#my phone camera fought me on every step of the way so i only have limited photos to choose from but yeah! cosplay ty be upon ye

[felixcosm]

"Now stop squirming. If you make the cuts all jagged, there might be permanent damage."

[realmackross]

PARTIES: @longislandcharm; @realmackross TIMING: A day or so after the Prickly Pear Farms Fire SUMMARY: Mackenzie comes to tell Winter she's leaving Wicked's Rest and say goodbye. WARNINGS: None

It was hard. The decision wasn’t something she had come to lightly, but Mackenzie had needed it. She needed to leave. She needed to get out of Wicked’s Rest. Nothing but more tragedy had plagued her life since coming to the town. Sure, there had been a few good moments, but those were fleeting, and if she wanted to have a chance at surviving. At saving what humanity was already slipping away from her, then parting ways was the way to do it. At least for a little while, especially since there had been the chance to shoot a new movie in Australia. A chance to get her career kick-started again since it seemed as though the world had collectively stopped talking about Brody’s death.

However, leaving behind Sellama, her home, Monty and Kaden, her other friends, and most of all Winter, is what was going to be the hardest. But she was going to do it the right way this time. She was going to break the news to her best friend face-to-face. Letters probably for the other people in her life, but Winter had endured the last time Mackenzie had ran getting no explanation whatsoever, only to have a chance meeting with her in a drive-in parking lot of all places.

So, without hesitating anymore, she pushed the doorbell and waited quietly, a sad, but small smile perched on her face waiting for her best friend to answer the door.

—

Her hands shook as she stood in front of her marble countertops, Winter forgetting what she had been doing after her mind had trailed off. Thoughts of what happened at Monty’s farm would seep in now and again causing adrenaline, fear, or anxiety to start up. Most of the time it was all three. Add to that the lingering fear of Wyatt’s meltdown with her and she was feeling the whole ‘never go outside again’ thing that Mack had going for her. Still, she was proud of the fact that she had fought back this time no matter how many…casualties had come from it and she was once again hiding behind the ‘them or me’ mentality to make the guilt float away.

Hearing the doorbell, her head snapped up to look towards the foyer. She couldn’t remember expecting company, her heart starting to race as that thought hit her, so she was slow to react. First she had to calm her racing heart, shake the nerves off, and make sure her hands were steady. Her feet moved forward almost of their own volition but Winter made sure to check the cameras on her phone to see who it was before she was opening the door.

“Mack, what are you doing here? You could have called and saved me from a heart attack, you know?” The door was left open as she turned to walk back to the kitchen, finding it best to not let Mack’s gaze linger on her face for too long. She’d told her about what had happened at the farm and had assured the other that she was okay but Winter didn’t want to give any more reason for questions. “Do you need to borrow something from my closet again? Because I need to know where you’re going to warrant that. Fun is needed, please don’t leave me behind.”

—

Every part of Mackenzie’s being wanted to tell her to turn and run, and the longer it took for Winter to answer the door, the more tempted she was to just say ‘fuck it’ and flee. But before she could, she heard the sound of the door unlocking before seeing her friend, the person she hadn’t seen since the party, standing there looking worse for wear. For once, Mack looked more alive than Winter, and that was really saying something, “This kind of warranted an in person visit. Plus, I’ve never seen your house so…”

The taller of the two stepped through the threshold of the doorway and quietly shut the door behind her. What she had to say was already catching in her throat, but letting her eyes wander and take in her surroundings of a house she hadn’t spent time in gave her something to focus on and prolong the news. She followed Winter into the kitchen, “Uh, no. I mean, I am going somewhere, but it’s not really a day trip sort of thing.”

Coming around to face her best friend, Mackenzie knew it would be better if she looked the woman in the eye, “So…I’m…I’m leaving, Winter. I’m leaving Wicked’s Rest. I got a call from my agent about a movie opportunity, and I’m gonna take it. I-I can’t be here anymore. Not after all that’s happened. I still don’t know where Sellama is or if she even made it out. And this town has brought mostly nothing but heartache. But I thought you deserved to know in person this time.”

—

She stopped in her tracks, the hand holding her phone falling to her side when she turned to look at her best friend. Winter had to have heard wrong, right? But Mack kept going and confirmed that what she had heard had been correct. Her first instinct was to get angry, to be mad that Mack was abandoning her again, leaving her in a town that was most likely going to kill her sooner rather than later. She could feel herself bristling, gearing up for a fight.

But…didn’t Mack deserve to be happy? Hadn’t she been preaching to the blonde that she needed to let things go and start forgiving herself? How was she supposed to do that in a town that wouldn’t let her forget what she was with reminders littered all around her? 

Winter swallowed back the anger that had started inside of her, hoping that it would take with it the hurt that was bubbling up as well but that hope was futile. Tears pricked at her eyes, something she couldn’t allow Mack to see. It would make her feel bad, right? Nodding her head, she could only think of one thing to say. “Okay.” Then she turned on her heel to head towards the kitchen counter where she still couldn’t remember what she was doing before but at least the zombie couldn’t see her face. “When are you leaving?”

—

Mackenzie had expected all Hell to break loose. For tiny little bombs to drop from the ceiling booby trapping Mack in. For Henry to come possess her and hold her hostage, but it didn’t happen. Instead, all there was had been one word…okay. It somewhat stung, but it was also a relief. She was tired of fighting with people. Wicked’s Rest did that to you. Put a mental strain on you as well as the physical toll it often would take. But she could work with okay and the question that came afterwards, “It’s looking like this week. I’ve just got a few things to wrap up at home. Taylor’s flying out to meet me.”

Mackenzie shifted again. Moving so she could look Winter in the eye, and upon doing so, she could see the tears, “Is Winter Cahya crying?” The zombie couldn’t help but try and lighten the mood, despite seeing the battle scars from Winter’s fight at the farm. This town had taken so much of Mackenzie both literally and physically, and she hoped and prayed that it wouldn’t do the same to her best friend, “I’ll be back eventually. I mean it’s a job. It’s not like I’m selling my house. And hey, at least I’m not fleeing like before.” She had thought about it. Many times actually, “But just…take care of yourself, Winter. And if you need an escape, there’s a great big vast world out there. I’ll be somewhere in it. I’m not exactly sure where we’re shooting yet. I think Australia, but it could change.”

—

“Oh? Tell her I hate her and I hope she gets bitten by Jack.” She took in a breath after that, realizing her voice was betraying her by being wobbly. Why wouldn’t it work with her here? Mack deserved to do things that made her happy and she wouldn’t be the one to get in the way of that. Not that she could. When Winter’s friend made up her mind she was pretty adamant. “No.” The word was forced out, the medium looking down at the counter while she wiped the tears away as nonchalantly as she could. “Why would I be crying?”

Oh, maybe because she had taken her first life? Or maybe because the trauma of this town felt heavier knowing that her favorite person wouldn't be around to help her anymore? Or maybe, just maybe, because she would miss that favorite person more than anything? 

She lifted her head, tears still flowing despite her attempts to stop them. “Will you be back? Because who would come back to this?” Winter wasn’t even sure why she was staying here herself. She told herself she needed answers but she still hadn’t gotten any of those after being here a year. For a split second she considered dropping everything and leaving with Mack. She wanted to follow the girl again and again and keep her support at all times. But it wasn’t feasible. Besides, Australia was probably worse anyway. They had giant spiders and mean kangaroos after all. “You’re the one acting like we don’t have cell phones.” But she appreciated the sentiments. “Don’t let Taylor be in charge of your brains this time. She’s such a screw up, she’ll definitely cause a zombie attack. And stay away from kangaroos. Those little shits can be mean.”

—

Mackenzie could see Winter was at her breaking point. She could hear it in her voice, especially at the threats against Taylor. And there it was, the tears. But Mackenzie didn’t have it in her to cry. She had cried so much lately that her skin had dried out, hollowing out her cheekbones revealing just how dead she really was. It took chugging water and a little help from some cosmetics just to get them puffy again. She hated being a zombie. Fuck. “Because I’m leaving. Because you went through a big ordeal just a few days ago. Because you live in this town. Should I keep going or…”

Coming around to stand by Winter’s side, she looked down at her, “It’s okay, Winter. Really. And yeah. When I can, I’ll be back. You’re here. My girl, Sellama, is here. She's a survivor, and I haven’t heard otherwise, so I’m choosing to believe she’s safe. Monty and Kaden. Despite how shitty it’s been since coming here, I’ve made a life for myself. I don’t want to give that up. At least not yet. Besides, where else am I gonna go where people actually know and accept what I am?” Mackenzie laughed softly, “And you’re the one acting like we don’t have internet. I think your grandma house is turning you into a grandma. But I will keep an eye on my brain supply and the kangaroos. I don’t think they can hurt me any worse than that bitch, Jade. Which, keep an eye out for her. That heifer is crazy.”

It was weird. This conversation. The last time, when everything had happened, Mackenzie just fled into the night. No word home. No nothing. Just her and Taylor (and apparently Brody’s ghost) just making sure she was far enough away from everything. But today, she felt like she had grown as a person. She was having a mature conversation with her best friend, despite how hard it was and how much it hurt. And it was actually going well. Winter wasn’t trying to hold her hostage or yelling, “You’re gonna be okay, Winter. You’ve got people here who care about you too. And who knows…you may even find your one true love here.” She nudged her friend playfully, “You want a hug?”

—

“So? I don’t cry, Mackenzie.” She was still fighting it despite the evidence running down her cheeks. It didn’t matter, they both knew that she would be okay in the end, she just needed her damn eyes to get the hint. “I’m fine.” Winter’s hands went up to wipe away more of those traitorous bastards, trying to make it seem like her words were true. “I’m just…I’m going…” A sigh, and then she reached out and took Mack’s hand into her own. “I’m going to miss you, okay?”

Trying to forget that she had lumped Winter in with a llama, she focused on the words that Mack was saying. They made sense, they really did, but she couldn’t help but feel like there were a lot of ‘buts’ hanging in between. It was probably her own fears whispering that Mack would never come back, telling her that their phone calls would grow less and less each day until eventually they only called on special occasions. She didn’t want that to happen but for Mack’s sake she had to give it a shot. “Don’t call me a grandma, that’s so insulting. I already have the young ones around here thinking I’m too old.” Thanks Cass. Nodding her head again, squeezed the zombie’s hand. “I’m obligated to hate the bitch so don't worry. She’ll hear from me.” 

That might have been a bit of a fear as well. Who else cared? Charlie and her were fighting and who knew if that was going to stop and Finn would most definitely stick by his boyfriend’s side. Who else was there? She was the asshole who kept making enemies. It was a miracle her and Mack had made it to this point in their friendship. Still, she scoffed at the rest of her words. “Screw love. Who cares about that?” Without answering her friend Winter wrapped her arms around the girl’s middle, squeezing her as tightly as she could. It wasn’t her usual style, no, but if this was going to be the last time she saw her for a while then she would suck it up and give the girl a hug.

—

Mackenzie wanted to laugh, but she didn’t. It wasn’t often that she saw Winter let her guard down, and when she reached out and took the zombie’s hand, it was even more of a shock. Looking down at it, she could finally feel her own tears threatening to come out, but unlike when she was alive, it was a little harder now at times. How was she going to explain that one when she had to cry on cue… “I’m gonna miss you too. Maybe not the snark as much, but I am going to miss you. Just…stay out of trouble okay? That’s all I ask. Keep your comments in check. You’re not always gonna have a zombie around to eat the people threatening your life.”

The woman let go of her friend’s hand as she wiped at her own eyes and laughed at Winter’s comments about being called old and Jade. And while she had said she was going to miss the snark, deep down, she was going to miss her friend’s commentary. The way she would try to cheer Mackenzie up, when she was down. Winter was as boujee as they came, and the zombie was even going to miss that. But it wasn’t forever. At least she had hoped it wouldn’t be. And if she was being completely honest, she was afraid of what life was going to be like alone on the other side of the world with normal people. Was Wicked’s Rest an anomaly or were there other places out there that held the same kinds of creatures and people.

Feeling Winter wrap her arms around Mackenzie had been just what she had needed to release her own floodgate of tears, “Fuck, now I’m crying.” But without hesitating, she wrapped her arms around the shorter woman refusing to let go.

—

“We both know that’s not possible.” Because it wasn’t. Even when terrified, her big mouth always got her in even more trouble. It just wasn’t in Winter’s nature no matter how many times she yelled at herself to keep that tongue in check. “I’m walking trouble. It’s why we’re such good friends.” She pulled back just enough to look up at Mack’s face, smirking softly at the implication that they were one in the same. Because Mack could have a mouth too and they both knew it. 

“Good, I can’t be in this on my own. That would be embarrassing.” Not that it wasn’t already. She sniffed, burying her head against Mack as the woman held her in a death grip. “Alright, so when you try surfing I’m going to need pictures of you wiping out in the waves. And watch out for the stupid spiders. And the sand sharks…don’t ask.” After a moment, she stepped out of the other girl’s grip and Winter reached up to wipe those tears away again. She must have looked like a puffed up lobster at that point. “God, we look stupid. I need an eye mask, stat.” But she still stood there, not wanting to walk away and end their long goodbye. Because once it was over that was it, they would be reduced to phone conversations and video chat for the unforeseeable future.

—

Winter was right, and as much as Mackenzie didn’t want to think of her best friend being alone to face only God knew what by herself, she knew the woman could handle herself. They had gone for most of the year without talking, and somehow they were both still standing. But that didn’t make it any easier. Goodbyes were never easy. It hadn’t been easy fleeing into the night, and it wasn’t easy facing her partner-in-crime and having to part ways. But maybe it was for the best. Maybe they would both grow from it, “You are walking trouble. I remember that time we went to that bar on the Sunset Strip and that guy wouldn’t leave me alone. You pretty much ripped him a new one.” She laughed through the tears.

Mackenzie latched onto Winter a little tighter not wanting to let her go, “Uh, yeah, never gonna happen, but nice try. As for the spiders, maybe I’ll bring one back to you for a souvenir.” Mack had already faced a spider that was bigger than she was. Australia spiders probably had nothing on Wicked’s Rest. But sand sharks? She didn’t dare tempt that one. Losing one leg was already enough.

Feeling her heart break just a little as they separated, she was quickly cheered up by Winter’s request for an eye mask, “You’re so fucking spoiled, Winter. Don’t ever change.” Mackenzie wiped her own eyes, before letting out a soft sigh, “Well, I guess…I guess this is it. I’ve gotta go home and get packed up. It’s gonna be weird living in the future.” She laughed, a sadness now falling over her, “You’ll have to come visit. Get out of Wicked’s Rest…” Prolonging the reality of things felt right, but she also knew it couldn’t last forever, “I love you, Winter. Take care of yourself, and that ghost of yours.” She noticed Henry standing just in the other room and waved at him, before turning her attention back to her friend, “I guess I’ll see you in a couple of months.” She stammered kicking at the ground, not wanting to leave.

—

“He deserved it. I would have slapped him too if you hadn't dragged me away.” Her usual demeanor was starting to return as Winter wiped away the last of her tears. There was still a gruffness to her voice but she refused to let herself keep showing the weakness that came with losing Mack. “I’ll kill you again if you bring me a spider, BB. I’ve got experience now.” Nodding matter of factly she tried not to show how much that statement bothered her. Mack needed to go and enjoy her life as much as she could, she didn’t need to worry about the medium while she did that. There was nothing she could do from across an ocean anyway.

“Oh, they can pry my eye masks from my cold dead fingers. Trust me, that will never change.” She would have laughed if she wasn’t so damn serious, Winter knowing damn well that those eye masks saved her sanity on more than one occasion. But those thoughts drifted while the weight of the whole situation started to press in on her as Mack started to say her last goodbyes. Winter’s eyes were watering again but she wouldn’t let them fall, not this time. “I love you too, Mackenzie. So much, you have no idea.” 

It hurt like hell waiting for her to open that door…and waiting…and waiting. After too long of a beat, Winter finally laughed while shaking her head. “Leaving requires you to walk out the door, babe.” As much as she didn’t want to, she knew that it had to come sometime and she really didn’t want to keep crying all night. It was already embarrassing enough, especially now that Henry was witnessing it. She opened the door, let Mack pass through while rubbing her back gently, and then stood in the doorway as she watched the girl get into her car.

“Come back to me in one piece, please.”

[erodasfishtacos]

*CHICAGO*

i write for free - so if you would like to support my work, you can donate here. (plus my bday is today!!!!!!! 🎂)

if you liked please reblog, recommended, like, and come talk to me about it!

——

The public didn’t know that some of the pictures that are posted of Harry that are tagged and credited to the on tour photographers were actually taken by his wife.

For example, after Chicago, the picture of Harry in the tub - completely bare and worn down from his show, you actually think the photographer took that?

No, that was snapped with YN’s iPhone, like some of the other pictures he’s posted.

Just like the one where he’s asleep on the hotel bed in a robe in Paris with all of his stuff splayed around him - allegedly taken by helene. ***

But no, it had been his wife, they had just taken a shower together and she had stayed in for a bit longer to shave her legs - when she had come out and seen him passed out.

She had to tug a bit at the robe so he wasn’t exposed and make it x-rated, then she pulled out her phone and snapped the picture - sending it to Jeff with a teasing caption.

yn: It’s exhausting being a popstar

And just like that, it appears on his Instagram for fans to go crazy over.

Or what about the snapshot of his tank that had his famous slogan embroidered into the side of the white fabric. ***

His wedding band reflecting in the flash of the light, a subtle glance at his rippled muscle below the attire as they work on his hair.

“Mm, I’m gonna save this for a lonely night,” YN jokes as she tucks her phone away.

Harry’s hand comes to cup her jaw, looking down at her where she’s sat on the floor, “Y’so fuckin’ pretty, y’know that?”

YN’s eyelids flutter a bit as she glances away from his intense gazes - he still gives her butterflies.

“Don’t get shy on me, baby. Can I not tell m’wife how gorgeous she is?” He asks, bring her hand up to kiss the back of it, “Look s’good with tha’ ring on.”

And the one that made fans go crazy.

On a warm evening, in a hotel room between venues in Italy, where they had been lounging around all day.

YN in just a thin gauzy dress that accentuated the fact she wasn’t wearing a bra and Harry just in the trousers he’d worn to get them coffee earlier that morning.

“You just took a picture of me! It’s my turn,” YN giggles, getting on her knees on the old squeaky couch and snatching the camera off of him.

“I took a picture because y’tits look nice in tha’ dress. I can see y’nipples and it’s turnin’ me on,” Harry defends, holding up his book as she snaps it.

“H, c’mon,” She pouts but squeaks when Harry tugs her into him, dropping the book and the camera as he adjusts her on his lap.

“Gonna let me take a picture of y’all nice and fucked out, darling?” He rasps, ignoring her pout and hiking her dress up her hips.

And it’s happened throughout the years, so many pictures that were littered over the internet where just uncredited snapshots from YN.

Just like the one from 2013, they were on tour, and Harry was supposed to be recording for the next album after soundcheck and before the concert. ***

Instead, after soundcheck, Harry and YN had snuck off to a little meadow and lake to have a swim. He had shimmied down to his briefs and waded in.

YN stood back, snapping a picture of him and his friend as the complained about how freezing cold it was.

“Baby, c’mon. Come get in!” Harry had shouted back to his girlfriend on the dry land, “I need some warmth, s’freezing!”

YN grimaces, just in Harry’s shirt and a pair of yoga shorts, dipping her toe in and shaking her head - “I’ll enjoy from here!”

“Please, bug,” He pouts, motioning for her to come in.

She does after a moment, squealing at the temperature before quickly finding her way into Harry’s arms.

“Only have fun on tour when y’with me,” He had murmured into her ear before he dunked her underwater and they play fought until their stomachs hurt from laughing.

And then came the notorious picture that had gotten a million likes in thirteen minutes, oh, the chicago ice bath.

Harry had been achey since tour had begun, constantly complaining about his back and ankles from the shows.

“Baby, just rub m’back a lil’ longer please?” He had whimpered the night before, the tour bus bed did not help him much at all.

When his trainer had recommended an ice bath immediately after the show - YN had made sure to arrange it despite his protests.

After exiting the stage in his black and lilac outfit, he’d been lured into the bathroom with a promise of sex but instead was a steel tub filled with ice water.

Jeff, Lambert, Tommy - everyone was watching on in amusement as he adamantly tried to deny that it would help and the peer pressure wasn’t make him anymore convinced.

“Alright, everyone out,” YN had finally tittered, shooing out the circus before closing the door for privacy.

She helps strip her husband out of his close as he looks at her reproachfully, “You promised me sex.”

“After,” YN assures him, kissing his puffy lips and asking softly, “Just try it, if it doesn’t work - you don’t have to do it again.”

He grumbles a bit, muttering, “Don’t look at m’bits, they’re gonna shrivel up.”

YN giggles, “As if I haven’t seen your bits in every shape and form.”

As he slips in, YN has to snap a picture of his eyes wide and lips pursed at the shock of the freezing water cooling down his hot, sticky skin.

“Holy fucking shit,” Harry hisses, lowering self until he’s sat - his nipples instantly hardening and he’s breathing roughly out of his nose.

“Five minutes, I’ll set the timer,” YN says, setting it on her phone before sitting down next to the tub as he tries to relax.

“Baby, fuck. Reminds me of that really cold lake in Boston, ‘member?” He squeezes his eyes shut and reaches until YN intertwines their hands.

“Yeah, that wasn’t as cold as that one time you convince me to skinny dip with you on the coast of france.”

“Oh yeah, that one was really fucking cold too,” Harry murmurs, keeping his eyes closed and steadying his breathing.

(During WWA tour - ***)

“Harry, are you insane? Anyone could see us? Paul could walk out or the boys. I’m not-“

She’s cut off when Harry shucks off his swimsuit bottoms, his skin’s glowing in the moonlight and the light waves lapping at the shore are soothing.

YN swallows harshly, tries not to stare at how handsome and overwhelming beautiful he is as he turns to step towards the water.

She looks over her shoulder nervously before stepping out of her one-piece, he waits for her at the shoreline.

“Y’so so stunnin’,” Harry tells her, thumbing at the soft curve of her breast and leaning in for a soft kiss when he feed her shake.

“You could have anyone,” YN whispers against his lips, “Every girl on this earth wants you like this. I’m just some girl from before all this,” she motions to the extravagant bungalow they’re staying at.

“I don’t know why y’think tha’s bad. I want t’experience all this with you, m’first love and m’only love. I’m going to marry y’soon, you know tha’?” He replies, lips tracing the curve of her neck.

“You better,” She giggles, hands going to his shoulder as he sucks a mark into the thin skin.

He pulls back with a frown, “M’not jokin’, I don’t care that we’re young - M’gonna do it.”

“I can’t wait,” YN kisses his jutted out lip, squealing when he tugs her into the water and the chilled waves crash against her hips, “H, it’s so cold.”

“M’gonna keep y’warm, hush up,” He titters, pulling her into his chest until her breasts are smushed against his strong pecs and his arms are around her shoulder, “Love experiencing this w’you, everythin’ w’you.”

-

YN is brought back from her daydream by her husband wiping his finger under her eyelid, “Darling, wha’ is it?”

She hadn’t realized she had teared up thinking of the fond memory, “I want to go back to that bungalow. We had such a good time. I…I just love you.”

His wife chuckles like she’s pathetic for crying about it but he leans out of the tub, cupping her jaw and pulling her in for a hard kiss.

“Don’t be embarrassed, flower,” There was no teasing in his voice, it was sincere, “If anyone should be embarrassed - I’m the one who travels around the world t’sing love songs ‘bout you.”

Their lips join again, his tongue finding its way into her mouth when Jeff, Lambert, and Tommy barge through the door.

“Jesus Christ, only you could be trying to get some while sat in an ice bath,” Jeff scoffs with a smile but instantly knows they’ve fucked up.

“Get out, the fuck?” Harry sits up, “Don’t interrupt me and m’wife. Get out!”

They stumble out and just then the alarm goes off.

YN helps him out, tucking him into a towel and helping him dry off - his head tucked into her neck and hand on her belly - massaging.

“Do you feel any better?” She hums while getting some stray droplets on the nape of his neck as he nuzzles into her warm skin.

“Mm,” He agrees drowsily, hand slipping under her shirt for more heat and she jumps at his icey touch, “Want t’sleep.”

And when they get to the hotel, YN logs onto his Instagram and uploads the ice bath pictures with nobody knowing the story behind it.

-

Hope you enjoyed!

[spinningintheshadows]

wanna do it anyway? || rafe cameron

After breaking up with her boyfriend, the photographer that Piper had arranged and paid for a boudoir shoot asks if she wants to do it anyway.

fanon photographer!rafe x plus size!oc, *SMUT; oral (f&m recieving), fingering, semi protected sex (oc is on bc)*

Rafe bit his lip as he looked at his schedule for the day. He was up early, seven o’clock, drinking his coffee as he glanced at the schedule book. He had two appointments booked today, the McJones family photos at 10:00, and then scribbled messily underneath it at 1:00 was Piper Harris - Boudoir. That was the one he was most concerned about. Not that he’d never done boudoir shoots before, but because it was Piper, his high school crush.

Piper Harris also didn’t fit the norm of his normal boudoir shoots, where the girls had been stick thin, almost to where you could see their bones sticking out of their bodies. Piper Harris had always been on the heavier side, and if bothered her, he’d only ever seen it once. It was the day they became friends, when he practically beat the shit out of Kelce for calling her fat in math class. Yeah, he’d gotten suspended and grounded for two weeks but it was worth it.

Truth be told, Rafe didn’t know why he was nervous, but the uneasy feeling hadn’t left his stomach since she approached him outside of the Wreck two weeks ago.

“Rafe Cameron! The man I’ve been looking for.” A voice said, making him turn around and meet eyes with her, Piper.

“Hey, Pip, didn’t know you were still around the outer banks.” He said with a smile.

“Could say the same about you, Rafe. Hey I have a question” she suddenly sounded nervous. He raised an eyebrow at her as he pulled the camera out of its bag in preparation of his next shoot. “Have you ever done a boudoir shoot?” He let out a breathy laugh, looking at her again.

“Yeah.” He told her. “Several, why?”

“Well, uh, me and Travis will be together four years next month and I was kind of thinking about doing one for him.” She said. He fought the urge to roll his eyes at the name of her mediocre boyfriend. “And I was wondering if you’d be willing to do it? I’ll pay you of course, whatever you charge.”

“You want me to….do a boudoir shoot…of you?” He asked. “Okay. Uh, your number still the same? If so I’ll look over my schedule when I get home and text you with a time and price.”

“Okay. Thank you so much, Rafe!” She said.

“Hey wait, before you go.” He told her. “Stand there, the sunset looks really nice behind you.” He snapped a couple photos, thanking her.

When he’d gotten back to his apartment that night he’d edited the photos and sent them to her, telling her to do with them what she wanted. Plus a time, date and price for their shoot. His phone buzzing brought him out of his thoughts. Glancing down at the text, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion

Is it too late to cancel?

What? Your anniversary is in two weeks

That’s why I wanna cancel. He cheated, and we broke up.

Wanna do them anyway?

Rafe…

Piper, you’ve already paid way too much money to not do them. Every beautiful girl deserves to have basically tasteful nudes taken professionally at least once in their life.

Are you sure?

I cleared my whole afternoon for you, Harris

Okay. I’ll see you at 1 then.

All day Rafe had his mind on Piper. He got through the McJones shoot with only a mild headache. He hated shooting that family. Their eight year old twins, James and Isla, were terribly behaved, snotty kids and he was always thankful for his step mother, who made sure that he and his sisters were always down to earth despite their status after he was done. In his brain, he made a note to call her that evening to check in on her. It was a Friday after all, he normally called Friday because his dad was always at some sort of business dinner. He didn’t get along with his father, but tolerated him at Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas for his sisters sake.

When he unlocked the studio at noon, he could feel the nerves churning in his stomach. He didn’t know why he was nervous. Did he, after not seeing Piper Harris for nearly four years, still have a high school crush on her? Shaking his head, he prepared the studio for the shoot, glancing at his watch when he was done to see it was 1:05. He finally checked his phone to see a text from Piper saying she was running late and would be there by 1:10. At exactly 1:07, she was huffing her way through the door. Despite the windows being blacked out for privacy, the room was well lit and he could see the blush forming on her cheeks.

“I’m so sorry. I couldn’t find the outfits I had bought and well, now I’m late.” She said. He held back a laugh, looking at her with a smile.

“Piper, it’s okay. Promise. So, you brought outfits.” He said.

“Uh, mostly lingerie. Hey quick question, the photos, what do you do with them?” She asked. He laughed that time, shaking his head.

“Once they’re edited, all of them go on a flash drive and are given to the client. I've never kept a single boudoir photo I’ve taken.” He told her. “You’re not my regular boudoir client though.”

“Yeah, really hard to find someone to do them with plus size women, Rafe. I appreciate it.” She told him.

“I meant that you’re prettier than most of my regular clients, Piper.” He deadpanned. “If you want to go change, there’s a changing room in the back.”

The pair spent the better part of the next two hours with him posing her and snapping photos, sharing jokes and laughs along the way. Time seemed to fly way too fast for his liking.

“Hey Rafe?” She questioned from where she was perched on the sofa he’d brought into the studio months ago, the emerald green of the lingerie set she was wearing catching the light perfectly. He glanced up from his camera to raise an eyebrow at her. “Would you be willing to take some, uh, more risqué photos of me?”

“Meaning?” He questioned. He knew what she meant, but there was a ball of nerves in his throat and he wanted to confirm he wasn’t hearing things.

“Uh, nudes.” She said. “I mean, you said you don’t keep them, and I’m doing these for me so why not?”

“I uh, I’ve never done a nude shoot before.” He told her. “But if you’re comfortable with it, I will.”

With a smile, she reached back to unclasp the bra she was wearing and let it drop to the floor. Rafe willed everything in him to let him go hard at the sight. He suddenly felt like a fifteen year old seeing his first set of boobs again. He knew it was because of the person, not the situation. If any other woman he was shooting would’ve done that, he wouldn’t have had the same reaction.

He swallowed harshly, sticking his tongue out to wet his chapped lips, but said nothing as he kept snapping photos of his high school crush. The room was quiet except for the record he’d placed on the turntable, and it stayed that way for quite a while. Until she slid her hand into her panties and threw her head back. All resolve was gone, he was now painfully hard as he took her picture.

“Damn, Travis is an idiot for cheating on you.” He was sure he said it under his breath, but when her head snapped up to look at him he realized he hadn’t.

“What did you say?” She asked. He set his camera down, walking over to kneel in front of her.

“I said, Travis is an idiot for cheating on you. Who would willingly sleep with someone else when you are as gorgeous as you are?” He said. “God, you have me feeling like a fifteen year old again.” She stared at him, their eyes making contact as his hand rested on her thigh.

“Rafe.” she whispered. “Touch me. I need you to touch me. Please.” He bit his lip, moving to take the panties off of her.

“If you feel uncomfortable at any point, tell me okay?” He said. She nodded as he cupped her pussy, his thumb making contact with her clit which just made her buck her hips up into his hand. Slowly, he pressed two fingers into her, curling them against her walls and relishing in the noises coming out of her mouth. “You’ve got such a pretty pussy, Pip. Can’t wait for you to cum all over my hand, princess.”

Rafe continued to revel in the noises he was causing her to make, feeling her clench around his fingers as he curled them inside of her to hit that sweet spot. He knew she was close just from her breathing and the pace of which she clenched down on his fingers, continuing to buck her hips up to meet his hand.

“Fuck, Pip. I need to taste you, is that okay?”

“Yeah, Rafe. Do it, make me cum on your tongue.”

He wasted no time wrapping his lips around her clit, working quickly and completely burying his face in her pussy to work her to her orgasm. It didn’t take long before she was tangling her fingers through his hair and tugging on it as she came loudly. He stayed put, working her through the aftershocks until she was gently pushing his head away.

His cock was straining against his light wash skinny jeans, making him palm himself through them to give himself some sort of relief. Piper looked at him through hooded eyes, moving so she could pop the button on his jeans and unzip them. She pushed his jeans down, his boxers following soon after as she licked her dry lips and wrapped her hand around the base of his cock.

“Guess the rumors in high school we’re true, Rafe” she said. “You are packing.” He let out a hiss as she started pumping her hand slowly on him.

“Y-yeah.” He breathed out. “But since we’re in this compromising position, I should tell you that I thought about you with all those other girls.”

“Yeah?” She hummed. “Why didn’t you ever try to get with me.”

“I did.” He stuttered. “But you were already dating Travis by the time I got my head out of my ass.” She hummed again as she moved so that she was on her knees in front of him.

“Well since we’re confessing things, it took me months to stop imagining Travis was you during sex.” She told him. “I always wanted to see if the rumors were true.” With that, she took the head of his cock into her mouth, swirling her tongue around him.

Rafe thought his knees were going to buckle at the sensation. Sure, he’d gotten blowjobs before but they were nothing compared to the one he was receiving now. Piper pumped what she couldn’t get in mouth with her hand, now reveling in the noises she was causing him to make. He could feel the muscles of his abdomen clenching, a clear sign he was close. Gently he pushed her away from him.

“As much as I’m sure you would love for me to cum down your throat, I’m not gonna last, Pip” he explained. “And if it’s okay with you, I’d really like to cum with you.”

“Please” her voice was practically a whine. “Fuck me, Rafe.”

“How do you want it?” He questioned. This was for her, in the end, he was just getting an orgasm with the girl he’d been crushing on for years from it.

“Wanna ride you, Rafe. Can I do that?” She asked. He helped her stand up, then positioned himself on the couch before looking at her with a cocky grin.

“Be my guest, Pip.” He said. “I don’t have a condom though, so I’m gonna have to pull out.”

“No you won’t.” She deadpanned as she moved to straddle him. “Got an IUD, Rafey. Travis didn’t want kids so I picked the most effective way to prevent that.”

Before Rafe could respond, she was sinking herself down on him. Feeling her around him for the first time, Rafe was sure he’d just died and was in his own personal heaven. He couldn’t control the movements of his own hips as they rutted up into her to meet her own movements.

Rafe was glad no one could see into the building and that the door was locked, glad that the scene he was looking at was just for him. Piper's head was thrown back, both of her hands on either side of his head, placing her breasts practically in his face. Without thinking he leaned up just enough to capture one of her nipples in his mouth teasingly.

He could feel she was close, her clenching around him every few moments, moans getting louder and more frequent as his hand reached down to allow his thumb to rub her clit in figure eight movements.

“Gonna cum, Rafe.” She mumbled. “So close.”

“Me too, Pip.” He confirmed. “Feel so good around me. Cum for me, baby.”

It didn’t take much longer before she clenched down on him harder than before, a loud moan of his name coming from the deepest part of her throat. The feeling had his hips stuttering and he also exploded in pleasure, emptying inside of her with several hot ropes of cum. She collapsed on top of him, letting out a laugh of disbelief as he turned her head to look at him.

“I stand by what I said earlier, Travis is a dick for cheating on you, he doesn’t know what he’s missing.” He murmured. “Let me get you cleaned up.”

Gently, he moved her so he could slip out of her before settling her on the couch while we walked towards the bathroom to get a rag and run it under warm water. Once she was cleaned up and they were dressed again, he collapsed onto the couch beside her with a heavy sigh.

“Rafe?” She questioned.

“Hmm?” His voice was basically a hum.

“I want you to keep the pictures.” She told him. “I mean, they were for me, but I don’t want this to be a one time thing, so keep them for you.”

“Okay.” He agreed. “I’ll keep the pictures. On one condition.”

“What’s that?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“You let me take you to dinner.”

Taglist: @wannabestarkeysgirl @maybankforlife @k-k0129 @lindzaylove @teelagurl558 @jjmaybankspermbank

[radioduo]

roses and riots: chapter 1

i could count the stars (wait until the dawn

notes: apoc au ^-^ this has been in the works for a while, so hope u guys enjoy! thanks to @b1rdza for the title and the letting me plan things w them :}

tws: blood, injury, violence, talks of death and zombies

Ranboo stared at his phone, slightly cracked and looking worse for wear, reminiscing over the photo on his lock screen. A picture from two months ago of him, Tubbo, and Tommy beaming at the camera. Ranboo returned the smile. Probably a picture Wilbur took on their moving day.

Two months ago, Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo began living together. Two months ago was the last time everything was normal.

Ranboo leaned against the wall of the now crumbling apartment and laid his head back against the foggy windows with a sigh. He could hear Tubbo in the other room quietly singing a cheerful tune and fiddling with some new gadget on his own. Tommy still wasn’t home from the scouting trip he had left for hours ago, and as the minutes ticked by, more and more anxiety gnawed at Ranboo's stomach.

Speak of the devil, Ranboo thought to himself as the communicator next to him began to buzz. It was Tommy, unsurprisingly. Ranboo gingerly set the phone down and picked up the other device. “Hello?”

“RANBOO, GET - krzzkr - HERE, THERE’S - skrzzkz - FUCKING HORDE HEADING OUR - krzzssz - HELP-”

Ranboo flinched and held the speaker away from his ear as he sprang to his feet. “Oh god, alright. Hold on, Tommy, I’m getting Tubbo and we’re going. Where are you?” He pulled on his boots and grabbed the musty red rucksack that hung next to the door.

“WEST- kzzszrt - NEAR THE DINER-”

“Just stay calm, Tommy, find a hiding place, you know the drill,” he knocked on Tubbo’s door urgently, but there was no response. "Are you k- whatever," Ranboo threw open the door, muttering to himself. Tubbo yelped in surprise as the door swung open, flinging his arm out and knocking his project onto the carpet. “We’ve gotta go,”

Tubbo took a deep breath and raised an eyebrow. “What’s up, bossman?”

Ranboo began to explain, but Tommy seemed eager to take matters into his own hands.

“TUBBO, THEY’RE FUCKIN’ AFTER - skrzztz - YOUR HELP RIGHT NOW, GET YOUR ASSES DOWN HERE - kryzztz - TO GOD I WON’T FORGIVE YOU IF I DIE,” he yelled through the radio. Tommy was breathing heavily, and Ranboo and Tubbo could hear quick, heavy footsteps pounding against the pavement.

“Oh fuck, okay, we’re coming, Tommy!” Tubbo grabbed his yellow bag from the foot of his mattress, abandoning his gadget and nearly knocking over his trash can full of failed prototypes. “Where is he?” he asked Ranboo, straining as he tugged his shoes over his heels.

“West Elm, near the diner,” Ranboo said as he pulled his mask over his face, leading Tubbo into the kitchen and grabbing his crowbar from the counter. “We’re on our way, just stay hidden and stay put.” Ranboo ended the transmission before Tommy could keep shouting at him and pulled open the door. “Let’s go, Tubbo,”

Tubbo hoisted his bat over his shoulder and tugged his goggles over his eyes. Wordlessly, the duo slunk out from the crumbling apartment building and down the street.

Nothing new, Ranboo noticed as the two speed-walked around the dilapidated city. Broken glass lined the pavement in front of shopping outlets, rotting wooden planks covered doors and windows, and the smell of flesh and blood filled the air around them, pungent and nauseating. The acrid scent slithered through the mask over Ranboo's nose and snaked into his nostrils, and he fought back the urge to heave as he swallowed the bile rising in his throat.

Rapidly rounding a corner, Ranboo tore his eyes away from the city scenery, stifling a gasp of surprise as he and Tubbo found themselves face to face with a gathering of the undead.

With bulging eyes and mouths lined with yellowed, broken teeth, the pack shuffled down the debris-covered road in the opposite direction, still oblivious to Ranboo and Tubbo's appearance. They seemed too busy tracking something out of sight to pay attention to the smell of fresh, unspilled blood nearby. Unfortunately, Ranboo realized with a sinking feeling in his stomach, the thing they must have been searching for was Tommy, and to find him, he and Tubbo would have to make it through the horde of the starving dead.

Tubbo stared ahead at the mob, a sour expression painting his face. "Don't tell me-"

"We have to, Tubbo. Unless you want to leave Tommy to die over there."

"I'm gonna be honest bossman, that sounds pretty fuckin' appealing right now," Tubbo replied dryly.

"I really hope you're joking," Ranboo answered. "C'mon," he urged, gripping the crowbar in his gloved hands, and charged forward like a bull.

The zombies, luckily for Ranboo, moved slowly, giving him time to react between attacks. He swiped nimbly with his left hand, slamming the metal bar into the face of a corpse, taking its head off with a satisfying crunch. Ranboo heard a grunt next to his ear and rolled out of the way right as an undead creature swung at him, nearly grabbing his arm and pulling him back. He brought the crowbar down into the skull of his attacker and looked away as the creature made a strangled sound in the back of its throat. Bobbing and weaving through the sea of the undead, Ranboo slammed the crowbar into every shambling body he could reach, over and over again. He yelped as he suddenly felt something grab his arm, sending a wave of pain up his arm from the iron-like grip. He wrenched his hand away frantically and stabbed the crowbar into the zombie's eyes. Breathing heavily, he scrambled away from the horde and into the clear at last. Ranboo gripped his sore arm and anxiously looked over the sea of corpses. Tubbo hadn't come out of the mob yet, and Ranboo's stomach twisted with fear at the thought of something happening to him.

A loud smack came from somewhere inside the cluster of bodies, and at last, Tubbo appeared, waving his bloodstained baseball bat like a madman and shouting a string of curses at the undead hands grabbing at his clothes. He ran to Ranboo's side, gasping for air. "Don't ever fucking make me do that again, okay?"

Ranboo grinned, relieved that he seemed unharmed. "Alright, alright, whatever," he said, flicking a drop of blood from his face. "We have to keep moving or they'll catch up with us."

----------

Tubbo and Ranboo slid open the diner door silently, stepping over the upturned chairs and tables as they walked into the abandoned building. "Tommy?" Tubbo whispered. "Are you in here?"

"Tubbo?" A voice answered. A head of curly blond hair popped up from behind the counter, and an unmistakable look of relief swept over Tommy's face when he caught sight of the two. "Thank fuck," he muttered, breathing a sigh of relief and dragging himself to his feet, hauling his backpack with him. "I wasn't sure how much longer I'd last." Crawling out from behind the counter, Tommy pulled his green bandana down from over his mouth again and faced the duo. "How'd you get through that giant fuckin' mob back there?"

Ranboo and Tubbo held up their crowbar and bat, respectively. "We managed," Tubbo said with a shrug. "That's beside the point though, why have you been gone so long? You were supposed to be back, like, two hours ago!" The three inched towards the door as Tubbo talked, slipping back into the streets and booking it in the opposite direction they came from.

Tommy huffed, trying to keep up with his friends. "Other than those dickheads back there keeping me away, I stopped by Phil's place for a bit to get us some food," he explained through deep breaths. "We haven't been able to get out much, thought it'd help." He held up his lumpy bag, obviously full of cans and boxes.

"Tommy, you know carrying food long distances is dangerous," Ranboo huffed, pulling ahead of the group as they rounded a corner. "Those things can smell just about everything, what made you think that was even slightly a good idea?"

Tommy made an indignant scoffing noise in the back of his throat. "Well, ex-CUSE me, Boob Boy, for wanting to help out you and Tubbo. That's my bad," he said, placing unnecessary emphasis on the last two words.

Ranboo rolled his eyes with faux annoyance as the three of them kept walking. "How many times have I told you to stop calling me that?"

"Not enough clearly," Tubbo answered, amusement obvious in his tone.

"Oh my god-" A hand flew over his mouth as Tommy suddenly took a sharp turn and flattened him against the bricks of a rundown building. Ranboo bit back a pained grunt as his aching arm hit the bricks. "I can hear those fuckers nearby," he removed his palm from Ranboo's masked mouth, and the three of them pressed their backs against the crumbling wall. "Is there another way we can take?"

He pressed his lips into a thin line, eyes darting back and forth as he strained his ears to listen for the familiar groans of the undead. "There are only a few that won't take us, like, two hours," he whispered. "Most roads loop around the city, and-"

"-and there's no way in hell that we'd make it back alive if we travel in the dark," Tubbo finished bleakly. He stared at the ground, lost in thought as though he were hoping the answer would write itself on the sidewalk. "So what now? Just stay here and wait until the morning? Surely not," he looked up at the other two. "I mean, that's a death wish right there,"

Ranboo and Tommy nodded silently. "I guess there's always Phil's place, but that's a couple dozen blocks down the road," Ranboo suggested, glancing up at the sky. It was only marginally darker than when they'd left, but Ranboo knew the light wouldn't last for much longer - especially not with the luck they'd been having. He absently rubbed his sore arm, careful to keep something from hitting it again. "We'd have to leave now to be there before dark,"

"Don't tell me we have to fuckin' walk even more," Tommy griped loudly. "I just got back from his place, are you sure there isn't a faster way home?"

"We can leave you here with the horde, if that's what you prefer," Tubbo retorted. Slinging his yellow bag over one arm and hoisting his worn baseball bat over the other, he dashed down the street, calling to Tommy over his shoulder, "Hurry up, dickhead!"

"Tubbo, wait-!" Tommy shouted back as he and Ranboo followed suit, jogging down the sidewalk behind Tubbo to the safety of their friend's home.

It was nearly dark by the time the three came to the pale blue house. It sat on the city outskirts, barely safer than the houses on the inside but at least ten times cozier. Tommy rapped on the door raucously, and Ranboo and Tubbo cringed as the sound echoed, definitely alerting the nearby zombies to their presence.

They didn't have time to worry about that, thankfully, as Phil greeted them at the door, looking relieved. "You guys scared the shit out of me," he breathed as he ushered the three teens inside. "You can't just be out wandering and knocking on strangers' doors,"

"Phil, if you were a stranger, this would be very awkward right now," Ranboo said, kicking his boots off and shoving them in the corner.

"I'm- oh my god, you know what I mean," he replied exasperatedly. "Be careful out there, is all. I don't know what I'd do if you guys got hurt."

Silence fell over the group as they heard the subtext of Phil's words. 'If you guys got hurt again.' Ranboo peered over at Tubbo, whose hand had subconsciously drifted up to trace the burn scars that outlined his face. Ranboo's own hand had floated up to touch his bruised arm carefully. He wouldn't tell Phil about it. Not yet.

Coughing, Ranboo broke the silence as he drew his hand away from his injury and undid the clasp on his cloak. "Welp, uh, I'm gonna sit down if anyone else wants to come," he invited, plopping the heavy fabric in a pile with the rest of his things and wandering into the living room.

The fireplace was burning, and Wilbur laid next to the orange flames, half-lidded eyes staring sleepily at the ceiling. He blinked and sat up as Ranboo entered the room, still alone as Tubbo and Tommy followed Phil into the kitchen, discussing something Ranboo couldn't quite hear. "Hey, Rhombus," Wilbur smiled, holding back a yawn. "How goes it?" His eyes darted briefly to the yellow sweater Ranboo wore.

Ranboo shrugged, removing his mask and catching the brief smile that flickered across Wilbur's face. "Could be better, I suppose," he replied.

"I think you said that last time," Wilbur noted.

"Yeah, well, it's been hard to be great recently," Ranboo said, barely audible.

Wilbur nodded sagely nonetheless, shuffling away from the fire to sit on the carpet in front of the couch. "You're not wrong," he agreed. There was a moment of silence as Wilbur looked up at Ranboo, who sat stiffly on the sofa, clutching his arm lightly and staring blankly into the fire. "You all good?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Ranboo answered, blinking himself out of his stupor and brushing a strand of hair from his eyes. "Just- pain is all. Nothing a little sleep can't fix," he insisted. Ranboo could see the doubt in Wilbur's eyes, and it made his stomach churn. He wasn't sure why. "I'm alright, seriously," he repeated. "I'd let you know if I wasn't, you know that."

"Right." Disbelief laced Wilbur's words, but he didn't pry, nor did Ranboo want to offer an explanation.

Wilbur opened his mouth to say something else, but he didn't get the chance as Tubbo peeped his head into the room. "Dinner's ready big man, if you're interested," he said, jabbing a thumb behind him towards the kitchen, the comforting smell of potato soup wafting through the house. "You too, Wilbur, I guess," he snickered.

Ignoring the lighthearted banter between the other two, Ranboo inhaled deeply, savoring the scent. It smelt like home, he thought, a small smile painting his face. Wordlessly, Ranboo padded through the doorway into the kitchen, where Techno, Tommy, and Phil sat around the table waiting.

"There you are," Techno greeted him, reaching for the soup spoon. "We were starvin' to death in here, c'mon man," he joked.

Ranboo huffed a laugh through his nose. "Sorry about that," he apologized, running a hand through his hair. "Been a long day." He caught Tubbo's eye, who agreed with a slight head nod.

"It's alright, mate," Phil assured him. He held the bowls as Techno ladled soup into them carefully. "We get it." Phil handed him a bowl, steaming and cozy, and Ranboo gratefully accepted. "Just hang out for a while, alright?"

The six of them sat around the small kitchen table, eating together and listening to the radio as songs old and new alike filled the air. Tubbo and Wilbur sang duets, and Techno and Tommy made increasingly strange parodies as Phil and Ranboo watched with amusement.

Tommy and Techno were mid-song about Phil when the music suddenly stopped, harsh static cutting through the joyful atmosphere like a knife.

"WE INTERRUPT YOUR PROGRAM FOR AN EMERGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT," the prerecorded sample recited. "ATTENTION, ALL CITIZENS OF NEW LENSLING COUNTY: A MANDATORY EVACUATION IS BEGINNING TOMORROW AT 11 AM. ALL PERSONS LIVING IN THE CITY MUST RELOCATE BEFORE THE END OF THE WEEK."

The once bright mood at the dinner table quickly sank, dread and icy cold fear replacing the warm feeling of family and safety.

"What the fuck?" Tommy murmured, turning the radio volume up to the max.

"COUNTY OFFICIALS WILL BE INSPECTING HOMES TO ENSURE THAT EVERYONE HAS EVACUATED. SAFE CITIES ARE AS FOLLOWS: ATTSTONE, WORWICKE, LANGSTEDSHIRE, SHANTOWSEA, AND SOUTH BIRBED. FURTHER QUESTIONS WILL BE ANSWERED AT-"

Wilbur turned off the radio with a harsh slam. "Great," he growled. "What the fuck do we do now? Surely they don't expect us to just be happy with this!"

"All our shit is still at home!" Tubbo added, agitated. "There's no way we have time to grab it tonight, and it'll take ages to get back to the apartment in the morning!" He grumbled. "This is bullshit!"

"Calm down, you two," Phil cut in, trying to curb the anger bubbling in the air. "We'll figure something out, okay?"

Tubbo and Wilbur had the same disgruntled look in their eyes, jaws set and eyes shadowed. "Fine," Tubbo muttered, standing up to look at Phil. "Tell us then, what's the plan? Do you even know what's going to happen to us?"

"Tubbo," Ranboo warned. "Calm down. We're all figuring it out as a group."

Tubbo folded his arms and sat heavily in his chair, still irritated.

Techno was already rifling through his things for a map of the county. "The safe zones were all cities nearby," he said, seemingly to himself. He rolled a thin map out over the table, careful to avoid the drops of soup. "Attstone, Worwicke, et cetera. The closest one to us would be-"

"South Birbed, innit?" Tommy finished, shoving his now-empty soup bowl out of the way to lean over the table. "It's 'bout a week-long trip on foot," he explained. "We could be there in no time if all of us leave first thing in the morning,"

"Hold on, Tommy," Techno stopped him as Tommy took a breath to say something else. "One of us needs to stay behind and let someone know where we're goin', right Phil?"

"They need to send a message to all the safe zones to tell 'em how many people to prepare for," Phil confirmed. "I'll stay behind, tell whoever may stop by that the six of us are heading south, yeah?"

Ranboo and the other four shared a look of hesitance, none of them quite sure how to respond. "I don't want to leave you behind, Phil," Ranboo admitted. "Are you 100 percent sure you'll be alright on your own?"

Phil waved a hand dismissively. "You don't have to worry about me, mate. I'll catch up with you all in no time."

Phil's promise sent a wave of relief around the room. Wilbur and Tubbo looked more at ease, and Ranboo, Techno, and Tommy all breathed a sigh. "We should probably pack up our shit, I guess." Tommy rose to his feet, stretching and yawning. "Early start tomorrow, aye?"

They all stood, some more hesitant than others, and dispersed to their respective sleeping quarters. Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo trekked upstairs single file, carrying their bags, weapons, and everything in between into the large bedroom silently. It wasn't like they hadn't done this same thing before, but something about knowing it might be the last time for a while made the mood feel more somber than usual.

Tommy flopped onto the large, pillowy mattress with a sigh. "I can't believe we're being fuckin' kicked out," he muttered crossly, a change in mood from the upbeat leader persona he'd put on downstairs (probably to prove himself to the adults). "And to South Birbed of all places!"

Ranboo snorted, his eyes crinkling up with laughter. "What did South Birbed ever do to you?" He asked, watching as Tubbo crawled onto the bed next to Tommy.

"I dunno, it just seems like a shit city," Tommy shrugged.

Tubbo smacked him with a pillow, and Tommy yelped in protest, shouting a string of curse words at his assailer. "Mercy, mercy!" Tommy begged as he and Tubbo began a pillow fight.

Ranboo looked on with mild intrigue but didn't join the party. Instead, he slipped away from the other two into the bathroom and shut the door.

He pried his gloves off his hands and rinsed his face, desperate to clean the dirt and grime from his forehead and fingers. Ranboo stared at himself in the mirror, watching beads of water run down his face. He looked like a mess, he thought briefly, before drying the water with a towel. He winced, feeling a shock of pain flow up his arm as he blotted the water with the scratchy cloth. Deftly, he rolled up his sweater sleeve to examine his arm.

A little bit of broken skin, Ranboo noticed. He caught sight of a few small indents, which he assumed were from fingernails digging into his arm when the zombie had grabbed him. He made a mental note to keep checking the wound before it got infected and rolled his sleeve down again.

With a newly clear head, he reentered the bedroom quietly. Tommy and Tubbo had already claimed the bed, he noted, as the two laid on either half of the mattress, Tommy's head and Tubbo's feet on one end and the other way around at the foot of the bed. Ranboo sighed as he realized he'd have to sleep on the floor. Swiftly, he snagged a pillow from the bed, careful not to wake the already-snoring Tubbo, and dragged a throw blanket from a basket to sleep beneath. Begrudgingly, he laid on his makeshift bed, staring at the ceiling.

He had never noticed it before, but shining overhead was a galaxy of artificial stars, blinking and twinkling. The question of "why" briefly crossed Ranboo's mind as he stared at the bright little shapes above him. It made sense, he supposed, since the room belonged to Wilbur years before he, Tommy, or Tubbo ever stayed there. Still, he thought, it was surprising that Phil had kept them up there after all this time. Maybe he wanted to keep a little piece of the good times with him.

Ranboo felt a pit form in his stomach as he thought about the future (or possible lack thereof). The uncertainty made his stomach churn as he yawned, eyelids drooping. Thoughts of traveling and an image of the artificial galaxy were fresh in his mind as he rolled over that night, shutting his eyes and letting the darkness of sleep wash over him at last.

[donutloverxo]

A Royal scandal 4

Modern royalty au

Image from Instagram

cowritten with @lizzygal​

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Summary - Modern ruler, His Majesty King Steven G Rogers, is on a quest to make his long term secret relationship the real thing. He is a man in love and wants his lover and partner to be his queen.

Warnings - Smut (m/f), dub con/non con, sex tape, scandals, mentions of past domestic abuse, soft dark Steve, possessive Steve, spanking, power imbalance, mentions of previous domestic abuse, somnophilia, talks of virginity.

Pairing - King!Steve x reader

Word count - 7.8k

Story masterlist

Valkyrie, or simply Val, watched the entire thing unfold before her eyes and was helpless to stop any of it. All of it. All she could do was watch. Much like one would watch a train accident happen before their very eyes.

She had tried. In truth she had.

However, Sarah was the Queen Mother and Val was a member of the Royal Guard.

There was little she could do.

“Your Majesty,” she purred one last time, in one last attempt to save a situation that she knew deep in her heart was not going to go well at all. “Perhaps you would prefer to go inside and I’ll bring them into the reception area?”

Everything was wrong. So very wrong.

Outside the palace was normally empty.

As it was located in the center of the capital. An old historic building from imperial days that covered numerous city blocks, was where the government was run and where King Steven resided. Press knew better than to hang around outside the imposing palace gates as the king never left out them and was uninterested in opportunities to have his picture taken. As did the Queen Mother.

And yet, that morning, a whole gaggle of photographers were lined up and waiting for the visiting royals. Or so they had shared with Val.

Her Grace, Hope van Dyne, never went anywhere without getting her picture taken. In Val’s opinion, she probably had the phone number to every tabloid office in the world.

Sarah’s voice was kind. Soft. Gentle. It made Val want to wrap her queen up in a blanket and make her go inside so she could deal with their unwelcome guests. She stood beside Val at the top of the steps of the palace, provided with a great view of the black sedan that had pulled in through the gates. The flashiest possible way to enter the palace instead of through the underground garage like everyone else.

“Oh no. That’s hardly necessary. They wanted a scene. Let us give them one.”

Not liking the sounds of that at all, her brown eyes flickered over to look at the slim woman with a head of artfully styled strawberry blonde curls, a button nose and rose petal lips. She was every bit as regal as her title, even if she had not a drop of royal blood in her body.

“You can’t think that they actually called the press to say that the Duchess Hope was the woman with His Majesty on the video from the royal banya?”

Sarah’s cool blue gaze flickered to her royal bodyguard before returning back to the sedan so she could observe her former friend climb out, followed by her raven-haired daughter who waved to the photographers on the other side of the iron gates.

That was exactly what Sarah suspected the second she’d seen it in the morning paper. Though she doubted she would ever find out who had started that rumor.

“Have you found out why they’re here?”

Grimacing, Valkyrie shook her head, unhappy to not have an answer for her queen beneath the cloudy chilly winter day. “Not yet Your Majesty. We have reached out to the Maharaja’s Staff and are waiting to hear back. Soon though we suspect.”

Any second now Val hoped her phone would ring so she could tell the queen.

Which led to Sarah turning her head to look away from her guests as they climbed the stairs. She looked away from the large fountain that the sleek luxury car was parked beside and gave her last true smile for what she suspected would be till lunch. Reaching out, she placed her hand on Valkyrie’s wrist. One of her preferred bodyguards. She’d been loyal and had on two occasions nearly given her life in service of her country. “I trust you will find out and inform me as soon as possible. Do not fret. I doubt they will be leaving anytime in the near future.”

Only a lifetime of service kept Val from cracking a smile.

Instead, her dark eyes watched the silver haired Queen of the Netherlands climb the steps towards them. Smiling. Dressed expensively with a heavy coat made from numerous small furry animals.

Queen Janet van Dyne approached as if it hadn’t been years. She came to stand beside Sarah and greet her in such a way that would make for a perfect picture. Or so Sarah noticed. She greeted her as if they were still friends who spoke frequently on the phone and still sent one another gifts. As if their children had married and everything was fine.

“Sarah! How wonderful to see you, you have not aged a day.”

Janet reached out with gloved hands trimmed in mink, leaned forward to place a polite kiss on Sarah’s cheek in greeting and was more than a little surprised when Sarah stepped away. Her own hands remaining clasped in front of her and out of Janet’s. Greeting or otherwise.

“Janet,” was all that came from Sarah’s mouth. A look went from Janet’s coat down to her dress and then shoes, pausing there before coming back up. “Is that the dress you wore to Lizzie’s grandson’s wedding?”

Surprised by the greeting, or lack thereof, Janet paused and then smiled brightly, knowing that though the cameras could not hear them they could capture this image on film. “Yes. We’re focusing on becoming sustainable out in the west. Going green isn’t merely a project meant as royal busywork.”

Sarah could actually feel Valkyrie stiffen beside her at mention of the Green Initiative that Steve had tasked her with and had been far from busywork. It was something that Sarah could go on and on about, one of her many efforts that she busied herself with and yet, she found she didn’t want to expend that much energy on her once friend.

Hands still in front of her, fingers laced together where she could feel her wedding band. Sarah tilted her head slightly to the side. “I wouldn’t know. We remain a governing monarchy here.”

Janet blanched. Her lips formed a straight line, nearly as straight as the way her spine stiffened.

Though Sarah was unable to enjoy it as she turned her attention to the daughter. Hope van Dyne. Formerly Princess Hope but now Duchess Hope, after having been stripped of her title and recently reinstated to a lesser one, in Sarah’s opinion anyway.

Hope looked lovely as ever.

Tanned. Dressed exceptionally well. Smiling exuberantly.

It almost warmed Sarah’s icy heart.

“Sarah! How are you? You look wonderful!” Exclaimed Hope, sounding genuinely thrilled to see the woman who might have been her mother-in-law had things gone differently. She stepped on up with outstretched arms and was greeted with a serene face that looked at her in confusion.

Sarah said nothing. Not a word. Sarah maintained eye contact and looked at Hope as if waiting for the younger woman to say or do something.

Thus leading to Hope blinking in confusion and lowering her arms, looking to her mother for assistance as this clearly was not the welcome she expected.

“Is something wrong,” Hope asked a bit nervously as a winter breeze ruffled the fur on her mother’s coat. Sneaking under the cashmere of her own, as she hadn’t had time to properly shop for winter here. This was her mother’s idea. It was her last hope. Her father had refused to hear her and not even her mother could plead her case this time. This was it.

“I was about to ask you the same.”

Val watched Hope’s confusion and fought hard to not say anything at all, and it was becoming painful to watch in her opinion. Her gaze veered over to all the photographers that were watching more than taking pictures. Even they seemed to realize this visit was not starting off smoothly.

“I’m-I’m sorry?”

Val risked a look over at her queen. Her queen who was peering at the young woman who had referred to Val’s people as ‘war criminals’ or ‘superstitious backwoods fools.’

Unable to take another moment of it, Valkyrie cleared her throat.

Finally making Sarah take mercy on Hope who really should have known better in her opinion. “In civilized societies, a duchess would curtsey to a queen. Perhaps things are different for those who are merely ceremonial in purpose.”

***

Someone called your name and for a second, you were terrified that Wanda had come for your ass.

Not that you could blame the best friend you’d had since high school.

Upon heading into the offices of the royal palace that morning, you had intentionally avoided her , secure in the knowledge that she was pissed at you and you really did not want to have the fight you knew was coming someplace public like the office.

So, you’d been groveling via text and promising to go out with her that night for a girls night, swearing on your honor that you would tell her everything! Because Wanda was no fool.

Wanda saw the new dress you had on. Wanda saw your new shoes. Wanda noticed your perfect makeup and styled hair. Wanda also brought up the facts that you’d not been home that night or early morning, as well as the crucial one regarding your flatiron that was still in the bathroom the two of you shared.

Needless to say, you had a lot of explaining to do.

There was no getting around it. You were going to have to tell her about Steve. Sure, you’d swear her to secrecy until everything came out. The palace had made its announcement this morning about King Steven being in a relationship that he would make public soon. A second public statement had come from the Palace PR Guru, Maria Hill, stating that without a doubt, the king was not involved with Duchess Hope after a few rumors had burnt their way through the palace and news cycles.

Besides, Wanda should know. Wanda deserved to know. You and Wanda had come on this adventure post university together. Wanda had to know before it came out in the form of an official palace announcement, or else Wanda might very well skin you alive.

Hearing your name on a female tongue had you snapping up, your attention diverted away from the emails you were checking.

Wanda?

No.

It was not Wanda.

It was an Indian woman in a well-tailored pantsuit. Her dark hair was swept up in a chignon. Her lips a shade of red that had you lowkey thinking about asking for the name and shade of said lipstick. Her dark eyes bore right through you. As if spearing you from your chair and to the wall of your office.

“You are the King’s Chief of Staff?”

While your natural first instinct was to report that was what it said on your door. Professional-you put the kibosh on that right away. Inner you was somewhat intimidated by this powerful woman who looked as if she knew your every last secret.

Head held high this woman so informed you in a tone that let you know she was here for nothing less. “The Maharaja has sent us. Duchess Hope of the Netherlands has stolen from us and is here with the intention of pleading political asylum. While the Maharaja would like nothing more than to have her brought back for trial of the theft of our priceless treasures. I will settle for what was taken and no less.”

Ok. Well. Maybe you thought too soon.

Maybe Wanda was preferrable over this person.

“Oh…goody…” came from your lips with a frown.

“General Odinson sent me here. He told me that you would be able to help resolve this issue for me post haste.”

Oh of course General Fucking Thor Odinson would send this person your way so he didn’t have to deal with this international nightmare of an incident.

Letting out a deep breath, you held up a finger. “Let me just send this out real quick…what’s your name?” And you typed as quickly as humanly possible on your encrypted laptop.

“Ekta. I am with the Maharaja’s Royal Guard.”

Because of course she was. Why wouldn’t she be? Why wouldn’t Hope have stolen from the Maharaja and bounced? Though you’d never had the pleasure of meeting her face to face, you’d heard more than your share about the infamous Duchess, then Princess, Hope.

Typing. Typing. Typing.

“You’ve got any pictures or detailed descriptions of what the items stolen look like? I’m sure His Majesty will be very curious. And, you know, the more information of what we’re looking for the better.”

And done.

With a tap on your laptop, you’d sent out an email to the Finance Minister. Then up you stood.

“Of course,” Ekta answered coolly.

Not that you blamed her. If you were in her shoes, you would have been super pissed off too. Being robbed was never fun.

“Let’s go see if we can track down His Majesty. If not, we’ll make an appointment with his secretary and then go see who is in the office of our Royal Guard. Someone is always in there and I know that Carol, she’s Captain of the Guard, is working right now.” You explained, as if you felt that telling this unhappy woman all these things could somehow make everything right. Probably not. But you still had to try. It was in your nature to fix problems and you most definitely wanted to fix this problem.

Ekta said nothing.

She merely followed you out of your office and into the hallway which was lined with doors and walls of tasteful and probably expensive original art.

You looked to the left.

Then to the right and nearly died then and there at your luck.

How had you gotten so lucky?

There, mere feet away and closing, was not just Carol but His Majesty, deep in discussion about something that was irritating them both.

You had an inkling that you knew what was at the heart of their discussion.

The sight of you made them stop talking and pause in their tracks, which told you that you had been the one that they were seeking.

Before anything could be done, you bowed. “Your Majesty, just the person I was hoping to find.” Up you flourished your hand to gesture at Ekta, who you could feel was beside you, practically putting off rays of righteousness. “We have a visitor from the Maharaja’s Royal Guard. This is Ekta. She is here because of something that concerns the Duchess Hope.”

The reaction that came was almost immediate from both Steve and Carol.

A look as if Steve had suddenly smelled a dead animal came over his face. Carol however cocked her hip to the side, lifted her chin in a dark blue pantsuit, almost demanding in a knowing sort of way. “What’d she steal from you guys? Art or jewelry?”

For the first time ever, you noted a moment of Ekta’s veneer breaking. Like she was taken off balance. “The duchess stole from you too?” Then, almost as an afterthought came, “Your Majesty?”

And this was news to you too.

You had no idea that Hope had taken souvenirs with her that weren’t free to take when she fled the Royal Palace for India all those years ago.

When Steve spoke, his teeth were clearly clenched together. “Yes. Both. She raided my mother’s room as well as the halls for art and pieces that are priceless. Sacred treasures from my countries history that can never be replaced. She filled her suitcase with on her way out.”

“Every now and then an item will appear on the black market. We can only assume that she is selling them when she is in need of money.” Carol helpfully added.

Beside you, you could practically feel Ekta tremble. Shake out of control one could say.

“Is the Duchess Hope here?”

For that you had no answer.

Carol however had one. “Yes. Her Majesty is taking tea out in the gardens with the Duchess Hope and her own mother.”

After being brought abreast of that development, you had a statement to make. One you thought was obvious. But none-the-less, out it came. Maybe none of them knew? “It’s snowing outside.”

Thus leading Steve to turn his attention on you. Finally. And when he did so, he looked at you as if you were only his Chief of Staff. He looked at you kindly without the heat in his eyes from earlier that morning, when he’d woken you up by pushing himself deep into your body until the both of you reached a climax that made your eyes cross and left an impression of his teeth broken into your shoulder.

“Yes. Mother wanted to be sure that the Duchess Hope did not steal anything else from within the palace walls whilst they are here.”

Well then.

Even you had to admit. The Queen Mother could be downright frosty when the occasion called for it. Pun intended.

“She’s having tea with Queen Janet and Duchess Hope outside? In the frigid temperatures?”

You couldn’t quite make yourself believe it. You blinked. You looked from Steve who appeared casual after his statement, like he just told you the winters here were cold. Over to Carol who was pulling out her phone from her pocket. Acting like you hadn’t said anything out of the normal.

“Your Majesty, I’ll take care of Ekta and deal with this issue. If anything arrives concerning this issue. I will contact you. Nakia will come fill my place today.”

If Steve was greatly upset by any of his, he made no outward indication of it other than a nod of his head that he both heard and understood and accepted what Carol had told him. His attention was instead focused on you.

“I have a meeting concerning the Switzerland trip about the proposed embassy. Go get your notes. You’ll be joining me.”

***

Her Grace, the Duchess Hope van Dyne, had finally made it in the palace after that psycho, the Queen Mother Sarah, had the audacity to serve tea in the garden as flakes of snow drifted down. And if that weren’t barbaric enough, afterwards, she then led them around the winter garden as if Hope gave a damn.

Hope had problems and Queen Sarah was not very receptive to any of her attempts to thaw the ice that had formed around Sarah’s heart. Nor did her mother, Janet, have much luck.

When did Sarah turn into such a bitch?

Sarah should have been ecstatic that Hope would even return to this shithole. Sarah’s son was still single, he needed a queen and his backwoods hovel wanted a queen and Hope had royal blood. What more did Sarah need? Did she need it written down?

When did Sarah turn into such a horrible host?

Hope remembered a distinctively different Sarah. When she had lived in this palace, Steve’s mother had coddled her, practically waited on her hand and foot to be sure that Hope was happy and settling in so far from civilization. Where was that Sarah now?

Somehow, Hope had managed to break away, pleading a need to use the powder room around the time her toes and fingers went numb. As she hadn’t had the time to properly shop for clothes to wear in this frigid shithole. India had been so gloriously warm. She’d loved India. Hope would have loved to stay there but things had gone south.

Eventually, like everything else, it’d blow over.

Until then though, she needed someplace safe to stay. She needed to stay somewhere that the Maharaja couldn’t get her. What she needed was diplomatic immunity. However, that wasn’t going to happen since her father refused to even see her, so she’d just have to settle for sovereign immunity. Granted, Hope hadn’t expected it to be this difficult to see Steven and tell him that she was ready to get married now. For crying out loud, he should have been groveling at her feet for her to come back to him. Especially after that sex tape which had been burning up the internet and royal circles. If there was anything that Hope could do, it was bounce back from a scandal.

This was just ridiculous.

The Queen Mother should have been inviting them to this lunch with her son, instead of practically throwing Hope and Janet out. Which was exactly why Hope was wandering the halls in the search for Steven’s office. Toes tingling in her fashionable pumps. Her fingers burning from the warm air in the administrative offices.

Hope would need a whole new wardrobe once she got Steven onboard with her plan. As his current plan of ignoring the sex tape was absurd. These things needed to be tackled head on. With her as his queen by his side, Hope could handle all of it.

Ah, she found herself pleased at the sight of the royal seal over a doorway marking it as the king’s office.

Valkyrie followed her closely. That bitch.

As soon as Hope was queen, she’d be one of the first on the firing block. Following her around like some manner of commoner who might fill their pockets with royal gold. It was absurd. Hope was born a princess and one day she would become one again.

Hope remembered Valkyrie from when she was a young member of the guard and now, she was a Captain and just as irreprehensible as Carol, who Hope also despised. Both of them had to go. Reaching out with a hand that held a ring belonging to the sister of the Maharaja, Hope opened the door and marched right into the office of Steven’s secretary. Who was apparently gone for lunch.

Not that the room was empty.

Nakia, who had been seated on a couch in the office, stood. Dressed in a dark blue suit that all the royal guard wore. Her face stony at the sight of Hope and then darkened further in disgust. She stood tall. Regally. Holding her head high when she spoke down to the former princess. “The king is busy.”

Not that Hope would settle for anything less than seeing Steven in person immediately. She stepped forward. “The king is having lunch with his mother in fifteen minutes. I know for a fact he’s not doing anything of importance. Get out of my way, or I’ll have you selling souvenirs from a cart outside the palace when I am queen.”

At such a statement, Nakia found herself wanting to both laugh and spit in the face of this western woman. One who had referred to her people and country as little more than a backwoods hellhole full of illiterate stone pounders.

How often Nakia had dreamt of being so close to the Duchess Hope, how she thought of ripping out this woman’s forked tongue.

“Let her in,” came Valkyrie’s voice in their native tongue from the eastern regions of the land.

Sending Nakia’s dark eyes past Hope. A knowing expression claimed her features. “His Majesty is in there waiting for our queen.”

A shrug came from the senior guardswoman.

Nakia would be the first to admit, she had not been hopeful when the crown prince had been coronated as a teenager. No one in the country had been particularly hopeful but now, nearly everyone supported their king. His Majesty was a good king who served them all as much as they served him.

Nakia was protective of her king. She wanted her king to marry his Chief of Staff yesterday. Her land was in need of a queen, a woman’s touch one could say.

Knowing what was at stake with the coming lunch that her king would attend with his mother and lover, a visit from the Duchess Hope would not put him in the best of moods. The Queen Mother always grew quiet when King Steven was in such a mood. Why would Nakia allow such a thing to happen?

“Perhaps if he tells her she isn’t wanted here she’ll leave sooner? Let her in. That is an order.”

Pursing her lips unhappily, Nakia stepped back.

She wasn’t about to open the door to His Majesty’s office for this interloper. However, she would no longer stand in the way. Nakia even made sure to send a look that screamed impending homicidal violence. Spurring Hope quickly through the door without another syllable directed at Nakia.

Which was fine with Hope.

Hope couldn’t get away from Nakia quick enough.

Wanting distance sent Hope into the king’s large office without much thought. Looking as if it belonged in an old Victorian estate with dark wood, so many books, old art and thick dark Turkish Rugs.

What Hope did not expect was how much the prince had grown.

No longer a gangly young man whose mother had to have padding sewn into the robes that he was coronated in. This man sitting at his desk was big in every way. Exuding power in a manner that most could only dream and for a second, seeing Steven look at her with shocking blue eyes and stubble darkening his face, she was rendered speechless.

“What do you want Hope,” came Steven’s voice, more than a little annoyed. Far more emotion than she’d ever seen from the young man. Who was now very obviously a man.

This was not the Steven she remembered.

Before her was not the young man she remembered at all. Every last bit of him was very much a king and Hope suddenly, possibly for the first time in her life, found herself regretting many of the past choices she made. It seemed her mother was right. She’d been far too hasty in her youth. Her mother had told her that the prince would mature like a fine wine. Hope had written that off as nonsense meant to trap her into an arranged marriage like so many women before her.

Now?

Now she was looking at a tall powerful man close a very modern looking laptop and turn his attention on her in such a way that made her gut coil. What would it have been like to be the woman in the video? And where the hell did that thought come from? She had been wrong. So so very wrong.

Finally, gathering herself, Hope peered around the office and fussed at the pearl buttons on her coat. “I saw the video…” A noise came from Steven that she’d never heard before, yet, she went on. “…and since we’re still technically engaged, I thought I would return to help you put out the fires of this scandal.”

Another noise came from the king, a derisive snort.

“Wow. That’s cute. Highly amusing coming from you.” Though there was no hint of heat or passion in his words that had been so evident on that video. In her opinion, he didn’t even sound bored. Worse. Steven then leaned back in his seat, peered around her and asked, “Who let you in here?”

Those words, those uncaring words as if she were little more than the two guards outside his office made her burn, bristle.

Which had Hope clearing her throat, bristling one could say. “Actually, it’s more than cute. If you recall, I come from a distinguished royal house. Our engagement is a legally binding agreement.”

For the reaction she got, she might as well have told him it was showing outside.

As she was prone to when there was silence that needed to be filled, Hope pushed the waves of dark hair over her shoulder. She shifted from one foot to the other and watched Steven lean back in his chair.

Finally, as if sensing that she wasn’t going to leave, Steve offered her a shrug. Finding the mere sight of her numbing. He could have cared less what she did one way or the other. So long as she stayed out of his room. He had valuable things in there that he was fond of. “I’m not marrying you. Do with that as you will, you’ll find no sanctuary here.”

This was most certainly not the Steven that she had left all those years ago. It took Hope a second to collect herself, to steel herself. No one had spoken to her in such a way in quite a while. Her brain screamed at her that damage control needed to be done but she was not sure how. In what way? What did she say?

Hope’s brain screamed at her that the plan was failing, everything was going wrong. This was not supposed to happen this way and now she was failing horrendously. What did she do? How could she fix this?

Pricks of pain came from her fists as her nails dug into her palms. Telling Hope that when she unclenched her fists, she would see blood. “You have to marry me!”

Oh this was bad.

This was really really bad.

Across the expanse of his desk, Steve remained calm. Almost to the point of uncaring and such demeanor was reflected in his words. In the way his broad shoulders shrugged and how he rubbed his rough cheek, as if that were more interesting.

“I do not need or want your assistance for anything, forget that video. There is no reason for me to be ashamed of it.”

“Steven! Listen!”

He could see the desperation on her face, hear it in her voice and after so long, he wished he could say that it was rewarding. He wished that he could say it made him feel better after everything that had happened.

It didn’t.

There was just nothing. Little more than cold numbness. Steve felt absolutely nothing.

Nothing was there anymore.

When he looked at Hope there was nothingness.

It reminded him of his father. He hated when he felt that way, when he thought of his father. There was no one on this earth that Steve loathed more. It was his very purpose for being, to not be his father. To end that cycle. To let it die with him.

Most irritably, he shifted in his seat. His eyes found the picture of you both on his desk from a trip to Scotland.

Hints of his father swirled with every syllable only furthering his inner revulsion with himself, his genes and heritage.

“When you left, I did not officially break our engagement as a common courtesy to your father. No more no less. I am a king. You cannot compel me to do anything.”

Pools of blue found Hope again though. A little bit of serene malice hovered between them.

“If you continue to be an annoyance, I will. I am a king now. I have a country to govern. I do not have time for the childish games and pursuits that occupy the western families.”

“Steven this is serious! I could go to prison! In India!”

May his ancestors help him, his first initial response would have been to remind her of her place, remind her of how he should be addressed.

His Majesty.

Exactly as his father would, he swore he heard his father’s voice in his ear.

“You have to help me out! I’m begging you! I don’t care about that other woman. You can have all the mistresses you want!”

A peek down at his watch told Steve that he had minutes to wrap this up and go collect you. Minutes. He had minutes to regain his sanity before he saw his mother.

Minutes.

“Steven!”

Standing from his chair, he shook his head. Doing his best to silence the sound of his father telling him he was not good enough, was not worthy, was not fit to rule. His voice was soft because Steve would not yell like that man. “No Hope. I’m sorry, but no. You remind me of my father. You make me feel like him. You bring him back to life and I cannot live with his ghost. So no. You will have to deal with the consequences of your actions like the rest of us.”

Her eyes went wild.

Steve could see it and was glad he wasn’t within reach of her. He watched her grab a Fabergé Egg from the end of his desk.

Colorful glass accented in gold with rubies around the middle. It fit in her hand but only just, being the size of an ostrich egg and then it went soaring through the air where it smashed loudly into a wall. Denting the dark wood and shattering. Smashing into dozens and dozens of colorful pieces that fell to the floor.

Having felt the very loss of hope itself, she turned to set her storm on him. “You’ll regret this, Your Majesty.” Before turning and leaving, slamming his office door behind her as hard as possible. Leaving Steve with the sound of his father telling him that he wasn’t worthy.

***

Lipstick?

No lipstick?

It was a question for the ages.

A swipe or two of lipstick always gave you the courage you needed in any occasion. But then again, this was not merely any occasion. This was lunch with your boyfriends mother to officially meet her and get to know her, because you were in a serious committed relationship with her son. Because you loved her son.

Oh, and her son was the king, so there were expectations on that already plus with her being the Queen Mother, that was sorta already an expectation of its own.

Lipstick?

No lipstick?

You wanted to look your best because the Queen Mother always looked immaculate. But you also didn’t want to risk getting lipstick on your teeth. Leading you to peer once more into the bathroom mirror.

No. No lipstick. If you put on lipstick you’d be thinking about your lipstick and you needed to focus on making a good impression.

Otherwise, your makeup looked fabulous. Really. Five stars. Two thumbs up.

This had you stuffing your makeup back into your purse and kinda sorta looking up when the bathroom door opened, shut and was locked. Because really. Why would the door be locking?

In the art deco styled bathroom, Steve’s form was very clear and your eyebrows shot up.

Luckily, you were alone, considering how beyond pissed off he looked. One hundred and ten percent not fit to have lunch with his mother. Not with him in this condition.

You had no idea what happened, but something had happened.

He crossed the red and white marble tiled floor. Walked past the gilded edged stalls and stained-glass doors to where you stood at one of four sinks with bronze fixtures and ornately framed mirrors.

To be honest, it was your favorite bathroom of all time. Your Instagram was full of pictures of this bathroom, selfies in this bathroom, up-close pictures of the stained glass.

“Are you ok?”

Beneath his smoothly shaven face, his jaw twitched. “Fine. Are you ready?”

He was tense enough you wouldn’t have been shocked if his joints started to pop, or his teeth cracked from how hard he was clenching his jaw.

Seeing him like this was a no go for Queen Sarah. Everyone knew that she hated to see her son like this and at first you never knew why, not until someone had told you that her husband had the same mannerisms. Steve’s father done the same thing when he had been angry.

While it was common knowledge that Steve was not his father, Steve would never hit his mother.

Some memories could just never be wiped clean.

Having Steve like this was not how you wanted this first lunch with his mother to go. Not one bit. Both of them needed to be on cloud fucking nine. Meaning you were going to have to do something.

“Almost,” was what you told him. A plan already set into motion as you grabbed a few paper towels from the bronze dish that held them between sinks.

One last peek at your hair and you were set. Purse in hand. You stepped on over to press your lips to the flat firm line that was Steve’s mouth. “Could you hold this for me?”

Steve never questioned you or thought twice.

Whether it was from love or trust, or he was too angry over whatever? No one would ever know.

But you seized the moment! Pounced on the opportunity.

You acted as if you were going to check your pumps and instead, set down the paper towels so you could kneel at his feet. Before Steve even had a second to think about it, you had his pants unbuttoned, unzipped and down around his knees. Knowing that the king went commando that morning worked seamlessly into your plan.

His dick hung softly between his muscular creamy thighs.

“What are you doing?”

“Hold my purse with both hands, Your Majesty.”

Though soft, his size was still above average. His penis was solid. Thick. A pink tip peeked out beneath foreskin that was stretched over his member. Soft as velvet, you kissed his slit as you pushed his foreskin up to reveal his shaft.

“Remember the first time I ever saw your dick?”

You sank down on his soft flesh after, sucking him in till nearly all of him fit in your mouth. It rarely happened. Only when he wasn’t erect. When Steve was erect, it wasn’t physically possible unless you unhinged your jaw and didn’t have a gag reflex.

“Oh god…” he gasped out at the warm and wet sensation of your mouth closing around him. Cold air on his ass cheeks. Exposed. Vulnerable. His sac hanging heavy and you down on your knees, taking nearly all of him in your mouth.

Steve clung to your purse like a lifeline.

Thinking back, you hummed out thoughtfully, knowing how fantastic the vibrations felt on him. Knowing that the warm softness that was his dick would soon harden. Until then, you enjoyed how you could take him like this. You relished the smell of him, musky and male. Savored how smooth his skin was on your tongue. Reached up and cupped his testicles that hung down for you.

It’d been at a fundraiser.

A black-tie affair for something or another, who could remember?

The two of you had stolen away towards the end, snuck off when everyone was mingling together and socializing. Slightly tipsy or buzzed from the open bar.

Not the two of you.

No.

Both of you had barely drank. Focused instead on getting away so you could steal some moments together. Moments like these. Moments where your hands were all over one another, your mouths hungry for one another. Frantic for that connection between your bodies that nature demanded and you both were trying so hard to make happen.

Tonight was the night though.

You were determined.

Sucking him deep. Swirling your tongue around him. You could feel Steve starting to thicken up which had you popping off his mouth and surveying the sight of his dick taking on a pinkish hue as blood filled it.

“Are you thinking about it, Your Majesty? About how fucking big your cock is? About how it shocked me? Remember?”

Based alone on the sound that came from Steve, you could deduce that he remembered. Possibly even vividly.

“I remember,” you cooed, licking his pink head and suckling on the end of his dick. Flicking against the hole with your tongue. Massaging his balls. Taking his hardening shaft in your other hand. Needing him to feel only you. Needing him to be here with you. “It was the biggest dick I’d ever seen in my life.”

”You don’t have to.” He had whispered to you in a dark corner of the atrium. Hidden by plants and furniture.

Not that you’d cared.

By that point he had gone down on your countless times and you’d never seen it. Only feeling it through his pants when you’d made-out or groped him, when your bodies rubbed against one another in a frantic urge for completion.

“Jesus Christ Steve! You’re the only man I know who doesn’t want his dick sucked.”

“It’s not that…” he came back with, pausing and finally giving in, allowing you to unzip the black pants of his tux and yank them down. Pull them down and out it popped.

Erect.

Hard. So hard.

Foreskin drawn back to reveal an angry red head smeared with pre-cum.

It was massive, a beast, the hugest dick you’d ever laid eyes on and from on your knees, in a ballgown, made up to feel like a princess. You gasped. You straight up gasped like you were a teenage girl seeing your very first penis. Albeit, the one that was so full of blood it bobbed eye level with you, pointing upwards, was considerably more impressive and probably five inches longer than that first ever dick, easy. As you didn’t exactly have a tape measure on you for comparison.

“Oh my god…” you whispered, well aware that your eyes were wide and mouth was very likely a perfect O. “It’s so big! It’s like the biggest I’ve ever seen! Steve your dick is huge! What do you feed it?”

His voice was a bit concerned. Embarrassed even?

Was he embarrassed about this behemoth in his pants?

“I’m sorry, I know. It can be uncomfortable to give me oral sex. You really don’t have to. I don’t expect.”

But you had cut him off with grabby hands wrapping around his erection, pushing up his foreskin and licking the salty jizz that was starting to ooze out. “Shut up, Your Majesty. Tell me how you want it.” In your ministrations you had lifted up his generous manhood and set eyes upon the heavy balls that hung down between his thighs. “Holy Canada! You have a set of balls to match. You have no idea how much fun I’m going to have fitting those in my mouth.”

When you finally ripped your eyes away from his sexual organ, you shook your head and admonished him severely. “I cannot believe you’d keep this from me!”

Exactly how you knew Steve liked, you sucked on his head and played with the tip of your tongue on his hole. You took him as deep as you could as his erection grew harder and harder in your mouth. Tracing your tongue along the sides and pumping him with your hand until his girth grew so wide, you were unable to touch your fingertips around him.

Up and down you sank on his cock. Till he was rigid beneath your lips and you drug your teeth along at times to heighten the sensation.

Slurping. Squeezing his balls. Hollowing out your cheeks and swallowing any salty release that began to dribble out. You savored the sight of his fingers clenching your purse tightly and his eyes screwed shut.

Between languid trips up and down his length, you pulled off to lick his blunt tip with the flat of your tongue.

“What are you thinking about, My King?”

At first, you didn’t think he would or could answer, which was fine. Your attention was on the round edge of his organ. Licking it. Flicking it with your tongue. Playing with it till you sank back down.

After a few seconds.

After a deep breath from Steve.

After that, he managed to get out.

“Thinking about that night. The night I took your maidenhead.”

Your maidenhead?

Well, that was a trip to past. It sent your eyes up and your mouth back off him so you could speak without a mouth full of dick. “Mmm. Thinking about how you went crazy? How you went all feral and popped my cherry?”

In your hand his penis twitched.

It was too perfect an opportunity to not pounce upon it.

If you couldn’t make him come from saying these filthy disgusting true things to him, did you really deserve to marry this man? “Your Majesty? Does it turn you on to think about my having been a virgin? About how you’re the only man to ever be in my body? Do you remember how tight I was? How hard you had to push to break my hymen?”

Little motions came from Steve. Whether he knew it or not. He was making small thrusts into your mouth that you hummed around, sucked on.

Something hit the floor.

Hands were on your head, fingers were in your hair. A wicked smile curled over your lips and Steve was methodically pumping into your mouth.

He sounded strained. He sounded like he was in pain.

“Felt so good. You’re so good to me. My angel. You were so tight.” He declared, announced, would have shouted to the heavens if he was capable. Each word came out in cadence. Almost in a chant. “Felt so good. Feels so good still. You’re mine. You’re mine. You’re mine.” On top of feeling you sucking him deep. Paired with your fingers holding his testicles tight. Mixed with your fist wrapped around his base. It was a glorious storm coming together to make him shatter.

Steve was going to come. He was going to come like right now.

It sent his thoughts spiraling along with his words.

“Love you. Love your body. Love being in you. So warm and tight and mine. All mine. All of you is mine. Want you. Want to fill you. Want want want.”

Gasping out. His breath gone. All air left his lungs when Steve climaxed into your mouth. A pitched noise did come that was followed with his fingers pulling your face against him, his pelvis pushing into you. A moan that made him weak in the knees followed that told him you were pleased with him. You were happy.

If he died in the next moment, he would have been a happy man.

All Steve could feel was pleasure. It consumed him body. It whited out his mind. It made his balls empty into the warmth of your mouth, till he was certain that nothing remained.

Even then you weren’t done.

Helpless. Awestruck.

Hopelessly devoted, Steve watched you drag your tongue around him to clean him up. Catching the last few spurts of ejaculate on your tongue before you showed him, then swallowed his seed.

Rendering him panting and sweaty.

He dropped down onto his knees and he kissed you. Mindless. Unable to think about anything else other than your mouth and being lucky enough to have convinced you to be his woman. Steve kissed you deeply, uncaring about the fact he could taste himself, unconcerned when his tongue curled around yours that he might have gotten some of his own ejaculate. His Majesty didn’t care.

Nor was he overly concerned about his knees being on the cold marble tile when he groaned against your mouth. “Love you. Love you so much. Love you to the moon and back.”

[diamond-coral]

The Heist- Part One

dark!Steve Rogers x Reader

You were just supposed to rob a government official’s apartment. Not Captain America’s. Right?

Series Warnings: Dark, Rape/Non-Con, kidnapping, strip club stuff, swearing

Chapter Warnings: Mentions of a strip club, swearing, committing crime ig, nothing much really.

You sure as hell weren’t a criminal. Well- your record would say otherwise, but it’s not like this was your dream profession. You wouldn’t call yourself a criminal. More of a Walmart Robin Hood; stealing from the rich and giving too...well...yourself. Fine. You were a criminal. But a girl had to pay the bills. At least you got to stick it to the man, right?

You let out a sigh while evaluating your life choices. It wasn’t every little girl’s dream to be breaking into houses and apartments for some cash or valuable possessions. Technically, you were an artist by day, going to art school in New York, living the aesthetically pleasing dream of student loans and a sky-high rent that your shifts at the strip club were hardly making a dent in. But hey, at least one time you got to dance for Captain America, even if he was reluctant and a bit shy. You were certain very few women could say the same.

And that’s how you found yourself in the elevator of a cozy apartment complex, traveling upward toward your new objective. Bella, your roommate, literal partner in crime, and the only good thing that came out of socializing with your coworkers at the club, had given you a new lead of a man who was supposedly loaded and yet lived in an accessible and modest living space. He was single, and worked some sort of political job that left his apartment constantly vacant, specifically on the day you planned for your heist. A perfect target. Some corrupt government worker who wanted to live a ‘low profile life’ yet was dumb enough to settle down in a complex who’s only security was a couple cameras and guards. Bella would easily be able to freeze the frames on the cameras for an hour, giving security the false pretense that the hallways were empty and giving you the perfect window to snatch some fancy watches and some cash.

The elevator doors opened right as you received a text message from Bella.

Cameras taken care of. Now go pay our rent ;)

You exited the elevator only to collide with a blonde woman carrying a laundry basket.

“Oh god, I’m so clumsy I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed while bending down to pick up the clothes that had fallen out of the basket.

You bent down to help her collect her clothing. “No, I’m so sorry! That was completely my fault!” You offered a smile as you stood back up, but was met with a calculating gaze as she studied you.

“I’m sorry, are you new around here?” She seemed to catch herself and her demeanor changed. “It’s just, I’ve never seen you around here before.” She gave  a small smile.

“Oh ,I’m just a girlfriend!” you replied. “Just stopping by.”

“Are you Steve’s girlfriend?” she asked while gesturing to the door at the end of the hallway with her head. It was your target’s door. So the political scumbag’s name was Steve. Lovely. “I don’t think he’s home right now.”

Your brain churned out a fast response. “Yeah, I know. Unfortunately for me, he’s always working. I just left my purse, and he gave me his keys to stop by and pick it up.”

“Well I’m just glad he’s found someone with all his work. I know it’s been hard for him.”

The two of you exchanged one last goodbye smile before she stepped into the elevator.

“I’m Sharon by the way. And you are...?”

“Olivia,” you replied, the fake name came out as a second nature as the elevator doors closed.

You let out the breath you’d been holding. 

“Well that could’ve gone worse,” you mutter to yourself as you approach the door at the end of the hallway.

You slipped the lock picker out of your sleeve before checking your surroundings cautiously. A minute after proceeding to insert the pick into the lock, a soft click resounded from the wooden door, and it easily swung open with a turn of the knob.

As you entered through the doorway, you took into account the little bits of vintage decoration that was dispersed amongst more modern furniture. A small Uncle Sam poster, a couple of war antiques, and some old photos with figures that remained unrecognizable in the distance. This government official seemed to have fought either in World War II or Vietnam, probably making him old. You shuddered at the fact you’d called yourself his girlfriend, but Sharon hadn’t seemed to bat an eye. Either way, you didn’t care for antiques, as much as they would have sold for a hefty price. They were probably personal to him and as you walked around, you realized there were quite a few personal items that were no use for you. As you walked into the bedroom a glint from the dresser caught your eyes, and your chest filled with giddiness and excitement as you neared. Three beautiful watches were on display under the mirror that sat atop the dresser. A Cartier that would probably sell for 8,000, a Rolex that would go for 10,000 easily, and then a beautiful older Rolex. With careful hands you snatched up the two newer watches and placed them into the small knapsack you’d been carrying. After consideration, you decided to leave the older one as it probably held a sentimental value and wouldn’t give you as much money as the other two.

You walked around some more, occasionally picking up valuables like solid gold tie clips and little pieces of Stark technology, which you were surprised he had. You had to be filthy rich to support, much less afford, anything made by that war profiteer. You picked up stashes of cash lying around, which seemed to be a lot. This man definitely seemed to use cash more than credit card which wasn’t as common around people your age. As you were rummaging around his study for any pieces of fine art (which you had already gotten two of) or government documents you could sell on the black market, you knocked over a picture frame which had landed on a file that read CLASSIFIED in red letters...right under the six letters that spelled S.H.I.E.L.D. This fucker was a S.H.I.E.L.D official. You were gonna kill Bella for the vague intel.

“Shit I need to get out of here,” you mumbled. Senators and representatives were fine targets, all usually too old and skeevy for you to care about, but a S.H.I.E.L.D. official was dangerous and could get you somewhere worse than jail. Hell, you could’ve accidentally broken into Nick Fury’s place. You were screwed. So screwed. And you needed to get the hell out of this apartment. As you went to put the picture back, you glanced at it, before doing a double take and squinting at it in the dark room. Oh. This was much worse than accidentally breaking into Nick Fury’s place.

The two men laughing with an arm around each other in war uniforms with an arm around one another was innocent enough until you could finally make out their faces. Steve Rogers an easy enough one to make out, especially considering you were on his lap a couple weeks ago, and James Buchanan Barnes looked practically unrecognizable without a murderous glare on his face.

“No,” you muttered before quickly placing the picture back down. 

You once again assessed your surroundings. It all made sense. The subtle 1940’s vibe, the war antiques. Bella had said he did work for the government and that wasn’t a lie. In the corner of the room you spotted a large circular leather case that was partially unzipped. Through the slight opening of the brown leather, the red, blue, and glinting bright silver was unmistakable.

“No, no, no, fuck,” you muttered frantically as you checked your watch. You still had 38 minutes before the security cameras in the hall unfroze. That was enough time to put everything you stole back. You’d much rather work open to close shifts at the club every day for three months straight than get fucked over by Captain Fucking America. 

You scrambled out of the study, moving to the living room first to put back the authentic paintings. You grabbed a stool from the high bar counter in the kitchen so you could rehang the medium sized work of art. Your mind was racing. This had to be karma for all the horrible shit you’d done in the past. God decided he had enough of your delinquent shenanigans and set you marching straight into the arms of America’s righteous hero. As you finished hanging the painting you spun around on your heel, completely forgetting you were on a wobbly wooden stool. Your heart stopped for a moment before you regained your footing. Carefully climbing down the stool, you almost missed the subtle turn of a lock coming from the door.

Oh you were so done for. Your limbs flew everywhere as you scrambled to the bedroom, sliding under the bed right as you heard the door open. The rumble of Steve Roger’s voice was clear as he talked on the phone and it cut through the walls from the living room.

“Well yea Buck, obviously Tony’s gonna be a little cold toward you. Not that I blame him. I’m just thankful he didn’t start an entire civil war over it. I guess it’s just a good thing we’re not war criminals.” He let out a chuckle before pausing. “Hey Buck? Yeah. I’m gonna have to call you back.” Another pause and you heard some rummaging around. “Why? I think my apartment was just broken into. I gotta go down to security. Yeah, thanks bud.” 

Steve hung up and you heard some angry muttering as he walked into his room. From under the bed you saw his tennis shoes and dark jeans as he paced at the foot of the bed. You covered your mouth to stop your anxious breathing, afraid he’d hear you from your hiding spot. 

The few minutes he spent in his room felt like eternity before he stomped out and you heard the opening and closing of another door as he exited the apartment. You crawl out from under the bed, your head spinning as you attempted to think of a way out of your predicament.

The window.

Quickly and quietly, you stood up and made your way to his bedroom window, looking out for a fire escape and letting out an annoyed huff when you saw none.

‘Maybe there’s one for the living room window,’ your brain chimed.

You rushed to the living room, scooping up the two watches and your empty knapsack on your way, and almost screamed with joy at the sight of the fire escape next to the window. Your fingers curled around the bottom of it and give it a sharp tug up, opening it just enough for you to squeeze through. 

Just as you were about to lift your leg over the ledge and climb down the stairs to sweet sweet freedom, being able to forget about everything that ever happened tonight, a large hand wrapped around the back of your neck and wrenched you back with such force that you tumbled backwards and landed on your butt.

He was massive. Six feet of pure muscle towered over you as you trembled from your position on the floor. He squatted down, resting his elbows on his knees as he took you in, blue eyes practically cutting through the darkness, and you let out a small whimper.

“Didn’t your mother ever tell you stealing is wrong?”

[booksarelife-stuff]

our secret moments in a crowded room

Jily (James Potter/Lily Evans), minor Wolfstar (Remus Lupin/Sirius Black)

My entry for the September Jily Challenge! @jilychallenge

Prompt: I tripped on the red carpet and you caught me

Partner was the amazing @kates836! Thank you for being an amazing partner!

In a fake PR relationship with Severus Snape, Lily can’t help be distracted by the real person who has her heart. 

Word Count: 4,077

Read of Ao3     Masterlist

The car took a sharp left and Lily tried to stabilize herself so she didn’t touch Severus, who was sitting beside her. She made eye contact with Mary, who was sitting in the passenger seat. Mary shot her the millionth apologetic look.

Lily glanced back down at her phone, just in time to see a reply to the picture that she had sent of her in her dress.

Ahdjsfhkjdsf I can’t breathe. How dare you send this to me right before I walk out on the red carpet.

She smiled widely down at her phone.

I don’t know how I’m going to function with you that close and can’t do anything about it.

She smiled faltered for a second, because yeah, that was truly going to be torture for her too.

I’m about to go out. I can’t wait to see you.

Lily bit her lip before typing a reply.

If you think this dress looks good on me now, wait until you take it off.

The message bubbles appeared instantly and Lily’s smile turned smug.

You shouldn’t have said that. I’m going to think about it all night now. Love you

Love you too

She locked her phone and handed it to Mary, who would be holding all of her personal items for the rest of the night. Severus sighed deeply beside her and Lily tried not to roll her eyes.

If Lily had it her way, she’d be arriving with a very different date. But Lily didn’t have a choice. What the studio wanted, the studio got. Including a semi-fake relationship with her co-star, Severus Snape.

They had just finished filming the final season of their wildly popular show, The Hollow Hour. The show definitely didn’t need this kind of press to be successful, but Lily still didn’t have a choice in the matter, considering she had already booked a leading role in another one of their shows.

On-screen, Lily and Snape played Tara and Gideon, characters who had been in love since they were children and fighting in a war where they possibly wouldn’t make it out. Off-screen, Lily could hardly stand the presence of Snape.

It didn’t start out that way. When they’d first met, Lily had thought he was pretty cool. The show had been her first big break, as she had only done television guest appearances before then. Snape had a few movies under his belt, one of which was super popular. Their friendship had started out as his kind of giving her direction when it came to the whole fame thing.

Then, it got a little invasive. He would just be in her trailer, coming in without knocking. He started asking for more date-like hangouts. His disgusting political beliefs started coming out through their conversations and his apparent hatred for their co-star, Remus Lupin because he was openly gay. And he started acting as she owed him something, especially since the show took off.

The rumors had started before Lily realized that Snape was the creep that he was. People saw them pining on screen and going out for the occasional drink after a long day when Lily could still stand him and suddenly, people thought they were in love.

It had been a real nuisance in Lily’s life. Every interview, she tried to squash the rumors, whereas Snape would encourage them. It didn’t help that the show got popular, like really insane amounts of popularity. The character shipping took a sharp left turn into people shipping them.

Snily, they called them. From fanfiction to edits and art to covers of glossy magazines. It was everywhere. No matter if Lily was doing interviews from one of her movies, they would ask about Snape.

And since Lily was some sort of a masochist, she knew exactly what the fans thought of their relationship. They thought Lily denied the relationship because she was very private about her life, and Snape would never say it outright because he wanted to respect her but also wanted the world to know that she is his.

It didn’t help that Snape had accumulated a very dedicated fanbase. Like worship-the-ground-he-walked-on kind of dedication. To the point where Lily would get occasional death threats because she was “hurting him by denying their relationship.”

They never seemed to believe Lily when she said no, much like Snape and their studio. Lily couldn’t flat out deny the relationship in interviews anymore until after the final episode. It made her want to dry heave.

The car was slowing, and Lily could hear the buzz of fans and reporters. They were in the queue now for the red carpet. Mary unbuckled and twisted around in the seat, doing a final check of Lily’s hair and make-up.

Lily smoothed down her green satin dress, her legs bent awkwardly to not crease the dress and also not puncture the fabric with her stiletto pumps. Lily’s after-party dress was hanging up in the back, but Lily didn’t know if she was actually going to attend.

It had taken her a long time to feel beautiful at these types of events. Being considered plus size in this industry felt like a death sentence, especially since Lily refused to play the “funny fat friend” or anything like that. But she felt good tonight, especially with the way it hugged her curves and the bit of cleavage showed.

Severus looked like himself, just in a suit. His greasy hair was covered in dry shampoo and tucked behind his ears. He turned towards Lily and smiled like a cat who got the cream.

“We could make this real, you know?” he said, for probably the millionth time. “You and I would work.”

Lily tried not to crinkle her nose in disgust. “Severus,” she said. “You know I have no interest in that.”

There had been many times where Lily wished she could speak her mind and rip him a new one, but she could not get branded as a diva. So, she played off these uncomfortable moments with a laugh and polite words, even when she was telling him no for the millionth time.

She saw the corner of his lips turn down in a slight frown and averted her eyes to stare straight ahead.

The voices outside got louder and suddenly the car was stopping. Mary jumped out of the car quickly as Lily unbuckled. Moody, Lily’s driver, and bodyguard, also got out quickly to open Lily’s door.

She had to take Moody’s hand to step out. She wobbled when she shifted her weight to her high heels but quickly corrected herself. She was going to have blisters for weeks after tonight. Mary appeared from the other side of the car, hands already straightening Lily’s dress.

They were covered from the cameras here, so no one saw Mary make sure Lily’s breasts were firmly taped into the dress. The low cut of the dress required her boobs to be placed perfectly and one slip would probably cost Lily her career. That’s why Lily had Mary, her best friend since they were children and who now worked as her PA. The back of the dress was practically nonexistent and her long auburn waves tickled her with every movement.

Mary quickly batted away one of her dark coily curls that snuck out of its bun before giving Lily a once over.

“You look gorgeous,” she said, smiling. “He’s not going to want to take his eyes off of you.”

Lily gave her a real smile and a quick hug before stepping away to get around the car where Severus was surely waiting. She already had her red carpet smile on and tried not to pay attention to the up and down look Severus was giving her.

Severus reached out his arm to escort Lily, but Lily walked past it. They said they had to arrive together, not actually walk together. Mary let out a snort of laughter as she followed Lily out to the carpet—to walk with Lily but hidden away.

The lights were blinding as Lily walked out on the carpet. Cameras flashing every second, people yelling questions at her. Lily was now a pro at this, after so many years of practice. The screams intensified, signaling Snape was now making his appearance.

Lily moved slowly down the carpet, making sure her smile stayed in place. Towards the end of her walk, Snape did sneak up on her, wrapping an arm around her waist taking extra care to let his fingers drag against her bare skin. She fought to not recoil away from him.

She smiled and laughed though she wanted to push him away.

The entrance to Royal Albert Hall was full of reporters and cameras. Lily never really minded this part of the red carpet because most of the time it was just questions like “who are you wearing?” or the occasional fun game with whatever fledgling media company had weaseled reporters in.

Lily was heading towards the first available reporter, a young woman who was smiling widely as Lily approached. But a familiar head of dark curls caught her eye, and she couldn’t help the way her attention turned immediately that way.

It had been six weeks since her boyfriend of three years had touched her. Six weeks since she had felt the indentation of him next to her in bed, felt his warmth, had him within her fingertips.

And James looked so good, it made Lily want to pull him away and find the nearest secluded spot. The way his tailored suit hugged the angles of his body, the body that she knew like it her own.

She could feel her heart start pounding in her chest, and she hoped the cameras weren’t picking up the way her hands were shaking.

“Lily Evans!” the young reporter cheered. “How are you on this fine evening?”

“I’m doing great,” Lily said, smiling and resisting the urge to look at James.

“So, you arrived with rumored beau and co-star, Severus Snape,” the reporter cheered. “Care to confirm anything?”

Lily fake laughed. “We just carpooled. Better for the environment.”

The girl’s face tightened a bit, but the reporter knew better than to press.

Lily answered her questions with ease. Who was she wearing? Did she feel good about her role as a presenter? What was she going to do after the final season of The Hollow Hour?

Once the interview concluded, she turned to go to the next reporter.

But there was James, looking at her with a slight smile on his lips. His dark brown eyes did a quick once over of her, appraising her every curve quickly. And goddamn, he wore his glasses instead of his contacts, reminding Lily of the quiet moments in her flat where they were tangled together, his glasses pushing into her face. His normal frizzy curls were more defined thanks to whatever hair product his stylist made him use. His brown skin was as flawless as ever, glowing in the camera flashes in the fading day.

It couldn’t have been more than a moment where their eyes met, but it was enough to thoroughly distract Lily to the point of missing the small bump in the carpet. Her shoe caught and the sensation of falling happened before she felt strong arms catch her.

“Are you okay?” James asked as Lily’s world steadied in his arms, the concern in his eyes.

Lily felt her cheeks redden, both from the embarrassment of tripping on the red carpet and the fact that she was in James’s arms. She nodded but when she stepped back, her right shoe gave out.

She moved away from James’s arms, but took his hand, their fingers clasping each other, to keep her balance as she lifted her dress up to see the heel completely snapped off.

“Well, that’s great,” she said with a laugh. James laughed with her. She wobbled for a second and James’s hand grabbed her side to steady her, his fingers making her burn.

Lily couldn’t help but smile softly at him as Mary appeared, getting on her knees in front of Lily, urging her to turn slightly. She let go of James’s hand and used his shoulder to keep her balance as Mary undid the straps on Lily’s shoes. Mary, who was definitely getting a raise after this, took off her own black kitten heels and gave them to Lily.

She was now several inches shorter and her dress dragged a bit on the ground, but it was better than no shoes at all.

“I owe you my life,” Lily told Mary, who smiled in response. Lily didn’t miss the way she gave James a glance and then a teasing smile back to her. She turned back to James. “Thank you so much.”

“No problem,” he replied. “I’ll see you around?”

She wanted to say that she would see him tonight, preferably with no clothes, but she just smiled and nodded in response.

As she let go and James stepped away, the last thing on her mind was the cameras catching every moment.

~~~

To Lily’s detriment, her manager had called Mary to tell Lily that she had to be seen at the after-party with Snape.

Lily tried not to recoil at Severus’s hand on her lower back as he led her to the after-party. The cameras were blinding against the darkness of the night, but Lily let herself be led into the venue, Moody doing his best to push back against the raging crowd.

The venue only had a few selective members of the press inside, but it was little enough that it put all the celebrities at ease. There was no real food, just snacks because seeing your favorite movie star get sloshed would sell magazines and get them trending on Twitter.

Lily’s stomach growled. She couldn’t remember the last full meal she had.

Severus kept a firm hand on her back. She smiled and laughed at the right times as they talked with winners from the night. A live band started and Lily’s ears rang with the loud music. She kept knocking back glasses of champagne because at least the buzz would take the edge off the hungry looks in Severus’s eyes and make her not recoil when he tried to whisper in her ear.

Her saving grace came in the form of Remus Lupin somewhere south of midnight.

She came back from the loo and purposefully walked away from where she knew Severus was waiting. The alcohol was thrumming through her veins, and she felt light. Her shoes—or Mary’s shoes—had been kicked off long ago, and she was stumbling through the crowds of famous people.

Remus stood at the picked-over snack table, probably looking for any scraps of leftover chocolate. He had been Lily’s co-star since day one and her favorite to boot. Severus hated him, mostly because Lily liked him more, but also because he was openly gay and in a long-term relationship with the model, Sirius Black, who Snape also hated.

Remus had been the reason she and James met. She also knew that where Remus was, Sirius wasn’t far, and if Sirius wasn’t far, neither was James.

And she wanted to see James more than anything.

“Boo,” she said, poking Remus’s side. The man jumped, almost dropping his chocolate-covered strawberry.

“Bloody hell, Evans,” he said. Lily laughed, already feeling better. She clumsily picked up a biscuit and took a bite.

“How’s your night been going?” she asked. Remus let out an amused huff.

“Same old, same old,” he said. “You?”

Lily didn’t respond and Remus laughed, knowing exactly how her night had been going. They grabbed a few more snacks and Lily proceeded to follow him, hoping that he would lead her to the person she needed to see.

James was sitting at a table across from Sirius, and Lily’s heart immediately started beating rapidly. His suit jacket and tie were gone, just leaving him in his tight white button-up. The top buttons were undone, hinting at his chest that Lily knew better than the back of her own hand.

The sluggish haze of the alcohol in her system reminded her of when they first met. It had been at The Hollow Hour season one wrap party, and Remus had invited James and Sirius. He had caught her eye from across the room, the curly black hair and glasses were a dangerous combination for Lily, especially with the dark jeans that had hugged his very nice arse. She was so nervous that she had had to take a shot before she walked over to have Remus introduce her.

She had taken him home and when she woke up in the morning, recovering from the best sex she had ever had in her life, she found him making breakfast for her.

He stayed the whole weekend.

Then they texted non-stop and started having dates, sitting in Lily’s apartment with take-away and cheesy movies.

And here they were, three years later, hopelessly in love, and pretending that they weren’t because her stupid television show needed promoting.

It hadn’t been meant to be a secret for so long. In the beginning, they just wanted to figure each other out without all the press breathing down their necks. It’s just how it all happened.

It wasn’t like the important people in their lives didn’t know. Their parents and most trusted friends did. And they already decided that once the whole thing with Snape stopped, they were going to go public because they wanted to move in together and finally go on real dates.

Lily saw the way he perked up when he saw her. A small smile on his lips, his shoulders moving back. There was a moment when Lily could have sworn that there were no other people in the room until someone bumped into her.

She slid into the booth beside him, not caring about how dangerous that was, especially when their legs touched.

“Hey,” he said, his deep voice tugging at her in a way she missed while he was gone.

“Hey,” she replied. She could tear her eyes away from him and she didn’t know if she wanted to, either.

“Bloody hell,” Sirius said, not even jarring the couple. “Get out of here before you start shagging on the table.”

James raised his eyebrows in question, which Lily answered with a smile. He reached down for his pockets.

“I’m texting Moody,” he said.

Anticipation pooled in her stomach and as she grabbed another biscuit to eat because it was something to do, her hands shook. James placed his hands on Lily’s thigh and she couldn’t think of anything else until he leaned over and told her that Moody said it was all clear.

Even in her drunk state, she located her shoes and practically sprinted to the back door where Moody was waiting.

There were a few paparazzi pictures taken as Lily quickly hopped into the back of the SUV and Moody got into the driver’s seat. He handed her her small bag that had her phone in it that Mary had been carrying. She was too excited to even get her phone out as Moody did two laps around the block before pulling right back into the same spot.

The second James jumped in and the door was closed, Lily was on him. She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him to her, meeting their lips in a deep, but sloppy kiss. Lily kicked her legs up onto his lap and pulled him down as laid down the best she could in the back seat. James laughed a little against her lips, causing Lily to pull away and laugh too.

“Next year, we’re going to this together,” she said, opening her eyes to see him in whatever light that shone in from the windows. She got flashes of his eyes and his wide smile as she sat up, still keeping her legs on her.

“Absolutely,” he replied, pressing a light kiss to her lips. “And we’re going to still traumatize Moody on the way home.”

Said man let out a snort. “No, I’m getting a divider.”

Lily barely remembers the rest of the car ride and getting to her flat. All she remembers is the taste of James’s lips and the feeling of his hands on her.

~~~

The blaring noise of a phone call is what made Lily wake up. She jumped violently, kicking James in the process, who let out a pained groan as Lily disentangled herself from him to be able to reach her nightstand to turn off the god-forsaken ear-splitting sound.

Her hand smacked into the nightstand, but her phone wasn’t there. She realized it must be James’s.

She nudged him and he groaned, but she could feel him move around in the bed. Finally, it stopped and James spoke.

“Hello?” he fell silent. “What are you talking about?”

Lily, who was already falling asleep again, opened her eyes at his tone and suddenly, he was shaking her.

“I’ll call you back Sirius,” James said as Lily sat up.

He hung up the call and threw his phone down on the bed. He tugged at his hair as Lily watched him with wide eyes.

“They know about us,” he said.

“What?” Lily exclaimed, reaching for his phone.

She typed in the passcode and saw the million phone calls from his manager and publicist. She opened Twitter, and right there, trending number one, was a still of James’s arm around her when she broke her shoe.

"Lily Evans, caught in a love triangle."

"Actress Lily Evans and actor James Potter are rumored to have left the BAFTA after-party together despite Evans arriving with Severus Snape."

She clicked on the first article while her stomach soured.

"Lily Evans and Severus Snape have long been rumored to have been dating, but last night’s events have seemingly squashed the rumors for good."

The article went into detail about the rumors between Lily and Severus, before finally getting to last night.

"James Potter, actor, best known in his role on the popular historical drama "Mountainside Valley', was able to catch Evans on the red carpet when her shoe broke. The footage from the cameras that were rolling by the pair has been released.

According to sources, the two are familiar with each other. Lily’s co-star, Remus Lupin is both friends with Potter and is even dating his adoptive brother Sirius Black, so we can speculate that they have met before. Based on the videos, they do seem to be familiar with each other.

What really solidified the relationship between the two actors comes from an unknown source who attended the after-party. 'She sat next to him and then a few minutes later, they left.'

Fans seem to be having a lot of mixed reactions to Evan’s alleged actions.

@snapewife45346 wrote: 'ALL LILY HAS EVER DONE IS HURT HIM. HE NEEDS TO LEAVE HER ASS FOR GOOD!!'

@snnnily394 on Twitter wrote: 'i don’t think it’s true. She would never do that to him.'

@taraisgod wrote: 'They have never said they’re in a relationship, you all are just projecting. Let her be happy!!'

@mountainbaddie wrote: 'Evans UPGRADED'

Lily set down James’s phone, unable to do anything else. She met his eyes and took a deep breath.

Her gut reaction was that it sucked. It sucked that they didn't come out on their own terms. The studio was probably pissed, or maybe they thought the bad press was good press.

But as she looked at James, sitting beside her on his side of the bed, the bed he only rarely got to occupy these days, she realized that maybe it was a blessing.

“We could deny it,” James said, a frown tugging at his lips. “Say that we’re best friends if you think that’s what the studio would want.”

Lily shook her head. “I don’t want you like a best friend. I don’t want to deny myself of you anymore.”

He smiled, soft and sweet. Lily yanked the bedsheets off of herself and crawled over to him, straddling his legs. She was only wearing a pair of knickers and one of his t-shirts. His hands immediately snuck up the shirt and caressed her hips, his thumbs teasing her panties.

“Joint statement?” he asked, as Lily leaned in. She kissed him soundly.

“In a minute,” she said, kissing him again.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Looking for a Place to Happen 2

Warnings: non-consent sex and rape (series), age gap, general stupidity, some violence and threats

This is dark!biker!Sam Wilson x reader and explicit. 18+ only.  Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Series Synopsis: There’s lots happening in Birch and you find it all too amusing.

Sister series to Smalltown Bringdown, When the Weight Comes Down, Little Bones, and Fully Completely

Note: Here’s chapter two. Think I’ll probably slow down writing. Appreciate y’all.

Thanks to everyone for their patience and feedback. :)

I really hope you enjoy. 💋

<3 Let me know what you think with a like or reblog or reply or an ask! Love ya!

Chapter 2: I follow every little whiff

💀💀💀

You gave yourself a day off that week. Rather, the desolation of Birch allowed you an excuse to get away from your desk. An internet outage across the town had you up and wandering the main road just after noon. Your grandmother refused to join you so she was left to her true crime novel and the weekday droning of talk show hosts.

After a peek in the book shop where you picked out some used thrillers for your nan and a guilty splurge on one of Babs' pies to add to the surprise, you stopped by the diner and had some soup to warm up from the unrelenting cold. You played around on your phone as you blindly slurped from your spoon. With no available connection, you swapped candies to achieve a score high enough to get to the next round.

After another loss, you put your screen down and added some pepper to the tomato soup. You leaned your chin in your hand and peered across the road. The Asp was just diagonal from The Chipped Saucer and from your seat by the window you could see the comings and goings of the dingy bar.

You chuckled to yourself as you remembered the hundreds of comments on your video. You weren't entirely surprised that the internet cheered at the sight of a woman beating up a man in broad daylight, you'd seen much worse on the web. But many were curious and asked about how it started and about the small town alluded to in the caption.

You picked up your phone and flipped open the camera. You pointed it through the glass as one of the many bikers strutted out of the bar and down the street. You knew him, like most in town, he was the leader's right hand man. Steve Rogers. He had an odd gait, rigid with long strides, and you remember Kelly used to make fun of him when you walked home from school. That felt like forever ago.

You ended the video and dropped your phone again. You'd send it to Kelly when the outage was over. It would be a good laugh. Plus, you hadn't heard from her much since she moved to the city.

You finished your soup and paid. You went out into the street and cut around to the backstreets. You made your way back to your nans and found Pippin scratching at the front door. You stopped and scooped him up before you let yourself in.

"Don't like the snow, do ya?" You set him down and he whipped his tail before skittering off, "hey nan, I got you some stuff."

"You spend too much," she grumbled as you hung your coat and grabbed her treats.

"Only on you," you sang as you entered the front room, "sugarless blueberry pie, your fave, and some books about murder and all that freaky stuff you love."

"Hmm," she watched you put the pie and books down on the coffee table, "suppose the pie will go good with tea."

"Ah, and I suppose I'll be making that tea?" You returned.

"My arthritis…" she pouted but her grin came through.

"Yeah, yeah," you snickered as you went to the kitchen to put on the kettle, "we going black today or something lighter?"

"Put on some of the pekoe," she called back, "make a whole pot."

"Will do, ma'am," you trilled and basked in her annoyed mutter.

💀

When the internet came back, you sent of an email to inform the agency of the interruption and promised to meet your deadlines. Then you puttered around and added a caption to the video before you sent it off to Kelly; 'why he walk like that tho'. She sent a series of crying emojis back and told you to post it.

'Nah, it's a dumb joke.' You typed back.

'Saw ur last vid, ppl will eat it up,' she insisted.

'Well, got nothing else to put up. The account’s dying since no one cares about my writing.'

'DO IT.' Her words sealed your resolve and you uploaded the video with some dramatic music in the background.

The response was almost instantaneous. Several comments saying they were happy to see more and others being for another video. 'We all wanna see inside this fucked up town' one added and several latched on. Ignoring the questions of where this was, you gave a thin promise of future small town thug content. 

You turned back to your work email and opened up your draft for your next gig. You couldn't help but smile as you went over your work. You might have just found your niche.

💀

You knew your nan would lose it if she knew you were snooping around the club, so you didn’t tell her. You went down, made her breakfast, went back upstairs to do your work, then tiptoed out in the late afternoon to poke around town for something to upload. Birch was so dull when you lived there but to those outside, it was a novelty you were all too eager to provide.

You got more videos of the bikers; some revving their bikes, others arguing, but there was nothing overly usable. You were getting bored of it until the man himself walked out of the bar. You record the man’s glower expression as he marched down the sidewalk and turned off just down the way.

‘His name is Bucket… wtf?!’ you keyed in and snorted as you waited for it to load to your account.

Still, there was nothing special going on, like always in Birch, and your grandmother was bound to get suspicious if you kept sneaking around. You went back and hid your phone before she could bitch about it. You cooked her dinner and sat with her as your thoughts swung between work and your TikTok.

You went to bed but couldn’t sleep. You ended up watching YouTube on your phone as the windows shook with the night winds. It wasn’t until the darkness began to glow that you were roused from the cocoon of your comforter. You looked out and saw smoke coming from the main road.

You didn’t think before you pulled on your jeans and shoved your feet into your slipper, unconcerned about them soaking through as you barreled down the stairs, the sleeves of your hoodie only half on. The back door bounced behind you and you crunched down into the snow and clamored past the row of lifeless houses. 

You were out of breath as you got to the end of the path and rounded the diner to gape over at the burning garage. You got closer as the line of bikers stood in their leather with breath puffing before them in the frigid night. You stepped back into the shadow of the brick façade of the realty office and swiped your camera open.

Your hands shook and you struggled to steady the image on the screen as the mechanic woman raged in only her tee shirt. You didn’t quite understand what was going on; only that her garage was up in smoke and then men were doing nothing to smother it. She swung at the dark haired man and spat at several others; “cowards”... “fuck all of you!”

You gulped and held your breath as she was dragged away by the large redheaded henchman of the slender outsider. She fought for a moment before she was flung over his shoulder and the biker followed their leader back to The Asp. You sidled in between the building and hid until the voices faded into the wind.

Well, that would be a hell of a video. It might even go viral.

💀

Your phone did not stop. You almost felt bad as you saw the screen limn the edges of your cell as you left it face down on the little table beside the couch. Your nan sat in her rocking chair talking away on her corded phone to Linette from down the road. You suspected that every other person in town was gossiping about the same thing; the fire.

You finished your coffee and rubbed your eyes as you checked the time and ignored the pulsing notifications. It was too much to keep up with.

Your grandmother hung up and sighed, “can’t believe it. You hear?”

“Hear what?” you pretended ignorance.

“That old garage burned down. The one with the lady,” she said, “pity. When I was a girl, that place was a salon. Ma used to take us there to get our hair cut. The barber would give us wrapped candies and pretend to cut himself with his scissors.”

“Oh? It burned down?” you weren’t sure you were very convincing but you also could just say you saw it happen.

“Yep, no one really can say. You know, maybe she was welding or some rag caught, but I bet my money on those bikers,” she sneered.

“Good thing you’re poor,” you kidded, “and why the bikers?”

“Oh, well, you know Kimmy, Linette’s girl, works down at the diner and she saw that mechanic arguing with one of those strangers, the ones dealing with the club men. Well, it’s no coincidence that trouble follows those leather jackets around,” she rocked as she nodded knowingly, “oh, one of the boys I knew back in the day, he was found burnt up with his bike. They said the tank blew… well, I saw it and that tank was pristine.”

“Nan,” you gasped, “you… Jesus.”

“Well, things don’t change in Birch, we just get older,” she continued, “when you’re young, everything seems new but then you age and it’s all just the same.”

“Wow, how… inspiring,” you said dryly.

“Girlie, you gotta be careful,” she intoned, “that fire, that’s a lesson to all the women in this town. To everyone. You don’t cross the Commandos.”

“I don’t think anyone--”

“That’s another thing, there has never been a shortage of stupid people, not now not then,” she girded, “those women who get tied up in that club, their lives are already done.”

You frowned and hid your phone in your pocket as you stood. You rubbed your neck and picked up your empty mug, “I should get started.”

“Mmm,” she said as she dialed the phone again, “I wonder if Fran knows yet.” 

💀

You were being really fucking stupid but peer pressure was not a logical thing. Even through a screen, you found it hard to resist the goads. So there you were, your phone in your hand as you live-streamed your walk down to The Asp. The data costs alone would make you regret it but you were caught up in the hype of you fifteen second of internet fame.

“Alright,” you stopped across the street and gave a view of the moniker with Cleopatra sultrily looking down at you, “this is it… I just gotta play it cool…” you turned the lens towards you and smiled nervously, “hopefully that dude at the front doesn’t stop me.”

Comments flicked up the bottom of the screen so fast and smilies and hearts floated up the side around your face. You crossed the screen as you turned your phone against your coat and approached the bar door. The large biker butted out his smoke and you bared your teeth nervously. He didn’t stop you as he rolled his shoulders and coughed.

You entered to the noise of classic rock and low voices, the clink of glasses and tap of chalk on marble. You glanced around and quickly swept your phone around to give a view of the patrons. You hurried over to the bar and climbed up on a stool.

“You need a drink?” the woman behind the bar scowled. She looked worn out even with her lips painted bright pink and her eyes clouded with blue shadow.

“Uh, sure, can I… can I get one pint of everything you have on tap?” you asked as you set your phone down and shrugged out of your coat. You draped it over the next stool and reposition your phone as you flipped the cam and used the built in stand on the case to angle yourself onto the screen.

“Sure,” she narrowed her eyes and glanced past you.

You swung your feet as you waited for her to pour the five pints; some with too much foam and the others with no head at all. You took the first and held it up for the camera.

“A classic, BudLight,” you held it up to the light, “no head and…” you sipped, “flat.” You plunked it down and coughed as you grabbed the next, “this is a raddler?” you looked at the tap for confirmation, “grapefruit… smells like piss…” you had a sip, “tastes like it too.”

You chuckled to yourself and asked for a water. You made a show of swishing it around in your mouth before you moved onto the third beer.

“Had to cleanse the palate,” you joked, “now… lots of foam on this one, dark. You know, I’m pretty surprised they have Guinness here but let’s see…” you tasted it and crinkled your nose, “that’s it. Exactly like toilet water!”

You read some of the comments telling you to check the bottles for bugs and laughed. Suddenly you were yanked off the stool by the back of your shirt and your phone was swiped up by another man as the first restrained you. You struggled against his thick arm as it hooked around your neck and the leader of their crew stared at the screen of your cell.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he snarled as he hit the screen with his thumb but the stream kept going. He dropped the phone to the floor and stomped it instead.

“This is the bitch posting about us online,” the man at your back growled. It was Steve, the one with the weird walk.

“I doubt either of you know how to use a computer,” you scoffed, “hey, let me go.”

“And why would we do that when you’re snitching to the whole world, sweetheart?” Bucky kicked your phone away as he crossed his arms.

“Actually, I’m--” you grasped Steve’s arm as it threatened to get tighter, “--promoting your trash business. I was just having a tasting, if you had just asked--”

“Shut up!” Bucky stepped closer and brought your legs up and stopped him as you planted your feet against his stomach.

“Hey,” a woman’s voice came from behind the bar as the waitress shoved aside her empty tray, “hey, she’s just a kid.”

“Bullshit,” Bucky huffed, “she looks full-grown to me.”

“So what are you gonna do?” she said, “she’s young. You can’t--”

“Don’t tell me what I can’t do,” he snapped.

“She’s right,” another voice intoned and that man, Sam, came up beside them with a pool cue in hand, “she’s just goofing around.”

“She’s a rat,” Steve insisted.

“You’re being dramatic. It’s called a meme and you do walk a little strange,” he chuckled, “no one’s gonna follow her breadcrumbs back to this shithole anyway.”

Bucky considered Sam and then looked at Steve. He poked his cheek with his tongue and sucked his teeth.

“So… you vouching for her?” Bucky asked.

“She won’t cause any more trouble, promise,” Sam said, “I’ll make sure of it.”

“You better,” Bucky snapped his fingers and you were released, “get her out of here.” 

[oreosmama]

A Cut Above the Rest (Sugawara x Reader) *Request*

*GIF not mine* 

Summary: At the Shiratorizawa vs Karasuno game, it breaks your heart to see Sugawara get so excited by Kiyoko’s touch. After a long day of the silent treatment, your boyfriend must show you just how much more you affect him than any other girl around.

A/N: Honestly, this ended up better than I thought. Sorry it took me a while, and I’m not gonna lie, the other requests are probably gonna take just as long. My life is just a little sucky right now, so please have some patience. Still, hope you like it!

Word count: 2923

        Sugawara and Kiyoko were close-- they were friends, after all. But seeing him blush after she held his hands during a volleyball game was too much. 

        The sight of it made your stomach churn. His face was completely red as he jerked his hands away with a shout before bobbing and weaving the others. 

        “It’s mine! Get your own!”

        You could hear him from all the way in the stands, and there was no way the cameras hadn’t caught some of it. 

        The game against Shiratorizawa was possibly your boyfriend’s last game ever, and he had begged and begged you to come and watch. Of course, you had agreed without much coaxing, but now, all you wanted to do was go home. 

        Deep in your chest, your heart twinged. When was the last time Sugwara had ever been so aggressive over your touch like that? You couldn’t remember. Part of you felt alienated the instant it happened. 

        They’re just friends.

        Kiyoko’s not the kind of girl to do that.

        Koushi would never hurt me like that. 

        I’m not jealous. I’m not jealous. I’m not… 

        Was there really a point in lying to yourself? No, the answer is no. 

        The bitter taste of betrayal slapped you in the face the moment Sugawara had fought so hard to hide Kiyoko’s contact from another’s touch. Maybe your touch just wasn’t as precious to him. 

        Maybe… maybe Sugawara actually wanted Kiyoko. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had found her more attractive over you. The girl could wear shoes made of dog dookie and boys would still kiss the floor beneath her feet.

        But your sweet, loyal boyfriend was the last person you ever expected to jump on that bandwagon when he was in a relationship. 

        It hurt. Plain and simple. Your heart clenched and your stomach tightened and all you wanted was space, space, space. 

        So when Sugawara jogged onto the court for the fifth and final set of what could’ve been his last game, he glanced into the stands with an excited grin to see… no one. 

        “Where’s YN?”

                                ~~~

        The next day at school was hard, but ignoring Sugawara was even harder. Though he wasn’t in your class as you were only a second year, it seemed like he was everywhere, all at once. 

        Every corner you turned, he was there. Each class you passed, he was inside, asking a question you already knew the answer to.

        I’m right here, I just don’t want you to see me.

        A majority of it was just pure pettiness, but the last little inkling was fear. After avoiding him for so long, you still weren’t sure you could keep it together once he finally caught up to you. 

        Last night, your phone was blown up with texts, every one of them inquisitive. 

        “Did you hear we won our game?”

        “Where did you go?”

        “Are you gonna answer me?”

        “Did something happen?”

        “Are you okay?” 

        You didn’t answer a single one of them, instead choosing the age-old tradition of a silent treatment. 

        Lunch was the hardest. You always ate with Sugawara out in the courtyard under your favorite tree. Your back would rest against his chest and you would feed him part of your lunch, him always returning the favor. 

        So you couldn’t help but feel a little guilty while you nibbled on a chip, watching from your desk in a classroom on the second level of the school as Sugawara bolted out into the courtyard. His gray head of hair hung low as he made his way back inside the second he noticed you weren’t there. He shoved his hands into his pockets and lowered his gaze, observing his shoes as he scuffed them with every step.

        You weren’t an evil bitch-- why would seeing him like that not hurt you? It was just… you couldn’t forget his look of pure awe as Kiyoko touched him, like he had just been blessed by a goddess. 

        You knew you were nothing special. No matter how many times Sugawara told you that was wrong, you just knew it. But a part of you still wanted to believe that Sugawara had meant what he said all those times. 

                                ~~~

        “YN, open up!”

        A fist pounded on your door with hefty conviction. It hadn’t backed down for the past twenty minutes, and honestly, it seemed like it never would. 

        “I know you’re home, YN! Please, just answer the door!”

        With parents still at work, you were all alone at the house. There were no school projects or assignments, no homework or work-work; it was one of those few days in a year you would use to go to your boyfriend’s house and “study.”

        “I’m not leaving until you let me in, YN!” 

        After ignoring him all day at school, you knew you wouldn’t be off the hook for long. Sugawara always worried about you like this. There wasn’t a day gone by that you two hadn’t at least contacted each other via phone, so there was no doubt he knew something was up. 

        But you stayed put on the living room couch, wrapped up in a blanket and hugging yourself while trying to convince yourself the tears were just allergies. 

        “YN!”

        There was a saddened whine in his voice, like a hint of desperation. 

        You wondered if he was hurting like you. Would he be as jealous if you acted that way with somebody else? Would it pain him to see you blush and value another boy’s touch? Would he even care?

        Or were you just being childish?

        In every relationship lies one secret insecurity. One person’s more attractive, another’s skinnier, another’s taller. Another may be smarter or another may have a more stable life. There’s always a possible hamartia. And yours?

        Sugawara was older than you. 

        He never treated you like a child, though he had that habit. His friend group was all older, and yours, of course, was younger. 

        It was only a year, but in high school, that made all the difference. Girls his age, in his class, always spending time around him were bound to go after him at some point. At least, that’s what you always assumed. You’ve never told Sugawara any of it-- of your fears that there was another girl who he talked to that one day might just peel him right from your grasp-- you didn’t want him to think you were being childishly insecure. 

        And so, seeing Sugawara with Kiyoko made your volcano of unease erupt. 

        “YN, please!”

        But you didn’t want to lose him. God, you really didn’t want to let him go. He was kind and loving and made you feel things you’d never felt before. 

        “Hey.”

        So you slithered out of your nest of blankets and opened the door. 

        In a word, he looked disheveled. His hair stuck up in every which way, unkempt tufts barely catching the light of your porch. His hand, still frozen in the air to keep knocking, shook in place. But what most rattled you to your core was his face. 

        He looked… scared. If you didn’t know any better, you might’ve thought a murderer was after him. The cold of what was eight p.m. in March had bitten his cheeks and nose to a nice pink color. Angry lines framed worried, hazel eyes that widened at the sight of you. Or more, the tear streaks you had failed to hide. 

        “YN,” he sounded winded, “what happened?” 

        Now. Right now was the moment you had been dreading. Unloading all of your personal insecurities onto another person was quite possibly the hardest thing to do, mostly because you knew nothing could be done about it. 

        “I…” The words were trapped, caught in your throat in a nasty combination of crap you could only hack up in the form of a sob. “I, um.” And that’s all you could say. 

        For a solid two minutes, Sugawara waited patiently for nothing. His brows rose in a gesture of take your time, but after seeing your lips stay zipped instead of opening and closing with the possibility of words, he must’ve gotten the hint. 

        He nodded then pursed his lips. “Okay then. Why don’t we… well, come with me. I want to show you something.”

        Without another word, he snagged your hand and tugged you out of your house before closing the door. 

        “Maybe you can tell me what’s up once we’re there.”

                                ~~~

        The drive wasn’t long, but by the time it was over, Sugawara’s headlights and the moon were the only lights around. 

        The local park sign greeted you once he helped you out of his car, closing the door for you before grabbing your hand and leading you away. 

        You were surprised at how warm his fingers were when they intertwined with your own, flexing against yours out of habit while Sugawara tugged you around. 

        “There,” he muttered under his breath, leading you right to the thickest oak tree around. The trees were few and far between in the clearing where you two settled, and just barely in the distance could you see the plastic playground of the city. 

        “Come on.” After taking a seat against the rough trunk, he pulled you down into his lap with a soft smile. Like always, your back leaned into his front, which worked as a heater in the slight breeze of the night. His hands wound around your waist and hugged you flush against him with not even an inch to spare. Both of your guys' legs lay straight out, his just outside your own but pushing them close enough together that one almost sat on top of the other. 

        Instinctively, your hands relaxed down onto his thighs, and you finally let yourself relax back into his form. 

        The silence was nice and peaceful. For a moment, you forgot why he had even brought you there. When you truly let go and wound your arms up behind Sugawara’s neck, he decided to break it. 

        “So… do you want to talk about it?”

        Not really, but you knew you had to. Tonight, you just wanted this undisturbed moment with him. You just wanted to listen to the trees rustle and the crickets chirp, all with him by your side. But you knew that if you wanted more moments like this, you had to start talking. 

        “Koushi,” you sighed and shook your head, “yesterday, at… at the game, right?”

        “Yeah?”

        “You and Kiyoko got really, um, really close.” You could feel him suck in a breath, but he let it out slowly before humming for you to continue. 

        “I think I see where this is going.” 

        You weren’t sure what to make of that response, so you kept speaking. “You held hands and-- God, I feel so stupid, but it made me kind of… jealous.” 

        “And that’s why you ignored me all day?”

        Out loud, it sounded ridiculous-- ridiculous and foolish. So why did the memory of them still hurt?

        “Yeah. Basically.” 

        You wanted to say more. You wanted to explode and confess, just let loose of all the feelings you’ve kept rammed up for months of being with him, but you just didn’t want to run the risk of losing him. 

        You loved him. At least, you think you did. It’s only been so many months, but when he wasn’t around, you missed him, and when he was around, your heart raced with excitement. Seeing him with Kiyoko almost made it look like things were one-sided. 

        “Kiyoko and I are just friends.” 

        A log broke away from the dam in your chest, increasing your need to let loose. 

        “Yeah, I know.” Your voice was tight, and there was no chance Sugawara hadn’t heard it. His fingers started dancing along your stomach, slipping up your shirt only so far as the skin below your belly button before splaying along the hot flesh. 

        “YN, I know you’re still not telling me something. Please, you can talk to me. I’m your boyfriend, and I’m here for you.” 

        The level of comfort those words held, Sugawara had no idea. Your heart fluttered at just their meaning. Someone was there for you, and they wanted to listen.

        So you spoke.

        “I just,” you didn’t know why, but your eyes began to burn with tears, “I know I’m not that girl, you know? The one that everybody would love to talk to and stops and stares at. The one that people would kill to touch or smell or something. And I know that’s weird or selfish, but God, I just hated seeing you with a girl like that.”

        “YN-”

        “Kiyoko’s perfect,” you continued, throat constricting the more you choked out. “I know that. Everyone loves her and wants her, but…” The first salty trail paved its way down your cheek. “Koushi, I want to be that girl sometimes. It’s gonna sound vain, but I really wanted to be that girl to you. But maybe I needed to be knocked down a peg like that.”

        “YN!” His voice rose and cracked, and his forehead dropped to your shoulder. “Please, please don’t think those things about yourself. Please.” With an open-mouthed kiss to your neck, he shook his head. “I don’t want the girl I love thinking these things. I want you to be happy. I want to make you happy. You must not see it, but you’re that girl to me all the time.”

        Another kiss, this one sloppier as he bit back his own tears. 

        “Koushi-”

        “I hate making a fool of myself in front of you.” Kiss. “I hate how I still feel like a little schoolboy whenever I see you.” Kiss. “Fuck, I mean, my hands shake and my heart flutters and I just know my damn palms are sweating but I still want to hold you.” Kiss. “And YN, when I hold you, I can’t even think straight.” His entire back has curled in over your form like a shield. “My heart just pounds like crazy and I feel so stupid because I keep thinking that we’ve been together for so long and I still get so excited to see you, like a damn toddler on Christmas.” 

        The two hands under your shirt travel to your sides so Sugawara can turn you in his lap until you’re facing him head on. Then they peel away and cup your face, fingers stroking the skin while Sugawara stares at you with what could only be described as pure love in his eyes. 

        Just the sight of it robs the air from your chest. Breathless couldn’t describe it, but a rush of elation could. Your stomach twinged with excitement as you swallowed up the unfiltered allegiance Sugawara was swearing to you with his soft, hazel eyes. 

        “YN, I can’t believe you thought anybody else could make me feel something more than you.” A thumb brushes over your lips while he shakes his head. “You must be blind.” 

        When your hands reach up to tangle into his hair, he only allows one of them to complete the trip. The other, meanwhile, is caught by the wrist. Sugawara leads your hand to his chest, pressing your palm flat against the space hiding his heart. 

        “Can you feel it?” You do. His heart is pounding, much like your own. The speed and force of each thump under your palm has you leaning your cheek into his other hand. “There’s that smile I love so much.” His thumb runs over your upturned lips once more, and you can’t help but blush. 

        “Koushi.”

        “Hmm?” His eyes are still locked on your lips, but they slam shut once you pull him into a kiss. A moan escapes his throat at the feeling. It’s passionate and thankful and loving. It washes your worries away and has you confront the warm, soft truth: you’re in love with him, and that’s what matters. You’re urged to separate only for a truly desperate need of air, and even then the distance between you barely grows.

        His hot breath warms your cheeks as he dips his forehead against yours, dropping his hands to wrap your legs around his waist. Fingers massage the flesh of your thighs as he keeps his eyes closed, lips searching for yours once again only to be stopped by a giggle. His eyes flash open at the sound, crinkling at the corners when his mouth curls into a confused smile. 

        “What?”

        “Nothing, nothing.” In all honesty, you feel like you're on cloud nine, riding a wave of pure bliss. “It’s just…” your hand pats against his chest, rumpling the white t-shirt he’s wearing. “Your heart’s beating really fast. Maybe we should take a little break.” 

        Sugawara chuckles and leans back against the tree, ducking your face into the crook between his neck and his shoulder with a hand in your hair. 

        “Trust me, princess. When you’re nearby, it always beats this fast.”

[supercorpkid]

How Maya Met Your Mothers.

Supercorp, Kara Danvers x Daughter!Reader, Lena Luthor x Daughter!Reader

Word count: 2730.

You’ve always known the day for Maya to meet your moms were closer than further down the line. That’s a fact. You had asked for too much self-control from Kara, not to follow your girlfriend around everywhere (and you are not even sure if she didn’t try to at least get a peek). But, yet, you had expected you were going to have a little more time than this.

Jamie and Maya came over your house for a study session. For real. When Jamie mentioned that you all should study together for next week exams, at first you thought it was a joke. But then Maya got super interested in having you teaching her physics, so you agreed.

You don’t know why you all ended up at your house. Actually, you kind of know. Maya’s parents hate the Luthors, so you can’t go there. Jamie’s house is a little bit further away and they would probably get tired of walking before getting there. Still, you feel like you haven’t fought back enough. You should’ve.

Although, being fair to yourself, you couldn’t possibly know there was a storm coming to National City that would literally make it impossible for you three to leave the house for hours. So, while there was a storm raging outside, you were looking at the clock, hoping, praying, wishing that Kara and Lena got held up at work.

Which could be true, using all the logic in your body. The rain is so strong, Supergirl will be needed for sure. There are probably people stuck in cars, or maybe there’s a flood in someone’s house, maybe there’s a poor kitten stuck on a tree in the rain. There’s gotta be something. And Lena is probably stuck in her office unable to leave. You breathe out, calming yourself. If Lena doesn’t leave her office early every day, she is definitely not leaving today while a storm rages on.

But when the clock strikes five, your heart beats fast, you raise your head from your book and you hear a whoosh of air, that very familiar one. Steps on the front door. And please Rao, let it be robbers, assassins, let it be Lex fucking Luthor out of jail with a big rock of kryptonite, but not your moms. Please. Please.

But is Kara who first walks in. Pink trousers, even pinkier shirt, dripping wet. And not far behind, Lena walks in. Suit all ruined, ponytail glued to her face, also dripping everywhere. Your heart stops for a second, when you look up from the kitchen table where the three of you have settled.

“Wow, it’s so crazy out there! Good thing we flew-” Kara finally notices a face she doesn’t know. She quickly puts her glasses back. “Here on a car.”

Good Lord.

“Hey, I don’t think we have met!” She comes closer, ignoring Lena’s protests about making the entire house wet. She raises her hand at Maya, who shyly takes it.

“Maya.”

“OOOH!” Kara sounds like she just got electrocuted. She is almost jumping in place when she realizes what that means. “It’s nice to meet you! I would love to say that she-” She looks at you with an inquisitive expression. “Told me everything about you, but she’s definitely going through a phase of secret keeping.”

“Momma!” You growl hiding your face in your hands. Maya just chuckles softly at that.

“Aren’t we all?” Jamie intervenes, sensing your embarrassment and you take one hand out from your face to look at Kara pulling the chair in front of you.

“Kara!” Lena calls her from the front door. “Don’t you dare get my chair wet. Come over here, you can embarrass our daughter after you’re dry.”

“Or never.” You add. “You also can embarrass me never.”

“I’ll be right back.” Kara says, completely ignoring you, as she makes her way to the laundry room with Lena, so they can get dry clothes.

“I’m sorry.” You drop your head, trying to hide the blush creeping up your face. Maya puts her hand on your chin and makes you look at her, giving you a smile.

“Stop that. It was really cute.” Maya says, and you gaze into her eyes, almost forgetting everything and everyone. If it wasn’t for Jamie.

“Nope, it was embarrassing. And just you wait until aunt Lena comes here.” Jamie adds and you drop your head again, growling louder.

Lena decides not to play into the ‘let’s embarrass our daughter’ game. And you’re very grateful for that.

“Hey.” She just says while passing through the table. And you breathe relieved. Until she stops with a tiny smile. No, no, no. Keep walking. “Hello Maya, I’m Lena. The scary mom.”

“You wish.” Kara comes from behind her. Hair is still dripping wet, but all changed into more comfortable and dry clothes. She pulls out the chair and sits in front of the three of you, trying to look intimidating. “I’m the scary one.”

“She’s really not.” Jamie whispers in Maya’s ear, and you put your head on the table, banging your forehead ever so slightly so you don’t make a dent in it.

“Would you stop, please?” You complain. “We’re trying to study.”

“BOOOO!” Kara puts her hands in front of her mouth turning to you. “You’re no fun.” Then she proceeds to look at Maya. “So Maya, how old are you? What’s your sexuality? Where do you see yourself in five years? And most importantly, how do you feel about Supergirl?”

You snap your head at her at the sound of that.

“Because in this house we’re Supergirl stans.” Kara adds, making Jamie laugh out loud, and you grunt louder.

“Oh, I’m-” Maya thinks about it for a second.

“You don’t have to answer any of that.” You look at her and she smiles at you.

“It’s ok, babe.” She turns back at Kara. “I’m sixteen, I’m pansexual-” That makes Kara squeak in excitement. “In college, hopefully. And yes, Supergirl is cool. But, um, I like Superkid better.”

“WHAT?” You look at her, eyes wide open, mouth agape. She doesn’t know you’re Superkid, and she likes her better than Supergirl? Is she the perfect girl?

“Well, ok, don’t freak out, but…” She looks at you and holds your arm, squeezing it gently. “I kind of have a crush on Superkid.”

“You do?” It’s all you can say.

Kara is practically jumping on her seat, ready to stand up and spin you around in excitement. Lena is trying very hard to hold back laughter (she’s failing, by the way). Jamie is literally cackling next to her. And you’re there, looking red, but also happy.

“Why is this funny?” Maya looks around at the reactions. “She is hot.”

“Oh no, dear, we’re not laughing at you.” Lena says, knowing the situation doesn’t look good. “It’s just, you know, she is the Supergirl of your time.” She shrugs. “I, for once, had a huge crush on Supergirl when I was younger.”

“Wait. What?” Kara stands up, looking worried. “You don’t have it anymore?”

“Well, no, honey.” Lena smiles, putting her arms around Kara’s neck. “Now I have you.”

“No!” You yell to stop what you know it’s coming next. “That’s too much. There are people here.”

“We’ll give you guys some privacy.” Kara tilts her head with a devious smile. Holding Lena by the waist, leaving you guys behind.

“I’m sorry again. They’re not usually like-” You start, but Jamie cuts you off.

“She is lying. They are always like this.”

“It’s ok.” Maya gives you a butterfly kiss that barely touches your lips, but makes you smile either way. “Besides, I find your momma completely fascinating.”

“Funny. So does she.” You can hear Kara gasping somewhere in the house and you hold a laughter. She is such a dork!

Your moms are gone for a while, during that time you three go back to study. Kara comes in sometime later on her phone.

“Yes Alex, she’s not lying, she is actually here studying.” Kara points the camera to the three of you, and Jamie crosses her arms, annoyed. You just wave hello.

“You thought I was lying?” Jamie complains.

“I never once saw you studying with your cousin, forgive me for assuming you were being a rebellious teenager.” You hear Alex’s voice on the other end of the phone. “But I see there’s a new addition to the group.”

“That’s Maya.” Kara whispers on the phone like you all can’t hear her.

“Oh.” Alex stays silent for a few seconds and then you hear. “Hey, I work for the police. You just think about breaking my niece’s heart.”

“Oh my God, can you all stop?” You grunt looking at Jamie for help, and she stands up going to Kara and grabbing the phone from her hand.

“Can you come pick me up when the storm gets better?” Jamie asks and she walks to the living room with Kara following her closely.

“Again, I’m really sorry.” You look at Maya with pleading eyes. “I know you probably want to run away, but please, don’t. My mom is probably going to try to scare you, but we’re all very much harmless.” You smile a little. “Except for Jamie’s mom, she is terrifying.”

“Trust me, I’m ok.” Maya looks furtive around, and puts her hand on your cheek, coming closer to kiss you. “I get why they’re so protective. I mean, just look at this cute babyish face of yours.”

“She can call you babyface and I can’t?” Kara walks in the kitchen with Jamie not far behind, making Maya jump in her seat and get as far away from you as she can, without leaving her chair.

“So, Maya.” Lena walks in the kitchen too, and you’re already hating her tone. “Are you staying for dinner?”

“Um, I should call my mom first.” She stands up grabbing her phone, and you point to the living room so she can have more privacy. She leaves and you look at your moms on the other side of the counter.

“Stop looking at me like that.” You stand up, putting your books away. “I couldn’t possibly know a storm would hit National City making impossible for her to get away from you two.”

“Hey!” Kara defends herself. Lena only raises her eyebrow. You look at Kara, turning her head to the living room, and you poke her.

“Do not listen to her private conversation!” You demand and you look back at Jamie, also organizing her school materials.

“Yeah, aunt Kara. Don't use your super hearing, aunt Kara. Bad, aunt Kara. Yadda, yadda, yadda.” Jamie says and you furrow your brows at her. “What, she only does what she wants anyways.”

“Momma!” You’re almost jumping in front of her and she looks down on you. “That’s not ok.”

“Kara, stop messing with her.” Lena says from behind and Kara gives you a mischievous smile, like she wasn’t really listening, just pretending to. “Are you sleeping here tonight, Jamie?”

“Only if the storm doesn’t stop.” Jamie comes to the counter and looks at the food in front of Lena. “Oooh, are we having the famous Lena Luthor’s ‘throw everything in a casserole and see what comes out’ dinner?”

“You were way nicer when you were a kid.” Lena blinks once, looking annoyed and Jamie holds her laughter.

“Sorry, aunt Lena.”

“Hey, so, is it ok if I stay a little longer? My dad is still stuck at work because of the storm.” Maya asks, coming back to the kitchen and you look at Kara. Kara looks at Lena. And it takes them a whole ten seconds to finally go like “um, yeah, sure.” Which almost makes your heart stop.

“Why don’t you three go to the living room while I-” Lena looks at Jamie, defiant. “Throw everything in a casserole and wait to see what will come out?”

“Oh God.” You grab Jamie’s wrist, and put your hand behind Maya’s back. “Let’s go. They’re being awkward.”

“You’re awkward.” Kara mumbles under her breath and you’re glad you only heard, because of your super hearing.

You’re on the edge of your seat the entire time. Maya and Jamie are talking, laughing, taking pictures, and you’re there awkwardly pretending your mind isn’t somewhere else. What are they planning? Obviously, Kara has done enough of embarrassing, but what about Lena? Is she actually going to let it slide? That doesn’t sound like her.

Kara calls you guys back to the kitchen a while later. You know Lena wasn’t going to throw everything into a casserole and hope it works, but after Jamie joked about it, it was exactly what she did. She puts the food in the middle of the table, and raises one eyebrow at Jamie.

“You first.” Then she uses her tone that sends shivers down your spine.

“What is happening?” Maya whispers in your ear, and you look at her feeling like you should apologize once more.

“They’re challenging each other. It’s silly.” You whisper back, aware that only Kara can hear you.

“I can’t stop watching.” Maya mouths at you, and you smile. Lena and Jamie still haven’t broken eye contact and no one is moving.

“Go on.” Lena pushes it closer to Jamie, who gulps and finally serves herself. Everyone is staring at her while she puts the first bite on her mouth and chews silently. She shrugs a while later.

“It’s actually pretty good.” Jamie says with a smile, making everyone breathe out, and Lena rolls her eyes, finally sitting on the table. She then turns to Maya.

“Please. Girlfriends first.” She uses the same tone, and Maya’s eyes almost pop out of their head, before she shakes her head agreeing and serving herself.

The food is not all bad. It could be a lot better if she wasn’t trying to scare everyone off. But is edible and a lot better than anything Kara can make on her own.

“So, Maya…” Kara starts again and you already feel your heart is going to beat out of your chest. “What’s up with the hate for the Luthors?”

Great. Just great. Awesome. Thank you, momma.

Maya chokes on her food, surprised by such a blunt question, and you want to dig a hole on the floor and disappear in it.

“Oh, um. I don’t hate the Luthors, ma’am.” She manages to say. “My parents are not, um, fans. Because of that time Lex tried to control everyone. You know-”

“We know.” Lena breathes deep, looking exhausted. “Trust me, we know.”

“But I know you did amazing things for the world, and every time you work with Supergirl the world is saved, so…” Maya smiles, and you make heart eyes at her. She is so amazing. “I’m sorry about my parents. Not everyone can see past such a small thing as a last name.”

“Oh.” It’s Kara’s response.

“You don’t have to be sorry.” Lena says with a smile directed at her, and you see her features softening. “I just want to make sure my daughter is not being judged with the same standards as my crazy brother. But you know her, so I don’t think you can.”

“I really can’t.” Maya looks back at you, making you blush. “There’s no one in this world like her. She needs her own standards.”

“Aw.” Jamie and Kara say together, making you blush harder.

The dinner goes smoothly after this. It’s pretty clear Maya won your moms over. You always knew she could. No, you didn’t know, but you expected. No, you didn’t expect, but you hoped. And she did.

When dinner is over, there’s only a light rain outside, so Maya’s dad picks her up right after. Lena and Jamie make up over ‘the best dessert Lena ever cooked”, and you look around happy. Kara comes close to you and kisses your temple.

“I like her.” She says matter-of-factly.

“Oh, is that why you were trying to make her run away?” You raise one eyebrow at her and she chuckles softly.

“We’re not a normal family, baby.” She tells you, looking at Lena and Jamie laughing on the other side of the counter. “She has to get used to it now. It only gets weirder.”

“You’re weirder.” You bitch grin making Kara laugh.

She’s right though. Your family is weird. But it’s yours, and you love it as it is.

Notes:

@itzyourgirlnat prompted them being stuck in a storm together. My best buddy @hermen0404 helped me with some ideas. Thanks to you both.

[xtrashmammalstefx]

How To Piss Off An Old-Fashioned Ghost (A Zak Bagans SMUT!)

WARNINGS: Smut, cussing, all that jazz.

Special Thanks to: @xcazzax​ who never fails to give me ideas and inspire me to write shit like this. 

We were about to investigate the mecca of haunted hotels. The one place you go to and know you made it as a paranormal investigator. The majestic and infamous Stanley Hotel.

To say the guys and I were ecstatic would be an understatement. I swear you would think we were kids at Disneyland we were so excited. So much so we agreed to take a different approach to this one.

You see normally we’d investigate a place for one night, take a quick nap, and then be on our way home or to the next haunt the next day. For this one though we knew we had to do it differently. After all many people purported having things happen to them during the night whilst everyone else was asleep. So we got ourselves the most haunted rooms and were gonna sleep there the whole night with night vision cameras recording us the whole time.

“Ready to get it on with a cowboy?” I asked Aaron as we were being checked in.

“You know he only goes for the ladies right?” he said. “As in he’d probably react more to you than my bearded ass.”

“Yeah but…”

“Uh, Y/N, did you want your own room or..?” Zak asked.

“I told you I’m not chickening out of the plan,” I said.

“Plan?” Aaron questioned.

“Remember when the guide mentioned Mrs. Wilson having shit fits when unmarried couples share the bed in her room?”

“Oh…” Aaron nodded. “Wait...since when are you and Zak a thing?”

“We’re not,” Zak said. “Which will only add fuel to the fire.”

“Exactly,” I smirked.

“This isn’t an excuse for you two to bone is it?” Nick asked.

“What? NO!” I snapped at him.

“Dude! We’re literally gonna be in front of a camera the whole time!” Zak said starting towards the elevator.

“Yeah ‘cause sex tapes aren’t a thing,” Aaron said. I smacked him on the arm as we stepped into the elevator.

“Dude this is strictly work. As in we plan on remaining professional at all times,” Zak explained. “And the same goes for you two, alright? No scratching your nuts or your ass in front of the camera.”

“And for the love of GOD let’s hope none of you wake up with morning wood,” I added. All three men raised an eyebrow at me. “Oh come on last thing anyone wants is for our careers to go down the crapper all because you all woke up and revealed tents in your pants.”

“She does have a point there,” Zak said shrugging.

“Pun intended,” I muttered making them burst out laughing.

Later that night Zak checked in with our guys while I made myself comfortable under the sheets.

“All good here bro,” Aaron said over the walkie.

“Yeah everything’s good to go here Zak,” Nick added.

“Alright see you in the morning,” Zak said putting the walkie down. He got under the sheets beside me and turned off the light. “Ready?”

“Let’s do it,” I whispered. Zak laid down and I draped my body over him. “Night babe.”

“Night, gorgeous,” Zak said leaning down. His lips pecked mine. It sent a jolt through me; as though his lips had finally found the home they always wanted. My heart drummed in my chest as Zak deepened the kiss.

As his lips lingered on mine he wrapped his arms around me and flipped us over so that he was on top. I pulled back and chuckled. “Babe it’s late,” I said as Zak peppered kisses on my neck. I moaned. “We’re gonna get a noise complaint!”

“Only if you’re too loud,” he said bringing his lips to mine. I ran my arms along his bare back pressing my body closer to his. I guess our act worked a little too well, for not even a moment later Zak screamed. “GAH FUCK!”

“What’s wrong?” I asked as he got off of me.

“Something scratched my back,” he said. “Oh fuck!” He was suddenly tumbling over off of the bed, landing on the floor with a thud. I switched the light on and joined him.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, Mrs. Wilson just nudged me off the bed,” he said.

“Turn around so I can document this,” I said before running to get a camera. Zak turned his back to me the second I got back. “Holy shit.”

“What?” I took out my phone and took a picture of it. I showed it to him and the blood left his face. On his back were three intense scratches. Tiny droplets of blood spurted out of them. “SON OF A BITCH!”

I grabbed my toiletry bag and dug out bandages, a small towel and alcohol. “Bite the blanket,” I said sitting in front of his back.

“What?”

“I’m gonna clean them up,” I said unscrewing the cap. “Bite something before people call the cops on us for murder.” I poured alcohol onto the towel and ran it down Zak’s back. Thankfully he listened and bit down on the blanket so rather than a scream he let out a muffled groan. I blew on the wounds gently then applied the bandages. “Okay you’re good.” I put my first aid stuff and the camera away and checked the night vision cam. It was still running smoothly and caught every single moment of the attack. Once I was done I put the night vision cam back in place and rejoined Zak.

“I think I’ll just sleep down here the rest of the night,” Zak said.

“Alright, um, night I guess,” I said before pecking him on the cheek. I switched the light off and started standing to get back into bed.

“Y/N?” Zak’s voice made me freeze and turn back.

“Yeah?”

“I know I shouldn’t but…” he never finished what he was saying. Instead he leaned in and crashed his lips to mine. The same jolt I’d felt before was back, only this time it was stronger. My whole body melted into his and we laid back on the floor.

“Do-Do you think we could…” I said as he sucked on the skin on my neck. “I mean with the camera right there?”

“Camera’s aimed at the bed,” Zak said. “As long as you don’t make too much noise we should be safe.”

I smirked. “No promises, Bagans.”

He kissed me one more time before helping me off with my shirt. We tossed aside along with my shorts, and panties. Zak’s lips pecked at my breasts. His tongue flicked at my nipples causing a moan to escape from my lips.

“Remind me to apologize to Billy later,” I said.

“I think I’m just gonna have to edit this footage myself,” Zak chuckled. Feeling more excited now I reached down and started nudging his pajama bottoms down. Zak got the hint and pulled them off; his length springing out hard and thick, just like the rest of him.

“Mrs. Wilson is gonna kill us,” I laughed.

“You forgot to ask me if I give a fuck,” Zak said lining himself up with my entrance. “Which, by the way, I fucking don’t.” He pushed in.

I held on to him as he moved inside me. The feeling was something out of this world. I mean sure, I’ve been with other people before (as I’m sure Zak has) but none of those experiences compare to the one I was having with Zak. It was like my body was made for his, and vice versa. I thrill of it only added to it. After all Zak wasn’t exactly the ‘fuck on the job’ kind of guy; on the contrary he was professional at all times. So seeing this change in him now...it felt kind of ballsy...like we were kids again breaking the rules.

Apparently Mrs. Wilson thought the same. “OW FUCK!” I screamed after feeling a sharp pain in my arm. Zak froze.

“What’s wrong?” I pulled my arm back and touched it gently. When I pulled my fingers back they were slightly wet.

“Mrs. Wilson punished me,” I said. I felt him brush his hand on my arm.

“That bitch!” he cursed.

“It’s okay, just-just keep going,” I urged him.

“You sure?” he asked.

“I need to cum real bad so yeah I’m sure.” Zak started thrusting again.

A few minutes later he groaned. “Please tell me that was you,” he said.

“What was me?”

“Fuck!” he groaned. “Mrs. Wilson just scratched my ass.” I fought back a giggle and instead addressed the old bitch.

“Alright if I say I’m going to marry him will you please stop?” I asked Mrs. Wilson.

“Wait what?” Zak looked at me shocked. “You serious right now?”

“Zak, I’ve loved you for so long,” I said. “And, if you’ll let me, I very much want to spend my life with you.”

“I want to spend my life with you too,” he muttered.

“So...does this mean we’re officially engaged?” I asked.

“I-I guess it does,” Zak said.

Very well… I heard someone whisper.

“Did-did she really just give us her fucking approval?” Zak asked laughing.

“I- I think she did,” I chuckled furiously before getting back to the other subject at hand. “Now are you gonna fuck me or do I need to see if Billy is available?”

Zak stopped laughing and growled furiously. “You’d have to be insane if you think I’m gonna let another man fuck you instead of me.” He started thrusting harder, and angrier. He was so wild with rage that his cock hit me right in my sweet spot.

“OH FUCK!”

“Huh you like it when I fuck you there?” Zak asked before hitting the same spot again.

“Fuck baby, yes yes yes,” I moaned. “Right there, right there, right there.” Tension started to brew within me. “Fuck I-I think I’m gonna…” My body tensed up and I tightened around his length, damn near screaming his name.

My body trembled as I came down from my high and as I did Zak tensed up and I felt him twitch inside me. He groaned as he emptied himself inside me. Once he was empty he collapsed beside me.

“Who knew pissing off ghosts could be one hell of a turn on,” I said breathless.

“Pretty sure that was the best sex I’ve had in my life,” Zak said equally breathless.

“I know that was the best sex I’ve ever had,” I said.

We passed out soon after. The next morning we met up with Nick and Aaron in the lobby.

“So how’d your plan go?” Aaron asked.

“Amazingly,” I said blushing.

“Really?” he looked at me curiously.

Zak then approached us with Billy in tow. He wrapped his arm around me and pecked me on the forehead.

“See, I told you it was just an excuse for them to bone,” Nick said.

“Dude during an investigation, really?” Aaron judged us hard.

Zak and I just snuggled into each other and flipped him off.

He judged us still a year later as we enjoyed our wedding reception.

“DURING AN INVESTIGATION!” he went on and on.

We ignored him though and just focused on each other, soaking in the love we felt as Mr. And Mrs. Bagans.

[oikawaplssteponme]

sweet creature

pairing: Hajime Iwaizumi x fem! reader

warnings: swearing, a little bit suggestive

genre: fluff, childhood friends to lovers, soulmates (?)

word count: ~2k

synopsis: Tying the tie between you and him took longer than it should have.

a/n: hi hi! here is some well over due fluff for you all!! this isn’t directly based off of the song ‘sweet creature’ but i felt it fit the vibes and since the song makes a little appearance ;) [ also shoutout to the anon who wanted some iwaizumi fluff <3 ] reblogs are greatly appreciated! enjoy xx

Looking back at it all, you never expected things to turn out the way they did. You never expected to find yourself in love with him. It was cliche, cheesy even. Everyone around you saw it before you did, saying you two were soulmates. In reality you were just clueless kids, unable to see that the universe had put you together perfectly. You needed him, no matter what form of him. He was your best friend after all, and a platonic soulmate was still good enough in your eyes.

But no, you were destined for something more.

Iwaizumi Hajime and you were two peas in a pod. From elementary school to now, you and him were inseparable. Scraping your knees together, attending everyone of his volleyball matches, you were always by each other’s side. It was no wonder why people assumed you were dating. Iwaizumi’s face would flush pink every time, insisting that the two of you were just really close friends. You would whisper in agreement, every time.

Was it wrong of you to want to be more?

It was the last week of high school, graduation just days away. You were over at Iwaizumi’s house as usual. You laid on his bed as he rummaged through his closet.

“Did you figure out what you are wearing for graduation?” he asked. You looked up from your phone.

“I think just a dress? I have two to pick from that I bought,” you explained.

“Okay, what colors are they?”

“One is blue and the other is white. Why?”

“I thought I could match my tie to your dress,” he said. Your eyes widened.

“Oh, o-okay.”

Iwaizumi grabbed a few button downs from his closet and laid them down on his bed, followed by the ties he owned.

“Help me pick.” You moved to the edge of the bed, scanning the clothes.

“I like the blue tie with the light grey shirt. You’d look like a waiter if you wore the black shirt and white tie,” you chuckled. Hajime huffed.

“Alright alright.”

Iwa grabbed his t-shirt and pulled it over his head. Your eyes darted to the floor.

“Uh what are you doing?”

“I’m gonna try it on dummy. I have to make sure it actually looks good,” he laughed. You looked back up at him. His perfectly chiseled figure standing before you as he tried to button up the shirt. You prayed that he couldn’t see that you were terribly flustered.

“These damn ties…” Iwaizumi groaned as he attempted to tie it. You chuckled.

“Come here.”

You hopped off the bed and stood close to Iwa, helping fix his tie.

“What are you gonna do when you go to college and I’m not gonna be there to tie your ties?” you smiled.

“I’ll call you and force you to come over and tie it for me.”

“I’ve been tying your ties since we were kids. I thought you would’ve learned by now.”

“Why would I bother learning when you can do it for me?” he teased. You chuckled.

“There, perfect.” You flatted the tie down, smiling.

“Thanks Y/N.”

You tilted your head back up, locking eyes with Hajime. You could stare into his eyes for hours, no issue. He chuckled.

“What are you staring at, huh?” Your face grew hot and you turned back around.

“Nothing…”

As the night drew on, you found yourself back at your place. Even though Iwa was just a house away, you wished you were still with him. You peaked out your window, hoping to see Iwa looking out of his. His curtains were open but the lights were off. You assumed that he was with Oikawa.

You looked at the calendar pinned to your wall. Two days of high school left. It was a strange feeling. The mix of anticipation and nervousness all into one. You were excited for summer. Day in and day out you could be spending time with Iwaizumi, just like every summer before. Of course, you’d much rather spend summer with him a little differently, but you knew that was unlikely.

You heard the familiar buzz of your cell phone, as the ringtone began to play. Your face lit up, as you recognized the noise. Only one person in your phone had this ringtone.

“Hello?”

“Window-”

The call ended quickly. You smiled, rushing to your window and opening it up.

“HI Y/N!” shouted Oikawa. You chuckled.

“How was studying?” you asked. Iwa sighed.

“This idiot barely finished his chemistry. He was busy blabbing about his graduation party.”

“I expect you to be there Y/N!”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. It’s this Saturday right?”

“Yeah, I didn’t want to have mine on the same day as yours and Iwa-chan’s,” explained Oikawa.

“Good choice,” teased Hajime. You and Iwa decided to do a small party for graduation together. Just family and close friends.

“Hey show me your dress,” insisted Iwaizumi. You grinned, heading to your closet and picking it out. Due to Iwaizumi’s blue tie, you decided to go with the blue dress.

“Woah there Y/N, you’re gonna take Iwa-chan’s breath away-”

“SHUT IT SHIT HEAD-,” Iwa smacked Oikawa upside the head, “don’t you have to go home?”

Oikawa checked his watch, before scrambling to get his things.

“Shit my mom’s gonna kill me- BYE!”

You chuckled, looking back at Iwaizumi. He cleared his throat.

“You’re gonna look beautiful Y/N.”

You tried to hold back your smile, but the heat rising in your face made it nearly impossible.

“Thank you.”

“I mean, you always are beautiful, but that dress might just set a new record for you,” he smirked. You pressed your lips together.

“Iwa…”

“Well we should both get some sleep,” he said. You nodded.

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“Goodnight Y/N.”

“Goodnight Hajime.”

You closed your window, then your curtains. You placed your dress back on a hanger, before plopping onto your bed. You felt all giddy inside, like a little kid. The butterflies in your stomach could fill an entire room. Did he mean those words in a ‘best friend’ sort of way? He had to, right? In all honesty you didn’t care about the context. After all, he still said it. Your smile was the same regardless.

~

“Smile you two!”

Iwaizumi’s mother had been taking pictures for the last thirty minutes, and you were honestly getting a little exhausted from posing.

“Mom that's enough-”

“One more! Hajime, stand behind Y/N.”

Iwa sighed. He did as he was told, moving behind you. He placed his large hands onto your waist, hugging you from behind. You tried not to react, still smiling at the camera.

“Okay okay now look at each other.”

You looked at Iwa, staring into those deep dark eyes. His face was so close to yours, you could smell the mint he had earlier.

“I’m sorry about this,” he mumbled. You giggled.

“It's okay.”

“Alright I got all the pictures I need.”

You keep looking at him, but more relaxed. Iwa didn’t move a muscle, as if he didn’t wish to let go of you. You weren’t sure if it was your imagination or not, but you swore that Iwa looked as if he was leaning in to-

“ALRIGHTY LETS GO! Grad party time!” cheered Oikawa. You and Iwa broke away from each other. You cupped your burning face as he cleared his throat.

“Y-Yeah lets go.”

You all headed to the Iwaizumi residence. There, you opened graduation gifts, jokes with friends, and even reminisced a bit on yours and Hajime’s childhood.

“I remember when you would make me catch bugs with you all the time! I hated doing that,” you joked.

“Okay but I always let the bugs go, didn’t I?”

“Aw Iwa-chan can’t hurt a fly-”

“But I can hurt you-”

“WAIT-”

You watched as Iwa and Oikawa fought as if they were kids before going to grab something to drink.

The night escalated to Toru finding the old karaoke machine and challenging Makki to a sing-off (which he declined). You sat on the couch with Iwa as the commotion in the room elevated.

“Do you want to go upstairs?” he asked you. You let out a sigh of relief and nodded.

Hajime opened the door to his room, allowing you inside. He shut it, helping to keep things quieter.

“Wait a minute-”

You rushed over to the corner of his room.

“You can play the guitar?”

You picked up the instrument and examined it carefully. The guitar didn’t look new. In fact, it had to be a few years old.

Iwa took the guitar from your hands, holding it to his chest as his face grew in color.

“I-I can’t really play…”

“I have known you my entire life yet I never knew you had a guitar. Guess I’m a pretty shitty friend.”

“No not at all. I just- I don’t tell people that I can play…” he mumbled. You smiled, taking a step towards him.

“Could you play something for me? I won’t tell.”

Iwa looked at you, his eyes widened. He swallowed harshly.

“Of course.”

The two of you sat down on his bed. Hajime began to tune the guitar, his hands a little shaky. You placed your hand on his cheek. He looked at you intently.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I kinda put you on the spot there…”

“No I want to...I have a song in mind that I’ve been meaning to play for you.”

You smiled, nodding. You took your hand away, placing it back in your lap. Iwa took a deep breath, before carefullying picking at the strings.

He played a calming melody, one that you’ve heard before. Your heart melted the minute you realized what song he played.

“Sweet creature...had another talk about where it's going wrong…”

His voice was low and quiet, yet smooth and soft. You tried to hold back a smile and a few tears.

“I know when we started, just two hearts in one home…”

He sang to you. He was playing for you. Pleading that you understood what he was trying to say. Everyone fights, everyone has disagreements, it’s normal in every relationship. It was as if the letters of the lyrics were rearranged to say: “lets just try”.

You two would be leaving for university soon, that was inevitable. However, Iwaizumi never felt happier than when he was by your side.

“When I run out of road, you bring me home.”

Hajime played the final cord, before falling silent.

“Haj-”

“I know how to tie my ties. I just say I don’t so that you’ll do it for me. So that you’ll stand a little closer to me. So that I can smell the same perfume that you’ve worn since middle school. So that I can look into your eyes, and see the world within them. I’ve known how to tie my own ties since I was eight years old, but that's also the same age that I realized that I was in love with you.”

You couldn't seem to find the words. Your mouth hung open a bit, causing Iwa to get even more nervous. He set the guitar down on the floor, before burying his hands in his face.

“God I’m such an idiot-”

You took Iwaizumi’s hands and moved them from his face.

“Look Y/N I-”

He was unable to finish his sentence, as you had crashed your lips into his. His eyes were wide before he shut them tightly, cupping your face and kissing you hungrily. You wrapped your arms around his neck, running your fingers through is dark hair. Iwa couldn’t seem to get enough, bringing you impossibly closer to him as he deepened the kiss.

“Hajime…” you whispered, catching your breath. Iwa placed another peck on your lips.

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

You were shaking, the familiar sensation of nervousness and anticipation rushed through your veins. Iwaizumi took your hand, placing a kiss on top of it.

“I love you.”

Looking back at it all, you should’ve known it was bound to happen. Maybe it was the fear of rejection that blinded you from the truth. Maybe you had to hear that it might not always be easy in order to realize that it was still worth it. It certainly was worth the risk. Love is the strongest adhesive, keeping people together no matter distance, disagreements, or destiny. Luck for you and Hajime, your destiny was the one you had always hoped for.

[general taglist: @lealofsblog @iwaisa @bakugousmymassa @evivn1 @bokutory @vangoghmusings @moonlightaangel @misszenin @marajillana @sopesmin @alaina-rose13 @shotoful @katlingclaw ]

[heyiwrotesomethings]

Winter Sunshine

Haley (Stardew Valley) x They/Them Reader

A/N: As far as warnings go, the only thing that may not be your cup of tea are the suggestive themes in the last bit of the fic like, last couple sentences. Nothing explicit. Hope you enjoy! Also I’m adding word counts now because it's even a surprise to me how much I’m actually writing on the tiny screen of my phone lol. Word Count: 1,672

“This better be worth it.” Haley grumbled to herself as she trudged through the slushy snow. Her arms wrapped tightly around herself did nothing to fight back the bone chilling wind that burned her nose and cheeks, relentlessly blowing her hair into a tangled mess and undoing the hour long efforts to make it look nice for her farmer.

“It’s their fault I’m out here in the first place. If they have a problem with my hair, I’ll tackle them to the ground and give them a whitewashing they’ll never forget,” Haley told herself. In previous winters, nothing could make Haley leave the warmth of the home she shared with her sister. The snow while admittedly charming, somewhat romantic, did not impress Haley at all. Not when it meant she would have to freeze her ass off. There was no beach combing or sunflowers in winter, ice cream lost its appeal, and her photography suffered because again, it was too cold! Mittens made her clumsy, Haley would hate to lose her camera in a snowbank. Even with her mittens, her fingers felt frozen. It simply wasn’t worth it. But for her farmer, she would brave the ice and snow just to see their stupid, cute, face.

It was only five in the evening, but the sun was already good as gone. The faint glow of (Y/n)’s porch light helped guide Haley through the frigid fields, her boots finally clomped onto the the solid steps of the porch. She stomped her feet to kick the snow free from her boots, thuds resonated off of the sturdy wood.

The noise stirred movement from inside the house. The front door swung open revealing the farmer, looking, in Haley’s humble opinion, overly enthusiastic.

“Haley, you made it!” (Y/n) grinned, stepping out of the warm house and closing the door behind them much to Haley’s dismay.

“What are you doing? You aren’t even wearing a coat, it’s freezing!” Haley scolded, wrapping her arms around the farmer for no other reason than to keep them warm. No ulterior motives here.

“Don’t worry. It’ll be plenty warm where we’re going. So, you think you can walk a couple dozen more yards?” (Y/n) asked, fixing a couple of Haley’s stray hairs.

“Ugh, if I must.” Haley groaned.

“You don’t have to. We could just head inside right now and have warm tea and cuddles. Far be it from me to tell you what you have to do,” (Y/n) laughed and Haley rolled her eyes.

“Let’s just go already. If I have to stand here any longer I’m going to lose my finger and toes to frostbite.” Haley bounded off down the steps, nearly falling backwards after she hit a patch of ice. Luckily (Y/n) caught her, smiling down at the blonde in their arms, they helped her regain her footing and took her hand.

“This way,” they said. (Y/n) would have loved to tease Haley with some cheesy line about falling in love and the like, but Haley’s patience was already running thin. Best not to comment on the close call and just take it in stride.

(Y/n) guided Haley to the opposite end of the farm, becoming more excited with every step, earning a look from their companion that was equal parts suspicious and amused.

“Where are we even going?” Haley asked.

“You’ll see. Almost there. If you look ahead, you might see it.”

Haley squinted against the darkness and sure enough, she saw a large building looming just ahead.

“I can’t believe it. Did you commission Robin to build another barn?” Haley asked, incredulously.

“Not quite!” (Y/n) chirped.

“You have wayyy to much free time on your hands now that winter is in full swing. Just what have you been up to?”

(Y/n) didn’t answer, instead picking up the pace and tugging Haley closer. Ignoring Haley’s complaints until they stood in front of the large glass building.

“Whoa,” Haley breathed out once she finally caught her breath. “How did you manage this?” She asked, not disguising the awe in her voice.

“Let’s just say I got a little help from some friends,” They shrugged, “Do you like it?”

“You didn’t just drag me further out in the cold to look at the outside of a greenhouse did you?” Haley asked. “Let me in and I’ll think about giving you an answer.”

“Alright, you drive a hard bargain.” (Y/n) nodded. “But could you do something for me first?”

“You’re stalling. It’s winter and I’m dying of cold, and you’re stalling.” Haley stated dramatically. “Hey!”

(Y/n) laughed and pulled Haley’s knitted hat over her eyes. They took Haley’s hands before she could pull it back up and give (Y/n) a piece of her mind.

“Come on, just for a second, I promise.” (Y/n) swore. Haley scoffed and allowed herself to be tugged forward.

Haley heard the door open and she couldn’t help the relieved sigh that escaped her lips as a humid warmth enveloped her body. (Y/n) led her further into the space, then let go of her. They quickly moved behind Haley to shut the door then came back to hug Haley from behind.

“Okay, you can look now.” (Y/n) said. Haley could detect a slight tremor in their voice as they spoke against her ear. Were they nervous? Why?

Haley pushed her hat back and blinked, rubbing her eyes over the harsh brightness of the lights. (Y/n) must have turned them on. Once she regained her sight, Haley’s eyes blew wide at the sight before her.

“(Y/n), oh my Yoba!” Haley gasped.

“Surprise! Do you like them?” (Y/n) asked, wringing their hands.

Haley turned to look at them, her features painted with ecstatic disbelief. “Are you kidding? I love them!” Haley smiled so brightly (Y/n) couldn’t help but match her enthusiasm full heartedly. “I mean, sunflowers, growing in the dead of winter. It’s amazing!”

Haley turned away from (Y/n) again and walked up to the nearest sunflower, growing just as well as it would have on any normal summer or fall day. She touched its petals gingerly and felt its warmth work its way through her very soul. How had she been so lucky to find someone as attentive and endlessly sweet as the farmer behind her?

She felt the arms snake around her again and she eagerly held them to her stomach, anything to show how much this gesture meant to her.

“I’ve been thinking about you and winter a lot lately. You’re right in saying that the season gives me quite a bit of free time.” (Y/n) spoke in a soft tone resting their chin on Haley’s shoulder. “And I thought that maybe, this could give you something to look forward to when the snow and ice have got you down.”

Haley turned in (Y/n)’s arms and wrapped her own over (Y/n)’s shoulders, clasping her hands behind their neck. “I love it, I really do and I love you too, so much. Yoba, how am I ever going to get you something even close to this!” She whined, burying her face in the farmer’s chest.

“Haley, just having you here to share this with is more than enough for me,” (Y/n)’s voice wavered again and Haley looked into their eyes.

“(Y/n), what’s wrong? Why are you so nervous?”

“I also had another idea of how to make winter special for us. Something that would help you have memories to look back on fondly every winter. I’m just-“ they took a deep breath, “man, I was so ready this morning but now that the time is finally here-“

Haley silenced (Y/n) with a kiss. It was chaste, quick, but it helped (Y/n) ground themself.

“Come on, you’ve fought monsters in the deepest, darkest parts of the mines from here to the Calico Desert. You shouldn’t be scared of your own girlfriend.” Haley giggled good naturedly, earning a chuckle from (Y/n) as well.

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” (Y/n) simpered. They stepped out of Haley’s hold and reached into their shirt pocket. Withdrawing their fist, they presented it to Haley who analyzed the closed fingers intently. “Haley, in the dead of winter, where all is cold and dark, will you become my warmth, my light, will you marry me?” (Y/n) opened their clenched fist and Haley’s hands flew to her mouth as the bright blue pendant was revealed.

“(Y/n)!” Haley cried, her voice muffled by her gloved hands. “Yes, I’ll marry you!” She lunged forward, grasping (Y/n)’s back for dear life and buried her face in their neck.

“Really?” (Y/n) sniffled holding Haley just as tightly.

“Of course! Nothing would make me happier!” Haley asserted, pulling away just a hair, “Please help me put it on.” She frantically took off her scarf, mittens, coat, and hat, throwing them off to the side. Then she turned away from (Y/n) and held her tangled hair up, allowing her newly betrothed to slip their hands through her arms and secure the pendant around her neck. Haley turned the shell in her hand and laughed breathlessly. She turned and launched herself back into (Y/n)’s arms for a kiss much more involved than the last.

“I love you,” Haley said again, holding (Y/n)’s face in her hands, a small, mischievous smile gracing her lips. She pulled away from (Y/n) and much to the other’s confusion, she walked backwards into the tall sunflower stalks until (Y/n) couldn’t see her.

“Haley?” (Y/n) called after a moment of silence. Somewhere from the back of the greenhouse, (Y/n) could see a shirt get tossed into the air before fluttering back down into the dense vegetation and they couldn’t help but laugh. “Wouldn’t you rather do this back at the house?”

“We’d have to go outside first, by the time we got back I might not be feeling so generous.” Came the faint reply.

(Y/n) watched as another article of clothing was thrown upward and swallowed thickly. They grabbed Haley’s winter coat from the floor and darted into the crops, following the sound of giggles and rustling leaves.

[yutahoes]

No Longer

pairing : ex lovers (band bassist! Yuta Nakamoto x doctor! Y/N) ft. NCT 127

word count : 2.4k words

genre : angst

summary : It’s been years since the break-up but no one can seem to move on yet. 

tag list : @ailoveyuta @yutazen01​ @aiforyuu​ @cosmiclatte28​ @2-3-t-i​ 

The bass of the pub music kept on ringing on Taeyong’s ear. It was a miracle that his friends invited him to watch them play. He had known the members of the club since college and he was amazed that they’re picking up popularity. When the five finished their set, they quickly went to Taeyong’s table. An awkward silence engulfing them made him curious. Did they fight? 

Yuta took a glass of beer and started drinking it in one gulp. Taeyong gave the band vocalist a look as if asking what the problem is. “He’s been in a sour mood all night,” Taeil explained. 

Johnny nodded then stopped Yuta from taking another swig of beer. “He never mentioned anything wrong.” Mark, the rhythm guitarist of the group, claimed. Taeyong nodded. Among the five, he’s the closest to Yuta, so he’ll know what happened. 

“He probably fought with Mika again,” Jungwoo stated and Yuta slammed the glass on the table with a loud thud. 

He glared at the five other guys on the table. “She wanted me to marry her,” Yuta whispered that made Taeyong shake his head. So that was it. 

“Why not? You’re already dating for six years.” Johnny asked. It was a mystery why they’re still together when all they do is fight. But then, maybe, it was the charm of their relationship. 

Taeyong had to sigh when the bassist stared at him with his watery eyes. “Yong, I can still dream of her every night...” And his head dropped on the table. Yuta is really a bad drinker. 

This isn’t new. Whenever he’s drunk, he would always look for her. But whenever they’re in the same place, they’ll play cat and mouse on each other. His bandmates just stared at him in pity then at Taeyong who was dialing someone on his phone, “Doyoung, I need your help.” 

--

Y/N was doing her hospital rounds when Haechan from reception beeped to tell her that someone is looking for her. Thinking that it was an emergency, she immediately went to the lobby to check who it was. She greeted the new nurse before asking who the visitor was only to be greeted by her brother, Doyoung, and his bestfriend Taeyong. “What is it?” she asked, annoyed. She still has lots of things to do. 

“You know that I love you right?” Doyoung asked that made her wide-eyed. She screamed when Taeyong suddenly carried her to his shoulders, out of the hospital. What is this? Where are they taking you? “We figured you needed a vacation.” her brother explained when his friend put her down. 

She gave the two of a curious gaze but Taeyong just shrugged, opening the van. “Noona!” Mark greeted which made her smile. When was the last time she saw him? Even Jungwoo started hugging her, pulling her inside the van. 

“Wait, my things are still inside. And I…” Y/N stopped when her fellow intern in the hospital, Jaehyun, handed her bag. “What is this?” 

He smiled, dimples appearing on both cheeks. “Enjoy your vacation, Y/N. You deserve it.” The girl just looked at him in surprise. “I’ll take care of everything here. Just come back in one piece.” He even greeted Doyoung that made her more surprised. When did Doyoung and Jaehyun become close? 

The door of the van closed. “Is he your boyfriend? He’s handsome.” Jungwoo teased. 

“No way!” You quickly revolted. “My past boyfriend is more handsome than him.” Mark chuckled then she heard someone coughing from behind before seeing the past boyfriend leaning by the window, smiling to himself. Instead, she turned to Johnny who she greeted enthusiastically then at Taeil who gave her a high five. “So, where are we going?” But they just shrugged. 

They stopped over in a gas station and she took this opportunity to change into her casual clothes. The moment she went out of the ladies’ room, Yuta was leaning by the wall. She lightly glanced at him then decided to walk past him but he quickly took her duffel bag and opened the van door for her, putting the bag on the back of the van where some of their things are. 

Mark and Jungwoo transferred on the back, sharing the small space with Johnny and Taeil. “We’re fine here,” Jungwoo said that Johnny even smiled. “We wanted to get closer with each other.” The girl shook her eyes then sat properly, creating a huge gap between her and Yuta, when he sat beside her. 

She isn’t stupid. She knew why they’re doing this. But why? She can’t seem to wrap her head on that. It’s been years. Haven’t they moved on? 

Haven’t you moved on yet? She asked herself. Y/N shook her head. Of course, she did. 

There were a lot of conversations in the car, Taeyong was driving and Doyoung is next to him. Johnny even asked how is Doyoung’s work which made the girl surprised. Does Johnny know her brother? It was a wrong question to ask since it was Taeil who answered that Doyoung used to be her chaperone whenever they had date nights with Yuta. Again, she was reminded about her and Yuta. 

A phone rang and everyone glanced at Yuta when he mentioned the name, Mika. He was so quiet while talking to the person on the other line as if sharing a secret. But Y/N clearly heard his silent ‘I love you too’. He moved on. He found another girl already. Well, it’s already years. That’s acceptable. “I didn’t know you were dating someone,” Doyoung claimed and she swore, the air inside the van is so thick that she’s burdened by it. Yuta just nodded. “How long have you been dating?” 

“Six years?” You gasp then covered your mouth quickly. That long? But wait, that only means that he had a girlfriend after they broke up. And fuck, she felt betrayed. 

You really need to move on, Y/N. 

--   

The house that Doyoung and Taeyong rented for the vacation is near a beach but what made her amazed is a trail to the mountain at the back of the house. Excited, Y/N started forcing Doyoung to go on a hike with her but he kept saying that he’s tired. So she asked Johnny who just shook his head. Even Mark doesn’t want to go hiking. 

It’s a good day and she really wanted to go to the peak of the mountain. “I’ll come with you,” Yuta claimed that made her surprised. She’s convinced that Yuta kept on avoiding her so what is this now? But then, she shouldn’t be wary of him. Isn’t he the one who had a girlfriend just months after the breakup? Everyone looked surprised when she agreed with a smile on her face. 

It isn’t as awkward as she thought. Yuta had always been her buddy when hiking so this is normal. The only weird thing is that she cannot ask for his help even if the steps are kind of slippery. The slope was too steep that she doesn’t know where to step. Maybe hiking is a bad idea. He held a hand for her to hold and she hesitated before taking it. He helped her up, not letting go of his hold on her. Until the two reached the peak. 

Her eyes were sparkling at the scene in front of her. She could see how the mountain meets the shore then the sea. Even the sun setting makes everything so picturesque. A camera shutter was heard then she turned at Yuta who took another picture of the view in front. Shit, she thought, her phone was in her bag. "Fuck! My phone." She groaned, frustrated. She wanted Doyoung to see this and tease them for not hiking with her. 

"I'll send you the picture," Yuta assured and she nodded. 

The girl crouched down on the grass, wanting to bask in the breeze of the mountain peak before heading down. Yuta removed his jacket, revealing a sleeveless inside, then placed it on the ground for her to sit on. She thanked him and he just smiled, shaking his head. Isn't he cold? But then, Yuta is always wearing a sleeveless that she had this obsession on his arms. Even now, she wanted to sink her teeth on his skin. But Yuta isn't hers now. 

"Y/N." Yuta called and she just answered a 'yeah?', eyes still focused on the setting sun. "I just want to let you know that I'm proud of you." She bit her lip, waiting for a continuation. "I have to admit that I wasn't sure that you'll be a doctor, especially when you started focusing on that dream and not on our future…" 

"Is that why you broke up with me?" Yuta stopped that made her laugh. "I get it now." She exclaimed. "I've always wondered what went wrong with the two of us." 

 "Y/N…" 

She shook her head then stood up. "And I wanted to thank you Yuta, for breaking up with me that time," she said sincerely, facing him. Yuta thought that this is the first time that she stared at him. His memory flashing back to those moments where she kept crying and he can't do anything for her. "We wouldn't be here if not for that. I wouldn't be a doctor and you wouldn't continue playing the bass for the band." But what she said next made him roll his eyes at her, "You wouldn't be happy with your girlfriend. Mika, right?" 

The guy laughed, a menacing laughing that surprised Y/N. "Funny of you to think that we're happy." She feigned a shock even claiming that they're dating for six years already. "Five, going on six." He corrected and it was now her turn to roll her eyes at him, it's the same. "She's forcing me to marry her just because her friends are married." 

The girl chuckled lightly. "Then why aren't you proposing to her?" 

"I'm not ready to settle down." 

"Really, Nakamoto?" She gasped. "I remember you asking me to get married on our third anniversary." She exclaimed then stopped. "Didn't you want to have children early?" 

He smirked. "So you rejected my proposal." Y/N pursed her lips at that. "It's different. I saw my future with you. Us getting married, having kids in our small apartment." He then shook his head. "But her," He gave an exasperated sigh. "I can't see any of that." 

"I'm sorry, Yuta." She said then handed him the jacket. "I'm not the right person you should talk to about this." She walked first, heading down the slope of the mountain but missed a step that made her slip. God, what is wrong with her? 

--

The other guys were worried when they went back to the rest house. Yuta carried her on his back, and there was blood on her leg. "How can a doctor be injured like this?" Jungwoo teased that made the girl hiss at him. 

Yuta took her to the shower room, washing the dirt and blood on her leg. "Does it hurt?" he asked calmly that made her shake her head. It's bearable. "Tell me what I should do to clean your wound." 

"It's fine. Don't bother." 

"Just let me fix your wound." 

"You can't, Yuta!" 

Doyoung entered the room, staring at the two of them in surprise. "Sorry, are you two…?" But the girl just sighed and Yuta sat down on the bathroom floor as if frustrated over something. "I called Jaehyun, he wants to talk to you." 

When did Doyoung and Jaehyun become this close? But the girl took the phone to her ear calling his name. "Hey, what happened? How are you so clumsy?" Y/N was startled, why is he so worried? "I'm driving there. In the meantime, just put a bandage on your wound. If you do not have…" 

"I know what to do, Jae." 

"But I just wished, I was there to take care of you." He whispered. "You always hurt yourself…" The girl stared at the person who's giving her the greatest pain now, seated on the toilet floor and still checking on her leg. "I want to take that away from you." 

This is it, isn't it? Yuta wouldn't be able to fix the wound. Someone else can. A doctor can. "I'll wait for you, Jae." Jaehyun can. 

The door was closed, Doyoung isn't inside like earlier and there's just her and Yuta. "I still think of you from time to time, you know?" Y/N started. "If you're eating well. If you're warm. Sometimes, I caught myself drifting to thoughts of you." Yuta was about to speak up, but she raced him in talking, "But I realized there would really come a time when you'll love the memory more than you'll love the person." 

He stared at her in surprise. "I'm sorry for always rejecting your proposal. I'm really scared of the future that time." She confessed. "You were struggling with the band and I have these high dreams that I felt like we're pulling each other back. I love you, really. But I cannot give you the future that you want.” 

“I know,” Yuta answered then held Y/N’s cheek. Sliding his thumb on her cheek to wipe the tears she didn’t know just flowed on her. “And I’m sorry that you would always cry because of me. I guess I’m really not the right guy for you.” 

But he is. Maybe not in this lifetime. 

There’s really such a thing as right love at the wrong time. 

When Jaehyun came to the beach house, everyone was just staring at him then at Yuta who was sitting on the couch nearby, phone at hand. “What happened?” Taeil asked, eyeing how Jaehyun treats the girl’s wound and her, laughing playfully at him. 

Yuta just shook his head as Taeyong tapped his shoulder. His eyes were stuck on his phone, a picture of her smiling at the sunset. It was supposed to be a new part of his collection of her smiles. That smile that always gave him strength all this time. But the smile isn’t his now, watching how she smiled at another guy. 

Sighing, he quickly typed a message. ‘Mika, what is your ring size?’ A bitter smile appeared on his lips when he hit send, followed by erasing hundreds of smiling photos of her. A goodbye to his first love. 

[blush-and-books]

The End of Julie and the Phantoms - A [very long] Theory

The core of this theory was inspired by many posts that I have seen saying that Julie’s “everything was a dream” shirt may have insinuated that nothing happening on the show is actually reality. I brought my series finale pitch to my dear friend @willexx who then helped me develop this headcanon into something I cried about during lunch. 

It starts out pretty heavy, but there are some little light things here and there because it’s what the himbos would have wanted.

We start here:

In the last episode, the boys are ready too cross over. It’s an emotional moment for everyone, they’re crying, Julie is sobbing, and we as an audience have definitely seen better days. With one last “we love you, Julie,” a flash of light overtakes the garage space, blinding our screens. 

The scene flashes to Julie lying in bed, waking up from her ringing alarm. 

She is visibly confused, clearly wondering how she got to bed when the last thing that she remembers is the boys’ painful departure. When she reaches for her phone to turn off her alarm -- it’s a school day -- she quickly notices the date:

It’s the same day in 2020 that she met the boys, that she was going to clean out her mom’s garage, and that she had to perform to keep her spot in the music program. 

So, none of it was real?

Not exactly. 

The experience was a sort of dream-like saga that was designed for her to be able to grieve on her own, and rediscover her voice in her own way. But just as the panic sets in that it was a complete figment of her imagination, the feeling of cold metal on her left hand becomes too hard to ignore: One of Luke’s rings. 

Reggie’s leather jacket is hanging in her closet.

Alex’s fanny pack is slung across the back of a chair. 

But when she runs downstairs, clad in her dinosaur slippers, rushing to the garage to see if the guys were there -- they aren’t. They have crossed over. 

As she moves through the day, she’s a new Julie, but everything else is the same. Instead of a baseball cap and low ponytail, Julie throws on her black jeans and Reggie’s leather and lets her hair run wild. She’s displaying a confidence that Flynn hasn’t seen in a long time, that seemed to have hit Julie overnight. 

Julie sings Wake Up in music, and keeps her spot in the program. She doesn’t oogle Nick in the halls and she tells Carrie off when there’s an attempt at an insult made. 

Real or not, the boys helped her. They did their job. 

When she gets home, and Ray irks her about cleaning the garage or selling the house, she is quick to insist that she doesn’t want to move and that if he needs her for the rest of the night, she’ll be in her mother’s studio.

There aren’t any instruments except for the piano, and the space has the original layer of dust that it had before her and the guys started using the space again. Julie feels empty. But she reminds herself that the ring on her finger is real, extremely real, so she retraces her steps that she had taken in the first episode and tracks down the Sunset Curve demo CD, puts it in the stereo, and plays it. 

Nothing happens. Or, at least -- nothing that she could see.

The camera pans up as Julie is hard at work to organize the garage, and we see the boys in the chairs on the ceiling, watching over her fondly. 

~This is where @willexx started to throw in some epic ideas~

The boys are real, and they have crossed over, which renders Julie unable to see them. However, in her reset reality without them, no one remembers Julie and the Phantoms or the fact that the boys existed in the first place. The boys, while she can’t see them, visit her and try to make contact with her as much as they can, even though their times with her are limited since they are supposed to be on the other side.

She’ll feel a ghost of a touch on her hand or her hair, and know that Luke is there. When she’s in the car and the radio is on a country station, she knows that it’s Reggie. In a journal for school, a small “okay” will be written in the corner of a page, and it is Alex. These little notes keep her going, and she’ll just sigh and say “my boys,” and leave everyone around her confused. 

Sometimes, when she wakes up in the morning, the demo tape can be heard playing in the garage. Somehow she’ll get filled with hope that if she runs into the garage, the boys will be there rocking out without her like she used to scold them for left and right -- but no one is there. Ray comments that the stereo is broken and Julie has no choice but to nod along. 

One day she finds Luke’s songbook that had been buried in the plastic garbage bags of the boys’ belongings. She still brings Unsaid Emily to his parents, and she cries herself to sleep that night. 

When Julie blows up as a solo artist, she actually records Unsaid Emily, and she records Bright, and all of the other songs that her and Luke wrote together. Luke Patterson is in the writing credits for many of the songs, where Trevor never bothered to list him, and a part of Luke is at piece. 

On the two year anniversary of Rose’s passing, Julie finds Luke’s “angst flannel.” Ray asks where she got it; she tells him a thrift store. But it feels warm, like all of the guys are there, hugging her. 

Another morning, she could swear that Luke and Reggie are strumming out Flying Solo on level one volume, and once again finds herself darting to the garage with no good excuse except to keep her hopes up. They, unsurprisingly, aren’t there -- but a note is, that says “you’re a star, Jules. We love you.”

The handwriting is messy. She knows it’s from Luke, who probably fought the boys to even write the note because he just wanted to talk to her even though they need to move on and his handwriting is awful. The note gets tucked into the pocket of the flannel, and when she needs to be reminded that she’ll be okay, she pulls it out of the pocket and holds it tight. 

Before every show, she reads the note, and mumbles a little prayer to them wherever they are -- even if no one else believes they are real. 

When Luke’s flannel starts to lose it’s original sweet scent of Emily and Mitch’s house, Julie spends an hour crying on the floor of her bathroom. A faded orange beanie appears in her room the next day. 

Little notes from Luke appear here and there, but never from any of the guys. In the shadows where she can’t see them, Alex tells Luke that in order for both themselves and Julie to move on, Luke needs to stop leaving her notes -- so most of the ones that Julie finds are even more messy than usual, like Luke was trying to write them without the guys noticing. 

During one of their forbidden conversations, Julie says to Luke: “hey, I never told you this before... But I’m so glad you’re here. I don’t know what I would do without knowing that you guys were still around. I think I would have lost my mind, and would have been convinced that I went crazy.”

Luke could have ran to Alex, repeated Julie’s tearful words, and given the drummer a fat “I told you so.” But he doesn’t. Julie’s validation is the only validation that he needs. 

Whenever her and Carlos and Ray make an extra seat at their dinner table for Rose, Julie imagines, deep in her mind, that it is for Reggie too. Reggie deserved a seat at their table; deserved to be a part of their family. A family that would have loved him.  And when a fork falls off of the table, Julie knows he’s there. One day, Julie asks Ray how he would have felt about having another son. He responds confused, and Julie gets tears in her eyes, and neither of them bring it up again.

When Julie and Flynn go to Pride together, Julie wears Alex’s fanny pack even though she hadn’t gotten any signs from him since they had all moved on. He still doesn’t reach out afterwards, too overwhelmed by her gesture to think of a way to properly extend his gratitude and love for the girl who is keeping his spirit alive -- but Luke lets her know that he was grateful. 

Luke still visits Julie like he visits Emily and Mitch. And on Luke’s birthday every year, Julie goes to a little bakery after school and buys herself a cupcake; sneaking downstairs in the middle of the night to light a candle and sing happy birthday. When she lights the candle, the candle gets blown out. Every year after that first year, she gets candles that you have to turn on and off so that Luke can’t ruin the moment. 

(He ends up throwing the fake candle on the ground out of retaliation.)

Julie is so emotionally stable for the most part that the complete change is a shock to Ray. He tries to ask her what happened, but she always acts like nothing happened and then hides in her room for hours. Sometimes, she makes random little comments out of the blew and Ray has many conversations with Victoria on whether or not he should have Julie seeing Dr. Turner again. 

At her first solo concert, Julie walks into the dressing room to find “Stand Tall” written three times, in three different handwriting styles, in red, pink, and blue. The message in blue is the messiest by far, and is followed up with a heart. 

The name of Julie’s first album is Phantoms.