#nah I’m not interested in Rude Ignorant people like You thanks

[fruitless-vain]

I think all dogs should be taught to blatantly ignore (offer handler focus) whenever the public tries to interact with the dog without asking the handler first

Imagine how beautiful the world would be if every time a person tried to touch a dog without asking the dog walked tf away. Their ignorant behaviour would never get reinforced and eventually, they’d be forced to ask instead (or stop trying altogether)

[my-castles-crumbling]

Padfoot and Prongs

Thanks to @peecyjacksoo for allowing me to write this headcanon

Tw: vague mentions of Walburga hurting Sirius, but not in detail

When the Sorting Hat yelled ‘Gryffindor’ for James Potter, all he experienced was excitement. His father was a Gryffindor, and his father before him, and his father before him. Really, he had wanted to be a Gryffindor since he knew what it was. The pure elation he felt was clear on his features when the Hat screamed.

But when the Hat did the same for Sirius Black, it was horror that appeared on his beautiful face. 

James had been watching him. Even as he and Peter boarded the train, he’d laid eyes on the short, skinny, pale, dark-haired boy who’d been practically dragged along by people who he could only assume were his parents. Quickly, he was shoved in the direction of people James knew to stay away from. People with last names like Lestrange and Goyle and Malfoy and Macnair. 

But the boy had looked sad. Like he didn’t want to be surrounded by those people. His head drooped as he walked, and James looked on with interest as the entire group disappeared on the train.

So when Professor McGonagall called for ‘Sirius Black,’ James wasn’t surprised to find out that the small boy was a Black. But he was surprised at the boy’s sorting. 

Because when Sirius stepped up to the stool, he looked resigned. Bored. Even a little nauseous. But when the Hat yelled ‘Gryffindor!’ and the boy’s face instantly turned from resigned to terrified, James was confused. 

He was, of course, still in the crowd of students waiting to be sorted at the time. So he had a decent view of the whole room’s reaction to Sirius’s fate. Half the Slytherin table looked livid. A few stood in protest, confused and furious. Murmurs sounded around the whole Hall, and James didn’t blame them. Because he had heard of the Black family. Heard about how much they loved all things Dark and believed wholeheartedly that pure blood was superior. So why was Sirius a Gryffindor?

But James had also been raised to love and accept everyone, and was on a bit of a high from his own sorting. So, after being accepted to the Gryffindor Table, he turned immediately to Sirius, who was next to him. “Nice to meet you, Sirius! I’m James. And this here’s Peter,” he said, gesturing to the boy sitting across from him.

Sirius smiled a bit and nodded at both of them, but didn’t say much through dinner. So eventually, James gave up on talking to him, instead making conversation with a taller boy named Remus, who had a cool scar that he didn’t ask about because his mum would yell at him for being rude.

- 

That night when James snuggled into his new four-poster, it took him a moment to hear the crying. Peter was a snorer and Remus had been kind enough to set a roaring fire, which meant that the sniffles slowly reached his ears, just as he was about to doze off.

But when he heard them, he couldn’t ignore them.

“Pete?” he asked softly, before realizing that the snores meant Peter was gone to the world. “Erm…Remus? Sirius?”

No answer. No more sniffles.

Unbothered, James set his feet on the cold floor and pulled back his curtains, listening closely. After a moment, another sniff came from the bed by the window. 

Sirius’s bed, James thought.

“S-Sirius?” he asked, a bit louder, walking closer. He watched the closedcurtains. They twitched before opening slowly. 

“Sorry, mate,” A distressed-looking Sirius muttered, peeking his head out. “Er- caught a cold. I-”

“It’s okay to be homesick,” James offered awkwardly, wanting to help, knowing that Sirius was not, in fact, sick with a cold. ‘Make friends by being a friend,’ his Mum had told him. That’s what he was doing.

But Sirius just scoffed. “Nah, bloody glad to be rid of them,” he shrugged moodily. 

“Then….” James hesitated, shifting from foot to foot. But his curiosity and need to comfort won out. “Why’re you upset?”

Sirius gave a wry smile. “Because right about now, dear Mum and Dad are finding out I’m not in Slytherin. And I know they’ll be…less than pleased.”

As he said it, he seemed to instinctively grab at the back of his hand, where several thin scars lay, twisted into words that James couldn’t read upside-down. Instantly, he put several pieces of information together- the way Sirius stood on the platform. The way he reacted to the sorting. The scars on his hand.

And James knew that many Pureblood families were strict. He’d been told about the ways old families did things, their horrible beliefs. But to see the proof of it there, in terrifyingly clear lines on the back of his new friend’s hand? It made it all so much more realistic. 

“Well, that’s them,” James said firmly, reaching to Sirius’s shoulder and squeezing. “We’re glad you’re here. And if your parents are mad, you can share mine. They’re kind of…overly affectionate sometimes, anyways.”

Sirius gave him a smile, eyes wide and teary.

-

The next morning was known as Mail Day. First years everywhere got letters from their families, congratulating them on their new houses. Personally, James had hardly slept, thinking about the reaction from his parents. His father’s pride. But also…of Sirius. What kind of letter would he get?

Sirius seemed to be of a similar mind, as he dragged his feet on the way to breakfast, looking like he was heading to his execution.

When the owls swarmed down, James quickly opened his letter, beaming with pride as he read his parents’ words of being ‘so proud of you, Jamie!’ He allowed the feeling to wash over him and warm him, pulling the letter close to his chest, missing his mother’s hugs a bit.

He then looked around to see both Peter and Remus with smiles on their faces, Peter opening an accompanying package of sweets that he was passing out around the table.

But it was Sirius who James’s eyes lingered on. Sirius, who was holding an angry red envelope.

A Howler. 

The red reminded James of the marks he’d seen on his new friend’s hand the previous evening and he reacted without thinking. Quickly, even as Sirius popped open the envelope, James vaulted himself on the table and screamed.

He knew he looked ridiculous. He knew he was making a very loud first impression. He knew he would probably get detention every night for the week. But he couldn’t just let Sirius sit there and be humiliated. So he screamed.

As he took breaths, words from the Howler snuck through. ‘Traitor,’ ‘scum,’ ‘disappointment,’ ‘horrible,’ and ‘disgusting’ were the ones James caught. But as he yelled and yelled, his throat going raw, he focused on Sirius. Sirius, whose mouth was open in surprise, but the corners of which were pulled up in amusement.

And when the letter finished and shredded itself in Sirius’s lap, James stopped. Calmly got down from the table and cleared his throat, face bright red. Followed the waiting Professor McGonagall out of the Hall to receive his own punishment.

But he never did regret what he did. Partially because Sirius didn’t deserve that embarrassment. But mostly because that was how he and Sirius became best friends.

[finrays]

Tips from me for dealing with trolls that I can’t always follow but love to keep in mind;

If someone makes a bigoted joke or implication, or uses a buzzword, ask them innocently to explain, you don’t understand the punchline/what that term means. Don’t let up if they say something like “You know…” just keep asking innocently.

If someone says something frothingly hateful or smug to you, stay as nonchalant as you can and calmly, politely dismiss them. These kind of people thrive off of attention and outrage, so don’t give it to them. Just calmly say something like “Ok buddy” and then ignore them. There’s not many ways they can come back from something like that that don’t make them look like an overreacting asshole, and you honestly don’t owe them your attention and energy.

If someone tries to debate you, see the above point; a calm, not-rude “Nah, I’m not interested, thanks.” Or an “Ok then.” They won’t have a way forward and, again, will have to make an asshat of themselves to push the conversation.

If you’ve done the above and they keep pushing, maintain the calm, polite dismissals. “Sure, ok. Alright buddy. I have to get back to work here, you have a nice day.”

Save your energy for the people that matter, and for loving and helping them. Don’t give it to someone who wants you to react so they look like the reasonable party and can point at you like “See? Overly emotional babies, I’m the better person.”

Don’t give them that. Be calm, be polite, don’t take the bait, and like 99% of the time, they’ll either hoist themselves on their own petard or end up speechless, standing and gaping ineffectively like a catfish.

Both are beautiful to behold.

Signed,

A woman who had to deal with similar tactics from her sister a LOT growing up and has learned a LOT in her thirty four years about when to blow your top and when to stay cool and watch them explode themselves

[mid-weast]

Will you keep it down? | Jeon Jungkook

Summary: You and Jungkook attend the same university and have been neighbors for 3 months now. It drives you crazy that he plays loud music at 2AM, and it drives him crazy that you barely acknowledge his presence.

Pairing: Jungkook x Female!Reader; Black!Reader

Words: 2.6K

Genre: enemies to lovers, student!jungkook, student!reader, fluff, mention of smut, angst? (in the form of bickering back and forth).

Authors note: Hi hi! This is the first fic I’ve ever written so if it’s bad I’m sorry. Also it is unedited so if there's grammar / spelling mistakes I'm sorry again! Also this is catered toward the reader being Black but I hope it can be enjoyed by everyone. Thank you for reading! Feedback is appreciated ok love u bye!

“Y/N? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME??!? Open this door RIGHT NOW!”

Even though you were studying in your room, his knocks were so loud you nearly jumped out of your skin. You had expected a reaction, but not a full-on explosion.

You and Jungkook have been apartment neighbors for about three months now, and a constant problem is that he blares his music hella loud late at night. Of course he’s a music major so he listens to music a lot, but at this point you don’t care. It doesn’t even seem like he’s working on composition homework anyway, just being an asshole with no regard for his neighbors peace. Now don’t get yourself wrong, you're not just some uptight bitch who complains about everything. Well, you do have several pet peeves but over the years of going to school in Korea you’ve picked and chosen your battles very wisely. In most cases you let things slide. You wouldn’t care at all about someone playing the music loudly, but it is 2 AM, and while you’re up studying you know a lot of your other neighbors are trying to sleep.

You tiptoe toward your front door and twist the knob slowly. You only open the door wide enough to be able to see his face. It’s not that you’re scared that you’re in danger or anything, and you rarely back down from people giving you a hard time. But you were tired, wearing a big ass t- shirt and short shorts (your regular sleep attire), and it was late at night. So if anything was going to pop off you felt pretty vulnerable. Even though you’re the same age, he towers over you and you find his size kinda intimidating.

As usual, you have to crane your neck to see his face, and your view of him is limited by the narrowness in which

you opened the door.

“Can I help you, lil boy?”

From what you can see of him, right away you can tell that he is pissed. Dawning his usual attire of a black sweatshirt with the hood up, black sweats, and stomp a hoe boots, he stood extremely close to your apartment door with his arms crossed. His usually wide, puppy dog eyes are now pressed in narrow slits. His normally pouty lips are formed in a hard line, and his jaw is so clenched you could carve an ice sculpture with his jawline.

"Who the hell do you think you are? You called the cops on me? Are you INSANE???" Jungkook shouts.

Obviously he's mad, and despite the amount of times you've gone back and forth he's never raised your voice at you. The old you would have screamed back at him, but over time you've tried to respond to anger with calmness. Also, you were a little scared because this mf is kind of big.

"I already told you if you keep blaring your music at 2AM, I was going to do something about it!" You respond in a hushed whisper, slightly concerned that your elderly neighbors will be even more disturbed by the noise. "I've told you this a million times, and you barely do anything about it. If anything, it's gotten worse like you're doing it on purpose. People are trying to sleep and I'm trying to study, why is this so hard for you to understand?"

He sucks his teeth. "You're such a little snitch. And I've already told YOU that YOU can't tell me what to do."

"I know I can't...but they can," you nod toward the exit, referring to the police officers that most likely just left out that way with a tiny smirk growing on your face.

If it was possible, he clenched his jaw even harder and you think that he's going to pop a blood vessel. He pushes his way into your apartment, which sends you stumbling back and you grab the door handle to regain your balance. This causes you to close the door shut.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're-"

He steps right up to you and leans down into your face.

"Who the fuck do you think you are, seriously??? Why are you such an annoying little brat? Just because you're a nerd with no friends who gets no play doesn't mean you can take your bitterness out on me.”

You have to laugh in his face at this point because hello??? First of all, who is he talking to? Second of all, you have told him a BUNCH of times to turn his music down late at night. You didn't think that was too much to ask. As far as you were concerned, being aware of your noise level when you live in an apartment is the universal bare minimum for being a human being.

"ME? Who do you think YOU are? Actually let me tell you. You're an entitled little rich boy who thinks he runs the world. I don't give a fuck about how popular you are on campus, how many people fall at your feet to be around you, and how many hoes you have, you cant talk to ME like that. And how are you going to try and tell me about myself when it's too much of a task for you to be a decent neighbor? I've never done anything to blatantly bother you, so why can you just.." You started to panic because usually when you raise your voice out of anger, your voice cracks and tears threaten to pool out of your eyes, but you tried to get a grip and not back down..."why can you just be nice to me so we can live in peace? Is that too hard for you???"

He looked kind of taken aback by your question. Being nice to you? It never crossed his mind. Also, you kind of had a point. When the semester started and you both moved in on the same day, you would shoot him a small, friendly smile in passing but you never seemed interested in getting to know him. He always wondered why that was. It's not that he had a problem talking with girls, since all he had to do was breathe and girls would come flocking around him, but you would flat out ignore him. Even at all the major parties at the beginning of the year and on Thursday nights when students take over the clubs in the city, you'd barely even acknowledge him. He KNEW that you had seen him too, since you would make eye contact, but you acted like he was just another guy at the club.

And he'd be lying if he said you weren't fine. You had thick thighs, a beautiful face, nice curves, and always wore outfits that hugged you in the right places. He always wondered what it would feel like to wrap his arms around your body and press it against his own. He would constantly sneak peaks of you throughout the night at the club, but something stirred in him when he saw that you were chatting up other guys. Was he...jealous? Jealous that you were so eager to pay attention to these dudes who, in his opinion, were decent looking but they were nowhere near his level, and you never even gave him a second thought? One night he even saw you leaving with a man he knew through mutual friends, and he had to physically stop himself from breaking the glass he was holding, because that guy, while objectively handsome, was nothing compared to him. Jungkook wasn't blatantly cocky, but he let his talent, charm, and looks speak for themselves. He was THEE Jeon Jungkook, and nothing ever really bothered him....except you.

Was he....interested in you? Nah, that can't be it. You were some random chick who happened to be his neighbor, who also is one of the only girls he's met that doesn't give two fucks about even having small talk with him, and that infuriated him for some reason. So the first time you came knocking on his door in an adorable pink satin pajama set with a matching bonnet complaining about his loud music, he knew the game he had to play.

He's still standing over you, centimeters away from you face, but you notice that his eyes soften a little and so does his jaw. He unclenches the fists he was holding crossed against his chest

You continue, “I don't care what you do, and I'm DEFINITELY trying to run your messy ass life. Believe me," you scoff, "you don't have enough money to pay me to do that. But when your dickhole behavior fucks with MY life is when it's a problem. And it's BEEN a problem."

He rolls his eyes. "Whatever, little girl, maybe I should call you little mouse now, since now I know that you'll go squeaking to the cops now, don't fuck with me or my music again.”

Without moving your head you look him up and down with a confused expression. "Am I supposed to be scared of you? No seriously, you look like you cry during Disney movies while wearing footie pajamas, and now here you are throwing a fit because I forced you to stop bothering the entire wing with your music?"

Girl...what are you saying??? This man just barged into YOUR place, is in your face, and is strong enough to pick you up and throw you, and you’re insulting him? But you figured if he's going to be rude, you'll throw it right back because you're tired of his bullshit.

Whatever softness he was feeling for a fleeting moment immediately left, and annoyance once again washed over. He straightens up a bit and puts on that annoying confident smirk he wears when he thinks he's won arguments between you two.

"You should be nicer to me, all it will take is for me to tweet one thing about you, and you'll be the most hated person on campus."

At this point, any suspicions that you had about him annoying you on purpose were confirmed. You've concluded that this mf is a bully and you, small and shy but not one to take mess, will put him in his place to-motherfucking-night.

You take a step toward him, now crossing your arms tightly against your chest, but he doesn't even move a hair backwards.

"Clearly you need a rude awakening so here it is. I don't know what type of people you've dealt with all your life, always saying yes to you, letting you boss them around and taking whatever bullshit you dish out, but let me tell you I am not the one. Never have been and never will be. Unlike the other fools around here who cream their pants at the mention of your name, I don't care about who you are. You'll respect ME and MY peace as long as we're neighbors, you get me?"

Now y/n, you have never so boldly stood up to someone, where did that come from, babes? You've tried to not let this entitled little boy get to you this whole time, but with him standing in front of you in the middle of your apartment with that extremely annoying, yet handsome, smirk on his face, and after all the crap he's said tonight, he had you all the way fucked up.

After you said that, he just laughed and looked away. Now you’re standing there fuming and confused...was there a joke you missed? You were being dead serious!

"Something funny?" you ask, narrowing your eyes.

"Nothing, just thinking about how I want to face fuck that annoying little mouth of yours so you finally shut up.”

Your jaw almost dropped to the floor. You've never had a guy say something so blatantly rude and vulgar literally inches away from your face. But again, you weren't going to back down.

"Oh really?" Scoffing and tilting your head to the side a bit while narrowing your eyes even more, "I'd very much like to do the same. Maybe then you'll learn your place."

"Oh please, princess, you probably blanch when someone around you even mentions the word sex." He chuckles and leans down close toward your face again and cocks his head to the side, scrunching his nose and in a pouty voice said, "you're fooling no one, but keep trying, maybe you'll get there.”

You're even more annoyed than you were before, if that was even possible. But if he wanted to play this game, you might as well go there with him. It's true, you were a bit more prudent than more, but it pissed you off that he could tell. Regardless, you do know some things to say that could have him leaving with his tail between his legs.

You pouted your lips and in a babying tone said, “Aww sweetheart you have no idea. You think you're big and bad but like I said, you probably cry watching Disney movies. The same way you'd be crying, begging me to let you cum down my throat as I mercilessly toy with your cock for hours.”

Now it's his turn to go pale. Y/n, his stuck up neighbor who has barely even spared him five seconds of her time just threatened to edge him into submission? He has to pinch himself because he must be dreaming....

“Well I-“

“But I don't even think we’d make it that far, hun” you continue, “because in order to humble your egotistical, disrespectful ass, I'm gonna have to ride your face until you suffocate. And when the paramedics come and I have to explain how you died, I won't even hesitate to tell them that you were a punk ass loser who LITERALLY drowned in my pussy!”

You don’t know who this person speaking is, but it is not you. All of the pent up hostility you’ve held towards him just flooded out of you and you couldn’t stop the words from coming out. To be honest you shocked yourself, but you still stood there with your arms crossed and your face unfaltering, just waiting for him to say something smart back.

He stared at you silently, eyes wider than you’ve seen before and his mouth hung slightly open. He wasn’t expecting you to respond with so much fire, but now he wouldn’t be able to sleep until the image you painted came true. His brain said fuck it, and his lips crashed down onto yours. The kiss is sloppy but passionate, and you swore you heard him quietly whimper.

When he feels you starting to kiss back, he smirks into the kiss. Your lips are moving against each other in tandem, and all thoughts about how much you despise the prick fades away. As you uncrossed your arms and placed them on his chest, you could feel his heart beating wildly. Was he as nervous as you were this whole time? You wonder. You knew he was a player, so he was experienced. But the thought that you made him nervous gave you a tiny confidence boost. His hands slowly slide up the sides of your body to sneak behind your back, to pull you further into his chest. As much as your brain was telling you to resist him and push him away, you couldn't help but fall victim to how soft his lips felt against yours. Suddenly you feel airborne as he swiftly reaches down behind your thighs and picks you up. You instinctively gasp but he doesn’t miss a beat, simply biting your lower lip and locking your lips together again.

“Maybe we should test that scenario of yours, and if it comes true, that wouldn’t be the worst way for me to go” he says, doing that annoying but soul-crushingly handsome smirk he likes to wear as he carries you off to your bedroom.

[emsemotional]

out of line

Okay so this is a little baby one shot  based on my mental health advocate!mickey headcanon that I posted a little while back. I used to write a lot for various fandoms back in high school, but it’s been a while since I’ve written anything, and even longer since I’ve shared anything I’ve written with anyone other than @lewslew, so please be nice- I definitely have some room to grow with characterization and timing. 

This is taking place post-finale, so I’ve taken some liberties regarding what everyone ends up doing after the series. In my mind, Mickey and Ian buy the Gallagher house themselves, because they’re Southside boys at heart and they need a backyard for their dog (duh). But they’re waiting on their Westside lease to end, so Lip, Tami and Liam are staying in the house while Lip and Debbie fix it up and renovate a little (you can find my whole hc on what everyone’s up to post-series here). I was talking to @iansfreckles a while back about a possible Gallagher/Tamietti family dinner- I’m so interested in how this would go and how the families’ dynamics would interact. SO, this takes place at said Gallagher/Tamietti family cookout, right as Lip and Tami are moving out of the house, and Ian and Mickey are moving in. Cami and Brad’s kids are with Aunt Oopie, I dunno I didn’t want to write them haha. 

Content warning: ignorant/rude comments about individuals with mental illnesses and language akin to that of the show

-

Tami had almost said no when Cory asked to bring her new boyfriend to the Gallagher house. Between the Gallagher and Tamietti families, there were going to be plenty of big personalities under one roof, as is. But Cory had actually asked this time, and she had just babysat Fred during a last minute highlight appointment. Tami had reluctantly agreed and her sister had seemed so happy that she almost forgot her hesitation. 

Looking back, Tami’s decision was questionable. Lip had been able to prepare his family for the rest of the Tamietti’s, explaining the family dynamics and topics to avoid. Chad was a wildcard.

He had burst through the front door laughing loudly beside Brad and Cami, who didn’t seem to think the joke was as funny as Chad did. Cory and Bob followed them in, annoyance clear on Bob’s face. Tami and Lip moved to the door to greet their visitors, Tami depositing Fred in Carl’s lap, where he was sitting on the couch. Carl immediately grabbed the toddler under his arms, grinning at him and lifting him up above his head, making propellor noises on his way down. 

This, this is what Tami had wanted her family to see. The Tamiettis had made it clear that while they tolerated Lip, they thought Tami could do better. They thought he was ill equipped to help raise a family, constantly doubting his ability to provide, and his dedication to his family. Tami had tried to explain Lip’s role in his own family- the patriarch of the Gallagher home, a man who had been taking care of people for his entire life. Perhaps the only way for the other Tamiettis to see the value in the Gallagher side of Fred’s family, was to observe it first hand.

Lip made it to the Tamiettis first, shaking Bob’s hand and taking the handful of bags and jackets that were thrust into his arms. 

“No show Brad!” Tami cheered, hugging her sisters, “You made it!” 

Brad rolled his eyes, lightly clapping Tami on the shoulder, “Yeah, yeah, I’m here.”

Cory turned towards her sister, a wide smile on her face, “Tam, this is Chad, the guy I was telling you about?” 

Tami turned to shake his hand, finally giving him a good look. Truth be told, he looked like every other guy Cory had seriously dated- some tall, brunette, conventionally attractive, straight laced kind of guy. He didn’t seem any different from the other business majors, fraternity boys and bar bouncers that Cory had intruded her to. 

“Tami right? So great to meet you, thanks for inviting me!” 

“Of course, nice to meet you too! Come on in, you guys!” 

The Tamiettis settled into the living room, Cami choosing the seat next to Carl, cooing down to Fred, “There’s my favorite nephew! How are you sweet boy?” 

She ran a gentle hand across Fred’s head before introducing herself to Carl, “I’m Cami, Tami’s sister.” Carl swallowed a smirk at the rhyming names, nodding, “Carl, Lip’s brother.”

“Ah, the one buying the house?” 

“Nah, that’s Ian and Mickey, they’re upstairs somewhere. I’m the cop,” Carl stated proudly.

“Fuck the police!” Mickey’s voice called into the living room in response, as a flash of red and black hair came tumbling down the stairs. All the Tamiettis turned to watch Mickey jog through the living room with Franny on his shoulders, Ian chasing after them. 

“Get him Uncle Mickey!” Franny squealed, “He’s gonna catch us!”

“I’m a little busy running, kid. Hit ‘em or somethin’,” Mickey grunted, scrambling to hand his niece a rubber ball previously balanced on the back of the couch. 

Franny wound up her arm, tossing the ball at Ian’s head with all her six year old might, “Take that, Uncle Ian! You’re dead!”

Ian groaned dramatically, clutching his face and sliding onto the ground. He let out a theatrical sign and closed his eyes, finally defeated. 

Franny cheered as Mickey lifted her off his shoulders, “We did it! We killed him!” Franny dropped down to the ground to check that Ian had accepted his defeat, poking him in the back with the toe of her shoe.

Mickey gave her a crinkly grin, the kind he reserved for Franny and Ian alone- unguarded and childlike. “Sure did! Pretty badass if you ask me.” 

Ian got to his feet, tickling Franny’s stomach as he addressed the room, “Hey, sorry we were in the middle of… a game.” 

“Liquor store robbery!” Franny cheerfully announced. 

 Franny began introducing herself to the unfamiliar faces, sharing that she was in the first grade, enjoyed playing with guns, and wanted to be a welder like her mommy when she grew up. As Liam and Debbie descended the stairs, and the rest of the Gallaghers and Tamiettis introduced themselves, Tami marveled at how smoothly things seemed to be going. No one was yelling, or aggressively drunk, or making a thinly veiled classist comment- yet. 

The two families quickly settled into a comfortable chatter of introductions and the conversation, surprisingly, continued to flow without a hitch. They soon made their way outside, where Debbie and Bob chatted while manning the grill. The other family members scattered across the yard- Liam sat in a lawn chair typing on a laptop, occasionally asking Lip for grammar advice. Ian, in the middle of telling some wild story from his EMT days, was fully emerged in conversation with the rest of the Tamietti family while Mickey and Carl considered how many crimes Carl could theoretically arrest him for, arguing over how many years Mickey would have to serve. 

Everything was great- until Chad decided to open his mouth. They had finished dinner and were crammed into the living room, escaping the Chicago windchill. Chad was sharing one of his own work stories from the construction site he worked on, describing a man who had wandered onto the site and started yelling at Chad and some of his coworkers that week.

“Totally off his rocker,” Chad commented, “He kept telling us about how we were tearing down his house, and that he didn’t give us permission to do this. Just screaming at us, swearing, and he wouldn’t listen when we kept telling him that he trespassing, y’know? Just super crazy- needed a fucking Xanax or something.” 

Ian tensed, fiddling with the ring on his left hand while the other Gallaghers exchanged pointed glances. Tami began to interrupt, clearly in attempt to change the subject, but Chad continued. 

“The next day,” he explained, “the very next day, he came up to us and was asking to bum a smoke, like he didn’t fucking flip his crazy ass on us yesterday, I swear he must’ve been like bipolar or something, acting like we were old pals. Must’ve gotten carted off or killed or something, haven’t seen him since.” 

While the Tamiettis offered a polite chuckle, the Gallaghers remained silent. 

Mickey, who had been sitting on the couch next to Ian, looked up from his folded hands. “So you got something against bipolar people? It’s a fucking mental illness man.” 

Chad smiled, backtracking, “Hey, nah, calm down. He’s just some crazy homeless dude, who cares?” 

“He’s not just some crazy guy, he’s a person with a disease, the fuck’s wrong with you?” Mickey asked. 

Ian placed a hand on his husband’s shoulder shaking his head. “Mick, it’s fine. It doesn’t matter.”

Eyebrows raised comically high, Mickey stood and crossed his arms. “Um, fuck that, it does matter! You’re not a fucking punchline Ian. This is our house, yours and mine, and no one’s going to be talking like that in my house. Obviously no one else is going to say something, and you shouldn’t have to, so I will. I won’t stand for that shit.”

The Tamiettis exchanged horrified looks as the Gallaghers mostly just looked at the floor. Finally Lip spoke up from where he was standing by the TV, “Mental health is uh… a sensitive subject around here. We just… we take it seriously, y’know? First hand experiences and shit.” 

Cory opened her mouth to speak but she quickly stopped when she saw Tami swiftly shake her head in her direction, suggesting she stay out of it. 

Mickey lightly rubbed his eyebrow, “Yo, douchebag, apologize or get the hell out of my house.”

Chad raised his hands in surrender, “I didn’t realize it was such a big deal man, sorry.”

Mickey rolled his eyes with a huff, turning on his heel to walk towards the back of the house. Wordlessly, Ian followed him out the back door, leaving the living room in a heavy silence.

After a moment, Chad breaks the silence, “Look, I really didn’t mean to start something, I was just telling a story. Should I go out and apologize again, try to talk about it?”

“I wouldn’t do that,” Liam replied, “You should give Mickey some time to cool off.” 

“Yeah,” Lip agreed, “I wouldn’t follow them out. Mickey… he gets protective? Always has been, of Ian. Our mom was bipolar, and so’s Ian. He’s stable, doing great, but he’s, uh, he’s been through a lot. It’s just not good joke material around here.”

Chad nodded, silence overtaking the room again. Franny looked up from her coloring book, clearly bored with the turn the night had taken.

“I’m gonna go play with Uncle Mickey and cheer him up!” 

Debbie chuckled from her seat across the room, “Yeah, go bring them some beers Franny.” 

“Okay!” Franny chirped, hopping to her feet and skipping into the kitchen. Debbie gave a soft smile as she watched her daughter, on the way to hang out with her favorite uncles. 

-

From his seat on the back stairs, Ian watched Mickey pace through the yard, grumbling about “Fucking Northside yuppies… and their ignorant bigoted asses… what the fuck is wrong with people?” He glanced over at Ian, his expression softening when he noticed the defeated look on Ian’s face. Mickey paused his pacing, coming to sit next to Ian on the steps. 

“I’m sorry, I know I prolly embarrassed you. Was I out of line man? I just got so fucking mad,” Mickey quietly mumbled, looking down at his hands in his lap. 

Ian gently shook his head, “Don’t apologize. You weren’t out of line… I think I’m just disappointed, y’know? That comments like that still get to me? I should be over it by now, every reminder that I’m sick or different shouldn’t still sting like that. And why do I have to be the one that the conflict and the drama revolves around? Why not fucking Carl or Liam or god… anyone else just for once?

Mickey’s expression softened even further. He nudged his knee into Ian’s leg, “What’s that shit you told me when Terry died? Trauma doesn’t always make fucking sense and recovery isn’t… oh shit, what’s the word? Linear! Recovery isn’t linear. Doesn’t make you fucking weak, just means you’ve been through some shit.”

“Yeah. I guess it was easier to tell you that than it is to tell myself.” 

Mickey hummed in agreement and the two sat in silence for a moment before the back door creaked open. A tiny red head shoved her way through the doorway, arms wrapped tightly around two bottles, frosty with condensation. Franny sat down on the steps between them, silently handing her uncles their beers. Ian accepted his with a dry chuckle, thanking her. Mickey ruffled her hair, offering a small smile. The voices from inside had faded and the night was relatively calm, other than the occasional siren or dog barking. 

Franny, not looking particularly concerned, looked up at them to ask, “Uncle Mickey, why’d you get mad at that guy?”

Mickey rubbed at his eyebrow and let out a sigh. He looked towards Ian, a silent request for him to take the lead on this conversation. He was confident in his ability to discuss the stupidity of princesses or the importance of wearing gloves during a legitimate liquor store robbery with his niece. He knew how to play, and joke, and how to be there when she woke up from a bad dream, stumbling down the stairs with bedhead and snotty tears. Mickey had grown into his role as an uncle, but he still doubted his ability to talk about the tough stuff with anyone other than Ian. 

Ian cleared his throat, taking a second before asking, “Franny, do you know what it means to make a joke at someone else’s expense?” 

Franny’s eyebrows scrunched together and she shook her head. 

“It’s when you make a joke to kind of make fun of someone else. Like to tease them. Y’know how we make cop jokes around Uncle Carl because he’s a cop?”

She nodded, and Ian continued, “That guy… Aunt Tami’s sister’s boyfriend, was making a joke and it ended up being at my expense. That’s what made Uncle Mickey mad. He didn’t mean to make fun of me, but he kind of did. That’s all. Uncle Mickey was just sticking up for me.”

Franny sat for a moment, deep in thought. “I didn’t know he was talking about you.”

“No, he wasn’t. Not directly. He was telling a story about someone else. But he made a comment about him being bipolar. D’you remember when we talked about that? That I have bipolar disorder?” 

Franny nodded, “That’s why you take your special medicine.”

Ian continued, “A lot of people don’t really understand what that means, and sometimes they make jokes about it that aren’t really funny. They’re just kind of… mean. So that’s why we got upset.”

Franny considered this for a minute and asked, “Do you want me to go tell mommy? She says I should tell her if someone’s being mean. She can fix it.” 

Ian smiled a little, patting her little back and shaking his head, “Nah, mommy already knows, she heard. And I think Uncle Mickey did a pretty good job telling him that what he said was wrong.” 

Mickey let out a sarcastic laugh, “And I got more to say to that piece of shit if I ever see his Northside yuppy fucking face again.”

“I think he got the point Mick,” Ian sighed, “Don’t waste your time.” 

Franny shrugged “Mommy and Uncle Lip and Aunt Tami were all still talking in there when I left. Mommy told me it was a good idea for me to come out here.” 

Mickey grabbed Ian’s hand, bumping their shoulders together. “Whatcha wanna do, man? We can head back to the apartment, go to the Alibi and get tanked, I don’t care, it’s up to you.”

“Don’t know, I’m tired of running from things. And you were right Mick, it’s our fucking house. Could we just sit out here for a little while?” Mickey ran a thumb across Ian’s hand and mumbles so quietly, in that voice he only uses with Ian- “‘Course we can”

Having completed her task of delivering beers, Franny stood up and put her hands on her hips, “I’m going to go inside, I won’t let anyone be mean to you Uncle Ian.”

Ian looked up to lock eyes with his niece, “I appreciate it Fran, thanks.” 

She stood up and gave Ian a kiss on the top of his head, no doubt a gesture she’d picked up from some other family member, likely Mickey or Fiona. Ian smiled as she turned away to walk back into the kitchen.

After a few minutes Ian jerked his head towards the door, “Y’ready?” 

Mickey hummed in agreement, standing and offering back his hand to help Ian up. They walked over the threshold of the kitchen into a conversation clearly about Mickey’s exchange with Chad. The Tamiettis were all sitting down in the living room, with the Gallaghers mostly standing, leaning against the various remaining surfaces. Lip’s hands were in his hair, a plain indication of his frustration and exhaustion. Tami abruptly stopped talking, in the middle of what seemed like an impassioned rant. She seemed unsure of how to continue now that Ian and Mickey had reentered the house. Debbie, sat on the couch with Franny in her lap, was scowling, while Liam absently stared at the wall, clearly wishing he were anywhere else. Carl quickly walked into the kitchen from where he had been leaning up against the living room door frame, clapping Ian on the shoulder.

“Hey, why don’t you guys go take a walk or something for a sec- I think Lip and Tami have it handled.”

Lip spoke up from the living room, “Yeah, it’s okay.”

Mickey tensed, bracing himself. “No, it’s not fucking okay Phillip-“

Lip grumbled something about that not being what he meant, shaking his head, while Ian quietly interrupted his husband, forcing him to make eye contact. 

“No, it’s not, but I don’t want to just keep going over it, Mick. I’m not in the mood to educate him. I’m not saying it’s okay, but I want to move on. Lip can handle it.”

Carl nodded and repeated himself, “Go take a walk, come back in ten. Lip and Tami got it.” 

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a joint and pressing it into Ian’s palm with a smirk. 

“Rolled this for later, you guys take it.”

Ian raised an eyebrow at Mickey, who let out a sigh with a slouch, “Fine. Be back in ten.”

-

The two of them return to the backyard, Tami’s yelling resumed, her voice carrying all the way outside. 

 “M’sorry, I know I keep talkin’ when you just want it to be over with,” Mickey mumbled, looking down at the dead grass in the vacant lot beside the house.

 Ian grabbed him by the back of his neck, fingers brushing through Mickey’s short hair, “Hey, no. I… I appreciate you sticking up for me- seriously. I’m just tired… tonight’s not supposed to be about me y’know? It’s supposed to be about Lip and Tami, and Fred, not me. I just wanted to be Lip’s brother tonight, not the crazy brother, the sick brother. I just don’t wanna be the one that causes the issues anymore.” 

“You didn’t cause this Ian. You being bipolar didn’t fucking cause this- that asshole, opening his mouth and not knowing when to shut it- that’s what caused it. I get that you just wanna let it go, and I will, but if he say’s something else-“

“If he says something else you can beat the shit out of him.”

Mickey grinned, looking up to meet Ian’s gaze. “Fucking fantastic. You wanna smoke this bitch?” 

He grabbed the joint out of Ian’s hand and pulled a lighter from his flannel’s front pocket.

Ian finally cracked a smile, one that actually reaches his eyes, “Free weed? Fuck yeah.”

Mickey tossed the lighter to Ian, who caught it and lit the joint with a practiced flick. He took a couple hits and closed his eyes, smiling again as he exhaled the smoke. He handed the lit joint over to Mickey, along with his lighter and jerked his head in the direction of the van in the backyard, “Wanna go sit?” 

Mickey nodded and breathed in a sharp inhale, heading in the direction of the passenger seat door. 

Ian climbed up into the drivers seat, letting out a deep sigh, “Feel like I’m in high school again- sneaking around with you, trying to find somewhere to be alone.” Mickey chuckled and passed the joint back over.

 They smoked in silence for a while, Ian nudging Mickey with his elbow as the ember approaches the filter, “You want the last hit?” 

“Nah man, that’s yours,” Mickey shakes his head.

Ian took it, stubbing out the butt on the van’s dashboard and tossing it onto the floor. 

“Still wanna kick his ass?” He asked, lazily turning his head towards Mickey with a grin.

Mickey rolled his eyes, “I think I can contain myself.”

“Yeah?” Ian breathed, inching his face closer to his husband’s. The moon, freshly risen, highlighted Ian’s face, illuminating the dash of freckles across his nose.

Mickey didn’t answer, opting to close the distance between them, pressing a soft kiss to Ian’s lips. Ian’s hand came up to cradle Mickey’s face, thumb gently brushing his cheek.

And if they didn’t make it back inside for a while, so be it. 

[inarizakibabe]

Beginning

After weeks of testing and studying hard you finally made it into class four. Now time to make friends with your classmates and shoot up the ranks into popularity. Swallowing your nervousness you approached a group of people to introduce yourself.

"Good morning. I'm (l/n)(f/n) it's nice to meet you all." you gave them the biggest smile you could muster.

The group acknowledged your presence then continued their previous conversation ignoring you. After a few minutes you decided they'd be a lost cause and moved onto a different group. After successfully managing to make no friends you cut your losses and took a seat.

"Well that went well." a voice beside you said.

"Oh shut up. I don't see you trying to make friends." you replied irritated.

"Nah too much work. I have a team full of people to tolerate already."

"Wait why are you even here?" you asked the boy beside you.

"Rude. This is my class if you must know." he said annoyed.

"Hold on. You? Suna Rintaro? Class four? Is the world ending?" you asked apprehensively.

Suna grunted and ignored you. Slowly a smirk formed on your face, "Your mom threatened to come see you again didn't she?"

"You're in my business princess. Don't do that." Suna booped your nose.

You stuck your tongue out at him right as the teacher walked in to start homeroom.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Half the day and three periods later it was that weird period right before lunch and Suna's attention span couldn't keep up any longer. At this point you were taking notes for Suna to steal later when he could be bothered to write them down. The clock on the wall showed there were five minutes left until lunch so you decided to zone out.

Your thoughts ranged from getting homework on the first day of school to what you might be having for dinner tonight. Eventually they strayed to the boy napping beside you. You two had been friends for a long time. You met your second year of elementary school when Suna thought it would be funny to see how hard he could tug on your pigtail. After filling his shoes with sand you two became inseparable. Years later in your last year of junior high Suna was scouted by the coach of the Inarizaki High volleyball boys club in Hyogo. It was a great opportunity for him but it meant you guys would be separated. Unfortunately the club you joined didn't have a way for you to be recruited and even though your grades were good they weren't good enough for your parents to pack up and move all the way to Hyogo.

For your entire last year of junior high you mentally prepared to say goodbye to Suna until your mom's job decided to transfer her to Hyogo. Eventually your family moved to Hyogo, with a promise to the Sunas to take care of their eldest son, and thus your high school story began only it's not going the way you hoped. Suna was still your only friend and it seemed all your classmates knew each other since junior high leaving no room for you to shoot through the ranks. The bell rang interrupting your thoughts and your teacher dismissed your class to lunch.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After a boring lunch period your next class felt like it dragged on. So far your dream to take over high school seemed more and more impossible to achieve. Maybe if you joined the right club some magic might just happen. The big question now was which club would you join. You were a woman of many talents but none great enough to make you the star of a club. Cooking club would give you the chance to perfect your recipes but cooking wasn't something you enjoyed to do. Maybe one of the sports clubs? Definitely not. Was there anything else to do?

Before long the school day ended and it was time to either head to your club's first meeting or go home. You turned to ask Suna if he wanted to stop at the convenience store before going home until you saw him loosening his tie. Right the volleyball club had its first meeting today so you'd have to go home alone today.

"Don't look so disappointed. I'll save all my homework for you to do." Suna said looking at you.

"Whatever Rintaro! What do I have to be disappointed about?!" you huffed and picked up your bag to leave.

"Don't get lost on the way home." Suna chuckled and watched you leave before leaving for the gym.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Stupid Rin. I got lost one time. And what the hell would I be disappointed about? If anything he should be disappointed he won't have company to walk home with later today. I should go to bed before he gets home too." You grumbled while trying to find the school's gate. "Maybe it's in the other direction. Man this school is huge."

Up ahead you saw a guy with brown hair going in the opposite direction. Maybe he knows the way out of this school.

"Excuse me? Do you know which way the gate is?"

The boy stopped and at looked at you funny. "Keep going straight and you'll see it."

"Thank you." you bowed and continued going in the direction he told you. After taking ten steps you stopped and gaped at who was in front of you. The exact same guy was walking towards you again. You looked behind you quickly but the guy from before had disappeared already. Was it a daydream or did you finally lose it?

"Something wrong?" The guy stopped in front of you. "Are you lost or something?"

"I'm sorry but didn't you just tell me how to find the gate less than a minute ago?" you asked.

The guy in front of you looked confused until a look of understanding crossed his face. "I doubt it was me but keep going straight and you'll find the gate."

You thanked the guy once again at least you think it's the second time and finally made it to the gate to leave for the day.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* The next day in class you remembered the run in you had after school the previous day and turned to ask Suna about it.

"Hey Rin this may sound crazy but I got directions from the guy twice yesterday."

Suna pouted trying to figure out what you were talking about. "You asked the guy to repeat himself?"

"No he helped me then I walked away and all of a sudden he was in front of me again and gave me directions again." you explained.

"So he chased you? Wow the year just began and you already got a guy to fall for you. Nice work (y/n)-chan. What do you plan to do with this new found information?" Suna asked with amusement in his voice.

"You are the worst human to walk this planet I swear. I'm serious. Maybe I accidentally walked in on someone's prank or something. I hope it wasn't recorded." you huffed.

Suna shrugged and checked his phone for new notifications, "Who knows. Maybe that was your ticket to popularity you were looking for. Did you pick a club yet or are you gonna let our homeroom teacher do that?"

"I don't wanna think about clubs right now. I can't think of one I wanna join. Help me find one. Please?" you put on your best puppy eyes and begged. Maybe for once he'll take mercy on you.

"Why should I? Just join the music club. You did it in Jr. high. I'm sure you can survive three more years." Suna said not looking at you.

"I would prefer if I didn't have to go through all of that again. I expected music club to be about music not how much spit I could clean out of a tuba." you shuddered remembering the unspeakable things you went through in music club.

"Don't do this to me (n/n). The stories were the highlight of my day. You gotta do it again for the fate of mankind." Suna gave you the saddest look he could produce before he laughed at how ridiculous he thought he looked. "Anime joke. I don't know what to tell you princess. I haven't picked a club since we left elementary. Why don't you see if one of the sports clubs needs a manager."

"Rin you're a genius! Does the volleyball club need a manger? I promise I won't screw up."

Suna stared at you with a deadpan expression and sighed. "Remember when I went to visit family one summer break and asked you to watch Bubbles? I came back and we all attended a fishy funeral that same day. Or when I asked you to pick up Asami because I couldn't and I came home to my parents yelling at me because she called them crying cause nii-san forgot her? I could go on but I think you get the picture. I don't trust your promises anymore."

"Yeah but Bubbles was a special case. Who knew he'd eat until he burst if I put all the food in the tank? He was suppose to eat it little by little. And I apologized to you and your that entire year and you guys forgave me. Bottom line is I was young and dumb, now I'm a high school student and I've learned a lot in my fifteen years of life. Just talk to the coach and see what he says. I could probably really help you guys."

Suna sighed for the umpteenth time and ran a hand through his bangs. "It's not really the coaches I'm worried about. I met some of our upperclassmen and some of the third years are kinda intense."

You frowned at his tone and tried to think of what they could've done to him. "i'm sure they're not as bad as you're making them sound. Maybe you need to look at them from a different angle."

"I doubt it. There were two first years that made me question my sanity. If they weren't fighting they played really well together. There was one other first year that could already do jump serves. The entire team is pretty good. Looks like it's gonna be an interesting year for volleyball. I hope I get to play in some official matches." As the last sentence left his lips Suna's eyes widened and he turned to look at you so quickly you almost thought he'd get whiplash. "You didn't hear that."

"Oh that's what the problem is. I'm sure you'll get to play in some matches and if you don't then there's no way the team is going to nationals." you smiled at him.

Before Suna could respond the bell rang signaling lunch was finished.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*

At the end of the day you followed Suna to the gym.

"Remember it's not a guarantee. We don't have a manager and Coach Oomi does what you would do." Suna reminded you when you were almost at the gym. "Talk to coach Kurosu he's the head coach and old enough to be our father so if you ware him down enough you might just get the position."

"Alright. I can definitely do this." You sounded more confident than you felt but there was no turning back now.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hello sorry it took so long for this part to be uploaded but it's here now. Hopefully you enjoyed this and the next chapter comes out sooner than this one did. Until then don't hesitate to let me know what you think or if you just wanna say hi I don't bite I promise.

[ridiculousn3sswrites]

Barbecues

*Bucky Barnes x Reader, former Pietro Maximoff x Reader

*Summary: Bucky and Reader keep getting dragged to the same barbecues by mutual friends. 

*Warnings: Swearing, alcohol consumption, mild sex jokes, Pietro and Reader used to date and keep joking about that. Let me know if I missed anything!

*A/N: I’m alive, just been dealing with school and studying for the LSAT.

Tip Jar

**********

Something you didn’t expect from reaching your mid-20’s was all the damn barbecues you were being invited to during the summers. Your friends were all starting to settle down, get houses, and for some reason, barbecues were now the cornerstone of social gatherings instead of clubs. Maybe this was what you deserved for having a friend group that was mostly older than you.

You started learning the ins-and-outs of this new social scene: if Sam was hosting, food was going to be amazing; plate flipped upside down in the trash if you were going to Tony’s; Wanda would have a flask of something hidden away if you weren’t at her house, if you were, you knew where the good alcohol was. Things didn’t start to get interesting until you noticed a new face around the barbecues, one that you hadn’t seen during college. He was always there, kind of withdrawn from most of the friend group, but you could tell he was very comfortable with Steve, Sam, and Peggy.

He always wore the same thing: a black shirt tight enough to rival Steve’s, dark jeans, work boots, and sunglasses he would sometimes push to rest on the top of his head. His hair would be half up in this messy little bun type thing, and you were really into it. There was no denying he was attractive, and because of that you had no idea how to approach him. Wanda and Pietro were the first ones to notice your staring at this mystery man, and they never failed to tease you for it. “Why don’t you just go talk to him? It’s not like he bites.”

“Maybe she wants him to, she’s into that,” Pietro jumped in before you could answer his sister.

“You’re disgusting and I have no idea why we ever dated,” you said, completely deadpan. Pietro put a hand over his chest in mock hurt, but he knew you were only joking.

“I don’t need to know what you two did!” Wanda replied louder, hoping to drown out you and her brother. She turned her back on her brother, completely facing you. Pietro put his hands up, actually offended this time. “Anyways, do you want me to introduce you?”

“Wait, you know him?”

“Of course, that’s Steve’s friend. He comes around the office sometimes,” Wanda explained. You mentally reprimanded yourself - of course Wanda would know him, she works for Steve and the guy always hung around Steve and his friends.

“I don’t even know his name-”

“It’s Bucky. Come on, let’s go,” Wanda said, dragging you away and towards the man.

“What? You are just going to leave me here?” Pietro whined loudly as the two of you walked away. He apparently didn’t mind too much as he immediately went to talk to Vision when the two of you were gone. Bucky was talking to Sam as the two of you got closer, and you could feel your nerves growing. You’d never talked to the guy before, and here you were, about to interrupt his conversation with his friend? How rude could you be? Before you could tug back on Wanda and stop her, Sam noticed you.

“Hey, (y/n)! Have you met this dude yet? Biggest pain in my ass,” Sam called out to you, making you laugh as the man in question rolled his eyes.

“You know, you could tell people something else when you introduce me,” Bucky said. Wanda finished dragging you the last few feet, jolting you to a stop right in front of the man. You stumbled somewhat, and you could see Bucky’s little smile. “Hey, Wanda, how’re you doing?”

“I’m doing fine,” Wanda said with a smile. “This is (Y/n), my roommate from college. (Y/n), this is Bucky.”

“Hey, nice to meet you,” he told you, immediately taking your breath away with his small little smile.

“Yeah, nice to meet you too. So, uh, how do you know these guys?” You asked, nodding towards the rest of the barbecue.

“I grew up with Steve. Don’t know what I did to be the biggest pain in Sam’s ass, though.” You laughed at his little joke, Sam’s expression making it that much better.

“You know exactly what you did!”

“Do I?”

“You know you do!”

“I’m gonna go back with Vis. Sam, come so Piet has someone to talk to,” Wanda practically ordered. You could see what she was doing, and you didn’t like it one bit. You barely managed to get out that one little sentence without fumbling through it; there was no way you’d be able to last however long it took until everyone was called together to eat.

“What about us?”

“You guys talk to each other,” Wanda told you, not even giving you a second glance as she turned and started walking away. At least Sam gave you a little shrug as he followed her, leaving you and Bucky alone for the moment. There was the moment of awkwardness where the two of you didn’t really know how to bring the conversation back up without your mutual friends there, but luckily Bucky seemed to have just the right idea.

“Hey, uh, you need a refill?” He asked, pointing at the drink in your hand.

“Yeah, that’d be nice.” Bucky nodded his head towards the coolers, and the two of you made your way over there. That opened up a conversation about your beverages of choice - making jokes about one being better than the other - and then conversation was just easier from there. You shared stories about your friends, talked about things going on in your lives, the small talk making you both more comfortable with one another. Even though you didn’t exchange numbers that first time, Bucky left you with a little see you next time. 

**********

“There’s no way you used to date him,” Bucky said, shaking his head at you and Pietro. Another weekend, another barbecue - this time at Steve and Peggy’s place. Piet had wandered over to you, claiming he wasn’t getting enough attention elsewhere. He made a joke about how you were so willing to give him attention when you were together, and you quickly shot back about how there’s another reason why you aren’t anymore. Bucky just stood there in disbelief, not knowing just how close you were to Wanda and her twin.

“She did, for over a year,” Pietro confirmed. Bucky ignored him, eyes focused on you. You looked away, slightly uncomfortable with just how intense his gaze was.

“Well, yeah, we did,” you confirmed. Bucky accepted this one, turning to Pietro again. You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding, just glad to have that look off of you. You weren’t used to that level of intensity from Bucky.

“How the hell did you manage that?”

“Why is it so unbelievable we dated?!” Pietro demanded. “I’ll have you know she’s the one that asked me out.”

“Now don’t lie on my name like that, it’s not polite.” You took a sip from your bottle, glaring at Pietro. He just grinned at you, obviously not caring about how damaging that would be. If it goes around that I asked him out, I’m gonna kick his ass.

“Okay, fine, you didn’t, but you still dated me for a year,” Pietro said. “What did you expect when suddenly my sister gets an attractive friend?”

“Yeah, it was literally because he kept just coming in to hang out with me and Wanda,” you finally explained to Bucky, who was just watching the entire interaction with a little amused smile. “Dude couldn’t find his own friends on campus and I guess he caught my eye.”

“You guess?” This time, you could hear the slight hurt in Pietro’s voice.

“Alright, I guess that makes sense,” Bucky said, ignoring Pietro yet again. You put your hand on Pietro’s arm to comfort him, and from the small smile he gave you, you knew it worked. 

“What about you? You date anyone around here?” You asked Bucky. Sam seemed to appear out of nowhere the second you asked the question, throwing his arm around Bucky’s shoulders.

“He was flirting with my sister! I shut that down real quick,” Sam said. Bucky immediately turned red, shoving Sam’s arm off of him. “Nah, you don’t get to play like you didn’t!”

“Alright, yeah, I flirted with Sarah like twice,” Bucky admitted, taking a drink to try to hide his face.

“And you dated Natasha for a bit,” Sam added.

“I was gonna say that.”

“No you weren’t.”

“Eventually I was, plus it was only for a few months, that barely counts!”

“You guys were flirting for like a year before making it official, that counts,” Sam argued back. You and Pietro shared a look, kind of uncomfortable. You wondered if you’d be able to slip away without them noticing, but then you saw Wanda waving you over and giving you an out.

“Oh, hey, Wanda’s calling for us. I’ll talk to you guys later. Piet, let’s go,” you said, grabbing Pietro’s hand without thinking and dragging him towards his sister. “Thanks, Wanda.”

“Oof, what was going on there? You looked like you were forced to be there,” Wanda asked, glancing back at Bucky and Sam.

“Yeah, so Bucky didn’t believe us when we said we used to date, and then he got quiet when I asked if he dated anyone in the group and Sam started airing out his dirty laundry,” you quickly explained, finally dropping Pietro’s hand.

“And it looks like Bucky just shoved Sam,” Vis chimed in.

“Well, obviously. It doesn’t help to look like a flirt in front of someone you’re flirting with,” Pietro said. “Does that make sense? I feel like it did but didn’t.”

“It makes sense, don’t worry,” Wanda reassured him.

“No it doesn’t because there’s no way he’s flirting with me,” you argued. Immediately, all three of them looked at you. “What? He’s nice and very attractive, but also very out of my league.”

“Well, so was I-” Pietro was cut off by Wanda immediately smacking his arm.

“Shut up, Piet. But also, (y/n), honey, are you blind?”

“Well, my eyesight-”

“Stop deflecting. At the past three barbecues, you’ve been talking almost exclusively to Bucky. There’s no question that he’s into you,” Wanda spelled out very clearly for you. “Watch this. Piet, put your arm around her shoulders.”

Pietro followed his sister’s orders. You all knew better than to question her when she got into moods like this. Wanda nodded, looking past you and nudging Vis. “Vis, do you see what I see?”

“Yes, Bucky’s glaring at Pietro right now,” Vis reported. “It would appear he might be jealous, but doesn’t want to come over here.”

“See, even Vis can see it,” Wanda said, as though that proved her point. Which, you had to admit, it did make a very strong case here.

“Nah,” you said instead, not wanting to admit she might be right. You honestly had no idea what you’d do with that knowledge; knowing yourself, you were way too much of a coward to ask him out on the slight chance your information was wrong. What were you supposed to do if you were wrong? Just stop showing up to these barbecues and lose the only form of social interaction you had on a regular basis? Nah, you’d rather just try to get over this little infatuation you found yourself in.

**********

And as always, Sam and Pietro found themselves to be the banes of your existence. Another barbecue - this time at Wanda and Piet’s - and you were talking to Bucky yet again. Sam had attached himself to the conversation - which you didn’t mind, Sam was a hilarious guy - but it was once Piet joined that trouble started. As always, Piet got a little too comfortable, and once he got going, Sam got going even more. Which is how you got here, Piet’s arm thrown casually around your shoulders, tipping his drink towards Bucky. “When are you going to ask her out? The puppy dog eyes are starting to get annoying.”

“Dude!” You tried pushing Piet off of you, eyes wide as embarrassment began to take over. 

“That’s what I’ve been saying! Do you know how annoying it is to hear this guy talk about her every single time we’re together? ‘Oh, I wonder what (y/n)’s up to,’” Sam mocked Bucky’s voice. “Like, man, just ask for her damn number already!”

“Hey, c’mon, man.” Bucky’s response was a lot more calm than yours, but you could see the pink starting to tint his cheeks. 

“What? You know that’s how you sound. Hey, (y/n), give the dude your number,” Sam said, turning to you.

“She doesn’t have to,” Bucky told Sam before turning to you. “You don’t have to… but if you wanted to, I wouldn’t be against it.”

“I… I, uh, I think Wanda’s calling me,” you said, finally ducking under Pietro’s arm and rushing inside the house.

“Wanda’s out here!” Pietro called out after you, but you ignored him. You immediately made a beeline for the kitchen, the cabinet right above the refrigerator. Normally, you’d ask Wanda for permission, but considering the circumstances, you didn’t think she’d mind you taking a shot. Or two. Maybe three.

As you were pouring some of the liquor into your cup, you heard someone join you. You figured it was Wanda checking in on you, or maybe Piet realizing he was an ass, but you jumped when they finally talked. “You know, I would’ve been fine if you just said no.”

There he was. Bucky stood on the other side of the island, watching as you put down the bottle. 

“Sorry… I just… like got overwhelmed, you know?” You tried explaining, not knowing how else to put it. “And I’m sorry that Piet put you on the spot like that, I didn’t think he’d be enough of an ass to say something like that.”

“I get it. And I should be apologizing for Sam,” Bucky said. “But, uh, he wasn’t exactly wrong. I do talk about you a lot, I guess.”

“You guess?”

“Enough that even Steve asked if I was planning on asking you out,” he admitted. “That’s not weird, is it? I mean, I’d love to take you out sometime, but if you don’t want to then I’m completely fine with that too-”

He cut off his rambling when he saw you down the shot(s?) you’d poured in your cup. “So Wanda was right.”

“What?”

“She said it was obvious you’re into me, but I thought you were way out of my league,” you admitted with a slight laugh. It all just seemed so ridiculous now. “So, uh, yeah, I’d like to go out with out sometime, if this entire thing didn’t like put you off of that.”

“I literally just asked you out, it didn’t freak me out too bad. I mean, have you met Steve? I’ve had to put up with some weird stuff because of that punk,” Bucky joked, rewarded by your little amused smile. “There we go, doll. You still overwhelmed?”

“I mean, kinda. I know Piet’s gonna be on my ass trying to apologize. He always gets so guilty when he makes me upset.”

“Alright then, you wanna stay here for a bit longer? We could plan our date a bit, maybe I could get your number finally?”

“Yeah, I’d like that,” you told him. He walked around the island, joining you with only a few inches separating you. You could feel your face heat up from the closeness, but it was nice. This whole thing was nice. And if you were too busy focusing on the man beside you to notice your best friend watching the two of you from the doorway with a smug little smile on her face, well, you could deal with that later. 

**********

Permanent Tag List: @treatallwithkindness, @laic2299, @delaber

[emilia3546]

Shadowsinger Part 22 - Gwynriel

ACOSF Spoilers! Do Not read this unless you have finished ACOSF and the Azriel bonus chapter*

Masterlist with all previous chapters

TW: Mentions of past SA

*****

Gwyn smiled softly at the female who showed her around, both dropping their gazes when a group of males turned the corner, and Gwyn fought the urge to squirm under their prolonged gaze,

"You alright?" Shit, she must have noticed,

"Yes. Fine, I just wish they wouldn't stare too long,"

"Take it as a compliment, it's the only way to really ignore them,"

"Oh, it's not that," it totally was that, but she wasn't going to admit it, that would open other conversations that she didn't want to have, maybe with Nesta and Emerie, maybe with Azriel, but not someone she just met, "It's my husband," she lied. "He doesn't like when other males look to long, I'd hate someone to get hurt."

"Oh. Fair enough." She fell into silence, a hint of sadness crossing her features for a moment, but she hid it away too quickly for Gwyn to figure her out, shaking her head and smiling again quickly, "Since you're not a seamstress, we'll get you to help with collecting laundry for now, Cauldron knows there's a lot now," Gwyn chuckled despite herself,

"That's the thing with armies isn't it, they do make a mess,"

"They do, especially these young boys, they have no idea that their shit gets tidied up by someone, not just magic," Gwyn chuckled again, but she didn't miss the flash of fear, undisguisable this time, "Please don't repeat that."

"Never," Gwyn promised, "You can speak freely around me,"

"No." The other female whispered, "I can't. Even if you don't tell my brother, someone else might hear, the walls are thin here, but thank you." She offered Gwyn a smile before slipping away, and Gwyn made to call after her, but had no idea what to say, she didn't even know her name. Perhaps she was used to people not bothering to learn it. Gwyn made a silent promise to herself to learn every female's name here before they left. She sighed, finding her way down the corridor, and knocked on the first door, hoping that the room's occupant would be gone, and she could just grab the laundry and run,

"Hello," the door swung open, and Gwyn stepped back, "To what do I owe the pleasure," the male ran his gaze up and down Gwyn's body, then tugged her chin up, holding on when she tried to pull away, "Don't be rude," he chastised, and Gwyn trembled, her fear not completely an act, "Come to keep me warm, huh?" she'd never be able to go for her dagger quickly enough if he decided to try anything. She blinked back the tears welling in her eyes, she could still take him down, all she needed to do was break his hold, she could easily manage that, a quick punch to his elbow joint, then she'd duck under his arm, throw a punch to the nose, a knee to the groin, she'd be gone before he knew what had happened. With a plan in her head she squashed down that fear, she wasn't helpless anymore, Azriel would have never let her do this, never brought her if he didn't think she could throw down with every male here and win. And she could win, she didn't need her dagger, she just needed to be quicker than him. She swallowed when the male tugged her face from side to side,

"Let go, please," she said, wriggling, but he only tightened his hold, ignoring her request, and ran his gaze along her body again, the entitlement in that gaze making her see red, but she held her tongue, she had to try and get out of this without drawing attention first, if that failed, then she'd break his balls.

"What's a pretty thing like you doing here?"

"My husband sent me to help the others with laundry, sir," she muttered, hating every word, but placed enough emphasis on her husband that the male let go,

"Why are the good ones always married?" He muttered angrily, "Go on then," she slipped past him, half-surprised that he'd let her go, although it was probably more for his own skin than hers, after all, if he'd tried anything more, Azriel would be forced to demand a duel. Not that she worried for Azriel, none of the males here would last a minute, but it would draw attention, attention they did not need. She subtly glanced around the room, nothing of note, she wouldn't bother searching here.

She nodded to the male as she slipped back out past him, her heart still hammering against her chest. She only relaxed once she heard the door close, the male's gaze no longer boring into the back of her head, and knocked on the next one, finding it empty, but with a pile of laundry to be collected, and nothing helpful upon a quick sweep of the room. The next few rooms were similarly useless, a few having occupants, one female, left there by her father, who didn't trust her not to 'do something dumb', in other words, run off. She seemed so bored and lonely that Gwyn did wait with her for a few minutes, offering much need conversation, her name was Laylah, she was from Ironcrest, and she was twenty, unmarried, and hated being here. Gwyn offered her own, fake, name, and explained what she was doing, suggesting that she ask her father if she could help, saying that she might well be able to simply help with clothing repair. Laylah grinned at that and agreed, waving as Gwyn left. The next two rooms each had a single male occupant, one simply waved her in, paying her no attention, the other stared a bit, but left her alone, it seemed the fake wedding band was doing it's job, mostly.

The final door on that corridor did not lead to a bedchamber, nor was there any laundry to collect, but it was interesting, an office of some sort. She slipped inside, closing the door behind her, with the bag of laundry leaning against it, there was an open window, if it came to it, she could jump out and be hidden beneath the ledge before anyone could see her. This didn't seem too important, but Gwyn rifled through the drawers, ignoring most things, but a letter caught her eye, one between the late Queen Briallyn, and someone who seemed to be a general. The letter was encoded somehow, and Gwyn didn't know enough to be able to decipher it, she glanced around the room, finding a blank piece of paper, and copied down the letter, rolling up the copy and slipping it into the bodice of her gown before setting everything back to rights, there was no trace she'd been in there when she left.

The corridor was, thankfully, empty when Gwyn re-emerged, quickly running back to deposit the laundry and continue collecting the rest of it. Most rooms she visited that day were just as useless as the first few, but there were some that she mentally marked to come back to, either when they were empty, or she had more time, or fewer eyes on her. She lost track of the time, running to get back to their room before that evening's training finished, she was expected to be there waiting, and if she wasn't there, someone would guess something was up.

The hallways were empty as she flew along them, slowing to a brisk walk when she heard voices at the end of their corridor,

"She not there?" Shit. Azriel would have to berate her now, in front of those others, whether they were the same as before or not, she'd hoped not to force him to do that,

"Amirah! where have you been?" Gwyn almost flinched at the accusatory tone, it's not real. It's not real.

"I-"

"You know what, I don't care," she leapt forwards, towards making Azriel's comforting hand on her lower back look like a shove, but relaxed, it wasn't a big deal then, "Get in there," she ran inside, hiding in the corner until the voice faded and Azriel shut the door, "You okay? Something happen?"

"Not really, just an idiot, I lost track of time, I should have gotten back earlier, I hate to put you in a difficult position."

"Nah, you didn't, you just solidified their belief in us, letting me 'scare' you inside,"

"Like you could scare me," she scoffed, "You're a soppy baby at heart, Shadowsinger,"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I'm the one who does the protecting around here." Azriel laughed again,

"Whatever would I do without my beautiful little Valkyrie?"

"Die, probably," Gwyn muttered, wrinkling her nose up when Azriel leaned down to kiss her cheek, "Oi, go away, I'm trying to concentrate,"

"So, I'm distracting?"

"I think you know the answer to that," she rolled her eyes, "Listen now, I found something," all jokes died at those words,

"Show me,"

"A letter, from Briallyn to a general, I think. It's in code, I don't know how to decrypt it, I'm hoping you will."

"Let me see," Azriel leaned back in his chair and pursed his lips as he studied the letter, "It's an old code, one I haven't seen in a while, I don't remember it all, but, hang on a minute, you got a pencil?" Gwyn silently handed one over, rather inappropriately smiling at the way his hair fell over his forehead when he leaned forwards to note down the encryption he remembered. "Are you staring at me, Gwyn?"

"What can I say, you're quite useful as my eye candy," he snorted in disbelief, but silently shook his head,

"You're a menace, Berdara,"

"You can thank Nesta for that," she grinned, standing to cross the room, leaning over him, an elbow resting on his shoulder as he noted down the last few words he'd been able to decipher.

"Not groundbreaking, I'm afraid, but we do know that they're planning something. She mentioned a winged army, the Illyrians I think, so whatever the big plan is, it's been in the works a while,"

"Mhhhm, here, does that name ring any bells?"

"Don't think so, why?"

"I met a female with that name today, maybe it means nothing, but, any ideas about the words around it?" Azriel frowned back at the letter,

"Something about her father, what did you find out about her?"

"She's from Ironcrest, unmarried, lives alone with her father, who doesn't really trust her, she's restless, wants to explore the world, it seemed like her father's looking for ways to tie her down. She's still unclipped, thank the Cauldron, but she wanted to escape a bit I think, does it say anything about her role, or just that she exists?"

"Hang on," he started writing out what seemed to be a sort of dodgy alphabet, cross referencing to the letter, "You got your notes on the queens?"

"Yeah?"

"Who's married?"

"None, one is widowed, with a son."

"They want to marry Laylah to that boy."

"But she's immortal!"

"I don't think they care. She's the Camp Lord's daughter," she hadn't mentioned that earlier, "The male's a monster, he'll see this as a way to build an alliance,"

"By selling his daughter into marriage with a human, whose people hate all fae?"

"Yes. She's not a person in his eyes, just something he can use to improve his standing, to bring him closer to ruling all of Illyria, not just Ironcrest, he's never kept his ambitions secret,"

"Why am I only just hearing about this now?"

"Because I didn't think it was relevant, I hadn't even considered that it might be a part of his motivations for leaving, but if we're right," he trailed off, "Shit." he finished, "If we're right, we'll have to take her with us when we leave, can you get close to her again? Subtly try and see if she's loyal to the Night Court or not?"

"Yeah, that should be fine, but what if I can't get to her?"

"Just try, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." She sighed and stepped back when Azriel pushed his chair out, tugging her into his lap. She sighed again and looped her arms around his neck, leaning into him as she closed her eyes. "You said there was an idiot earlier?"

"He, um, it doesn't matter,"

"Yes, it does," Azriel pressed a kiss to the top of her head, his thumb stroking up and down her ribcage, "It's clearly upset you, whatever it is, talk to me, please,"

"The great Spymaster begging, not something I expected," she laughed,

"Stop deflecting, if you don't want to talk, that's fine, but I'm worried about you, okay? You're alone out there, and someone upset you, I'd like to help if I can,"

"Az, really, it's okay, it was just one of the males making a few comments, and he just made me uncomfortable,"

"Just some comments?"

"And, um, he grabbed my face," she quieted when he stilled, going dangerously quiet, "He let go, Az,"

"Before or after you mentioned your 'husband'?" Oh shit, she couldn't lie, he'd know, and she didn't want him to think she didn't trust him, she did, but she didn't want him upset, she didn't want him to do something stupid,

"After," she whispered, turning in his lap to cup his face at the shuddering breath he drew in, "It's okay, he didn't hurt me, and he let me go, I'm fine, it's not worth it,"

"He scared you." Not a question, but Gwyn answered anyway,

"Yes." She looked away, afraid to see the disappointment that she couldn't defend herself against one male,

"Who was it?" Gwyn shook her head, "Who, Gwyn?" He softened his voice, but the threat was no less clear,

"I'm not telling you, you'll kill him, and draw attention, and bust our cover,"

"I don't care,"

"You don't care? I care, we're here for a reason, are you hearing yourself right now?" She demanded, glaring at him, but relented slightly at the fear in his eyes beneath the layers of anger, he was worried about her, and that was allowed, but she couldn't let him jeopardize their mission for her.

*****

Gwyn was right, he wasn't thinking straight, but all he wanted was to find that male, whoever he was, and tear him apart with his bare hands. This male who'd thought to put his hands on the female he loved, the female who'd time and again proven that she was the strongest person he knew. He would kill everyone in this damn palace if he had to, but he had to know who it was, at least so that he could makes sure that the male didn't walk off any future battlefield. She was still staring at him, and he sighed, drawing in a few deep breaths, her calmness helping to ground him as she rubbed her thumbs across his cheekbone,

"I know," she muttered, "I know, I wanted to break his balls, but we can't, once we have what we need, once we're leaving, then you can kill him." There was no hesitation in her eyes, she wanted the male dealt with, and she wouldn't begrudge him this, but she put their mission first, like he should. Still, the idea of letting someone who had hurt her just wander around was too much, he should put the mission first, but for some reason he couldn't.

She's worried you think less of her for not punching him in the gut, she did want to though.

Of course, she did, it's Gwyn.

She thinks you'll be disappointed.

"Gwyn?" Azriel slowly turned her face back towards him, "Are you really okay?"

"Yes. Why do you keep asking?"

"I'm waiting for an answer I believe."

"Well, I'm fine,"

"I'm not buying it, Gwyn, please, let me help,"

"I'm fine, I'm not hurt, I played the 'husband' card and he let me go, it rattled me, and he scared me, and I couldn't even deal with one male, and that's pathetic, but I'm fine. I'm fine surrounded by these types of males, I can defend myself, apparently, but today I failed, but not every female here can, and I have you to shout for, to threaten with, what if they don't? What if their husbands, fathers, brothers don't care? What if they are those males? I couldn't deal with one, and I'm supposed to be able to, and what if I panic when it really matters, what if something happens again at some point and I just panic?" She was shaking as she spoke, unable to stop the words, and Azriel just held her, brushing the tears away, letting her speak, "I'm supposed to be good at this, I can defend myself, but I got scared, and for a few seconds I lost it, I only made a plan once it was too late if he'd tried anything, he could have done anything before I'd sorted my mind out to stop him." She sucked in an unsteady breath, then another, and another, shallower, faster.

"Breathe in," Azriel ordered, "No, in," she released the breath, "Gwyn. Breathe in." She did as he said, panic flooding her gaze as she clung to him, "Now hold it," she was still sobbing quietly, but she did hold the breath, "Now breathe out." She did and immediately sucked in a shallow breath, "I want you to hold when you breathe out as well, love," She nodded, struggling to draw in another deep breath, but held Azriel's gaze, "I've got you," she breathed in, and held it, "I love you," she breathed out, and held it, "You're safe," in again, "You're here with me," out and hold, "You are the bravest," she drew in another breath, more controlled this time, "The strongest female I've ever met."

She released the breath, finally able to breathe without holding in between breaths, "I am always, always in awe of you, Gwyn, you astound me every day. Today, you found your head, you didn't let your fear win, you escaped the situation." She nodded, and buried her face in his neck, still managing those deep breaths, murmuring something to herself, but when she quieted, Azriel continued, "Every day that you don't let the fear win in a victory, each time you win out over that fear is another 'fuck you' to the ones who hurt you, each time you choose to be happy over being afraid is another day that I am in awe of you," his own tears were falling now, "Please, Gwyn, never think less of yourself for your fear, it is only with that fear that you can be brave, there is no courage without fear, and you prove every day, that I have no idea, none, what true courage is. You have that true courage, and it's part of why I fell for you, and no-one can take it from you, no-one, so promise me one thing, never forget that, never forget that your courage cannot be broken, not by anyone, and certainly not by your fear. Can you promise me that, never forget?" Gwyn sniffed, and snuggled into him again, but nodded, sending another tears slipping down Azriel's own face,

"I promise."

[addictofsupernatural]

Firsts With : Denki Kaminari

First Time Meeting

Talking to someone online was so much easier when they didn't have to see your face. You didn't like your looks that much and girls in your homeroom didn't take kindly to those who weren't confident. So much for a hero school. It might have been your closed off vibes, but guys tended to ignore you.

But when you were playing a PC game, there was no such thing as insecure. And that's where you met Denki. He was the funniest, and when the two of you exchanged numbers your texts were an escape from everything.

Denkiiiii!! I wanna talk to my future class mate! You were so excited to tell him the good news.

Woah 👀 what is this?

I'm transferring to UA 💛💛

That was something the poor boy didn't notice. You sent him hearts, you tried to subtly flirt with him, you sent him those massive heart memes, and he still didn't get it. What you didn't know was that he didn't even know you were a girl.

RHTJEODYJEBDJ UMM YES ??? He was so excited to meet you. You seemed so awkward, which was fun. It was so interesting to just watch you second guess a text and give a long explanation just for him to laugh it out and say it's okay.

I'm on my way to get my uniform now. I can't wait to meet you tomorrow 🙏🙏🙏

Wait wdym hop online for a bit 🥺🥺 He was so cute. Neither of you exchanged pictures of yourselves, but he said that he had electric powers. No matter what he looked like, he was going to be adorable to you.

Okok hold up

:D

The next day he kept spamming you to send him a picture. We agreed we wouldn't do that

But we're meeting each other today 😭😭

As you walked into the school you sent a picture of your outfit with your face not in the frame. He was confused as to why you were wearing a girl's uniform, but then dismissed it and assumed you just preferred girl's clothing.

When you got into the classroom Aizawa told you to stay in the front of the class. Everyone filed in to their seats. "Everyone, this is y/n. She's our new student. Go take a seat where the empty desk is."

Kaminari was amazed. Y/n. You. You were y/n. You were a girl. You awkwardly sped walked to your seat behind him and sat, looking around. He whipped his head around. "You're y/n?!"

You looked at him, confused. You saw that he had a black zig zag in his hair. "Lightning bolt." You stated. You then perked up and grinned. "Denki!"

"Hang on, I—"

"Focus." Aizawa stated.

Denki quickly turned back, blushing madly at the fact that he managed to have a really awesome friendship with a cute girl.

Your face was heated. He was so handsome, and his smile! You couldn't believe you had such an amazing friendship with someone who's kindness reflects his looks.

First Real Conversation

After class he told you to stay put before bolting to his friends and saying something inaudible for you to them. They all looked at you, causing you to blush and look away from them. You quickly realized that was rude of you and looked back at them, shyly waving. They all chuckled.

You frowned and looked away, your face feeling so heated at the moment. He came back to you, grinning. "Okay, let's go."

You both started walking to the second classroom of the day together. He didn't know how to really word that the fact that you were a girl was shocking to him.

"I thought you were a guy." He stated.

"What?" You chuckled. He sheepishly smiled at you. "My name?"

"It isn't a Japanese name, so I just thought it was exotic."

"My clothes?"

"I just thought you preferred girl's clothing."

You giggled. "Wow." You then paused, before taking a deep breathe to work up the courage to tease him. "I wonder if we would've still have been friends if you knew. Would you have jumped to flirt with me like you do with other girls on the mic?"

His face flushed. "No! I mean yes! Yes, we would still be friends! I'm sorry if—"

You out your hands on his shoulders. "Denki, I'm totally kidding. Your too awesome to not be friends with." You nervously chuckled out a goofy laugh.

"Oh wow, you have a really cute laugh." Kaminari blurted out, though he didn't regret saying it.

You sheepishly grinned. "A flirt till the end. However you see me, I'm just really glad to be your friend."

"Me too!"

He was so excited. He was totally gonna fall in love with you, he felt it. You were too cool to just think of as a friend. But that was something to worry about later, when his feelings got stronger. Right now was simple crushing.

First Time Meeting His Friends

It's been three days and Kaminari begrudgingly told you that his friends want to meet you. He assured you that all his friends were going to love you, and that Bakugo will be just as unfriendly to you as he is to others, no more and no less.

You were on your way to the common area from your room while everyone waited for you. "Why'd it take three days for you to introduce us?" Sero asked.

Denki smiled and rubbed the back on his neck. "Honestly, I kinda wanted to keep her all to myself."

"Silly Kaminari," Mina slapped his back. "That's for clingy boyfriends, not creepy friends who have a fantasy of being with their female friends."

"I'm not creepy!" He pouted. "Just please remember that she's shy!"

"A girl who's shy and goes to you for comfort when she's nervous around other people." Sero stated. "That sounds like your dream girl." He chuckled out.

Kaminari chuckled. "I know right? I'm taking things slow though, so I don't scare her off. I'll ask her out some time, just not soon."

"That's so manly!" Kirishima grinned, getting excited for his friend.

They then heard you walk in and stop to look at them. They all turned to you, your face immediately becoming red at the sudden attention. Kaminari rushed over to you and led you over to his friends.

"Hi." You squeaked, waving.

"Guys, this is y/l/n y/n. She's awesome!"

"We're gonna be best friends!" Mina said, taking your hands. "I'm planning on stealing you away from Kaminari."

"I'm Sero." He stated. "Kaminari's right, you are cute."

You quietly gasped, not knowing how to react to this whole situation. Denki called you cute. A random guy just said the same right to your face.

"Ignore him!" Kirishima said. "He's kind of a flirt too. Anyways, I'm Kirishima. The guy with the mean face is Bakugo, but unless you threaten him he's harmless."

"Shut up shitty hair! And you!" He pointed accusingly at you. "I'm not soft or anything, so don't expect me to be nicer to you for no reason!"

"Okay." You quietly said, nodding understandingly.

"You're really okay with that?" Sero said.

"He didn't mean anything bad by it." You said quietly. You were extremely nervous, and felt so stupid. You knew you needed to speak up but couldn't for your nerves being shot.

"We're gonna watch a movie." Kaminari said, holding your wrist firmly. "You can sit next to me."

"Okay." You quietly said as he led you to the couch.

He requested for the group to watch a movie so you wouldn't feel too much pressure to talk as much. You both sat together, and just as your blonde friend was about to put his arm around you, Mina squeezed in between.

"Let's sit next to each other! Do you know this movie?!"

Kaminari frowned. "Hey—"

"I wanna sit next to her too." Sero said, coming to your other side. He then handed you a popcorn bowl.

You chuckled. "Thank you. And yeah, I've seen the movie. I like almost all genres, so I watch a lot of movies."

You three of you started talking about movies, and your electric friend pouted as he sat in his lonesome edge of the couch.

First Hug

It's been two weeks of you merging into the friend group. Kaminari felt a little frustrated, and even more frustrated over the fact that he had no right to be. Mina was stealing all of your time, and moving schools made you busy with catching up as well.

He saw you in the dorms walking to your room with books in hand, wondering whether he should greet you or not.

"Hi." He said weakly.

You quickly turned your head and grinning. "Denki, hey."

"You seem busy." He said sadly.

"Um, yeah..." You immediately caught the sadness in his voice, setting your things down on the couch. "What's wrong? You look upset."

He tried to laugh it off. "I just miss you I guess? When you're not busy with your other friends you have work to do. I feel like there's no time for me." You stared at him in surprise, and he backtracked. "That sounds a little selfish of me, sorry. You have the right to do whatever you want."

"No!" You quickly said. "You're right, we need to hang out more. I have missed you a bit too. Whenever I'm doing work and I don't feel like it I keep thinking about you."

"Really?" He grinned.

"Hah, yeah." You glanced at your books. "You're not busy, are you?"

"Nope." He smiled.

"Well, I actually am. But I could do my work in your room while you do whatever if you'd like. I know it's not that—"

"Yeah, let's do it!" He quickly grabbed your books and began walking to his dorm.

You laughed, catching up with him. "You're such a sweet friend Denki."

"Nah, you doing this more me is sweeter." You blushed at how nice he was being, even though he admitted to feeling neglected by you. You guys got there and he set the books on his bed. "Let me know when you're done you when you wanna take a break."

"Okay."

He sat on his chair and put his headset on. You stared at him for a second, feeling a surge of happiness from how content he was by just being in the same room as you. You turned his chair to face you and took off his headset, putting your arms around his neck and sitting on his lap without thinking.

"You're an amazing friend. I'm so lucky." He ignored the pang from the word friend and hugged you back. You felt so easily molded against him. He held you with one hand on your back and the other on your waist.

"Woah!" He chuckled. "You know, I could say the same thing about you."

You shifted in his lap to look at his screen, silently thanking the fact that he couldn't see your steaming face. "What're you gonna play?"

"What's this?"

"I think I'll watch you play for a bit before getting homework done, if that's okay."

"Course it is!" He excitedly began to show you the game as he kept one hand on your waist.

First Hand Holding

An annual carnival arrived, and you were all excited to go. You asked Kaminari to help you pick an outfit, him happily doing so. After he did you told him that it would be really fun to try and match as besties. He agreed without hesitation.

After Kaminari gladly endured the teasing, where even Bakugo made a little jab, you all headed there. Kaminari had this hopes deep down that someone would mistake you two as a couple today.

You and Mina stood in line for drinks while the others heard two guys talking about you two. "Let's go talk to them, they're both pretty hot."

"Which one do you want? The pink one?"

"Nah man, the other one."

They both chuckled. "Ah, man, I was hoping for that one. She looks pretty easy."

"Let's flip for her."

All the guys heard them with disgust. "Peh, pathetic." Bakugo mumbled.

Sero looked at the rest of the guys. "Do you wanna handle it quietly or are we gonna kick their asses?"

"Maybe we should be more quiet so we don't get kicked out." Kirishima suggested.

They all nodded, and Bakugo glared at the two guys at you and Mina walked back. The two felt a little uneasy from the stares, but were still beginning to walk over to the group.

"Hey, what's up—" Kaminari quickly went over to you and cut you off, taking your hand.

"Let's go." He quickly took you over to the photo booth as the rest of the guys took Mina away to another booth.

"What're we doing in here?"

"Ah, these guys were being creepy and I wanted to take you away from that."

You put up your joined hands. "And why are our hands still holding?"

He sheepishly grinned at you. "Your hand's warm."

You grinned and nodded, taking his hand away. You then took out your wallet and paid to take pictures, making sure to buy an extra copy You brought back your hand to his. "Okay, c'mon!"

You both started posing and laughing with your hands together. Once you two finished you both stepped out of the booth got your pictures. That's when the rest of the group found you.

Kaminari awkwardly let his arms drop to his side, which you noticed. As everyone started walking you slipped your hand in his.

"Is this okay?" You muttered.

He gave you a cheeky smile. "Always."

First Sleepover

There was a knock at your dorm door, and you opened it to see a nervous Kaminari. You could tell that his smile wasn't genuine. "Um, hey."

"Come in." You gently tugged on his arm as he went into the room. You quickly closed the door, as it was both past curfew and prohibited for a guy to be in the girl's dorms. "Are you okay?"

He shifted in place, looking away from you. "Do you think I'm stupid?" He quietly asked.

"What? No, of course not!" You stepped closer to him and put your hand on his cheek so he could look at you. "Why would you even ask that?"

"Just some people from another class. They pointed out that I'm probably one of lowest when it comes to test scores in our whole year. I was just thinking about it all day, and they're kind of right. I was just wondering if you knew they were right yet."

"I'd never think that Denki. And they're not right." You brought him into a hug, and he melted into your warmness. He wasn't in the mood to keep up a smile and laugh everything off. And you did your best to help him at being okay with not being okay. "Is there anything you wanna do? Play any games or something?"

"I kind of just want to go to sleep, um, here. If that's okay. I don't wanna be alone tonight."

You nodded and grabbed his hand, leading to the bed. You both silently crawled under the blanket and faced each other. He gave you a weak smile. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" You asked. You absent mindedly traced his jawline, causing him to relax.

"For being emotional today. I don't want you to see me like this."

You thought about what to do, blushing at the thought. "Let's cuddle then. It might be easier for you to talk if we don't see each other."

He gave you a small, genuine smile, scooping you in and snuggling you. "Thanks."

You were close with him as it was, but your realization of your feelings towards him was new. The fact that he went to you in his time of need was unreal for you. But you needed to push aside your own feelings and comfort him right now.

"Y'know, not every hero has to be a genius. What they really need is the spirit to go on and the heart to save people. Both of which you have."

"What if a hero gets scared or insecure sometimes?"

You smiled. "That hero admitting his feelings and coming to terms with them makes him all the better person."

He began rubbing your arm and snuggled deeper into you, a silent thank you that you were willing to take. You then very quickly drifted off to sleep.

When you woke up Kaminari was playing a game on your computer, with bed head and a content look on his face. "Morning." You said groggily.

He immediately turned off your monitor and grinned at you. "Good morning!"

He went over to you and sat on the bed. You lazily smiled. "Feeling better?"

"Yup. You gotta get up now."

You groaned, curling into your blanket. "I don't want to though."

"But you have to so we can talk."

"About what?"

He lightly pinched your cheek. "I can't tell you until you get ready."

You lightly groaned. "Mm, fine."

You got up and picked out an outfit. He got out to let you get dressed, waiting for you to come out as you both went to the bathroom and brushed your teeth.

"Okay," you said as you both walked down the hall. "What did you wanna talk about?"

He looked around, seeing no one else in the hallway. "Will you go on a date with me?"

"What?" You quietly asked.

"I won't sugar coat it. I really like you, and yesterday I realized that now was the time. I keep daydreaming about calling you my girlfriend and treating you really special, as special as you deserve to be treated."

He then nervously laughed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I guess that might sound a little creepy. But you don't have to give me an answer right now. Just let me know by Friday, so we can do something over the weekend, if you want."

Before you could say anything Mina spotted you two and called out for you both, causing your answer to be cut short.

You did run up to him later and jumped into a big hug, agreeing to that date.

First Date

You heard a knock at your door, immediately opening it. You've been waiting in your room for over an hour, not wanting any chance to be taking too long to get ready.

He sheepishly smiled as he held out an origami rose. You took it and grinned, admiring how well done it was. "It'll last longer than a real rose." He then paused. "But if you want a real rose then we can stop by—"

"I love it. It's really creative and pretty. It's better than a real rose, cause I can keep it for memories, so you don't have to worry about it okay?"

He nodded and watched as walked into your room and put it on your desk. He then stared at your legs, which you caught as you walked back to him.

"Denki." You grumbled, shifting your legs uncomfortably.

He looked back at you. "Oh, no no no! It's not like that I swear! I just noticed that you were wearing the shirt I got you when we all went to that mall! I wasn't– being a pervert I s–swear..."

His voice faded off as you put your hands on his cheeks, getting closer to him. "Don't panic Denki, I believe you."

He melted into a smile, holding your hands on his face. "I think it's super cool that you're more confident like this."

"You make me more confident."

He kissed the tip of your nose. "There's nothing to not be confident about with you." He then pulled back and took your hand. "Let's go."

You were both a blushing mess, and you were also both glad that each other couldn't see the blush. Once you got outside the dorm building Kaminari pulled you in closer, leaving no space in between you.

"You're so bold." You chuckled out. "Very main character worthy."

"I don't know about that." He nudged you. "I think I'm funny enough to be the comedic side character. If it were a horror movie, I'd die in the middle."

"Hm, what about me? I feel like an overcautious side character that's like the second or third to die, y'know? And then her death shows everyone that she's right."

"Nah, you seem pretty final girl to me."

You both talked about what movie characters each other would be before you got there. "An arcade?"

He grinned. "Yeah! I have a lot of rewards points so I didn't have to spend that much." He then realized how bad that sounded, becoming more quiet. "Since this date is on a budget and..."

He faded off, and you looped your arm in his. "And this is the perfect first date place."

You went in and were both completely relaxed, just messing around and being yourselves. It was amazing. Kaminari trying to show off and be the best at certain games was absolutely cute, and when you caught him trying to let you win in air hockey he quickly apologized and you both ended up purposely doing bad to try to make the other win. You both had so much fun.

Afterwards he took you outside and looked around for somewhere to eat. You remembered that he didn't have that much money, so you told him that you wanted to go to his favorite fast-food restaurant, saying you have a craving for it.

You felt really happy at how relieved he looked, wanting him to know that he doesn't have to spend money on you.

You both walked back to the dorms and swung your entwined hands together without thought. When you got to your dorm he gave you a chaste kiss on the cheek, but when you pulled back and smiled warmly he couldn't help himself and smothered you with cheek kisses.

"Thank you, for today." You said when he stopped, your arms around each other and your foreheads together.

"No problem. You can be my girlfriend and we'll call it even."

You hummed. "Deal."

First Kiss

After a three weeks of dating and a few more little dates, you couldn't take it anymore. When everybody went their separate ways at night you went to Kaminari's room as sneakily as possible. Sero did startle you and tease you about it, but that was it.

You quietly opened the door and closed it, him looked up at you from his phone as he laid on his bed. "Hey little mamas, what're you doing here?"

"Denki," you whined. "I can't take it anymore. I'm getting super frustrated."

He bolted up and walked over to you. "What's wrong? Did I do something? I don't really know what I did wrong but I can fix it and we—"

You put your hands on his cheeks. "Cutie Pie, it's nothing like that."

"Oh good, I'm Cutie Pie again." He smiled in relief.

You kissed his cheek. "You're always Cutie Pie." You then looked at him and frowned. "See, this is my problem!"

He grabbed your hips. "Beautiful, you need to explain a bit."

"We haven't kissed yet. I get strong urges to kiss you or make out but I've never kissed anybody before so I don't know how."

"Woah, I get the exact same way!" He grinned.

"Really?" You giggled, bouncing at your excitement. "We should practice!"

"Okay!" He then picked you up effortlessly and plopped you on the bed. You continued giggling as he dove in for a hug for laughs. You looked at each other as you laid down together. "Ready?"

"Ready." You both slowly went in, you too stiff and him to eagerly sloppy. You both pulled back and chuckled. "Sorry. I think I need to loosen up."

"It's okay, I think I was all over the place anyways."

"Maybe we should sit up." He nodded and did so, you sliding into his lap. He looked at you in shock. "Sorry, should I get off?"

"No! It just caught me off guard. C'mon, let's try again." You both kissed again, this time less awkward. You pulled back and smiled at each other, kissing again. "You know what this means?"

"Hm?"

"We can make out all the time now!" You both laughed, and before you could say anything in response he attacked your lips, now full on making out with you. You had to pull back for breath eventually, and your flushed state made him extra happy.

You rubbed noses together, occasionally giving each other a peck. "Hey, can you sleep over? I really wanna hold you for the rest of the night."

"Sure." You ran your hand through his hair as he stared at your lips. You noticed he seemed to be deep in thought. "Am I losing you here?"

He chuckled. "Sorry, I was just wondering how and when to ask you if we could French kiss." You looked at him in surprise, and he realized what he just said. "And I realize that wasn't the right way to say that."

"Either way you word it it's the same question, so don't worry about it." He smiled and nodded. "And yeah, let's try it. I see it a lot on those videos–oh my God."

You cut yourself off as you just admitted to your three week old boyfriend that you watch porn. But instead, he grinned and eagerly asked, "You watch porn?!"

"A little." You quietly said, shrinking in his lap.

"Is that something girls do?!"

You chuckled, becoming noticably more relaxed. "Yes."

He noticed how uncomfortable and embarrassed you looked, and didn't want to push it. It was no matter, cause you two would get to that once deep into the relationship, when he would no doubt tell you that he loved you.

He wasn't sure if he loved you already, but Kaminari figured that when he loved you most he would say it, and then he'd show you how much by making love to you. Then you two could experiment and figure out what you both liked. It'll be fun.

Buy despite that being Kaminari's long term plan for your relationship, he knew he first needed to focus on the now. Right now he wanted you to feel as comfortable as possible with him. It was one of his dreams for you to find complete security in him. It was right next to becoming a hero.

"That's super interesting! You're teaching me a lot of new things today." You perked up and nodded, giggling. "Okay, you ready?"

You nodded, and he tried to just put your tongue in you. You pulled back and giggled some more. "Wait, Denki baby, ease into it."

He slightly blushed at your fits of giggles. "Oh, sorry."

You noticed and immediately melted, snuggling closer to him. "Hey," you nudged your nose with his. "It's really calming to know that you're figuring things out the same as me."

He hummed and grinned. "How about you start the kiss? Then when I feel like it's a good time I'll take over?"

You agreed and gently kissed him, feeling more natural than the other kisses. You both got into the kiss as you pressed on a little. Soon after Kaminari swiped his tongue across your bottom lip, and you opened your mouth to give him control. He gladly did, and you'd be lying if you said you didn't absolutely fall in love with the way it felt to have his tongue massage yours.

When you pulled back for breath Kaminari smiled giddily at your flushed face, wiping the corner of your mouth with his thumb. "Alright, I don't wanna accidentally get too excited, so let's end it here, yeah?"

"Okay." You said as you slid off. "Let's practice some more tomorrow."

"You read my mind babe." You both got under the covers and snuggled together, soon falling asleep after a very good night.

[mytrashs-blog]

Drunk On You- T.H.

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Warnings: SMUTTTTTT. Please do not read this if you’re under 18. The Smutty part is between this signs: [...] so if you want to skip over the smut, you can, but it won’t make much sense. Also... There’s A LOT of swearing.

Summary: You’re a virgin and you’re drunk so you send a risky DM on instagram.

Word Count: Almost 6k... she’s thicc

A/N: I cannot tell you just how much I enjoyed writing this! It started as a 2 am inspiration punch and then it took me three weeks to finish it. It’s my first time writing smut, so I don’t know if that part’s good, but I like it and I really hope you do too. (Please if you do like it, reblog it so it can be read by more and more people).

Masterlist

(Gif isn’t mine and I couldn’t track the author, so credits go to the owner)

Fuck this shit, you’re 22 years old, you’re in college and as much as you enjoy leaving fratboys with blue balls in the middle of a party, you need to get this over with. You’re tired of waiting for the “right guy”, if you keep on doing that you’ll end up virgin for your whole fucking life. But where the fuck can you find a guy that’s not gonna judge you for being a sad, drunk virgin in the middle of a tuesday night? Being drunk and alone at your dorm was pathetic enough…

So you scroll through instagram for a while only to find out there’s no right suitor for the job, but in the heat of the moment you notice that Tom Holland, yes the scrawny white boy that looks 12 and plays Spider-man has just posted a shirtless picture and boy, he does not look 12 anymore. So you slide into his DM’s just for the shit and giggles:

“Hey, Tommy boy!

You probably get millions of DMs like this every second of everyday, but fuck, I just wanted to say that you are extremely hot and I am extremely virgin and I’m also drunk, so I thought I’d write you to ask for a massive favor.

Would you have sex with me just to take my virginity away? Ok, thanks.

Bye!

P.S. I think you’re great in your new film.”

And yes, you did press send to that, but of course you don’t even remember writing it in the first place the next morning while getting ready for your 9am class, so your daily routine goes on as normal.

But then, while you’re making your best effort not to fall asleep while your professor talks about some depressed artist that beat his wife and was super sexist, but was somehow excused because he made some decent poem, you hear the unmistakeable ping of your phone, which can only mean that you got a text, so you go to see it, because that is far less rude than falling asleep during class, but you were surely not ready for what was showing on your phone screen.

All air, and life to be honest, left your body for a second, you double checked, and then triple checked and yes… Tom Holland had wrote you on instagram’s direct messages.

“Holy fuck” you only realize you said that out loud when the three people closest you turn to look at you and shush you, but you’re still in shock and still have not opened the message, but maybe it’s not a great idea to open it in front of everybody, specially your professor, so you figure the bathroom will be the best place to do it.

You lock yourself in a stall and sit down, get your phone out, take a deep breath and open the instagram message. My God, you were not expecting what your screen showed:

“Haha, this is too cool to ignore! I happen to be in your area right now… Give me a call and I’ll make it happen ;)”

And yes, his phone number was there too. The phone number of THE Tom Holland! like… WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?! What are the odds of him actually reading your DM? And the odds of him replying? And the odds of TOM MOTHERFUCKING HOLLAND agreeing to be your first time?! Someone up there must be having a good laugh.

But it would be rude to chicken out now, right? One does not simply say no to fuck with a Marvel actor. You gotta do it. It's your holy duty. So you reply with a simple “Looking forward to it” and you get your shit together before returning to your class.

You think about texting him while you walk to grab some lunch, but what do you say to a celebrity that agreed to deflower you?… Wait. Holy shit! You’re actually gonna have sex with Tom Holland! He’s super ripped! And you’re gonna see and feel all his bits and pieces… honestly, your panties got a bit damp just thinking about that. This is gonna be fun.

You decide to shoot the text while waiting for your iced coffee. “Hey, it’s (Y/N) from instagram. Are you serious about the thing? If so, when are you available?”

And that’s when the game begins, cause he replied almost instantly and you decided he’s just another fratboy playing around, so you played along.

“I’m dead serious, babe. I can do it tonight.”

“Nice. That’s how I like it… what time are we talking about?”

“9 ish, maybe 10.”

“Gotta give me an hour… also, it would have to be at yours, cause I live in a dorm that I share with another girl.”

“You could ask her to join…”

“Haha. Nah, this is all for me to enjoy.”

“And you will. 9:30 sounds good for you, babe?

“Perfect.”

“I can pick you up. Send me your location and I’ll go there.”

“Nice. I’m liking it already.”

“You’ll like it even more.”

You go about your day with a stupid smile all day, nervous and excited for what’s gonna happen later. Paying attention to class? What is that? Concentrating on your due projects? You don’t know her. All you can do is think about the things that man might do to you later.

Wait… you gotta shave. Also, should you go buy some nice underwear? It overwhelms you how unprepared you are and you run, abandoning everything you had to do that day to go get ready to have sex with a super hot celebrity.

You shaved, exfoliated, bought nice underwear, picked out a sexy outfit, you even tried to work out a little to look a bit more toned for him. You allowed your most extra self to come and shine, and you definetely enjoyed the process.

“What are you getting ready for? It’s wednesday. I doubt there’s any interesting party. Oh God! Do you have a date?” your roomate asked as soon as she saw you posing a skirt for the mirror when she walked in.

“I think so… I don’t know. I’m gonna meet this guy I met on instagram.” She gave you a corncerned look, but you were definetely not gonna tell her the details, that’s extremely private, it’s rude to tell people about celebrities intimate life, even if it’s with you. He didn’t mention anything about keeping it secret, but it would do a lot of harm to freely go around saying that he likes having sex with fans. It would ruin his privacy completely. At least from your part, you can guarantee no one’s ever gonna find out.

True to your word, you sent him your location an hour before the time you arranged and he called you, yes. HE CALLED YOU at 9:30p.m. on the dot to tell you he was outside and it took you a second to process the call, so much that you couldn’t voice anything more than an “Okay”… that basically ruined your super confident text attitude, and this was over the phone, would you even be able to get inside his car? The nervousness really hit you like a truck the second you hung up the phone, and your roomate noticed, but she didn’t say anything.

After taking a few deep breaths and counting to ten trying to calm yourself down, you get your purse and walk down the hallway and the stairs of the dorms and by the time you get to the main door, your legs are shaking like crazy and your palms are a little sweaty, so you gotta calm down again and remind yourself that this man is just a regular human being and that nothing has to happen if you don’t want to. And just like with tequila shots, you stop thinking and just go for it.

As soon as you see the car, you walk confidently towards it, and as he rolls down the window you can see it really is him, but you don’t let his face tear your confidence down, so you slightly smile and get in the car, it’s an extremely fancy car and you’re sure you’ve never set foot in anything this luxurious, honestly there’s no doubt that the seat your ass is resting on right now could easily be worth your entire college tuition and student loans. Okay, maybe that is an exageration, but it sure looks expensive.

“Hey, nice to finally meet you in person… I’m Tom!” he smiles in a polite and friendly matter, and you can see there’s a hint of nervousness in his smile aswell and that eases you a little because it confirms that he’s just as normal as you are.

“I’m (Y/N), pleasure to meet you. Thank you for agreeing to do this. I know it’s super weird and all, and I was definetely not expecting this outcome when I sent that message last night, but I’m grateful regardless…” you’re rambling, but he doesn’t seem to mind, he looks amused even. When you finally stop talking he drives away and you fall into a slightly uncomfortable silence, until he turns the music on and you recognize the song so you start humming along, and he joins, but other than that, there’s not much talking on the way to the apartment he’s staying at temporarily right now.

The place looks expensive, but it’s also very simply decored, it does look a temporary thing, but it also looks like a place where a single chaotic youn man exploded, so there’s empty beer bottles here and there, clothes literally everywhere and dirty dishes in the sink… but it does smell like cologne, very manly aswell… being at his place sets a whole new level of anxiety, because this is just so intimate. You’re inside his little world, his safe space, and even if it’s just for a brief moment you’re just happy that he agreed to do this with you.

“Do you want anything to drink? I have wine, beer and a spare champagne bottle from the other night… or just water. Please make yourself comfortable, sorry about the mess, I really don’t like cleaning.”

“That’s alright… you should see my dorm during finals week, that’s a whole other level of messy, haha… and wine would be great, thanks.” You’re slowly calming down and trying no to overthink about what’s about to happen and forget about the reputation of the man you’re doing it with, because the fact that he’s famous doesn’t mean he’s less human and maybe glorifying him for his job is a little rude from you. So you sit down in the couch, right next to a thrown blue hoodie, hold on a second… this is the one from Spider-Man: Homecoming, the one with the emblem of the highschool, shit, this is a historical piece of clothing for the cinematic world and you’re sitting right next to it. Shit, there goes all the progress you had made in the last fifteen minutes.

When he comes back with two glasses of wine in one hand and the bottle in the other one, you help him put down the stuff safely because he looks so stressed carrying the things and it is a small funny moment, before he sits down right beside you and it becomes impossible to get your words to come out of your mouth. So he takes the lead.

“Listen, I don’t want you to think I’m some sort of predator, okay? I don’t know why I agreed to do this, but it was not to take advantage of you, so if at any point you feel uncomfortable and you don’t wanna do this anymore, you can just tell me and we’ll call this off, okay.” He puts his hand on you knee to reassure you and it does make you feel better, and you relax into your seat  and just nod a little before speaking.

“Thank you” And it comes out like you’re breathing out in relief, and that’s when he leans in to kiss you and you take a deep breath before corresponding and taking the last step to seal your lips together.

Your mind just goes blank and you forget what you were nervous about in the first place, kissing Tom is not that much different than kissing any other guy, except for the fact that his lips are softer than most guys’, but this one does have to take care of himself, it is literally part of his job and it should not be that surprising that a guy takes basic care for his appearance, but it is nice.

[…]

The kiss moves in a nice rythm and his hands start sliding from your knee to your waist and he pulls you closer to him and your hands find their courage and go to the back of his neck and so you’re also pulling him in, and all you want is to have him closer, as close as you can possibly have him, and when his hand moves down to your ass, you take that as the perfect moment to throw your leg over so you can straddle him and now both of Tom’s hands are on your ass and you grab onto his shoulders for leverage, and just because you need to breathe in properly, you let your lips disconnect and you see him beneath you.

His hand comes up to move your hair out of your face and you stare at each others eyes for a second and it doesn’t feel overwhelming anymore, so you smile at him for a brief moment, but being apart from his lips feels terrible right now so you lean back in and his hand is in your head and he’s pushing you closer to him, and your hands just slide down to his chest, you play with the chain he has on for a second and he smiles into the kiss, but then you move your attention to the buttons of his shirt and start undoing them.

You take your lips to his neck and he becomes super responsive, you find his sensitive spot quite quickly and he moves you closer to him so you feel his lenght rubbing against your core and it makes you go undo the buttons faster, before you know it he’s taking the shirt off and throwing it to the floor, when his hands are free, he takes advantage and lifts your blouse and you put your arms up to give him easy access. You’re glad you rush bought that set of nice underwear, because Tom’s eyes visibly fill with lust at the sight of the barely there lacy piece covering your breasts.

He touches your chest ever so lightly it gives you goosebumps, he traces a path to your breasts but he stops right before getting to them “Can I?” he whispers, looking straight into your eyes, and there’s something so sexy about him seeking your explicit consent, it makes your panties a little wetter, you nod lightly and he goes ahead, tracing the shape of your breasts with his fingers, like he wants to get familiar with them, he takes one of your nipples between his fingers and applies a little preasure on it, and then on the other one, he’s taking his sweet time before cupping them and pressing his lips in the space between them, and your hands respond to that by taking his hair and pulling lightly and he moans into your skin and it makes you shiver.

He keeps leaving wet kisses on your nipples and sucking on sensitive spots and you can swear it will leave marks, but who cares, you’re just over the moon with everything that’s happening and you just want more and more. He takes one hand to your ass again and he holds it tightly, using the other hand he slides to the edge of the couch and just like it’s nothing heavier than an empty box, he stands up, and you gasp because frankly you were not expecting it, he laughs a little and gives you a reassuring smile.

“I just thought we’ll be more comfortable in my room.”

“Okay, then.” You find it so odd that he’s so unbothered while carrying your full weight, like you’re not exactly the lightest woman in the world, but you won’t deny that being so close and personal to his biceps like this, it’s something you could get used to.

He takes you up the stairs, and along the corridor, once you reach the door, he turns the knob but decides to kick the door rather than opening it like a normal person, but you can’t complain because every moves looks hotter than the previous, and when he lays you down on his bed and stays hovering above you, you just can’t handle it and you kiss him again, your legs hug around his bum to bring him closer where you need him and he takes the hint, he pushes your skirt to your stomach and before he does anything else, his seeks your consent “Is this okay?” he asks, “Yes.” you say loud and clear and he rubs his fingers on your core, and it feels good, but your panties feel like a concrete wall, you just need to feel his fingers, his everything all over your body, so you arch your back and unzip the skirt and he pulls it down and throws it to a corner of the room.

He takes a second to look at you in just your underwear and you feel exposed, but he’s looking at you like you’re some sort of Goddess, he kicks his shoes off and goes to undo the button of his jeans, and it looks so slow and you need him now but you watch him and when he slides down the jeans and you can make out the shape of his member. You feel a little overwhelmed with the view in front of you, and you take a moment to take it all in. His face is crowned by (now) very messy curls, his eyes that used to be brown are practically pitch black by both the dim lighting and lust, there’s freckles all over his nose and cheeks, but they’re barely noticeable, his jawline is the most defined you’ve ever been near to, but even though there are a lot of strong features in his face, he looks almost childish and innocent… until you drop your eyes to his chest, that is.

Every single muscle in his chest has some sort of definition, he’s not as ripped as in the movies, but then again, he’s not super dehydrated and over exercised right now, and he still looks more muscular than any guy you know, his abs are defined, there’s a visible V marking the path from his hips to his member and it is stupidly making your mouth water. He has black Calvin Kleins still on, but that’s the last piece of clothing he has on, and the anticipation is killing you.

He takes you by the ankles an pulls you closer to the edge of the bed and he spreads your legs open and gives you a devilish smile before leaning back in to give you a quick yet intense kiss on the lips and he slides down to your neck and chest again, but he keeps making his way down your body towards your bellybutton and it gives you goosebumps everytime he gives you even a peck or a light touch, you’re shivering with every touch.

“Relax, love… if you want me to stop you can just say it, okay?” He says looking up at you and you nod, you breathe in to calm your nerves down, he waits for you, when you’re finally ready you nod at him again, he gives your waist a light squeeze, smiles at you and places a kiss to your stomach and keeps kissing you lower, until one of his hands goes to your thigh while the other teases the waistband of your panties, hooking one finger on it, he starts pulling it down painfully slowly, you lift your bum to make it easier for your panties to leave your body, once Tom strecthes them to throw them to some part of the room, you sit up to take off your bra and he looks intently at you while you do it, so you smile and lock your eyes to his just to make it more interesting, and you also take your sweet time unclasping the clips, and Tom starts to get impatient, you can see it in his smile, but you enjoy playing with him so even when you do unclasp both clips, you keep the piece on and he puts his hands on his hair in exasperation and you just laugh, enjoying this small moment of being the one in charge, but you give in and take the lacy bra off and throw it to him, he catches it and throws it to the side.

You’re completely naked in his bed and he’s taking the view in. “You’re very beautiful, you know?” he says and you feel the blush creep up to your cheeks, but you smile and thank him regardless, he smiles back and leans back down, he kisses one of your thighs and then the other one, before he does anything else he looks up at you, once again looking for any signs of hesitation “Are you sure you want this?” he asks from his position and when you nod, he dives in.

He presses a light kiss into your folds and you immediately feel electricity emmiting from your core. Needless to say it’s your first time recieving an oral, every sensation is new, you can’t even tell if he’s good at this or not, but for you, it feels like the best sensation in the world, his tongue dances over your clit and you just grasp the sheets for dear life and when he sucks on it you swear you could come right there, but you manage to hold it for a little longer and he keeps going, it doesn’t take long for him to introduce one finger inside, the moan you let out is just obscene and he seems to love it, because he moans too but the vibrations that it sent to your clit make you lose it and you come yelling his name like your life depends on it and he guides you through your first orgasm of the night with his mouth and finger still pumping in and out.

“You’re dripping wet, you know that?” He tells you once you’ve calmed down and have regained your ability to function like a human being, you smile at him, trying to speak, but that function has not come back yet. He kisses you in the mouth and you can taste yourself in his mouth, you start relaxing into the kiss, and he starts tracing gentle circles on the skin of your stomach and you turn your body so can be face to face and your leg happens to feel his dick, and it feels impossibly hard, so you try to relieve the pressure by stroking it with your hand, but when you get your hand down his waistband, Tom stops you “If you touch me now, I’ll be the biggest dissapointment of your life.”

“You forget that I’m a virgin… I have nothing to compare you to.”

“Still… I’ve got my pride.” he finishes as he gets up and rumbles in a drawer of his nightstand, he finds the condom and shows it to you. “Do you want to do this?”

You take a deep breath, there’s nothing you want more than do it right now, but it sure makes you nervous, still you give him verbal consent “Yes, I do.”

That’s all he needs, he stands up completely and takes his underwear off, it happens quite fast, but you do get to apreciate his dick in full exposure, not that you’d know, but it sure looks like it’s gonna be hard to fit that inside of you, and you panic a little and Tom notices and chuckles while he slides the condom on, “It’s gonna be alright, I’ll make sure of it.”

He crawls back to the bed and hovers above you, his hand go to your core again and he slowly introduces one finger into you and starts pumping in and out slowly, he stays looking in your eyes, watching your every reaction, you’re moaning slightly, when he notices that you’ve gotten used to the sensation, he adds another digit and the pressure feels uncomfortable, but he notices so he waits for you to get used to the feeling before he starts pumping it, you bite your lip as you enjoy his movements, moans coming out of your mouth to the rythm of his fingers, when he starts stretching you by doing scissor motions with his fingers, the feeling increases and it is a lot more intense so you hold onto his arm, he’s still looking at you, wanting to be sure that you’re okay and staying alert to see any signs of discomfort in you, but you like it so much.

He takes his fingers out and the emptiness is just overwhelming, but when you see that he’s trying to align himself to your entry, you relax and stress at the same time. This is real. It’s gonna happen. Actually it’s happening at this moment. He looks at you again and lifts his eyebrows in question, you nod lightly and you hold on to his forearm and his neck in preparation. He pushes slowly in, it hurts a little but it’s not that bad, Tom sees you wincing and stops, waiting for you to get used to the new feeling, when you do, he keeps pushing a little. The rythm goes like that until he’s fully in.

You can see he’s having a hard time trying not to hurt you, it’s clear that he just wants to go for it, but you’re grateful he’s containing himself while you get used to the feeling of being so full right now, when you’re ready, you nod at him and he pulls slightly out, waits for you, and pushes back in. The rythm is slow at first for you to get used to it. At first it feels like too much, but the more he thrusts into you, it starts being not enough.

His grunts and moans sound heavinly to your ears, and whenever you are brave enough to just open your eyes and see him, his face is just so beautiful, he has a frown in his face out of concentration and self control, you’re admiring him when he opens his eyes and they meet yours, it’s such an intimate moment, it makes you blush a little bit, you caress his cheek and hair, interlocking your fingers in his curly locks, he lets out a soft moan in pleasure.

The pace gets faster and stronger and you’re getting closer to your high with every thrust, he’s hitting a point inside of you that you didn’t even know existed and it’s a whole new level of pleasure, it’s even making you feel like the world is spinning, you grab onto his back and scratch as you try to keep it together, he moans loudly and stops and pulls out suddenly.

“Get on all fours for me, love.” he tells you and you comply, he pulls you closer to the edge of the bed so he can fuck you while standing up off the bed, you try to arch your back to give him better access, he slides in easier now, and the sensation changes completely, he’s hitting another point that feels even better in this angle, the pleasure doesn’t let you stay stable and your arms can’t keep you up, so you press your face to a pillow and you can’t stop moaning his name, your high creeping up from your stomach once again.

“T- Tom… I think I’m gonna…”

“Wait for me, darling, I’m right there with you.”

His thrusts become sloppy and arythmic, he goes faster, his grunts louder with each thrust, your names falls from his mouth a lot more now, and his is the only word you can say at this point. You come first with an incredibly loud moan of his name. The feeling of you reaching your orgasm around his dick is enough to send him over the edge too, your name being dropped with a loud grunt, he squeezes your breast and rests his head on your back when he comes down from his high, both of you panting. You stay like that for a moment, but then Tom pulls out and goes to the bathroom to dispose of the condom.

[…]

You lay in the bed completely naked, but you do feel more exposed now that the moment’s over, so you cover up with a pillow and think about what just happened, relishing on how good it was, you figure this was the best idea you’ve had in a while, even if the most ridiculous but it worked out pretty well.

Tom comes back soon after and hands you a water bottle (because he apparently just keeps water bottles in his bathroom), you thank him and he lays in the bed with you. “How was that?” he asks you in some worried matter, like his whole career depended on your answer, you look at him and smile at him like he’s crazy, you had two orgasms, isn’t that enough proof that you liked it? when the anxiety becomes aparent in his face, you give him the verbal confirmation. “Of course I did, wasn’t it obvious?” you say while trying to hide your face, he takes your arms to stop you from doing so.

“Y/N! Don’t hide! It was actually really good for me too, and I’m happy you had a good first time, it’s cool.”

You smile at him bigger now, getting more comfortable now, and he leans to leave a kiss on your forehead, and you lay there just chilling for a while. Checking the clock in Tom’s bedside table you realize it’s almost 2 in the morning, you haven’t talked about this, but you think it’s not a good idea to stay the night, maybe he has things to do tomorrow, and you do have a class at 9, so you start to get up to recolect your clothes.

“Where are you going?” Tom asks in a whiny tone, he was right about to fall asleep before you got up.

“I think it’s time for me to leave, it’s quite late and I’ve got class tomorrow.” you reply with a slightly sad tone, just for the drama.

“You don’t have to go. There’s no way I’m letting you take an uber and I’m too lazy to get up and drive you… so stay, I promise I’ll take you to your front door tomorrow morning, alright?” also, he gives you mad puppy eyes to convince you, but you still move around the room trying to find your underwear, just to not be naked anymore.

“Okay, just let me put some clothes back on, cause this is weird.”

“Can you throw me my underwear, please?”

“Yeah, just let me try and find them.” You throw them at him once you find them among the mess and they land straight in his face, you just gotta laugh at it and he just rolls his eyes at you and puts the thing on jokingly bitching about you being rude to him and you just laugh at him while you walk back to the bed.

At some point, Tom goes to retrieve your clothes and the wine from the living room while you just scroll through your phone absent mindedly, you half read the tweets and just ignore the instagram posts you see until he gets back and gives you your barely touched glass of wine and lays back down next to you.

You stay there for a while just talking and drinking, actually getting to know each other, you tell him about your major in college, how hard it gets sometimes, and you even tell him about why you had never had sex before. He tells you about his work, his family, the things he wants to do next… he does tell you a little tiny spoiler of the future of Marvel, which you had to swear you wouldn’t reveal to anyone ever and it would be a secret you take to your graveyard. It’s a nice pillow talk, you’re laying in the bed, facing each other, his hand is lazily resting on your waist, yours playing with the chain on his neck. This is likely even more intimate than the sex itself, and it’s nice.

When you do finally fall asleep, is in that position. Wine bottle completely empty in the floor, clothes laying around, only sound in the room being the light snores of Tom and heavy sleep breathing. You’re extremely comfortable and relaxed, long forgotten how nervous you were before this happened. You could get used to this.

Your slumber is ruined when the alarm goes off at half 7 in the morning, you feel tired, but you get your clothes back on anyway, Tom takes a little longer to fully wake up, but he keeps his promise and throws a pair of sweatpants and a white shirt, he also throws a hat on just to not deal with his morning/sex hair, for the same reason, you also just put your hair in a messy bun.

He actually parks the car and walks you back to your dorm, it’s quite early, but there is some people around the hallways anyways and it makes you a bit anxious thinking you might get him in trouble if he does get recognized, but he seems relaxed and unbothered about it anyway.

“I had a lot of fun. It was really nice to get to know you… call me up if you ever want to do this again, okay?” he tells you with his hands stuck in his pockets, it makes you smile how cute he looks.

“Thank you, Tom. I really enjoyed it… thanks for not being weird about this whole thing.”

“That’s alright. Okay, take care and don’t be a stranger, okay?”

“Okay.” He gives you a last kiss on the cheek before you get inside your dorm to get ready for class, and he goes back home, and that is it.

Months go by without you ever talking to or about Tom, you just assumed that was the end of everything you lived with him and it is a lovely and super hot thing to remember, but there's nothing more to it.

Bing

Your phone goes off in the middle of the night. You were studying, so you weren't talking to anyone. As you check the notification, you freeze just like you did the first time you saw his name on your screen.

"Hey! I'm in your town! What are you up to?"

-

Tagging some people to avoid the flop:

@caeruleum-in-caritate-lupus, @softstarkk, @peterparkerbabyy, @dottirose, @legit-fandom-trash, @carostar2020, @appreciating-chase-brody, @mvmakki @madmadmilk @hollandrecs @starksparker @sunshinehollandd

[random-imagines-blog]

Under The Stairs {Cedric Diggory x Reader Oneshot}

Requested by: @mminerva15 Wordcount: 3002 Summary: Cedric wants to tell his friends about your relationship. With you being a Slytherin, you didn’t think that was going to go well. You hate being proved right sometimes.

Dating in Hogwarts was never easy. There was no such thing as privacy, since it wasn’t as if you had your own room that you could pull your significant other into. Even hanging out in the common room, if you were lucky enough to be dating someone in your own house, could easily be watched over by everyone else. Hogsmeade dates were not only overseen by other students, but by the people who actually lived and worked in the village, who sometimes gossiped with the teachers, which was extremely embarrassing. The most that one could hope for was finding an abandoned classroom, and even then - sometimes Fred and George would miraculously find out where you were and toss in a dungbomb for their own sick entertainment. That happened more than once, but you managed to track down the twins and show them what it meant to miss with a Slytherin. Your Hufflepuff boyfriend, Cedric, tried to laugh it off, and managed to keep it to a tickling curse rather than one where they were covered in leeches.

But you two did manage to find a spot where people hardly looked. Under the stairs. The staircases moved back and forth, taking students to different destinations but the ones that lead to the dungeons were stationary, and beneath them was a dark alcove without a torch. Perfect for the occasional snogging session, and it was rather close to your common room so you could sneak back easily. Being secretive was all well and good - until your boyfriend approached you with a strange suggestion.

“I think we should tell people,” Cedric said, pulling away from you with puffy lips.

“About our secret spot? No way,” You scoffed. “It was hard enough for us to find this one, let alone try to find somewhere else because some stupid Gryffindors will try-”

“No,” Cedric laughed, taking your hand and pulled you to where there was a bit more light so he could see your face. Your green robes contrasted against his yellow ones. That’s what you liked about being in the dark. There was no difference. “About us. We’ve been snogging down here for a month now and it’s been great but...”

“But what?” You asked. “You want to ruin that?”

“I don’t think telling our friends would be ruining that. Why do you?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, Cedric but I don’t think that I’m the sort of girl that your friends would pick for you.” You said, voicing something that had been on your mind for a while. It was nice to finally let it out. You were the one who had insisted on sneaking around for so long, and this was the first time you were able to give him a reason why. “I know they’ve been pressuring you to ask out Cho Chang. That’s the kind of girl that they think is good for you.”

“I’m not interested in Cho,” Cedric said, softly.

“I know, you don’t have to convince me of that,” You chuckled. “I’ve never been worried about you liking another girl. The hicky I always have to cover up with a spell makes me very secure.” You wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him in closer so you wouldn’t have to speak loudly and get anyone’s attention. Even the ghosts liked to gossip around here. “I just think that your friends will give us a hard time, and we don’t need that.”

“I’m more worried about your friends then anything,” Cedric said growing defensive.

“What, because they’re Slytherin? I mean, you have no problem dating a snake, why would the judgment of others bother you, hmm?” You shot back, letting go of him, and crossed your arms in front of your chest. “Tell you what, Cedric, I’ll join you for breakfast tomorrow and we’ll just see who is cooler.”

“I guess we will.” Cedric said, walking away from you, turned on his heel and ascended up the stair case to the main level. Though he couldn’t see you, you stuck your tongue out at him, and under your breath, cursed that you agreed to this. Tomorrow morning was going to be very interesting.

-

The Great Hall was filled with the buzzing of students enjoying their breakfast and getting ready for a day of classes. A group of fourth years were sitting together and doing last-minute studying for a Transfiguration test. Fred and George Weasley were watching the Slytherin table carefully, like they were waiting for something to happen. When you walked in, you noticed that right away and started to think that perhaps your idea wasn’t terrible. You didn’t want to be a part of whatever was going on there. You straightened up your shoulders, shook your hair back, clutched your morning books to your chest, and strolled to the Hufflepuff table with confidence.

Most people didn’t pay attention at first. They were so busy enjoying their food that they didn’t care. But when a Slytherin made her way to the Hufflepuff table and sat across from the golden haired Quidditch star? That got a little bit of attention.  

“Morning, Ced,” You said, taking a plate and started to pile your favorite breakfast foods on it. He looked a little amused, but also taken aback by the fact you were actually doing this.

“Morning, beautiful,” He said in return, pouring some orange juice for you into the cup next to your plate. You smiled in thanks, and arranged your plate the way that you wanted, and started to pick on it. “You’ve got potions first thing, right?”

“Yeah, a morning full of Snape,” You said with a shrug. “That’s the only time that I’m really glad to be a Slytherin. I get ten points just for showing up.”

“Lucky. I got five taken off for dropping my book,” Cedric said with a dramatic sigh.

“Okay, what’s going on here?” The guy sitting beside Cedric said, looking between his friend and yourself. You stared over at him with a blank expression, waiting for him to clarify. “Morning beautiful?” He mocked the male Hufflepuff.

“She looks great this morning, what can I say?” Cedric smiled over in your direction, though he seemed a little more shy than usual.

“As opposed to what - every other time?” You questioned, shoving food into your mouth. Cedric coughed into his own glass of orange juice. “And you, are you calling me ugly or something? Because that’s a very rude thing to hear first thing in the morning.”

“This is a joke, right?” The guy said, looking at Cedric now, flat out ignoring you. You rolled your eyes, gave Cedric an 'I told you so’ look, and went right back to eating. Whatever answer that your boyfriend was going to give was interrupted by the sound of liquid hitting the ground. Thick liquid. The entire Slytherin table was absolutely coated in a green sludge.

“Weasleys,” You muttered under your breath with a shake of your head. “Whatever hits them, they brought it upon themselves.”

“At least whatever it is doesn’t smell,” Cedric said, right before all of hell broke loose. The Slytherin girls started screaming about their hair, their books and their outfits getting ruined, and swore revenge on the Gryffindor boys. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who it was that had brought on this prank. The twins were the biggest pranksters to hit the school in almost twenty years. The boys, meanwhile, had a pack mentality and all together, chased the redheads out of the great hall, with more than a couple of teachers following behind to break up the mess. “Are you going to do something?”

“Doesn’t really affect me much, since I’m over here. Thank Merlin for that too, looks like it was some sort of dye,”  You noticed. “Oh by the way, I guess I should introduce myself, though we’ve been going to school together for six years now. I’m y/n, Cedric’s girlfriend, and you are?”

“Confused,” The Hufflepuff said in return. “Since when?”

“Pleased to meet you, confused,” You said with a little snicker.

“About a month now,” Cedric said, avoiding your eye, continuing to stare at the chaos that was behind you at the Slytherin table. “We wanted to keep it a secret originally but ... I really like y/n, and I want my friends to know.”

Alright, if you were any more of a girl you would have put your hands on your heart and let out a big 'aww’ because it was too damn cute. However, you kept it inside and instead just smiled at your food.

“Okay, yeah, sure,” Confused said. You were pretty sure his name was Calvin or something close to that. You could tell that he was going to be a problem. He was glaring at you pretty heavily and to your surprise, Cedric was doing nothing about it.

“Well, this has been a joyful breakfast,” You said, wiping your mouth with a napkin before setting it down on your empty plate. “But I have a class to get to. I might get points for being the only one on time.”

“Maybe I’ll join you for lunch?” Cedric suggested, looking at you hopefully. You softened under that look. This boy - he sure was growing to be a weak spot.

“I don’t know. Ask your handler,” You looked Calvin up and down before blowing your boyfriend a kiss and exited the Great Hall to return to the dungeons.

-

Turns out, the Slytherins were far more preoccupied with how to get revenge on the Weasleys than they were about your relationship with a Hufflepuff. “Better one of em than a lion,” Your best friend said as she joined you at your cauldron. “Does this mean you’re going to go support their Quidditch team over ours?”

She didn’t even mind that her hair was green from the prank. She thought that it was fun, and you thought the look suited her well. “Nah, I’ll still be in the Slytherin stands. Might go give him a private congratulations though if he catches the snitch, if you know what I mean,” You nudged your friend and she laughed.

“Gross. But I guess he is pretty dreamy for a badger.”

“You have no idea,” You chuckled.

After class, you stayed late to help Snape clean up after a disastrous Ravenclaw somehow grew distracted and their potion overbubbled into a huge mess. Extra ten points for Slytherin, well done you. So you ended up being the last one to leave the classroom and walk through the dark and dingy corridor towards the staircases. However, there ended up being a group of four keeping you from their path. Badgers, come to show that they had claws too, apparently.

“Good morning,” You sighed, seeing them, feeling like the points you just earned were slipping through your fingers. You could anticipate a fight happening. “Or is it afternoon already? I haven’t had a chance to look at a clock.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Calvin said, or at least it seemed to be him. “It’s time for you to stop feeding your poisonous love potion to Cedric.”

“Wow, okay,” You said, clutching your wand which was in your cloak pocket, ready to bring it out to defend yourself if you had to. “I was expecting low but love potion? That’s actually really messed up, even by Slytherin standards.”

“Slytherins don’t have standards,” One of the other Hufflepuffs said.

“Alright, I’ll let that one slide,” You said, exasperated. “Look, I’ll swear to you right now that I’m  not doing anything other than being my lovely, charming self in order to get Cedric to care for me. No potions, no spells, no anything. And you’re being really bad friends if you don’t accept that he found someone. Even the Slytherins aren’t making a big deal out of it, so why are you?”

“There’s no way that Cedric would fall for a snake. You’re going to ruin his life, you know that right? He’s meant to be with one of his own kind, or even a Ravenclaw. We wouldn’t even complain about a Gryffindor. But a ... a death eater?”

Your mouth fell open as he accused you of being something that you would never, ever be. It might be a little foolish to take it so personally, but you did not fall into the Slytherin bad-guy stereotype. You wanted nothing to do with blood feuds and evil wizards. “And we Slytherins take the time to get to know someone before we judge them, so who is really the snake here?” You asked, releasing your wand. They wanted to get a reaction out of you, and though they had, you wouldn’t let them see it.

“If I catch you anywhere near Cedric, I’ll go to Dumbledore and tell him about how you’ve been using love potions. I’ll go to the Ministry. I’ll take it to the top if I have to, and you’re going to go to Azka-”

“Any trouble here, Mister Wilson?” The smooth voice of your potions professor said from behind you. You looked over your shoulder to see him step out of the shadows with arms folded in front of him.

“Not yet,” Calvin said, but he tapped on his friends shoulders and they proceeded up the staircase before they could get into any trouble.

“Miss Y/L/N?” Snape questioned, but you weren’t about to bring a teacher into this mess. Especially not Snape, who probably could not relate to teenage drama.

“Only trouble I have is forgetting to switch to my afternoon books, heh,” You laughed nervously, rubbing the back of your neck. “So I’m just going to go and do that now... see ya.”

You hurried towards the Slytherin common room, but didn’t go in. Rather, you circled back to the staircase once you were sure Snape was gone, and enveloped yourself in the shadows beneath. “Did I really just say see ya to Professor Snape?” You groaned to yourself.

Sitting down, and wrapping your arms around your knees, you thought about everything that was said to you. You weren’t sad about it, they didn’t bring you down or make you insecure. You were downright furious, and trying to stick to the blackness so you wouldn’t go charging up those stairs and making a scene.

The minutes ticked by, turning into hours. You didn’t have a watch but you realized that you were missing your afternoon classes. That was fine. You needed to wait until you cooled down to be able to focus anyway. You kept repeating those words inside your head - death eater? Was that what Cedric thought of you, before the two of you were picked to be together during an Arithmacy assignment and started to fall for each other?

Were the Hufflepuffs so high and mighty that they really looked down on everyone else? What happened to the fairness, or the just or whatever word the hat used for them that year. Wankers, that’s all they were. A bunch of wankers.

“Lumos,” A male voice said, and a bright light interrupted your stewing under the stairs. Cedric stood before you, his robes slightly torn at the sleeves. “I thought you might be here.”

“What happened to you?” You asked, slowly getting to your feet to look at what had happened to his sleeves. You could smell something earthy, and see the stains.

“Herbology - and my friends being bastards,” He said with a shrug, tugging his sleeves out of your hands. “I’m sorry for what happened. You were missing at lunch, and then they hinted at what happened. Something about removing the curse or freeing me from it or something like that. It took a little while to put two and two together but...”

He replaced the fabric that was in your hand a moment ago with his own hands, and stood with his forehead pressed against the top of your head. Your anger was dissipating. Looking into his golden eyes, you realized that he couldn’t have thought those awful things about you. He wouldn’t be here now if he had.

“... they’ll be leaving you alone from now on. I made sure of that.”

“What did you do?” You asked, blinking, feeling your eyelashes brushing across his skin. “You didn’t fight them, did you?”

“No,” Cedric chuckled. “I did threaten to leave the Quidditch team though, and that got them to shut up fast.”

“You shouldn’t have to threaten your friends in order for them to be happy for you,” You sighed, squeezing his hand.

“I know, but they’re the only friends I’ve got until we graduate,” He said, smiling cheekily. “Maybe they’ll grow up, we’ll see.”

“I guess we will,” You said. You pressed a soft kiss upon his lips which he returned. You could feel how chapped they were. As if he had been biting them, which he only did when he was nervous. “Were you really that nervous about them getting to me? You know I’d never break up with you just because I’m threatened by some badgers, right?”

“Maybe I was a little concerned...” He said, sucking on your bottom lip which brought out a moan. “But I know now - and they’ll have to learn.”

“They say Hufflepuffs are good finders,” You said, pulling him out of the dark and into the light before things could carry on too much longer. “I guess I can hold out hope they’ll find their heads in their arses one day.”                                                                                              

[shapeshifting-wildcard]

One of the downsides to having a semi-famous boyfriend was that his more diehard fans, the ones who hadn't completely given up on him after the hype died down, were more than happy to seek him out when he was simply trying to live his life.

On the other hand, Hanako's interest in the handsome detective gave Jou a perfect excuse to swing by the flower shop after school and say hi.

"Remember, keep it low key," Morgana murmured in his ear as the four teens made their way through Shibuya's underground mall. Jou nodded ever so slightly. He fully intended to not make a scene. Goro was at work, after all, and it would be rude to interrupt him.

"There he is!" Hanako exclaimed as the shop came into view. He followed her pointing and his heart skipped a beat as his beloved, wonderful, amazingly handsome detective boyfriend came into view. He recognized the smile he had; it was his patented "detective prince" smile, the emptily pleasant one he used to wear at all of his interviews. Of course a fan like Hanako would recognize it so easily.

"Ugh, I can't believe he's here," Chouko, the Phantom Thieves fan, grumbled. "Well, we've seen him, right? Let's just go already."

Jou was already halfway to the shop before Chouko could finish the first sentence. The other three trailed behind him, Hanako the most visibly excited to see her idol in the flesh. The woman running the shop spotted them before Goro did, and she brightened up a little upon seeing Jou.

"Oh, there you are, Inojita-kun. I never had a chance to introduce you to the new hire, did I?" She caught Goro's attention and gestured to Jou. "Here, Akechi-kun, this is the other part-timer I told you about."

"Oh, Jou," Goro said, his pleasant smile morphing ever so slightly into his more natural smirk. "I hadn't realized you also worked here."

"Inojita, you know the detective prince?" Hanako blurted out. Goro glanced towards her, the smirk vanishing from his face. Jou distractedly fiddled with his bangs as he struggled to come up with an answer that wouldn't give too much away.

"It's been a while since anyone called me that," Goro said. "I prefer to be called by my name these days. Akechi Goro."

"O-Oh, right, I'm sorry, Akechi-san," Hanako stammered.

"Can I interest any of you in some flowers, since you're here?"

"Nah, I'm good," Chouko said, somewhat dismissively.

"I-I'm fine," Hanako said, face slowly turning red as she looked away from the handsome detective.

"I'd like to buy a bouquet, actually," Jou said, much to the surprise of his companions. Goro raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement creeping into his smile.

"Alright, what would you like, then?" Goro said, moving to gather what he needed for a bouquet.

"Let's start with... red chrysanthemums and red tulips." Morgana shot Jou an unimpressed look that he could easily ignore thanks to the angle.

"Oh, are you planning on confessing to someone, Inojita-kun?" Hanako asked. It didn't surprise Jou too much that she'd catch on; he remembered her mentioning an interest in the language of flowers before.

"Something like that."

"Would you like to include some sunflowers?" Goro said. Jou stammered, face turning red. Ah. So close, and yet so far.

"No, thank you," Jou said. He briefly considered just saying the bouquet wasn't for Ryuji, but then he came up with a better idea. "Do you have any rocket flowers?"

Goro paused, eyes widening as a look of realization crossed his face. Hanako shot Jou a quizzical look.

"Rocket flowers...?" Hanako repeated.

"Do they actually look like rockets?" Ichiro interjected, sounding hopeful.

"Unfortunately not," Goro said. "And I'm afraid we don't carry those. Most people wouldn't want to include those in a bouquet, after all."

"Because most people don't get their rival flowers," Hanako muttered.

"Unfortunate," Jou said, trying to play it off. "How about some asters, then?" Jou could see Goro suppressing a scowl. The others didn't seem to notice, which was probably the point.

"Anything else?" Goro asked, any irritation conveniently hidden behind his customer service smile.

"Hm... no, I think that's good."

"You sure?" Goro said. "Not even a camellia?"

The blush returned to Jou's cheeks. Damn, Goro knew him well. Jou fiddled with his bangs, silently weighing the pros and cons. He wanted to throw something with a bit more symbolism in, but, well. His favorite flower certainly wouldn't be out of place for the message he wanted to send. "You know what? Sure, throw in a red camellia."

Goro chuckled softly as he added the red camellia and wrapped up the bouquet, handing it over and giving Jou the total. He gladly paid for the bouquet with a grin.

"So," Jou said, cradling the bouquet in one arm, "are you doing anything after your shift today?"

The soft gasps from his companions reminded him that he had an audience. Morgana made a disapproving sound as Jou froze. He forgot the others were there for a moment, and now he had just accidentally outed himself.

"Holy shit," Ichiro said and for a moment Jou's blood ran cold, "I can't believe you just went for it!"

"N-Not even asking for his number first?" Hanako murmured. Jou wasn't sure what was more awkward; the fact that he had just outed himself as gay or the fact that he was so close to outing his relationship with the detective prince.

"I'm afraid I've already made plans to visit a cafe with Ann this evening," Goro said. His pleasant smile took on a decidedly devious tone. "But I'm sure your lovingly handpicked bouquet can survive one night." He winked. "I'll be by to pick it up tomorrow evening."

Jou couldn't help but chuckle. "I'll be looking forward to seeing you then."

"Alright that's enough hitting on my employees, young man," the flower shop lady said, gently shooing Jou away. "Flirt when neither of you are on the clock."

Jou bowed politely before turning and leading the others away.

"I cannot believe you just asked out the freaking detective prince," Ichiro remarked.

"I can't believe he actually said yes," Chouko said.

"So much for remaining low key," Morgana grumbled.

"Hey, Hanako," Chouko said, "are you disappointed that he scored a date before you did?"

"N-No!" Hanako said, sounding a little defensive. "Still, that's the first time I've ever heard of him actually... taking someone up on a date."

"Maybe Inojita's just the first person to actually be his type," Ichiro said with a shrug. Jou was internally thankful that all of them were failing to make a big deal about the whole gay thing, but was maybe a little bit disappointed that they weren't even acknowledging it.

"I didn't think you were a fan of him in the first place, Inojita," Chouko commented. "I mean, I didn't expect you to dress up as the guy for Halloween. I thought you'd dress up as Joker or something."

Jou coughed and tried to act nonchalant. Oh if only she knew.

"Why did you want to add rocket flowers to your bouquet?" Hanako asked. "All your other choices were romantic in some way. But that one..."

"Wait, what do all the other flowers mean?" Ichiro piped up, glancing at the bouquet.

"Well, chrysanthemums and tulips are both declarations of love," Hanako said, pointing to them. "Camelias too, but in more of a... passionate sort of way, I guess?"

"I like camelias," Jou admitted a little sheepishly.

"You do?" the girls remarked.

"Is that why he suggested it...?" Chouko mused.

"Wait... how would he even know you like 'em?" Ichiro pointed out.

If they hadn't been standing in the middle of a busy crowd, the silence would have been deafening.

"Oh my god how long have you been dating the detective prince?" Chouko exclaimed.

"You're the leader of the Phantom Thieves?" Hanako said at the same time. Chouko did a double take.

"Wait, how do you..."

"Rocket flowers indicate a rival," Hanako said. "And I doubt the detective prince would date some random nobody. Or acknowledge them as a rival."

"I told you to be low key," Morgana grumbled. Jou held up the bouquet in an attempt to hide his face.

Okay, maybe their lack of explicit acknowledgement of the gay thing was preferable to them figuring out he's a Phantom Thief.

[afropogue]

jealous jj seeing pope flirting with a guy or maybe he doesn’t know he’s even flirting but the guy is super interested

thank u for the submission! i hope this turned out well:

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Everyone knows JJ loves to party.

Indoor parties, outdoor parties, birthday parties, kook/pogue combined parties, post-funeral parties. If it’s a party you won’t have to ask him twice to consider going. In fact, he’s usually the one who suggests the Pogues attend parties in the first place, and his presence is lively. No matter how many parties he’s attended he never gets tired of them. He sees them as an opportunity to wind down, chill with his friends in a hype public setting, dance to his hearts content, mingle with others, and he gets free access to as much beer and booze as he wants. How could he not love parties?

He usually loves parties....except for this one.

He doesn’t like it because of one guy. Yes one guy has ruined this entire party for him. And how did one guy ruin this party? Well, said guy is standing closely to Pope as they stand across the room talking.

A little too close.

They both seem deeply engaged in conversation, barely breaking eye contact. They pay no mind to the noise around them, only focused on each other. Pope occasionally laughs at something the other guy says, shoulders shaking and a prominent smile on his face every time he does so. JJ can’t hear what they’re talking about from his spot, but the guy can’t possibly be that funny.

The guy is leaning in so close to Pope as he talks, a disgustingly charming grin on his face. The guy is wearing a fitted t-shirt which highlights his very obvious built physique. JJ doesn’t recognize the guy-and frankly he could care less.

JJ feels the the tenseness weigh on his eyebrows as he glares intensely at the pair. The sight of Pope and the other guy creates a nasty twist in his stomach, and he knows it’s not the alcohol because he hasn’t even had that many drinks yet. He’s leaning against the wall across from the two of them, so he has an amazing view.

At this point he’s passed the stage of denial and has accepted that he has feelings for his best friend. He could only ignore the unmistakable fluttery feelings that arose in his chest every time he was in Pope’s presence for so long.

And even though he knows that Pope obviously doesn’t feel the same way, it doesn’t hurt any less to see him so close to someone else.

JJ’s grip on his beer bottle tightens. He wishes it wasn’t empty, so he could distract himself. But he simply can’t move, glued to his spot as he watches the random guy inch closer to Pope. His friend doesn’t seem bothered by their close contact at all, in fact he almost seems oblivious to the guy’s obvious intentions.

Of course he’d be oblivious, for someone so smart he could be clueless when it came to flirting and romance.

JJ, on the other hand, was not. He recognized the guy’s body language. He’s used it before on girls, back when he was in denial of his feelings for Pope and thought the best way to eradicate them was by flirting with random girls he had zero interest in, hoping his feelings for Pope would subside. Clearly it very much didn’t work.

He wants to just drag Pope away from the clutches of that random guy so badly but he knows he can’t. He has no right, it’s not like he’s his boyfriend or anything.

Pope suddenly looks up and makes eye contact with JJ. He smiles at him once he sees him.

JJ manages to reciprocate a smile back but it feels so forced that it probably looks more like a grimace.

He averts his eyes away from Pope’s. It will do none of them good if he continues to stare-stare at something he can’t have in the way that he wants.

He needs fresh air.

JJ spins on his heal toward the backyard, maneuvering his way through the throng of people. He’s pretty sure this house belonged to a kook because it was safe to say it’s a little extra for the living room to have so many couches.

He makes sure to grab another bottle of beer on his way out.

It’s chillier than normal outside, which is probably why most of the party guests are inside, but JJ doesn’t mind. Maybe the coldness will help numb his hurt since the alcohol is failing to do its job. He wonders if he’s drank so much that his body sobers over amounts that normal people would get tipsy over.

He leans against the wall of the house, like he was doing inside.

“JJ?”

Damn.

JJ doesn’t turn in his direction, he just takes a sip of his beer and hopes Pope leaves him alone.

He hears footsteps patter closer because of course Pope wouldn’t go away.

“JJ? Are you okay?” Pope questions, voice full of concern.

JJ still doesn’t look at him even when Pope stands in front of him. “Yeah of course I’m okay, why wouldn’t I be?”

“You looked kinda uncomfortable back in there. I followed you out here to check on you.” Pope gestures back to the house.

“Oh nah just needed fresh air.”

Pope still looks unconvinced. “Something is bothering you.” Sometimes he hates the fact that Pope knows him so well.

JJ shakes his head, eyes focused bushes and trees ahead of them. Very nice leaves, leaves are amazing, so fascinating, so green. Must be nice being a leaf, leaves don’t have to deal with unrequited feelings for their best friends. Oh to be a leaf.

“I’m fine man. Just not feeling the scene right now.”

Pope quirks a brow. “JJ Maybank not feeling a party? What a rare occurrence. Who are you and what have you done to my JJ?”

JJ laughs. If only I was your JJ.

“I’m just thinking.”

“Thinking about what?” Goddamn it why is Pope so stubborn?

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing JJ. Come on you know you can talk to me.”

“I said I’m fine Pope! Go enjoy the party, you seemed to be having fun talking to that guy-“

Pope tilts his head at him. “What do you not like him? He’s surprisingly nice for a kook.” Of course the guy is a kook, even better.

“Maybe you should go back to him. Don’t wanna keep him waiting.” JJ says curtly.

Pope looks so puzzled by his tone and JJ feels kinda bad for him. “You sound like you wouldn’t like that.”

“Why wouldn’t I like that? I’m totally fine with some random guy-even better a kook of all people-flirting with you, it doesn’t bother me, why wouldn’t I be fine with that?!” JJ rambles, not realizing how heated his voice becomes as he continues talking.

Pope just stares at him for a moment, reading his face. JJ expects him to walk away, scold him for his rude mini outburst, suggest therapy-

But he doesn’t do any of that. JJ watches as realization spread on the other boy’s features. Pope starts laughing. Now it’s JJ’s turn to be confused.

“You’re jealous!”

JJ’s face heats up. He crosses his arms petulantly. “Whatttt no I’m not.” he protests.

Pope steps closer, an amused smile on his face. “I can’t believe you’re jealous of some guy I just met.”

JJ sputters, spewing out weak defenses but the amused expression on Pope’s face dies t waver.

“But why would you be jealous? Unless....” Pope pauses, staring at the ground in thought. Then his gaze snaps to JJ as if he realizes something.

“Do you....like me?”

JJ suddenly remembers the nearly empty bottle in his hands, fiddling around with it apprehensively. “Of course I do we’re best friends!” JJ shoots him an uneasy smile that is intended to be a playful smirk but it feels tense.

Pope doesn’t walk away from discomfort, in fact he looks anything but uncomfortable. He’s just peering at him curiously, and a hint of something else he can’t make out.

They’re both silent for a moment. JJ doesn’t even realize how close Pope has gotten until soft hands are cradling his cheek. “I may be reading this wrong but...can I kiss you?” Pope asks softly.

JJ’s breath hitches. He’s shocked because why the hell does Pope suddenly want to kiss him, but he’s not dumb enough to miss out on this opportunity so all he manages is an assenting nod.

His kisses his friend back almost immediately. Pope’s lips are just as soft as he’d imagine, and he feels his insides turn into warm goo as they continue to lock lips. The beer bottle slips out of his hands, a small thud ensuing on the grass, but he doesn’t care. He wraps his arms around Pope’s waist in favor of holding the bottle. If Kie were there she’d probably chastise him for littering.

JJ probably tastes like pure alcohol, but Pope doesn’t seem to mind and continues to kiss him. Pope’s breath always smells faintly of fresh mint, and Pope is evidently sober because JJ can taste it even through the tang of beer.

They both eventually pull away, both breathless and dazed. In that moment JJ wishes oxygen wasn’t a requirement for survival because he could’ve kept kissing Pope forever.

“You’re so dense JJ. I like you.” Pope says fondly.

JJ’s face burns crimson. He’s still a little light-headed from the kiss, but he still tries to muster a pout. “Well how I supposed to know you liked me back this whole time? Especially since you looked so into that guy flirting with you.”

“He wasn’t even flirting with me!”

“Pope are you blind? He was all over you!”

“He was being friendly.”

“A little too friendly.”

Pope giggles, shaking his head. “You’re so cute when you’re jealous.”

JJ huffs. “I wasn’t even that jealous.” Pope gives him a knowing look.

“Well it doesn’t matter if he was flirting with me or not. I like you, JJ Maybank, and nothing else is going to change that.”

[poisxnyouth]

bad influence dave (d.d) part 1 I guess

A/N: unfortunately, your girl can’t write 15k in 24 hours. but I think I slept 10/24 of those hours, so, like...I think I did pretty good. enjoy. talk to me while you read. I like when y’all tell me what to do...….let’s do that again. I want to post more, so maybe this is how we can get that done ??? either way, enjoy & let me know what you think & keep sending me concepts on this - it’s superrrr hot. love u. thank you for reading my stupid shit. xoxo hailey

word count: 6k (i’m sorry)

Michael, your coworker, drags you to a house party after work – if you didn't know any better, you'd think it’s a shitty shindig organized entirely by high schoolers from across the neighborhood. You’re not sure whose house it is, and you didn't think Michael was interested in this lifestyle; he’s happily married, and his son is going to be baptized by your father next week. 

 Apparently, he is, though, and he ditches you almost immediately, whisked away by people calling his name. You don’t mind it – you didn’t want to babysit him all night, anyway. You wander, half-assedly making yourself a drink in the kitchen just to have something to hold in your hands. 

 You sit yourself on a couch in a relatively empty room, coffee table littered with items you couldn't even identify if you wanted to. You take sips of your drink, hating every second of it, eyes scanning your surroundings as you attempt to find something worth paying attention to. 

 Michael is your only truly comfortable solace in the entire house, and you’re not sure as to what his location is or what he’s doing. You don’t know anyone else, and it’s not exactly your scene: a Father’s daughter should never be in a place like this. Your father would have a stroke if he knew your whereabouts – even though you’re now a grown adult woman living alone. 

 A man sits next to you, speaking to someone across the room as he shuffles through items on the coffee table. You catch his eyes as you move to uncomfortably scroll through your phone in an attempt to divert his gaze.

 “Hey, sweetheart,” he breaks, fiddling with wrappers, “What’s up? I’ve never seen you at any of these things before.” 

 You shrug, blush coming to your cheeks as you feel his eyes linger on your necklace – a crucifix you’ve had since birth. He doesn't say anything for a moment, admiring the redness in your face, before breaking, “What’s your name?” 

 You clear your throat and tell him, not meeting his stare as he opens a jar and plucks what you assume a bud of weed is from it, tearing it up with his fingers. 

 “You speak!” He gasps, making light fun, “I’m David. Good to see you. You want me to roll you one?” 

 You shake your head, murmuring a No – thank you, though. as you watch his fingers habitually roll up either a joint or a blunt (you don’t know the difference, and don’t especially care all that much). He nods respectfully as he licks at the paper delicately, meeting your eyes. 

 David folds the paper and sticks it together, speaking, “You’re cute as all hell...Are you here with anyone?”

 “Um...Michael,” you inform him anxiously, cup still in your hands, “Michael Paul.”

 “Michael?” David asks, surprised as he glances down at your hands, searching for a ring, “You’re not Abby.”

 “You know Abby?” you respond, “She’s...She’s in New York for the week. I’m, um, babysitting him, I guess.”

 “Of course, I know Abby,” he replies, acting as if it’s an obvious fact as he shrugs his shoulders, lighting whatever he just rolled, “I’m their dealer, honey. This is my place. He didn't tell you that?” 

 You chew at your lips, embarrassed at your ignorance, fingers moving to play with the charm of your necklace as you shake your head, eyes at the floor.

 He cocks his head, gaze zeroing in on you, “This isn't really your scene, huh?” David doesn’t mean it in a rude way; he’s just trying to get you to talk. You’re too cute for him to not attempt conversation.

 You shake your head again, muttering, “No, not really. Michael dragged me here.” 

 He tuts, nodding politely, “You sure you don’t want me to roll you something? Or get you a pipe or something? You’re drinking the throwaway shit I didn’t want so I put it out – Michael’s downstairs hitting Adrian’s shitty DIY Rick and Morty bong, if you were wondering.” 

 “I don’t,” you stutter slightly, afraid to meet his eyes, “I’ve never smoked before. I’m not even drinking this...” 

 “Oh!” David exclaims, going silent for a moment, finishing what he was smoking, “Well...It’s a good time to smoke for the first time, if you want to. There’s really not a better time to try it than now, and I can stay with you, but if you don’t want to-”

 “I think I do,” you admit, sheepish, thinking of how disappointed God probably is in you, “Just, um, help me with it? Please?” 

 He nods, leaning towards the coffee table and beginning his process all over again silently. 

 “How much do you know about weed, sweetheart?” David asks dubiously, taking his time.

 “Um...I know what it looks like,” you admit, feeling more sheltered than you ever have before.

 He laughs slightly as he folds the paper in, explaining politely, “I’m rolling you a blunt. The wrap is made of tobacco leaves. I’ll teach you how to roll later, if you want.”

 It’s presumptuous of him to assume you’ll be back to see him again, but he doesn't acknowledge it, continuing, “This is my best shit. I don't deal it, so don't tell Mikey-boy about it or he’ll be up my ass begging for it. I don't know what strain it is – I just know it’s a hybrid.”

 You don’t ask him to elaborate as he finishes rolling it, “You ready, hon?” 

 David sees you make a slight face, scoffing humorously.

 "Baby," he urges, too comfortable with the nickname, yet to use your real name even though he knows it, "Try it. It won't kill you, I promise." David holds up the blunt he just rolled to you, still unlit. He quickly explains what baking the blunt is and what purpose it serves as he runs the flame over the seam of the dried leaves. He passes it to you, eyes dropping to your mouth as you prop it between your lips. He lights it for you, blowing out the flame at the end and watching you hit it for the first time.

 You cough wildly, eyes watering as you pass it back to him, shaking your head and sniffling as you attempt to recover. He laughs at you lightly, amused, "Let’s try this. Just...suck in the smoke after me, okay?"

 You nod as he scoots closer next to you and brings it to his lips, taking a drag and quickly ghosting it. He gently tips your head towards him, your chin between his thumb and index finger. He's too comfortable with you for just meeting each other fifteen minutes prior, and you realize this as he hovers his mouth over yours and gently blows the smoke. You do as David told you, sucking up the smoke as much as you can before he pulls away, staring at you and expecting you to cough.

 You don't, exhaling remnants of his smoke easily. A smile tugs at his lips, blunt still between his fingers as his eyebrows raise, "Better, yeah? 'S shotgunning. I think it's kinda hot, but maybe it's just me."

 You continue the back and forth of shotgunning until you're high. It doesn't take long for you, and he finishes the blunt for you, high off his ass. David eyes your mouth and begins to lean in, free hands moving to your waist. 

 He kisses you gently, keeping his hands to himself, before pulling away, speaking, "Sorry. I didn’t ask. Is this okay?"

 You nod against him, fists tangling into his t-shirt, pulling him closer and attaching your mouths. He leans out gently after a few seconds, "Nah. We shouldn't – not when we're both as high as we are – but if you want me in your guts anytime soon, just lemme know. I’m down...The weed won't kill you, but these will," he pulls out a pack of Camel cigs from his breast pocket, shaking the pack slightly and removing one. David lights it and tosses the pack onto the coffee table, "...You want one?"

 “Sure,” you shrug, your father's face passing momentarily through your brain as he passes you one. He lights it for you, his stare too overwhelming as he watches for your reaction.

 “I like you,” he compliments simply, smoking a filtered Camel, arm draped around the back of your seat.

 At first, you cough at the cigarette smoke, too – you’re loosened up now, but still painfully shy as David continues to speak with you, “So, what's your deal? Why’re you so bashful? I mean...it’s cute.” 

 “Oh, um,” you blush again, feeling the warmth from his body radiate onto your skin, “My father is the priest at the big cathedral in the center of town...St. John’s the Baptist.”

 “Ohhh,” he nods understandingly, motioning to your crucifix, “Makes sense.” 

 He deadpans, “So, would he be upset with you if you were with a guy like me? What about your mom? Any siblings?”

 You breathe heavier at his questions, heart beating faster as you glance at his lips, “Yes. Two brothers. They would all kill me if they even knew I was here.” 

 “So, why are you?” David quips, “Just being nosy. If you didn't want to be here, you wouldn't have stayed.” 

 It seems like he’s getting closer and closer to you the more you speak, and you’re confused as to why you don't mind it, “...’Cause you started talking to me…”

 “Ah,” he tuts, putting his cigarette out and taking yours from your fingers, smoking on it since you barely did, “That’s sweet.”

 David can feel the innocence radiating from you, getting the balls to ask the question he is dying to know the answer to, “Are you pure?”

 Your eyes widen and you clear your throat, deciding to swallow all of the liquor in your cup before replying, “Yes.”

 He knew that was going to be your answer, pressing, “So... nothing? Ever? Not even a little…” he quickly motions jerking off, “In the back of some prick’s car when you were sixteen?”

 “Um,” you shift in your seat, eyes on his, “No... Just-just kissing. My dad has always threatened us with the sixth and ninth Commandments...they teach specifically against sins of the flesh.” 

 “Wow,” he scoffs, growing bolder, “Would you break that for me? Let me ruin that for you?”

 You inhale sharply as he stares into your eyes, completely inscrutable as he waits for your response, “Um…”

 You feel your heart rate speed up as you gaze at his mouth, never quite feeling this way before as you push your thighs together involuntarily. David immediately clocks it, eyes darting to your legs before breaking, “Can I take that as a yes? Not tonight, obviously, but…” 

 His voice drops, lower in volume, “Just say the word.” He leans in closer to you, your lips almost touching as David tilts his head, waiting for your response, “We can start off slow. I can teach you one thing at a time – God, I want to teach you everything.” 

 “Yes,” you agree, breathless, “Yes, please. I want it.”

 You don't know what’s come over you for this man to challenge your lifelong beliefs after thirty minutes of knowing him, and you certainly don't think it’s from the weed. David kisses you again, tongue easily slipping into your mouth as his hands come to your waist, sliding down gently to feel the shape of your figure in his palms.

 This is bordering the most you’ve ever done with a guy, even at twenty-two years old, and he is such a good kisser that you don't notice when one of his hands land at the base of your neck. Your hands run over the width of his shoulders as his teeth tug at your bottom lip, eliciting a whine from the back of your throat. 

 You’re immediately embarrassed and he feels you flush against his face, leaning out of the kiss and removing his touch. You already feel somehow less whole as he scoots away and wipes at his mouth, reaching towards the coffee table for what you assume is his phone. 

 David unlocks it, demanding as he passes the device to you, “Give me your number, sugar.”

 You type it in along with your name, “Shouldn't I... Um, shouldn't I get yours too?” 

 He tuts, standing, “I’ll text you, sweetheart. Don't worry about it.” 

 You stand, too, and David notices the way you mirror him – once you go any further together, he knows you’re going to follow him around like a puppy dog. 

 ++

 Two weeks later, you see him again. You beg Michael to take you to another one of David’s “get-togethers” after you hear nothing but radio silence from him. You think of him every day and every night, an irreparable longing inside of you only he can fix. You feel guilty for it, attempting to pray the hormones away, but they remain: Every day that passes, you want him even more badly. 

 You have no evidence of your interaction besides the memory of how his hands felt on your skin and what his mouth tasted like; or how easily the pet names he called you had effortlessly rolled off of his tongue, like he had been doing it for an extended amount of time.  

 You tag along with Michael and Abby this time around, and David sees you walk in with them, halting the conversation he was having with a customer and moving to go speak to you. He waves off your company to ensure he can speak to you without their lingering presence, much to say.

 “You’re back,” David states, “I’ve been meaning to get a hold of you, I promise. Just super busy. Downside to dealing is how much time it takes up.” He doesn't wait for your response, walking to the kitchen. You follow him, as he knew you would, and he leans against his granite counters. 

 “What are you drinking tonight, honey?” 

 You shrug, beginning to blush at the pet name, “Whatever you want me to.” 

 “Good answer,” he replies, moving to begin working, “My day job is bartending. Right now, at least, dealing isn't enough to pay all of the bills. I’ll give you what I usually drink.” 

 David pours you a double whisky, neat, and passes the glass to you. You glance at it and its lack of added ingredients, and he chuckles softly, “Just drink it, baby. Don’t be a pussy.” 

 He seems all too satisfied when you obey his wishes, arms crossing casually as he watches you take a large gulp. He drinks this?

 David stands up straight from his spot against the counter, leaning down and dropping his voice, “Meet me where we were last time. I’ll be up in a few – I’ve gotta go talk to a customer. I want the glass empty when I see you next. Got it?” 

 You nod, eyes on his before his hand finds the small of your back, generally guiding you through the people to the stairs before he disappears. You go upstairs and locate the room, placing yourself on the couch and scrolling through your phone while forcing yourself to finish your drink as he asked you to. With some valor, you do, chugging it and wishing you had a chaser. 

 David makes an appearance ten minutes into your wait, apologizing, “Sorry, sweetheart. I didn't think it’d take that long. The kid does not know how to shut up.” 

 You shrug, unbothered, as he glances at the cup, complimenting you and motioning to it, “Good girl!” 

 “Baby,” he pauses, fixed gaze on you, “What do you want from me?” 

 You cock your head, confused, “I... I thought we already talked about this…?” 

 “We did. You’re taking it the wrong way,” David admires your eagerness to please while remaining truthful, “What do you want from me right now?” 

 “Oh,” you reply, blush returning to your cheeks as you feel stupid, “Umm...I was hoping you would decide.” 

 “Okay,” he replies easily, nodding his head, “But in a minute. How often do you drink?” 

 “Not...Not too much, why? Maybe, like, once every few months? But I never get drunk, if that’s what you’re asking.” David doesn't reply, murmuring an ‘I’ll be right back.’ and leaving the room. 

 Not even three minutes later, he’s returned with another drink, “Screwdriver. You’ll like this one better. Finish it.” 

 You do, and he watches as your throat undulates as you swallow, feeling his dick twitch in his pants at the sight. He takes the glass from you and slides it onto the coffee table, scooting closer to you.

 “You’re so innocent,” David comments, body heat radiating into your skin, “You don't want to stay that way?”

 You shake your head, eyes on the floor, “No. I feel like a child.” 

 “Mm,” he makes an approving noise, “Look at me.”

 You obey him, again, forcing him to continue, “I’ve got you, Y/N. Is that why you came back here?”

 “...Yes,” you reply, noticing it's the first time he actually acknowledges your real name. 

 “Good choice,” David responds, “Let me kiss you.” 

 He attaches your mouths, and you taste him again: a few beers mixed with his cigarettes. It becomes one with the orange juice and vodka you just ingested, and you feel his hand creep up the tops of your thighs.

 You gasp slightly into his mouth before he responds, “Don’t worry, honey. I’ll keep my hands to myself.” David keeps his promise, even though part of you wishes he wouldn't. 

 He moves you so you’re now positioned in his lap, hands respectfully on your waist as the bulge in his shorts brushes ever so slightly against your pussy under your dress. He doesn't acknowledge it and doesn't acknowledge how hard his dick is, mouth remaining on yours. 

 David kind of feels like a teenager, making out with a virgin at a house party, but he doesn't mind it whatsoever: you’re cute, and you’re giving him the chance to ruin you. 

 “Can I touch you?” He finds himself asking you mid-kiss, and you sheepishly nod your head. Slowly, taking his time with it, his hand slides up your inner thigh, palming your pussy gently as you involuntarily buck up against his touch, making a soft noise. 

 “Wow,” he remarks simply into your mouth at your reaction while you blush against his face, your hands on his shoulders. He doesn't do anything else and savors the moment you try to move against him, hating that he feels the need to grab at your hips and get you to stop. 

 You do, murmuring a quiet ‘Sorry…’ as David slides both of his hands under your loose-fitting dress, grazing the hems of your underwear and stopping at your waist, feeling at the bare skin and curves there. 

 You’re warm and drunk, now, and as he realizes this, he pulls out of your kisses and sets you back next to him. 

 “You’re drunk, honey,” David says, moving to light a cigarette, “I knew you would be, but not this quickly.” 

 “But wait,” you whine, hand on his shoulder, “No. David...I want it.” 

 He chuckles, leaning back in his seat, “I’m sure you do, sweetheart, but I’m not doing anything with you when I’m sober and you’re not.” 

 “Ugh,” you groan, “But I want you.” You scoot closer to him and kiss at his neck, trying to leave a mark. Admittedly, though, you don’t know how to. 

 “How do I leave a hickey on you?” you ask, fingers tracing against the wet spot in the crook of his neck. 

 “No,” he says simply, politely pushing away your touches, “Maybe next time.” 

 “If you even text me…” you roll your eyes, visibly pouting. 

 “Look, baby,” David says, defensive, “I mean this as nicely as possible: A virgin should not be getting upset with me for trying to make their experiences good. Don't be a brat just because you’re needy and have never had it before. The day will come, so: sit down, keep your hands to yourself unless I say otherwise, and smoke a blunt with me. Got it?” 

 “You’re so hot,” you drunkenly compliment, sinking back into your seat and fiddling with your hands, “Got it.”

 “Good,” he replies, putting out his cigarette. You are drunk, and you can barely focus as his hand grabs at your thigh, just above your knee. He tugs you closer before removing his touch, a silent indication of wanting you to scoot next to him. 

 He quickly rolls it with expertise, “Let’s see if you can smoke it by yourself this time.” 

 David gently holds the blunt with his thumb and index finger, lighting it and passing it to you. You fail again, lungs and throat rejecting the smoke. 

 You quietly apologize, sniffling as you pass it back to him.

 “It’s okay,” he promises reassuringly, taking a hit and giving it back to you, “Try again.” 

 You breathe in the smoke slowly, unknowingly taking a large hit. He roots for you, “Hold it, sweetheart. Hold it. Don't cough. Don’t laugh. It’ll make it hurt more. Hold it. Alright, blow it out. You did so good.” 

 You feel lightheaded as you exhale into the room and pass it back to him, resting your head on his shoulder. He chuckles, arm draping around your shoulders and leaning back into the couch, “I’ll give you a little rest after that one. That was a huge hit. It would probably knock me out. Give it a minute to settle in.” 

 You close your eyes, feeling your heart in your throat as you feel him continue to smoke. He gets your attention before taking another hit, “Sugar. Look at me.” 

 You do, and he tips your face upwards, mouth hovering over yours as you get the hint and inhale. David shotguns with you sporadically before he finishes off the blunt, tossing the roach into his ashtray. 

 “You’re crossed, baby. Crossfaded,” he says casually, arm still around you, “You should go home and ride it out.” 

 You don't want to, and he can read it on your face, “I’ll get you an Uber and text you when I get off tomorrow. I’ll come pick you up and we can hang, okay? I promise. You’ll be okay.” 

 You nod slowly before his lips are momentarily on yours, “Okay. Go downstairs. You don't need me to stay with you. I’ll tell Mikey and Abs.”

 ++

 He does text you when he gets off, and you’re as much surprised that he followed through with it as you are impressed with yourself for actually remembering his promise. 

 David takes you back to his place; everything he owns seems to smell like weed, and his house is now quiet, as it's just you two. You're startled when David unbuttons his black dress shirt, shrugging it off and tossing it on to his couch as he makes his way to the kitchen. He tugs at the neck of his black t-shirt, pulling it off and throwing it to the couch, giving his dress shirt some company. He’s shirtless, now, slacks sitting on his hips as he opens his fridge. 

 “Sorry, I’m fucking starving and those clothes are hot as hell. I’ve been working since nine this morning,” David rifles through the contents of his fridge and freezer, unhappy with the selection, “I don't want any of this. Let’s go somewhere.” 

 “You bartend at nine in the morning?” you ask, leaning nervously against his kitchen counter.

 “I know, right?” he scoffs, “All of the alcoholics come in before they have to go to work. It’s the same people every day. It feels like Groundhog Day.”

 You follow him as he grabs his dirty clothes and goes upstairs, and you presumably end up in his room: bed made, room spotless. 

 “I have roommates, but they work more than I do, ‘cause I get the profits from dealing. They’re messy, but I’m not,” he explains nonchalantly, placing his clothes in a hamper as he kicks his shoes off, “Can’t stand anything being strewn everywhere. I don't know why they can’t just pick up after themselves, but I’m also not gonna clean up after them. I lock the door to my room when we throw parties.” 

 “I’m so sorry, honey,” he says regretfully, “Can I shower? It’ll take me five minutes.” 

 You shrug, “No worries. Go ahead. Take your time.”

 “Sweet,” David rifles through his drawers and grabs shorts and a hoodie, “Give me a few.” 

 He shuts his bathroom door and you hear the shower turn on. You take this time to glance around his room: work clothes hung neatly on hangers in his closet, shoes organized at the bottom on a shelf, photos of what you assume are his family taped on the borders of the mirror on top of his chest of drawers. You want to snoop, sneakily opening a drawer in his nightstand. It contains condoms, cigarettes, weed, and other items you can't identify. Even his drawers are organized, and you didn't think he would have a clean bone in his body. 

 At least he’s safe about some things, you guess, shutting the drawers as you hear the water shut off. David emerges shortly afterwards, running his towel through his hair, clad in socks and gym shorts. You try to keep your eyes to yourself as he bends over, grabbing a random shirt from one of his drawers and pulling it on. 

 “What happened to your back?” you ask, nosy as you think about the visible thin striped scars going down the length and width of his back – too thick and too straight to be stretch marks.

 He scoffs as he tugs his shoes on – either well-taken care of or brand-new Vans – admitting, “Girls.”

 You make a face, confused, before he clarifies, “Sex. I don’t mind it, though. I know I do a good job.” 

 He tosses his dirty towel into his hamper, grabbing his keys and shoving them into his pocket. Hoodie draped over his forearm, he steps towards you, “Let’s go, baby.” You look up at him as he tips your head up and leans in, giving you the first kiss of the night. His hand moves from your chin to your waist, pulling your hips closer to his. David feels you get bold and handsy, running your hand down the front of his torso. 

 He pulls away, hand on the small of your back, “Hands to yourself, remember?” 

 “S-sorry,” you apologize, removing your hand, “I thought that was because I was drunk.” 

 “No,” he replies, eyes on yours, “It’s because you’re the virgin here. I’m not going to just fuck you and send you home.” 

 “I’m controlling the way this goes,” David explains, “I’ll make it good for you. Besides, isn't it so much hotter to go slowly?” His lips are millimeters from yours, eyes hooded as he stares between your lips and eyes. 

 “Whatever you say,” you respond, blush apparent in your cheeks, “I’m not even sure if I know what's hot.” 

 “Holy shit,” he breathes, pulling you closer, “You don't even know what you like?” 

 You shake your head, embarrassed, before David kisses you quickly, stepping away and opening his bedroom door, “This is going to be so much fucking fun.”

 ++

 You’re not hungry, and it feels awkward watching him eat with no conversation to make. He’s thinking the same thing, but neither of you pay it any mind: you’re both grown, you can handle it for half an hour.

 David drives back to his place, no hands on you, and you realize he takes good care of his car, too: it feels brand new. You ask him about it, noting how he takes care of his belongings.

 “Thank you,” he responds earnestly, lighting a cigarette, “It’s ingrained in me, I guess. When me and my family moved to America, it was all that my parents asked of me. We didn't have much, so we had to take care of what we did have.” 

 “You’re not from here?” you genuinely question, “That's cool. When and where did you move from?” 

 “No, I’m not,” he chuckles softly, “Slovakia. Moved when I was six.”

 “I’m a DACA recipient, so, like,” David clears his throat, “If we’re ever at a party and the cops show up and you’re with me, we need to be the first ones outta there. Whoever's hosting will usually tell me. My nightmare is getting deported.” 

 You nod, going quiet, nothing left to say. 

 “Nice of you to notice, though,” he continues, tossing his cigarette out of his window and moving his free hand to your thigh, “You’re sweet, honey.” 

 You blush at the action as he pulls into his driveway, rolling his window up and shutting the car off. 

 The tension between you returns as you follow him upstairs into his room, him ordering you, “On the bed, baby.” 

 David's never been one to love hand jobs – not when he could do the same thing by himself a million times better – but the opportunity of being able to teach a girl from scratch how to give one exactly the way he likes it is too good for him to not take. 

 You both kick your shoes off and climb into it, bed still made as he wastes no time, tugging his shirt off and pulling your face to his and kissing you as he lies down. You keep your hands to yourself as he told you to earlier before he grabs at one of them, placing it in the middle of his chest and slowly running it down his torso. His hand remains over yours, controlling its movements as he pushes your hand over the bulge in his shorts, his hips bucking up slightly. 

 “Keep it there,” David tells you before kissing you again, removing his hand from yours and grasping at your waist. His hands move slightly lower and he already feels how breathless you are into his kisses. Images of his dick in your hands run through his brain, and he twitches under your touch, dick gradually growing bigger.

 You change nothing about your hand placement or pressure as you feel him grow beneath your fingers, his hips moving slightly as he leans out. He moves your face with his fingers, squishing your cheeks up momentarily for you to look towards his dick as he tugs his underwear and shorts down.  

 You exhale sharply at the sight of his dick, heat coming to your cheeks, before he demands, “Spit on it. Nothing else. Don’t touch. Look at me while you do.” 

 You scoot yourself further down the bed so you can obey, sucking up the spit you have in your mouth, heart beating out of your chest. His fingers thread through your hair and holds it back as he gently reminds you, sensing your anxiety, “Don’t be so nervous, honey. I’ve got you.” 

 You nod slightly before you meet his eyes and do as you’re told, his mouth dropping open slightly at the sight of the excess saliva dripping from your lips. You wipe at your mouth as he politely tugs you away, fingertips leaving your hair and moving to grasp his dick. 

 David side eyes you as he strokes himself slightly, “Can I see you?” 

 You nod, forcing yourself to tear your eyes away from his movements, mouth wanting to water. His free hand tugs at the hem of your dress and he realizes you’re always wearing dresses – he doesn't question it, writing it off as a weird overtly-Catholic thing and not thinking of it again as you lift it off of you. 

 He didn't think you’d reach around and unhook your bra, but he doesn't complain, staring at your tits and grabbing at them. David breathes heavily, “Watch my hand.” 

 You do, lips parted as you watch him work over himself, wanting him in your mouth – even if you have no idea how to do it. He twists his grasp near the base of his dick, moving upwards and running his palm over the head with every stroke. 

 “Fuck,” he curses, watching you watch him and removing his touch, “You do it. I’ll guide you.” 

 “Do...do you want me to take my rings off?” 

 “No,” he replies, “It’ll be okay, honey.” 

 David eyes the crucifix around your neck as it dangles while you lean forward, his free hand running gently down your spine as you wrap your fingers around him. 

 “Don’t grab as tight as you think,” he advises as you begin moving your hand, “Oh, fuck. Perfect.” 

 “Slower,” he tells you, “Oh, God, yes. Look at me.” 

 He pushes your hair behind your shoulders as you glance up at him, his mouth slightly agape. Your hands are smaller than his and more precise, and he can't believe the best handy he’s ever received is from a God-fearing virgin. 

 “Faster, sugar. Spit again,” he orders, grunting as you obey him, “Good girl. Just like that.” 

 His hips fuck up into your hand, “Use your other hand and touch under the head. Quick.”

 You do, running your fingertips under where you think he’s talking about, eyes still glued to his.

 “Fuck, yes,” he grunts, eyes rolling back into his head and throwing his head back against his pillows. David’s hand rests on your back affectionately as he looks up at the ceiling, getting closer. 

 “Oh, baby, I’m close,” he doesn't know why he’s never told a girl what he likes when getting jerked off, because this is the first time he’s actually enjoyed it. 

 David decides to just cum all over your hands, eyes rolling back again and grunting as he orgasms. You switch between watching his face twist up as he gasps, breathing heavily, and watching the way his dick pulses as he cums over your fingers and his hips jerk up. He cums on his stomach slightly, his eyes closed as you assume he’s now spent. 

 “Give me a second,” he excuses breathlessly, “Oh, fuck. I’ve never cum that hard from a handy. I don't even think with myself.” 

 He opens his eyes, sitting up, “You have two choices. You can either clean up the mess on your hands with a washcloth, or you can lick it up, or both. It’s your call.” 

 You stare at him for a moment, unresponsive, “Um. No... Can you pick for me? Please?” 

 David laughs softly, tugging his shorts up and deciding to not make you nasty yet, “Go wash your hands, honey. Washcloths are in the cabinet by the shower. Quickly – you don't want that to dry on you, I promise.”

 You nod, getting off of the bed and making your way to his bathroom. It’s as clean and organized as his bedroom is, and you wash and dry your hands, grabbing a washcloth from the cabinet he indicated. There are more condoms – how many does he need? – but you don’t focus on it, drying your hands and running the fabric under warm water. You bring it to him and gently wipe away the cum on his stomach without his asking; David is blown away and flattered as to how much you so obviously want to earn his praise. 

 You make sure to toss it in his hamper before sliding back onto his bed, not entirely sure what to do next. 

 “Lie down, baby,” he tells you, arm wrapping around you and tugging you into his chest, “You did so good.”

 You’re silent for a few moments, before you break, “Do you have a big dick?” 

 That genuinely makes him laugh, “I have heard that it’s big...and very hard to take. Just a warning.” 

 “Take?” you question, looking up at him confusedly. 

 “There have been a lot of times where it doesn't fit.”

 “Oh.”

 “Yeah. Good luck, sweetheart, but I won't hurt you.”

[skypagex]

let me see you get yourself out of this situation

aka three unlikely allies ditch detention and go on an adventure

word count: 2320

trigger warnings: stds (aids mention), drugs, nsfw mention

Okay, so maybe the detention is fully deserved. Sky probably shouldn’t have hotboxed his bedroom and expected to get away with it. In fact, he was pretty lucky to get away with detention, although he suspects that’s related to his mother’s call to the school and probable sizeable donation. (He should never have texted her. He knows that’s a bad idea. Thanks for the soccer team uniforms or whatever, mom.)

But regardless of how much he deserves to be in detention, he can still think of about a billion things he’d rather do than come into an almost empty room to the sight of Jack fucking Kelly (or is it Fielding? To be honest, he remains wilfully oblivious to the Jack updates. Like if he ignores him he’ll cease to exist) sprawled across the back row of seats with a smirk on his lips that so obviously says that this is his domain and Sky is trespassing. As if he owns the whole fucking room.

(Knowing Jack, he probably thinks he does. Not that Sky has had much personal contact with the boy besides an odd rumour that he died. But the boy’s reputation seems to carry through the school like a biblical plague of locusts. And besides, Sky’s friendship with Juliet gives him equal parts way too much information about Jack’s personal habits and currently, post break up, far more information about how disgustingly horrible he is. Either way, he’s well aware that there’s a sizeable ego present. He’s almost jealous, to be honest. Sometimes Sky feels like if he had Jack’s ego he’d probably be a rock star already.)

Still, he’s hoping that maybe he can pass under the radar of the British boy long enough to make it through at least half of the detention, maybe more, considering that the teacher has already apparently left - probably done with the delinquents before having even begun to lecture them on their crimes - so if Jack so much as starts a conversation Sky’s pretty sure there’s nothing present to hold him back from absolutely verbally annihilating Sky, which will therefore mean there’s nothing present to hold Sky back from tears and public humiliation. It’s hard being a crybaby, you know?

Such hopes are almost immediately dashed when Jack turns and gives Sky the most ravenous look he’s ever seen another human come up with, like Jack is starving and Sky is a walking hamburger about to satiate him. Yum.

“Pagey,” well there’s a nickname Sky didn’t know he had, and to be honest it makes him feel slightly nauseous even knowing that Jack has whole separate nicknames for him that he doesn’t even know about. How the fuck does Jack know everyone at the fucking school anyway? “How’d you end up here? Cried so much you flooded your bedroom?”

(Which would be insulting enough even if it wasn’t a plausible suggestion and didn’t need the rude addition of Jack proceeding to laugh at his own joke.)

Fortunately Sky’s saved from the perils of having to answer the question by the slamming of the door, which indicates the arrival of a third addition to the detention squad: a blonde girl, he thinks he’s seen her in a shared class (Helena or something along those lines, definitely the same name as a My Chemical Romance song since he remembers thinking that at registration) and a disgusted look upon her face as she has the same realisation as Sky upon seeing Jack’s face: that they are well and truly fucked.

“God,” Helena (if that’s really her name, Sky hopes it is because he suspects from her demeanour that she’s not the type to take a misnaming incident lightly) “was detention itself not punishment enough? Are they truly going to make me  look at your ratty little face for an entire forty five minutes? I feel ill just thinking about it,” she placed a hand over her chest as if the sight of Jack was causing her physical pain. Relatable, to be honest.

“I know,” and in that moment Sky feels more grateful than ever because it’s clear from Jack’s tone of voice that his admirably short attention span has now passed Sky straight over in favour of a pretty worthy opponent. “You really should complain, love. Like, how is getting to look at me for free a fucking punishment? It’s like getting to go into the Tate Modern for nothing.”

“The Tate Modern is already free,” Sky says helpfully. He is ignored.

“Your confidence,” Helena blasts back, “is truly insane considering how absolutely disgusting your physical appearance is. Have you considered being committed to a mental asylum at any point?”

“I would,” Jack counters, “but how could I? When the population of Luxor would just pine for me. Nothing would be interesting if I left.”

“Contrary to your totally unfounded belief, not everything in this school involves you.”

“Possibly,” the boy reasons, and then the smirk returns. “But you have to admit the majority of things do.”

Seemingly done with the conversation, Helena stomps over to the desk next to Sky and sets her things down. Her meaning is pretty clear to him: you’ll do, in comparison to being sat next to rat man.

The ticking of the clock succeeds in covering for their lack of conversation for all of about five minutes before Jack apparently just cannot keep words in his own head anymore and has to interrupt the perfectly nice silence again: “so how did you end up in detention, princess? Kiss a frog?”

“I don’t recall having any physical relations with you,” Helena says haughtily. “If I did, I can assure you I must have been under some sort of influence unwillingly and therefore I shall be suing imminently. And if you must know, I am being unfairly victimised for skipping my medieval lecture for a perfectly valid reason.”

“To get a nose job?” Jack asks innocently, “or was it Botox?”

That elicits a slight smile from Sky, which reminds the other two that he does in fact exist and it’s almost funny the way they both turn to face him as Jack continues his questioning, “what about you, Pagey?”

“Uh,” his mouth goes dry and he gulps, “weed… stuff,” he finishes lamely, shrugging as if that’s completely self explanatory. It should be. He damn well hopes it is, because frankly Sky does not have the strength to take part in this conversation and he’s really hoping that Helena can carry the anti Jack side of it without him. “You?” He asks hopefully, as if turning the conversation back to Jack will immediately throw him out of it and he can go back to his people watching.

“Oh, I jumped out a window,” Jack says airily, apparently oblivious to the looks of total confusion both Sky and Helena give him. The resulting silence proceeds to allow the clock ticking to become audible again.

“Are you seriously telling me,” Helena asks after about ten minutes have past and Sky can just about see Jack, out of the corner of his eye, beginning to meticulously colour in something which looks suspiciously like a poster, “that I have woken up today and willingly come to this godforsaken room and sat in the company of absolute dimwits and the teacher in charge is not even going to deign to show up?”

“Sometimes they just don’t,” Jack shrugs as if this is a usual occurrence. “Especially if they see me on the list.”

“Can’t blame them for that,” Helena mutters.

“Well, it would be hard not to treat me like the god I am. Can’t be unfair to the other students.” He grins. “Nah, guess they get lazy. I dunno. Most of the time I just leave.”

“Well that’s a wasted day of mine then.” She scowls. “Don’t they know time is money? Although I do have plenty of both.”

“That was the most ungraceful segway into a brag I have ever heard,” Jack observes, “and this is coming from me.”

“What can I say? I’m pretty, it allows for more leeway.”

She actually gets a laugh out of Jack from that, and it kind of fascinates Sky. Partly because he’s always assumed that Jack was more aggressive. He gets into enough fights for that. But he seems more… amused than anything else by the back and forth. Like he’s less of a punching devil and more of the type of person to push buttons out of enjoyment and amusement. He supposes that’s one way to get out of boredom.

“Hey, crybaby,” he’s so caught up in psychoanalysing the other two that he doesn’t realise for a minute that Jack is addressing him, and before he can say anything the other boy is waving a hand in front of his face. (He flinches back, predictably. God, he’s always so fucking predictable.) “You got any weed?” Jack asks, his face inches from Sky’s, close enough that Sky can see a stray eyelash on his cheek (would it be ridiculous to point it out considering that Jack would undoubtedly take that as Sky confessing his undying love for him?) and the freckles littering his cheeks.

“Uh.” Truthfully, Sky’s pretty sure this is going to end in him having to share so he’s really not willing to answer, but he’s never been good at lying so instead Jack gets a slow nod by way of response.

“Well there we fucking go,” Jack takes a step back thankfully, so he’s no longer close enough that Sky can literally smell whatever cologne he puts on (ugh, straight men) and glances back at Helena, gesturing wildly to Sky. “Don’t have to be a fucking waste of your day, princess. Or are you too good to come smoke a joint with me and Page?”

“My name’s Sky,” Sky offers. He is ignored.

“As long as nobody sees us,” Helena sniffs, but she gets up all the same, sliding her things into her bag. “And for the record, I’m a Queen, not a princess. I understand that your male mind finds words difficult though,” she adds with a condescending smile.

“I’m the British one,” Jack argues. “I’d know about fucking Queens.”

“I’m literally half English, you absolute cretin. My surname is literally Spencer. Like Princess fucking Diana? Ring any bells?”

“Nah,” Jack says with absolute conviction, “her surname was Wales.”

“No she was the Princess of Wal- oh my god,” Helena rolls her eyes with such energy that Sky is amazed that her eye muscles don’t straight up propel her out of the door. “Sky, can you please back me up?”

“I’m from Chicago,” Sky says helplessly, and gets two very dirty looks as they leave the classroom.

“I’d suck your dick,” he’s lost count of how many hits he’s in and the rooftop is starting to take on a hazy quality, which Sky attributes to the fact that he’s actually confident enough to laugh out loud at Jack’s comment, leaning back and looking up at the sky, “no you wouldn’t.”

“Sure I would,” Jack insists. “I’d try anything fucking once. And I never sucked a dick. Maybe it’s my fucking talent.”

“No, you wouldn’t,” Sky’s words are coming out sing song and he lays back on the roof now, shaking his head still, “you’re such a straight boy it’s not even funny. Straight, straight, straight,” he takes a long drag on the joint and holds it out between two fingers to Helena, who is giving both of them another disgusted glare.

“Two boys talking about their penises. Exactly the company I desired. Not.”

“We could talk about vagina instead,” Jack offers diplomatically, so Sky mimes gagging. “Yeah, okay crybaby. We get it. You patented the fuck a boy at church camp vibe, we understand.”

“I didn’t fuck a boy at church camp,” Sky says indignantly.

“No, he probably fucked you,” Helena hisses.

“I thought you were too good for this conversation,” Jack observes.

“Do you see another conversation happening?”

“You could just shut up.”

“And let your disgusting accent ring in my ears? Horrific.”

“My accent is sexy.”

“I like Kai’s more,” Sky gets a glare from both of them for that. Oops. Supposes that’s what he gets for interrupting the bickering. “Yours is fine too,” he says quickly.

“God, just take a side,” Helena mutters. “It’s fine to admit Rat sounds like a coal miner, you know?”

“Isn’t that a bit….” Sky searches for the word. “Classist?”

“No, it’s a fact. Anyway,’ she points to Jack accusingly, “he didn’t even know Princess Diana’s surname. So his national pride is absolutely a farce.”

“She died in like, nineteen ninety whatever? That’s old news,” Jack argues.

“She,” Helena says hotly, “remains an international style icon.”

“Can we get back to vagina and/or dick yet?” Jack enquires hopefully. Sky resumes the pretend gagging.

“You become more disgusting with every waking moment,” she mutters under her breath. But Jack will probably take that as a compliment either way. “And I need to go.”

“Don’t miss me too much,” Jack looks up to bat his eyelashes at the girl, resulting in her flipping him off.

“I think I would miss the dog shit I stepped in more than you,” Helena informs him, before glancing at Sky. “You, though. We’re going shopping tomorrow.”

He gives her a confused look.

“You have potential,” she decides. “Like style wise. As an aesthetic and thankfully quiet sidekick.” He can take that. “Like a Harry Styles vibe but unattractive.”

Okay, Sky’s starting to regret listening.

“Or Timothée Chalamet minus the bone structure and redeemable features.”

He really regrets listening now.

“Doesn’t Timothée Champagne have chlamydia?” Jack asks with a gleeful smile.

“Didn’t everyone say you have AIDS?” Helena snaps. “Goodbye, male specimens. It is starting to rain and this blouse is vintage.”

[punkscowardschampions]

Dash & Lux

Dash: ☀️🧙🏽‍♀️🎶🥁🎸🪕🧚🏿‍♂️🌿🌼🧚🔮💃💫🔥🕺🏻🌳💗🍯🍻

Lux: That is almost exactly what the inside of my head looks like right now!!!

Lux: Is mind-reading a power that is bestowed upon you believers this eve?! 🤔😲

Dash: Right on

Dash: it’s one of many, trust

Lux: I’m ever sadder I can only be an observer now

Lux: Telepathy would be the most useful!

Dash: you gotta open your 👀 at least twice

Lux: I can 👀 at it, all of it in its splendour, just not participate

Dash: Bummer! What’s got you backing off? You don’t look like no wallflower chick to me

Lux: I got the dress code 🌻🌻🌻

Lux: Sunflowers are so strong-looking for flowers, don’t you think?

Lux: Not dainty and delicate

Lux: Well, I’m a Christian and technically this is a Pagan ritual so it’s a big 🚫🚫

Lux: I am finding it super interesting though

Dash: they don’t look strong, they are, babe 🌻🌻🌻 cleaned up Chernobyl, it’s far out what they can do

Dash: its roots, yeah, but we’re not all pagans here & we all still find something to celebrate, you could do St John the Baptist’s birthday as a christian, bonfires were big for that too

Lux: Whaaaaaaaaaat????! TELL ME MORE

Dash: about 🌻🌻🌻 or 🎂🔥🎇🎆?

Lux: 🌻🌻🌻 birthdays are contentious too

Dash: Helianthus annuus, from the Greek helios, meaning ☀️ they can remove poisonous chemicals & metals from the ground, water or air

Dash: they spread rapidly & can stabilize if not totally clear a field in 3 years, it’s 🤯

Lux: I wish I’d gone to school

Lux: Do you know any more fascinating things?

Lux: That sounds like magic

Dash: the world’s full of magic, but it wasn’t school that taught me to recognize it

Lux: Share the secret, kind sir

Dash: you’ve got the 🔑 & this here’s your kingdom, all you have to do is hang out & stay hip to what you 👀👂👃👅

Dash: 🧠➡️⬅️⬆️⬇️↗️↘️↙️↖️↪️↩️⤴️⤵️

Lux: I’ve 👅 so many wondrous tastes today

Lux: I feel full in so many senses of the word

Lux: How long have you been a member of the kingdom, stranger?

Dash: quest accepted to lay that feeling on you in every sense, then it’ll be a rad celebration

Dash: I’ve been here since I could walk, everywhere else is too big a drag to keep me

Lux: Oh, that’s so kind!

Lux: Everyone is so open and willing to teach me things

Lux: For instance, quick, when’s your birthday, wolf boy

Dash: it’s that kinda space 🦊

Dash: 20th of January 🎂 got me on the cusp ♑♒

Lux: Twins!

Lux: My birthday, which I’ve never celebrated before, is the 20th of March 😱

Lux: Someone, I’m not sure who, was just telling me about the Celtic tree signs

Lux: ‘If you were born in the month of the birch, you probably have a fresh and unusual outlook on life. People born under this Celtic tree astrology sign tend to be highly driven and are always full of zeal and ambition. They always want more and try to reach new horizons and expand their knowledge. Some of the characteristics attributed to the Birch sign are tolerance, toughness, and leadership. The Birch signs can brighten a room with their smile and quickly charm other people’

Lux: Yay or nay 🐺

Dash: you charmed so far or nah? [obviously smiling at her wherever she is as well like heyyy]

Lux: [definition of this emoji 🤭]

Dash: What’s your celtic tree sign?

Lux: ‘Those born under the Alder sign are natural pathfinders. They have the ability to move people and quickly gain followers to their cause. The Alders have a way with words, mingle easily and people love to be around them. They possess a mystic charisma, confidence and strong self-faith. Other character traits are: a good focus on goals and ideas, can’t tolerate fluff and waste.’

Lux: I am unsure but flattered 😊😊😊

Dash: I dig it

Dash: they let you know if we’re compatible? Your ♓♈ cusp makes you mad desirable to all signs

Lux: You need to see who here was born 15th April to 12th May or 2nd September to 29th September

Lux: But it says I’m compatible with you, so how does that work?! 😣

Lux: There’s so much I have to get my head ‘round

Dash: You’re gonna be 🥰💖 for me while I’m 🔍 for a 🐈 or 🐤 born on those dates?

Lux: Hey, that’s way less nice!

Lux: but I can also be looking for people born 13th May to 9th June AND 10th June to 7th July so 😋

Dash: those signs are full of it, trying to make me look uncool but don’t sweat it, I’d never cut you that low, like

Lux: If it’s not in the 💫s I can still say I’m pleased to meet you today as friends, Mowgli

Dash: Look up

Dash: if you don’t see a 🌠 I can show you a 🐺🌟 & 🦊🌟 chasing each other across the sky

Lux: [obviously literally does]

Lux: That’s very Disney 🏰✨

Dash: is that allowed?

Lux: I watched some at a friend’s house one time

Dash: & how was it?

Lux: 😭 but romantic

Dash: Anyone told you the oak king story yet?

Lux: Okay, thank Goodness

Lux: this lady with the dreads and the big back tattoo tried to tell me but I couldn’t understand her 🙊

Lux: Redeem your gentlemanly reputation and save both of us the embarrassment

Lux: Her accent was wild! 🤯

Dash: did her version start with Fadó, fadó?

Dash: wouldn’t be a wild guess

Lux: I won’t credit you with any telepathic skills this time, then

Lux: also I’d need to 👂 it again to confirm fully but yes, I think so

Dash: [send her an utterly unnecessary voice memo]

Lux: It sounds more intriguing when you say it

Dash: [obviously gotta tell her the full story in an irish voice memo purely for the #flex and the flirt cos you know damn well you’re gonna have to translate it, boy]

Lux: 🤩

Lux: Did you learn that here too?

Lux: I’ve lived so many different places and yet I only know the one language

Dash: My ma started it but when the establishment took over it was a bad scene & turned me off for time, last few years here it felt groovy again having that connection & I refound the 💚☘️

Lux: It’s really cool

Lux: it sounds old, or like elvish or something else not real

Dash: it’s a trip, you’ve gotta get someone to teach you while your fly by lasts

Lux: Oh, I live here 😊

Lux: I room with Nora, do you know her?

Dash: Beats me, what’s her deal?

Lux: Her and her brother Finley have been here for a while, but not forever like you

Lux: but there are a lot of people here so I’m not surprised you’re not sure 😅

Dash: not a clue but loads of people are too rattled to wanna get involved, could be her vibe

Dash: or she just ain’t outta sight like you

Lux: She’s totally involved, she secured like all of the sunflowers for today

Lux: well, me and Amber helped but she was definitely the most enthusiastic

Dash: 🌻👑! I do know her, but her in with Amber & instant karma means she’s not gonna mess around with me

Lux: Ooh, what did you do

Dash: jack, Amber’s hassling me cos I’m not trying to be her old man, she gets super rash & things get heavy with 0 slack

Lux: Hmm I shouldn’t have asked 🤐🙉

Dash: ask her why she’s making a move on my older bro now if not to try & lay a trip on me, babe’s lost it

Lux: Whaaaaaaa

Lux: You have a brother?!

Lux: Is he invisible?

Dash: I wish

Lux: Which one is he, point him out

Dash: [points in the direction of their house lol]

Lux: [a face of understanding like oh okay]

Lux: How does Amber know him then?

Dash: from stalking me

Lux: I don’t think she would do that

Lux: She must’ve just bumped into him or something

Dash: at my house, yeah

Lux: It’s cool, it’s not really my business

Dash: open 👀 like I said

Lux: 📖

Dash: that too 🧠💗🤲

Lux: I can agree with that sentiment

Dash: we’re groovy then

Lux: Of course 😊

Lux: enjoy your evening

Dash: back at you, golden girl ☀️🎇👸🏼

Lux: I like your outfit too

Lux: it’s very ☀️🧙🏽‍♀️🎶🥁🎸🪕🧚🏿‍♂️🌿🌼🧚🔮💃💫🔥🕺🏻🌳💗🍯🍻

Dash: [comes over and ties a chain of flowers around her wrist like it’s a friendship bracelet energy]

Lux: [clearly delighted with this]

Dash: [ask her if she wants to dance even though you know damn well she’s only observing because kind of boy you are]

Lux: [so rude lowkey when she’s struggling so hard with what she does and doesn’t believe now, we’re in enough of a dilemma without your help but there we go; thus we will go dance with you because we do want to and we can make arguments that that isn’t joining in with the rituals of it all]

Dash: [he’s lucky Amber is busy because she would fight him, but instead enjoy your dance you two]

Lux: [the audacity of your lies about her, we were so awkward like 😬 anyway, we will have a nice dance though]

Dash: [such a dickhead he can only be humbled by fire, full offense Nora because we’re ignoring you hen cos you’re clearly wise to his bs]

Lux: [there’s clearly a growing group of gals who are unimpressed by your nonsense and that will be interesting to navigate]

Dash: [Definitely, but yeah probably do slip away like a snek before any of those gals do kick your ass]

Lux: 🎃👠🐁🌠🕛

Dash: A 📘 for the 🔥

Lux: 🤔?

Dash: it’s a drag, all that heavy shit with her fam is a bummer, she gets to split but only til 🕛 that’s some 🌠

Lux: Yeah, it’s enough to get help though and then she gets saved

Dash: nah, to get shafted, she don’t get to dance with anyone else there, it’s a scam

Lux: 😅 who else does she need, she’s got the prince, silly!

Dash: someone who recognizes her next day?

Lux: Touche 😏

Lux: Being a 🤴 is a lot of work

Dash: What 🤴 told you that?

Lux: Where to begin

Lux: I’ve known several who would say as much and the 👸s would never disagree

Dash: Fadó, fadó, fadó a bhí ann…

Dash: but I’d shut it down from the beginning, they gotta be shining you on

Lux: I’m going to have to have translate open constantly, I see 😰

Lux: but very noble

Dash: I try, like you & your ☘️ it’s chill we’ve all got your back

Lux: It would be way worse if it was the only language any of you spoke

Lux: thank goodness 😅

Lux: there’s lots more that’s more pertinent for me to get a grip on

Dash: 🧝🧝🏻‍♀️🧝🏽🧝🏾‍♀️

Dash: we’ve got you on the rest too, like, goes without saying

Lux: Most everyone has been super welcoming

Dash: how long have you lived here?

Lux: Not long enough that that’s insulting 😋

Lux: but gosh, a couple of weeks? Must be

Dash: nah I meant cos I don't wanna explain to you what sorta place this is like you're fresh through the door if you've had loads of time to find your own way

Lux: Oh no, I’m a total n00b

Lux: Hazel got me here but I’ve kinda just been left to it since

Lux: Anything you wanna tell me would be appreciated

Dash: did Amber or Nora give you the tour?

Lux: Amber’s been super busy and Nora likes to stay in our room mostly

Dash: not super welcoming

Dash: but it’s no sweat, I’ll show you round, we’ll have a blast

Lux: they’ve both got their own stuff going on, I don’t expect them to drop it for me

Lux: but that would still be cool, thank you!

Dash: say when

Dash: it’ll be as electric under the ☀️ as the 🌕🌖🌗🌘🌑🌒🌓🌔🌙

Lux: I can 👀 in the dark

Lux: You choose

Lux: find me when you’ve stopped having the MOST fun?

Dash: 🐺🐾🦊

Dash: Meet me in the orchard at midnight, ditching your shoes before

Dash: there’s an 🍏🌳🍎 you can 👀 the whole farm from the top of

Lux: And you’ll remember what I look like?

Dash: you look unreal

Dash: unforgettable

Lux: I got creative with the arts and crafts 🌟⚡️☀️

Lux: I’ve always made my own clothes

Lux: well, I made them for my sisters before

Lux: looking unforgettable was not the end goal there though

Lux: that was for secret

Dash: my nan would be hip to you, she used to make her own clothes, for her girl & her sister too when they wanted, it’s still a vibe for her

Lux: I will make her something then

Lux: what’s her style?

Dash: indescribable

Dash: I’ll show you pics

Lux: Awkward if your nan is cuter than you

Dash: at our age she totally was

Lux: Awh, you’re so sweet

Lux: I have nothing nice to say about my meemaw

Dash: keep it for mine when you meet her

Lux: You’re gonna introduce me to your nan? 😊

Dash: right on, she’ll wanna put whatever you make on for you to 👀 & it’s only a few fields over

Lux: 🏞 it’s a crazy beautiful spot to live, that’s for sure

Lux: so you live with her?

Dash: Yeah, my ma grew up there & when my parents called it quits she wanted to move back

Lux: You’re close-knit

Lux: that’s special

Dash: closer than I am to my da

Lux: Does that upset you?

Dash: I don’t let it upset my equilibrium, he’s uptight, that’s his problem not mine

Lux: I understand

Lux: I don’t agree with my dad on a lot of things

Lux: it’s still sad though

Dash: I got killer people round me, a 2nd family here accepting me for who I am, it ain’t cool he don’t, but they give me what I need

Lux: I’m happy for you

Lux: Seriously

Lux: again, that’s special, you should be really grateful

Dash: I am, believe me

Dash: you’re gonna scope out how special it is here now I’m in charge of showing you everything

Lux: I’d love to see your 🌍 how you see it

Lux: Kinda sounds like everything I need, honestly

Dash: you can, easily when we’re sharing a branch

Lux: 🧚‍♀️ you’re dainty, I trust you won’t let me fall

Dash: I’ll let you fall into something good though, new heights

Lux: Will it hurt?

Dash: no way

Lux: You aren’t pranking me, are you?

Dash: there’s no plastic on me, I’m being real with you

Lux: If you’re gonna try and jump me out in the orchard I’ll have to show you crazy and I really can’t afford to lose this place okay

Lux: so if I believe you right now and you were lying, it’ll be worse than it would’ve been, you feel me?

Dash: Hurting you isn’t my action, I’m about a gentler touch than that

Lux: and I’m not a bully, that’s not my vibe so that’s the warning out of the way

Dash: avenging 👼 I get it

Lux: My costume has you fooled, I think

Dash: Wait, so you’re pranking me?

Lux: No, I swear! 😅

Lux: I don’t feel like I’ve been anywhere near as nice to you as you have to me though

Dash: but you did dance with me & that was choice

Lux: I wanted to

Dash: me too, I wasn’t asking just to be nice

Lux: even though you’re very nice

Lux: I believe that

Dash: I think we’re getting somewhere

Lux: You understand why I’d find a boy like you being interested in me dubious at first, right

Dash: Nah, but I’m listening

Lux: Well it’s embarrassing to say

Dash: alright, listen, I think you’re the most

Dash: I’m embarrassed I’ve not met you before tonight

Lux: There are so many people to meet

Lux: and you’re like the 🤴 of this place, huh

Lux: you have to dance with all the ugly stepsisters too

Dash: if Amber said write that to bait me I’m shutting up

Lux: I think Amber left 🤔

Lux: And who’s calling her ugly, even if you guys have beef, like no way

Dash: & Nora’s gotta be back in your room cos that’s her bag, yeah?

Dash: so where are you?

Lux: I’m in the middle of [one hippie activity] and [another]

Dash: [go find her and dance with her again obvs, we can be bolder about if some of the haters are gone and it’s later so he’s clearly a bit more drunk/high by now too]

Lux: [the way you’re probably sober like how lmao, not saying you always are or will be ‘cos no but gotta have our wits about us ‘cos witchery is afoot; but yeah we all know it can shamelessly way more of a Thing™]

Dash: [at least Amber was too until her row with the bae even if she wasn’t the most present in other ways, so it wasn’t just you gal, but yeah, dispel any remaining fears she may have that you’re not into this please boy with this moment]

Lux: [we know you got your own going on, it’s good, this drama has to happen whether you like it or not babe sorryyyy, when you’re then even more into it because it’s like HELLO IS THIS ALLOWED, so new and fresh to get to remotely be this brazen]

Dash: [shouldn’t LOVE that for you but I do, we should probably let y’all go on your tour then because we’re both in a mood and there’s nobody to separate you]

Lux: [probably, but I will insist on making you wait ‘til midnight regardless]

Dash: [it is a fat mood and I did pick that time deliberately so yeah, dance the night away first hens]

Lux: [sure it’s probably near that time anyways]

Dash: [yeah absolutely]

Lux: [we can skip to the after in this if you like?]

Dash: [are we thinking am like did y’all fall asleep together or?]

Lux: [Hmm, do we go with the Cinderella and have her bounce or do we go against it and not, because then she would think he wasn’t a dick later]

Dash: [even though he’s a dick I still want all the cute I can grab with my smol hands]

Lux: [it’s not like you can’t be like I just fell asleep it’s nbd with it so yeah okay

Dash: [I also like the camber parallel of it all so]

Lux: [true true, we can do it, then you can just have breakfast as a group because duh, was it sunday or monday today?]

Dash: [I think it’s sunday aka Cosmo is having his 2nd date with Ruby tonight and then Camber breakfast dates start monday]

Lux: [okay then you will have to think of a creative way to ditch her then boy hohaha]

Dash: [at least he can just go home because Amber only stayed to angrily eat some fruit and Cosmo had a busy day ahead because I doubt the shower situation at this commune is thriving, water probably runs out always]

Lux: [what a poser lmaooo]

Dash: [and very rude not to invite her when she probably wants to shower or bathe too]

Lux: [we literally got gems stuck to our face but pop off]

Dash: [we know you’re not because your mother is there and sick of your behaviour but yes, it wouldn’t kill you to let her boy]

Lux: [no offence but run him over, anyway, some time later]

Lux: are you ⬇️🍄?

Dash: 🛹⚡️

Lux: aha, cool

Lux: good thing you didn’t invite me I’d end up 🤕 for sure

Dash: I didn’t stop you falling out of a tree last night to have you fall off a board later in the AM

Lux: Hey, you make it sound like I was 🤏 close! 😆

Dash: nah, your balance is sound

Lux: I don’t recall you stepping on my toes, either

Dash: don’t wanna have to start the day off doubting your 🍒 recall, that’d be a bad scene

Lux: I was totally sober thank you 😅

Dash: easy to claim the magic’s all you when I ain’t met you before but I’m a believer

Lux: Wait, was that a compliment or a diss?

Lux: Maybe I’m contact-wasted

Dash: contact with Nora would get you more sober, there’s a diss

Lux: Awh, don’t be mean!

Lux: She’s been really nice

Dash: chill out, I’m only playing

Lux: Hmm 😏

Lux: anyway, what are you doing later?

Dash: I said I’d hang with Yara

Lux: Oh cool, who’s that?

Dash: I’ll introduce you after

Lux: after what?

Dash: we’re done messing around

Lux: wow, alrighty then

Dash: you’ll like her, she’s a trip

Lux: I’m not totally sure she’d want you to 💬 that

Lux: or I’ll know what to 💬 now

Dash: it’s no biggie

Lux: idk, this is not the way I was raised

Lux: you say it’s not but idk, you know

Dash: you don’t have to meet her

Lux: Yeah

Dash: I think she’s rad but you gotta make up your own mind

Lux: It’s not about her

Dash: nah, you, I understand where you’re coming from, it’s a new world

Lux: Right, it seems really icky to me that you’d tell me any of this

Lux: it’s not about how rad she could be

Dash: Come on, Lux, I’m keeping this honest

Lux: I guess

Lux: Why do you need to tell me though, I don’t get it, for real?

Dash: I like you, I don’t want it to get twisted

Dash: 📖

Lux: Okay, I appreciate the sentiment then

Dash: I’ll come find you later, on my own

Lux: That’s okay

Lux: I’ve got lots of chores to catch up on

Dash: they’ll be done faster if I help you

Lux: I can’t stop you

Lux: the place is a mess after last night and the more people who pitch in the better

Dash: I don’t get why you’d wanna stop me

Lux: I don’t really wanna hang out now, not today anyway

Dash: I can’t believe you’re being like this

Lux: Being like what?

Dash: Amber

Lux: I’m not

Lux: you can’t hang out now, I can’t hang out later, how is it any different?

Dash: the way I’m travelling through today is a straight line, yours is all over the place

Lux: Good for you?

Lux: It doesn’t matter either way though

Dash: doing a u turn on me does matter

Lux: It does?

Lux: because last night you thought I was rad, so obviously this morning I wanted to hang out with you again, so I think it’s my turn to do the 180, if you think about it

Dash: I still think you are, last night was unreal & we can be again, I’m just asking you to take 5 cos I can’t split on Yara after making plans time ago

Lux: That’s fine, it’s not fine to be mad at me ‘cos I ask you to take 5 too

Lux: that makes it make no sense

Dash: I’m not mad at you, I’m trying to make sense of why you’re mad at me

Lux: I’m not mad at you, I’m upset

Lux: You only need to ask

Dash: idk I didn’t think this would go down how it is

Lux: Me either, I guess

Dash: you for real want space?

Lux: I don’t know

Lux: Can I get back to you on that?

Dash: yeah

Lux: I wanted to see you again

Lux: I thought you’d want to see me too

Dash: I do, you read me right last night, why are you gonna start disbelieving yourself today?

Lux: You want to see Yara more

Dash: I wanna see her too

Lux: Okay, have fun then

Dash: we cool?

Lux: I don’t know

Dash: idk what's turned you different, you were laying it on me like you got it, how I'm

like royalty & everyone wants a piece of my time

Lux: Oh my Gosh

Lux: I wasn’t being serious and I didn’t think you were

Lux: do you honestly think that, like what?

Dash: It's a touch plastic saying I'm like 👑 but still close to how it is

Lux: Um, you don’t even live here

Lux: you have a whole house and family

Dash: I'm here with my chosen family as much as I can be

Lux: Yeah, but what do you

actually do for this place, or anyone here?

Lux: The audacity to act like it’s your kingdom, that’s laughable and gross all at once

Dash: back off babe, I do whatever they need me to do

Lux: Babe-ing me right now isn’t a good look

Lux: manual labour at best makes you help, not visiting royalty

Lux: are you crazy, like, who do you think you are, seriously I’m so curious

Dash: Who are you? Thinking you can lay this trip on me about what I can & can't do

Lux: I’m not telling you you can or can’t do anything

Lux: I asked you not to call me babe, which is basic politeness

Dash: nah, you're telling me I don't belong to this place

Dash: questioning how I do like

it's up to you

Lux: I said you don’t live here, and you don’t

Lux: and I’ve never seen you contribute, maybe you were super busy before I got here, then I’ll apologize for that

Dash: you're doing a census, yeah? Hold up [everyone currently who doesn't live her like the petty prince he is]

Dash: I've got family here, they all keep me busy

Lux: Cool? Thanks for telling me who else is a tourist ???

Lux: You’re just being defensive, there’s no need if you’re secure in that and your place here

Dash: quit trying to rattle me

Lux: I’m truly not

Lux: but no, we’re not cool now

Dash: I made it known from the top where I live

Lux: Where you live isn’t the issue

Dash: what's your issue? I'm loved & welcomed here, that's all I said

Lux: That’s nice

Lux: I don’t really want to discuss my issue with you, with you, right now, if that’s okay

Dash: later then

Lux: See you around, Dash

Dash: I can't believe you think I'm a flake, this has me totally unglued, you know

Lux: I don’t feel great about it either

Dash: how can I make you feel less bummed out?

Dash: your tour was the most far out I've ever given

Lux: I don’t think you can, it’s done now

Lux: I just need some time to change what I thought this was, or was gonna be, in my head

Lux: but thanks, for offering

Dash: take your time to 👀 what we can be & how you wanna evolve

Lux: Maybe we can be friends later on

Dash: I’d dig it

Lux: I liked talking to you last night

Dash: I felt more connected to you than I usually do

Lux: I don’t think you’re an awful person, FYI

Lux: I just think you could’ve been clearer, and accept that you hurt me without getting way defensive, you know?

Lux: I can accept you didn’t mean to

Dash: I thought I was being clear

Lux: Yeah, I know

Lux: I’m from a very different background and place, it just didn’t translate well, clearly

Dash: yeah

Lux: but I thought I’d put that across well enough that you got that too

Dash: I do get you, but I can’t 180 myself to fit

Lux: No, I’m not asking you to fit my understanding, it’s fine you don’t

Dash: What are you asking?

Lux: Nothing, honestly, I’m trying to explain why I’m upset

Lux: Just like you can’t 180, I can’t change how I see and feel about it immediately, even if some of the ways I were raised are outdated or potentially bad, you know

Lux: You don’t need to do anything

Lux: From my perspective, it felt like a 180 and hurtful to tell me about hooking up with someone else the morning after

Lux: I know how you think and operate is totally different, but that’s it

Dash: but I wanna do something, to help you

Lux: You are nice…

Lux: I don’t know though, what would help?

Dash: I meant what I said last night about showing you this place, making it feel more like a home, how it is for me

Lux: Maybe you could come back and help with the chores

Lux: I shouldn’t have said you NEVER help out, I’ve not been here long enough to make that observation

Dash: maybe it looks like I don’t, cos with family you take liberties sometimes, that kid who’s naughty at home & don’t say shit at school, comfortable to play up

Lux: I have 8 brothers, I understand 😅

Dash: you can have that too, should

Lux: I did, as much as any of us did

Lux: I was a boy, remember

Dash: with 0 limits though, people trying to control & change what you do is for outside of here, I don’t have to think in my dad’s 🟥🟧🟨🟩🟦🟪⬛️⬜️🟫 way or do what my ma reckons is righteous

Lux: Sounds idyllic, Dash

Dash: it is

Lux: You have to understand my experience of people doing exactly what they want means someone is being exploited or abused for that person’s privilege

Lux: my parents had their utopia at the price of the things we wanted, needed

Dash: that’s why you need this new experience

Lux: Okay

Lux: I do want new experiences

Dash: the farm has the magic to grant you whatever you’re here for, no wish is the wrong size

Lux: You really seem to believe it so I will try too 😊

Dash: I’m about to 🛹⚡️ back if you wanna clean the opposite end or hide from me in the 🍏🌳🍎

Lux: That’s cool

Lux: but thanks for the warning 💗

Dash: don’t let how out of this world you look distract me then

Lux: I so don’t so that won’t be an issue 😌

Dash: It's an accident, huh? I feel you, it must be my fault I can’t look away

Lux: You’re way too smooth for your own good

Lux: but I wouldn’t say that’s a fault, necessarily 🤭

Dash: Hey, I didn’t manifest you into being, even if last night did feel like it had to be cosmically devined somehow

Lux: I felt it too

Lux: no one has ever

Lux: not like that anyway

Dash: you’re like a song I can’t get out of my head, I don’t want it to turn sad

Dash: I’m sorry I got you unglued too

Lux: It’s a lot more complicated than just you

Lux: it’s a whole thing

Dash: You’re gonna find people to share how heavy it is

Lux: 🤞

Dash: they’ll carry you through & even if it’s Amber I won’t let it bug me

Lux: I’m sure that’s a misunderstanding

Lux: I could talk to her? Subtly, of course

Dash: yeah, her misunderstanding me, you’ve got your reasons, she’s not new to any of this

Dash: her problem is she thinks she’s the most & everyone else should think she’s choice no matter what

Lux: Do you think she likes your brother?

Dash: no way, unless she’s got a football obsession now too

Lux: 🧲 maybe

Dash: idk

Lux: Me either

Lux: it just seems a bit crazy otherwise

Dash: he’s as uptight as my da, she’s never gonna get nowhere trying to mess around with him, whatever she’s doing it for

Lux: She won’t have any problem finding someone new

Lux: you said he’s older, right?

Dash: not loads, but he’s gonna be done with school in a sec

Lux: I see

Lux: so you’re the 👶

Dash: til my dad’s new lady puts her demands in

Dash: how many sisters you got to go with your 8 bros?

Lux: you don’t like her at all, huh

Lux: and 5, so they had a tough job being outnumbered

Dash: you heard of a WAG? That’s her whole deal

Dash: whoa, so you had a full time secret sewing job

Lux: yes, we lived in England for a while, that’s how I ended up here

Lux: like a Kardashian, I can see you not having a lot to bond over

Lux: exactly 😂

Dash: you gotta teach me, my nan would be jazzed

Lux: I’d love to!

Lux: there’s a surplus of old clothes to practice on

Dash: still a chore, we get to skip cleaning, yeah?

Lux: Mending isn’t as fun as creating but you’ve got to start somewhere so, I think so 😊

Dash: 😁

Dash: we’ll have a blast cos I gotta start somewhere on earning your forgiveness too

Lux: You’re sweet, Dash

Dash: I’m being for real

Lux: I know you are

Lux: I don’t know what to say though because I’m awkward 😳

Dash: it’s a hands on kinda task & you already know what you’re doing with it, it’ll be me feeling 😳

Lux: No flirting, only crafting

Dash: 🧷📏🧵✂️🧶📍✨

Lux: That’s a very impressive emoji selection

Dash: missing 😍💞🥰💓😘💘 but it’s chill

Lux: Idiot 😏

Dash: 💟 is the compromise

Lux: Okay, that’s adorable

Lux: allowed 🤭

Dash: [show up and take her hand to lead her off to sew, we know you weren’t far away bitch]

Lux: [the way you just melt when he shows, oh gal]

Dash: [I’m upset about it]

Lux: [we know you really like him, for better and worse rn]

Dash: [thank god he does actually like you and it’s not a straight up Drew and Ro situation happening]

Lux: [we can only do that ‘cos they both lowkey suck so we aren’t sad lmao]

Dash: [I like this gal too much to be that evil]

Lux: [it’s drama enough without it being entirely one-sided like no lol]

Dash: [I hope some sewing does take place amidst the blatant flirting because learn a useful skill for once in your life dickhead]

Lux: [we aren’t gonna just roll over immediately ‘cos actually did upset us so you will have to]

Dash: [yay]

Lux: [so that’s probably the vibe for today ‘cos yeah we absolutely won’t even though it’s clear we still like you like that too, so you’ll just have to hang out platonically]

Dash: [it’s gotta be the vibe for a while, sucks to suck boy, but obviously hang out until that girl comes to find you because you clearly do also wanna hang out with her platonically it’s not just like that vine where he breaks the skateboard]

Lux: [a quality vine]

Dash: [do we wanna leave this here?]

Lux: [I think we can]