#mmmorning

[angelindust]

@mmorning-stars continued from HERE

To be confining in Charlie's dad was definitely something that he hadn't expected to ever be on his agenda. But maybe if he dropped hints then Lucifer just might be able to figure out the dilemma that he was in. Even if it wasn't really his problem to begin with. If anyone might be able to do something, it could be Lucifer.

Or at least he thought that maybe the other could have an idea how to fix it.

Angel was at a loss these day. He's put up with it long enough and he's not sure how much more of it he can take day by day. The good thing was that he only has to endure Val when he's at the studio. So at least he could be free from that man out here. But that only lasted so long.

It was all just talk. It was wishful thinking that Lucifer could do anything at all considering how he was trapped down here too. He folds all four arms over his body. While he gives a small smile. "I'll be fine. I always am." Angel states. A lie.

However he hadn't considered how all of this must affect someone like Lucifer. It must be hard knowing the wrong doings you've done and will forever be punished for it with out a chance of redemption. He glances over at the other, using one of his spider like arms to place a hand on his shoulder.

"I wouldn't beat ya'self up over it. Old man." Angel teases as this time nudging the other playfully as he did so. "It wasn't like ya' thought ya'd drag us all down with ya'. Not of us blames you for the cause of all this. At least I don't. I know Charlie doesn't either."

He smiles a little again. "Tha' was the whole point I came ta' this hotel after all. Plus, gets me away from my work which is nice."

[vodika-vibes]

hi hi! for your follower event, can i request hunter with peridot or topaz? either one, you can pick! maybe something fluffy on pabu or the marauder?

This Love

Summary: There’s not a lot of space on the Marauder and most of the time Hunter bemoans that fact. Sometimes, however, he loves how little space there is.

Pairing: TBB Hunter x F!Reader

Word Count: 785

Prompt: Topaz - Affectionate Love

Warnings: Uh...suggestive at the end.

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni @imabeautifulbutterfly @clonethirstingisreal (tagging you because Hunter took over this story and I think you'll like it)

A/N: So this was supposed to be soft and sweet, and it still is. But someone added some chili powder to the sugar giving it a little kick at the end. Sorry.

The Marauder is a small ship.

Originally designed to carry four men, it now carries five men, one woman, one child, and a dog.

And while Hunter would be the first person to say that he’s thrilled to have his family around him, sometimes the lack of privacy is…annoying. It means that he doesn’t actually ever get any alone time with her, his cyare.

Well, sort of. The lack of space means that he gets to share a bed with his cyare every night. Simply because there’s nowhere else for her to sleep. And while she probably could have shared Omega’s bunk, Hunter is more than happy to be able to sleep with her pressed against his side. 

Even better, she put her foot down and made little curtains to give all of the bunks some privacy.

Originally it was just for Omega, but then Crosshair wanted one. And then Echo. 

And in the end, she plopped herself on a crate in the cargo bay and sewed enough curtains for everyone to have one. And then she bullied Tech into adding curtain rods to everyone’s bunk.

It’s the closest thing to ‘“privacy” that they’ve ever had.

Taking her with them on the Marauder was probably the smartest thing they’ve ever done. Even if she does have more enemies than a woman her age should.

Hunter’s gaze drifts from the ceiling of his bunk, to the woman nestled against his side. They’ve long since worked out that Hunter sleeps better when her back is against the wall and he’s able to act as her shield, even while in the safety of the Marauder.

She stirs, as though she can feel his eyes on her, and blinks sleepy eyes at him. It’s really too early to be awake, for either of them, but Hunter just smiles at her and reaches over to brush some hair out of her face.

“Morning,” He murmurs as he allows the pads of his fingers to drag lightly down her cheek.

“Mmmorning,” She shifts so that her head is resting on his shoulder and she rubs her nose against his neck, “What time is it?”

“Early.” He replies as he lightly shifts so that he’s laying on his side and facing her, smiling apologetically as her head falls back to their shared pillow, “You can go back to sleep.” He lightly trails his fingers down her bare arm, a small smile pulling his lips up as she shivers under his touch.

“With you looking at me like that?” She asks, her voice hushed.

Hunter chuckles and shifts one more time, until he’s half laying over her, “I’m not looking at you in any specific way.” He murmurs as he presses his forehead against hers.

“Are you sure?” She teases, the exhaustion slowly leaving her gaze as Hunter allows his fingers to trail over her body.

“This is how I always look at you.” He confirms. 

Her arms come up to circle his neck, and a light tug encourages him to press his chest against hers, pinning her to bed beneath him, a pretty smile crosses her lips, “Good morning, Hunter.” She whispers.

Hunter chuckles and lightly presses his lips against her jaw, before dragging them, slowly, to rest under her ear, “It is a good morning,” He agrees, “You know, I’ve been toying with letting you get enough money to buy a bigger ship. But I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t share a bed with you.”

“Who says that we’d have to stop sharing,” She murmurs, her head tilting slightly to allow him more access to her neck, “Between me an’ Tech, we could get enough money to get a ship with private rooms-”

“Tempting,” Hunter lavishes the spot under her ear with lingering kisses and nibbles for long enough that she releases a heavy breath, and then he moves to press his lips against hers, “I’ll talk to him about it.” He nips her lower lip, “Last thing you need, cyar’ika, is another cartel after your head.”

“I’m not worried, you’ll protect me.” Her fingers tangle in his hair and she tugs lightly, though even that light tug was enough to knock the breath from his lugs.

“Kriff, you can’t do that cyar’ika,” Hunter rasps, “My vod’e are on the other side of the curtain.”

Her lips curl up into a teasing smile, “Well then, you’d better be quiet. Hm?”

He groans quietly. “Ka’ra, I love you.”

Her smile widens, and she lightly kisses his jaw, “I love you too. And, when I’m done this morning, you’re not going to remember any basic.”

And Hunter grins as excitement heats his blood.

Stars, he really is a lucky asshole.

[gnomebodie]

nectar

warnings: s7negan!, dirty talk, fingering, praise, swearing, teasing, overstimulation, smut

“Mmmorning…” Negan drawled out as you shifted in bed hearing him. His arm wrapped around your stomach to pull you against him to snuggle. His chin on your head and your body pulled against his chest. He looked down and bit lip seeing how your nipple peaked out against the shirt he let you borrow. Your fingers gently traced his bare chest and felt his hand move from your waist up to gently cup your tit in his palm. He groaned feeling it and gently rolling it against his hand. You moaned as you looked at his face to see how he was looking at your body. The way you were bare naked underneath just a shirt, it was driving him crazy.

“Oh baby. Let me feel that pussy.”

You bit your lip hearing him groan out those words against your ear. Your body moved to lay on your back and he situated himself to lean his body weight on one elbow. The other was pushing your shirt to reveal your chest. Your nipples harden from arousal and from cold air. Negan moaned looking at you and decided lift the comforter to reveal all of you to him.

You kept still and let him continue as he leaned to tease your left nipple. The tip of his tongue laying completely flat to gently roll over your entire nipple made you whimper. He gently flicked his tongue over and over on your nipple to feel how your body thrusts up against his mouth for more. Your hands going to gently hold his hair and how his hand was stroking your thighs.

Your legs open once he pulled off your chest to catch his breath. He licked his lower lip as his hand moved along your right inner thigh and finally making contact. You whimper hearing how he practically growl feeling that you’re already wet. His face looked down at his hand and he pushed that arousal from your entrance slowly up your slit until he reaches your clit. Your hips rise naturally at the pleasure and your lips opened to let out a groan. Negan stared for a moment to look at your slick pussy. He smirked feeling cocky and brought his face to your side. He moved his lips to almost press against the shell of your ear as he slowly has his middle finger rubbing gentle circles on your clit.

“Oh fuck. Look at how wet you get for me, baby.” He whispers and goes back to slit to run his finger down and teasing your clit with a ghost like touch. He moans feeling how your hips buck into his wrist.

“Oh baby. Look at you, you love how I touch this pussy?” He says and goes to slip his finger into your velvet opening. That made your head hit the pillow and gasp. His finger moving along and curling up subtly to run smoothly inside you.

“Oh my god!”

“Yeah that’s it. So fucking soft and soaked. Mmmy goodness! You’re getting wetter baby. How that pussy just keeps giving me that sweet nectar. Oh fuck. Your fucking pussy is so fucking juicy and delicious.”

He moans as he feels that slick arousal dripping on his hand and he brings up his thumb along slit. He gently runs it up and down and looks at how your clit was erect.

“Fuck me. You’re about come.” He was right. His fingers were too good and your thighs were beginning to lose composure. He sped up lightly with his thrust and moved his thumb up all the way to stimulate your aching clit.

“Negan! So good!” You couldn’t form a complete sentence as your hips caved down into the mattress and his hand not moving as your cunt comes. He growled as he looked at tears left down your cheeks and how his fingers were soaked in your cream. Negan looked over you and brought his hand up to the light. He moaned looking your sweet juice and licked them off. Your breath was heavy and your knees were shaking along themselves.

“Yeah. You like coming early in the morning.” He purred as he nibbled your earlobe and you were coming down from that high. His lips gradually moved to your own and you sighed into the kiss. Your lips moved along him and you felt his fingers lightly touch your skin. You shivered as his fingers barely grazed your side and down your hip. Your fingers squeezed his shoulder and his hand was back onto your thigh.

His squeezed your inner thigh and moved his hand to touch your pussy again. You flinched instinctively out of sensitivity but it doesn’t stop him. He pulled away this time he was more assertive. His leg brought up to keep your right thigh opened up as he trapped it. His knee nudges your left thigh apart and his fingers make contact. You whined and tried to buck your hips but his weight held you open.

“Holy fuck. Look at how wet that pussy is. You hear that?” He teased as he purposely shut up for once and played with your wetness. You became flushed at how obscene it sounded and how Negan moaned looking at you. Your whimpers filled his ears when he dipped two fingers inside you. You gasped as he started fucking you with his fingers. His fingers curled up perfectly as his thumb was brought up to hold your lips open. He sat up this time and drooled at the sight. So pretty and wet for him. He thought.

“Look at you. Baby, fuck. Your practically swallowing my fingers, such a greedy little thing. Your clit is drowning in that wetness.”

He groaned as he bit his lip. Your body was trembling and your were already so sensitive from the first orgasm, that this second one hits without you realizing.

“Fuck! Yes! Negan, Negan, Negan!” You cried out again this time your walls contracted along his slender digits. He whistled lowly as he watched your body tremoring beneath him. And how soaked you left his hand.

“Oh yeah.” He let your body go and your body lays spent in his bed. You could barely feel your legs. He kissed your forehead and moved over you. His lips kissing yours and gradually landing on your neck.

“Mm, that’s twice.”

You lightly giggled and try to move but he had a tight grip.

“Nope. You’re all mine today.”

[asylummint]

you said anything so how about first man Adam or Lucifer from hazbin hotel? Its fine if you can't or wouldn't want to write either of them though.

Absolutely!!

------------------------------------------------------------

You wake up early in the morning, the sun just starting to peer through the lavish red curtains. As your body regains its feeling, you sense a body pressed into your back. Smiling softly, you slowly turn to face your lover, his blonde hair softly tousled and a peaceful expression on the fallen angel's face. You raise your hand to gently brush a few stray hairs away from his face.

Sighing softly, you begin to think about how you came to this position. When you walked into the Hazbin Hotel over 2 years ago, you never expected to come face to face with the King of Hell himself, nor to fall madly in love with him. You smile at the thought and slowly begin to get up, careful not to wake the sleeping angel. Making your way through the giant castle towards the kitchen, you dismiss the kitchen staff, who had just started preparing breakfast for the two of you, and begin making breakfast for Lucifer.

After about an hour of cooking and softly humming in the kitchen, you suddenly feel arms snake around your waist, making you jump slightly before smiling at the feeling of a head nuzzling into your back.

"Good morning, handsome," you say, smiling and putting the final touches on the stack of pancakes.

"Mmmorning, you weren't there when I woke up," Lucifer says with his face still buried in your back.

"I made you breakfast, my dove," you say, grabbing the plate and turning around to present it to him. He takes it with a giant smile and wide, glimmering eyes.

"Thank you so much, my dear," Lucifer says while moving to the table and setting the plate down before sitting and digging in. You smile and watch him, having eaten while making his, and sigh happily while wishing it could stay like this.

------------------------------------------------------------------

i hope this was good enough of a first story for a return! i kept it short and sweet because this is the first story ive written in a while

[bumble-the-sun-bee]

*backflips into inbox and hits wall with a splatting sound*

Mmmorning, N0vaaaaa :D

hellooooo

I got three legendary cookies on crk this morning :D

[devilishdescent]

good mmmorning. last night was the last big day of my first semester in grad school. turned in my workshop and got to read a piece of mine for the whole department. went well. several people asked me to start recording sleepytime podcasts or become an audiobook reader. i think i will go to my local diner to celebrate.

[mistake-responsibility]

mmmorning Jimmy, heres a second sticky hand so you can make them high-five.. and i guess so can also hit two people at the same time if you want

- 🦴 (ooc: wow! i sure hope nothing happened while we were asleep last night! turns to the blog title.. hm)

Thank fuck. My first one was lookin… subpar.

[faller-of-kharbranth]

Mmmorning.

The burrow is cosy. d^~.~^b

[ii-thelightseekers]

Goodmorning sunshine :3 (this is directed towards Test Tube by the way)

🧪- uhhh…. Mmmorning….?

I-is it morning….??

[connectionxterminated]

Mmmorning!

Good morning! -Magnus

Good morning!!

[harrowharr0w]

good mmmorning

[chickenwaffles17]

mmmorning everyone

#healthyeating #pleasedontworryaboutthe4teabags

[gabekidd]

I'll Be Honest (Looking at You Got Me Thinking Nonsense), Part 3 (of 3)

A “Take My Hand, Wreck My Plans” fic

Pairings: Kyle Fletcher x OFC (...and a little bit of x Jay White) Word Count: 3,930 Warnings: Just some language and angst

Nellie's weekend in London with Kyle ends on a bittersweet note, just as Jay pops up to confuse her again.

TMHWMP Timeline | Masterlist

Read it on AO3

tag squad: @aussiearrow @cowboyslariat @knifepervert @caranoirs @rusevday @missbrownstone @meteora-fc @bec0m @thatgirlforever5 @rocca09 @aussiespam

Sunday, November 21, 2021 London, England

The sheets felt smooth and cozy against Nellie’s bare legs, and she snuggled deeper underneath the blankets, not ready to leave their comfort just yet. She slid her foot toward Kyle, further, further; but she didn’t find him. She opened her eyes. No wonder—she was alone in his bed.

But no sooner had she realized it than the bedroom door pushed open. Kyle walked in, shirtless in gray sweatpants, a coffee mug in each hand. He smiled when he saw her awake.

“Good morning.”

“Mmmorning,” Nellie returned as she stretched. “Is one of those for me?”

“These?” he gestured with the mugs. “Oh, no. Sorry—I double-fist coffee in the morning.”

She sent him a flat look. His grin widened.

“Of course one of them is for you.”

She sat up against the pillows and thanked him as he handed her a mug. From the color of the coffee, it looked like he’d made it to her taste. She took a sip. It was smooth and rich with just the right amount of cream.

“I hope it’s alright,” he said as he rejoined her under the covers. I just put a bit of cream in it.”

“It’s perfect,” she told him. “Jeez, first you know my drink order and now how I take my coffee. I’m impressed.”

“Well, I pay attention. As you learned last night.”

He flashed a cheeky smirk, and heat crept up Nellie’s collar. Kyle certainly had paid attention last night, both to what she’d told him at the club beforehand and her cues in the moment—and she’d given them. Thank God Will and Torrance hadn’t been right next door; they absolutely would have heard.

But thinking of them reminded her. “We have to work tonight. I almost forgot that’s why I’m here.”

“Yeah, you have to retain that RevPro title so we can be double champions together,” Kyle grinned.

“You and Mark have to retain the RevPro tag titles for that to happen, too,” she pointed out. But Kyle scoffed.

“Please, I’m not worried about Roy and Ricky Knight Jr.”

Nellie’s eyebrows arched. “Wish I could say the same about Alex Windsor,” she said into her coffee. It surprised Kyle.

“You’re worried about facing Alex?”

She thought about it as she sipped. “I’m not worried,” she clarified. “But she’s definitely the toughest opponent I’ve defended this title against. And I’m not ready to lose it yet.”

“So don’t.”

Nellie shot him a flat look.

“I’m serious!” he returned.  “Yeah, Alex is good. But so are you. Better, I think. But I am a bit biased.”

Nellie smiled at that. “Are you?”

He held up his thumb and forefinger. “Little bit,” he said, and more than just the coffee warmed Nellie’s stomach then. “But if you really want to be prepared, you should come to the gym with me later. Getting a lift in will increase your focus. Plus, I can make sure your form’s correct. You know, on squats and stuff.”

“Oh, can you?” she smirked.

“Mhm.” He set his coffee down on his nightstand. “And if you want to get some cardio in, we could do that, too. Right now, if you want…”

He leaned in and pressed his lips to her neck, and Nellie grinned as she put her coffee down, never so eager to get in some morning cardio.

* * * *

“Okay, spill,” Torrance urged. “I want details.”

Nellie hit pause on her playlist and the music stopped in her headphones. “I was wondering how long it would take you.”

“I’ve literally been waiting to ask since Will and I got back this morning,” Torrance eagerly returned. “And since I’ve been forced to come to the gym on what’s technically my vacation, the least you can do is tell me everything.”

“No one forced you to come,” Nellie laughed as she grabbed a foam roller and a mat. “You could have stayed at the house.”

“Stop stalling. Was it good?”

They found an open area to sit down and stretch on the mats, and Torrance stared impatiently at Nellie as she started rolling out her right hamstring. Truth be told, she’d been waiting for an opportunity to dish to Torrance about her evening with Kyle, too.

“Well… I’m a little worried Mark might have heard something, after all, I’ll put it that way.”

“No.” Torrance laughed through her nose and clamped her hand over her mouth. “So it was a religious experience, then?”

“It definitely didn’t disappoint,” Nellie grinned. “He was very eager to please.”

Torrance looked like she couldn’t have been more pleased to hear it. “I can tell. You’re glowing.”

“Oh, come on,” Nellie breathed.

“I’m serious! And Kyle hasn’t stopped smiling all day.” She smiled then, too. “I’m happy for you two.”

Nellie pressed down harder on the foam roller. But something about her concentrated expression must have given away that it was because of more than just a tight muscle.

“Oh no,” Torrance recognized. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” she quietly returned. “I can just feel myself starting to overthink it already.”

Torrance’s eyebrows arched. “Well, you know I know all about that,” she commiserated. “You want to talk about it?”

Nellie considered it for a second. “No, actually. It can wait until after I retain my title,” she decided.

Torrance nodded. “Totally get that. Speaking of—did you want me to come out with you for the match? I kinda think people are lowkey expecting it because they know I’m here.”

“Did you bring anything to wear?”

Torrance paused, thinking. “Good question. I’ll figure out something,” she said, and she pushed herself up from the floor and grabbed her water bottle. “Do you need water? I’m gonna go fill up.”

“No, I’m good.”

She nodded and walked off, and Nellie resumed her playlist. K-Pop filled her ears, and she switched to rolling out her left hamstring when the music dropped for a second in her headphones. She glanced down at her phone screen—it was an Instagram notification—and when she saw what it said, she slowed to a stop.

jaywhitenz liked your story

She pursed her lips and cleared the notification with a swipe of her finger. Jay could like her gym selfies all he wanted, and he had. It wouldn’t change anything.

But then the music dropped again. That time, because of a text.

Good luck in your match tonight. Is that your sixth defense already?

Nellie stopped rolling. She stared at the message until the screen went black. How had he known it was her sixth defense? Had he actually been paying attention, or had he just looked it up, probably right before typing up that message?

Either way, it didn’t matter. Thanks, and yeah. She sent off the reply and resumed her foam rolling. She could have just left him on read, but she didn’t see the point. They were past that; she’d moved on. She was involved with someone else now. Potentially, anyway.

Are Kyle and I ‘involved’? she wondered. But then her phone pinged again. Jay’s response came quicker than she’d expected.

That’s crazy. But the RevPro title looks good on you. I know you’re happy to be working there again.

Nellie slowed to a stop again. But before she could even begin to unpack that text, another one came in.

And congrats on winning the Stardom tag league btw. I watched the final after I heard. Is the tag title match booked yet?

Nellie’s heart picked up a beat. He’d watched the tag league final? Why? Why did he want her to know he had? They hadn’t said two words to each other since her birthday; she hadn’t even told him happy birthday last month. Where was this coming from, and why now? It was barely after 9 a.m. in Florida.

She looked up and around for Torrance; she could only imagine what her reaction to all this would be. But she was nowhere in sight. And so, Nellie wrote back.

Thanks. The match isn’t booked yet and it probably won’t be until after the new year. Syuri has been too busy defending the SWA title to have a Goddess title defense, too. But honestly, I’m fine with that. Torr and I are both planning to go home for Christmas this year, and I’d rather be able to enjoy myself than rush that time around an important title match, especially since I haven’t seen my family in almost two years.

She hit send, and it wasn’t until after the message was already gone and delivered that Nellie realized she hadn’t needed to tell him all that. She could have just sent him the first three sentences and left it at that. And now she was suddenly thinking about last Christmas and how Jay had done everything he could to make it special for her because she was homesick and unable to see her family because of the pandemic. How that was the first time they’d told each other “I love you”—and Jay had said it first.

Her phone buzzed in her hand. She looked down at the screen.

Well, you know I know exactly how that feels.

“Hey.”

Nellie flinched and looked up. Kyle.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” he grinned, crooked and boyish. “You about ready to head out?”

She paused her music again and pushed her phone into the slip pocket on her workout leggings. “Yeah.” She pulled her headphones off her ears and let them hang around her neck. “Where’s Torrance?”

“With Mark and Will.” He offered her his hand, and she took it and let him pull her up from the floor. “You alright?”

Nellie hesitated. Why would he ask her that? Did it seem like something was wrong? “Yeah, why?”

Kyle shrugged. “You just had this super tense look on your face when I was walking over.”

Nellie reflexively tensed when he said that. She made a conscious effort to relax. “Oh, well I was tense. I both hate and love foam rolling because it hurts when you’re doing it but feels good after.”

Kyle smirked. She rolled her eyes. “Don’t make it weird.”

“Me don’t make it weird? You don’t make it weird,” he retorted. “I didn’t say anything.��

“You didn’t have to; it was written all over your face,” she grinned. It only made Kyle’s smile wider.

“Well, if you need extra help working out those tense muscles, I have some ideas.”

“I’m sure you do.”

“What?” he innocently asked. “I was gonna suggest a massage.”

“Oh, is that what we’re calling it?” she asked with a glance over her shoulder.

“We can call it whatever you want, babe,” Kyle returned with a wink and click of his tongue, and Nellie tried to focus on the way it made her feel and not what it made her wonder.

* * * *

Nellie had responded to Jay’s text as they’d all walked back to Will’s car. I know, she’d said, short and to the point, and she’d fully expected the conversation to die there.

But Jay had sent one more message.

But hey, maybe you’ll be a double champion the next time we see each other.

That time, Nellie did leave him on read. But hours later, she was still thinking about that stupid text—and everything it said in between the lines.

“Nellie.”

“Hm, what?” she looked up from absentmindedly lacing up her boot.

“Does this look alright?” Torrance held out her arms to showcase the outfit she’d put together: a yellow, pink, and blue plaid miniskirt with a chunky silver chain clipped at the waist; their team t-shirt that she’d cut and cropped; and sparkly Doc Martens. It screamed Torrance Taylor.

“Yeah,” Nellie nodded, and she went back to lacing up her boot. The air in the locker room was thick.

“I know you’re nervous, and I don’t blame you,” Torrance said. “But Alex hasn’t spent the last three years wrestling and training with the best joshis in the world. She’s not ready for you.”

A corner of Nellie’s mouth quirked up. “That tagline is already taken.”

Torrance dismissively rolled her eyes. “Please, I’m trying to give you a pep talk here! So go out there and use what Tam and Zack have taught you and kick Alex’s ass, and then in January we’ll kick Giulia and Syuri’s asses for the Goddess titles, and you’ll be a double champion.”

Nellie laughed to herself at the unintentional implication that Zack was one of the best joshis in the world, but for the sake of Torrance’s pep talk she didn’t mention it. Instead, she said, “You’re the third person who’s brought up the double champion thing to me today.”

“Am I?” Torrance amusedly asked. Nellie nodded, wrapping her left wrist in tape.

“Mhm. You, Kyle… and Jay.”

Torrance stopped what she was doing to stare at her open-mouthed. “I’m sorry, did you say Jay?”

She nodded again, biting off the tape. “He texted me out of nowhere at the gym.”

Torrance’s jaw unhinged further. “And you’re just telling me now?”

Rather than respond, Nellie unlocked her phone, pulled up the texts, and handed it over; it would be easier to just let Torrance see the messages herself. By the time she was done reading, her eyes were wide and round.

“Oh, he absolutely sent that last one on purpose,” she assessed.

“Right?” Nellie agreed, and Torrance handed her phone back. “And he made it sound like he’s coming back soon, didn’t he? Why the hell would he text me that?”

She looked back at Torrance, genuinely seeking a reason; but Torrance’s expression had changed. She didn’t look shocked anymore. Instead, she looked oddly guilty.

“What,” Nellie said. A statement, not a question.

“I think he might know about you and Kyle.”

Nellie blinked, confused. That was the last thing she’d expected her to say. “What? How would he possibly—”

“The video I posted last night.”

Nellie paused in realization. The dinner. Torrance had posted a video of it to her Instagram story. Now that she thought about it, Will had, too. And Jay followed them both.

“Hold on, I can literally see if he’s seen it,” Torrance remembered, and she grabbed her phone. She clicked through to the video; and while it took a few seconds to find Jay’s handle among all the views, it was there, clear as day.

“Okay yeah, he’s seen it,” she confirmed.

“Let me see it,” Nellie said, and Torrance showed her the screen. The video was mostly of Will, but because of where they’d all been seated, there was a glimpse of Nellie and Kyle at the other end of the table; and right before the video ended, Nellie reached up and used her thumb to wipe something from the corner of Kyle’s mouth as he smiled softly at her. Nellie’s stomach fluttered when she saw herself do it. She thought about Jay seeing her do it. She wouldn’t be at all surprised if it had made him wonder.

“Okay, so he’s seen it,” she dismissed as she handed Torrance back her phone. “But do you really think that’s why he decided to text me out of nowhere?”

“Maybe!” Torrance proclaimed. “I’m willing to bet he was fishing for information. He probably threw out that last text hoping you’d respond with something like, Oh, are you coming back to Japan soon? and it would lead to a conversation so he could sus out or even point-blank ask if you’re seeing anyone. Because he saw that video of you and Kyle, and now he wants to know.”

Nellie bit her lip. Nothing Torrance said was implausible. It made a lot of sense, actually. But she scoffed. “Well, if he really wants to know, he could just ask Riley.”

“What?” Torrance returned, clearly confused. Nellie sighed.

“That night we went out and ran into him?”

“Yeah?”

“I told him about Kyle.”

Torrance frowned, putting it all together in her head. “Okay,” she started. “But do Riley and Jay even talk?”

“I don’t know,” Nellie sighed. “I don’t care. If Jay asks, I’ll tell him. We’ve been officially over for three months, and unofficially for even longer than that, so it really shouldn’t come as a surprise to him that I’ve moved on.”

She finished wrapping her right wrist, bit off the tape, and tossed the roll back into her bag. She was hot now, both physically and mentally—and she was caught off-guard by her own reaction. She’d worked through all her emotions about everything that had happened between her and Jay. Hadn’t she?

The door to the locker room abruptly opened, and Nellie and Torrance both glanced over as Alex Windsor walked in. She paused and gave an awkward smile; no doubt she could sense the tension in the air.

“Hey,” Nellie offered. The last thing she needed was for her opponent to think the issue was with her.

“Hello,” she genially returned. “Welcome back.”

Nellie smiled the best she could. “Thanks,” she said, and she pushed Jay to the back of her mind and refocused on why she was there: to defend her RevPro Undisputed British Women’s Championship. Everything else was secondary.

* * * *

Nellie felt like she hadn’t even had a chance to kick out.

She and Alex had been going at it for just under twenty minutes, but it might as well have been double that time, back and forth, each of them just as tired, frustrated, and determined as the other.

But it was Nellie who slipped up and got caught in the end.

One second she was on her feet and the next they were over her head. When she hit the mat, she saw stars. Her leg was already hooked, and her arm already trapped by virtue of the move itself, and the referee was right there and then it was one-two-three.

She felt like she hadn’t even had a chance to kick out.

“That loss is nothing to be ashamed of, Nell,” Torrance said to her; and even though Nellie knew it was true, she didn’t feel it in that moment. She sat slumped and defeated against a turnbuckle, nursing her neck as Alex’s arm was raised in victory, the title already in her hand. There were tears in her eyes. There were tears in Nellie’s, too.

Alex walked over and held out her hand. Nellie regarded it, regarded her. But ultimately, she accepted the gesture, and Alex pulled her up and into a brief embrace, a show of respect. And then Nellie ducted out of the ring and returned backstage, her hands empty, Torrance following behind.

And then she saw Kyle, waiting for her. There were still two matches until Aussie Open’s, but there he was. He frowned at her in sympathy, and her lip quivered as she folded into him.

“I’m sorry, babe,” he gently said. Nellie breathed in his scent, focusing on the feel of his arms around her, the way he leaned his chin on top of her head because she fit just right. She wanted to live in that feeling for as long as she could.

“You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of,” Kyle said, repeating Torrance’s words almost verbatim. He moved his hands to her arms, and Nellie pulled back to look up at him. “You were—you are—a fighting champion. No one can deny that. Right?”

Nellie gave the smallest of nods. “Yeah.”

He placed a kiss on her forehead, and a tear slipped down Nellie’s cheek as she closed her eyes. But it wasn’t just the loss of the championship she was upset about now.

“Onto the next one,” Kyle encouraged. “You’ll have another championship in no time.”

“Yeah, we will,” Torrance grinned. Nellie did her best to return it.

“I’m gonna go get cleaned up,” she breathed. Kyle gave her another squeeze, and then she headed back to the women’s locker room. Straight to her suitcase. She grabbed her phone, and then it was almost as if she was outside her body, watching herself open her text chain with Jay. The most recent message, But hey, maybe you’ll be a double champion the next time we see each other, left on read. She typed back.

Well, that’s not happening now. I lost.

She sent it off and tossed the phone back into her bag. She wanted to shower, wash the grime, sweat, and defeat from her skin. She untied and pulled at her boot laces, undoing them just enough to pull the boots from her feet, and then her socks. She unwrapped her wrists and discarded the tape, grabbed her towel and toiletry bag; but as she stood from her seat, her phone pinged. She reached down and picked it up. Jay.

I’m sorry, Nell. But think of it this way: now you can put all your focus on Stardom and winning the tag titles.

Nellie had to give it to him—he had a point. But she left him on read again and headed to the shower, resisting the growing urge in her gut to ask if he was finally coming back to Japan.

* * * *

Nellie wasn’t the only one to leave the pay-per-view with less hardware. As unworried as Kyle had been about Roy and Ricky Knight Jr., Aussie Open had dropped the RevPro tag titles to them, too, and Will was left the only champion still standing. Needless to say, not much of anyone was up for going out after the show, and so they retreated back to Will’s house, somber and tired. Nellie and Torrance had a flight to catch back to Tokyo tomorrow morning, anyway, and Torrance undoubtedly wanted to soak up every hour and minute she had left with her boyfriend. Nellie was similarly aware of her time with Kyle as she lied snuggled against him on his bed—and how it was running out.

“Well, tonight sucked,” Kyle abruptly said into the silence.

“I don’t want to think about it,” Nellie returned. “I just want to enjoy what time we have left.”

Kyle laughed lightly through his nose at that. “You make it sound like we’re never gonna see each other again.”

“Well… now that I’ve lost the title, I don’t know when I’ll be back again.”

She turned her eyes up at him, looking for a reaction, an emotion, something that could clue her in to how Kyle felt about that, if he felt any type of way about it at all. But she only saw quiet contemplation.

“I wish we were working World Tag League,” he said after a while. “Hopefully we’ll get to Japan soon.”

Nellie looked back down, her head still resting on his chest. “Hopefully,” she agreed. And then, “I was afraid this would happen.”

“What?” Kyle asked.

“That I would catch feelings for you.”

There was a pregnant pause. Nellie inwardly winced, wondering if she shouldn’t have said it, if it wasn’t reciprocated, if she’d misinterpreted the entire weekend.

But then Kyle said, “You’re not the only one.”

Hearing that lifted Nellie up and weighed her down all at once. It was simultaneously a comfort to her heart and a dagger to her gut.

“But let’s just see how it goes,” Kyle thoughtfully added. “That’s all we really can do.”

Nellie nodded. “Yeah,” she quietly returned, for lack of anything better to say. Because as much as it sucked—hurt, even—Kyle was right. That really was all they could do.

[wheredafandomat]

Mmmorning

And whattttt a good morning it isssss 🥵

[sairic-pyre]

mmmorning :>],

[they sniff, groaning as they stirr.]

Snnf- mgngnn... Morning-

[bumble-the-sun-bee]

Mmmorning :3

*Squeak*

Morning :DD