own stuff.

“Sounds good to me; I was just starting to get bored.” He said, going back to working on his little project.

“How many of these have you done?” You were currently concentrating on getting the right angle as you stabbed into the large pumpkin. Deuce looked over at you and noticed you were about to make life way harder on yourself.

“About five so far, but I’ll probably be doing at least fifteen or twenty. We have tons of pumpkins to carve, and not many of us decent at it….” Deuce said, debating if he should say anything. He then cleared his throat and placed his hand on top of your pumpkin, “If I may…there’s an easier way of doing this.”

“Oh, and do show me, expert pumpkin carver.” You said as he grabbed your hand and helped guide it in a more fluid motion.

“I’m not an expert…I just normally carve pumpkins every year with my mom, is all.” Deuce said, “See, this is easier on your wrist and will help you get it done faster.” He explained as he continued guiding your hand.

“It is…thank you, Deuce.” You muttered before leaning in and kissing his cheek. Deuce’s face went red as he tried to stutter a response, but before he could do anything, you were back to concentrating on the task. Oh, you’d be the death of him.

[thewayshedreamed]

A Symphony

a/n: Happy Nessian Week! This is for Day 1′s prompt (and clearly I’m very late), but I’m really excited to share this with y’all!

This is a follow-up, set 200 years post-mating from my fic Death Dance. I’ve wanted to write this for a long time, and @nessianweek​ 2022 inspired me to finally write it and share it with y’all! (I also included a few details to make it a bit more canon compliant since I wrote the original 2 parts before acosf was released— and since the prompt calls for ‘what happened after’, this can be read as a stand-alone one-shot set 200 yrs post-acosf).

I know I wrote Death Dance forever ago, but it holds such a special place in my heart as one of the first fics I ever shared. I’ll include the links here in case you want a refresher or would like to read it! 

>> Death Dance | Death Dance, Part 2 | ao3

——————————————————————————

"...that’s what battle is. A symphony.” — ACOWAR

Cassian loved watching the sunrise atop the House of Wind. He often retreated to the roof earliest to start his warm-ups and prepare for training. He had a solid routine of assessing the weapons, setting any broken ones aside for repair, and making sure adequate water was on hand. The fewer interruptions to their sessions, the better.

His blade sang as he pulled it from the rack nearby. It wasn’t the sword he opted to use in battle, nor was it the finest piece of steel he owned, but he favored it in training nonetheless. The weight was perfect, and his hand had formed the leather around the hilt to fit perfectly after years of use.

Perhaps superstition played a part in it, too. Anytime he deviated from it, he made multiple errors. He decided it was the fault of the blade rather than the warrior having an off-day.

Footsteps sounded nearby, and his eyes landed on his favorite opponent. She had come so far over the years in her technique, and she rivaled him in focus and determination. There had never been a challenge she didn’t rise to meet.

Her cool blue eyes, bleary due to the early hour, assessed him as usual. Cassian huffed a laugh at her serious expression and nodded to an open area nearby.

“Go ahead and get warmed up. I’m ready when you are,” he goaded. That knowing glint shined in her eyes, and it was so familiar that his chest tightened.

“Already did.” Her voice was even, almost bored. Not that it bothered him, considering it wasn’t the first time he’d heard it. “I did some stairs inside the House before I came up. I’m waiting on you.”

Her smile was as sharp as the blade she selected from the rack. Cassian eased his feet apart and braced himself for when the session would start, but she strolled over to another table before meeting him in the ring. Her delicate hand hovered over each dagger until she decided on which two to tuck into her leathers.

“Doesn’t hurt to have back-up,” she stated, a hint of a smile tugging at her lips.

“No, it doesn’t. I’ve taught you well.”

“You could say that.” Her smile turned feral, her eyes flashing a brighter blue as she lunged for Cassian.

Deflecting her blade was child’s play, but she hadn’t truly expected to surprise him. Not yet, anyway. Cassian knew her to be more calculated— and far less transparent— than one rush attack. The Illyrian steel clanged loudly upon contact and whistled through the air at Cassian’s counter attack. Her block caught him off-guard a little in both speed and technique, and he didn’t fight the warm pride flooding his chest.

They danced that way, a nearly choreographed push and pull of steel and delicate footwork. Her breaths sounded through the training ring first, but he didn’t dare comment on how she lost her rhythm moments prior. The only thing that would produce was an additional waste of breath in telling him to mind his own business. Best to cut out the middle step.

Cassian disarmed her artfully in a similar way he’d succeeded in the past. He made a mental note to run through the maneuver during their debrief so that she wasn’t vulnerable to it in actual combat. With a swiftness characteristic of the High Fae, she had a dagger in each hand and went immediately on the offensive. The determination made him smile, but her responding scowl let him know that she likely took it as a taunt.

He schooled his features as he’d trained to do his entire life, eliminating any tells and masking any weaknesses in his form. Sometimes, an opponent’s face was their weakest asset. They told a multitude of stories if one knew where to look.

Cassian defended the attack successfully and was vaguely aware of another presence walking toward the edge of the ring. It wasn’t uncommon for the Valkyries to support one another during drills, especially with how they coordinated their attacks, but this lesson was private. He couldn’t afford the lapse in focus to bark an order along that vein.

“Remember your breath,” she prompted.

Cassian’s eyes slid over of their own volition, nearly allowing one of the daggers to drag along the skin of his bicep. He dodged it in the half-second before contact, but it was too close for comfort. He chose to ignore the unwelcome coaching from the sidelines in favor of his sparring partner who was quite content to use any error in his judgment to her advantage.

He should have expected as much. It was what he taught her to do.

“He has too much access to your blindside.”

A growl erupted from Cassian’s chest. “Stop coaching her. It won’t serve her in the long-run.”

He spun away and recalibrated, using his wings to lift and propel him forward. His sword came down and met both daggers, crossed to hold his blade at bay.

Sweat beaded on her forehead, but she blinked it away. Cassian noticed how her chest heaved, the way her jaw clenched. She was losing steam and quickly. Hundreds of drills and sparring sessions, and she still didn’t know when to call it.

“It’s over,” he murmured, his tone final but not unkind. The reality was that he was only using half of his force, so even if she aimed to dig her heels in to defend herself, it would only take his full might to compromise her form.

“You don’t know that,” she gritted out, pushing against him with her remaining strength.

Cassian pushed harder against her, and a frustrated snarl sounded between them. Her nostrils flared in her desperation for breath, but the way her arms shook was the true sign of her exhaustion.

“Listen to me,” he instructed, firmer that time. “It’s over. Don’t let your pride get you killed.”

With a roar, she threw her weight forward in an attempt to throw Cassian off-balance. He held his sword steady with one arm and used his free hand to flex against her forearm and stripped her of the dagger. In a blink, he discarded his sword on the ground and spun her around, using the remaining dagger at her throat to pin her against his chest.

To her credit, she held her head high. “Was that really necessary?”

Cassian tossed the dagger aside and released her. She whirled around, fire in her eyes and what he knew was a loaded temper on her tongue. That was fine. He had a temper of his own.

“You tell me,” he argued, his voice louder than before. “I told you it was over, and you pushed anyway. That’s how you die.”

“So, you want me to give up?!” Her voice met and exceeded his own, growing more shrill by the second.

“No! I want you to know your limits and identify them before you get there. I want you to stop playing the damned hero and retreat when you should. Listen to me for once, for fuck’s sake. I want you to do what you need to survive!”

When the silence fell, Cassian realized how loud he’d been. Her lip quivered, and his temper evaporated as quickly as it had come. His heart crumbled in his chest watching her take steps away from him.

“I’ll be back before lunch,” she said, her voice trembling. “Nice talk.”

With two beats of her beautiful, umber wings, she was airborne. Cassian squeezed his eyes shut to gather himself and decided it was better to face the music sooner rather than later. He turned toward Nesta, still planted at the edge of the ring and her silver eyes swirling with contempt.

Fuck.

He heaved a breath and finished it with a firm warning. “Nes, don’t.”

Nesta stepped forward, her glare still fixed on his face. “Why did you have to push her so hard?”

“I didn’t push her any harder than I pushed you or any of the other Valkyries. She’s talented, Nesta, but she’s proud as hell.”

His wife blinked at him, and he didn’t have to be daemati to know her thoughts roared with the word hypocrite. Perhaps those were his own thoughts screaming at him.

“I know, I know,” he continued. “I’ll talk to her once she cools off.”

A murderous laugh sounded from Nesta, and goose flesh erupted over Cassian’s spine. He would never admit it, though. “Oh, no you won’t. You fucked up. You’re going to find her and talk to her right now.”

His brows came together in irritation. “Cynane gets her temper honestly— from both sides, might I add.” Nesta had the good sense to look a little sheepish. “She needs time.”

She crossed her arms, unsatisfied with his reasons. “Maybe so, but we have no idea where she’s headed. For all we know, she’ll get plenty of time with how long it will take you to find her.” It was Nesta’s turn to escalate and allow her temper to run free, he guessed. Her voice was venom made sound. “You will get your ass in the air. You will find our daughter, and you will bring her home.”

It was a shame how beautiful Nesta was when she was at her most angry. The only thing to keep Cassian’s wits about him was the layer of desperation beneath her anger, the way he knew her heart couldn’t rest without knowing Cynane was safe. It didn’t matter that she was approaching her 21st birthday in the coming months. She was forever their baby in Nesta’s eyes— and Cassian’s, if he was being fair.

He stepped forward and took Nesta’s hand, raising it to his lips. He let them linger against her skin and said, “Yes, ma’am.”

A smile threatened Nesta’s composure, but she schooled it quickly enough that Cassian didn’t feel right calling her on it. “I’m serious, you brute.”

“I know,” he murmured.

Cassian pressed his lips to her forehead and brought her hand to his chest. Nesta traced the middle siphon mindlessly.

“You were hard on her today. I know you’re used to pushing her, but she’s been having a rough few days.”

He tensed, all of his instincts roaring to life. “What happened?”

“Cassian,” Nesta warned, but her tone was softer than usual. “She’s okay. She and Nyx are fighting, and it’s getting to her.”

“Why didn’t she tell me?” He couldn’t help the incredulity in his question. Cynane talked to him about everything.

“She was worried you would overreact.” Alright, Nesta had a point. “They’ll work through it like they always do. They’re young and hard-headed, but they’re best friends. She didn’t want it to cause issues between you and Rhysand.”

He hummed in response, and his wings grew more restless by the second. Nesta was right in that it may take time to find her, and with the threats they knew to exist in their world, his brain insisted on painting worst case scenarios.

“I didn’t mean to hurt her,” he whispered, pulling Nesta against him. “I just— I worry she’ll push herself beyond her means for the greater good, and I couldn’t live with myself if I lost her.”

Nesta was quiet for a moment, then, “Who does that sound like to you?”

The wind circled them, but the chill was negligible in comparison to the realization Nesta prompted.

“Fuck,” he muttered. “This is my fault on so many levels.”

Nesta’s laugh kept him from spiraling completely. “You two are cut from the same cloth, Cassian. She looks up to you, but it’s confusing to her when you chastise her for emulating you.”

“Yeah.” His voice was all grit, his emotions like a hand around his throat. “I’ll fix this.”

“Bring our girl home.”

—

Cassian flew for about an hour before he noticed his daughter’s silhouette at the edge of a cliff. His chest squeezed at realizing she sought comfort in that location. Cassian had taught her to fly there, and they frequently used it as a spot to rest when they flew laps around Velaris together. The fact that she was so angry, yet yearned for a closeness to him nearly brought tears to his eyes.

He landed nearby but far enough away to avoid startling her. Her sniffles echoed along the wind, and it took every ounce of his will power to avoid crushing her to his chest. It didn’t matter that she was 6 feet tall with wings as mighty as some of the strongest Illyrian warriors. She was his Cynane, the light of his life, and he’d hold her as long as she would let him.

Approaching on silent feet, he eased himself into a seated position next to her and fixed his gaze over the horizon. She wiped at her eyes, and for some reason, it hurt that she was trying to hide her emotions from him.

“Hey,” he murmured, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “Come here.”

He expected her to resist, maybe to argue that he shouldn’t baby her anymore. Instead, her head dropped heavily to his shoulder, and her body shook with a sob. His instincts itched to eliminate any threat to her, but he had no clue what to do. Ultimately, he decided to wait it out and let her pour her pain into his lap if that’s what she needed.

When she quieted a bit, he tucked his free hand beneath her chin and lifted it to look at him. Her beautiful blue eyes, identical to Nesta’s, were red-rimmed and swollen. Cassian pressed a long kiss to her forehead and pulled back to look at her again.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to cry like that.”

He released her chin and brought his wrist toward his mouth. Using his teeth, he pulled a strip of linen he’d used to wrap his wrists prior to training and offered it to her.

Her nose scrunched. “It’s sweaty.”

He flicked the offending nose and held the linen closer to her. “No, it’s not. It’s from the top.”

Cynane glared at it, no more impressed than before.

“Would you rather have snot freeze to your face on the flight home?” he challenged.

She blinked up at him and snatched the strip of fabric out of his hand. Cassian chuckled at her flare for drama, but she retaliated swiftly by pretending to wipe her nose on his tunic instead.

“Heathen,” he teased, leaning away from her and removing his arm from her shoulders. Her laugh made his breathing a bit easier.

She took a moment to blot at her eyes and wipe her nose, heaving a long breath before she gathered the nerve to talk. The sun turned her dark skin almost golden and reflected off the three amber siphons mounted along her collarbone. Females didn’t usually receive siphons, but almost none of them held the power that his daughter held, either. The scary part was that they still didn’t quite know the breadth of it.

“Talk to me.” It was foreign to ask because she almost always brought her troubles straight to him. Sometimes, she turned to Nesta first depending on the subject, but she had never run from him rather than talk something out. “Your mom said you have some things on your mind.”

A few beats passed in silence. “I shouldn’t have forced that sparring session so much,” she admitted, her voice a quiet rasp. “I think I was trying to work through some stuff, but that’s not the place for it.”

“It’s okay,” he assured her, turning his body to see her face better. “We can work through it now. Together.”

She offered a small, pitiful smile and dropped her head to his shoulder again. Cassian used his free hand to brush some of the dark waves that escaped her braid away from her face. “Nyx is pissing me off.”

A laugh bubbled out of him without warning and encouraged one from Cynane, too. It felt good to laugh in light of all the tension. “Yeah? What’s he doing?”

“He doesn’t listen to me!” she exclaimed. “Ever— for anything. He doesn’t listen to me in training, he doesn’t listen to me in social situations. He doesn’t even listen to me about what suit he should wear, and half the time, he’s the one asking in the first place.”

Much like his father, then. “He’s young, proud. I’m—“

“Dad, he’s 200 years old.” The exasperation in her voice made him smile. He tucked his cheek against her head.

“Yeah, well,” he trailed off. “It took his father longer than that to listen to me, and that’s still not a guarantee.”

Cynane chuckled, and the sound was so reminiscent of Nesta that his heart inflated beyond the available space of his ribcage. “Give him time. He’s had a microscope on him since birth, and some lessons, he’ll have to learn on his own.”

“Maybe,” she sighed. “When you put it that way, it makes me feel like my expectations are off. If Nyx is young, what does that make me?”

“My baby, for one,” he said through a smirk and felt her wing flick against his own with a quiet slap. She hated when Cassian made a production over her. “You have the same old soul that your mother does, so you tend to put more pressure on your shoulders than is yours to bear.”

The echo of Nesta’s earlier words ricocheted through his brain. He knew Cynane’s and his likeness. It was nearly impossible to be around the two of them and not see it. The way she entered any room with a casual confidence, the same sideways smile. How she lifted a brow when challenged or skeptical of someone’s motives.

So much of Cassian presented in Cynane, and as much as it warmed his heart to see it, he knew the sense and burden of responsibility were of him, too.

Her voice was quiet. “Sometimes it makes me wonder why I do all this, you know? All the training, trying to prove myself a worthwhile ally to Nyx.”

“It’s your sense of purpose,” he offered. “And for what it’s worth, you don’t need to prove yourself to anyone. You and Nyx are best friends, and his behavior has more to do with him than it does with you, I’m sure of it.”

Cynane sniffed, and Cassian’s instincts roared to life in a way that still managed to startle him. She had cried hundreds of times in her short life, but his hackles always rose within milliseconds, anyway.

“It just— it feels like there’s no place for me right now, or maybe if there is a place for me, I don’t live up to it.”

Cassian squeezed his eyes shut and forced his emotions to a more placid level. The pain in her voice was unmistakable, and nothing hurt worse than her pain. Nesta’s pain. He’d take an ash arrow to the chest ten times over.

“That’s not possible,” Cassian insisted, and he meant it.

Cynane was years ahead of many of her Male counterparts in training, and she had been born with the mind of a strategist. He knew it in her earliest years of life when she managed to delay bedtime for months before he and Nesta caught on that it was no accident.

She heaved a breath. “Well, even Nyx doesn’t take me seriously if he can’t be bothered to consider my opinion. My mother literally wields death, for the Cauldron’s sake. Half the Illyrians I train with either hate that I have siphons or think they’re all for show.”

Cassian suppressed a growl, quite skillfully in his opinion, and focused on the lilt of her voice as she continued. “The Males look at me like I’m a joke if I lose to them in training, but if I win, their ego is bruised. That, and they make it a point to talk about how I should be winning more often ‘considering who my dad is.’ No matter what, I’m too much, or I’m not enough.”

If his chest had tightened before, it was nothing in comparison to how he felt hearing her words. Cassian had made it his life’s mission to ensure others found him worthy of his rank, that he was more than some bastard that they left in a field to die. He had pushed himself to every limit, willingly entered the thick of battle to prove himself a worthy leader. In hindsight, the naysayers hadn’t been eradicated by his actions, anyway. Now, that legacy he fought so hard to establish caused more issue for his daughter than it helped.

No one had prepared him for such a particular phase in parenthood.

“And then today, when I pushed our training session, all I did was make things worse. You knew I couldn’t win, and I should have listened to you when you tried to call it. Losing to you— yet again— proved them all right, you know?”

Cassian nudged her cheek away from his shoulder and folded one of his legs in to face her. “No, I don’t know. You’re way too hard on yourself. You haven’t even made your 21st year.”

Cynane shrugged and opened her mouth to respond, but Cassian silenced her with a lifted hand.

“I didn’t call our session because I don’t think you’re capable. If that was the case, I would go easy on you.” She growled at the implication. He suppressed a smile in order to carry on. “I give you my all in training because you’re further along than even I was at your age, and I know there will come a day when you best me. When that happens, it will be because you’ve surpassed me, not because I’ve favored you.”

Her eyes glassed over, and Cassian made a mental note to tell Nesta she had to handle the next tearful conversation with their daughter. He’d met his quota, and his heart couldn’t take much more.

“Okay,” she rasped, nodding her head as if to convince herself that he told the truth. Then, with a mischievous smile, she added, “Better than you, huh?”

Cassian laughed, shaking his head in mock exasperation. “I should have never told you that.”

“I’m glad you did.”

Her piercing blue eyes lifted to meet his own. They were creased slightly at each corner, and that small hint of a smile eased some of the tension from his shoulders. Cassian stood from the ground and offered his hand to the pride of his life.

“Come on.” he ordered, stretching his scarred wings. “I’ll race you back.”

Cynane quirked a brow. The way her wings flitted behind her told him she was going to accept his challenge before she said a word.

“You sure you want to do that?”

Cassian bit his cheek at the clear taunt. Cynane was fast, and it was possible she could very well beat him in a short burst. The flight home was longer though, and Cassian wasn’t above using a shortcut or two that he knew from his many laps around Velaris over the years.

He smiled at her, broad and unrestrained. “Of course, Little Wing,” he drawled, allowing himself an internal celebration when she scowled at the nickname she’d rejected for some time. “Unless you’re not up for it.”

He made two steps toward the cliff until, “You know,” she said, the drip of her voice identical to his own. “I don’t know why you still call me that. Mine outgrew yours years ago.”

Cassian rounded on her and grabbed her in a loose headlock. She shoved him away with a laugh and flexed her wings broadly behind her, tilting her head to assess the wind. He turned away and made his way toward the cliff once more.

“The longer it takes me to get you back, the more likely your mother is to kill me.” He beat his wings, his toes poised at the very edge of the rock. Before he could take off, Cynane’s voice froze him in place.

“I don’t think she could.”

Cassian preened internally, yet he allowed a glance over his shoulder and a smirk to tug at the corner of his mouth. His daughter had faith in him, and that was all well and good, but he wondered how Nesta would respond.

In the spirit of self-preservation, he said, “Appreciate it, kid, but it’s no contest.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean it that way. I’m sure she could.”

Cassian bared his teeth in a half-hearted snarl. From revered to humbled in no time flat with Cynane, he thought.

“But she won’t,” she murmured, her footsteps approaching from behind. “She loves you too much.”

His throat tightened, and as casually as possible, he turned toward the horizon in his own assessment of the wind. Cynane’s footsteps picked up speed and intensity, and she playfully knocked Cassian’s shoulder with hers as she launched herself over the cliff’s edge.

He laughed freely, watching her barrel roll through the sky and circle back to hover a few feet in front of him. The change in tone and the mirth etched into her features were welcome shifts from the heavier atmosphere of before. Cynane lowered her brows in dry challenge.

“Try to keep up,” she taunted.

Cassian smiled and turned around, throwing himself backward into free fall before his wings flared wide and caught the wind. He flexed them a few times to warm them up and made his way toward his daughter’s waiting form above.

“I’ll be sure to let your mom know you’re on your way,” he replied, angling into a sharp turn in the House’s general direction.

An incredulous shout echoed through the valley.

Served her right, he thought.

—

Apparently, Cassian had forgotten that he’d shown Cynane many of the shortcuts he knew through their particular mountain range. They emerged on either side of the rooftop, her feet touching down mere seconds before his own.

His chest heaved with the effort of catching his breath. His 700-plus years were showing, and he wasn’t as good at hiding it as he would have liked. When he glanced toward Cynane, he realized he wasn’t the only one who had pushed beyond their limits if her own panting was any indication.

A book snapped shut nearby, and they whirled around to see Nesta walking toward them. She’d lowered herself to a training mat, her back against the wall, while she waited for them to return. Her face was neutral enough, and Cassian took it as a good sign that she poured each of them a glass of water from the pitcher nearby.

“I assume the two of you worked through things,” she said, her tone apprehensive.

Cassian leaned his elbow heavily on Cynane’s shoulder, ignoring her growl of irritation. “Never been better, really.”

He turned a smile toward Cynane, but the look in her eye was trouble. He’d know it a mile away considering it usually took residence on his own face.

“Yeah,” she agreed, pausing to take a long pull of water. “Dad explained that the only reason he pushed me so much was because you thought he was babying me.” She crossed her arms over her chest and offered an amused grin toward her mother. “But I understand that you want what’s best for me, so no hard feelings.”

Nesta’s eyes were more silver than blue when they snapped in Cassian’s direction. He muttered a low curse at his daughter’s betrayal and dropped his arm from her shoulder.

“Your kid is full of shit,” he joked, and Cynane’s features lifted into a broad smile. “But we did talk, and we’re okay, Nes. Promise.”

Her face softened, and she moved forward to wrap her arms tightly around Cynane’s waist. She returned the hug immediately and dipped her head to place a kiss to her mother’s temple.

“I know you needed space, but don’t leave it so open-ended when you’re upset,” Nesta asked, her voice even, yet soft. “We’ll always give you what you need, just let us know where we can find you if something were to happen.”

“Okay, fair enough.”

They released each other, and the look of exhaustion on Nesta’s face was too much for Cassian to bear after such a heavy morning. He tugged her against his chest, earning a deep sigh from Cynane.

“That’s my cue,” she began, walking toward the door. “I’ll make us some lunch since I worried you.”

“The House can provide lunch if you want to rest a little, maybe take some time to yourself,” Nesta offered.

“Nah, it’s okay. I’m in the mood for Dad’s Illyrian stew. I’m going to whip some of that up.”

“Remember,” Cassian called to her retreating form, “don’t cook it too fast or—”

“The vegetables will be soggy, and the meat will be tough,” Cynane finished. She looked over her shoulder to make eye contact with Cassian over Nesta’s head. “I’ve got it.”

He heard the double meeting, and his pride in his daughter’s resilience threatened to devour him whole.

“I know.”

With a small smile, she disappeared inside. He and Nesta clung to one another for a few seconds of contented silence until it was time to give credit where it was due.

“You were right to make me go after her,” he admitted, pulling back to look into her face. “She needed to talk it out.”

Nesta blinked up at him and traced his jaw with her fingers, lifting onto her tip toes to press a kiss to his lips. “She needed her dad.”

Cassian’s throat bobbed. When his eyes fluttered open, Nesta’s raw admiration hit him square in the chest, just below the spot where she’d traced his siphon earlier on. “Yeah, I think she did.”

He kissed her again, firmer that time but nothing more than seeking comfort in their intimacy. Everything settled, down to the ever-present buzz beneath his skin, with Nesta’s strong and steady presence.

Pulling away, he asked, “Unrelated, but could you find out who Cynane has been sparring with these last couple of weeks?”

Her glare was a clearer warning than anything she could have said. “Unrelated, sure.”

“Only slightly,” he lied, not bothering to cover it well, either. “She mentioned some struggle so I thought maybe I could give her some pointers for next time.”

“Or, you know, maybe select them at random for a training demonstration?”

Cassian laughed, kissing her again. “If you think it’s a good idea, sure.”

She scowled up at him. “You know I don’t. Cynane would kill you.”

He pulled the late morning air into his lungs and let it out in one long whoosh. “Yeah,” he admitted, albeit begrudgingly. “I’ll leave it.”

Nesta released him, and he missed her warmth immediately. Sliding her hand into his, their calluses from years of training skimming over the other’s, he felt a sense of belonging he would never take for granted as long as the Mother allowed him time in their universe. He tugged on her hand to spin her around and wrapped his arm tightly around her waist. Nesta gripped his shoulders for stability and pressed tightly to his chest.

“I love you,” he murmured against the skin of her neck, taking delight in how she shivered against him.

“Love you more.”

——————————————————————————

Shout-out to @bookstantrash for letting me use Cynane (kee-nah-nay) as their daughter's name in this fic. She wrote me a beautiful one-shot (Bilingual Family) as a Secret Santa gift last year, and I absolutely loved it. It seemed fitting to use the name here!

Here's a copy of the name's origin, listed on her post— "Cynane was the daughter of the Illyrian Princess Audata and King Philip II of Macedon, making her the half-sister of Alexander the Great. Following the Illyrian tradition of women as warriors, her mother raised her in the martial arts, also teaching her how to hunt, track, ride, and fight better than any men. She was also raised with the belief that she was equal of any man. Before she was 20yo, Cynane was well known for these skills and became famous for her courage and brilliance in battle."

Thanks again to my incredibly sweet friend for letting me use it! Love you, Babi ❤️ 

[imabeautifulbutterfly]

It’s Over - Pt. 7A (Hunter)

Summary: Hunter and Myri enjoy the gala - Part 1. That’s right it’s a two-parter!

A/N: Hello Lovelies, 

I know this series was over, however I had a special request on AO3 and it strangely fell in line with this week’s episode of Bad Batch, which I just finished watching! LOL.

I hope you all enjoy this addition. 

Love oo. Working on Gym Membership, hoping to have that posted maybe next week or the week after; and I’m still working on the new Bond fic. 

Love oo.

It’s Over(Kix)   |   Pt. 2(Rex)  |   Pt. 3(Wolffe)   |   Pt. 4(Cody)   |   Pt. 5(Crosshair)  |   Pt. 6 (Tech)

Warnings: Mentions of battles, fighting, angst, fluff, mentions of liquor, insults, hurt feelings, accidental domineering attitude, making decisions for others, arguments, I think that’s it. If I miss any warnings, please let me know.

AO3 Link   |   Words: 4,145   |   Previous -> Next Main Masterlist   |   It’s Over Masterlist

Hunter stood beside the bar, waiting for his, Myri’s and Omega’s drink, he was surprised to see there were a few kids attending the Gala. It made him smile seeing how much fun Omega was having running around and dancing with some of the other kids. His eyes glanced from Omega to Myri, she was sitting at their table talking with Lurwa and Tala, joking and laughing.

Watching her sitting there made his heart swell, to know that this was their family. After all the pain, he and his vode had been through, they finally had a chance to be happy, to live a normal life. 

Myri’s eyes locked with Hunter’s, he couldn’t help smile from ear to ear when they locked eyes. 

“Your drinks, sir” the droid behind him pulled him from his musings, he nodded his thanks, taking the three drinks and heading towards their table. He placed Myri’s drink in front of her, his smile still present. 

As he took his seat, he shifted closer to her, chuckling as she leaned against him. Holding the drink up to Omega, catching her eyes, she nodded in understanding and continued dancing with one of the Senators’ daughters. Hunter wasn’t quite sure which one it was, but he thought it was the Senator from Pantora.

“What’s got you smiling, Hunt?” Lurwa asked as she took a swig from the remnants of her drink.

“Just thinking”

“About?” Tala prompted, raising her eyebrow. 

He chuckled, “About how things have changed. Not just the end of the war, but even us, all of us.” He looked at Myri, placing a kiss on her forehead, “Us specifically.”

“When did you two become an item? I was under the impression you two had been dating for a while, but Wrecker told me it only recently happened” Lurwa clarified. 

“Oh well, you can blame the delay on this one” Myri motioned to Hunter.

“Excuse me, it takes two my dear” he joked as he wrapped his arm around her.

“That it does” she giggled as she leaned into him. 

“So… how did it happen?” Tala asked, her hands propped under her chin, waiting in anticipation for the story.

Myri simply looked at Hunter, smirking, “Well you might as well tell it, since it was your fault.”

“Fine, but you owe me cyar’ika. Anyway, what happened was …

- - - - - -  * - - - - - - * - - - - - -

Tech stood in the middle of a now deserted battleground, scorches of blaster residue, along with droid parts littering the field around the five of them. 

He stood beside Echo focusing on the transmission he was receiving, now that the danger had been exterminated. He was focusing on making sure the information he was hearing and reading was accurate.

Echo tried and failed several times to gain his attention, it was as though the world around him had stopped existing. He was grateful the fighting had finished, otherwise Tech would’ve been the first to be picked off. Regardless, they needed to keep moving, he finally, resolved to pushing Tech’s arm to get his attention, “Tech, what’s going on? What’s got you so engrossed?”

“It’s over” 

It was all he muttered, as he stood there, trying to comprehend the weight of what it meant. Wrecker, Crosshair, and Hunter stopped in their tracks, at what they thought they had heard.

Hunter wondered if what he heard was correct, “What did you say?”

“It’s over. The war. It’s over.”

“How? Did they capture General Grievous?” Wrecker asked, completely forgetting the droid he had ripped in two still in his hands, the battle from a moment ago was now a distant memory, as it been brushed out of their minds at the news.

“It’s not very clear they are saying …” Tech stopped as he straightened at listening to the news, “well that is quite interesting. It appears General Kenobi and General Skywalker have killed Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.”

“Isn’t that treason?” Crosshair’s skepticism ringing through.

“That doesn’t matter right now. What does matter, is what’s happening now. Have they said anything with regards to standing down or proceeding with the ops currently in progress?” Hunter stated, focusing back on the task at hand.  

Echo shifted doing his best to focus on the here and now, despite the concern he felt for his former General.

“Nothing is clear at the moment”

“Until we hear confirmation one way or another we have a job to finish. Everyone, get your head back on the mission. We have remnant droids that need to be dealt with. Execute plan Delta 22-Bravo.” Everyone nodded, as they headed towards their assignment, Hunter shifted away from the group, heading towards the rows of trees, where the droids had disappeared to; as much as the speech may have been for his vode, it was just as an important reminder for himself. His mind needed to be focused on his task and not on the possibility of the war ending, and what it could mean for him. For them. For everyone.

“What do you think is up with him?” Wrecker leaned over and asked Echo, the only response he received was a quirked eyebrow. “Is it because of Myri?”

“Wrecker” Crosshair called out, motioning to him to follow the way he was heading. There was no need to guess what was on Hunter’s mind, after all they’d all been there for the explosive argument between Hunter and Medic Myri Kambe.

Myri was interesting enough, she clearly cared about them, they could tell that from the first time they met her, she’d been one of the few medics on Kamino that actually treated them with respect and kindness. 

Before they even realized she had seeped into their hearts, she became their vod’ika, they all admired and treasured her, however with Hunter there was definitely something more. Though he denied it every chance he had. 

In Wrecker’s word the argument between the two had been absolutely epic, it was a song and dance of their feelings, that everyone knew except for the two of them. 

It wasn’t long before they were heading back to the Marauder, receiving instructions to head back to Kamino, apparently everyone was being recalled, for some sort of mandatory general assembly.

- - - - - - * - - - - - - * - - - - - - 

“Were you waiting with doe eyes, hoping for Prince Charming to arrive?” Tala chuckled.

“Hardly, I was swamped with paperwork, after all the craziness that happened with the announcement of Palpatine dying, I hardly had a moment to breathe.”  

“She was in the middle of a report when we found her on Kamino” Hunter clarified.

- - - - - - * - - - - - - * - - - - - - 

Myri was finishing up her report for General Shaak-Ti, after the chaos that had been the past few days, reports were being prioritized. Everyone, was on edge and yet relieved as well. It was making Kamino feel like a ticking time bomb.

She glanced around the room, she tried to remember since she first stepped on to Kamino when were there so little casualties, her mind was lost in thought when the door to med slid open. The sound pulling her out of her musings, she looked over to see her favourite group of guys walking in.

“MYRI!” Wrecker’s booming voice echoed off the med walls, within an instant she stood, rushing over to them, shushing him, glancing around to make sure no one was woken by the boisterous vod.

Wrecker at the same time chuckled, picking her up in his best big brother hug. Squeezing her as tight as possible without hurting her. 

“Sorry” he whispered, well what qualified as a whisper for Wrecker, placing her down on the ground as gently as possible. 

Crosshair simply nodded a hello, his toothpick shifting from one side to the next. 

Echo smiled before shifting his eyes away, still uncomfortable with the droids around the med room, and Tech was adjusting his goggles ready to tell her about everything that happened on their last mission and what new things he learned. 

Hunter was the only one who didn’t have any sort of reaction, he simply stood in the back of the group, keeping his distance. He wanted to reach out, to be all jokey with her, but something kept him from fully opening up to her. Their last fight simply amplified how much he hated the distance he seemed to have created between them.

“Oh” Myri clapped her hands, as quietly as possible directing her attention to Wrecker and Echo, lowering her voice, “I was requested to inform the both of you” she pointed to them, “there are some special guests waiting for the two of you specifically, in hangar bay 342-A. I believe they said their mission was partly successful, they needed their welcome home kiss to make it truly successful.”

Before she could even finish Wrecker took off like his kit was on fire, waving and shouting a thank you over his shoulder abandoning his vode without a second thought. 

Echo simply shook his head, thanking her properly on behalf of the both of them before following Wrecker’s path, pretending to walk calmly until he was out of sight and then running at full speed.

“What’s so special about the hangar bay?” Cross sneered out

“Tala and Lurwa are waiting for them there”

“Tala’s here?” He looked surprised.

“Mmhmm, they finished their assignment and came here directly” Myri answered somewhat absentmindedly as she moved around the room, organizing . She was doing her best to avoid Hunter, their argument still fresh in her mind. 

- - - - - - * - - - - - - * - - - - - -

“Wait, what was the argument you guys had?” Lurwa looked from Myri to Hunter.

“You never told them?” Hunter asked as his hand intertwined with hers.

“No. I was very angry, they were off on missions, and I didn’t exactly want to talk about you.”

“Fair enough” he muttered, raising her hand to his lips, placing the gentlest kiss he could muster, “So what happened was …”

“No. Let me tell this one” Myri smirked, as she looked at him.

“All yours”

- - - - - - * - - - - - - * - - - - - - 

The med room felt crowded as Myri walked in after dealing with an injury in one of the training rooms the cadets were using. Omega who had stuck by her side as her med assistant for the day, glanced around smiling as she saw the Bad Batch on each of the med beds, a scowl on each of their faces, clearly none of them wanted to be there. 

Myri simply chuckled to herself, it was time for their routine physical after fifty missions. It wasn’t mandatory for anyone, just the Bad Batch. 

“Alright boys, I guess it’s that time again, the joys of your physicals. I want to say thank you for coming willingly and not forcing me to hunt you guys down.”

They all simply nodded, they uneasiness of being there affecting each one of them differently. “So who wants to be first?”

Echo simply chuckled, “Good luck” he muttered as he focused on his scomp arm, tweaking it till it felt right. 

Tech was too focused on his datapad to really pay attention to anything happening. 

Wrecker was busy fixing up the 99 skull mark on his helmet.

Crosshair was polishing his gun, and Hunter was fiddling with his knife.

“I know, you guys hate it, but the faster we get to this, the faster you can go back to your bunks and relax, right?”

“Come on it won’t be as bad as you think” Omega chimed in, Wrecker turned to look at her.

“Omega!” He chuckled as he ran and picked her up, tossing her on to his shoulder, as though it had been the most natural thing for the two of them.

“Wrecker, I have to show you this new move Myri taught me”

“Ohhh, like what…”

“Omega” Myri called her, “We have to focus on the physicals first, then you can show Wrecker what I showed you”

“Yes, Myri” Omega tapped Wrecker’s shoulder, motioning for him to let her down. He begrudgingly put her down, and rolled his eyes. Omega sniffled a laugh, as she moved to stand beside Myri. 

“Alright, I know this isn’t fun for anyone, but let’s get this through quickly, who wants to go first?”

Silence lingered in the room for longer then it probably should’ve, Echo stood clearing his throat, “I’ll go first,” she nodded moving to the cubicle he was in, Omega following behind her, they turned on the private screen, going through each process, it was about twenty minutes later when he was all done. They walked out, Omega with a giant smile on her face, “Alright Omega, what do we do when we have an excellent patient?” 

She simply chuckled as she ran to Myri’s desk and pulled out a small piece of candy, giving it to Echo, whose eyes examined it carefully with care, “It’s not a bomb Echo” Myri let out exhausted. Every time Echo had to examine it from all sides, smell it, squeeze it, and then slowly unwrap the candy. “It’s a hard candy, tastes like Meiloorun.”

Hunter sat there catching glimpses of Myri as often as he could without being conspicuous, Crosshair had stood and headed to sit beside his vod, while she focused on Wrecker’s physical, “You stare at her anymore, and she’ll be burned into your cornea”

“I’m not staring at her”

“Correct” Tech chimed in, “You are not staring, you are glancing every chance you have.”

“You are both wrong”

“Why don’t you just admit it?” Echo asked as he moved over closer to the other three, keeping his voice down along with theirs.

“There’s nothing to admit”

“Are you sure about that?” Crosshair motioned to Myri, who had stepped out of the room with Wrecker smiling from ear to ear, as Omega told him in detail the procedures Myri had taught her.

“Alright who’s next?”

“Hunter” Cross spoke up.

“Tech should be next, he was electrocuted briefly on the last mission”

“I am perfectly fine”

“I’ll be the judge of that” Myri stated, motioning for Tech to follow her.

“What’re we talkin’ about?” Wrecker glanced among his brothers, as they all had their eyes focused on Hunter.

“The fact that he” Echo motioned towards Hunter,  “should just admit what he feels”

“OH! For Myri!”

“Shhhh! Keep your voice down!” Hunter chastised, “There is nothing to admit, do I respect her? Yes. Do I believe she’s an excellent medic? Without a doubt. Do I view her as anything more? No. Now let’s move on.” Hunter stood, moving away from his swarming brothers, only to turn around and find them following him. 

“Don’t do that” Cross spoke, “There’s a chance you can be happy with the person you have feelings for, don’t act stupid by not talking to her about it.” He did his best to avoid Echo’s eyes, despite the fact they had both moved on from the night Cross had confessed his feelings to Tala, there was still tension between the two of them.

“If there were feelings, sure” Hunter stated, “However, why would I like someone who is as unappealing as her? Why you guys find her so attractive is beyond me? Myri is annoying, way too happy, and overbearing when it comes to her diagnosis. There is no way anyone in their right mind would look at her with any sort of affection.”

“Is that so?” Myri’s voice cut into the group who had been too focused on their brother to hear the sounds of their footsteps, or Tech’s constant coughing and clearing of his throat to announce their presence. 

The group parted leaving Hunter to stand alone and face Myri, there was a disappointed look on her face. Her eyes held the pain she felt from his criticism of her, she simply cleared her throat and motioned for Cross to follow her. The silence that followed as Hunter waited for his turn for his physical, and for the proverbial axe to fall on his neck made a twenty minute exam feel like an eternity. 

“Well you all appear very healthy and you are all good to go” Myri turned to head to her office.

Omega was about to chime in that Hunter hadn’t been examined yet, however before she could open her mouth Tech spoke up.

“Hunter hasn’t been examined yet?”

Myri stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Hunter, her eyes narrowing in on him, “Oh, I’m sure there’s nothing but a good nights rest won’t fix, after all who would want an annoying, overbearing, and extremely friendly medic to care for them. I’m sure if there is anything injured or about to fall off, one of you or one of the many other medics can take care of it?”

“Myri…” Hunter stepped forward, panic setting in his heart, “I …”

“You …” her foot tapped against the floor as the anger pushed and coursed its way through every fibre of her being, “You what? You’re annoyed that I’m not doing my job? Or do you find my refusal to be overbearingly difficult to move on from? Or I know maybe I’m just not worthy of anyone to look upon me in any fond manner?”

“You don’t understand…”

“Oh, I don’t understand? No. No. You seem to think that just because I’m not out in the field, or just because I’m a medic I should have to tolerate your abuses, and derogatory remarks. Let me explain something to you, I’m happy because I enjoy my work. I try my best to be friendly with everyone in this godforsaken place because at least once in everyone’s life they can look back at our interactions with fondness, and it might be the only happy memory they have, while they’re out fighting for some stupid ridiculous reason. Overbearing? I make sure to do my job to the best of my abilities, and that includes making sure that each and every one of my patients follow through on their remedies. Have I ever treated you with any kind of disrespect?”

Silence filled the room, Omega was uncomfortable with the tension that was filling every corner and did her best to hid behind Wrecker.

“Answer me!”

“No” Hunter let out barely audible.

“Have I ever made you feel that somehow I was mocking you? That you were unworthy of being valued or viewed as a decent person?”

“No” once again his answer was barely audible.

“Then why? Why do you think it’s okay to talk about me like that behind my back? And in my own med!”

He didn’t answer, the guilt and shame he felt for avoiding the real issue ate away at him, he wanted to apologize, to say so many things he should have but before he got the words right, she walked away, calling Omega to follow her over her shoulder. 

- - - - - - * - - - - - - * - - - - - - 

Lurwa and Tala simply sat there with wide eyes as they looked at Hunter, neither saying anything for the better part of a minute.

“I’m sorry” Tala cleared her throat, “You said what!”

“Oh hunny, I know you must have had a screw loose at that moment; and you best be glad you did not speak to me in that way, just ask Wrecker if you have any doubt.”

“Trust me, I regretted it the moment I opened my mouth and looked into Myri’s eyes; I regretted it every second of every day.”

- - - - - - * - - - - - - * - - - - - - 

Hunter cleared his throat getting Crosshair’s attention motioning over his shoulder, Cross simply smirking, understanding his vod better than most, he nodded as he flicked Tech’s elbow. Without any further, the two slinked out without making a noise. 

Hunter had his helmet in his hand, fidgeting with the rim of his helmet, doing his best to muster up the courage to speak. They hadn’t spoken since their argument.

He sent numerous data streams apologizing for his disrespect and for the hurt he caused her. He tried comming her, sending holomessages, even a written letter on flimsy he entrusted to an injured trooper, each medium he used was left unanswered. The only response he had received was the confirmation of delivery, whether it was read or not was beyond his scope of knowledge, and he didn’t want to go to Tech asking him to hack into her system to see whether she’d read them. 

“Tech you were going to tell me about what you had discovered on your mission” she asked over her shoulder as she went to grab a datapad she needed Tech to look over. 

“Unfortunately, Tech and Cross took off.” 

She didn’t respond, simply remained as still as possible at his statement, she hadn’t expected them to leave her alone with Hunter. 

He cleared his throat, shifting his weight from side to side, trying to find a way to break the ice between them “I imagine things have been crazy the last week, since the news of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine dying was announced.”

Myri stopped what she was doing. Closing her eyes, listening to his voice, it was the one voice she could easily identify amongst a sea of voices. She’d be lying if she said her heart never skipped a beat for him, from the moment she met him, he held a special place in her heart. From the way he looked after Omega, his brothers, and even the few times he’s stepped in to take care of her, every time his actions would chip away another layer of the wall she had put up to guard herself. 

Hearing him say all those things about her, just as they got back from an assignment, hurt a lot more than she ever could’ve imagined. They hadn’t seen her for almost 132 rotations, and the first thought that came into his mind were words that cut to the bone. It hurt even more when they were given another assignment just as soon as they were medically cleared. He hadn’t even tried to apologize or offer up an explanation before he left, he didn’t even attempt to see her.

She didn’t respond to his statement, for what was there to say, of course things were crazy. Why wouldn’t they be?

Hunter let out a sigh hoping to get some reaction out of her, “Are you going to the general assembly they called for tomorrow?”

She gave a simple nod, it was a mandatory assembly, of course she would go, why did she need to explain more?

“I imagine things might be different after tomorrow” Hunter wanted to finish the sentence by saying ‘between the two of us,’ but that would’ve been overstepping. Although, he allowed his mind to wonder about the possibility, could there be a time in the future when he could just tell her the truth about what he felt?

She didn’t respond, simply moving around the room, doing her best not to look at him.

He placed the helmet on the table beside him, he took in a deep breath and clenched his hands by his side hoping to actually say the words he needed to. Why this was so difficult for him, was baffling his mind completely. 

“I know you are incredibly angry with me right now” Hunter ran his fingers through his hair, at least he got something out, “there are not enough words in any language to truly convey how deeply sorry I am for what I said that day.”

She shuffled over to her storage cabinet, doing her best to appear not to be affected by his words, however, the truth was she didn’t want Hunter to see her face, it was a mixture of anger and pain, as the welled up tears forced their way to the surface. 

“You don’t have to say anything” he offered quickly, regardless of how much he wanted to hear her voice, to hear her laugh, to see her eyes shine the way they did when she only looked at him; he was the one at fault and the one that needed to make amends, not her. “I know I hurt you, the minute I said those horrible things I knew it was a mistake. I’ve been regretting it since the moment my mouth opened and all of it came spilling out.”

‘Then why did you say them?’ Was the question she wanted to ask but no matter how hard she tried to open her mouth, her jaw wouldn’t cooperate. She braced herself against the counter, letting her head drop between her shoulders, if Hunter was watching her, as she imagined he was, he’d known how much pain she really was in. 

There were many things she realized after that day, first no matter how much she admired him, he clearly didn’t feel the same way about her. He respected her for her skill and that was about it. The second thing she realized was the fact she actually had feelings for him, not just a crush as she kept trying to fool herself, but real genuine feelings. The final thing, there was no way anything could possibly happen between the two of them. 

“A few things have become clear to me since that day” he took in a deep breath and took one step towards her, though he couldn’t see her face, his senses could tell she was crying, seeing her shoulders so tense, and the fact she completely gave up the pretence of working. The pain he felt in his heart was no where near close to the pain she was feeling at the moment, he knew he was the only one to blame for all of it. “First, I realized what a collasal sheb (ass) I’ve been, as Crosshair likes to remind me.”

He took another step towards her, “That day the guys were harassing and hounding me to my wits end about …” he wondered if this was a good a time as any to confess what was lurking in his heart, what had been more than lurking, it had set up base camp, made a home and overwhelmed his heart completely. 

“About?” Myri’s voice was low and quivering as she mustered up the energy to utter at least one word.

Hunter’s heart swelled at hearing her voice, maybe he was jumping the gun a little, but at least at that moment she had finally began to open up, she finally started to acknowledge not only his presence but what he was saying. 

“About you”

Myri let out a light gasp, her head raised at his two words, she still wasn’t ready to look at him, but she was ready to a least hear what he had to say. 

“You see …” he took another step forward, closing the distance between the two of them, “for a long time, I refused to admit something that was painfully obvious to everyone else. It wasn’t because I was ashamed …” he shifted a little before he took another step, “it’s because I was scared, and they were doing their best, in their own overbearing way, to help me realize I had nothing to be scared about.”

She wanted to hear him talk, to listen the timber of his voice, but right now she needed him to get to the point, she wiped away the tears that escaped down her cheek, “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about how I felt about you since the moment I met you. What I said, what I called you …” Hunter let out a deep sorrowful sigh as he took another step closer, “I didn’t mean any of it, it’s not an excuse and I know it’s a poor apology, but the truth is I was scared admitting my feelings for you. Which is why I choose to hide what I really felt. I thought if I was cruel enough, then my vode would leave me alone; then you wouldn’t …”

Myri shifted her head slightly to catch a glimpse of him standing three feet away from her, she wondered when he had moved that close to her, his hair looked a mess, his eyes were full of sadness, regret and pain. 

“I wouldn’t?”

“Wouldn’t have learned about how I felt, how I’ve always felt, and you wouldn’t have needed to reject me, I wouldn’t have needed to hear you tell me though you appreciate my friendship, you simply couldn’t give me your heart.”

She fully turned to face him, disbelief and shock written across her face, he actually had feelings for her? What the what! She shook her head, running her hands over her face, trying to understand what kind of nonsense he had in his head.

“Are you an idiot?” The words flew out of her mouth before she could even stop them, she cleared her throat, wiping away a tear that had still remained, “What I meant to say was, what do you want me to say? What do you want from me? To forgive? To understand what you are trying to say? To just agree with you? To dismiss what you said? What do you want for me to do?”

Hunter couldn’t quite meet her eyes, no matter how much he wanted to look into them, “Nothing”

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t want anything from you”

She bit her lip keeping herself from screaming her head off at the man, “Let me get this straight” she held up her hand, not so much as telling him to stop, but rather to calm herself down, “you are just making decisions for the both of us.”

“I’m not making decisions”

“Oh no?” Myri took a step forward, “You told me you had feelings for me, but you don’t want me to know, don’t want me to react, don’t want me to accept you. Isn’t that in itself making a decision for me?”

“No”

“Explain that to me, exactly how is that not making a decision?”

He let out a deep sigh, “I have a right not to tell you about my own feelings, Kambe. I also have a right not to listen to the rejection. I knew you’d reject me, I knew you’d wouldn’t want me, so what more is there to say?”

Myri shook her head scoffing at his statement, “You really are an arrogant sheb as Cross says”

“Cross?” Hearing his brother’s name on her lips irritated him, even though he knew he had no right to feel irritated, she wasn’t his. She wasn’t anything. Just their medic. 

“Yeah, Cross told me how much of an arrogant jackass you can be at times, especially when it has to do with your own opinion on matters. You always think you know what’s the best thing for everyone, don’t you. Wether that’s for your vode, for yourself, for me, even for Omega, right? Well let me explain something to you” Myri took another step closer only about an arms length away from him, “that’s not how the real world works. You don’t just get to tell me something and then expect me to go along with your own decisions and actions, without the opportunity to speak or give you my opinion on the situation. You don’t get to call me names, say hurtful things about me, because you’re too scared to realize that there’s the possibility of a future in front of you, and you certainly don’t get to come back and apologize to me, telling me that at the end you want nothing from me. I am allowed to express my feelings too, and I’m allowed to tell you that I thought you were the most amazing person I had ever met. I thought you were everything I could’ve wanted in a partner, someone who was willing to listen, to step up, to look after all of us, and yet when I needed you to look after me the most, to give me a chance to actually voice my opinion you shut me down!”

“Thought I was everything?”

“Yeah” Myri’s voice went quiet, “thought you were everything.”

Hunter couldn’t believe what he heard, she had feelings for him, she wanted him as much as he wanted her, how could he have gotten it so wrong. He took a step forward, reaching his hand out to her, hoping he could find some way back from the giant Wrecker-sized mistake he just made. However, before he could even reach her, Myri took a step back. 

“Myri?”

She shook her head, “I need … I need space and I need time to … to decide if you are still what I want. If I want to be with someone who doesn’t take any of my opinions and feelings into consideration. I just need space.”

Hunter simply nodded, he turned, picked up his helmet and walked out of the med cursing himself all the way back to the bunker. Why didn’t he listen to his brothers! Why hadn’t he just express his feelings without the idea of trying to control everything!

As soon as he walked in to the barracks, he tossed his helmet on to the communal table and hurling himself on to his bunk, throwing his arm over his eyes. He wanted to be alone and yet he didn’t. He wanted to be comforted and didn’t want anyone to talk to him. 

His brothers shot glances to one another, wandering if any one of them would get up and speak to Hunter. Tech glanced around, and was getting ready to stand up and move away from his current project, when Crosshair shook his head ‘no,’ and stood from his seat. He slowly moved over to his brother’s bunk, leaning his forearm against the top, shifting the toothpick in his mouth from one side to the other. 

“Take it, it didn’t go well?”

Hunter shifted his arm, glaring at his brother, “Crosshair, you have five seconds to move away from this bunk”

“Listen, you can’t take it that hard. After all you weren’t exactly going to be opening up your arms for her, were you?”

“Cross, final warning!”

Echo came over, pushing Cross away, “Give it time, Hunter. Explain how you truly feel, explain how you acted rashly and without thought.”

“That’s not the issue”

“Then what is?”

“I didn’t give her a chance to be with me, and now … now she may never want to be with me.”

“Then remind her, that she should be with you. Show her that you made a horrible mistake and all you want is to be my her side.”

Hunter moved his arm away completely, “How?”

“Give her a few days, after the announcement tomorrow, tell her exactly how you feel, not what you expect, not what you think you should expect, just what you feel. Tell her the decision is hers with how she wants to proceed between the two of you.”

“What if she doesn’t want me?”

“Then that’s the consequence you have to bear due to your actions. You’re a great leader, Hunter, but you can’t always assume you know what’s best for everyone. Be open and honest, don’t be a Sergeant, be you. I’m sure she’ll come around.” 

Echo patted Hunter’s shoulder, and headed out of the bunk room to meet Tala. 

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[simpforhoon]

just you. (p.js) *ೃ༄

pairing: soft dom! jay × female reader

genre: smut, fluff, soulmate au! kind of angsty it has a happy ending I swear (praise, making out, protected sex, oral (f-receiving)).

summary: in a world where everyone gets the name of their soulmate tattooed on their wrists when they turn 18, finding out your best friend is your soulmate was not how you planned your 18th birthday to go. now, what’s so bad about that you might ask? you see, jay despises the thought of soulmates. but maybe he doesn’t despise them so much when it comes to you.

please note, this work is purely that of fiction. and not meant to represent what the enhypen members are like in real life.

A/N: guys no why am I so soft,, anyway I’ve been wanting to write this for a while now, so I hope you enjoy!! and I'm reposting this now, as this didnt get a lot of notes on my old account cause of all the reporting and stuff!

word count: 3.4k

warnings: mentions of heartbreak, crying, mentions of food.

1 week ago

you bit your nails as you paced up and down your room, a nervous habit you’d picked up in your junior year of high school whilst dealing with the tremendous stress and pressure school put on you. well lucky for you, you had graduated now and your 18th birthday was just around the corner. specifically, exactly a week from now.

your best friend jay sat on your bed staring at you with amusement written all over his face as he quietly observed you, before moving up to stop you and pull your hands away from your face. “you’re going to wear yourself out” he mumbled softly, pulling you to sit next to him and rubbing your shoulder in a comforting manner.

“I know I know, I’m just nervous, what if they’re all the way on the other side of the world? or even worse, what if they’re someone I know??” the panicked expression on your face was seemingly too much for jay to handle as before you knew it, he had almost rolled off your bed, laughing his ass off at you.

you see, your “dearest” best friend jay never believed in soulmates. he himself never actually got a name on his wrist, a sign that his soulmate had not reached the age to get theirs. to say he was ecstatic would be an understatement as he was at a party that very night, hooking up with a random girl before going over to your house the next morning with a massive hangover and a sullen expression.

it hurt you to see him that way, hooking up with random people, praying that he wouldnt run into his soulmate. and it hurt even more when you thought of how his soulmate was probably so excited to meet him even if they didn’t know him yet.

if only you knew where you would be a week later, wishing it was you who never met him.

present day

the time on your phone read 11:57, and jay had shown up to your house at exactly 11:30, punctual as always, giving up his usual saturday night parties to spend the night before your special day with you instead. he held your hand in his, one thumb running up and down the expanse of your knuckles soothingly, the only thing grounding you in the tense moments before what was basically the biggest moment of your life. your eyes never met his once, only flickering from the clock to your wrist every few seconds, almost as if it would appear before time if you stared long enough.

12:00 a.m.

it was almost as if everything stopped in that moment as the words appeared on your skin. the crickets stopped chirping, that one car alarm outsode your house stopped beeping and both you and Jay stopped breathing, even if it was just for a few seconds. one by one, letter by letter, black ink slowly trailed up the soft skin on your clean wrist, marking your skin for the rest of eternity. you watched with bated breath as tbe letters curved their way into your skin, into your soul.

“P-A-R-K” looks like your soulmate would have the same last name as your best friend. “J-O-N-” that was when the realisation of what was about to happen dawned upon you. “no, no, no, no” was all you could think. “this wasn’t supposed to happen”

meeting jay’s eyes for a split second, you could see the shock on his face, the same shock you knew was written all over your face at that very moment. yanking your hand out of his warmer one, you stared at the 2 words displayed on your wrist. “park jongseong” you whispered as a one lone tear ran down your cheek, falling to you chin before disappearing into the soft material of your sweater.

this prompted jay to push up his own sleeve, the words that seem to have appeared on his wrist confirmed what you both already knew by that point. jay park, your best friend since you were 5, your rock, your everything, was your soulmate. if the situation were anything but this, you would have been jumping for joy, ecstatic that your soulmate was the man you’d grown up with your whole life. but unfortunately, that was not the case.

“_______” he whispered, voice hoarse as he held your hand in his again. gripping it tightly this time so you wouldn’t be able to let go this time. not that you wanted to anyway. “jay” you whispered back, attempting to smile at him, despite the tears that were threatening to overflow at any moment. “I-I need time to think” he said, so softly, his eyes full of nothing but remorse. “I understand jay, take your time, don’t rush okay?” you replied, squeezing his hand in reassurance. he wistfully smiled at you one last time as he pushed himself off your bed and walked out of your bedroom, closing the door with a small ‘click’, leaving you alone in the darkness of your room, mind racing and wondering what were you were going to do with this newfound information.

you fell asleep after much tossing and turning, your mind full of nothing but jay and his name that was now tattooed into the inside of your wrist. you were woken up by the bright smile of your parents, you mother holding a plate of pancakes and wishing you a happy birthday. the sight alone was enough to make you burst into tears as you wrapped your arms around her, seeking her familiar scent and comfort after the rough night you had. your parents seemed shocked, but did not press you to open up, wrapping their arms around you as they attempted to comfort you.

your mom was no foolish woman, as she seems to have caught on to what was bothering you on your special day. “its about your soulmate isn’t it?” she asked as she placed a glass of your favourite chocolate smoothie in front of you, wiping her hands on her apron. you looked up at her, disbelief written all over your face as she chuckled at you. “how did you know?” you asked as she smiled slyly at you. “I have my ways, and besides, I’m your mother” she replied with a wink. you groaned, dramatically resting your head on the counter as she laughed and gave in. “I saw jay walk out of your room last night with tears streaming down his face, and considering you woke up crying too, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what went down there”.

“you should talk it out with him sweetie, he’s not just your soulmate, he’s your best friend. despite how he feels about this whole fate thing, I’m sure the both of you will be okay.” her words reassured you as you grabbed your backpack, and walked through your front door. not even 2 minutes later you heard the biggest scream and you were tackled into a hug. giggling, you wrapped your arms around the taller boy as he squeezed you tightly. “happy birthday ______!” he said as he let go of you and continued your walk to school. “thanks sunoo” you said, smiling at the younger boy who had the biggest grin on his face.

“soooooo” he began, looking at you with an expectant expression on his face. you pursed your lips, already predicting the question that was due to escape his mouth any second from now. “jay” you said, cutting him off before he could even open his mouth. “JAY?!?!!?” he said, a little too loudly, mouth agape as he processed the information. you shrugged as he linked his arm with yours, understanding that you didnt want to talk about it.

luckily, no one pressed you about your soulmate for the rest of the day, warded off by sunoo’s glare the moment they looked like they were going to ask. you sat next to jay in all your classes, the atmosphere tense and awkward between the two of you. everyone seemed to have figured our what happened by that alone, your normally boisterous voices muted and soft. you went out after school with sunoo and riki, your mood heightened by the laughs and jokes of the two bickering boys.

when you got home, the house was eerily quiet, your parents nowhere in sight, all the lights turned off save the one in your living room. and there on the sleek grey sofa sat Jay, looking down at his hands as he anxiously played around with the rings he always wore. your footsteps alerted him of your presence, as he shot up off your sofa to greet you with a crooked smile on his face, black hair sticking up in every direction.

you smiled at him, already preparing yourself for the worst, as he walked towards you. “your parents have gone out, they handed me the keys and told me to come and talk to you if I wanted, and-” he cut himself off in the middle of his sentence, taking a deep breath and holding your hand. here goes nothing he thought. “I want to try. this whole soulmate thing I mean. maybe i wouldnt be this way if it was anyone else, but it’s you, my best friend, and I don’t want to lose you.” he mumbled out the last part, but it was still clear enough for you to hear. you couldn’t help the smile that stretched across your face at his words, his own face breaking out into a grin at your expression. you reached up on your tippy toes to wrap your arms around his neck as his hands went around your waist.

he buried his face in your hair, your soft vanilla scent calming his racing heart, and that was when he realised how much you really meant to him. he loved when you would always being him snacks after soccer practice, he loved when you let him lay his head on your lap and you ran your hands through his hair, he loved seeing the expressions you made when you ate his food, he loved you.

“I made something for you” he said, pulling away from your embrace, leading you to your kitchen and making you sit down on the counter. he grabbed a plate of your favourite pasta and a fork before lifting up a mouthful and holding it out to feed it to you. you smiled, wrapping your lips around the fork as the flavours exploded in your mouth. “oh my gosh, this is good, you’ve really outdone yourself.” he smiled at the complement before pressing a kiss to your cheek and muttering a little “happy birthday love”, leaving your face feeling hot and an uncontrollable smile on your face.

the rest of the evening went by in hin feeding you food and taking a few notes of it himself, lots of little cheek kisses, before the two of you settled down on the couch to watch a movie. it seemed like jay had gotten over his awkwardness as he pulled you to sit between his legs the moment the movie started. you looked back at him in shock, wondering when he got so bold before he pressed a kiss to your lips and told you to focus on the screen.

it might not have been the perfect first kiss, but it was with jay and that was enough. he played with your hair throughout the movie, and moved it aside at one point, pressing little kisses along the expanse of your neck. it was when he landed his lips on one particular spot that you let out a little noise, one you never even knew you could make that made him sit up a little straighter.

it was almost as if a switch flipped within him as he tightened his grip around your waist, one hand slipping up your hoodie to caress the skin near your waist. “I didn’t know you could make such pretty noises baby” he whispered in your ear, his hot breath sending shivers down your spine. “well i didn’t know i could either” you whispered back, the realisation of what was about to happen making your body feel like it was on fire.

“are you sure you want this? we don’t have to do anything you dont want to sweetheart” he said, pulling away with a kiss to your cheek. you shifted so that you were facing him, legs wrapped around his waist and you reached your hands up to play with the hair at the nape of his neck. “I’m sure jay, theres no one I’d rather do this with than you.” that was all the affirmation he needed, as within seconds you were being dragged to your bedroom by an overexcited jay.

he pressed you up against your room door, hands coming up to lift your thighs and wrap them around his waist, your core meeting his very obvious bulge. taking advantage of the gasp that left you, he allowed his tongue to skip into your mouth, taking control of every aspect of the kiss. pulling away, he brought you to your bed, gently letting you down onto the mattress, and reaching up to pull your hoodie off you.

“so beautiful” he whispered as he reached behind you to pull your bra off, before lifting his own arms to pull his own shirt off, leaving his body on display for you. just for you. he reached down to tug one of your nipples into his mouth, gently sucking and wrapping his tongue around the sensitive bud, his actions leaving your mouth open in a silent moan.

within minutes, both of you were left completely naked as jay continued to trail his lips down your body, pressing little kisses to your inner thigh before his mouth finally met your core, the smallest motion of his lips leaving you breathless and squirming. “stay still sweetheart, good girls don’t move around so much”. his words sent vibrations spreading throughout your body, not doing anything to help with the heat that was coursing through your veins.

his tongue delved in and out of your dripping hole, one of his hands rubbing your clit while the other held your legs open for him. “jay- i- I’m gonna-” but he was gone the moment the words fell from your mouth. and he was a sight to see. your juices mixed with his, drool and spit dripped down his chin, as he ran his tongue over his lips with a smirk on his face.

“oh so the baby wants to cum? don’t worry love, I’m going to make you feel so good”. he reached into his jacket and pulled out a condom before rolling it on and lining himself I with your entrance. he grasped your chin gently, pulling you up to look at him and planting a loving kiss on your lips. “I love you so much sweetheart, so so much” he whispered, pulling away from your lips. “I love you too jay” you said back, watching as he smiled once, before intertwining your hands and then, pushing himself into you.

nothing had ever felt as good in that moment as he gently, softly pushed himself inside. the feeling was euphoric, having your soulmate inside you in such an intimate manner. your bodies moulding together perfectly, bursts of colour lighting up the back of your eyelids as your eyes closed at the feeling of him in you. he began thrusting in and out of you slowly, not wanting to hurt you. but at your signal, he began moving faster, groans and moans escaping both your lips, finding pleasure and love in each other.

it didn’t take long for you to reach your high at all, his length hitting you in all the right places, leading you to ride out your high much faster than you expected, jay following soon after. he finished inside the condom, reaching out to pull it off and throw it away, before walking to your bathroom and grabbing a wet cloth to clean you up with.

he was greeted with the sight of your tired smile as he returned, gently cleaning you before tossing the rag and gathering you up in his arms, pressing a kiss to your forehead. “does this mean you’re mine now?” he asked, reaching down to bury his head in your hair, his hands absent-mindedly tracing shapes and figures on your bare shoulder. “it does if it means you’re mine too”. he smiled at your response, pulling the blanket over the two of you as you drifted off to sleep in the arms of the one person who would stay with you forever.

thank you for reading!! I hope you enjoyed and I hope you drank enough water today! ♡♡♡

[ptergwen]

sensation

w/c: 4.6k

warnings: some swearing, suggestive tings, and a pretty bad ending

summary: it’s the last night of your world tour, and tom has the perfect way to celebrate

a/n: i know y’all have been waiting for this one! everyone really loved when worlds collide but i ran out of ideas for it lol sorry... anyways my solution was to turn it into a oneshot :D based off the au!! i’m honestly nervous about posting this cuz a lot of you asked for it and i don’t wanna disappoint but i tried my absolute hardest to make it special <3 please enjoy

-

“thank you so much! we love you!” you shout to the audience, laughing breathlessly when they shout back. one of your dancers pulls you into a side hug, you throwing your arm around his neck. “we’re so fucking lucky you chose us, that you came all the way here. i’ve seen some of you back at night one. wow.” your voice gets wobbly, thinking about how loyal your fans are.

the tour started in new york, and they’ve followed you here to london.

tonight is an emotional night for everyone. you’re about to wrap your last show before you continue again in the summer. touring the u.k. has been a dream, and you’re just as thrilled to travel the rest of the world after your break. it’s bittersweet because you’re going to miss the hell out of your crew and the millions of lovely faces you’ve sang to each week. but, you do get to spend your time off with a special someone.

he’s watching you from the sound booth, sending fond smiles and loud cheers your way. thanks to you, tom has been at every show you’ve played in england. he brought harry along this time because he’s also a fan and wanted to see you. well, tom is more than a fan at this point. you’d say he’s more of a boyfriend. you haven’t discussed labels just yet.

your dates have mainly been over facetime, since you live on opposite sides of the world with insane schedules. a heartthrob actor and international popstar is quite the combination. you’ve only seen each other in person a couple of times, the first being pretty recently.

zendaya brought tom along to hang out with you in los angeles. he happened to be there recording some lines for a movie. she saw your concert earlier that night and invited him to crash the dinner plans you’d made, resulting in the best surprise and most fun you’ve ever had. the other time you enjoyed each other’s company was one weekend in paris. that was... something.

besides those two miracles, everything between you and tom happens through a screen. you’ll down bottles of champagne or keep warm under blankets while talking about your days. it’s nice, having someone on the other end who listens and actually hears you. tom gets it. you both do.

finishing your tour in london is convenient because not only will you have tom to comfort you, but you get to stick around for a while. he’s invited you to stay at his place. you can’t wait to meet the other holland’s, his friends, and obviously tessa.

“fuck, i’m gonna cry. i’m already crying,” you announce to the crowd, though they can tell from the tears streaming down your face. more dancers huddle around you and turn your single hug into a group one. you’re laughing and sobbing and holding on tight to everyone. fans bawl their own eyes out, the fact that this is it starting to settle in. the onstage crew even gets choked up, seeing you like this.

tom pouts from where he’s watching. he wishes he could run up there and squeeze you tight, but he’ll have to save that for when you’re done.

“i love you all so much, literally every single one of you in this room,” you tell everyone for the nth time tonight, swiping a perfectly manicured finger under your eyes. “my lighting crew, sound crew, my band, my fearless fucking dancers-“ a hiccup cuts you off. people burst into fits of giggles, which is a much needed tension breaker. you adjust your headset so the mic doesn’t pick up any other bodily noises.

grinning, you rest your arm on a shorter dancer’s shoulder, then go on. “sorry, sorry. i just wanna say, like, three more thank you’s before i get out of here.” there’s a chorus of no’s and encouraging whistles at the mention of you leaving. you blink back more tears to delay the breakdown you’re going to have. “thank you to my friends who always show up for me.”

with a knowing smile, you glance over at tom. “and, thank you to my more than a friend.” he smiles back, both hands held over his heart. harry elbows him in congratulations. more screaming erupts from the crowd as they realize where you’re looking and who you’re looking at. this will be sure to spark some headlines. whatever, you’re used to trending on every possible social media platform by now.

“this is the big one,” you preface, taking in a breath while everyone quiets down again. “thank you to you guys. for trusting me, for caring about what i have to say in any way. i feel your love. i really do, and i hope you feel mine.” your fans yell that they love you back, dancers gently swaying you side to side, emotions on high. there’s one last song, and it’s over.

“this has been the sensation tour, and i’ve been your host. was i good?” you try to lighten the mood, earning a bunch of what sound like positive shrieks. the earpiece you have in makes it hard to tell. “y’all were even better.” exchanging looks with your dancers, you pull out of the hug so you can get to your mark for the finale. they follow your lead. music comes through the speakers.

“i’ll see you again soon, okay? i promise. here’s sensation,” you introduce the song, immediately bursting into more tears. it’s torture to say goodbye. thankfully, you have the most incredible fans on earth, so they sing along with you at the top of their lungs. that includes tom and harry, your ultimate stans.

when the show is over, you run right off stage and over to tom. he’s waiting on the side with actual heart eyes for you. you practically leap into his arms, a hand cradling the back of his head, both his arms draped low and tight around your body.

“you were so amazing up there! absolutely smashed it, darling,” tom breathes out. his face is smushed between your neck and mostly bare chest. “thanks, tom. seriously, thanks for being here tonight and every other.” you smile a tired smile and wind your other arm around his neck. he presses some light you’re welcome kisses to your skin. “mm, thanks for having me. how’s it feel to be done?”

you sigh, fingers running through his curls. “like the biggest relief, and also really sad.” you’re such a mess that you could cry again on the spot. tom senses it and lifts his head up to see if you’re alright. “super depressing,” you surprisingly reiterate without the waterworks. “i know the feeling. you’ll be back soon, though. you said it,” he murmurs, a grin on his lips as they brush against the corner of yours.

you’re about to kiss him properly, then one of your dancers comes up to you. you’d forgotten that there are still stage managers and security everywhere, too. you get completely lost in tom whenever you’re together.

“you killed, babe,” coco greets you, linking your arm in hers. tom takes the hint and lets go of you. he watches on with a smirk. “nah, you murdered,” you send the compliment back and bite your lower lip. “i dunno, i feel like someone murdered me!” there’s coco with her dramatics. she’s genuinely hilarious, your shared sense of humor playing a huge part in your friendship.

she brings your free hand to her heart. you gasp at how fast it’s going. “that shit is really beating, coco. are you, like, okay?” “probably not. it was the freestyle that got me.” coco went a lot harder than usual tonight, since it was her last big dance break for a while. she puffs air from her cheeks and nods to tom. “this your man?”

“yeah, you could say that. i’m tom,” he answers, holding out a hand for her. “coco.” she pulls it like you would in a handshake. you beam at them, one of your best friends and unofficial boyfriend finally meeting. “sounds promising. i approve,” coco mutters to you. bumping your hip into hers playfully, you take one of tom’s hands in both of yours.

“aw, we have your blessing or something? your permission?” you coo and get a push at your shoulder from coco in return. tom chuckles, his thumb running over the back of your hand. “no! i was gonna say you should bring him out back,” coco clarifies, like it was obvious. you’re not sure what she’s on about. “uh, what’s out back?” you question. “an axe?” tom teases.

coco gestures to the nearest exit. “we’re having a little goodbye party in the parking lot. fire pit, snacks. remember?” nope, you’d completely forgotten. the idea first sounded like the perfect way to end your night, so you agreed to go. that was before you were dripping sweat and mentally exhausted. now, all you want to do is unwind with tom and tom only.

the superstar life is one you’re happy to lead, just not at this exact moment.

“i do now.” you muster up your most apologetic smile for coco, tugging on tom’s hand. “i’m sorry, co. i think we’re gonna pass.” her jaw drops. you’re never one to skip these things. “aw, for real? it’s our last night!” tom threads his fingers through yours while you talk. “bro, we’ve been together for almost a whole year,” you laugh out, nuzzling your cheek into tom’s chest. “get sick of me.”

“never,” coco deadpans. she catches you gazing up at tom, relaxing as his arms hug your middle. she’s known you long enough to tell what’s a fling and what’s real love for you. this is something special, and she can’t get in the way of it. she’ll let you navigate this yourself. “ok, just for tonight. you’ll text me?” coco gives you a real smile, raising an eyebrow at tom. he gathers that’s a good thing. he’s in.

“mhm. maybe we can hang out tomorrow,” you agree and let your eyes flutter shut. all that’s keeping you up are tom’s strong arms. “tell everyone i love them.” “i think they know.” coco shakes her head lightheartedly. tom laughs at her. “be good,” she tells him and means it, rubbing your back on her way to the lot. that leaves you and tom alone at last.

custodians are cleaning up the arena, fans are piling out, and you’re clinging to tom while his steady heartbeat grounds you. this is the only after party you need.

“harry’s got the car when you’re ready,” tom mumbles, tucking a piece of damp hair behind your ear. you loop your arms around his torso with a hum. “i was kinda wondering where he went.” “yeah?” he gives you a small smile. “gotta ask what he thought... of the show.” yawns are creeping past your lips, tonight’s events catching up to you.

“i like feedback from the fans, or stans,” you elaborate in your sleepy state. tom uses his fingertips to tap your temple. “what about me? i’m your biggest.” “i’ll, um, follow up with you later.” your words are slurring. “right now, home.” warmth spreads throughout tom’s entire body, his house becoming yours for a bit. “your chariot awaits,” he affirms before helping you to your dressing room.

after collecting your things, you follow tom out to the car. harry is in the driver’s seat, and you two slip into the back. he exchanges a look with his brother through the mirror while you settle on his shoulder. you’re hugging his bicep, his lips pressing to the side of your head.

“thank you for driving,” you speak softly to harry. he starts to pull out of the spot with a nod. “no problem. get to say i was y/n y/l/n’s chauffeur.” tom clicks his tongue even though harry is joking. you snicker at his remark, joking back. “you want the job? better be a five star ride, then.” your banter brings yet another smile to tom’s face. his family is everything to him, so seeing you get along so well means the most.

“right, right. did you have a good time?” harry wonders, twisting to see behind him while he turns around. he also peeks at you snuggled up to tom before facing forward. “great, actually. did you?” you check, the grin clear in your voice. harry goes into full stan mode. “no shit! you were brilliant, y/n. god, every note was just like how you did it the studio.” he’s raving, which is much appreciated by you.

“good answer.” tom shoots his brother a wink. “‘s that what you wanted to hear?” he asks in reference to your conversation earlier. your response is a kiss to his shoulder. “yay. i’m happy you liked it, harry.” he buzzes with excitement, having his favorite artist care what he thinks.

not much is said for the rest of the drive. tom and harry make some hushed conversation about golfing this weekend while you struggle to stay awake. they’re obsessed with that damn sport. it’s honestly nice to see, that tom has something he likes to do when he isn’t shooting hollywood’s biggest movies. your free time will finally give you the chance to discover other hobbies.

you stumble out of the car upon arriving to the boys’ place, a backpack on your shoulders and tom’s hand held tight in yours. you’ve got only a few essentials with you for tonight. the rest is on the tour bus, so you’ll gather it after your hangout with coco. besides, everything you need at the moment is right here.

“home sweet home,” tom announces as harry unlocks the front door. his words bring a tired smile to your face. “finally,” you exhale, keeping your fingers laced with tom’s and following the two of them inside. “i could show you around a bit, give you the grand tour. or-“ tom stops talking, feeling your weight on him. harry huffs at how oblivious his brother is.

“mate, she’s falling over. save it,” he suggests and kicks the door shut lazily. you’re done in. you’ve been having to lean on tom since the show ended. “another time, then,” tom mumbles, securing his arm around your waist. “there is one thing i wanna see.” your voice is low, body curled into tom’s side. he raises an eyebrow. “and that is?” “your room.”

tom takes that in a suggestive way, like he does most things. “we’re getting right to it, are we?” he questions, harry gagging and you nudging his arm with your head. “not like that, dummy. ‘cuz i’m sleepy.” there’s a beat of silence. “ask me again in-“ “wow, look at the time!” harry interrupts so he doesn’t have to hear the details. he’s sure he’ll witness enough after it happens. “off to bed i go! goodnight.”

he rushes to get to his room, yelling out, “great show, y/n!” on the way. “thank you! night!” you call back, tom letting out a sigh. “div of the century,” he says under his breath. “must run in the family,” you playfully retort. that gets you a firm poke at your side. “where’s everyone else?” you glance up at him. there should be two other idiots and a lovely, furry lady running around.

“tuwaine’s gone to the pub, harrison’s filming late, and tess is at mum and dad’s,” tom fills you in, grabbing your arm and draping it around his middle. doing him one better, you hug him with both. you squint in confusion about the last part. “they watch her when i’m out,” tom answers your unspoken question. “ah,” you nod, then deflate ever so slightly. “i wanted to meet her, though. the other boys, too.”

tom smooths the pad of his thumb over your cheek. “you will, darling. it’s only for tonight.” he kisses the same spot reassuringly. “we’ve got loads of time.” “yeah, we do,” you agree, instantly cheering up and letting your head fall onto his chest. “now, where’s your room?” “just upstairs. you need some help getting in?” he’s only playing around, but you accept, tightening your arms around his neck.

“show me the way,” you beam at him. “happy to.” tom wiggles his eyebrows, you jumping up. your legs wrap around his waist, his arms holding you against him. with a satisfied hum, you squish your face into his insanely soft shirt. “what a diva,” tom sarcastically complains while taking you to the staircase. “doesn’t even say please. no manners from this one.”

“you try dancing in six inch heels for two hours,” you shoot back, patting the side of his neck. he moves one hand down to your thigh for a better grip. you’re nearing the top of the stairs. “think i’ll leave that to you,” he decides and squeezes your thigh. “look at me, carrying the whole music industry.” your face easily gets hot and your words turn to murmurs. “shut up. you should listen to other songs.”

you’re on the second floor now, tom going for the first door. he frowns at his rejected compliment. “no, i like yours. they’re my favorite.” “really?” your muffled laugh sounds from his chest. “what was the first thing i ever said to you?” he asks, a toothy grin on him even though you can’t see it. you recall the faithful night he slid into your dms while he carries you into his room.

he’d tripped over his words somehow, the fangirling fool. before that, he tweeted to the whole world that he wanted to see you in concert. it was a huge thing, and people were freaking out about it, even more so when your online interactions became routine. that’s nothing compared to where you are now.

you’re currently living with him and basically dating. possibly, in love. the base of it all really is your music.

“that you love me.” you pause for the ellipses. the corners of your lips turn up. “but, you really meant to say my work.” “both apply.” tom passes that off like it’s a side comment, carefully laying you down on his bed. you look up at him with a curious glint in your eyes. “what does that mean?” his cheeks flush, and he bites back the smile that’s growing. this was supposed to go... differently.

you sit up, breathing out a laugh at tom’s boyish behavior. he’s precious, truly. “you do love me?” those three words will change everything if he says yes. he takes both your hands in his and holds them between you two. you meet his doe eyes. “yeah, y/n/n. i do.” so, you were right. “i love you... and, that wasn’t how i planned on saying it.” signaling for him to elaborate, you tilt your head to the side.

tom sits down next to and faces you before continuing. “it was supposed to be romantic, right?” he rolls his eyes up to the ceiling, annoyed he ruined this. “candlelit dinner, flowers, that sort of thing. seems more fitting for the occasion.” you shift closer to him until your knees are touching. your face is lit up, voice dropped to almost a whisper.

“since when do we do things the way we’re supposed to?” you point out and set your hands on his shoulders. “we’ve gone straight from online dating to me moving in. that’s usually not how it works.” tom chuckles lowly. his own hands find their place on your hips. you’re so good with words. then again, you are a singer. “guess you could say we’re, um, spontaneous,” he agrees, fingers drawing circles on you.

you and tom have explored some of each other’s most intimate places, yet you’ve never shared a moment quite like this. it’s like meeting him for the first time again. he’s too tongue tied to spit out what he wants. you somehow know, anyway. what you cherish most about your relationship is that you two completely and totally understand one another, on every level.

“tom?” you speak quietly, butterflies filling up your body. “hm?” he hums back. this is one of those moments where it all just clicks. “i love you. i really, really love you.” you giggle out of the pure happiness that consumes you, tom joining in your laughter. “i love you, too.” he sounds like he’s said it a million times and he’ll say it a million more. he leans over so his forehead rests on yours. “really, really love you.”

your warm breath hits his face, eyes darting from his own to his lips. “i want you to be more than...” you trail off, unsure of how to phrase it. “more than... more than a friend?” tom pokes fun at what you said during the show. there’s less and less space between you with every second. “you mean, like, a boyfriend?”

“exactly. be my boyfriend,” you all but demand. you’re half asleep and desperate to be able to call him yours already. “bossy, bossy, bossy,” tom chastises, swiping his thumb across your bottom lip. how he goes from being shy and giddy to the cockiest person alive in minutes, you’ll never know. “please?” you throw in to sway him. your hand locks with his, slowly moving it off your face.

you run your tongue over your teeth. “at least kiss me.” “you don’t have to ask,” tom breathes, lips now ghosting over yours. “i was going to.” true to his words, he closes the microscopic gap between you, you pushing forward against him as you kiss back. your first kiss in love. his lips taste like the chapstick he always uses, and he moves them softly.

he places a hand on your knee, you opening your mouth so he can have access to it. instead, a yawn exits. tom pulls back with a breathy laugh. “you must be exhausted, yeah? let’s get you to bed.” he pecks your lips once more. “my girl needs her beauty rest.” that confirms your relationship. you scrunch your nose and grin wide. “and, she’s gonna get some with her boy.”

you’re reminded of how sweaty you are when you catch a whiff. “oof, wait. do you think i can take a shower first?” you grimace, fanning at the air for emphasis. tom uses the tip of his nose to nudge yours. “absolutely. need help in there, too?” he’s not asking in that way, only so nothing happens. the hospital wouldn’t be the most pleasant place to spend your break. plus, he doesn’t want to be without you too long.

“you know what? yeah.”

that’s how you end up intertwined under the hot water, letting it cascade down your back as tom hugs you close to him. you sigh in content and tangle your fingers in his fluffed over curls. you’ve learned that he’s super into having his hair played with. it’s endearing, how he instinctively leans into your touch, eyes closing as you tug on the roots.

he drops his head down to kiss your shoulder, dragging his lips to your collarbone in a way that tickles. they land on one of your breasts next. there isn’t anything sexual about it, only loving. just in case he gets too excited because it’s not uncommon he does, you gently put a finger to his lips. tom takes the hint and lets up. you continue combing through his wet hair while you step out of the water.

“do you ever sing in the shower?” he questions, drawing your naked body in closer to his. “sometimes, yeah. i honestly feel like i sound better there,” you admit and slide your hand down to the nape of his neck. tom’s tongue darts out to lick his lips. “not true. you sound beautiful everywhere, and don’t fight me on this one.” he smirks in satisfaction, you groaning at your loss.

“i really enjoy hearing your voice when it blares through an arena, though,” tom keeps buttering you up. you shake your head and settle both arms around his neck. “man, i just love you so much.” “i love you, sweetheart,” he murmurs back, you switching places so he can give his hair a final rinse. you watch him and his glowing body, admiring the sight.

“what a sensation you are,” you say mostly to yourself, which doesn’t stop him from hearing. “i see what you did there.” he eyes you while you do the same to him. your arms still around his neck pull him back to you. “tommy? do you sing in the shower?” you meant to ask him before, then he started throwing all those compliments at you.

tom scoffs, walking you back so you’re against the wall. “i don’t sing anywhere.” “what?” you gasp and put a hand on his chest. “you’re lying, you have to be. wasn’t billy elliot a musical?” he narrows his eyes at you as he tries to gage where you’re going with this. “that i did a decade ago, and way before puberty. couldn’t sing a word without cracking after that.”

your mouth is left hanging open in shock and disappointment. you bet he has a nice voice, and he’s downplaying it. “y/n,” tom begins, cupping your jaw with his palm. “since we’re living together now, there’s a lot you’re going the learn about me. good things, weird things.” he shrugs casually. “this is one of the weird things.”

“only because you make it weird! come on, let me hear you,” you request and wrap a leg around his waist. you’re giving him a hopeful smile. “god, no. you’ll hate it,” he almost laughs, a hand on your thigh. “i’m literally a singer. how could i hate something i love?” you refute, batting your lashes at him. “especially when someone i love is doing it.” “i love you, too. but, i’m not.” he’s quick to shut you down.

“drop a bar!” you try to coax him, which he already has a comeback for. “you first.” “i can’t. my throat is all scratchy from earlier,” you lie. tom presses his lips into a line, feigning pity. “aw, you know what’ll make you feel better? tea. i’ll go get you some.” he turns to shut the water off, so you grab his shoulders. “no, the steam is working. you can stay.”

“love,” tom addresses you in a warning tone that you can’t take seriously. he can’t either, a giggle escaping him. “my voice is shit. ask anyone, and they’ll tell you.” “i won’t believe them,” you hum, pushing back curls sticking to his forehead. “sounds like you just have stage fright. we can work on that, though.” “how?” he tightens his arm around your middle.

“i’ll bring you on for my next show. we’ll do a little duet.” you’re joking, though that would definitely be interesting to see unfold. “uh, never. what happened to you being tired?” tom cleverly deflects and digs his fingers into your side. you look down in defeat. “i forgot about that.” “yeah, yeah. no, seriously. we should really get to sleep, y/n/n.” he’s back to his sweet, attentive self. “‘s been a long night.”

giving in with a nod, you capture his lips in yet another kiss. tom never gets tired of them, and neither do you. you break it after a few seconds, lips lingering on his as they detach. “carry me?” you ask again, not caring how whiny you sound. tom presses a quick kiss to your forehead. “oh, you’re adorable. of course.”

well, you’ve found something to keep you occupied until the next leg of tour. you’re going to discover the many layers your intriguingly unusual boyfriend has.

[luimagines]

Date Day! Part 3

Masterlist

Part 1 Part 2

Part 3 will included Warrior Twilight and Sky!

Content under the cut!

Warrior

“Darling.” Warrior slid up to your side and very smoothly put his hand on the table just beside yours. It was a very well put and control movement that did not in any way nearly throw him onto the ground in the process. 

Hiding your giggles to the best of your ability, you hum your acknowledgement with a cute tilt to your head as you do so. “Hello~”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m not telling you.” You grin and continue with your little project.

Warrior pouts a little before leaning close to your ear, his breath sending electricity down your arm and back all the way through your fingertips. “If I ask you nicely, will you tell me?”

“Nope.” You turn to look at him, popping the ‘p’ and kiss him on the nose. “You’ll just have to wait like a good boy and find out later.”

Warrior groans and flops into your side, nearly sending you off of your feet but you fix yourself before that can happen.

“Link, you’re so dramatic.”

“Love me~~~~” He whines. “Pay attention to me, my love, my life, my heart and soul, my everything, my world wide adoration-”

“Oh my goodness.” You snort and hurriedly put everything away. “Let’s go somewhere then you big baby.”

“You love me.” He grins and sweeps you off of your feet and out the door.

He starts running.

You scream and laugh at the absurdity of it all. You pass many of your friends and the group itself as he takes you somewhere without you being able to really see where Warrior’s going.

You gasp and hold on tight to his shoulders, gently running your fingers through his hair as you travel.

Eventually he slows down and he takes a minute to put you down.

You laugh a bit more at the theatrics and move to take his hand instead. “I take it there was something you wanted to show me.”

“I didn’t know you have this here.” He says excitedly and doesn’t bother waiting to explain more as he pulls you with him. “This is something my Hyrule is known for and this is just beside the village?”

You blinked and look at an old statue.

It’s always been there for as long as you can remember and yet there wasn’t any special you knew about it.

“It’s old.” You shrug. “I never thought it was anything important.”

Warrior jumps a little on his toes and runs forward. He takes a minute to look around it and brushes some parts until their clean. He continues doing this for a good five minutes before he seems to find what he’s looking for.

With a cry of victory he reaches forward and presses something.

The statue’s eyes begin to glow and there’s the sound of stone grinding on stone before a pathway opens up and reveals an underground staircase.

You gape at it and look at Warrior who looks like a kid in a candy store.

Warrior jumps down onto the first steps and turns, holding his hand out to you. “Let’s explore it. Come on.”

You nod dumbly and grab his hand again.

You’re always learning something new about your home, aren’t you?

Twilight

“Hey you.” You call out teasingly as Twilight passes your front door.

Twilight freezes and slowly turns around like a deer caught in torch light. It appears he must have been trying to be sneaky or at least avoid being caught by you.

You raise an eyebrow and cross your arm. “Going somewhere lover boy?”

Twilight lets out a small noise of nervousness before he straightens up and scratches the back of his head. “So uhh... How much of that did you see?”

“See what?”

“Oh!” Twilight smiles. “Good, good, never mind then.”

“See what? Trying to hide something?” You say and walk toward him. “In my own house?”

Twilight grins and steps forward to wrap his arms around you. “Perhaps. It was Wild’s idea.”

“Should I be worried about any potential flames?” You say... somewhat jokingly.

Twilight chuckles and shakes his head. “Nothing like that. Promise.”

“If he burns down my house, you owe me a new one.” You poke his chest in a very serious manner.

“If you lose your house you can have mine.”

“And you?”

“Oh, I’ll be there too of course.” Twilight laughs into your hair and he holds you close. “Move in with me. I’ll take care of you.”

“Very tempting.” You snort and hug him tighter. “I wanted to know if you wanted to go to the fairy fountain nearby. Get some more fairies for the trip, maybe bless an item or two... Spend time with me.”

The idea lights up Twilight’s face and you think this is what he wanted from you. something tells you this would go perfectly with that little plan Wild has... and you don’t know how to feel about that. So you ignore the feeling and pretend that nothing bad is going to happen by your negligence.

Twilight lets you go and instantly takes your hand in his. “Show me where it is.”

“This way.” You lace your fingers together and grin, leading him away from your house. “You’ll like her. Her name is Kyhic.”

Sky

“Sky! Sky! Sky!” You ran through your house and latched onto your boyfriend’s arm to second you saw him.

The force with which you collided into him with nearly through him off of his feet but he gladly let you hang off of him before you decided to drag him away.

It’s not like he was in the middle of a conversation or anything.

“I want to show you something.” You said with one of the brightest smiles Sky has seen on to date.

You bring him to the back of the house and into your room, from your room to take him to a door just beside your closet- not giving him any time to look around and snoop before you open it and pull him inside.

“You showed me your workspace.” You say with a small flourish as you gesture into the room before you. “And this is mine!”

There’s a small table in the back covered in bits of paste and tools alike, in the middle is another round table with a pedal at the bottom and what looks like a cracked would have been pot.

Looks like you didn’t put it away before you left for your adventure.

Along the walls are multiple other tools with different ends and different blades in order to help get your desired shape and design.

Sky steps in with a small gasp and sees where you store the clay and molding pot- there’s even a few gloves to the side and small furnace that sits at the back of it all.

“I want to make you something.” You say and begin to take out certain bits and bobs that Sky can’t recognize for the life of him. “Anything, name it. I might even agree to make you my best version of a loftwing- but I can’t promise it’ll be good.”

“Teach me.” He says instead.

“What?” You blinked and turn to see him.

He has a soft smile on his face and he both looks impressed and charmed by your enthusiasm for the craft. “Teach me how to do this. Show me how this works. Teach me to do what you do.”

You flush and place the clump of clay you’ve gather on the spinning table, bringing over the bucket of water you always have on standby.

“Umm... Well...”

“Please?”

You look up at him once more and know that you’ve lost. “OK, sit here and I’ll show you how to get the table spinning.”

[wizkiddx]

Please I request you and Tom Holland being the sort of ‘it/star couple’ and being really popular in the media and fans

Req if you want?🤪 + I’d love any feedback/tips <3

Sorry I changed this a bit just cos tom rn seems the opposite of being that public and I have 0 imagination, hope this is still okay!

Summary: Tomhollandxactress!reader - as the two of you go on your first public and official event, Tom cant help but show everyone how enamoured he is by you

The fallout of from yesterdays ceremony was definitely not what either of you had expected. Having stirred from sleep before your boyfriend, naturally you’d killed the morning flicking through your phone. As much as you normally tried to avoid the tabloids and twitter, especially after you released your relationship to the world, having had a bunch of your friends actually sent you links to them - it would be rude not to have a quick scan. Especially because, for once, they seemed to be positive.

You see, it had always been the little things with Tom. Even when you had just been getting to know him, it was the small and unconscious actions that even he didn’t know he did. You always said Toms love language was physical - as much as he wanted to say that it was ‘words if affirmation’ or something else corny he’d read on buzzfeed (you’d got him addicted and now lived to regret it). That didn’t mean that he had to be clinging on to you, or excessive PDA or anything of the sort. It was more subtle which somehow made them more special to you. Now though, the whole world seemed to have picked up on it too.

This was the first event the two of you had actually attended together. As in together together. As in not hiding. You had been nominated for best actress; whilst Tom’s newest movie was up for a few accolades too - so fair to say it was a big night for Hollywoods newest couple. Naturally since your instagram post 3 weeks ago, the world was obsessed with you both. All the way in the car, you leg had actually been trembling with nerves - bouncing up and down in your silhettohe heels. In attempt to calm you, Tom bumped his knee against yours before reaching over to actually squeeze your thigh. 

“It’ll be fine you know?” You sighed shakily, turning your head to face Tom’s soft features. Both of you were dressed to the nines, you were in a glittery red chain-look scrappy dress; Tom in an all black suit, except the little pocket square of satin deep red - embellished with a single chain that came from your dress. Hopefully not too cliche but now the both of you were done with hiding - Tom seemed to want to just a little something. You hummed in response, searching the flicks of warm brown in his eyes with yours. 

“It’s just new and we haven’t encountered all the questions yet so I don’t know how to answer them and -”

“We’ll do them together and-and you can say no Y/n/n… you don’t have to answer anything you don’t want to.” Taking a long exhale, you hesitantly nodded, allowing a small smile to grow on your face. It was terrifying but you had this doting and angelic boy by your side. You’d get through any tough questions.

However it wasn’t actually the answers you spoke that evening that stuck in the public mind. 

When you’d first pulled up to the carpet, Tom instantly hopped out and rounded the car door to get to your side just as you swung your legs out toe doorway. After waving quickly at the screaming crowd, he looked down and offered up his hand to you - which you gladly accepted. The LA weather was beautiful, and the evening was just rolling into golden hour- the suns brilliant yellow-orange light bathing your body as you climbed out the car. 

The screaming used to be terrifying and although today was a little more nerve wracking than normal, you still could be nothing but appreciative for all these people showing up. In your head it was so bizarre that anyone would spend so much time and effort to meet you - really you were just normal person, and pretty boring one at that. Yet here you were in the most bizarre situation, there was nothing else to do but smile and wave. 

Just like that you went into the ‘celebrity mode’. The pair of you worked your way down the sides, smiling warmly for selfies and signing various posters and memorabilia. Really there was nothing to worry about, everyone there was nothing but lovely -  many fan girls squealing about how amazing you looked. Tom kept himself close by, occasionally hovering his hand against the small of your back just to reassure you he was there. 

Eventually you worked up to the press line, all of them calling your names with mics outstretched. The two of you approached the first in a long line, Tom taking the moment to just hook his pinky with yours (thinking no one else would notice) because this was clearly the more threatening part of the evening and he just knew you were feeling the anxieties all over again. 

“Tom and Y/n!!! Wow how are you guys doing?” Hence began the start of overenthusiastic small talk from the blonde interviewer. 

“I mean first I gotta ask you Tom…” She drew out the words, increasing the suspense somewhat, making Tom wiggle his brows “How insane does your girl look tonight?” 

“Oh well” Tom chuckled whilst you tried to shake off the embarrassment. He looked you up and down with the biggest smirk on his face. “It’s fair to say my woman looks absolutely breathtaking. She came out the room and I did a little excited dance before we left.” The interviewer laughed and you bumped into his side, rolling your eyes in a joking fashion- though to be fair it was completely true. The interviewer then asked you a couple questions that were a bit more serious, relating to the darker material of work you were nominated for. During it a random gust of wind flew down the carpet, shocking everyone a little - none more so that the minimal pins in the top of your hair, which did little to restrict its movement and instead was flying allover the place. Squealing a little, your trial of though momentarily broken, both yours and Tom’s hands went to pull the long locks back down into place. You thought nothing of it, Tom had developed this weird thing about wanting to do you hair weeks ago - but you weren’t to complain. Constantly during movie nights, he’s be running his fingers through your strands of hair; or even after a shower he’d learn to plait it whilst you did your skincare routine. Whispering a little thanks to him, Tom then reached down to squeeze your hand as the attention was turned back to yet another interview. 

The first article you clicked on was one that your best mate had texted you the link of. On opening it up, the title already made you scoff a little ‘Tom Holland single handedly restoring all hopes that men aren’t always trash’. What followed was 4 points. 

You ever struggled to get out a car in heels? Get yourself a Spiderman to help you up

Hand holding too much PDA? How about a pinky grip?

Oh and he’s trained himself to become a hairdresser when the wind picks up….

Accompanying each subheading was photos of each moment that as it had happened yesterday evening. Unable to help yourself, you kept looking between your phone screen and Tom - who was still fast asleep, his arm wrapped protectively round your middle.  The hair that had been so securely gelled back yesterday evening, now was falling over the front of his forehead and the sight was enough to give you that feeling in the centre of your chest. The dropping feeling as if you were jumping off the edge of a cliff - the adrenalin rush and heart in mouth moment. It had been 18 months you and Tom had been like this and he still gave you the most intense flutters - even if he was snoring. 

Managing to tear your eyes away from him, you scrolled to the last point of the article.

      4.  And yes we know this is cliche… but we swear we have never seen ‘heart eyes’ in reality more that this.

And there was a photo of you, probably chatting pure shit to the interviewer, paying absolutely no attention to a particular pair of brown eyes on you. It was the way the outer corner of his eyes dropped a little to normal position; the way the corner of his lips were turned up just enough to show the slight dimples on his cheeks. Tom’s face had literally been the definition of uwu and you could not suppress the teenage girl like giggle that burst out your chest. That was enough to rouse Tom with a heavy groan, as he pulled himself flush against your side releasing a deep breath.

“Mhmmm… you laughin at me?” He slurred, eyes still shut against your stomach as you stared to card your fingers through his curls. 

“Actually… I might just be” Smirking down at him, Tom yanked his his neck up, squinting at you with a scowl and barely open eyes. “You look so soft” laughing at his expression, you brought your hand out of his curls to smooth over his frown lines.

“ Don’t try and distract me… what you laughing at?” Still pouting, of course, the boy had never been a morning person

“Just… I think you’ve accidentally made us the new Hollywood ‘it’ couple.”

[toru-oikawas-milkbread]

A-Z SFW Alphabet | Tetsurō Kuroo

Pairing: Tetsurō Kuroo x f!reader

Word count: 3.3K

Warnings/contents: Lot’s of fluff and fluffy headcanons, mild language in some

Notes: I ended up solo-deciding that I was going to proofread all of the posts I redo and post them one-by-one rather than spam my blog with them. I hope that you enjoy this refurbished Kuroo fluff post ❤️

If you would like to see my growing list of other Haikyuu boys whenever I add them, you can follow {this link} to my masterlist! Hopefully I can get more out soon 💕

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A = Affection (are they affectionate with you?)

Kuroo is just as affectionate now that the two of you have aged as he was when the two of you were younger. He works a lot nowadays, however he puts in just as much effort to make sure that you feel appreciated and loved. He would never let work get in the way of making sure that you know just how special you are to him. If you need him, he would take off a day every now and then just so that he could be with you, doing whatever you wanted to. Whether you leave the apartment or you stay in, he would do everything he could to make you as happy as he can

B = Beauty (what do they admire the most about you?)

He loves your eyes. Even if they’re a brown so dark that they look black, they’re a pretty light blue, or they’re a vibrant green, he could get lost in your eyes any time of the day. He could look into your eyes for hours, sitting in silence with you with his forehead pressed to yours and you looking at him as adoringly as he looks at you. Something that he’s always liked to see is how you’re feeling with your eyes, because even if your face was blank or happy, your eyes usually told him how you were feeling. He liked watching your pupils dilate when you’re talking about something you enjoy, but when it happens when you look at him and smile, he falls in love all over again every single time

C = Cuddles and hugs (how do they cuddle? what about hugs?)

Kuroo is almost obsessed with cuddling. He loves to spoon with you, holding you close against him and making you laugh as he peppers kisses all around your shoulders and neck. He likes to sleep like this, however he would also like to be the little spoon. He would always blush a bit when you wrapped your arms around him and pressed a kiss to the back of his neck, because as much as he liked to tease, he loved you so much. You doing things like that makes his heart race a little bit every time

He loves to bury his nose into your shoulder, often times napping in the middle of a weekend day with you for a short cat-nap before the two of you go off and find something new to do, either around the apartment or out and about. While he does love to fall asleep spooning you, something else that Kuroo has always loved doing with you was running his fingers along your back while you lay on his chest. He’ll tell you about his day and ask about your own in return as you wind-down on the sofa together after a long day

When Kuroo hugs you, he holds you close and sometimes so tight that you lose your breath. He’ll occasionally pick you all the way up and hold you in his arms after a hard day, however for the most part he’ll just barely pick you up off the ground. He likes to lean down and bury his nose into your neck when he needs comfort. His hugs always feel so safe, warm, and loving

D = Date (how was the first date? what are dates with them like?)

your first date was sweet. Kuroo took you out to dinner to a place that the two of you had frequented with Kenma and sometimes the whole team, though just the two of you this time. He offered whatever you wanted on him. He had given you a little flower that he found on his way to your house and put it in your hair. The two of you took a walk around the park after dinner, laughing about the good-old times. It was warm because it had been mid-summer, but that didn’t stop Kuroo from grabbing your hand and blushing when you smiled at him and gave his hand a light squeeze

Now that the two of you are older, dates with Kuroo are often times at fancier restaurants— dinner, maybe some drinks, occasionally walking around the little area if there were more shops for the two of you to go into, however you often times only headed home, cuddling up together on the sofa after getting changed into more comfortable clothes and watching a movie together to unwind before heading to bed E = Emotion (is it easy for them to express their emotions in front of you?)

He’s usually open with how he feels. It might take him a little bit longer with certain things because he likes to think about them, try and understand why he’s feeling this way, and try and process things alone, however if you were to gently assure him that he can always come to you, the second he’s starting to really struggle, he would talk to you. He strives to make sure that you feel as safe and supported as you make him feel F = Feelings (when did they know they were in love with you?)

Kuroo didn’t know that he was in love with you until years after it happened; he thought he merely loved you as a friend, that he really enjoyed your presence, and that his feelings for you were completely platonic like his feelings for all of his friends were. That was until the two of you were hanging out with Kenma. You were playing board games, laughing at each other and playfully arguing about things. You had laughed, tossed a board game piece at him when he teased you, and as Kenma made his way to the tv for real video games, it all just sort of hit Kuroo: these feelings weren’t platonic, and they weren’t going away for a long time, maybe ever

G = Gentle (are they gentle? If so, how?)

He has always been very gentle with you, but not in a way that he treated you like you were a breakable piece of glass. His gentleness with you was more in his tone, with how he never raised his voice at you, with how he made you settle disputes with him before you went to bed even if it took all night, with how he would gently kiss your forehead and softly whisper how special you are to him. Nothing is more important to him than you being happy and safe in your relationship, and if anything were to jeopardize that, he would take as long as it needed to settle it

H = Hands (how do they like to hold hands?)

Even if it happened to be a hot summer day and you were both sweating, Kuroo would love to hold hands with you. He would lock his fingers with yours, kiss the back of your hand, and send you a sweet smile every time. He would innocently hold your hand, swinging your arms lightly between the two of you while you wandered around different shops or a park. He would go places with you just to follow after you, holding hands and watching you pick out new clothes or makeup

I = "I love you" (who said it first? and how? do they say it often?)

You actually said it to him the same night that he was planning on telling you that he loved you. In fact, he was starting the conversation with you before you had told him that you had something to tell him. He didn’t know what it was, but as soon as the words left your mouth, he pulled you into a tight hug and told you that he was about to tell you the same thing. You laughed together, you made a comment about how great minds think alike, and then shared a sweet kiss

After that night, the “I love you”’s shared between the two of you only increased. Back then the two of you would sit on the phone for hours, often times staying on the phone while you slept and he would tell you that he loved you before falling asleep. Now he still tells you right as he’s getting sleepy, never forgetting to remind you how much he loves you. He gives you a quick kiss to the forehead and an “I love you” before he heads to work for the day, and often times sends you an “I love you” text while he’s at work because he’s missing you

J = Jealousy (do they get jealous? how do they act when they're jealous?)

Kuroo does get jealous, but he doesn’t cut in unless the person is very persistent. He just sort of glances over at you every few seconds to make sure that you’re okay and the stranger isn’t getting too close. If the person got too close, too personal, or even touchy, Kuroo would merely slide his fingers between yours, say that he needs you to come with him, and that’s that. No need for excuses, no need for a pointless, possessive argument, only tugging you away from the stranger K = Kiss (how do they kiss? who initiated the first kiss?)

You initiated the first kiss. The two of you had just finished your 4th date and he was bringing you home. Your fingers were intertwined as you laughed quietly together, talking about things that came to mind and looking up at the stars as you walked. When you got home, you had noticed that Kuroo was staring at you with a little smile on his face that had made you flush. Despite your nervousness, you slowly leaned up and asked if you could kiss him. The blush was obvious on his own cheeks, but he quickly nodded and leaned in to kiss you back

Just as sweet as how your first kiss shared was, all of Kuroo’s kisses were gentle and full of his adoring love for you. There’s never a lack of chemistry between the two of you when you kiss, even if it was a mere small peck of your lips. There’s always something there, and he always leaves you smiling. He loves you so much and his kisses always show it L = Love (how do they show you that they love you? what is their love language?)

Kuroo has always been very open about his love for you. He’s always kissing your nose, holding your hand in public or while he drives, telling you that he loves you, watching movies that he doesn’t particularly like or doing things that he wouldn’t do alone because it makes you happy. Kuroo’s outwards love language is acts of service. He wants to help you, even if he knows that you’re perfectly self-reliant. He’s happy knowing that he might be taking something unnecessary of your shoulders and never views it as a burden. So long as you love him in his love language, which is merely quality time and he only requires your attention truthfully, he would do everything he can to help you out without a single complaint

M = Memory (what is their favorite memory with you?)

His favorite memory with you was your first date. He honestly wasn’t expecting you to say yes to a date with him, and even after you had, he wasn’t sure that you were going to show up— let alone looking so pretty. He worried he might not do enough, but even in the bare minimum with him, you’re happy and it reminds him of how small but sweet your first date was together. He can’t believe even to this day how lucky he is, and the memory of your first romantic moment spent together is always going to hold this special place in his heart

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

After long days, Kuroo likes to make dinner with you. If you start dinner, he would come in and set you on the counter while he finishes it. If he starts it, he would wrap his arms around your waist and bury his face against your shoulder just to hold you while you finish it. Things around the house, especially chores, are all shared between the two of you. He would never leave you to do everything and he knows you wouldn’t do that to him, however that doesn’t mean that he wouldn’t pick up some slack from you if you were having a hard day. He would do it without a second thought, guiding you back on your own two feet like you do for him

O = On cloud nine (how do they act when they are in love? how do they express their feelings?)

When Kuroo is in love, he’s very hands-on. Texting you throughout the day to make sure you’re doing alright and to tell you he misses you, helping you with things you struggle with and accepting your help in return, hugging you that much tighter when you needed him to, daydreaming about you when he was away from you and hugging you the second that he gets home from work P = Pet names (what pet names do they use?)

While “Chibi-chan” has always been his favorite nickname for you that has been around since before the two of you even got together, now that you’re romantically involved he often times calls you “My love” or “My baby,” especially when the two of you are cuddling or having a soft make out session. He would caress your face, whisper a sweet “My pretty baby” before going back in for another kiss Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget things?)

Kuroo does everything that he can to remember every little detail that you tell him; preferences, favorite colors, drinks and foods, even which cutlery you prefer. He also pays close attention to your facial expressions and the shift in your eyes when your emotions change. Whether that be to know when something upsets you, or to merely admire how your nose scrunches when you smell something displeasing or how you bite your lip when you’re focusing on something too intensely

R = Rainy day (what do they like to do with you on a rainy day?)

Sit by the fireplace and stay warm beneath blankets with warm tea, watch movie series that the two of you haven’t seen in years, binging new tv series together, playing games, watching the rain pour down the windows while you sit in his lap with a blanket wrapped around the two of you, make snacks and have your usual fun together even if plans got cancelled because of the rain

S = Sympathy (how do they comfort you? how do they like being comforted?)

Kuroo would be a good person to go to with any kind of problem you were having; he loves to help, especially he loves to help you when you’re struggling. He would be a good shoulder to cry on, asking if you needed some advice or if you only wanted to rant. He would distract you if you didn’t want to talk about what was wrong but you were clearly upset; he would get you a snack, even dragging you out of the house so that you can get some fresh-air. Because he knows so much about you, he always senses when your mood starts to change, and he won’t stop until he can make you smile again, even if it was a small one

When Kuroo figures out what’s been bothering him and he decides that he wants help, whether it be to talk it out or merely cuddle, he would always go to you. If he didn’t want to talk about it, he would either suggest something for the two of you to do, or he would lay on top of you on the sofa so he could listen to your heartbeat that always soothes him. He would ask you to run your fingers through his hair. Being in your arms always brightens even the worst of his moods T = Time (how do they like spending time with you?)

Kuroo, especially when he’s needing some time with you, loves to stay indoors. As much as he loves walks, playing volleyball for fun nowadays, and going to the beach, he loves to stay inside with you some days, catching up after busy weeks and curling up in bed together even if it was the middle of the afternoon and neither of you were tired enough to nap. He likes to take some designated time to hold you close, trying to make you laugh all the while

U = Unencumbered (what helps them relax?)

If he was being honest, merely being in your presence was relaxing for Kuroo. Watching you read, cuddling on the sofa, making dinner with you, laying in bed and holding you to his side, even shopping with you. Being with you was always a relaxing time for him even if you two were working around the house V = Vanity (how concerned are they with their looks?)

Looks don’t matter all that much to him. He often times rolls out of bed, brushes his teeth, throws on his work clothes, and leaves without even touching his hair. He’s somehow always managed to look flawless even when he put little effort into his hair. He’s a very pretty man, though he does make himself look good for dates and he does try, it’s just that he doesn’t worry about it too much

W = Waking up (what are they like when they wake up next to you?)

There’s a lot of mornings that you wake up and Kuroo is already up. Kuroo usually wakes up around 5 or 6 AM to start his day with a shower or just brushing his teeth and piddling around the apartment until you get up before he heads off to work. On the mornings that you do wake up at the same time as him, you sort of merely tiredly follow the man around, watching him get ready for work and smiling tiredly when he kisses you. The weekend mornings are the best because the two of you stay in bed until around 8 or 9 AM and you always wake up in Kuroo’s arms. Some mornings the two of you would lay there in silence, merely admiring each other and saying everything with your eyes. Other mornings, you talk for awhile, chatting about plans for the day or what to have for breakfast X = X-ray (how does the relationship look from an outside perspective compared to how it really is?)

The outside perspective of your relationship is nearly the exact same as the inside. People see just how much you love each other, and Kuroo doesn’t try and hide how adoringly he looks at you. You’ve never hid your love for each other, and with how Kuroo shamelessly presses a kiss to your hand or lips wherever the two of you are, it’s hard to imagine a world where the two of you aren’t this in love

Y = Yes (do they ever think of getting married/proposing?)

He thinks quite often about proposing to you. There’s a lot of times when the two of you are out on a date, or when you’re wandering around a park together and stargazing that he almost wished he had a ring because it just seemed like such a perfect time to propose. He’s looked at some rings through the window when he was out with Kenma, seriously considering going inside of the jewelry shops. He knows that there isn’t a rush to take that next step, but he can’t help daydreaming about it Z = Zzz (how do they sleep with you?)

it’s impossible for you not to feel safe in Kuroo’s arms when he’s holding you throughout the night. Before you fall asleep in his arms, he’ll pepper little kisses around your face to make you laugh and tell you that he loves you. He likes to spoon with you, however he also loves to face you so he can press his forehead to yours and the two of you can fall asleep together, completely intertwined with each other and the blanket