#mma au

[gazpachito]

the MMA au no one asked for

(close ups under the cut)

[sukunasun]

can we get crumbs of mma sukuna and that break up fic

here's a sneak peek!

the car ride back to your hotel is tense as you fall into an almost unbearable silence. sukuna keeps his eyes on the road, unblinking. there's traffic built up stretching across an entire city, honking cars and engines whirring loudly but it doesn't do much to drown out the impending conversation you dread. only because you have a feeling it would lead to something worse. a bubble waiting to burst.

“you still mad?” sukuna's the first one to speak. he reaches out for your hand, curling his fingers around and bringing his lips so close to your ear. you feel his breath on your skin along with his desperation too. "don't avoid me, you know how much i hate it." is his best plea.

keeping your eyes out the window, a mask weaves itself over your features, an impenetrable expression. snow starts to pile along the streets of osaka. dusting the surface of rivers and withering branches. you count the flecks of white, if you turned to him now, looking upon his face, it'll only hurt more.

what could you say, where do you even start— yes, you're still mad. and no, you're not avoiding him, nothing's more important than having this conversation right now but the events of the night have yet to even sink in—he'd been engaged to another woman. for a year. maybe two. and she'd been in love with him, probably still is given that she brings it up like it merely happened yesterday. 

"i wore him down," she said proudly. hand coming up to his chest. glamourous and flaunting her body pressed up against his. as if she were his date instead. despite the bile rising up your throat, you have to admit they look the part. two belonging together, physically flawless, exuding a blinding intensity. "i proposed like a million times before he ever agreed, but i couldn't give up, no one loves him like i do." 

"is this about how you look?" sukuna tries again. he's got plenty of questions lined up but it's the first thing that slips from his mouth, not knowing that he won't get to the others because it ticks you off immediately. setting off a fuse within you.

"it's nothing to do with that!" you scoff in disbelief. the warmth of his hand should feel comforting, but touching him now makes you anxious. betrayed that he'd shared the same touch with an ex you didn't know about. one who apparently slipped from his memory too by the looks of it. so you pull away, letting that distance grow. feeling the cool sting after the weight's been let off, the ghost of his hand lingering behind when you realize how bare it feels without him there.

"what's with the attitude?" he's annoyed and growing impatient, jaw and fists clenching. it's the first time you've rejected his touch so blatantly. it stings, it hurts him to the core. gone were the days of your rejection but he's seeing your walls building back up now is enough to get his blood boiling.

"i get mad about other things too, not everything is about how i look," you shoot back. as the quiet pauses lengthen and the seconds tick by, sukuna decides then and there that he will never want it to happen again. the way his heart drops to his stomach is foreign to him, an unexpected ache, an anxious little thing that makes him sweat.

he breathes a frustrated sigh, unaware of what's really wrong here, he hates playing these guessing games with you. "i'm not a fuckin' mind reader, plus you're always like this when i'm around other women," he says, like it were a nuisance he'd grown tired of.

you snap then, exclaiming "she wasn't just some other woman—oh hi, you used to be engaged to my boyfriend, nice to meet you too!" your skin prickles with anger, curse him. he's an expert at pushing your buttons.

rubbing at his temples, your admission barely phases him. "so that's what this is all about?" he has the audacity to laugh, "it didn't mean anything." you don't know what makes it worse, that he doesn't deny it or the way he brushes it off with such nonchalance.

all this before you were ever in the picture of course. you tell yourself it shouldn't matter. it was his past. way before he ever knew you. he had never mentioned wanting to get married, and you had thought—foolishly—that it wasn't the right time, that maybe he wasn't the 'marrying' type. but truths are unveiled and there's no going back from revealing something like that. "did you love her?" you question, although, completely unprepared for the answer.

sukuna's eyebrows furrow, "what kind of question is that?" he seems offended you'd ask, but still, he's not giving you a clear answer. only diverting.

so you dig further. "you loved her enough to marry her—" it's not about the woman, it's more about that voracity in her, being as self-serving as she was, 'no one loves him like i do,' she said with such certainty, in that same way sukuna does, they're not the kind of people who doubt. unlike you, she looks at him like she wants to own him. "—did you ever think you'd marry me? you're just looking for the next girl who'd wear you down?"

"oh so you wanna get married. is that it? would that make you feel better?" he dishes out sarcasm like a blow to the face and you're left with the realisation that he's being mean because he can. he's never liked having a weakness, especially now that he can't manoeuvre his way out of this fight with you. caught in a corner barely standing.

"you know that's not what i mean—"

"what is it then," he clicks his tongue. staring at the side of you. still avoiding his gaze, unable to look him in the eye and yell. get in his face. tear him apart.

you bite your lip. thoughts jumbling and bouncing around. you can't wrap your head around it. how could the sight of an old flame be enough to make you question your relationship and self-worth? he had a past and chose to keep it from you, fine. he'd been young, maybe he didn't consider those memories a part of himself. you don't know.

or maybe you've gone with the flow of his current for so long, that getting swept away felt so exhilarating and he'd made you feel safe. too safe. but somewhere in the midst of it, you've diminished, you've become all the things he didn't sign up for, you're not who he wants anymore, or at least it feels that way, and maybe...he knows it too.

there is no room for selfishness or jealousy where love is concerned. he's not what you expected sure, that little girl in you had only wished for a gentleman who could love you softly. someone who recognized how alone you've felt and that you're strong despite it. you've worked hard to let him in, to trust him, because sukuna is beyond hopes and dreams, he is real, he sits next to you asking, no—demanding that you talk to him about how you feel.

and why bury your feelings when you've never been that way, you were always so sure, could always speak your mind, tell him how you feel. all the times he's had to assure you and you don't know why you ever saw yourself as less than. he chased you. he wanted you. it shouldn't matter that no one else believes it. he's yours. all of him. scars, tattoos, and bloodied flesh. you love him, and yet—

"i think we need a break," you say, feeling your chest rise and fall, breaths coming out harshly. your heart twists, chest constricts, and every fibre in your body screams no. you feel the tears coming, your throat closing up with every exhale, choking and suffocating you.

sukuna clamps his hair under his fingers, pulling at them in frustration, "so you're punishing me," he says flatly. he knows you well, knows you're running away from him. it would be easier if you weren't so rash. if the mere sight of his disappointment didn't weigh down on your heart so overwhelmingly. so close to jumping out of this car, fleeing from it all.

"just some time apart for us to figure things out," you explain, "i can't be around you right now," it should be a relief. it's for the best. he'll never truly belong to you, not completely when everyone wants a piece. "don't tell me, she's the one who taught you about love..." you don't know why you hadn't intervened when she held him so closely, berating, judging. like you had no defenses. like it made perfect sense and it was better for you to accept it. it's all you've ever felt from those around you. coward. where's your fight?

at that moment, you turn to look at him to face the truth but the world comes to a halt after seeing pure hurt spill onto his face. the horror of what you've just said, the long road of stagnant cars ahead, and an even colder silence all leading to an imminent end settling in and sitting there in between two broken hearts.

[furiarossa]

Today's warmup sketch! I... I can explain. (I actually can: I love fight sports and drawing guys). Vlad Plasmius vs Jack Fenton, MMA fight AU???

[Oh, and a lot more of our Danny Phantom fanarts: Here’s our tag!]

★ Instagram|Facebook|FurAffinity|Deviantart|Commission prices★

[melting-mutants-apocalypse-au]

Traduction en français de ce que l'on a écrit sur la fiche :

Silver : Statut : En vie et non infecté - Ses jambes sont affaiblies par de nombreuses blessures. Il utilise donc la télékinésie pour se transporter - Il aide son épouse Blaze pour rechercher Sonic - Ses yeux virent au bleu quand il est en colère Santé Mentale : 3/5 Santé Physique : 2/5 Force/Pouvoir : 3/5

Lors de l'invasion de la Dimension Sol, Silver sauva de justesse Blaze de l'emprise de Mew, lui évitant ainsi d'être elle même transformée en mutante.

Changeant de dimension, ils rejoignent assez tôt Tails et ses amis dans le Bunker afin d'être en sécurité et d'aider à protéger les survivants.

C'est lors d'un combat acharné contre des mutants de stade 3, aussi appelé Fullmelts, que Silver vu gravement blessé aux jambes. Il mis plusieurs mois avant de pouvoir les bouger de nouveau. Cependant il est incapable de tenir debout, ses jambes étant désormais trop faibles pour supporter son propre poids. Il utilise donc la télékinésie pour se déplacer, flottant au dessus du sol.

Un jour, alors que rien de particulier semblait se dérouler, Blaze entra dans le Bunker, complètement paniquée. Silver mis du temps à la calmer, mais dès qu'elle le pu, elle annonça avoir vu Sonic dans la Dimension Sol. Si Tails et les autres furent sceptiques, notamment car il arrivait souvent que certains survivants commencent à perdre la tête, Silver lui décida de lui faire confiance.

Ensemble ils discutèrent longuement de ce qu'ils allaient faire, et décidèrent de quitter le Bunker pour sillonner la Dimension Sol afin de trouver Sonic.

Ils partirent sans prévenir les autres, ne voulant pas qu'ils essayent de les convaincre de rester, et ce sans savoir s'ils vont vraiment réussir leur objectif de retrouver Sonic.

[menin4s]

AU de Sukuna... (Inhala)

Sukuna siendo el nuevo novio de tu mejor amiga de toda la vida, un luchador invicto de la MMA.

Siendo básicamente el hombre de sus sueños, te obliga a escuchar horas y horas sobre él. Lo dulce, buen mozo, atento, sexy que es. Cómo no tiene problema en consentirla en lo que sea.

Hasta que lo conoces.

*Y de la nada comienza tu departura con ella, lentamente.*

MDNI!!

Porque parece irreal, como la sienta en su regazo y la llena de besos con susurros al oído mientras todos comparten la mesa. Y de alguna forma mientras lo hace te lanza miradas, miradas fijas que te ponen los pelos de punta.

Porque la lleva de shopping y sin que lo escuches, le ofrece a su novia que te lleve también, y con una sonrisa falsa mientras le compra cada cosa que ella señala, la alienta a que también compren algo para tí.

Y casi sin dejar espacio para tu reproche, la manipula para que ambas entren a los probadores a desfilar mientras las observa. Pasa su black card por cada tienda como si de respirar se tratara.

Porque inmediatamente la convence de mudarse a uno de sus departamentos, y tú amiga ruega para que pases tus días con ella, inevitablemente compartiendo tiempo con él.

Porque la vez tan feliz y con tantas esperanzas después de haberla visto sufrir con ex novios, que no encuentras en tu corazón hacerle saber lo profundamente incómoda que estás. Lo nerviosa que te pone cuando recalca lo caballeroso y atento que es su novio, cada vez que te ayuda a bajar del auto, guiándote con una mano en tu espalda baja.

Porque tú cabeza se rompe al no encontrar las palabras para decirle que estalkea todas tus redes sociales, que a partir de las 2AM se vuelve su tarea revisar todo, y sin pena le da corazones a cada cosa que ve.

A ella se le hace tierno cuando ambas salen juntas y el le pide fotos de lo que están haciendo, haciendo énfasis en que también salgas en ellas. Completamente inconsciente de que agranda la imagen con sus dedos hasta enfocar tu rostro.

Porque no se da cuenta de lo frustrado y tenso que llegó a estar cuando le informó que ibas a llegar tarde a verlo en su enfrentamiento porque aún estabas en tú universidad. Aunque si se puso algo nerviosa cuando la sacudió de un brazo y la obligó a irte a buscar en uno de los autos de la compañía de su patrocinador.

Más tarde le pediría disculpas, que solo estaba estresado y quería que todo saliera perfecto.

"Es tu mejor amiga, sé lo mucho que la quieres, quiero que siempre estés cómoda con ella a tu lado"

Y ella se lo traga, embobada de tanto amor y adoración.

Cuando tenías que ignorar como en cada golpe que daba y lograba asestar en su magullado oponente, su mirada buscaba la tuya fugazmente, mirada que no te atrevías a apartar.

Silenciosamente poniendo un show solo para tí, mientras tú mejor amiga se deshidrataba en gritos y emoción, mientras tu estómago se cerraba de desconcierto y terror ante la sangre sobre la bestialidad a la que llamaba cuerpo.

Y en la fiesta de celebración armada en su penthouse, toda su atención iba a su novia, por supuesto. La sangre y la adrenalina lo volvían el doble de atrevido y desesperado. Sus amigos y parte de su staff lanzaban comentarios de lo enamorado que estaba, y como tú amiga lo traía enredado en sus manos. Sentada en su regazo era bañada de caricias y piropos de pie a cabeza.

Mientras tomabas sorbos de un vaso de plástico podías ver cómo ambos desaparecían escaleras arriba, y apartabas la mirada porque sabías que encontrarías la suya, mientras arrastraba a tu amiga hacia uno de los cuartos.

Con varios tragos de más, no tardaste en intentar arrancar los nervios de tu cuerpo y entablar conversaciones con uno de los luchadores de su team, quien ya te había visto en varias ocasiones pero jamas cruzaron palabra. Sin su mirada quemando tu nuca finalmente podías ser un poco tu misma.

Para tú mala suerte, mientras salias casi sin aire de una de las habitaciones, con la ropa torcida y el cabello enmarañado, sin enterarte fuiste descubierta.

Su mirada te siguió desde el piso de abajo mientras apretaba con fuerza la cintura de tu mejor amiga, luego de que ambos terminaran sus propios asuntos y volvieran a la fiesta.

Mientras el hombre con el cual te habías manoseado sin pasar a mayores dentro del cuarto de lavado, caminaba detras tuyo ajustándose la ropa también.

No tardo en susurrarle algo a tu amiga al oído para que ella como buen títere te interceptara y regañara, obligandote a entrar a una habitación hasta que tú "ebriedad" se bajara. Ella incluso tres veces más ebria que tu, pero aún así amándote tanto para querer cuidarte.

Tan ebria que ni bien le aseguraste que te quedarías a dormir en esa habitación, bajo y procedió a desmayarse en uno de los sillones mientras su novio la acariciaba y conscientemente la relajaba aún más contra los almohadones.

Porque por primera vez pensaste en nunca más verla y desaparecer de su perfecta vida, cuando te interceptó ni bien abriste la puerta de la alejada habitación del penthouse, empujándote hacia adentro y azotandote contra la puerta una vez que la cerró. Cuando te deslizaste hacia el suelo volvió a repetir la acción, esta vez haciendo que sueltes un llanto ahogado.

Con una sola de sus manos cerrada en tu cuello, sintió como tu pulso se aceleraba mientras de a tirones subía tu falda y bajaba tu top, revisando con ojo de halcón las mordidas y marcas sobre tu cuello, hombros y pecho.

Parecía casi ilegal en su mente, como tenías puesta la ropa que tú mejor amiga te regalaba, ropa que él compraba y ayudaba a elegir. Indirectamente vistiéndote a su gusto mientras tú fingías ni siquiera estar involucrada con él. Hasta le daba ternura.

Injusto que dejaras que otro hombre, por cierto un hombre por debajo de él, te tocara como si estuvieses disponible.

Cómo si en todos estos meses él no te hubiese demostrado que era lo suficiente hombre para las dos. Para la novia que adoraba en público, y para ti, la razón por la cuál necesitaba ir de inmediato a la ducha luego de cojersela, solo para imaginar tus manos y uñas acrílicas, masturbandolo y arañando su abdomen, fantaseando que los golpes y magullos sobre su piel eran marcas tuyas. Si había un hombre más digno para tí, era él.

En su mente, ella era suya, pero él era de tú pertenencia.

Pudo ver en tus ojos hasta a qué país planeabas mudarte ni bien estés fuera de sus garras, y con un gruñido de desesperación te besó, casi abriendo manualmente tu mandíbula mientras te alimentó sin pena todos los gemidos de su boca, manoseando sin piedad tus pechos, restregandose contra tu pierna como un perro en celo.

"Ella te ve como su hermana... Te adora... Ni tú serías tan cruel..." Murmuró sobre tu rostro ni bien te dejo respirar, tus ojos vidriosos mientras taladraba cada palabra en tu consciencia, sembrando la culpa.

No podrías verla a la cara nunca más. Incluso te encerrarías días en tu departamento, inventarías excusas para pelear con ella y así poder desaparecer lentamente de su vida. Cada paso al costado que dabas, ella daba cinco más, hasta acampando en tu puerta.

Porque te ama, porque eres su mejor amiga. Su hermana.

Su alma gemela que comparte el mismo hombre que ella.

[arcana-shipper]

Here's the martial arts style each character thar I listed before has trained in (most if not all came from their Canon game styles). If you have any questions about this au, please leave an ask in my ask box!

Liu Kang - Jeet Kune Do, Karate, Choy Li Fut

Kung Lao - Wing Chun, White Lotus, Shaolin Fist

Hanzo Hasashi - Hapkido, Ninjitsu

Cole Young - Muai Thai, Kung Fu, Jujitsu

Bi-Han - Pi Gua, Hapkido, Shotokan

Kuai Liang - Dragon Style, hapkido, Shotokan

Tomas Vrbada - Mi Tzu, Judo, Penak Silat

Sektor - Ninjutu, Sambo, kenpo

Cyrax - Ninjitsu, Sambo, Dambe

First post of the Au

[calchexxis]

More MMA!AU Lightcannon, feat. Silco and a surprise guest.

[gazpachito]

A couple sketches from the MMA AU

[furiarossa]

can you post your jack and Vlad MMA fight au drawing from Blue sky here pls my family follows my Blue sky and they can't see me be crazy about cartoon men

This one? https://www.tumblr.com/furiarossa/746025444049043456/todays-warmup-sketch-i-i-can-explain-i?source=share

We post ALL (or almost all) our drawings on Tumblr, it's our favorite platform, so you should be able to find everything here! And it's also also tagged.

And hey, thank you so much for appreciating our work. We should definitely draw more of the MMA AU :)

[melting-mutants-apocalypse-au]

Traduction en français de ce que l'on a écrit sur la fiche :

Knuckles : Statut : En vie et non infecté - Vit dans un groupe de survivants nommé "Les Emeraudes" comme leur chef - Son groupe se situe au centre d'une ville appelée Lakecity, aux alentours du Bunker - Rouge et Cream l'ont rejoint malgré qu'il ait essayé de les en dissuader Santé Mentale : 3/5 Santé Physique : 4/5 Force/Pouvoir : 4/5

Knuckles est le chef des Emeraudes depuis sa création. Il s'agit d'un groupe de survivants se battant pour protéger le centre ville de Lakecity. Ils vivent dans les maisons abandonnées proche d'une petite école primaire.

Au début Knuckles vivait dans le Bunker avec ses amis. Mais agacé de voir la pitié qu'avait ses camarades envers les mutants, il a décidé de s'en aller.

Pour lui, un mutant est un ennemi à abattre, car un danger pour ceux n'ayant pas muté. Après tout il suffit que deux mutant de stade 1 se touchent pour former un mutant de stade 2, puis qu'ils deviennent un de stade 3. Et ceux de stade 3 sont bien trop dangereux pour prendre le risque qu'il y en ait plus qui se balade dans les différentes dimensions !

Ce qu'il n'avait pas prévu, c'est que Rouge et Cream décident de le suivre. Il refusa d'abord, leur disant que en dehors du Bunker les choses seraient plus dangereuses, mais Rouge insista. Elle avait le même point de vue sur les mutants disait-elle, et ne voulait pas laisser Knuckles partir seul sans avoir au moins une personne à ses côtés. Quant à Cream ? Elle refusa de donner ses raisons. Elle ne voulait tout simplement plus vivre dans le Bunker avait-elle dit, mais ça Knuckles n'y croyait pas vraiment. Il savait ne pas être très intelligent, mais il l'était suffisamment pour savoir que Cream ne se confronterait pas au danger sans raison. Mais il fut bien obligé de l'accepter, surtout quand Rouge ne lui laissa plus le choix. "Ce n'est plus une enfant" qu'elle disait. Alors c'est un peu à contre cœur qu'il accepta qu'elles les accompagne. Et c'est ainsi que le groupe de trois quitta le Bunker après avoir fait leurs adieux à tous le monde.

Une fois dehors, notre trio s'est vite aventuré dans le centre ville de Lakecity afin de s'éloigner du Bunker, mais pas trop non plus si jamais il y avait un problème qui tombait sur leurs amis. Ce n'est pas parce qu'ils n'étaient pas d'accord sur comment gérer la menace des mutants que Knuckles laisserait Tails, Amy et les autres dans la merde.

Petit à petit, d'autres survivants n'ayant pas rejoint le Bunker les suivirent, formant en une semaine un petit groupe de résistants qui se battaient contre les mutants de Mew. Tous était d'accord avec le fait que les mutants, qu'importe le stade, étaient des dangers pour les survivants de cette apocalypse, et même si c'était dur, ils tuaient les mutants de stade 1 quand ils en voyaient un, considérant qu'ils abrégeaient leur souffrance.

C'est ainsi que les Emeraudes furent créés. Un groupe de rebelles, de combattants, qui essayent de vivre comme avant tout en se battant contre les mutants voulant envahir le centre ville.

[arcana-shipper]

Suggestion from the discords.

Johnny did do a brief stint in the MMA.

Although that didn't last long though, 4 wins and a loss before he got suspended by doing a split punch to his opponent's thigh. It was a knee jerk reaction, he didn't consciously do it.

I'm not sure if he will compete after the suspension is up or not. What you guys think?

[thyme-in-a-bubble]

eyes on the prize

a/n: me writing a fic where rafe is actually wholesome and nice? i didn't see it coming either... this idea just came to me when you were all voting for the kinktober fic a while ago, and i was prepping that it maybe could go in this direction and then ended up falling too much in love with the fantasy, so i simply had to get it out of my system.

summary: “in a week, when we’ve turned in the assignment, and everything is over, I want you to come watch me fight… watch me win…” a cocky smirk twitched at the corner of his lips as he awaited your answer.

warnings: mma!rafe cameron x reader, smut, college au, study buddies to lovers, soft!rafe, autumnal vibes, takes place in the beginning of november, studying, friday the 13th references, scaredy cat!reader, violence, mma fights, kissing, semi-public sex, clothed sex, dirty talk, manhandling, ripping pantyhose, size kink, spit kink, hole inspection, penetrative sex, unprotected sex

word count: 2626

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“So,” you hesitantly broke the silence that had fallen over both you and the partner that had been assigned to you on this current project, “did you get up to anything fun on Halloween?” 

Glancing up from the thick book Rafe’s bored gaze was rushing through, it instead lingered on you for but a moment as his mutter reverberated in the quiet corner of the university’s library, “uhm, yeah. I popped by a party for a bit.” 

“The one at delta neu?” a glint flickered in your eye as soon as he offered you a nod, “me too! Though I went home kinda early, so we might have missed each other… what did you going as?” 

“Jason,” he simply uttered. 

“Jason who?” the soft smile didn’t fade from your lips as his short answer hadn’t landed the way he’d hoped. 

“You know,” his brows furrowed slightly at your cluelessness, repeating once again as if the name alone should be enough for you to understand, “Jason.” 

“…Jason Statham? Jason Momoa?” your eyes squinted as you quietly attempted to hit the bullseye, “uhm… I can’t really think of any other famous Jasons right now…” 

“No, Jason from Friday the 13th. You know, the dude with the hockey mask and the machete.” 

“Ah, him… yeah, I haven’t watched those movies,” you shrugged, “but, cool costume.” 

“Wait, you’ve never seen Friday the 13th?” he tilted closer to where you sat across the table from him, “not even the cheesy remake?” 

“Nope,” you simply returned your gaze to the textbook beneath your fingers.  

“Seriously?” his eyebrows didn’t float back down yet, “well, I don’t know if I should be offended that you’ve never watched that masterpiece before or jealous that you get to experience it for the first time, but either way, that’s a problem we need to fix.” 

At first, you thought you’d entered the wrong building. 

That was until you rounded the corner, and your gaze fluttered up from the map still open on your phone, guiding you to the mysterious address your study partner had texted you, asking you to meet up with him there before the rest of your plans could unfold, that you discovered that you hadn’t stumbled into the wrong place. 

Though that wasn’t the only thing you discovered in that moment as the culmination of that enlightenment was spotting Rafe in the middle of the industrial and cold gym, going through the tail end of some drills with his trainer. 

As he went through the combinations and grunted like a guard dog, sweat dripped down from his brow and rolled so low that it cascaded over his already glistening and bare chest. 

You hadn’t really noticed how your feet had stopped or how your pulse had picked up so fiercely that you could feel it between your thighs before his own eyes located you and he flashed you a smile.

“Hey!” his voice cut through your trance as he patted his coach on the shoulder and began to near the edge of the ring. 

“H-hi,” you blinked, shaking your fuzzy head slightly to clear it, “I didn’t know you were into this sort of stuff,” you briefly waved a hand to the gym around you and tried your best to rip your stare away from his heaving chest. 

“Yeah,” he began to loosen a glove, “sorry I asked you to meet me here, I’m just really busy these days cause I’ve got a fight coming up.” 

“Oh, well we don’t have to have a silly movie night if you don’t have the time,” you averted your gaze, recalling how before you’d been paired with him on the assignment for Callahan’s class, you hadn’t even been sure of what his name was. You’d just known him as the hot guy, three rows behind you. 

“No, no, I want to, unless of course you’ve changed your mind.”

Blinking back up into his eyes, you smiled, “definitely not.”

“Well, great,” a grin spread across his lips, “then just give me a second,” he cast a brief glance over his broad shoulder at the locker room, “and then we can head back to my place,” a notion you hadn’t expected would have ended with you up on the back of his motorcycle, a terrifying concept that you’d somehow been unable to deny as the crush that had blossomed and bloomed within your heart for him had made it near impossible for you to say no to a single one of his suggestions. 

“You never told me what you went as,” Rafe hummed beside you, causing your eyes to tear away from the horror movie buzzing on the TV.

Blinking over at him next to you on the leather couch, your fingers began to fiddle with the blanket you’d slumped over yourself, “oh, well I didn’t wanna buy anything new, so I just went through my closet and ended up going as Britney Spears because I found the skirt of my old school uniform. I don’t even remember why I brought it with me the last time I went home, but–, ah!” a shriek suddenly shuttered through your form as your eyes accidentally fluttered back towards the screen just in time to witness the villain sink a large blade into the head of one of the drunk teenagers, “oh my god!” your frame couldn’t help but jump at the fright, nearly tossing the blanket across the room as you instinctively hid your features in the mass of Rafe’s bicep. 

As your heart raced and thumped in your chest, you felt Rafe’s shoulder begin to move before you heard his laughter. 

“Shut up, it’s not funny!” you smacked him lightly in the chest, though kept your vision darkened by his shirt, “so I’m not desensitised to the horrors of scary movies, big whoop!” a mutter then slipped out of your lungs, “fuck, why did I agree to this? I’m probably gonna have nightmares for weeks…”

“Hey, it’s okay, it’s just a movie,” you felt his palm find your arm in a soothing rub as his voice hummed directly above the crown of your head, “and the scene is almost over.” 

“I can’t look…” you felt yourself lean more into his touch. 

“…do you want me to describe it to you?” 

“No…” you lingered in the security of his warmth and felt the terror slowly melt from your bones. Cupping a hand on the side of your face to shield your eyes from the horrors on screen, you carefully plucked your face just shy out of his safety before you uttered, “…just tell me when it’s over…” 

The blaring light from the television reflected against the side of Rafe’s face as he gazed down into your eyes and breathed, “okay,” his stare slowly dipping and fluttering down towards your lips. 

It wasn’t till now that you noticed how close you’d accidentally scooted to him as you weren’t far from just sitting in his lap. 

Sharing his breath, your mind went entirely blank and only switched back on when you’d closed the distance betwixt your lips and now found yourself kissing your study buddy. 

Thankfully, your brain didn’t get a chance to begin spiralling as it only took Rafe half a second to reciprocate the sudden move and kiss you back. 

His strong hands found the small of your waist buried beneath the woollen blanket before he began to drag you closer, pulling you so near that you actually did wind up sitting in his lap, your fingers fluttering against his buzzcut as his own scooped down over the curve of your ass. 

When the movie gently humming from behind you was long forgotten and your soul instead had drifted straight to heaven, you felt Rafe tilt his head back to breathlessly utter, “come watch my fight…” his forehead still pressed against your own. 

Scarcely picking up on the words behind his honied hum, you breathed, “what?” 

Reeling back just enough for his eye to catch your own dazed pair, he said, “in a week, when we’ve turned in the assignment, and everything is over, I want you to come watch me fight… watch me win…” a cocky smirk twitched at the corner of his lips as he awaited your answer.

You’d never seen a fight in real life before. 

Not boxing, not mixed martial arts as this was, not even a juvenile one in a schoolyard. 

At one point, when you thought all hope seemed lost, when Rafe got pinned by his opponent and blood was trickling down from the cut at his brow so clearly that you could make it out from the second row seat you found yourself planted in, he somehow managed to turn the tides and capture the boulder of a man in a lock so fierce it made them nearly melt into one pretzel-like being. 

As he flexed his arm around the other’s throat with the rest of his limbs restricting him as well and rendering an escape near impossible, Rafe’s eyes then flickered up to catch your wide ones in the crowd. A grin appeared on his features as he held your stare a moment longer, watching as you shyly began to mirror his smile, before he tightened his hold and squeezed till the opponent opted not to bruise his pride and tap out, instead going limp in the grasp. 

Once the trophy was in his gloved hand and he’d leapt out of the ring, on his way back towards the locker room, he zigzagged through the cheering crowd and caught onto your arm, dragging you with him as he exited the buzzing hall. 

“That was insane,” you heard yourself babble as he pulled you through the corridors down towards the backroom he’d been in prior to the fight, “I mean, I know I went into it kinda blind, but I had no idea it would be like that,” adrenaline still rushed through your veins as he tugged you over the threshold and closed the door behind you, swiftly dropping his trophy to one of the long benches, “sure, it was as insane as I probably imagined, but the way that you moved, the way you slipped in and out like you were made of water or something, I mean, that was beautiful–,” the fighter then suddenly cut your rambling short as he yanked you to his sweaty form and pressed his lips to your own. However, as his feet shuffled and your spine collided with the back of the door to the small locker room, your fingers fluttered over countless of the spots where he’d been hit, causing you to jerk back and ask, “wait, shouldn’t you have someone check you out?” your eyes flickered from the cut splitting his brow to the various fresh bruises already beginning to blossom and reveal their true colours, “are you okay?”

“I’ve never felt better in my whole life,” he tried to lean back in to capture your lips once more, though you tilted away just in time for him to miss. 

“You sure? Because–”

But your words were quickly snuffed out as his hands then flew up to grasp the sides of your face to force you to notice the glint in his eye and the desire dripping in his tone, “just shut up and kiss me,” he commanded before he practically devoured you whole. 

As Rafe’s tongue danced against your own and made you feel dizzy in his tight embrace, his fingers then blindly fumbled for the lock and twisted it with a click that harmonised with the throbbing that had appeared between your thighs as soon as the fight had commenced. 

A low growl rumbled deep within his chest and melted into your mouth as he then plucked you off of the ground and lifted you into his arms. Broad palms spreading wide below your bottom, he brought you as close as possible, causing the skirt you wore to ride up and crumble at your hips. The thin barrier of your pantyhose and the underwear beneath nearly incinerated from the heat that sparked as his hips greedily rocked against your covered core, lending you to feel just how hard he was in his shorts. 

“I want you so bad,” he groaned between pecks, his fingers digging into your softness.

“Shouldn’t you be out celebrating your victory or something?” a light giggle bubbled out of you. 

“I thought that was what I was doing,” he smirked before dropping you back down onto the ground, making you gasp at his sharp movements as he suddenly spun you around to face the closed door, “unless you have a better idea of how we could celebrate,” he nipped at your neck, making your eyes flutter. 

“I–…” your teeth briefly captured your bottom lip as his front pressed against your back, and your spine instinctively arched back into him, “no, yeah, this one’s g-good…”

“Good,” he murmured in your ear before his fingers found your pantyhose in a pinch and ripped a big hole in them, nearly splitting them in two as he exposed your underwear, “do you want it?” he gripped your hips and titled them for his hard-on to perfectly nudge against the soaked cotton. 

“Y-yes,” you panted, even just that one word haven been a struggle to utter through the fog he’d cast you into. 

“How bad?” 

“So bad–, Rafe, please,” he made you squeak desperately, “I just–, please…”

Cheek smooshed against the door, you glanced over your shoulder and watched as he then kneeled down behind you. Both hands still firmly planted on your hips, keeping you in place for him, they only strayed for a moment in order to shove your skirt the rest of the way up and letting him see the wet spot decorating your panties. 

“Oh, shit…” he groaned as he tugged the gusset of your underwear all the way to the side, a string of your glossy want clung to the fabric till it snapped back against your aching core. Nearly salivating as he inspected your holes, his fingers dented your ass as he pulled you apart, splitting you open that much further and watching intently at the way your drooling cunt throbbed in anticipation for his touch. 

As if your pussy’s embarrassingly leaky state wasn’t enough, a dollop of his spit then roughly landed upon your folds, the lewdness causing you to let out a moan as he swiftly rose back up to his full height without as much as a tickle to your tingly petals.

The next thing you knew, the adrenaline coursing through you both drove Rafe to free his length from its confines and, without as much as another kiss, slammed inside of your weeping pussy in one fell motion. 

Balls nuzzled tightly against you, the very tip of him nudged against a part so deep inside of you that it made you lose your breath as he took a moment to savour the sensation, freezing up within you and huffing against your cheek as you gasped for air through your whimpers. 

“Oh my god!” one of your hands curled back to crawl at his waist, “Rafe!” 

“Now,” his hips slowly drew back, dragging his fat girth back out of you and letting you feel every little detail of him, “you just gotta be a good girl, stand right here for me,” only the bulbous head of his cock remained, keeping you plugged up as he purred in your ear, “and take it like the perfect little prize you are,” he then buried himself once more with such vigour that his heavy sack tapped sloppily against your puffy clit, “can you do that for me? Will you be my reward?” 

© 2024 thyme-in-a-bubble 

[calchexxis]

The next entry in my MMA!AU Lightcannon series, Bare Knuckles & Butterflies;

With the Gauntlet and her first major fight in the Cannery behind her, Lux is well on her way to MMA fame in the sport's hometown of Zaun, but with fame comes new challenges as the enigmatic owner of the Cannery takes notice, and life becomes more complicated.

Hope everyone enjoys this one! The prior entries are here:

Pt. 1 - Come Out & Play Pt. 2 - Heart On Ripped Sleeves Sidestory - Hammer & Shears (Same universe, Poppy/Gwen)

Additionally, if you enjoy my fanworks, please check out my original novels, Reflector and the sequel, Dark Star in both physical and ebook formats!

All My Links

[bricreative]

Add southern Vi to the list of AUs that constantly occupy my mind

[shadowscommand]

im thinking also none of these guys are active fighters anymore:

nikolai - commentator, little bored of it, wanted an easier job, decided to retire

yegor - coach, big rep for dirty fighting but he retired bc it didnt pay enough

nikto - coach, forced to retire early hes salty about it

bale - ref, forced to retire early not salty abt it at all. he got a fun match once he was back in working order but didnt make a full comeback

alex - commentator, his leg, lost during a sudden car crash

talon - ref, retired extremely early bc he didnt enjoy the work/life balance relative to the pay. currently works as a ref but also has a rly successful dog training focused yt channel.

roze - coach, lowkey put her in a class women cant b in. uhhh shes trans 😇

zane - coach, the actual fighting doesnt appeal to him anymore

sparks - commentator, saw a decline in his fighting, decided to retire

graves - ref ! he will let fights go on too long. but shepherd is the head of this promotional company. so he doesnt get in as much trouble as he should lol

ok heres everybody that matters. i kinda wanna peek at mwii/iii to fill out the roster more tho

[bussyyeukie]

Neon Lights and Bloody Fights

(fighter!Simon Riley x reader)

At this point in your relationship, you thought you knew your boyfriend. Yeah, he was kinda stupid, yeah he didn’t listen much, and yeah maybe he consistently made bad choices and dragged you along to stupid crap. 

But you never thought you’d be standing outside in the cold, watching the sketchiest men you’d ever seen flood into a narrow staircase. Shouldering each other and barking laughs, dampness soaking the ground.

Arms crossed tightly, shoulders raised high and tight, your jeans low on your hips, jacket not as thick as you wanted it to be at the moment. You were told to dress casually, what a load of crap.

Shoes crunching noisily on the gravel. Your boyfriend was a few feet in front of you, and you were trying your best to stay close to him, brows pinched together and goosebumps raising your skin. It didn’t feel safe, and as bad as it sounded you didn’t fully trust your boyfriend to keep you exactly…safe.

The neon signs hanging over doorways and flickering reflected in the puddles on the ground didn’t help add to the comfort of the place.

“Um, Ryan?” you asked, glancing at the men eyeing you, “Wait, hold on, please–”

Your boyfriend huffed and turned to you dramatically, “You’re gonna slow us down, I want to be close to the fight!”

He grabbed your arm and squeezed, dragging you to the stairs, not caring that he was dragging you into people. Apologies rolled off your tongue, almost endless as you bumped into people and tripped over them.

A few swears passed along and a few obscene gestures and you had made it to the bottom of the stairs.

You could feel the heat of the place before you were really even inside, the chill on your skin evaporating into something clammy. The thick stench of cigarettes and cigars hung in the air, not to mention the heavy cologne and sweat. Your lips curling up and your nose scrunching. Looking at your boyfriend who was almost pushing past people, his hand slipping from your arm.

“Wait,” you reached after him, the clanging of metal and bass heavy music drowning out your voice, “Slow down!”

You moved your way forward, and what felt like a large hammer jutted against your back, causing you to trip forward. Yelping slightly as two strong hands grasped your shoulders tightly.

“Careful there,” the voice shouted over the noise, you looked up startled, “Gonna knock someone down!”

“Oh-I, I’m so sorry!” you smiled politely, straightening yourself, the man's hands not yet leaving your shoulders. You couldn’t help but admire the black man in front of you, boyfriend or not, this was an extremely attractive man. Glowing skin, straight teeth and close cropped hair, a yellowish-purple bruise just under his right eye, a small nick in the same place. The lighting in the room was dim, and mostly yellow and orange honestly. But it still highlighted him well. Skin shiny with sweat.

“What are you doin’ here?” he chuckled, looking you up and down in a curious manner, “Not exactly, your scene i’m guessin’?”

You smiled nervously, looking around behind him, through the door he was standing guard next to, trying to find your boyfriend.

“No, not really, I’m just here for my boyfriend, he…he dragged me along,” you said, licking your lips slightly, and shrugging yourself out of the man's grip, glancing behind you to not get knocked down again.

“Boyfriend?” the man pouted a bit, “Wha’ a shame, where’s he at? Seems like he ditched ya’.”

The man chuckled, you let out a fake laugh as well, “Yeah, it seems he did.”

The man put a hand behind your back, pushing you through the door, “Come on, I’ll get you to a seat.”

“Um, I–that’s nice but I–” you swerved out of people's way, eyes widening as you saw the actual “arena” of the event. An old boxing ring-turned cage match, the leather of the mat stained with blood and sweat and who knows what else. A few rows of foldable chairs litter the room. The door on the side of the cage opened, swaying and creaking, trash and cigarette butts laying on the floor. Glancing up, you notice a…commentators box? Or what looked to be one, two large connecting windows at the top of a wall. Not being able to see inside of it.

“Just sit here, you’ll be fine,” the man plopped you down in one of the metal foldable chairs right in front of the rink, making you gulp and look back at him.

“I’m not really sure this is the best idea,” you smiled, teeth clenched. Sweat building up on your hairline. It was boiling in this room. Hair heavy and murky, so stuffy it made you stutter a breath in.

The man waved you off, tisking, “Nah, it’ll be fine, trust me.”

He winked as he walked off, patting you on the back one last time.

 Huffing, defeated, and wanting to go home, you slumped into the chair, crossing your arms across your chest. Looking up into the ring again you nearly jumped out of your skin. A hulking man standing in the ring on the other side of the cage. Your heart was in your throat, eyes wide and skin breaking out in a cold sweat. The beast was looking straight at you. Or you think he was, his body was positioned directly in front of you, as close to the metal as possibly. His hands wrapped in white tape, and fists clenched. Black shorts tight on his thighs, showing off the toned muscle and dark bruises. His chest was bare, unmoving, like he was holding his breath. Scaring and bruises stretched across abdomen, dark tattooing stretched up his arms.

He was like, a bear, huge and shadowed, his muscles taut and defined, barrel chested and wide shouldered. Waist thick as he dropped to defined hips and bulky legs.

A tight mask over his face.

His eyes blackened out by the lighting, and by the dark the dark eye makeup. A skull painted white over his face. Green neon lighting around the cage casting deadly shadows. Making the atmosphere sickly in it’s light.

Your muscles were tight as you sat in your chair, in some kind of staring contest with the man. You felt suspended in time, even the music seemed to quiet as you stared at each other. Like a deer spotting a hunter all too late.

Blinking, you raised your hand, waving softly. The man looked at your hand, then back to your face. His own hand raises slightly to wave back, his shoulders lumbering. 

“Ok,” muttering to yourself, you cross your arms over your stomach again, tearing your eyes from the lumbering males. The music faded out, and the lighting started to go down.

“Hey! There you are!” hands slammed down on your shoulders from behind. Causing you to yelp and jump, whipping your head around to see your sweaty boyfriend  standing behind you. He smelled like liquor.

“Where were you?” you frowned, watching as he walked around you, hand dragging over your back and shoulders to plop into the seat next to you.

The large man in the cage still watching,

“Baby, you left me,” he said, smiling and slinging an arm around your shoulders, “I was looking all over for you.”

“I–” before you could get your argument out, the lights shut off, and the music shut off.

One bright light flickering on over the arena. The big man was gone, off in the corner now. Another man in the opposite corner. Dread fell into your gut, dripping down through your nose as it filled your throat. Your boyfriend started cheering with everyone else. The man on the opposite side was twitchy, large but twitchy, and couldn’t stop wiping his nose. The man with the mask didn’t move, again, like he wasn’t breathing.

Your boyfriend’s hand curling around the nape of your neck, bringing you close to his mouth, and shouting into your ear, “You’re gonna love this!”

A sneer pulled its way onto your face, love this? Was he kidding? 2 years and he thought this was something you’d enjoy? It was bad enough that you weren’t surprised he pulled something like this. You looked at the ring again, flinching when the masked man was looking at you again.

“That guys such a monster,” your boyfriend laughed, “I swear he’s killed someone before.”

You shot a side eye to the prick sitting next to you.

“Really?”

“Yeah sweets, he’s ruthless,” dragging a hand through his hair, smirking at you, “But tonight’s gonna be interesting, the other guy’s supposed to be a killer too.”

“Yeah I guess,” you pulled away from him a bit, heart leaping at the bell that rang. Thoroughly spooked by how fast the two were on each other. Fists and knees flying. 

Near squealing at the sight of the masked man threw the twitching one of the ground roughly, the crowd screaming, and landed a knee right on his head. Your boyfriend stood and cheered. You sent him a look, and looked back to the fight. The masked man brushing off punches like they were nothing. Sending them back so hard you swear you heard the sound of flesh on flesh and crunching over the noise of everyone shouting.

Pulling our limbs closer to yourself as the crowd abandoned their seats, or the ones sitting at least, the air heavy with smoke. The floors sticky under your shoes.

People crowding around the ring, your boyfriend one of them. Even though he was smaller than the others there, he tried to fight his way up front.

You gulped and looked to the ring, seeing both men on their feet again. Realizing they were barefoot. Cringing at the thought of being on the mat, let alone barefoot. Looking up to their faces, the masked man looked no different due to the covering on his face, and the other man's nose crudely broken to the side, blood gushed down his face, splattered on his chest and shoulder. One eye was already swollen shut.

Frowning, you couldn’t look away from the mess before you, you weren’t squeamish, and you’d watched UFC fights before. But this was different, this just felt barbaric. Blood splattered, men cheering, the ring creaking and groaning. Cage rattling as someone was thrown against it. The two men just beat on each other. The bigger of the two, seeming to hold off anytime a knockout was about to come around. Then would start up again when the other regained his feet.

No one seemed to notice this besides you.

Pure entertainment, dragging on the fight so people stayed longer.

You wondered briefly how much your boyfriend had paid to get into this place. To get you both into this place…he really didn’t have that kind of money.

But a sickening crunch brought you out of that thought, just in time to see the masked man retract a kick that was sent to the twitching man's head, snapping it back and you watching him crumble to the ground. Falling almost cartoonishly onto the floor. The masked man went for another knee to the head, but stopped mere inches from it, the crowd booing and bitching about not “finishing him off”. Freaks. Bunch of fucking animals.

The masked man stood up, rubbing his face and looking across the crowd. His eyes finding yours, the amber color intensified by the dark eye-black around them. You could tell one was starting to swell a little bit, drooping slightly. 

The crowd shouting and booing and cheering and throwing shit, smashing bottles and bumping into one another.

“No…” your boyfriend snapped his hands up to his hair. Pulling at it till he dropped his hands down his face, “No no no��fuck–no!”

Standing up, you sighed, breaking eye contact with the beast in the ring. You grabbed your boyfriend's shoulder lightly, “Lets get outta here. I want to go home…”

He looked at you, a wild look in your eye, then grabbed your arms violently, nearly shaking you.

“Ow hey–”

“You don’t fucking–he–he was supposed to loose! He was supposed to throw it!” he shouted, frantic, you frowned.

“I don’t–what does that have to do with us?”

“I–” he gripped your tighter.

“Ow–please, you're hurting me let go,” you tried to push at his chest, which was damp with sweat, shift sticking lightly to his skin.

“We have no money,” he stressed, “I–he was supposed to lose, Y/N, we, I bet it all…”

You blinked owlishly at him, “You what…?”

His grip is still hurting your arms. Sure to leave at least nail marks at this point. The sting was buzzing as you processed what he said.

“You dumb–” he dropped his head, “What aren’t you understanding?!”

“Let her go mate,” the deep voice made both of you jump, looking over your boyfriend's shoulder, to see a sweaty, bloody mass of a human standing behind him.

“I, I…” your boyfriend was frozen, his hands still gripping your arms. You weren’t much better, he looked bigger up close. Much more intimidating.

“Hands off.”

He barked it again, putting a hand on your shaking boyfriend's shoulder, squeezing it. It was almost hard to breathe with him so close, air heavy and choking as you gulped it down. Stagnant and reeking of sweat and smoke.

You hadn’t noticed that people had cleared out when he walked up, parting them like oil and water. Never to be mixed.

“R-right,” your boyfriend dropped his hands from your arms, but the masked man stayed on the scrawnier man's shoulder, almost as a warning. If the sharp looming look was anything to go by, then it was a threat. A serious one at that.

“Boss wants ta’ speak wif’ ya’,” he looked at you as well, gaze steady, “Botha ya’...”

The walk to the office you’d spotted earlier was dead silent. There was a spark of conversation at the beginning when your boyfriend tried to reason, tried to convince the man to let you go, but that was snuffed out quickly with a quick smack to the head. Rendering him silent the rest of the time. 

The big man had you walk in front of him and your boyfriend. Your hands shaking and your legs rather weak as you climbed the staircase, a warm glow coming from the room to the right. Muffled laughter and voices coming from it.

When you got just within reach of the door a hand grabbed your hood, jerking you back into a solid chest, eliciting a yelp from you, and looked up to see the masked man behind you. His hand dragged down your back gingerly as he let go of your hoodie. It made goosebumps rush up your spine.

“Wait ‘ere,” he pushed your boyfriend forward, grabbing him by the collar as he dragged him inside, snapping about his shutting the hell up as he went in. You stood frozen.

What, was this how you died?

In some mangy, back alley fighting ring?

Because your boyfriend was as fucking idiot you felt bad for and thought loved you, but turns out he was betting away your money, and now you wer gonna die in some mafia style Saw trap by some boxer-MMA man in a skull mask. Great.

You snapped your head up as you heard heavy boots approaching. The man in the skull re-emerged with a (more brown than white) wife beater that had holes on the bottom and by the neckline, his shorts still on, and large boots now unlaced on his feet. You doubt he had socks on.

Mask still tight over his face.

He looked at you in silence, and closed the door behind him.

You two blinked at each other for a minute, then he cleared his throat and walked forward, leaning on a railing, overlooking a sort of warehouse under you two. You assume that the ring and swarms of men were on the other side of the wall. The thumping of music rocking through the floor, and up the metal stairs.

Both in silence for a minute, before he beckoned you over. It took a second for your limbs to thaw and your feet to unstick, but when you did, you walked over to him, keeping a healthy distance. 

“I ain’t gon’ hurt ya’,” he snapped, looking at you. He pulled the bottom of his mask up, revealing a sharp stubble covered jaw, and dry cracked lips. Stopping just under his nose.

Reaching into his boot, you flinched, nearly eating it down the stairs. 

“Watch yer-self girl,” he said, looking like he was ready to leap out at you.

“Right,” your voice was strained and tight, “Sorry…”

The man shrugged, pulling out a lighter and a very crumpled pack of cigarettes. 

He glanced at you again, shuffling a little awkwardly, and offered the pack to you.

“Um, no thank you,” you politely refused, stiffly standing next to him, eyes lingering on the man's big, bruised hands pinching the cig, flicking his old lighter and taking a long drag. Honestly you could probably use the cigarette, but there was a good chance your hands would be shaking too much to light it.

He stared at you again, a heavy silence falling onto you two. There was a loud bang on the other side of the door, snapping your attention to it. The large man unflinching,

“Don’t botha’ with that,” he grumbled, cig between his lips.

“O-oh…is, is he ok?”

The man tensed up, smoke blowing out his nose, sifting through the fabric, brows pinched, “Why do you care?”

“He's my boyfriend?” you squeeked, subconsciously trying to make yourself smaller.

The man looked down in front of him, then back to the door. Huffing like a bull.

“He's fine.”

You looked down to your feet. Gulping down a thick wad of spit, your heart beating so loud you were sure the brute could hear it.

“Name’s Simon,” he glanced at you, then rubbed a hand down his thigh, almost nervously. Taking a drag from his cigarette and blowing the smoke away from you. A little peep in the back of your mind was confused on how polite he was being. 

“Oh,” you nodded, not really processing what he had said. Taking a glance down to the dusty crate he was staring at. Eyes locked and unblinking.

“Oh?” he shot you a look, frowning. Lips pulled taught against the cigarette.

“Um–it’s a nice name,” you said, almost choking out the words, nodding and offering a stressed smile, “My friend had a cat named Simon, it was really fat. Like 20 pounds, which you aren’t fat, obviously–but the cats dead–diabetes, it was really old too…but it was a cool cat…”

You looked a mess you bet, hands clenching and unclenching, skin clammy, fidgeting and eyes wide and darting around. Breathing shakily as you rambled.

The man–Simon, looked at you with blank eyes, then looked forward, almost in thought. 

“Hm,” he hummed to himself, “She get a new cat?”

“Y-yeah, um, it was a guy, guy friend,” you pulled at your fingers, then tucked your hair behind your ear, “H-he did, it’s a few years old now. Got it as a kitten.”

Simon pressed his lips together again, sending you a mean side-eye, hunching his shoulders up, “You still friends with him?”

“Y-yeah? Kinda, we haven’t talked in a while actually…” you felt awkward. Why was he asking about your friends? Why were you sharing your poor social life with him?

“It got a name?”

“I don’t really,” you thought for a second, “Mimi? I think it was Mimi?”

Simon nodded, blowing smoke out his mouth, pinching the cigarette, “Good name for a puss.”

You felt your face flush lightly, you were grown obviously, but something about his rumbling voice made you want to turn around and just risk it by walk away. Embarrassed by your own reaction.

“Yeah…”

“How long you been datin’ tha’ shit?” Simon shot a look behind him.

“2 years.”

You really felt no need to defend him, he was a shit.

He grumbled something to himself.

You sighed, more confused the longer you spent in the weird conversation with this man. Glancing repeatedly at the door, begging for it to be open and for your boyfriend to come out so you could both leave…and so you could beat the shit out of him as soon as you got to the car.

“Why are elevator jokes so good?”

“Huh?” you looked at Simon, who was snuffing out his cigarette, pulling his mask back down over his mouth.

“ ‘Cause they work on so many levels…”

It took a moment, but a giggle bloomed in your chest, covering your mouth in hopes of silencing it. Lips curled up as you looked at the brutish man. He stared at you, you didn’t notice that he took half a step forward, listening closely.

“That was a really bad joke,” you giggled, smiling at him.

He shrugged, “Made you laugh…”

A loud bang of the door behind you made you jump out of your skin, almost falling down the stairs again, Simon's hand jutting out behind you, as if prepared to catch you. Looking to the door your eyes widened at the man who opened it, it was the beautiful black man from earlier. He smiled at you, chuckling.

“You twos can come inside now,” he beckoned you in, Simon putting a hand to your mid back and pushing when you didn’t move.

The thick smell of cigars filled the room, and warm glowing lights. As well as your boyfriend who sat in a chair across a large desk, a rather shitty chair. Curled in on himself and whining something.

“Please, please don’t, she,” he looked at the man across the desk, “She didn’t know honestly…”

The man across the desk was a large hairy man, with thick mutton chops and soft eyes, a cigar smoldering in the ash-tray in front of him. Button up tight on his figure.

“Ah please,” the man beckoned to you, still hyper-aware of Simon's meaty hand on your back, “Come ‘ere, my name's John, it’s a pleasure.”

He stood, and leaned over the desk, holding out his hand. You looked to it and back up to Johns face, hesitant. Simon’s hand shoved at you, making you squeak and jut your hand out, shaking Prices.

He chuckled and sat down, sinking back into his chair, “Come on Ghost, you can take your hand off the poor thing now.”

SImon–or Ghost you suppose–dragged his hand down your back again, pulling it off, the black man who was standing next to your boyfriend chuckled as well. You didn’t see, but Simon had sent an annoyed look his way, and the other man sent back a teasing smile.

“Let her leave man–she didn’t know–”

Your boyfriend's whines were cut off by a smack to the side of the head by the man standing next to him.

“If I wanna hear from you i’ll ask.”

“Settle now, don’t wanna scare the poor thing any more,” John smiled, he looked at you and clasped his hands together, “Now, we have some things to discuss.”

You looked from your boyfriend to the man at the desk, “O-oh? Really?”

“Yes, really, now as you may know, your boyfriend here seemed to have lost a little,” John paused, looking for the word, “Money is some games he played with us.”

“Yeah, he mentioned it,” you thought back to not even half an hour ago when he was gripping your arms and shaking you. Shooting a glance to Simon, who was leaning against the doorway, staring at you.

“So, he did mention that it was your money?” John asked, leaning back in his chair, picking up his cigar, looking between you two.

You didn’t move. It felt like your heart stopped beating, in fact you were a little dizzy. Your stare blank and slightly slack jawed as you stared at the bear behind the desk.

“My money?” you asked, pointing to yourself.

“Baby please you gotta–”

“Yes.” John looked at your boyfriend–ex boyfriend you’ve now decided–and made a ‘quiet’ motion with his hands, “Your money.”

“How… much of my money?” you still didn’t know how to react, yes you were angry, yes you were sad, yes you were shocked, betrayed, livid. But you just, stood there.

Price looked at a paper he had on his desk, “Just about 15,000 dollars.”

You slapped a hand to your mouth in an attempt to quiet the scream you were about to let out. It felt like all the blood had rushed to your head. You looked at Simon in the doorway–you looked just about as angry as you were–to your boyfriend in the chair who looked like a kicked dog, to the man next to him who stood with his arms crossed, and a disappointed look on his face.

“How the fuck did he get 15,000 dollarrs–” you snapped to look at the slime sitting in the chair, “How the fuck did you get 15,000 dollars!”

He gulped, and looked down to his lap, feet tapping on the concrete floor.

“Tell her.” Simon snapped, his voice spooking you slightly.

“I-I took out a loan in your name,” he spilled, “I forged your signature, your credit is better than mine so they let, you take out the loan…”

Your blood was boiling.

John chuckled, “Well, now that that's settled–”

He turned to you again, your jaw officially slacked up, and your brows pinched. You had a headache…

“Since technically it was your money that was wagered, you have the final say in this…there’s two options, we can, deal with the boyfriend problem for you, and either you pay us back within the month, or you could pay it back via working for us,” John’s eyes crinkled in his smile. Out of the corner of your eye you saw Simon shift, straightening up.

“W-work for you?” you thought about the fight earlier, the knees cracking noses and the fists working stomachs to mush, “I-I’m not a fighter, I can’t fight for you.”

“Oh no love, none of that,” John waved you off, “Don’t want muck up that pretty face’a yours, I need a secretary of sorts. An assistant. Help me set up meetings, file papers, keep our boys in check. A pretty thing to bring to meetings and such.”

You blinked owlishly, looking at your ex-boyfriend on the chair, tears in his eyes and quiver on his lips. He was shaking his head, in a silent plea. His eyes jumping from yours to over your shoulder behind you.

Looking back at John, you rubbed your face, a sigh fighting its way out your throat. You could not pay off $15,000 in a month, much less alone, much less at the shitty office job you had right now. But you worked an office job so you’d have some basic qualifications to do the job offered well. They seemed, understanding of the  situation at least, and hopefully give you more time to get the money than just a month if you worked for them.

“Would I have more than a month?”

“Depends on how well you do the job,” John mused, “Do it well and you'll have all the time you need.”

Licking your lips, jaw clenched, you looked at John sheepishly from under your brows.

“I…I’ll work for you, just, don’t kill him…please–I don't care if you fuck him up just don't kill him,” you looked to your ex, who slumped back in his chair, a shell shocked look on his face. But was snapped out of it quickly as the pretty man grabbed the collar of his shirt, jerking him up. 

“Brilliant!” John grinned, opening his arms wide, “We’ll take real good care’a ya’, promise.”

The man walked your boyfriend out the door, Simon following behind them, a heavy stomp to his step, and fists clenched.

You looked back to John, you were sure you looked utterly defeated, shoulders to your ears and a pout on your lips, browns pinched and shallow breaths.

He stood up, walking around the table, your steps involuntarily matching his, backing up as he walked forward. A very large man indeed. Intimidating.

He grinned, teeth shining, as he held out his hand, yours awkwardly held out to meet it. His hand engulfed yours in a crushing grip, knuckles throbbing in pain. He leaned in closer to you, pulling your body close to his. You swallowed and pulled your head back, muscles tense.

“Looks like we have a deal.”

(word count: 4480)