#nah girl…. you gotta put your money where your mouth is. oh you don’t have money? me neither. don’t be surprised when nothing changes

[doccywhomst]

.

[cupiddior]

SHE — ghost face huh yunjin x reader “check your window, she’s at your window”. warnings - obsession, betrayal, angst, gore, swearing

“oh my god, kev leave me alone.” yn said with annoyance as she walks down the hall way, trying to escape her newly ex boyfriend.

“yn, you gotta believe me, I don’t know who that girl is.” the guy pleaded as he trails after the girl to her locker.

“oh, so those texts in your phone, just randomly showed up, huh ?” yn asked sarcastically, opening her locker aggressively.

“No, oh my god.” the boy throw his head back. “I didn’t have my phone with me for a weeks, I lost it remember?” he turns her away from her locker, putting his hands on her shoulder. “come, yn look at me, why would I cheat on you ?”

yn reluctantly lifted her face and got a good look at the his face, he looked like he was on the verge of tears he always did get like that when he was accused of something he didn’t do.

“well… you really didn’t have your phone with you.” yn said looking at him considerately. “and your were with me most of the time.”

“right- right, I was with you the whole time, you know, with the killings and all, especially with most of the victims being people that you’ve interacted with.” the boy rushes to say. “yn come on, I love you so much I would never cheat, I can’t even explain those texts since I didn’t have my phone, come on think.”

he’s right.

yn’s about to open her mouth when she gets cut off with an arm around her shoulder.

“oh and would you look who it is.” a raven haired girl says as she pulls yn closer to her. “the cheater.”

yn’s best friend huh yunjin.

“stay out of this jennifer.”

“ohhh, you’re calling me Jennifer now ? how about you go back to that girl you were texting.”

“I DIDN’T EVEN HAVE MY PHONE WITH ME.” the boy exclaimed.

“yeah, yeah, excuses, excuses.”

“yunjin.” yn warned to the girl, but all yunjin did was smirk at the shorter girl.

“it’s okay, just think about it.” kev said yn with a pleading voice. “please.” and with that he walked away.

“what a manipulator.” yunjin turns to yn leaning against the lockers. “please yn.” she mocks him with a laugh.

“I mean, he seemed genuine.” yn shrugged as she closed her locker. “and he made good points, he really didn’t have his phone and those texts were recent.”

yunjin eyes darkened at yn’s defence over the boy.

“so, what ? you’re really gonna forgive him ?” she asks yn, slight anger raising in her voice.

“I don’t know maybe.” yn shrugged as she links her arm around yunjin and starts walking to their last period.

“maybe ?”

“I mean, come on yun, maybe this was just a big misunderstanding, I mean he is right about his phone missing I know that for a fact.”

yunjin doesn’t answer, she stares right ahead of her.

yn sighs at yunjin’s silence.

“I wanted to do a movie night tonight if you wanna come, just the two of us.”

“can’t I have a night shift.”

“what’s up with you and all these night shifts lately.”

“I mean who’s gonna make the money between the two of us ?”

“shut up” yn laughed.

the smell of microwaved popcorn fills yns nose as she picks between the horror classics that she’s gonna watch tonight.

“killer clowns in space or bride of chucky.” she whispers to her self. “bride of chucky.”

ringg

yn runs to her kitchen where her popcorn is microwaving, to get the cordless phone.

“hello.”

a low grumbly voice fills her ears. “hello.”

“hi.. I’m sorry I don’t recognize your voice maybe you got the wrong number ?”

she hears shuffling through the other end. “aww, no I think I got the right number.”

“oh really ?”

a deep chuckle fills her ears, you shudder at the sound. “what’s your name ?”

“you have the right number, but don’t know my name ? sorta suspicious.”

“you got me there.” they laugh. “what’s your name ?”

you lean against your counter. “nah, that’s something you gotta earn.”

there silence for a little only the sound of your microwave filling in, “what are you making ?”

“popcorn.”

“for what ?”

“that’s a stupid question, what else do you make popcorn for, a movie nigh duh.”

“oh…, so what type of movie are you watching.”

you sit up. “horror.”

“you like horror.”

“love it.” you say, pressing the phone to your ear. “my best friend on other hand she hates them.”

“I guess me and her have something in common.”

“I guess so…” you trail off trying to figure out a way to end this conversation.

“you never told me your name.”

“didn’t I say, you gotta earn that ?” you ask leaning against your counter again. “why do you wanna know my name so bad anyways ?”

“I wanna know who I’m looking at.”

colour, drains form your face, as you push your self off your counter and rush to your door to make sure it’s locked. “I’ve seen to many horror movies for this.” you say getting ready to hang up.

“wait hang on a second !”

“how about instead of playing these games with me, you play them with your mommy.”

“don’t you dare - - !”

a faint beep sound cuts the deep voice off and yn puts the phone back down.

you walk to check if your back door is locked as well but ringing cuts you off.

you pick up the phone ready to give what you think is a little shit head playing a prank a piece of your mind.

“listen you little shit- -”

“where am I ?” the deep voice cuts her off.

that’s when she hears the foot steps.

“cat caught your tongue sweetheart?”

“I’m gonna ask you again, where. am. I ?”

yn let’s out a shaky sigh. “you’re inside.”

“bingo, you get a gold star sweetheart.”

“turn around yn.”

with that the phone cuts off.

yn slowly turns her body to be faced with a stark white mask, it was thin and terrible looking, the eyes and mouth pulled down dramatically in a frozen scream.

your felt like they were stuck to the ground and before you had anytime to react, you were slammed against and your counter and your vision cut to pitch-black.

you slowly blinked your eyes open, you sat up slightly.

“hey hey- relax.” a familiar voice spoke, and you take in your surroundings, your in a hospital room.

“yunjin ?” you look at the girl sitting beside the bed you’re on.

“I was so worried yn.” she said looking at you with sad eyes. “I was calling you to ask if you still wanted to still do the movie night since I got off work early but you didn’t answer, so I decided to come to your house only to find you passed out.”

she wrapped her arms around you. “what happened?”

then it all came rushing to you, you slowly turn your head towards her. “I saw the guy yunjin, he was in my house, he called me.”

she looked at you confused. “who ?”

“the killer, the one that has been killing everyone I’ve interacted with this past month.”

“he was in your house?”

“yes!” you raised your voice. “stop looking at me like I’m crazy,I know what I’m talking about.”

“okay.” she sighed softly. “we have to tell the police then.

it’s been two weeks since your attack and everything has been hectic, more killings, and yunjin has been super protective lately.

did I also mention more calls one of them he says yn is his “final girl.”

“yoo jimin found dead late last night…”

you sit up quietly and turn up the tv. “yoo jimin as in my lab partner yoo jimin ?”

you continue to listen to the news until you get sick and turn it off.

ding dong.

you rush towards your door and open it, to see a smiling yunjin, “you ready to party?”

yn look away uneasy.

“no-no, you have been locking yourself in your room for last two weeks, we’re going to this party.”

“for a reason.”

“yes, a reason that the police have under control, now come on let’s go.”

music buzzed through yn’s ears as she leans against the wall, cup in hand, yunjin right beside her.

“um hey.” both yn and yunjin looked up the kev. “can i talk to you yn.”

yunjin turned her head to look at you sternly.

“It’s okay.” you said to her and looked at kev. “sure.”

her mouth parted in shock as she watched you walk off with kev.

you and kev talked for a while and you really did feel like believing him, i mean he had so much proof.

“I’m gonna go get a drink.” kev had said. “I’ll be back.”

but he hasn’t been back and it’s been almost 30 minutes and party is starting to end, so many people have left already, so you got up to look for yunjin.

did he ditch you ?

what a dick

soon everyone had piled out but you were still looking for yunjin.

you checked the bathroom only not find yunjin but kev.

dead on the floor, with stab wounds.

“oh my god.” you pressed your hand over your mouth, ran out the washroom only to bump right into someone’s chest.

kai ?

“kai , we need to get help,kev is dead.” you said to him in a rush. “the killer was here or is here.”

that’s when you took in the knife in his hand.

you see a glass plater on the side table, so you do what any rational human being would do, you picked it up and smashed it across his head.

you look at the bleeding kai on the floor for a quick second, before running off.

as you head for the kitchen, you bump into another chest, yunjin.

“yunjin, oh my god, I found kev dead, then found kai only to find out the kai is the killer and then I smacked some glass thingy across his head he might be dead I don’t know.” you let out a deep sigh putting your hands on your knees. “I need to work out more.”

“but that’s besides the point, we need to call the police.”

but yunjin doesn’t say anything, she just stares at you.

“yunjin ?”

then she puts this black speaker up to her mouth. “you get a gold star sweetheart.”

“or should I say, final girl ?”

“no.” you breath out in shock your best friend?

“oh yes.” she smiles at you. “poor kai, he had that fake knife in his hand all night, prank gone wrong am I right” she laughs

“why ?” you back against the kitchen sink as she steps closer to you. “why did you do this ?”

“because you’re special to me yn.” she puts her hand on your cheek. “so special to me.”

“so you kill everyone I’m close with ?” you look at her horrified.

“oh, don’t look at me like that.”

“you’re a killer.”

“so are you.” she replied with a shrug.

“I didn’t know.”

“tell that to the police.” she finally takes her hand from your face.

“remember when I said i wanna get out of this town that one time.” she asks. “and you said you’ll make sure to call me everyday because you don’t want to leave.”

“well, I’m leaving tonight and you’re coming with me.”she tells you.

you shake your head. “no I’m not, why would I go anywhere with you.” you feel tears well up in your eyes.

“you’re coming with me whether you like it or not yn, and we’re gonna live a nice happy life, you have no idea what I’m capable of.”

she looks at the knife rack above the sink, “so do you wanna do this the easy way or the hard way.”

— scream 6 was so good

[ptergwen]

can you do something where an avenger walks in on the reader(stark!) passed out on top of peters chest and they are like gossiping about it the next day(maybe best friends to lovers)?

hm i don’t know how i feel about this one but i hope it came out good :,)

you and peter confessed your feelings for each other recently, which was long overdue. you love him so much and have for a while. ever since your dad introduced you two, you’ve been absolutely inseparable. years of a close friendship filled with game nights and lingering touches. however, you’ve found yourselves wanting more and more the older you get.

it was you who spoke up first. peter blushed so red when he said he felt the same.

now that you’re in boyfriend and girlfriend territory, you two are becoming more intimate. not like that yet. it’s currently with things like kisses and cuddles. anything more, tony would go into cardiac arrest for the nth time in his life. you aren’t even sure how he’ll take the news of you dating.

“so, um...” you’re interrupted by a yawn. a soft smile instantly takes over peter’s face. “you were saying?” “sorry about that. so, i was wondering,” you preface, rolling onto your side to face him. “i know this is new and everything, but can i stay in here tonight?”

peter drapes an arm around your middle with a chuckle. “you ask me that like you haven’t been sneaking in since high school.” he pulls you in closer, you scoffing as you curl into him. “yeah, though. you can stay, y/n/n.” “lovely.” your head settles on his chest, cheek pressed against his t-shirt. “i could fall asleep just like this.”

“that tired, huh?” peter tickles your side with his fingertips. you swat at his hand, a giggle escaping you. “yeah. you’re comfy when you aren’t doing that.” “oops.” he’s smirking down at you even though you don’t see it. “you can sleep on me, if you wanna. i won’t stop you.” you close your eyes promptly, your legs intertwining with his over the covers.

“i love you, pete,” you hum as he kisses your hair lightly. “i love you too, angel. sleep good.” the pet name brings a sleepy smile to your face and warmth to peter’s. you’re quick to fall asleep with him snuggling you close, peter eventually dozing off under you.

the two of you are long gone when sam comes knocking on peter’s door. peter forgot to turn the light off, so sam assumes he’s awake and lets himself in.

“yo, parker. changed my mind. give me some cash and i’ll run to the-“ he cuts himself off at the sight in front of him. there you are, laying peacefully in peter’s arms while snores pass his lips. peter told sam he was seeing someone, but he had no idea it was you. he’d always thought you had more of a brother and sister thing going.

“oh, man. not her... not this.” sam clasps a hand over his mouth to muffle his laughter. well, it’s more like cackling. “i’m walking away,” he whispers to himself. he heads to the door backwards so he can watch you two. he’ll be telling bucky first thing in the morning.

the team gathers for breakfast while you’re still fast asleep, and happily so. sam wastes no time spilling about what he saw last night.

“buck, buck!” he waves bucky over to the empty seat next to him. “sit down. it’s tea time, and the kettle is piping hot.” “i’m drinking coffee,” bucky deadpans, taking the spot nevertheless. natasha rolls her eyes from across the table. “oh, the elderly.” she stirs around her oatmeal, bucky simply sipping from his mug. “don’t mind him. i wanna hear this.”

“ooh, me too,” wanda pipes in, next to nat. “i, too, would like to partake.” vision beams at sam. he’s gathering quite the audience to share yours and peter’s business with. although not what he intended, he isn’t opposed. “okay, but it’s gotta stay on the down low. stark can’t hear a word.” sam makes eye contact with the whole table to stress this.

“last time i heard that one, it didn’t end so great,” bucky huffs and sets down his coffee. sam claps him on the shoulder. “nah, it’s not like that. it’s about y/n.” “ms. stark?” vision shares a look with wanda, who chimes in again. “is she okay? she seems... i don’t know, different.” “please.” natasha grins devilishly. “you guys, she’s glowing. i think she’s just fine.”

sam snaps in agreement. “see, so you noticed! i figured it out, and let me tell you why.” everyone leans in, hanging on his words. everyone except bucky. he’s still skeptical. “her and parker? yeah, there’s something going on for sure.” wanda gasps, and natasha shakes her head playfully. bucky looks at sam with furrowed eyebrows.

“you’re lying. how could you possibly know that?” he wonders, sam only perking up more. “i saw them! in his room, too. they were all over each other last night.” “peter slept here again?” wanda purses her lips. vision answers this one. “mr. parker has been staying over much more recently.” natasha clicks her tongue. “hold on. sam, why were you in the kid’s room?”

“oh! it just gets better, listen.” he snickers before he drops the best part of this all. “little parker of all people asked for help buying condoms, right?” he’s not finished, but bucky is already bursting into laughter at that. wanda’s eyes widen. “i told him no. don’t bring me into that. then, it hit me,” sam goes on.

“let me guess, you were gonna ask for double the money?” natasha concludes for him. he points at her. “i’d scam his ass, yeah. so, i went to tell him i changed my mind.” wanda nods along, fully invested in the drama. “then what?” “i see y/n sleeping on him. put it all together, she’s gotta be his girl! right?” sam asks around the table, bucky raising his hands in defense.

natasha downs a spoonful of oatmeal, unfazed by sam’s realization. “who’s surprised? i’m not.” “i mean, i don’t even care,” bucky finally murmurs. sam elbows him for it. “man, i was waiting to tell you all night.” “i think they’re adorable,” wanda decides, linking her arm with vision’s. “vis, what about you?”

“if i’m not mistaken,” vision holds up a finger. “i believe that ms. stark and mr. parker are having intercourse.” tony picks the wrong moment to join the gang. his heart completely drops out of his chest, like you’d thought it would.

“they’re having what?”

[jadequeen88]

A Waitress’ Worst Nightmare

A/N: Written for the BNHA Degeneracy 9-5 collab! THIS IS 18+ MINORS DNI

Warnings: TW.sexual harassment, TW.oral(recieving), TW.degredation TW.nipple play, TW.Mommy kink

Pairing: busboy!Keigo, linecook!Dabi, f!waitress!Reader

You’re a college student just trying to get by. The biggest worry you should have right now is if you had enough time to finish that psych paper or when you were going to meet up with your calculus study group. Instead, you’ve got a much larger problem facing you...A problem that has permeated through every aspect of your life. Your coworkers were Grade-A-Assholes who decided making your life miserable was on the top of their to do lists.

You thought waitressing at the 24/7 diner downtown would be a breeze. Money was tight and since you were 21 and almost done with your undergrad, you wanted a little more financial independence. Little did you know when the owner hired you that you’d have to work alongside the two biggest shitheads in the city.

First there’s Keigo. To the untrained eye, he could almost seem charming. But you found out pretty quickly what a dick he was. He was working as a “busboy”, but in reality he didn’t do anything but flirt with every woman within his field of vision. Keigo would leave the tables a mess until there wasn’t a clean one left in your station and you’d be forced to do his job for him.

“What, babe? Stop getting your panties in a twist. I’m real busy these days. You know I’m practically running this place now.”

Oh yeah. How could you forget? He took every opportunity to remind you of that fact. Keigo’s dad happened to be buddies with the owner, garnering a sense of trust with the old man. He slowly weaseled his way into running day-to-day operations while the elderly owner stayed home most days.

Although the diner needed another busboy to pick up his slack, Keigo refused to tell the boss to hire another. You overheard a phone conversation between Keigo and your boss just last night:

“Nah, boss. We’ve got it covered here. No need to hire another busboy. The waitresses are just finding reasons to nag. Women, am I right?”

You were fuming.

***

As bad as Keigo was, his friend Dabi was exponentially worse. The line cook was, without a doubt, a drug dealer. The only motive he could possibly have for working there is having a place to do business with his “customers”(and of course, to help Keigo make your life a living hell). It clearly wasn’t because he needed the money since you’d seen his “friends” slip him generous wads of cash when they stopped by the restaurant. If cleaning up Keigo’s messes sucked, trying to put in customer’s orders with Dabi was pure torture. 

“Eggs over easy instead of scrambled? I dunno, Princess. Sounds like it’ll be a pain in my ass. Whatcha gonna give me if I do it?”

Then he’d lick his lips with his long pierced tongue, leering at you over the counter. Gag... You wondered if that ever actually worked in his favor. 

One semi-decent thing you can say about Keigo is that he’d never actually laid a finger on you. The same can’t be said for Dabi. You learned after your first day to wear shorts under the skirt of your uniform. You were behind the counter slicing lemons when he took his spatula and lifted the hem of your skirt. Before you realized what he was doing, he was calling out to his partner in crime.

“Fuuuuuck, Kei! Look at the ass on the new girl!”

You wondered what was going on until you felt a breeze and realized it was your ass that was on display. You’d slapped the spatula away and straightened your skirt, but not before they both got an eyeful of your black, lace panties. You cried for ten minutes in the bathroom after your shift that day.

***

The day you’d been dreading was finally upon you. No, it wasn’t a big test or project due... You had to ask off work for your cousin’s wedding. That meant dealing with Keigo (who was now in charge of making the schedule each week).

You squared your shoulders and went over what you would say over, and over in your head so you wouldn’t stumble over your words when you had to face him. 

“I need to have Saturday off for my cousin’s wedding. I can work the Sunday morning shift instead.”

This was repeated on a loop in your brain as you walked down the darkened corridor towards the office. You let out a long sigh and gently rapped your knuckles against the wooden frame. The sound of shuffling and muffled voices seeped through the thin faux wood and a moment later, the door swung inward. The thick cloud of smoke and strong, skunky smell almost knocked you flat on your ass. Instead of seeing Keigo alone working on the schedule, you saw that he and Dabi were hotboxing in the small office.

Knowing they were back here getting high while you closed the diner by yourself was the last straw. You slam the door behind you and stomp forward to lean over the desk Keigo was propped up behind.

“Listen you shit heads!” you slammed you fists on the desk knocking over a jar of pens. “I am so fucking sick of slaving away in this shit hole while you two get high and fuck off back here. You’re going to let me have Saturday off or I swear to Christ, I’m calling the boss and spilling my guts! About the weed, the drug deals, the snarky remarks, the groping, EVERYTHING! I’ve had enough!”

There was a moment of silence then the two of them burst into a fit of laughter. In a blind fit of rage, you leap across the desk and grab Keigo by the throat. When you made contact and squeezed as hard as your small hand would allow, a whimper escaped his throat and his eyes rolled back.

Now it was your turn to laugh.

“Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me,” you gripped your fingers tightly again to see if you could pull any more sounds from him. He didn’t disappoint. This time it was a whimper followed by him nervously mumbling.

“Heh, Kid... Seriously, knock it off. This shit isn’t funny.”

Your eyes traveled down the front of his body and when they landed on the crotch of his baggy khakis, your suspicions were confirmed. This loser who acted like a certified pussy-slayer popped a boner just from you choking him.

You leaned in close to his face, using this as your chance to get revenge for all the hell he had put you through. “Aww little Keigo... Not used to being roughed up?” you cooed. “Dumb little baby Keigo...I bet if I kept this up, you’d come in your pants like a dirty slut, wouldn’t you?”

You felt movement over your shoulder and heard a deep chuckle. “Dude you’re so pathe-”

Dabi gasped as you grabbed him by the crotch with your free hand and squeezed. He was already hard. You met his eyes and see panic etched across his features. A sadistic grin spread across your mouth as you tightened your grip. His head fell back and let out a whimper almost as needy as Keigo’s. 

“You’re both going to do exactly what I say or I swear, I will tell every girl you ever try to speak to what a couple of pathetic virgins you two are...”

***

“Ungh! Plea-please... Harder! I... I need more!”

*SMACK*

Your hand lands hard across the blonde’s face, drawing a pathetic whimper from his throat. He thrust his weeping cock along your shin whimpering, craving more pressure to relieve his suffering.

“You don’t get to tell me what you need, Keigo. Shut your fucking mouth and be grateful you get this much.”

You throw your head back against the office chair and hum as Dabi eats your cunt like it’s his last meal.

“Mmm... See Keigo? See what a good boy Dabi is being? He knows his stupid mouth is only meant for one thing... Making Mommy’s pussy feel good.”

The praise causes the dark haired man between your thighs to moan into your clit sending a pulse of pleasure through your lower body. The ball of his piercing circles your clit and you feel the familiar ache of an impending orgasm begin to tighten in your belly.

Keigo starts shoving Dabi away from you with a growl. “This is bullshit! I haven’t even had a chance yet!”

Dabi elbows him, ”Fuck off Kei! I almost had her finished off!”

Furious from being jerked back from the edge of your orgasm, you grab a fist full of blonde hair in one hand and black in the other. You pull their flushed faces up to look you in the eye.

“If you want to come at all, you will shut...the fuck...up... and get me off. Now”

Dabi wasted no time in diving back into your dripping slit, panting heavily while he ran his pierced tongue in and out of your swollen entrance. Keigo attacked your neck, whimpering as he planted sloppy kisses down your collarbone until his tongue was licking long stripes up you clothed nipple.

“I think you can do a little better than that, baby,’ you cooed into Keigo’s messy blonde tresses, sweetly tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. He took that as his cue to remove the clothing between your hardening bud and his hot, wet tongue.

Keigo latched onto your nipple, nursing it with vigor while he gently grazed his fingertips over the other. You heard him mumble something into the soft swell of your breast.

“Speak up,” you pull him away from your nipple with a pop, “I didn’t catch that...”

“I-I said... I...”

Your attention was drawn to the man between your legs as he began to suck down hard on your clit. The hand you had wrapped in Keigo’s hair tightened causing him to cry out.

“Mommy! Please! Wanna be your good boy! Wanna make Mommy come...” He sobs as he starts frantically licking and sucking your neglected nipple. This pushes you over the edge and your long awaited orgasm rushes over you. 

After you come down from your high, you push them off and begin getting dressed while the two men you left on the floor look up at you with wide eyes.

Dabi, still panting from eating you so vigorously, chokes out a little half sob.

“But.. where are you goin? We did what you asked!”

“Yeah babe! what the fuck!”

You eyed both men and let the tension hang in the air before turning and walking to the door.

“Give me the whole weekend off. Then we’ll arrange something Monday,” you look over your shoulder, “As long as you don’t piss me off before then..”

You walk out of the office with the biggest grin you’ve had in a long time and feeling a lot more relaxed. Maybe this job was going to turn out better than you expected. 

[fanficimagery]

Hell Takes Riverdale pt. I

Imagine moving to Riverdale while your father has some business to attend to. While there, you meet some people you find yourself growing attached to.

Words: 8.8K Author’s Note: Riverdale AU where FP didn’t go to prison for his crimes and Jughead joined the Serpents because he wanted to. This isn’t exactly Northsider friendly and I’ll be focusing more so on the Serpents, so I won’t go into detail about all the drama the Northside gang constantly puts themselves into the middle of, nor will Jughead be a part of it. I will mention a certain family who lives nearby from another show, but I will NOT be bringing those characters in here. The most you’ll get is what I explain about them in the imagine.

Jughead Jones was notorious for laying low and staying out of the spotlight. At least he was until a murder rocked his small town, Veronica Lodge- along with her criminal family- moved in, and his best friends Betty Cooper and Archie Andrews put together their very own crime solving Scooby Gang. He liked a good mystery every now and then, but the murder of Jason Blossom pointed towards his father's gang and he didn't know how to cope with that.

When FP Jones- Jughead's dad- eventually confessed to the murder, Jughead didn't know what to think. All he knew for sure was that his dad was innocent. So he and his friends did their best to prove Mr. Jones of his innocence, which they eventually did, but given FP's past the police decided to keep him a bit longer.

Jughead Jones was a powder keg waiting to explode, so in a move no one expected, he channeled his anger from the crookedness of their small town Sheriff to the local high school jocks when they decided to target the new girl for laughs. Y/N Y/L/N was a meek little thing, small smiles and small voice whenever called upon. She didn't dress like someone who had money, but then again she didn't dress like she didn't have any either. She presented herself as someone from the middle class which is probably why Jughead felt at ease coming to her defense one day out of the blue.

You're at your locker, putting away your books before you head over to the cafeteria for lunch, when someone shoves their shoulder into your back. You grunt as you collide with the metal in front of you, a few notebooks falling to the floor, and you turn to frown at the culprits. Reggie Mantle and his merry band of jocks laugh at you. "Seriously?" You mumble.

Reggie smirks, shrugging. "I gotta find my entertainment somewhere and what better entertainment is there than the new girl with no voice?" You roll your eyes and bend over to pick up your belongings, only for a sneaker clad foot to kick one of your notebooks away.

"Hey!"

The sound of someone being shoved into the lockers next to you has you looking up, a beanie-wearing, plaid shirt tied around the waist, boy coming to your aide. "What the hell is your problem, Mantle?" Hands fist into the material of Reggie's letterman jacket, slamming him twice against the lockers. "Haven't you ever heard the phrase pick on someone your own size?"

Reggie shoves him back. "Cool it, Jones, less you wanna end up in a cell next to your pops."

He scoffs. "You look real tough picking on a girl. Keep walking, jackass."

Your gaze darts between the two boys, chest to chest with one another, and you practically hold your breath. You can see the other jocks just itching for a fight, but the longer Reggie and your savior stare at one another, the less Reggie seems to be amped up for a fight. He eventually scoffs, smiling. "Whatever. The little mouse isn't much fun anyway."

Reggie goes to walk away, but not before kicking another one of your notebooks further down the hall. You sigh and start collecting your things closest to you once more.

"Hey, I'm really sorry about him. Reggie's a total dick."

You glance at the boy collecting one of your notebooks for you and flash him a small smile. "It's fine. Every school has a bully. I didn't expect this place to be any different."

"Yeah, well.." He trails off, placing the stuff he collected in your locker. "I'm Jughead."

"That's an unusual name," you say. "I'm Y/N."

"Well, Y/N, would you care to join me outside for lunch? I'm kind of alone today and I noticed you don't really sit with anyone either. I'll help keep Reggie off your back," he muses as if his protection would somewhat sweeten the deal.

"Sure. Why not?" You shrug.

Once everything is situated in your locker, you grab the lunch bag that had been hanging from a hook on the inside. Side by side, you walk with Jughead outside and towards one of the concrete picnic tables. He sits down and only then do you realize he had a brown sack clutched in his hand. Immediately he pulls out two smashed sandwiches wrapped in plastic wrap, and unwraps them to start eating.

"So as a token of my thanks," you say while taking a seat across from him and unzipping your lunch bag, "have a fruit cup." You toss him a cool cup of mixed fruit and he happily catches it.

"Thanks." From the corner of your eye, you watch as he stares at you until you start eating your own sandwich and chips. "So Riverdale," he says. "Why here of all places?"

You huff a quiet laugh. Of course you'd heard the whispers about you, curious about your move, but you never spoke to anyone and no one dared to ask you before now. "My half sister lives in Greendale, and she and her aunts were having some personal issues. My dad moved us here so he could help them out, but he wasn't fond of the housing situations Greendale had to offer so we ended up here."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense." He takes a bite of his food. "So are you and your sister close?"

"Not really." Your nose wrinkles. You eat a bit of your own food before explaining. "She kind of hates our dad because he slept with her mom when she was married, but instead of villainizing them both for their mutual decision, she puts all the blame on him."

Jughead shakes his head. "Well that sucks."

"Yep. But she obviously doesn't have a problem calling on him when she's in trouble." You roll your eyes, opening your water and taking a sip. "It's whatever. Riverdale is.. interesting."

"Yeah. It is," he huffs a brief laugh.

Over the next month or so, you and Jughead become actual friends. He attempts to introduce you to his group of friends, but the only one you can actually stomach being around is Archie. Veronica is too nosy, Betty too suspicious, and Kevin rarely hangs out with everyone less it involves a good gossip session. So more often than not, after realizing his group of friends wasn't just your cup of tea, you and Jughead hung out at Pop's Chock'lit-Shoppe.

The retro diner quickly became one of your favorite places in all of Riverdale, but upon entering one Sunday evening and seeing Jughead's expression you know you're not going to enjoy your dinner.

"Uh oh. What's going on with your face?" You ask as you slide in across from Jughead. "You look like you have some bad news."

He grins, shaking his head. "It's not bad. I'm just not sure how well you're going to take what I have to tell you."

"Mhm. Tell me after I've gotten my food." Almost as soon as the words leave your mouth, Pop Tate himself is dropping off your and Jughead's usual order. "Thanks, Pop."

The old man chuckles. "Don't mention it, Y/N. Enjoy your meal."

"Always do." Before any other words can be spoken, you and Jughead squirt ketchup on your respective plates. He steals the cherry from your milkshake and you plop a straw into his Coke to take a sip. The both of you take a bite out of your burgers, chuckling at each other and how at ease the two of you have become with one another. "So what's up?"

"I'm leaving Riverdale High." You pause in chewing and Jughead refuses to meet your gaze. "I'll be starting at Southside High tomorrow morning."

"Oh."

"It's just- my dad's getting out." When he looks up, the excitement in his eyes at the prospect of his dad coming home makes your exterior soften and you start to feel happy for your friend. "He, uh, he's been doing good. Jail forced him to get sober and he's talking about starting over. I'm going to move back in with him."

"That's good news, Jug. I'm really happy for you."

"Are you?" He grabs a fry and quickly dips it into your vanilla milkshake. You chuckle at him.

"Yeah. I mean we mostly hang out here anyway. That won't change, I hope." He's quick to shake his head, letting you know your weekly hang outs at Pop's would still be on. "I'll just have to toughen up and learn how to throw a punch. Reggie and his goons need a nice swift punch to the throat every now and then, I think."

Jughead exhales with relief. "Please let Kevin know beforehand so he can catch it on video for me."

"No promises."

The two of you go on to finish your food, making small talk and promises to keep in touch. Eventually you have to leave, so before you go your separate ways you decide to give Jughead a ride home. And since he's no longer embarrassed to have you over after the first time you'd been over, he accepts the ride with a shrug.

FP Jones has been out of jail for three days and in those three days Jughead has noticed his dad has been a little paranoid. So one day after school, he's had enough and decides to sit down and talk with him.

"What's going on?"

FP glances away from the paper in his hand. "Nothing. Why?"

"Because you're acting weird! Ever since you got out of jail it's like you're constantly looking over your shoulder."

Jughead and FP stare at one another before FP sets the paper down, running a hand through his hair. "Someone's coming to town," he says. "Someone you don't ever want to cross."

"Okay. And?"

"It's worrisome," FP says. "Mr. Morningstar, he's the real deal, Jughead. Expensive suits, expensive cars, posh accent.. this man can be very dangerous."

"Well then round up the Serpents. I'm sure they'll enjoy running this guy out of town."

"Nah." Jughead scoffs, confused as to what his dad's deal is. "Mr. Morningstar is the one who sent one of his lawyers to get me released."

"..oh."

"But Mr. Morningstar doesn't hand out favors without wanting something in return. I don't like being in debt, Jug. Especially to someone like him."

"We'll figure it out, dad. He reached out to you, not the other way around. He can't want something too bad if he came to you first. Right?"

"I don't know, son." FP falls silent, tapping his fingers along the tabletop. "And there's something else you should know."

"What?"

"Mr. Morningstar isn't exactly.. human." Jughead scoffs, but FP shoots him a warning look. "I'm serious. This man is capable of things you wouldn't believe unless you see it in person, but I'm hoping it doesn't come to that. If he comes around, you do as I say. I'll settle my debt with him as quickly as possible and hopefully Riverdale will be in his rearview mirror sooner rather than later."

Jughead doesn't know how to feel at seeing his dad- the Serpent King himself- looking so on edge. He's never seen him so rattled, so it leaves Jughead himself feeling the dread start to seep in.

Every single Serpent inside the Whyte Wyrm was well aware of who Mr. Morningstar was and to be on the lookout for anyone fitting his description. For a week there was no sight or word about him, the same week which Jughead finally decided to throw in with the Serpents and officially become one of the gang. He had texted his friends, some more supportive than others, but he only found comfort in his decision after hearing back from Y/N who held no ill will towards him for wanting to be a Southside Serpent officially.

Jughead is still healing, everyone at the Whyte Wyrm celebrating him completing his initiation.

"Toni," FP calls out, "serve us up some shots!" The petite, pink haired girl behind the bar laughs, she readily grabbing up shot glasses and lining them up along the bar. She fills every shot glass, smiling as her fellow Serpents grab one to await the impending toast. As FP grabs one, he raises it up while staring at his son across the room who's hanging out with a few younger Serpents. "Jughead, while this wasn't the life I wanted for you, it is your decision and you don't know how proud it makes me to have you ride by side. To Jughead!"

"To Jughead!"

The Serpents all whoop and holler, downing their shots in one go.

"Hear, hear," an out of place accent muses. Those closest to the man who seemingly appeared out of nowhere all tense and FP's smile slowly vanishes as he stares at the man who hasn't aged a single year since he last saw him over fifteen years ago. "Well, well. Freedom seems to suit you well, FP."

FP schools his expression. "Mr. Morningstar."

"Call me Lucifer. No need to be so formal."

The Serpents seem to fall silent as FP and Lucifer Morningstar stare at one another. Jughead, seeing the way everyone is holding themselves as the tension amps up, pushes his way through the crowd until he's just behind his dad. "Lucifer," FP says, "why don't you follow me. We'll go somewhere a bit more private."

Lucifer gestures for FP to lead the way. "After you."

FP glances at Jughead over his shoulder, but he doesn't give him any sort of cue to follow. Instead, Jughead follows after them to a table that's not surrounded by any others over by the stage. Once seated, FP stares Mr. Morningstar in the face. "So what brings you to Riverdale? It's been a while since you were last here."

"Ah, yes," he says. Lucifer leans back in seat, smiling. "I originally came to watch a client of mine wreak havoc on your precious little town," at this, FP and Jughead tense, "but someone very important to me made attachments here and I've had to rethink my plans of letting your town burn to the ground."

"A client of yours?" FP's eyes narrow. "Who?"

"I think you know who," Lucifer says. "Annoying little bugger. But as I said before, attachments were made and I had to keep watch over said attachment to see whether or not I approved. And let me tell you, Mr. Jones, I quite liked what I saw."

"Okay?" He drawls. "So what does that have to do with why you're here? Or are you calling in a favor for getting me out?"

Lucifer laughs. "Oh no, FP. You getting out was not my doing." FP freezes. "You see, this someone important to me is my daughter. She's the one who requested you be freed."

"You have a daughter?" FP shifts in his seat. "Why would she want me out?"

"I do. And because one of your little snakelings made quite the impression on her after showing her kindness when he didn't have to." Lucifer raises an eyebrow at FP's completely flabbergasted expression. "This person was and continues to be genuine with my daughter, so I figured I'd step in and help clean up your beloved little town instead of letting it be turned inside out by Hiram Lodge. After all, it seems we're going to be in Riverdale for quite some time now."

FP glances around, but he can't see any of the Serpents being this person in question. Eventually, he asks, "Who?"

Lucifer's gaze darts up over FP's shoulder and lands on Jughead. Jughead's eyes widen. "Me? Who have I-"

"Me, of course." You choose that exact moment to walk out from the back room, ignoring everyone's stare save for Jughead's. You're a bit self-conscious of the black crystallized crown on your head and the skin tight, all black outfit your dad's minions had chosen for you, but you don't show it. The way you're dressed now, Jughead's never seen you this way. "What's wrong, Juggie? Cat got your tongue?"

Your friend gulps as he eyes you up and down. "Y/N?"

"Surprise!" You muse. At his slack expression, your smile diminishes. "It's still me, JJ. No need to be weird now."

FP glances between you and his son as Jughead asks, "Was our friendship even real?"

Your eyes widen. "Of course it was! I was never meant to make friends here," you quickly explain, "but you just couldn't leave me be when Reggie set his sights on me and you- you befriended me for me." Jughead loses some of the tension in his frame. "You didn't talk to me because of who my dad was and what he could do for you. You talked to me because you felt bad for me and then you continued to talk to me because we actually got along."

A beat passes and Jughead eventually sighs. "Don't kid yourself. I only talk to you because you let me steal the cherry from your milkshake." It takes a moment for his words to sink in and when they do you snort. Lucifer chuckles and poor FP has no idea what's going on.

"This is quite fitting, is it not?" Lucifer grins.

FP frowns. "What do you mean?"

"The Serpent Prince and the Queen of Hell. Royalty always seeks out royalty."

You freeze, Jughead's brow furrows, and FP seems to blanch as he comes to a sudden realization. Quick as a snake's strike, you slap the back of your dad's shoulder. "Not here." Then you glance at FP. "Can we continue this talk in a back room?"

He slowly blinks before he snaps out of his thoughts. "Yeah. Let's go."

FP stands and leads the way, and you grin over at Jughead. "Come on. We have some more stuff to talk about."

In a back office, FP and Lucifer have already taken their seats as you and Jughead join them. Instead of sitting, the two of you stand side by side after the door is shut behind you.

"So what exactly is going on here?" FP wonders.

Lucifer glances at you, smirking, and you sigh. You had a feeling he was going to make you explain yourself. "So I noticed instead of scoffing at the queen of hell comment, you blanched." FP hesitantly nods. "So that means you understand my dad is quite.. different."

Lucifer huffs. "I'm the devil, darling. No need to tiptoe around it."

You cringe as he so bluntly puts it out there and nervously gauge the Jones' reactions. Both seem more than a little intimidated and your heart starts to sink. "I'm still me, Jughead. Just a little.. more."

Jughead glances at you. "You're really the daughter of Satan?" You nod. "And this isn't some joke?"

"No. My sister, the one who lives in Greendale, was meant to take the throne," you admit. "But she really does hate my dad and refused it, so it passed on to the next heir. Hell got a little bit stuffy and some of my dad's more important minions were trying to marry me off, so I left with my dad as he dealt with business here. I was supposed to keep my head down until we moved on, but well.." you trail off, smiling softly. "I found that having a friend was quite nice." When Jughead has nothing else to say, you look towards FP. "You've raised a kind son, Mr. Jones. And for that, I'm going to offer you a favor." He seems to straighten up then, glancing worriedly at your dad. "And don't worry, this is a favor from me. I don't do contracts or cut deals like dad does. My favor is a no strings attached type of situation. This is a favor for a friend."

FP and Jughead glance at each other, and you notice FP subtly shake his head. Jughead sighs and looks at you. "Do you promise that me or my dad won't owe you?"

"Jughead," FP warns.

But you only have eyes for your friend as you step towards him and take up his hands within your own. "I swear. You're my friend, JJ. You got Reggie off my back and offered genuine companionship, so let me do something for you."

"You mean like getting my dad out of jail?"

You grin, releasing his hands and shoving at his shoulder. "Oh whatever. I was bored and you seemed like you missed him. Bite me, Jones." Lucifer chuckles and FP looks like he has no idea what's going on. "So come on. Whose life needs ruining?"

Jughead stares at you before shaking his head in amusement. "You're a little too excited to be ruining someone."

"I am my father's daughter."

Jughead stares at you, as if trying to conclude whether you're being genuine or not, and then has a silent conversation with his dad. Eventually FP sighs, cradling his head in his hands as Jughead looks back to you. "I messed up bad, Y/N. When my dad first got put into jail, someone suggested I visit this lawyer- who is also a Serpent- so that she'll guide me on how to get my dad released."

"And the snake double crossed you. Shocking," your dad chuckles.

"Shut up." Lucifer continues to chuckle, mime zipping his lips shut. You look back to your friend. "Go on."

"She gave me advice as a favor and said I'd owe her one someday in the future. I didn't think it through."

"The snake charmer is notorious for collecting favors and blackmailing you into continuing owing her favors," FP says. "She's turning the Serpents into drug runners and using video of my son delivering a crate of drugs as leverage so we don't tell her no."

Lucifer tuts. "That just won't do. Last I recalled, the Serpents were against drug dealing."

"We are," FP says, "but we can't deny her since she has that damn video. It'll be his word against hers."

Expression tightening, you glance between the two Serpents. "Give me a name."

"Penny Peabody."

Immediately you and your dad glance at one another, and you're the first to shout, "Dibs!" At his pout, you grin victoriously. "It's been awhile since I've seen any action. I'll call auntie Maze to collect the guest of honor."

You and Jughead are sitting at Pop's, waiting for your order to be brought out. It's your usual weekend hangout session, as well as a mini celebration for getting the Snake Charmer out of Serpent territory. FP had been a little hesitant around you and your father, but the more he watched you and his son, and you and your dad, he came to the realization that neither he or Jughead would be in harm's way. No one would be less they actually crossed the devil himself, so you were a bit surprised when FP had actually hugged you when you told him Penny would no longer be an issue. Afterwards, he was eager to talk to your dad and figure out a way to get the Southside cleaned up and fix the Serpents' reputation.

Seeing Jug's beanie laying on the table, you grin as you swipe it and quickly put it atop your head. "What do you say, Jones, wanna switch crowns for a day?"

He chuckles as he shakes his head. "I don't think I can pull off your crown." Your nose wrinkles at him as you laugh. "And speaking of crowns, are you going to tell anyone else anytime soon?"

You shrug. "I only talk to you and your dad, and at that your dad already knew about my dad."

"I didn't know anything about you or your dad and you told me."

"You were my friend before you found out about me being Hell royalty. I don't want to just tell anyone and then have them kissing up because of things I could possibly do for them."

Jughead nods in understanding. "I take it, it's happened before."

You touch the tip of your nose. "Bingo, JJ. Demons of Hell are shady assholes. But don't worry, if I befriend more Serpents they'll find out when the time is right."

"Well I think you're going to get your chance now because here come some friends of mine."

"What?"

"Whoa, Jughead, is that you? You've certainly changed from the last time I saw you earlier."

You smile sheepishly as three Serpents come up to your table, the one who spoke sitting next to Jughead while the tall one climbs in between you and the window, and the female sits on your free side. You pull off Jug's beanie and hand it back to him just in time for your food to be delivered. Immediately, Jughead steals the cherry from your milkshake and you take a sip of his soda. Once that's done, you squirt ketchup on your plates before you take a bite of your burgers.

"Well that was freakishly adorable." You glance at the pink haired cutie next to you and she grins. "Toni Topaz."

"Y/N Y/L/N. Well Y/N Morningstar now. I don't have to hide who I am anymore."

"Nice." She then points to the guy beside Jughead. "That's Fangs and the one on your other side is Sweet Pea." You nod at each boy in greeting, bite down on a few fries and steal from Jughead's plate every time he dips a fry into your milkshake. "So how did you and our snake prince become so close?"

Toni steals a fry from your plate and you grin at her. "First of all, I really hope you're not insinuating anything there. Don't get me wrong, Jughead's a cutie but I'd totally seduce Papa Jones before I went after baby Jones."

Jughead groans in disgust, Fangs and Sweet Pea snort, and Toni laughs out loud. "I like you."

"Maybe the sentiment will be returned soon," you say. "And to honestly answer your question, Jug came to my rescue when a few jerks decided I was an easy target at Riverdale High."

Sweet Pea scoffs. "Ugh. How do you put up with those mangy mutts?" It's his turn to steal from your plate, but you merely raise an eyebrow at his audacity before you glance at Jughead as he smothers a laugh.

"By avoiding them at all cost," you say. "Is food stealing a thing with you guys or..?"

"If you're really hungry, I'd hold onto that burger of yours. Fangs is notorious for stealing any and all food left unattended." Toni chuckles as you pull your plate towards you, but that only makes it easier for her and Sweet Pea to continue eating off your plate.

"You're all heathens," you deadpan. "At least Jughead waited a few days before he started eating off my plate."

The Serpents chuckle all around you and you find yourself relaxing in your seat. You knew the Southside Serpents had a bad reputation, but the more time you spent with them the more you realize just how wrong everyone is. The Serpents are some of the most loyal, drama free individuals you'd met and they're only riled up when someone attacks one of their own. And that- that you can respect.

During your lunch break, you're sitting alone and texting back and forth with Toni. Apparently word has gotten out that the Mayor is looking to shut down Southside High because it's unsafe for children, and the plan is to divide every Southside High student between several other high schools. Needless to say, every Southsider is pissed.

You send a text to your dad, asking if he knew what was going on, and he assures you he and Mr. Jones are looking into it.

Your can of Cola gets snatched up and you snap to attention, ready to argue back for your drink. But the sight of a grinning Jughead sitting across from you makes you relax and Sweet Pea straddling the bench right next to you makes you shake your head at them. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Southside High is in chaos," Jughead says. He takes a sip of your soda before setting it back next to your books. "We were at the Wyrm when your dad asked us to collect you."

"Toni's been filling me in," you admit. "Does anyone know if the Mayor is for sure going through with this plan of hers?"

"It's such bullshit," Sweet Pea grumbles. "Yeah the school is shit ever since the Ghoulies started pushing Jingle Jangle on everyone, but it's ours."

"Don't worry, Sweets. Dad's on it. He'll figure something out."

He huffs. "Against Mayor McCoy? Doubt it."

You and Jughead share a knowing glance, and you bite back a grin. "My dad can be very.. persuasive."

"And scary," Jughead mumbles.

"Yes, let's not forget scary," you muse.

"What the hell is this?" The stern question is barked from somewhere behind you and you turn towards the voice. "Cooper dropped your sorry ass and now you're trying to lure in Y/N, Jones? I don't think so, you goddamn snake."

You roll your eyes at Reggie and his friends, and at the fact that the others sitting outside are now staring.

"Watch your mouth, you mangy mutt." Sweet Pea moves to stand, but you place a hand on his knee in order to silently tell him to stay put. He doesn't glance at you, but he does remain sitting.

Instead, you stand and step away from the bench in Reggie's direction. "What's your problem, Mantle? I know for a fact you don't care about me, so what is it about the Southsiders that has you so insecure?"

Reggie seems surprised that you've spoken back and it takes him a moment to school his expression back into one of anger. "Who the hell says I'm insecure?"

"Come on, Reggie," you grin. "You obviously have a hate boner going on for them." Jughead and Sweet Pea snort, and Reggie glares at them over your head. "So what is it? Is it because they're cooler than you? That they're so much more hotter than you and you know for a fact us Northside girls would willingly get on the back of their bikes than in the car mommy and daddy bought for you?"

Reggie sneers down at you. "Of course you'd be a Southside slut."

Jughead and Sweet Pea shout in your defense, rushing to their feet as you blink in surprise at the venom in his tone. But then anger quickly takes over and no one sees as your hand forms a fist at your side. When Reggie smirks at your silence, quick as lightning you change your stance so you can send your fist flying into his throat.

As Reggie stumbles back and gasps for air, Sweet Pea grabs you by the arm and then you're running. Sweet Pea and Jughead are laughing as they run for their bikes and you readily climb on behind Sweet Pea since he still had a hold of you. Two engines rumble to life simultaneously and you wrap your arms around Sweet Pea's waist, ducking your face behind his back so the wind doesn't sting your eyes.

When the three of you finally come to a stop, you're not in the Southside yet but you are well away from Riverdale High. The engines cut off and you finally pick up your head, and it's quiet for a few moments before Jughead starts to laugh once more.

"You actually punched Reggie in the throat." He shakes his head in amusement at you. "I did not think you were capable of ever hitting someone."

Sweet Pea chuckles. "You do know you left behind all your belongings. It's gonna be trashed by the time you go back for it."

You shrug. "The only thing worth saving was my phone and it's in my back pocket. A backpack can be replaced, and besides I think it's time Riverdale High and I take a break from one another."

Jughead and Sweet Pea's amusement slowly fades. "Wait. What?" Jughead asks. "You're dropping out?"

"No." You huff a laugh. "Transferring."

"Transferring to where?"

"Southside, you dimwits." You squeeze Sweet Pea when he scoffs at you calling him a name, letting him know you didn't actually think he was a dimwit. "I'm so over the drama of Riverdale High. I need a change. And if I want to go to Southside to be with my favorite people, do you really think my dad will let the school be closed down?"

"You really have that much faith in your old man, huh?" Sweet Pea asks.

"I do. And you should too." Jughead glances at you when you say that and you subtly shake your head at him. Soon, you mouth at him. "Now come on. Let's go see what my dad wants. I feel like going out tonight so I need to finish whatever task he has for me and make sure Toni is free."

The small gang of friends find themselves at Pop's diner once again, you being squished between Sweet Pea and Toni while Jughead and Fangs sit across from you. You and Toni share a plate of cheese fries, half of your burger having been stolen by Fangs and you steal sips of Cola from both Jughead and Sweet Pea since Sweets had finished your milkshake. When eating with them, you quickly learned extra food had to be ordered because once a plate was set down it was basically a free for all.

You're laughing at Fangs' affronted expression, from when he tried stealing cheese fries from you and Toni and you both had slapped his hand, when the bell above the door jingles. Your gaze is drawn to the group that enters, your mood souring just a tad when Archie, Betty, and Veronica enter. They glance around the diner for a booth and upon setting sights on your group, Archie chooses a booth not far from yours.

Toni nudges you to show you a message on her phone, lightening up the mood right away. But every now and then your attention is brought back to the Riverdale High group, and you can't help but notice the longing looks Betty keeps throwing at Jughead. And the fact that Jughead keeps glancing over his shoulder until he finally gets up, Betty following him seconds later to join him at a different booth.

"Did I miss something?" You ask when your friend is out of earshot.

Toni huffs. "They're doing that whole on again, off again thing. It's tiring," she says.

You frown as Jughead and Betty start talking, heads ducked close to one another, but then quickly avert your attention back to those sitting with you. You don't really have anything against Betty, but that girl attracts drama like crazy and you would rather not see her drag Jughead into it again.

The four of you left in the booth amuse yourselves while finishing off the remainder of your food, and you make sure that all your plates are stacked with the trash compiled on top so the busboy has little to no cleanup after you leave. But while you're still sitting there and waiting to see what Jughead is going to do, you can't help but overhear Veronica's obnoxious voice filling in her boyfriend Archie about all the great changes supposedly coming to Riverdale soon.

"I mean it's no longer a secret mommy and daddy are buying up property, Archiekins, but can you blame them?" Toni, Sweet Pea, and Fangs all tense, Fangs trying his hardest not to look in their direction. "The Northside is flourishing under their management and soon the Southside will too. We just have a few more hoops to jump through before we can start tearing down and rebuilding."

Having heard enough, you tap Sweet Pea's arm. "Move." Fangs widens his eyes at you and Toni giggles, she loving your more aggressive behavior. Sweet Pea stares at you for a moment before he grins, sliding out of his seat so you can follow right after him. Then taking a few steps towards Veronica and Archie's both, you stop and address the entitled teen. "Consider those hoops everlasting," you say. "Lodge Industries will no longer be buying up any property in Riverdale."

Veronica scoffs, smirking a second later. "And who the hell do you think you are to have any say so in my family's dealings?"

This time you smirk and you mentally cheer when you see her own falter. "Tell daddy dearest the Morningstars say hello. Lucifer will be in touch soon." You reach forward as Veronica's expression completely falls, stealing the cherry from her milkshake and catching the red, plump flesh behind your teeth and plucking the stem free. Letting the stem drop onto the table, you glance over your shoulder and gesture for your friends to follow. They do, chuckling all the while you walk towards the door. But before you walk out, you look over at Jughead and catch his attention. "Hey, JJ, we're heading out. Call me if you need a ride."

"Oh, uh, I'll come with." Betty quickly glances at him and for a split second you feel bad for her. "We're done here anyway." He slides out of the booth, ignoring Betty's frown as he makes his way towards you and his fellow Serpents.

Sweet Pea jostles Jughead, the two boys shoving each other lightly and laughing as the five of your exit. Everyone piles into your small SUV and it's not until Toni is comfortably seated in the passenger seat does she ask, "How serious were you with that threat back there? Can your dad really stop Lodge Industries?"

You slowly start to grin as you back out of your parking space. "Hiram Lodge is one of my dad's clients," you admit. "They have a.. contract of sorts, and Mr. Lodge is rich because of that. But my dad is starting to cut ties with some old clients of his and I'm pretty sure the Lodge's time up on that little pedestal of theirs is coming to an end."

"Sweet," Sweet Pea says from the back seat. "Hey, if your dad buys the school do you think you can ask him to put doors back on the bathroom stalls?"

You and Toni both snort, and you nod your head. "Sure, Sweets. I'll see what I can do."

          - - - - - - - - - - 

At the Whyte Wyrm, Sweet Pea and Fangs make a beeline for the pool table. Toni heads for the bar, her shift about twenty minutes from starting, and Jughead gets pulled into a conversation by some elder Serpents. Glancing around the bar, you don't see either man you want to speak with so you head for the hallway near the back wall where you know it leads to an office. A couple Serpents guarding the hall nod at you and let you pass without a word.

When you come upon the shut door to FP's office, you knock a couple of times and wait for confirmation to enter. A moment passes before his gruff voice is calling out that exact confirmation.

Opening the door, you walk right in and aren't surprised to see your dad in there as well. You smirk, happy to know he found a mortal he felt comfortable enough to share his identity with and that said mortal didn't go running for the hills. "FP. Dad," you greet. "Just the men I was looking for."

FP leans back in his chair as you take a seat across from him. "What can I do for you, Y/N?"

"Well first, I need to know your opinion about Sweet Pea, Toni, and Fangs." You then turn to look at your dad. "And depending on FP's answer, I need to know-"

"Your first orgy," your dad coos. "I approve. Especially the tall one. He'd make an excellent consort."

"I'm sorry, what?" FP glances between you and your dad, disbelief in his features.

You sigh, closing your eyes and pinching the bridge of your nose. "Dad, no. Just no," you say. When your eyes flutter back open, you say, "What did I tell you about speaking of orgies so freely in front of mortals? It's weird. Especially since you're my dad. You're not supposed to approve of these things."

"Well fine. Have it your way." Lucifer leans back in his seat, resting his right ankle atop his left knee and taking a sip of his drink. "Probably for the best anyway. Naamah will be upset if you deny her the chance to plan your first orgy."

"Oh my god."

FP finally laughs, shaking his head as if he can't believe what he's hearing. Your dad pouts and you give your attention to FP once more. "The baby snakes are a loyal bunch," he says. "I've had some older Serpents question you and your father's presence here within the Wyrm, but Jug and the others were quick to defend you. Why do you ask?"

Here you look back to your dad. "I want to come clean to them. Jughead knows about me and it's getting tough to censor what I say in front of the others when we all hang out."

Lucifer salutes you with his glass tumbler. "You're the Queen of Hell, darling. You can tell whoever you want."

"Good to know." You push up from your chair, smiling at both men. "Oh and I want Southside High. Veronica Lodge and her family are trying to tear the Southside down and rebuild, but I feel like throwing a wrench into their plans."

Lucifer raises an eyebrow at you. "And how do you suggest going about that?"

"By befriending Mayor McCoy, of course." FP snorts, but you continue on as if you didn't hear him. "She seems like a decent lady when the Lodge's aren't blackmailing her into doing their bidding. Give her a little taste of power, no strings attached and without letting her know your true identity, and show her you're an ally. I have a feeling she'll drop the Lodge's in a heartbeat."

FP grins, shaking his head. "You really are your father's daughter."

You glance at him and smirk. "Duh. Now carry on. I'm going to be with Toni behind the bar."

          - - - - - - - - - - 

The Whyte Wyrm is as busy as always and you happily find your place behind the bar with Toni. She serves up the drinks as you walk around, cleaning glasses and/or wiping down the bar top. Every now and then you catch your dad or FP's eye, and they signal for a round of drinks that Toni readily makes before walking a tray over to them. You then watch your boys from afar, laughing when Jughead catches your eye and purposefully makes Sweet Pea miss his shot while playing pool. Sweet Pea is apparently a very sore loser, but you can't help to think that he makes a really cute sore loser.

When Toni returns and sees where you're looking, she sidles up to your side while cleaning a glass in her hand. "So, uh, I think I should apologize."

You look at her. "For what?"

"Earlier at Pop's, when I told you Jughead and the Cooper girl were on again/off again, you looked like someone kicked your puppy for a moment there."

"Did I?" You chuckle, shrugging her words off. "It's fine. Jughead has become a really good friend to me and I'm not exactly Betty's biggest fan. They say southsiders are nothing but trouble, but those northsiders have caused a lot more trouble than any of you have. I don't want to see him be dragged into their messes again."

"Oh," she drawls. "Okay. I just thought that you were upset because she and Jughead were together again and you had missed your shot or something."

"No." You laugh. "And besides, I kind of have my eye on another Serpent, but I don't think he likes me that way."

Toni rolls her eyes. "I don't think FP is into jailbait. Sorry."

You snort, shaking your head in amusement. "A girl can dream."

Over the next couple of weeks, you get well acquainted with the power struggle between the Ghoulies and the Southside Serpents within the high school. The school is practically run down, there's no privacy within the graffitied walls of the bathrooms, and a little less than half the student population have no issue taking drugs out in the open while standing in the hallways. Not a single one of your favorite Serpents lets you out of their sight, and though you don't need their protection you welcome it. And their loyalty towards you is what leads you to take that final step in finally telling your other three friends the truth.

Walking up to the Jones' trailer, you stomp up the steps and pound on the door. A few seconds later the door opens and FP raises his eyebrows at you as he's pulling on a leather jacket.

"Y/N?"

"Hey, FP. Is JJ home?"

"Yeah. Come in." He opens the door wider and you step in, heading for the couch. "Is everything okay?"

"Peachy." You grin. You plop down in the corner of a couch, crossing one knee over the other. "I just finally decided to tell the others the truth and I wanted to see if Jughead would be there for me in case things go south."

A look of understanding passes over FP's features and he smiles kindly at you when he notices your bit of nerves. "It'll go fine. If Jug and I didn't run, neither will these three little shits." You grin at him. "Now I should get going. Will your dad and I be seeing you later?"

"Depends on how well my little bombshell is taken."

"Alright." FP heads towards the kitchen, calling down the only hallway in his trailer. "Hey Jug, Y/N is here so put some clothes on before you come out."

FP smiles at you one last time before he exits his trailer and it's not until his bike's engine outside roars to life does Jughead exit his bedroom from the back. "What's going on?"

"It's time to tell the other baby snakes about my heritage."

He blinks. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." You nod, momentarily second guessing yourself. "Yeah," you then say more confidently. "I think the longer I wait now, the higher the chance of them being pissed at the fact that I kept something like this from them."

"Okay. Where are we doing this?"

"Quarry?" You wonder. "We need privacy, but not too private that they feel trapped should they not take the news well."

Jughead exhales quietly. "Quarry it is. My bike or your car?"

"Your bike. Text Toni and the guys. I just need to grab my bag from my car."

Jughead is pulling on his jacket as he gestures for you to join him by the door, then pulling on his infamous crown beanie before pulling out his phone to text the others. He heads to his bike while you head for your car, opening the passenger door and pulling out your messenger bag. Draping the bag strap over your head and across your chest, you close the door and lock up before pocketing the keys.

When you sidle up to Jughead, he hands you his only helmet and you readily pull it on before climbing on behind him. He's not normally a crazy driver, so you loosely wrap your arms around his waist and enjoy the short ride to the quarry.

You and Jughead are the first to arrive, walking towards a spot that seems to have frequent visitors. Seats torn out from vehicles and a few crates form a half circle around an unlit barrel just off to the side of the water, and Jughead wastes no time in lighting up the barrel since it's a little chilly out.

Placing your bag on one of the seats, you walk towards the fire and hold your hands over it to warm up. Then about five minutes later, the rest of your friends show up.

"What's going on?" Sweet Pea asks as his gaze darts between you and Jug. As he sees you warming up, he stops by your side and wraps an arm around your shoulders to offer some of his warmth. Toni and Fangs stand on the other side of the barrel, warming themselves up briefly before taking a seat.

"I, uh, I have something I need to tell you guys. It's going to sound incredibly insane, but I need you to trust me when I say I am no threat to you." Sweet Pea frowns down at you and he only takes a seat when you nudge him towards the others. Jughead grabs your bag and hands it to you, and you smile faintly in thanks. Then opening the flap, you remove your crown and let your bag fall before hesitantly putting the crown on. Clearing your throat, you say, "When you guys first saw me, I was wearing this."

Fangs grins. "We thought you were just another spoiled little daddy's girl."

You grin back. "I mean I am," you shrug, "but the crown actually means something."

"Are you trying to tell us you're royalty or something?" Toni chuckles. At your neutral expression, her smile falters. "Y/N?"

You inhale shakily, glancing at Jughead who gives you an encouraging nod. "Whenever people meet my dad, I'm well aware that they think his given name is rather unfortunate." Sweet Pea snorts, grinning. A couple older Serpents at the Wyrm made it no secret when making fun of your dad's name. "But what if I told you that my dad really is the Lucifer Morningstar?" Your serious, yet nervous, expression makes the other three go still. "That I'm literally the daughter of the devil?"

The only sounds you can hear are the chirping crickets and crackling fire until, "You really buying this, man?" Sweet Pea scoffs. You briefly glance at him to see he's staring at Jughead who's still by your side.

Jughead nods, his arms crossed over his chest. "I am. My dad knew something was up with Lucifer before they outright told us the truth. He's known for years, but Lucifer wasn't a threat to him then or now so he didn't make a fuss about it."

Sweet Pea frowns. He doesn't look scared or pissed, but he doesn't look impressed either. "Why are you telling us this now?"

"That first night, my dad let FP and Jughead in on our secret because he saw how I trusted Jug and wasn't planning to leave Riverdale anytime soon. We trusted the Jones' and they now trust us. The circle of people in the know was meant to stay as small as possible, but then you three," you pause, huffing and smiling sadly as you meet each of their gazes, "wormed your way under my skin and I knew I couldn't keep a secret this big from you anymore."

"So your dad really is the devil?" Fangs asks. His gaze is set on the flames just barely dancing over the rim of the barrel, an expression on his face you can't quite decipher.

Sighing, you let your left hand wave back and forth over the flames. "My dad really is Lucifer Morningstar." You hold your hand still then, the flames engulfing your hand. Someone gasps, but you don't look up until you say, "And I'm the Queen of Hell."

"Oh fuck."

Fangs immediately shoots up, stumbling behind his seat. Sweet Pea's expression has completely shut down and Toni stares with wide eyes. Without having to look in a mirror, you already know your eyes have gone pure white and the picture you paint with the crown atop your head can look quite daunting.

"I'm still me- the same girl you've been hanging out with for a while now." You swallow down the hurt you feel at their speechlessness. "But.. I will understand if this is too much. All I ask is that this little revelation doesn't leave the circle." Still your friends say nothing and fight against the burn behind your eyes. "I'm sorry."

As quickly as you can, you bend over to pick up your bag. Shouldering the strap, you turn to walk away when Jughead calls out. "Y/N.."

"It's fine," you say and cast him a small smile. "I'll pick up my car later. I'm going home."

"Let me give you a ride home at least."

You shake your head. "I'll manage." And with that, you turn and walk away, letting a swirl of flames whisk you away.

Maybe you should have waited, dropping hints here and there to ease them in. But as you appear in your room, you drop onto your bed and let the sadness swallow you whole. What's done is done. All you can do is hope for the best now.

[hotwings0203]

This is so utterly stupid but I have a few HC’s about Muslim Dabi(again obv this isn’t canon I just think it’s funny)

-Dabi would def be the type of Muslim dude who claims to be super religious cuz he never eats pork and “goes to the mosque to pray”(which is actually just code for hitting a blunt in the back of the parking lot w Hawks and Shigaraki💀), but yet smokes^^ and still has hella sex with like every other girl who bats her lashes at him from across the dining hall

-he also is a big cat lover, he claims since the Prophet Muhammad had cats of his own it’s sunnah to keep one

-on Eid namaz he’s the most dripped out one at the session, I’m talking black kurta dress, nice ass watch, slicked back hair...but funny enough, no one has actually seen him in line for the prayers themselves

-if he were back at home with the rest of the Todoroki’s, he’d most definitely be THE MOST spoiled one. Fuyumi would get on his ass for not cleaning the dishes, but he’d wave her off and tell her it’s training for her to be a better housewife for her future husband(cue a soapy sponge thrown at his head)

-Snitches.Constantly. Bro like this dude catches Shoto on his phone when he’s supposed to be doing a dua? Boom, instant callout followed by a long ass lecture about how he’s straying away from his religion and how he’s going to hell just because he spent one measly moment on his device instead of praising da lord

-Hes also always telling fuyumi to cover up her sleeves that come just a bittt before her wrists, claiming that she’s showing too much skin(especially when Hawks is over, that fucker’s got his eyes on every single one of his family members). But she’s quick to point out his secret tattoos, piercings, and hair dyes. He just scoffs and pulls the “women were created lesser than men so it’s okay for me to act a fool but not for you” card🙄stg I can’t stand him

-Since he’s the closest to Natsu, he’s always giving Eid money to him the most. The dude will slouch against his favorite brothers’ door, watching him play 2K. “What do you want?” Natsu asks with no real malice, not taking his eyes off the changing screen, furiously clicking away on his controller. “Mom says you gotta iron your clothes, Fuyumi’s doing her own so she can’t do yours as well. Oh, and Eid Mubarak by the way.” Natsu pauses him game and stands to stretch his arms above his head, groaning at the tendons popping in place on his back. “Yeah man, you too-what’s that?” He points to a fat parcel in Touya’s hand. The white-haired boy grins and chucks the bulging package at him, which Natsu catches easily. His eyes widen when he tears open the cream-colored paper envelope and reveals dozens of bills exceeding the usual 5-10$ family limit. “Yo, what-how-thanks Touya!” He sputters, throwing the package on his bed and throwing an arm around his brothers’ back in a man-hug. Touya rolls his eyes and barely suppresses a smile at Natsu’s excitement,(something he’s always wanting to be the source of) pounding his back to let go before he asphyxiates. He lets go and Touya smirks before heading towards the door, calling out over his shoulder, “Oh, and I’d thank Sho-turd as well while you’re singing my praise.” Natsu stops in his tracks and looks suspiciously at the withdrawing slender figure. “Why?”. Touya’s voice is distant as he moves to close and lock his door. “‘Cuz it’s his money after all.”

-The two brothers are always waking up at Sehri the earliest in Ramadhan, just so they can scarf down a majority of the food in the fridge and go to sleep without having to interact with the rest of their family at sunrise. And in the case that their family DOES wake up in time to see them chomping down food made for a WHOLE FAMILY and not just two boys, Touya is quick to grab his keys and jacket and cackle that him and Natsu are going to iHop to eat some more. Natsu ofc is quick to follow pursuit, throwing an apologetic grin towards his parents and other siblings.

-When they’re at the mosque and Enji has somehow bullied him enough to sit the hell down and actually ATTEND the lectures for once, Touya still has one up his sleeve. Planned out strategically, he always simpers to Rei that he wants to donate to the mosque, causing her eyes to water and a handful of cash thrown his way, her voice wobbly as she praises her son for actually taking the foundations of his religion seriously. Unbeknownst to her however, this just means that he’ll take a little bit more than he gives. Hawks will be standing at the front of the hall, bowing his head and using his silver tongue to graciously thank the many men and women who come forth to drop their allowance into the money basket. When he sees his best man approaching, he has to stop the smug grin from reaching his ears, instead slanting his brows and holding the basket out to the now black-haired thief. “Glad to see you’re taking eternal damnation seriously, for once,” Keigo flashes his perky whites and Dabi drops Rei’s money into the donation basket, dipping his hand a little lower for a second. “Glad to see you’re still standing here like some busboy peasant, as usual,” he fires back, the two boys catching each other’s eyes and stifling their cackles as the patched hand withdraws, a copious amount of bills in his hand, more than what he put in.

-100% steals shoes. Usually you hear about older men doing this, but age aint nothin’ but a number to Dabi, baby. “Nice kicks,” he nods to a boy Natsu’s age, noting the blue and black minimalist patterns adorning the shoes. The boy recognizes Dabi as one of the most revered figures at the mosque (and the most featured by adults. Who’d want their kid hanging out with the eldest Todoroki as an influence?) and bobs his head excitedly, spewing out the manufacture and release dates of the shoes. Dabi looks at the fanboy amusedly, continuing to lean against the shoe rack as more people crowd around and start to push the boy inside. “See you later Dabi!” The eccentric kid calls out as he’s pushed into the hall by grumbling uncles. The ravenette snickers fo himself, “Yeah, but you won’t be seeing these shoes anytime soon.”

-A notorious playboy in the community. Uncles glare at him, unable to scold him outright for his shenanigans due to his father’s close presence, and aunties steer their children away from him at dinner parties. Speaking of, Dabi’s at a dinner right now. He’s lighting up a joint in amongst 3 mesmerized girls sitting on the floor in front of him and 2 jealous dudes his age in a locked room, away from all the screaming little kids. “Wow Dabi, doesn’t it burn?” The youngest of the three girls asks him with imploring eyes. He smiles a charming smile down at her and he thinks he sees the other two swoon. “Nah, sweetheart, you get used to it after a little while. Don’t be like me though, keep yourself pure and clean,” he shoots a wink at them and they giggle, faces turning red. The other two boys sitting at the far end of the bed scowl at his successful flirting, but Dabi doesn’t care for any of them, honestly, they’re just target practice. Right as he inhaled the fumes of another puff, a little body throws itself at the door, banging its fists on the wood. “It’s time for food!” They all jump at the intrusion and chuckle as the intruder runs away, containing to scream about food being served. The group gets up to leave and exits through the door, but Dabi takes his time. He wasn’t done with his joint, and he has to waft the smell away anyways when he leaves. He’s opening a window to let out some air when he heads a soft shuffle from behind him. “Shows over guys, go eat-“ but when he turns around, the oldest girl of the three stands before him, fiddling with her hands and looking at the floor. “Um, Dabi? I know you said not to try it out by ourselves so...I was wondering if you could-if you could teach me how...?” She looks at the half-used roll in his hand, and he looks from the blunt to her face. He looks behind her. A closed door. Perfect. Taking a step forwards, he relishes in how she takes a hesitant step back, the breath in her throat catching but she still doesn’t back down. She looks to him like he’s a god, and he feels like one right now. And so he steps closer until she’s backed against the wall, his lids lowered to her wide ones, and he placed a hand next to her head. “Didnt your mom ever tell you not to take things from strangers?” He ghosts by the shell of her ear, and she shivers. “She never told me the strangers would be this hot,” and he has to laugh a bit at her tenacity. He pulls away and flops back on the bed, signaling for her to join him. “Well come one then, I’m hungry, better hurry up before I change my mind.” And 5 shotguns later, Dabi barely wipes off her bright pink lipstick from his face and straightens his kurta along with his hair before bounding down the steps, eager for food. At his command, she comes down a minute after him as to not cause any suspicion, but it doesn’t stop Rei from shooting him a knowing glare from the living room as he piles his plate with food. He shoves a veggie roll in his mouth as he turns to join the boys in the dining area, but his path is blocked by a large woman. “I know you’re up to no good. The children told me what funny smell was coming from the room upstairs, and I know you’re to blame, Touya Todoroki. I respect your mother a lot so I won’t make a scene here-“ he interrupts her, mouth half full with a roll, “-I mean, you already kinda are,-“ but she continues her tirade. “-I don’t think you’re a good influence on these kids, especially your siblings. What self respecting family would be okay with their son acting like a hooligan, having piercings, smelling like weed?” He smirks and swallows before swerving around her. “I don’t know Aunty, why don’t you ask your daughter? She didn’t seem to mind my, ah, influence.”

-When they were all younger, there was a time where End*avor wanted the boys the toughen up a bit and stop messing around so much. He brought the family up to the mountains in a nice cabin, purposefully choosing an area with farms nearby. It was around the time of Eid-e-Adha, so naturally goats and sheep’s were going to be sacrificed for the family feast. Touya already knew what was going on, so Enji left it up to him, a scrawny preteen boy to take over the initiation. Fuyumi wanted to come to the farm too, but Touya glared at her and told her to stay home because “girls are too emotional for this.”(he really did think that, but above all he held a secret soft spot for his only younger sister). Natsu and Touya both started heading down to the field to pick out a goat, and ofc little Shoto wanted to come along to. He begged and begged for his older brothers to bring him along and to not leave him at home for once, and with a sly glance to Natsu, Touya relented. He leaned down to Shoto’s eye-level and asked with serious eyes, “You sure?”. Shoto nodded eagerly, standing straight up as to look more solemn and mature. Natsu held back a snicker and grabbed Shoto by the collar as they dragged him out to the pasture. Oh, the little boy was in heaven among the bleating sheep and fluffy coats. “Go ahead, pick one out!” Touya said eagerly, nodding to the clueless toddler to choose a sacrificial sheep. And so the heterochromatic child pointed to one, looking to his big brothers for assurance, to which they gave an excited nod. Shoto yelped with glee and spent the rest of the afternoon frolicking with the soon-to-be-mutton chops, completely oblivious to its grim fate and creating a bond with the animal. So when it was finally sunset and the time came to start preparing for the feast, Touya walked over leisurely to Shoto, pushed the grubby hand away from the animal’s collar, and started pulling the creature towards the chopping block. “W-what’re you doing?” Shoto asked uncertainty. “Well, we gotta eat, right? Thanks for picking out such a fat sheep, ‘wonder how it’s gonna taste,”. The eldest grinned with malice at his youngest brother, who started to sniffle and ball his fists. “You’re lying! Leave it alone!” He cried out. “Nope, m’not lying, ask Natsu.” Natsu turns to Shoto and shrugs his shoulders without any real regret. “You’re the one who wanted to come along, right? Think of how proud dad will be of his favorite-he finally sacrificed his first sheep!”

-the first time he was ever asked to lead the namaz, Keigo and Tomura kept kicking the back of his legs so he would fall over while trying to recite the prayers, and in turn he’d immediately whip around in the middle of the whole damn hall and shoot fire at the two howling boys. Needless to say, he was never asked to read again

(one would think since Dabi knows sooo much about being a gOoD mUsLim and how to follow the rules he’d take some of that advice HIMSELF)

[hitoshisbabygirl]

WHEWWWW CHILEEE 🥵😳👀

After a certain conversation I saw from the lovely @mythiccheroacademia about a bass voice induced/hood(ish) Tamaki I HAD to write this idea. I feel like he’s still be shy but let the right one say down outta pocket shiii...the black force energy is ACTIVATED and he’s not backing down from a fight 😌

So I write this up , I hope it’s okay sskksndkdn it’s really my first official black!reader with a character 🥺 (also me admitting how much I love Cece and her works with this here 👉🏾👈🏾)

Paring(s) : Tamaki Amajiki x Black!reader

Word count: roughly 2.4K

Warnings ; LANGUAGE LANGUAGE LANGUAGE. Just some explicit language of tama telling off hoes ✨ jealous and hot under the collar tamaki of sorts 😌 yes tamaki is older, they’d both graduated and currently in a pro hero company

Don’t play with me// T. Amajiki

It was just a day out with your loving boyfriend Tamaki. The two of you had been dating for a while. Now in the summer of no classes and no extra hero work to do , the two of you decided to do way more together; dates, game nights, other festivities you name it the shy boy went along with it. To the surprise of you both, your two cousins and big brother decided to have a surprise trip to Japan to see you, and to meet the man who stole your heart. They were rough around the edges, tattoos as far as the eyes could see, but to you, they were who you grew up with, the fun and adrenaline filled things y’all did made up your childhood and life until you transferred to U.A wanting to strengthen your own quirk and be a hero , plus you always wanted to visit japan, you being prepared already, almost outstanding in your Japanese, and loving the culture you could experience first hand there.

And that’s where you met a very shy but handsome Tamaki Amajiki. Surprising most around him the two of you hit it off, understanding eachother and quietly talking to yourselves about whatever topic that came up. It was evident to his friends, especially his best friend Mirio that he had fallen for the exchange student from across seas, who stole his heart and made him more confident. Getting that confidence boost made him ask you out, and now you two were a happy couple of 2 years, going on to a lifetime.

Which brings us to the current time, it too you at least a half hour for him to come from your shared room to meet his other family to be. After the first tedious round of talking , the boys were getting along, Tamaki trying (and failing) to fit in with your more aggressive brother. Sighing you called out to them “Aye, I’m gonna get some food, want anything?” With calls of ‘nah’ and full meals you sighed, taking down who wanted what and leaving . They planned to be here a week or two, and that alone wasn’t bad. They just could be...hot under the collar and with them having explosive quirks, you didn’t want a fight breaking out from someone looking at their “little sister” wrong.

The weeks went by too fast, the five of you having a lot of fun together, exploring and just catching up on what you missed back home. Giving you a hug each of them told you how much they loved you and would be back while you were still on break. Giving your brother a suspicious look he laughed “ Don’t worry , mama’s coming up too, she misses her baby” he said as you laughed “ I was just curious on how you got the money to keep coming back and forth here to see me” “I got that promotion at the construction company, more money, and way better hours” he laughed as you gave him a bigger hug “and you’re just now telling me as you leave, you ass” giving you one last look he smiled, throwing a hand up at your usually timid boyfriend “I’ll see you later G ight? Don’t forget what we talked about and what we taught you yeah?” He said as Tamaki did the same back , giving a surprising “I got it” back to him as they walked down the driveway to their cab. “What did he tell you?” You questioned as he gave you a uncharacteristic smirk, kissing your forehead “don’t worry about it sweetheart”

As the next few vists happened throughout the year you realize tamaki was becoming more and more like your brother, less timid and more dominant over conversations, but your soft and loving tamaki never left, if anything it got stronger. He took you out to the mall to shop, wanted to do more outside dates and loved picking out cute outfits with you. He enjoyed the ink adorning your skin even more than he did when he first saw it, asking for you to help him pick out something for him eventually. “Okay who are you and what did you do with tamaki?” You questioned one day when he came home, giving you your usual kiss as he came in the door. Except it was nothing like you had before, he put his hand under your chin and tilted you until you were in your tippy toes to keep the kiss as deep as he started, his other hand dangerously low on your back as he gave your ass a squeeze, chuckling as you gasped, pulling away with a smug look “Hey doll what’s up? How’s your day been?” He asked as he slid past you, Ignoring the shocked look on your face “Tamaki how are you feeling? Are you alight you’ve never been this..forward” tilting his head he came over to where you were , standing in your shared kitchen with your bottom lip in your mouth. Grinning he pulled it from your teeth, giving you another peck “You shouldn’t be teasing your bottom lip, that’s for me to do” he whispered as you gasped, burying you face into his wide chest. “Nothings wrong with me sweetheart, I just..realized how valuable you are to me. You’ve always been but...I know to what level of a queen I have as my girlfriend yknow?” The iconic shy Tamaki made an appearance , making you look up to him. He was shy but he was confident behind what he was saying. “It’s not a bad thing..I like it” you admitted as you traced his cheek “Good, Heyo don’t think I’ll be changing again”

This year for a piece of your summer break you and Tamil decided to go visit back to the states, the two of you loving and hating the heat wave that hit you coming off of the plane. Once again you were with your brother and only one of your cousins this time, visiting your mom and having family cookouts. Planning to stay a month you two had some time to spend together and with your family. Your nieces and nephews loved Tamaki, the fact he could make his limbs into what he ate made them love to try and have him pick them up with his tentacles the most. Your mom loved him and everyone had accepted him as your husband to be.

On one of the hottest days y’all experienced there, you decided to wear one of the cutest outfits you had bought, a two piece ; a crop top and a mini skirt. Both pieces black with blue butterflies over them. As you sat in the living room waiting for your boyfriend you heard footsteps from upstairs, being greeted with a sight you wish to burn on your eyelids. A tank top , the infamous, grey Nike joggers and black forces. A whole meal stood in front of you. Holding in a gasp and a subconscious lip but you cleared your throat, giving him a reassuring smile “well look at you, you really are turning into my brother” you joked as he gave you a shy smile “ I wanted to wear something I’m not used to..I hate things clinging to me..unless it’s you of course “ he teased back as you wrapped your arms around his torso, standing on your tiptoes as you gave his cheek a kiss “you look good..really good..I might have to fight the girls around the block if they look at you wrong.” You warned as he smirked, wrapping a large arm around your shoulder “don’t worry they have nothing on you baby..”

Heading out to get some lunch you fanned yourself with your hand, the heat really getting to you as you stood in line. Tamaki when you get drinks, promising to meet you back at the circle so you two could heard to the nearby shopping plaza, wanting to get some more things before going to get some games to play later with your family members who planned to come and hangout before one of their games came on that night. You and Tamaki were planning to just be upstairs and watching your own movie by then.

Hearing someone clear their throat you valves over to see a shorter, chocolate man staring at you, a wide grin on his face as he licked his lips “whatsup baby how are you today?” Knowing how this was gonna turn out you gave him a polite smile and a quick “I’m fine” before going to look around to see if you saw that familiar tuff of indigo walking around “Soo..what's a fine ass girl like you doing in this heat alone? You’re [. ]’s sister right?” He continued as you shook your head yes, not giving him a thought as you stared at your phone “You aint gotta be shy , your brother knows me. I’ve always saw you and that ass wander around when you used to be here, now you moved away to some other country what was it again? China ? That Asian land aint meant for a sista like you, they don’t even got enough to please you with unlike me” sighing you started to correct him “I live in Japan for one, two I have a boyfriend and three don’t you still have something unresolved with that one girl? Ion need nothing from no one that isn’t my boyfriend thanks” You snapped back as he laughed, comfortably putting an arm on your shoulders “Oh who ol’ girl Ki? Nah I ain’t messing with her and what , you got you a little Japanese man , what is he and his short ass gon do yo me huh? Don’t think that you having one of those short Kung Fu doing ass gon do anything to a real man now baby, you’ve been eating too much rice huh?”

Before you could open your mouth you felt an arm wrap around your waist and move in front of you. Now staring at the strong back of your boyfriend you went to stop him before your mouth dropped open “And who said ya ass could keep talking to her huh?” Without a stutter in sight Tamaki snapped back to the slightly shorter and smaller male “ And who the hell are you?” “The same man you wanna talk about being a short ass Asian” with a look of interest you watched your boyfriend stand up for you “Ooohhh I get it , you think you can just step up to anyone and they not be scared of you huh? Mann you aint in Japan anymore boy , you ain’t gon do shit” the guy barked back, making Tamkai raise an eyebrow and laugh, looking him up and down before squatting down some to match the arguing guys height “At least I can reach my girlfriend, even she can look down at you” which a few ‘oohs’ and ‘damns’ coming from the bystanders the boy gave him a snarl as he tried to come for Tamaki again “she wants some real dick not some little pepper in her walls” and with that Tamaki gave him a even harder laugh, walking until they were too close for your comfort, before you could stop him he gave his last and seemingly damaging blow “But I wonder who’s dick she’s bouncing on and screaming for more from hm? Oh trust me I know how to dick her down and then some”

With his words he reached over and pulled you to his hip by your ass, making the boy give up with a huff , walking away as the others around him boo’d and made fun of him, praising Tamaki as he gave his own satisfied smirk, dapping up some of the guys who came up to him.

Pulling you from the line he left his hand at your hips as your jaw still was open “Where in the hell did you learn that?? Damnit [. ] he must’ve taught you” you huffed as he looked you over , licking his lips as he kissed your cheek. “Mhn..your brother said defend what you love so..I simply did that. He had no business thinking he could step to my girl and hit on her from thinking he was good enough to talk to a queen, my queen at that. Shit ain’t sweet but I respect myself and you too much to fight some low life” he finished as you bit your lip, liking this side of him “Well shit...aren’t you the man Tamaki?” He laughed as he kissed you, biting where you were tugging on your bottom lip to make you let out a squeal. Pulling away he gave a lopsided smile “I’ma keep true to what I said too, when we get home I’m making sure you know I meant what I just said back there, no one tries to take what’s mine, especially with mediocre ass attempts with dick” he growled as you stuttered giving him a wide eyed look. Maybe tamaki was less of the baby you’ve come to see him as. Once you got home, Tamaki made sure you knew how much he loved you, making true on the words he threw to that guys he got into it earlier

[dulcechocochips]

𝒜𝓉𝓎𝓅𝒾𝒸𝒶𝓁

Chapter 3 : ↫↫↫ Beach Day ↬↬↬

"Nendou, remind me why you have an inflatable whale? And why we're in front of Saiki's house?" Y/n asks him. She had run into him when she was running some errands. He asked her if she wanted to tag along with him to ask Saiki to hang out. She had nothing better to do that day. She had realized she hadn't asked him where they were going.

"I need to ask my bud if he wants to go to the beach with us!" He explains to her. Oh, the beach, haven't been there in a while. She hums.

"Well, I have to go to my apartment to get changed before we go, alright?" She says to him. He agrees just as he knocks on the door. The door opens and she sees a woman with short black hair. She seems to be quivering in fear. Nendou's face is kinda scary. Y/n couldn't help but think.  She shook her head at her thoughts.

"K-Kusuo is this boy your friend?" The woman stuttered out. He's not my friend. Saiki tells his mother. She bursts into tears, crying about how her little boy finally has a friend. Y/n smiles at her.

"Saiki, you never said you had a sister!" Y/n turned to her.

"Oh dear, you think I look young enough to be Ku's sister." She says while more tears stream down her face. How many times are you gonna make her cry? Saiki asks.

"Wait, you're Saiki's mom?" Y/n asks with a bewildered expression. She looks so young. She has so much expression, wonder why Saiki doesn't. Saiki hears her thoughts and rolls his eyes.

"Guilty as charged." She says.

"Wow, you look so young! You're beautiful!" Y/n compliments.

"Oh, you flatter me too much." She says, smiling. "So what brought you two lovely rays of sunshine here?" She asks. Oh wow, she's so sweet, I could die. Y/n thinks. Saiki hears this and can't help but wonder if she's crazy or something.

"Nendou and I were going to the beach and wanted to know if Saiki wanted to come with!" Y/n said to her.

"Oh! That's so fun!" She exclaims.

"Uh, yeah, I'm not going. Sor-" "Your friends went out of their way to ask you in person. You're going to the beach, Kusuo." She cuts him off. Her voice suddenly dropping, sending shivers down Y/n's spine. She puts her hand up to her mouth to avoid making a sound. Oh, dear. Saiki's face drains of colour.

"Ok! We'll be leaving now, Mrs. Saiki! We'll have your son home before you know it!" Y/n says waving at her. "I have to stop by my apartment first, you guys can come with. You can make yourselves at home while I pack my stuff." She says taking her keys out of her pocket. "Welcome to my humble abode, gentlemen." She says, unlocking the door. She has a quaint apartment. "I don't usually have guests, so I only have one pair of sandals, so just take off your shoes." She says locking the door.

"Nice place you got here, Y/n," Nendou says walking around the living room. Saiki does take into account that the apartment is exceptionally clean. He can appreciate that.

"Oh, haha, thanks Nendou." She says. "Give me a couple of minutes, I need to get my stuff ready. Um, the TV remote is on the coffee table, feel free to turn it on." She smiles. She walks down the hall and into her room. Saiki couldn't care less about what's on TV right now. It's all reruns, so it doesn't matter. Instead, he walks around the living room, inspecting various pictures. In one he sees a little girl smiling. She's wearing glasses that appear to big for her face. Hm, she looks adorable. Saiki thinks, unwillingly. He suddenly stops himself. As he's questioning his life choices, Nendou walks up behind him.

"What ya doing, buddy?" He asks. He sees the picture of a young Y/n. "Oh, you're looking at her, gotta admit, she was a cute kid." Nendou states. For whatever reason, those words made his stomach drop.

"Well, I'm ready to leave, guys!" Y/n says walking out into the living room. They both turn to her and nod. "Alright gamers! To the beach!" She exclaims excitedly. Nendou also lets out a sound of approval.

So now we see all the students at the beach. Kaidou had somehow tagged along with them. Why he did, no one shall know. "Kaidou, can you swim?" Y/n asks the blue-haired boy. She had a sneaking suspicion that he couldn't.

"W-what? Of course, I can!" He exclaims nervously.

"It's ok if you can't, ya know?" She says reassuringly.  He shakes his head rapidly. "Alright if you insist, I'm gonna go ask Saiki if he wants something from the ice cream shop. Do you want anything?" She asks him.

"N-no, I'm good!" He said. Kaidou wouldn't admit that he couldn't stomach anything at the moment. She gave him a thumbs up walked over to Saiki who was sitting under an umbrella with a book. Before she could even say anything, Kaidou started to drown. Drowning in one-inch deep water is impressive. She thinks. She hears the rumble of a stampede. Oh, it's just Hairo. Hairo dives in after Kaidou and his shorts slip.

"Oh my God." Y/n says turning away from the scene. "I did not need to see that." She says with an awkward smile. Her cheeks were a tad bit flushed. Saiki saw this, mentally taking a picture of it. "Uhm, anyway, I was gonna go get something from the ice cream shop, you wanna come with?" She asked Saiki. Nendou and Hairo with Kaidou in his arms. "Oh, is there anything you want from the ice cream shop, Nendou? Hairo?" She asked the boys.

"Nah, I can't have that when on the job," Hairo comments before hearing a scream from the water. He rushes off to their rescue. She looks at Nendou who's already left and trying to talk to the different girls at the beach.

"Well, if you wanna come with, I'll buy you whatever you want." She smiles at Saiki. He just stands up and starts walking.

"I just don't want people to think I'm with him." She beams and walks a little faster to catch up with him.

"What're you gonna get, Saiki?" She asks him. He shrugs and keeps walking. "Well, I'm gonna get a chocolate vanilla swirl, that's my favourite!" She exclaims. She's like a child. He thinks to himself as he sees her skip a couple of steps ahead. "I think they have coffee flavoured ice cream? I think I've seen it online. It looks pretty good." She said opening the door.

"That does sound kinda good." Saiki comments. His interest is peaked. He may be an all-knowing psychic, but you don't know what you don't know. They walk into the air-conditioned shop.

"Hey Saiki, does the menu say anything about a chocolate vanilla swirl?" Y/n asks, embarrassed.

"Do you not know how to read?" He asks her. She scrunches her face up in irritation.

"Of course I do!" For the most part. Saiki raises an eyebrow at that thought. "I just haven't been able to find my glasses!" She says in a stubborn tone.

"I'll just order for the both of us. Don't strain your vision." He says looking away from her. Y/n feels her heart flutter. She smiles brightly at him.

"Aw! Thanks, Saiki, you're so nice!" She comments. Don't make a big deal out of it. He thinks. They wait in line for their turn to order and Y/n pulls out her wallet and gives the bill to Saiki. Saiki looks at the bill. "Well, hurry up and give it to the cashier, Saiki!" She says, urging him on. Saiki doesn't bother to retort. Where does she get all this money from? He thinks. "Don't worry about that, Saiki!" She waves off his question. How does she keep hearing things that aren't meant for her to hear? They both walk out, ice creams in hand.

They sit under the umbrella until the sun goes down. Y/n is lying down on the sand, looking at her friends playing around with each other in the shallow water. Saiki sits beside her with a book in hand. She gets up and walks to the concrete sidewalk, phone in hand. Saiki doesn't bother asking where she's going. She makes it up to the sidewalk. She opens the camera app and positions it so that all her friends are in the shot, along with the setting sun. The phone lets out a quiet click. She looks over the picture with a cheery smile.

Saiki looks over at the girl, noticing the pleasant smile on her face. He can't help but realize how the setting sun projects a warm look about the girl.

---

Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Masterlist

WORD COUNT : 1502

[ravenadottir]

i’ve seen asks about this before but I wanted your take on it because I love your opinions and how much depth and flavor you give the islanders especially the bland as hell ones (*cough* Jo *cough*) (*cough* i hate her *cough*) anywayssss how do you think a relationship would go if MC never found love with any of the Islanders, but ended up falling for one of the producers or someone who works on set ?

yesss! thank you! jo is the worst! i’ve seen people saying “oh, but all she did was kiss ibrahim and lie about it.”

riiiight, but that bullshit lasted two weeks, then she twerked on my guy’s lap, smirking and thinking she was doing some damage! “vena, that’s the girl you have the lowest relationship with.” THEN SHE BROUGHT ON HERSELF, SON! if she wasn’t unbearable, i wouldn’t have a low relationship with her, and that’s on that.

*takes a deep breath* NOW

that galaxy brain of yours, bringing this prompt, it’s detrimental for me, ‘cause like, i already have over 23 WIPS... LOL but because you’re a fellow common sense stan, i’ll do a quick list of bullet points for this scenario... i honestly love it so much, and i apologize if someone has done it, but i haven’t seen it.

((this got a little long, so i’m putting it under the cut, for space saving purposes))

in the game they don’t quite show just how much the islanders actually interact with the camera/mic crew. they’re present in every date and recouplings, besides those “following” shots when they walk to the different locations. there are some takes that show the islanders having friendly conversations with them, and that’s why i included mic guy in gary’s beach hut confessions. it’s also something i mention in noah’s chapter, on “hold the line”, after operation nope.

for this scenario, i’m using a f!mc - robin x m!cameraman - seb

robin meeting the boys could’ve been exciting, but after a few days she quickly realizes the o.g boys are nothing but friends to her, her couple being the closest. let’s pair her up with bobby, initially.

the bombshells arrive, and still, she doesn’t feel much, but she’s invited to a date, and in hopes to find that little spark everyone keeps talking about, she decided to go.

while walking towards the table, she notices the camera man focusing on the image of the side screen, possibly telling her to flip her hair, and she does it, playfully charmingly, because why not? she’s excited to go, and that makes him smile. “that’s perfect.” he says, following the path to the table, where the henrik waits for her.

as she finishes the conversation with mountain boy, robin and seb move on to go back to the villa, the guy quietly follows her, but he can’t help asking. “how was it?”

she shrugs, maybe looking directly at him. “i think it went fine.”

“you don’t sound excited.”

she looks down, biting her inner lip. “i guess i don’t, huh...”

he leaves her by the gate, waiting to get further instructions. after bobby finds her, and she gets another text, she’s again heading to the date, the cameraman just smiling awkwardly. “another one, huh?”

“yeah, i guess...” they exchange a look, and she puts a strand of hair behind her ear.

“are you... excited?” immediately his pocket vibrates, and he interrupts the shot, reading the text. “focus on the shot.” so he does, staying quiet as he continues it. robin gets a bit confused, but it’s probably something to do with his job, so she doesn’t say anything.

as the date ends with lucas, and she walks back, the camera man is quiet, which makes her intrigued. “did you get in trouble?”

he nods, perching his lips. “nah, it’s fine.”

“i hope so. i don’t want you to get in trouble because of me.”

“honestly... it wouldn’t be the worst thing if it was because of you.”

they exchange a look and he brushes it off as they get to the entrance, and before she steps in, robin quickly turns to face him, speaking in a very discreet voice. “hopefully i’ll see you on the next one.”

on the afternoon of day 9, robin needs to choose someone to go on a date with. as she and her pick leave the villa, seb is following them, slightly uncomfortable, and possibly focusing the camera way more on her, not even noticing. the boy she’s taking definitely realizes it, but doesn’t say anything.

every challenge they need to go to a platform has her following behind, just to steal a glance or two from him.

and every time the challenge ends, she does the same, going back to the villa while having a short conversation with him.

each recoupling has her a little more on edge because of that initial attraction she felt towards him, and none of the boys really have her head over heels. from time to time it’s possible he casts a look or two, mouthing “are you alright” during the drama that she gets pulled in.

casa amor, which is a pivotal moment for all of them, because they all get in the cars, and the cameraman gets a little anxious, is now a reason to make him ask for the assignment in the second villa, not the main. he has to himself this is just a crush, and it will be fine after a few days, but it’s becoming really hard to look away whenever she’s around. same for her, even when the girls are doing the challenges.

receiving the suitcases from the boys, robin realizes she misses them, but it’s all about the mate vibe she has with each of the boys back in the villa.

seb has to watch her trying to have fun, and that might include the raunchy challenges that earned a party for casa amor. the guy is maybe now realizing is more than a crush, and he’s possibly upset that she doesn’t get to know him like he knows her. robin has screen time, she is solving drama back and forth, being a good friend, while he’s just watching, helplessly. what can he do except for trying to be professional and stay quiet?

the editors are having a hard time to cut those glances seb and robin exchange, since that would’ve been the hardest plot line to explain, and she signed a contract that states her attraction should be limited to the islanders, or she’s gone. and for whatever reason she has to stay, whether the money, or the clout, is enough to make her restrict the things she says to him. same for seb, he can’t exactly risk his job.

i think the moment seb is possibly more bothered is when the girls are back, and she finds out her partner switched. given they’re not romantic, she’s not disappointed or upset, but she’s frustrated for not only not finding someone, but also seeing everyone else getting the summer romance she wished for herself.

“are you ok?” he mouths, at the firepit, in the most discreet way he can. she nods, responding to her partner and saying how happy she is for him, proceeding to talk to the boys, by the bean bags.

seb is on edge, holding himself back and letting things flow naturally. but what he really wants is to offer a hug. that night, robin can’t sleep, worried about whatever is gonna happen the next day, and heads to the kitchen for water.

he can’t help himself but going there, knowing fully well he’s risking his job.

“hi.”

“oh, hi!” she’s surprised, but can’t help smiling.

he promptly fixes her a glass of water. “so... how are you feeling?”

“not great, i’ll tell you that!” she sees the look on his face, and immediately corrects herself. “not because of him! i’m not... i-” she stammers a bit but gets through it. ‘i’m not interested in him...”

“right! of course! not that i care!” seb notices her eyes going wider. “i mean, i do! i do care! i just meant...” he scratches the back of his head, possibly mortified. “i’m sorry... you make me nervous.”

“what?”

before he can respond, he’s called back to the back house, where the crew stays during the show. “sorry, i gotta go... i... hope you feel better.” he rushes to head out, not even hearing she said a very stunned “bye”.

with each bump, each bombshell that comes later, robin is definitely disheartened because the only person she felt a spark is not even part of the cast.

at some point, i think robin truly felt like the right decision should’ve been made ages ago. which she’s now determined to make it happen, calling everyone to the firepit, because she has an announcement. the boys and girls are anxious, because not once, in the history of the show, an islander has called the rest of the group to the firepit. something serious must’ve happened.

“i’m walking.” to the shock of everyone around her, and possibly to the guy who switched, she tranquilizes everyone, by saying what truly has been happening this entire time. “i found my spark... it just wasn’t with an islander.”

the boy she took on a date interjects. “i knew it! it’s the camera guy, isn’t it?”

possibly leading to a very “the office” moment, where all of them just stare at the guy, the camera captures their shocked and amused faces, all of them either smirking or nodding knowingly at him, to his very flushed face.

“i’m thinking to myself if i should just stay and wait around, but i’ve been trying it this entire time, and i just can’t... not anymore. everyone is making a bet on someone from the villa. i’m just... betting on someone out of the cast.”

between being showered in hugs from the islanders, possibly tears from everyone that loves her, because let’s face it, she’s an awesome girl, she heads to the entrance with her suitcase. and because seb has to follow her, he’s just as shocked as everyone else, maybe smiling so much his face hurts.

one thing i know for sure, in this scenario, he would probably make a joke about the date they’ll have later, with no cameras around, and not being in a vineyard with plastic cups, to which she responds “i was hoping you would say that.”

social media would be so confused, because whatever the producers decided to put out there won’t feature the real reason that led to her walking, that being the start of ridiculous speculations, only to be cleared up a few months later, when she reveals they’ve been dating since the moment she left.

and i can see the show trying to profit on that, making memes on twitter and instagram.

overall? i would love to see that take in the game. you can’t exactly control who you fall in love with, who you feel attracted to, and definitely not the timing. it just happens.

[petite-ely]

Afraid // JJ Maybank

three - family heirloom

Pairing: JJ Maybank x fem routledge! reader

Warnings: cursing and other sorts of bad language, mention of a dead body, underage drinking, idk if there’s something else besides some typos

Description: a fun trip to a thrashy motel leads to many discoveries for the pogues (buckle up buckaroos this one’s a bit long) (also I’m very sorry for not putting a read more thingy but I really don’t know how, sorry :(

Previously next

Afraid Masterlist

Song recommendation:

gif found on pinterest all credits to owner

When John B fell into the the water, the anchor held against his chest, y/n didn’t expect him to come back with anything valuable. Maybe something that would have revealed the identity of whoever owned this boat, but nothing really big. So she was very surprised when he came back with a motel key in his hand. It was not much, as expected but the pogues knew what to do.

The little group had tried to report their findings to the authorities, in hope of receiving some kind of reward. Unfortunately, the plan had failed. Because of the hurricane, the coasts guards were so busy they couldn’t even spare one minute for them.

Instead, they all agreed to go investigate the hotel room. Y/n had been reluctant at first, but her curiosity took the lead, so she agreed. How could she not?

“I thought the château looked bad.”

“This place is a shitshow.”

“Motel or meth lab?”

Y/n’s face scrunched up in a grossed out expression at the sight in front of her eyes, plugging her nose as she caught the horrible smell that went with it. The motel itself wasn’t that bad. Except maybe for the roof, and the window and probably also some kind of hygiene issue. The yard was the worst part. It was filled with debris brought by the storm and it was covered with a bunch of old mattresses. It was not a pretty sight to see.

“Y/n are you staying with me and Pope or..” kie wondered as they landed.

The Routledges exchanged a look. John B didn’t show it a lot, but he was very protective of his sister. He preferred to have her by his side at all times, where he could protect her and assure that she was always safe. It was his way of showing he cared.

“Nah,” she jumped off the boat, her feet joined together, “someone has to look after these two knuckleheads.”

JJ laughed at her words. “Knuckleheads, who even says that.” “Dude I was talking about you.”

“What.” She rolled her eyes.

“Hey,” Pope addressed the girl “don’t let him do anything stupid.” He pointed to JJ.

“Oh, we will.”

“I can’t make any promises.”

Kie handed the key to John B. “Be careful, okay. I mean it.” Y/n grinned at her friend’s words.

The trio then headed towards the direction of the room. Somehow y/n ended up taking the lead, with the two boys walking behind her. She felt a pair of eyes looking at her.

“JJ I know you’re looking at my ass, stop that right now,” she warned. “Dude!” John B slapped him on the chest.

“Um for your information I was looking at the bruise on your thigh.” “Yeah right.”

(He was actually really looking at the bruise. He hated to know she was hurt in any kind of way, it pained him)

“And even if I was, whatcha gonna do about it? Beat me up?” “Don’t underestimate me Maybank, I could easily take you down.” JJ scoffed. “Pfft as if.”

He left her side to go join John B, who had voluntarily distanced himself from their bickering. The blonde grasped his friend’s shoulder. “Just be so careful, John,” he said, imitating Kiara.

John B pushed him off. “God, you’re so weird.” “Dude, what the heck was that all about.” “I don’t know, I guess she wants us to be careful.”

Y/n now walked alone behind, kicking a small pebble whilst silently listening to the conversation.

“Since she heard you’re being threatened with exile, she’s just been like ‘oh! Be so careful John B’” “Get off” “just give me that John D already.”

“Like, when are you gonna swoop on that, man?”

y/n cringed at his words. “Ew, don’t sexualize her like that, it’s gross, j”

“Bro, you know the rule. No pogue on pogue macking.”

Stupid rule. It was the only reason why y/n had never admitted her feelings to JJ. That and her fear of being humiliated ( and the fact he would never feel the same way).

“Besides you’re the one always hitting on her.” Y/n scoffed.

“That doesn’t mean anything, JJ hits on every girl he ever sees.” JJ frowned at her words. “He would hit on a plant if it even slightly ressembled the body of a girl.”

“Hey, that’s not true,” he defended himself. “I don’t hit on you all the time.”

“Says the guys who was just looking at my ass five minutes ago.” “No, I wasn’t.” “You so were!”

“Hey guys, I hate to break up your little fight but uh,” he pointed the door in front of him “this is us. 29.”

JJ knocked on the door. “Housekeeping,” he said, his voice pitched way higher than normal, making both his friends laugh at his actions.

“Should we try it?” Questioned John B. “No power- no security camera. No one’s gonna know.”

The door opened with a small creaking noise. It was a small dark room with two beds. The trio looked around for clues. They still didn’t know who owned the boat nor what they were doing out in the middle of a hurricane. They were hoping for some answers.

“Check the bag, see if there’s a name on there.” “Gotta a jacket-“ “Denim slides-“ “No name on the jacket. It’s a nice jacket though.” “Definitely over 50 he’s got new balances.”

“Yo, dude come here.” JJ found some papers and books stacked on the night table between the two beds. He pointed to a map. “Maybe this is where they were fishing.” “ let me see.” “Right there.”

Y/n peeked over their shoulder, standing on the tip of her toes, to try to see what they were talking about. “Nah, that’s off the continental shelf. Big swell, no one fishes there.”

Abandoning her previous idea, she crouched down and flashed her light under the first bed. “Nothing over here.” She turned to the other bed. Her eyes caught a strange shape, on the opposite corner. “Wait.” She slipped underneath and crawled to the object. “Ah ha!”

“What? You found anything?”

Disappointment filled the girl’s mind as she noticed it was only a shirt, grey and smelly. “Uh, not really. I thought I did but it’s only a dirty shirt.”

“Ew there was a spider on it.” She brushed the bug away as she got up. She turned towards John B, noticing he had successfully opened the safe. “Jesus fucking Christ.”

The words left her mouth without her noticing. She was just too astonished. The safe was filled with multiple stacks of money and well, a gun. There was so much of it, it’s like she didn’t know where to look.

“Uh, JJ, you’re gonna wanna see this.”

JJ’s eyes doubled in size as he noticed the firearm in the safe. He immediately picked it up. “You grabbed the gun,” John B sighed.

“This is a SIG Sauer.” He was swinging it in the air, playing with it as though it was just a toy. “JJ put the fucking gun down, you’re gonna hurt someone,” y/n hissed at him.

“Put the gun back, JJ.” “This is a fucking spendy gatt, man, just.” He pretended to shoot someone in the distance. “Bam! Bam!”

“JJ, this is not a toy you can just play with, put it back!” Y/n’a voice was louder now, angrier and harsher too. “Just take a pic of me.”

“You want me to take a picture of you?” “Yeah dude, like-” JJ struck a pose, the gun in one hand, his flashlight in the other. “Make our own incriminating evidence is that what your talking about?”

Y/n’s attention drifted away as she heard the sound of something hitting the window. She spun around and drew the blinds open, only to find Kie and Pope jumping up down. “What?”

There were clearly trying to warn her about something but she couldn’t hear what they were saying through the thick glass that separated them. She lifted the window slightly. A single word left their mouth in a loud whisper. “Cops!”

“Fuck.”

“What is it?” Y/n turned her body to the two boys. She opened her mouth, about to reveal what danger would soon fall upon them when a knock came from the door.

“Kildare county, sheriff department,” a stern voice announced.

“Shit, shit, shit.”

The girl yanked the rest of the window open. By chance, there was a small step, a ledge, where they could stand and hide from the police officers.

Y/n’a hand flew to her neck, as she noticed the necklace she always wore wasn’t on her neck anymore. “Fuck!” It was very precious to her, leaving it there was not an option.

Her father had actually given it to her on her 14th birthday. It belonged to his mother and her mother before her. It was a family heirloom and the only thing she had left of her father. She always wore it, even to bed.

“Y/n, what the fuck are you doing?”

She scanned the room quickly, her stress level growing as she heard the door rattling. Her eyes finally landed on the shining necklace, tangled under the first bed.

“My necklace fell off!” she whispered-shout. “There’s no time!”

Luckily for her living on the cut had taught her to move quickly, without being seen. She swiftly slid under the bed, grabbed the golden chain and slipped out of the window, all before the door opened.

“That was close,” JJ whispered softly.

Y/n removed one of her hand from the wall to place her index finger against her lip motioning for JJ to stay silent. They both turned their attention back to the room, observing the cops as they entered.

There was two of them. Shoupe and a woman y/n didn’t know the name of. They were looking around for clues just as the three kids had done minutes earlier. Shoupe opened the door of the safe. Y/n’s eyes followed as he handed the other officer some evidences. He then handed her a stack of money, which she put in her pocket.

“The fuck?” the girl whispered, glancing at her brother on the other side. JB looked at her with wide eyes, he was just as shocked as she was.

She lost her balance for a quick second, her foot sliding down, making the loudest noise ever made. JJ’s hand caught her before she fell, bringing her body closer to his. She heard footsteps getting closer. She could feel and hear JJ’s breath getting heavier by the second, her heart pounding in her chest. She scooted even closer to him, her hand gripping at the back of his shirt so she wouldn’t fall once more.

“All right, let’s go. No one’s here.” Shoupe said from inside.

A heavy sigh left her lips as she heard the door close behind them. “That was so fucking close.”

“Jesus Christ, y/n what was that all about, you almost got us caught!” John B snapped.

“My necklace fell off, I couldn’t just leave it there. It’s the only thing I have left of dad! Plus they would’ve known I was there, it would’ve got us caught!”

John’s face fell slightly, she was right. Still he couldn’t help but worry at the thought of her getting caught. He was her brother, it was normal for him to want to protect her form getting hurt. “I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t mean to yell at you, I was just, I was just worried okay? I don’t want to lose you too, y/n/n.”

“I’m not going anywhere, bird.”

>>

After the little trip to the motel, and almost getting caught by the cops, the group had decided to head back to the château. Y/n let out a sigh of exasperation. She was, once again, seated on the dirty sofa on the porch. This time her head was hanging upside down, her shoeless feet rested against the window. She was exhausted. This day had been filled with nothing but surprises, following one another without getting a chance to take a breath. And the day wasn’t over yet.

First there was their discovery of the boat in the marsh, then John risking his life for a motel key (okay maybe risking his life was a bit of a stretch but yeah, y/n still thought it was dangerous). And then they tried to report the boat but failed, so they went to the motel and we’re almost caught by Shoupe (and saw him stealing money) and stupid JJ who stole the goddamn gun.

And that wasn’t even the most shocking surprise of the day. The body of Scooter Grubbs was also found (and y/n really wish she could erase that image out of her memory) and shocker, he was the owner of the Grady-White. So the marsh was closed until the authorities would find the boat.

“Ugh,” y/n rubbed her tired eyes, feeling a headache coming as the blood rushed to her head.

“You’re gonna get brain damage if you stay like that for too long,” John B said motioning to his sister’s position. “Can’t be worse than it already is,” she shrugged, moving herself so her head now rested on Kiara’s lap.

Pope came rushing, the screen door slamming behind him. “So, um we didn’t see anything, we don’t know anything.” He was still slightly panting, and he seemed very stressed, anxious even. “We need to have complete and total amnesia.”

“Actually, Pope’s right. For once.” y/n scooted closer to Kie to make room for Pope to sit and turned her head back to JJ who was getting up from his seat. “See I agree with you sometimes,” he pointed his index finger on each of his friends. “Deny, deny, deny.”

“Guys we can’t keep that money.” “Not all of us have unlimited data plans, Kiara.”

Y/n frowned at JJ’s words. That was low of him. The Carreras might hav been a lot richer than the average pogue, but they weren’t kook rich either. Business was hard for everyone and The Wreck wasn’t spared of the occasional struggle that went with it.

“Well I hate to be a party pooper but she’s right. It’s not our money, it wouldn’t be right for us to keep it.” declared the Routledge girl. “Yup, we have to pass that money off to Lana Grubbs. Otherwise it’s bad karma.”

“It bad karma to be implicated in a felony too,” added Pope. “We gotta go dark.” “If that means we get to keep the money then I agree.”

John B gave a small pat on JJ’s shoulder. “I don’t agree.” “What, why?”

“Just think about it, this is Scooter Grubbs we’re talking about,” he started. “Same dude that’s buying individual cigarettes at the porthole. Shit, one time I saw him begging for change in the save-a-lot parking lot because he needed gas. We’re talking about a dirtbag marina rat who’s never had more than 40 bucks in his pockets and all of the sudden he’s got a Grady-White? Just saying..”

John B was right. It was indeed kind of shady. Square groupers? Smuggling? Contraband? Y/n had no idea what she was getting herself into. It was a strange situation and she had no idea what to do about it, so she followed her friends ideas. They all agreed to lay low and act normal, which could only mean one thing. There was going to be a kick ass kegger on the boneyard. And y/n couldn’t be more glad.

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[stillbandofbrothersthirsty]

Blue Ain’t Your Color

Joe Liebgott x OC

His eyes were on her and her eyes were on Malarkey. An unexpected pang of jealously shot through his heart. Frankie was nothing more than a kid-sister to Joe, he reminded himself. He had only conspired with Luz to dress her up like a real girl for the laugh. But he wasn't laughing now.

It sounded like a laugh when they first  came up with the idea to dress Frankie up like a real girl. She would  have the chance to take her shot at Malark dolled up to the nines, and  Joe would be entertained by the ridiculous sight of Frankie in a dress:  win, win.

The idea had started as a whim when they passed a store in town that had a beautiful light blue dress in the window.

"What I wouldn't give to see a woman in that," Joe had said half-joking.

"Lucky  you there's a dance this weekend," Luz said, lighting up a cigarette, "Oh shit!" he said as if hit by a stroke of genius, "you know who would  look good in that dress? Frank!"

"I hope you don't mean Perco."

"Yes,  Joe, I mean Frank Perconte. Looks just his size! No! Frankie, how good  would she look in that?" Joe could barely remember Frankie was a girl let alone picture her in that dress. But he was bored and curious.

Luz grinned mischievously, "should we get it for her?"

"She wouldn't wear it."

"She would if we bought it for her. She'd feel guilty we spent all that money."

"Yeah about all that money…"

"Oh  come on Lieb, it's not like you've got anywhere else to spend it!   Unless you're paying Sobel to sneak into your tent at night."

Joe shot Luz a dirty look. "Fine, fuck it, let's get it."

"And lipstick too!" Luz said over his shoulder, he was already entering the store.

"Lipstick?"

"Yeah, lipstick! All the dames wear it, we can't send her out without lipstick."

They had waited until the night of to give the dress to Frankie. That way, she couldn't find a way to back out.

"You got plans tonight Frankie?" Luz had asked.

"Not  a single one," she said unsuspectingly. She was lounged across Luz's   bunk, lazily flipping through a magazine. "I hope you guys have fun   tonight though!" She said as an afterthought, looking up. The men were   bustling around her, taking pulls from contraband flasks, greasing their  hair, and straightening ties.

"Why don't you come with us, doll?" Bill asked.

"Nah, you guys go have a good time," Frankie waved her hand dismissively.

"Frank, when was the last time you dolled yourself up and hit the town?" Luz asked.

She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Um how about never, Luz?" she said dryly, "who 'hits the town'?"

"Never? In all twenty years of your life?" Joe mocked.

She moved to kick him but he dodged out of the way. "I haven't got a dress."

"Poof! Problem solved!" Luz announced. He dropped a brown, paper-wrapped package on her magazine.

"What the hell's this?" She asked.

"Happy birthday!" Luz said with fanfare.

"It's not my birthday, George."

"What's that?" Perconte came up to Luz's bunk, brushing his teeth.

"Good news," Luz smacked him on the shoulder, "the better-looking Frank is coming out with us."

"You wearin' your OD, Fran?" Perco asked.

"No, she's a woman, women wear dresses," Luz said.

"Is that what's in the package?" Perconte asked.

"Yeah,  and it'll look great! Come on now, hop to it now kid!" Joe clapped his  hands at Frances. She stood up hesitantly, "you're kidding me," she   said.

"Afraid not, kiddo, get changed!" Joe said.

Frances   disappeared into the back of the barracks for some privacy. A lot of the  guys were already dressed and were trickling out the door.

"Any day now Frankie!" Luz called.

"No laughing!" she shouted back.

"Are you saying my taste in women's clothing is funny?" Luz retorted. He turned to Joe and Perconte chuckling.

"Oh  wow," Perconte exhaled. Luz snapped his head back to where Frances had  just entered the light. She still wore her short combat boots but the blue dress fit perfectly. It clung to her hips and chest, revealing   curves Joe had never realized were there.

"How's it look?" she asked timidly.

"Wow," Luz echoed.

"You  look," Joe was lost for words. She wasn't anything close to what he had  expected. In his mind, she was just a little girl who happened to know a  thing or two about bandaging wounds. But in this dress, she was a  woman. Joe cleared his throat, "fits well!"

"I told ya," Luz said, "I got great taste."

"The shoes though?" Perconte asked.

"Yeah, Frankie baby, you gotta take those off," Luz said.

"I don't have any other shoes!" She protested.

"Well good thing good ol' Luz thinks of everything," Luz said. "Joe, grab the shoes…and the lipstick!"

"Lipstick?" Frances asked apprehensively.

"Yeah, lipstick," Joe tossed the tube at her and she caught it perfectly, "apparently all the dames wear it."

"I'm not wearing heels," Frances said as Luz produced a pair of black pumps.

"Look,"  Joe turned on his most convincing voice, "this could be your chance to  win over Malarkey. Ya know, get a little drink, a little dance, a little  smooch…"

Frances blushed furiously.

"He's right," Luz nodded enthusiastically.

"You can't wear your boots with that dress," Perconte added. He checked his watch, "come on, times a' tickin'."

"It'll look great, Franks, I swear. Joe and I wouldn't spend money and let ya look bad would we?" Luz said.

Well, Joe hadn't wanted her to look bad but didn't expect her to look that good.

Joe  had met Mary Frances his first week at Fort Bragg after he had gotten into a small bar fight with one of the privates in another company. McClung had led him to the medical building with a bloody lip.

"You idiot, you'll definitely need stitches and there will be no hiding it. Sobel will be all over you in the morning."

"Yeah,  he wishes he could be all over me," was the only retort I had in me. My  head was spinning – Joe couldn't tell if it was because of the punch  he'd taken straight to the jaw or the alcohol he had drunk that night.

Frances  had been the only one left in the medical building when they arrived. She  was perched beside a cot with a single lamp on. Beside her was a basket  of muslin bandages which she was rolling into neat balls. She wasn't  dressed like a nurse. Instead, she was wearing the O.D. greens that  every other medic wore.

"Could we get some help here?" McClung  unceremoniously dropped me on the cot closest to the door. At that  moment, Joe wasn't confident if she was a male or female. Her hair was  tightly pinned back and in my state her over-sized uniform just made her  look like another skinny private.

But when she came over McClung  took off his crumpled cap and said, "evening Miss, he's got a busted lip  here that I believe may need some stitching."

"If this is how  you're acting when I get a busted lip how are you gonna be once we  jump?" Joe asked McClung. He ignored his skinny friend.

Frances  gently took his jaw in her hands and tilted it towards the light to get a  better look. Then, she disappeared for a moment. She returned with a  bowl of water, alcohol, and some cotton.

"It just looks a little  swollen to me, only a minor cut," she said dabbing at my face, "mouth  wounds bleed a lot but are quick to heal up on their own."

Joe had  the opportunity to get a clear look at her as she worked. She was pretty enough once he realized she was a girl, but seemed a bit young. It was a mystery to him as to why she was here, and here alone. There   weren't any other women on the base.

"You'll be alright, Private." She said finally discarding the bloodied cotton into her bowl, "Next time try to stay calm."

"Hey, he decked me!"

She gave him a stern look. McClung said begrudgingly, "well, you did go for him first."

Joe spat on the ground, "he was askin' for it."

The next time Joe saw Mary Frances he was returning to the barracks with a few of the other fellas. She walked by with Eugene Roe and another medic he didn't recognize.   "Hey, isn't that the dame that nursed your wounds Joe?" George Luz said loudly.

"It is!" McClung confirmed.

"Why's she with the medics?" Luz asked, "hey, Roe!" Eugene Roe turned back at the sound of his name.

"Yeah, George?" he asked.

"Who's  your lady friend?" Luz asked. Eugene turned to look back at Frances.   She and the other medic had stopped a few paces ahead to wait for Roe.

"Who? Frances?" Eugene sounded confused.

"Is  that her name?" Luz jogged up to Roe. The rest of the guys loitered   behind him, curious enough to stick around to find out about the woman   amongst them.

"Yeah, this here's Mary Frances. She's part of the medical corp. here." Roe said.

"Well,  I'll be," Luz exhaled dramatically, "and she nursed up our Joe here   real good. Good one to have on our team. Joe! Joe, get over here. Did   you ever thank our medic here?" he gestured between them, urging Joe to come over.

Joe stayed put but called out, "thanks." She nodded in acknowledgment.

After that Joe Liebgott seemed to run into Mary Frances a lot; enough  times for him to learn to drop the Mary from Mary Frances. She became  Frances and eventually Frankie to all the men in Easy Company.

"So, Mary Frances, where'r you from?" Joe Toye asked through a bite of food at the mess one day.

"Boston."

"Mary Frances," Bill Guarnere interjected, "that's a Catlik name ain't it?"

Frances nodded, "but I prefer Frances, or Fran."

"You practicing?" Bill asked.

Frances shrugged. Luz nudged Bill, "eh, leave her alone gonorrhea."

"Italian?" Bill ignored Luz.

"Irish actually," Frances said.

"No shit, even with all that dark hair of yours?"

"Black Irish," Frances explained.

"No  shit, well you're not in short company, we got a lot of crazy mick's   around here. Startin' with this one!" Bill clapped a red hair guy on the  shoulder.

"This here's our ol' Malarkey," Bill said, "he's not from Boston. But he's got the red hair."

"Hi, Donald Malarkey," Malarkey smiled and offered his hand to Frances.

"Frances, nice to meet you!"

Once  the meal was over Joe and a bunch of the other easy guys headed towards  the barracks to change into PT gear. Frances trailed along with them,  on her way to the medical building which was on the way.

"So you're from Boston?" Joe overheard Malarkey ask her. He walked alongside her at the back of the group. "Born and raised! Where are you from?"

"Astoria," he said, "Oregon."

"I've heard it's beautiful out there!" she said.

"Oh it is, rainy in the winter but amazing in the summer. It's right by the water, a bit like Boston."

"Sounds  like I'm the god-damn mick matchmaker," Bill Guarnere announced. The   guys all chuckled. "Watch out," Bill lightly hit Joe on the stomach as   they walked, "those Irish-Catliks breed like rabbits."

They liked Frankie.  She was cute, real spunky. The guys of Easy company were quick to take  her in. She was tough enough to take their jokes — and didn't flinch at  their language — but her innocence made her easy to tease, which was  fun. She knew her shit too, for a medic. Frankie didn't train like the  rest of the soldiers but they shared most meals. Eventually, she joined  them more and more for games of cards and out at the bars on weekends.

They  all seemed to enjoy having something sweet around. Frances wasn't girly  but she still offered a female presence that seemed to soften  everything.

One night Frances was hanging around while a few of  the guys played cards. She had opted out of gambling that week in  recognition of some Catholic holiday - which Joe called BS on. He was  pretty sure she was still licking her wounds from getting her ass handed  to her in the poker game the week before.

"Gotta piss," Malarkey  announced. He clumsily got up from the little circle they had formed,  stumbling across Frankie as he left.

"Sorry, Fran! Excuse me," Malarkey quickly apologized.

"No, no worries! Sorry, I'll move-" Frances instantly became flustered. Joe couldn't have been the only one to notice her flush.

He raised her eyebrow at her. She smacked his shoulder, "what're you lookin' at?"

She knew exactly what. "He's too old for ya kid," Joe said taking a long drag off his cigarette.

Frances  stuck out her chin in that stubborn way Joe had quickly gotten to know,  "I'm fairly certain he's only a year or two older than me."

"How old even are ya?" Bill asked.

"That's rude to ask a lady," Floyd Talbert interjected.

"Well  she ain't a lady is she, she's Frank," Bill retorted, "one of the   fellas." Perconte looked up at the sound of his name, clearly not paying  attention. Talbert rolled his eyes. Joe snuck a look at Frances to see  how she was responding to being called one of the guys. She revealed   nothing.

"I'm twenty," she said leaning back on Joe's mattress. The men nodded, satisfied.

"Really?" Joe asked, "twenty? You look a helluva lot younger than that."

Frances screwed up her face, unsure whether to be offended or not. "Well, I'm twenty. Twenty-one in April."

She  looked so small to Joe in her oversized uniform. With her face smudged  up from the day and her hair pulled back, she looked like another   scrawny kid fresh out of high school. Clearly, from Bill's comment, Joe wasn't the only one who had forgotten that she was actually a grown   woman. Had Malarkey noticed? Joe wondered what he thought of Frances.

After that night Joe seemed to notice Frances checking out Malarkey constantly. She did her best to keep it under wraps, but she was young, eager, and naïve. Malark was a good lookin' guy, Joe supposed. But he barely seemed  to notice her. Which of course wasn't a surprise, she blended in with  the guys. Joe found unexpected comfort in that thought.

One  evening Joe was walking back to his barrack from the bathrooms when he  noticed Malarkey leaving the medical building. He instantly recognized  the red hair illuminated by the single light that hung from the   building's roof.

"Malarkey!" Joe called. The younger man jumped, startled at the noise.

"Where the hell'd you come from?" Malarkey asked.

Joe  gestured back to the bathrooms, "nature called." Joe narrowed his eyes  suspiciously, "what're you doing in medical? You alright?"

"Oh, I, uh, an old cut on my hand busted." Malarkey held up his freshly bandaged hand as means of explanation.

"How bad was it you had to come to medical?"

Malarkey  shrugged, "not so bad now. You headed back?" Malarkey noticeably   re-directed the conversation. A thousand suspicions filled Joe's head.

"I'm surprised anyone was even there." He said as they fell into step, walking towards the barracks.

"Lucky me," Malarkey said vaguely.

"Who fixed ya up? Roe?"

"Frances!"

"Oh yeah, she cleaned me up one night too, fixed my lip after that fight," Joe said.

"Right! It's handy she has a bunk in the back."

Joe  gave Malarkey a look. That wasn't common knowledge, Joe hadn't known   that. He had never thought about where Frances slept before.

"Ya know," Malarkey was quickly back-peddling, "because she can't sleep in a room full of guys! Wouldn't be proper."

"Right, sure," Joe said.

One weekend dinner Joe sat across from Frances and Luz. Luz was teasing her about her crush, who happened to be sitting down the line at the table.

"Your loverrrr…" Luz was saying. Frances shook her head but was giggling.

"Tell me all the dirty details!" Luz teased.

"I didn't realize you'd run out of inspiration, George," Frances giggled.

"I'm more concerned about your alone time," George said.

"Give it a rest, won't ya?" Joe snapped.

Luz held his hands up in mock defense, "no need to be jealous, Joe."

Joe  shook his head and picked at his food. Frances's head was down, hiding  her blush, but she glanced up at Joe through thick eyelashes. "You know fraternizing is against the rules," he snapped at Frances this   time. She stared at him; shock then hurt quickly crossed her face before  she composed herself again.

"Good thing there hasn't been any   fraternizing then," she responded measuredly, keeping cool eye contact   with Joe. He felt his face grow hot; from anger, jealousy, or   embarrassment he wasn't sure.

George raised his eyebrows dramatically, "oooh, mystery solved."

"I'm so pissed," Perco said slamming his tray down on the table.

"What's happened, Frank?" Frances asked.

Once  the meal ended Joe made a point of finding Frances before she broke off  from the group. He felt guilty for snapping at her earlier. He wasn't  sure where that had come from. But something had felt off ever since Joe  had seen Malarkey leaving the medical building that late night. Was  there more to their relationship that he wasn't seeing?

"I'm sorry for jumpin' down your throat earlier," Joe said.

"No sweat, Joe," Frances shrugged.

"I just don't want ya gettin' in trouble ya know? Gotta keep an eye out for each other."

"Yeah,"  she smiled, "thanks, Joe." She walked off and Joe exhaled, running a   hand through his hair. Maybe he was reading into it.

"She sounds really lovely, Bull." Frances and Bull were sitting in the barracks, cleaning their rifles when Joe and a few of the other guys came back.

"What about you? Anyone special at home?" A half-smoked cigar hung from Bull's mouth.

"No, no one sending me special letters," Frances skimmed her cloth expertly across the stock of her rifle.

"I don't believe that, a pretty girl like you." Bull said congenially.

"Well, I haven't felt like a pretty girl in years." Joe heard Frances say.

"Did you ever go to dances?" Bull asked.

"Oh yeah, I love dancing. Although, I never got the hang of doing it in heels."

"I don't understand how you ladies ever walk around in those."

"Beats me! I prefer these," Frances clicked her boots together.

An image of Frances in her O.D's stumbling around in heels immediately came to Joe's mind. He stifled a laugh.

"You leavin' anytime soon?" he asked, "some of us gotta change."

"Nothin' she hasn't seen already, Joe." Bull said.

"Yeah, you're not packing anything special!" Talbert added.

"Don't  worry," Frances said, gathering her things, "I'm finished anyway! See you guys later!" She moved quickly, quicker than she needed to.

"No rush, really, Frank, I was just bustin' your balls," Joe said.

"No,  no worries. I gotta head out anyways!" she said. She bolted to the door  where Malarkey just happened to be exiting. Ah, Joe thought, there's  the explanation.

Malarkey greeted her with a smile. Their dialogue  was incoherent but Joe didn't miss how Malarkey's hand quickly went to  her lower back as he ushered her out the door ahead of him.

"Now the lipstick," George Luz said like a stern mother. He led Frances over to a little mirror that was posted to the beam of one of the bunks.

Carefully,  Frances applied the deep red shade. Her lips were full, and absolutely  kissable when she turned back to face them. Joe felt a sinking feeling  in his stomach.

"Perfect, our work here is done," George said.

"Great, let's go," Perconte said, a foot already out the door.

Things  were already in full swing once their little group arrived at the dance  hall. As soon as they walked into the room, guys began flocking to  Frances.

"Hello, miss, Edward Tipper, pleased to meet you."

"Tip, it's Frances," Joe shook his head.

"Oh, Frankie," shock crossed Tipper's face, "you look amazing! Want to dance?"

Frankie smiled graciously, "I think I'll grab a drink first, Tip."

"Then you want to dance with me?" Talbert appeared out of nowhere.

"I  can grab you a drink, Frank," Luz offered. Frank Perconte jerked to   attention in response to his name. "Perco and I will grab a drink for   Frankie," Luz amended.

"Thank you George!" she planted a kiss on Luz's cheek. A perfect red imprint was left on his skin when she pulled away.

"Hey, are you just giving those out now?" Talbert asked flirtatiously.

Frances rolled her eyes but laughed "Tip? Let's go?"

Tipper  was all too eager to lead Frances to the dance floor. Joe joined George  and Perconte at the bar before the three of them made their way to an  epmty table. They mingled with various men of all nine companies and the  dames they had picked up that night. Joe watched as many of his  friends, and others he didn't know, spun Frankie around on the dance   floor. Her shiny dark hair, which she had quickly pinned half-up, swayed  in time to the music. She radiated a confidence Joe had only ever seen  glimmers of before.

Now, Joe thought, dressing her up had been a  big mistake. Every guy in the room now had their eyes on her, including  him. But despite her many dance partners, she wasn't seeing any of them.  Joe noticed her eyes scanning the room over each of her partner's  shoulders. Eventually, she made her way over to their table to claim  the beer Luz had gotten for her. At least a third of it was missing  already.

"Sorry," Luz wiped his mouth, "had to make sure it tasted okay. Ya know, only the best for the new and improved, Frankie."

"I  haven't changed George, and I'm pretty sure the beer is still as shitty  as it's always has been," Frances said, but she gratefully accepted the  drink anyways.

"Okay, I'm gonna do it," she was hyping herself  up. Joe sipped lazily at his beer, only half-listening. "Do you think I  should do it?" she asked.

"Yeah! Go for it!" Luz returned to the table with freshly poured drinks. "Do what?"

"I'm going to ask Don to dance."

"Oh," all of a sudden Luz was less enthusiastic, "maybe you should let him come to you."

"George,  I didn't get all dressed up for nothing!" Frankie was glowing, her   confidence had skyrocketed in a matter of hours. Maybe it was the beer.

"Well," Luz's eyes shifted suspiciously around the room, "I think you should just enjoy being pretty. Ya know, for yourself."

Frankie let out a very unladylike snort, "okay, George. I'm gonna ask him, next good song."

"I bet Joe will dance with ya." Luz said.

"Nah, I'm not a dancer," Joe said.

"You dance!" Luz said.

"Not tonight buddy," Joe took a drink.

"Why don't we play darts!" Luz suggested.

She  waved him away playfully, "Fine, George we'll play darts but I'm gonna  dance first! I'll meet you over there!" Luz met Joe's eyes meaningfully.  Who knows why he was all of a sudden so opposed to Frank dancing with  Malarkey. What had changed? Joe stamped down a protective urge that was  rising in his chest.

Joe tried to enjoy watching Luz's darts game.  Usually, it was easy to get caught up in the humor of a team losing.  But his mind kept wandering, wondering where Frankie was. He did his  best to appear casual as he scanned the room. She was dancing with him,  he could see his dark red hair bobbing in time with her sleek brown one.  But wait, it wasn't her. She hadn't styled her hair like that. Joe  Liebgott knew a head of hair, even a lady's do.

Joe made out the  unfamiliar woman's face as Malarkey twirled her around. A pretty girl  from the town he had seen around before. That's when he spotted Frankie.  She was tucked away at the other end of the bar, gripping a nearly full  beer. She had already looked over her shoulder twice in the time Joe  had spotted her. Despite her efforts to be covert, she was woefully  watching Malark dance with that skirt.

Joe went back and forth in  his head. He should just leave her to it. It wasn't his place, they  weren't close enough for that. He thought that he should send Luz over,  or find Roe. But she looked so sad and no one else had seemed to notice.  Frances had successfully tucked herself away in a corner of the crowd.  Joe sighed, he couldn't just sit and watch her like that. He downed the  rest of his beer before making his way over to her side of the bar.

He  folded his hands together and rested his forearms on the bar. "So, did  you get your dance in?" she was startled at his appearance.

She nodded, "yeah."

"So?" He gestured at the bartender. "Was it everything you hoped for?"

She was quiet. "What, did he step on your pretty new shoes or what?" Joe pressed.

"It was fine, fun! But he had to cut it short, ya know when she got here," Frankie forced a brave smile.

Joe  turned to the dance floor where Malarkey was still dancing with the   dark-haired woman. He was unsure how to respond. It wasn't  right of Malarkey to blow Frankie off like that, especially after  leading her on the way he had seemed to the last couple of weeks.  Frankie might be young in his eyes, but Joe knew she wasn't stupid. She  wouldn't pursue anyone without a little encouragement.

Joe licked his lips, thinking. Then he straightened and put out his hand.

"Let's dance?"

She  looked up at him in surprise. "I thought you don't dance? At least not  tonight." Her teasing tone was forced, but he admired her for acting   like she wasn't hurt.

"Well, I couldn't upstage Malarkey and have you all disappointed once you had to dance with him."

She  smiled sadly. Joe took her in his arms, spinning her away from the view  of Malarkey and his girl getting close as the music slowed. He held  her, swaying in time to the slow brass of Moonlight Serenade. At first,  she was a little awkward in his arms. But she began to relax as they  moved in slow circles together. As if reflexively, she started to look  over her shoulder. Joe caught her chin in his hand, "Hey, you look good  tonight, Frances."

Momentarily distracted she teased half-heartedly, "Frances? You hitting on me, Lieb?"

"Maybe a little bit." Joe let his hand relax lower down her back, pulling her in closer.

"Never thought I'd be your type," she said.

He shrugged, "I'm a sucker for any beautiful girl in a dress."

"What about O.D's?"

"I'm only a sucker for you in O.D's." His voice dropped to a husky whisper, "but we shoulda got you a red dress."

"What's  wrong with this one?" She looked up at him with those wide, steel gray  eyes that had made his stomach flop since he first met her.

"Nothin, except blue ain't your color."

[passionatefanfictionbka]

Chrianna Short: Selling Dreams

A/N: An old short that was sitting in my drafts. Figured I finish it and post it. Enjoy!

Rihanna looked around her house and huffed before she just started grabbing photos and items that were spread out and mixed in with her decor. She had spent enough time playing this role and she wanted her life back, as much back of it that she could get. She grabbed a huge duffel bag and started throwing things into it. Just as she went to clear off the table behind her couch, she bumped into Melissa.

“Damn Girl, where you rushing off too?” Mel asked as she gingerly rubbed her shoulder.

“Nowhere. I didn’t see you there. When’d you get here?”

“Just a few minutes ago. You obviously didn’t hear me come in either.”

“Yea, I was cleaning up and wasn’t paying attention.”

“Cleaning up what?” Mel looked around the room, “where’s all the pictures? Don’t you think he’s gonna be a little suspicious?”

“I don’t care what he is especially since he’s not my problem.”

“How is your man not your problem?”

“He’s not my man. Never was. Don’t know how many times I have to say that.”

“Well according to media and your PR, he was your man so outside of this house he was your man. What happened?”

“Nothing. I’m finished.”

“Finished what?”

“I’m finished lying. I’m finished pretending. I’m tired, Mel.”

“Does he know that?”

“I don’t give a fuck what he does or doesn’t know.”

“Whoa there, what is going on?”

“I just told you. I’m finished.”

“Robs, that’s not it. Something happened.”

“Nothing happened, honest. I’m really just over all of this. The trips and shit, it gets really boring after a while, especially if it's not with who you want to be with.”

“Chris know you done?”

“This has nothing to do with him either.”

“That’s not what I asked you. Does Chris know you are done?”

“He knows I was thinking about it.”

“Before me?”

“I didn’t want the judgment, Mel.”

“When have I ever judged you?”

“Not out loud but I could feel the way you’ve been looking at me since this started.”

“That wasn’t judgment, that was disappointment. I told you from the beginning that this wasn’t a good idea. You’ve been letting PR run your life for the last few years and just when I thought you were settled into your own, you let them pull you right back in.”

“Mel, I made the decision to go along with it.”

“For what purpose other than media bullshit?”

“It wasn’t media bullshit to me.”

“And what was it to Chris then?”

“I don’t want to talk about him.”

“You might want to.”

“Why is that?”

“Because I’m right behind you.”

Rihanna jerked around at the sound of Chris’s voice. She smiled before she could catch herself and Chris chuckled, “you look more shocked than I thought you would be. What’s up?”

“Nothing. Why? How are you here?”

“I drove here, what do you mean?”

“How’d you even know I was in town? I didn’t call you.”

“You normally don't and somehow I still have perfect timing,” Chris walked towards her and plopped down in an armchair, “besides I could always sense when something was wrong and considering this room, I was right.”

“Nothing is wrong.”

“You don’t pull a Bernadine in Waiting to Exhale for nothing. What’s going on?”

“I really don’t have to answer you.”

“You don't but you will. Eventually.”

Melissa laughed causing Rihanna to remember she was in the room, “there is nothing funny about this.”

“Oh there’s a lot funny but I’m gonna go to my room and laugh. It’s tense in here.”

Melissa patted Chris’s shoulder as she walked past him to leave the living room. Rihanna turned her attention back to him, “why are you here, Chris?’

“I told you that I sensed something was wrong and...I miss you.”

“I just saw you in New York.”

“That was well over two months ago. Still not used to these long gaps.”

“We’ve dealt with longer.”

“That’s when we really didn’t have any options.”

“Who says now that we do have options?”

“We did especially once we started this up again.”

“This what?”

“What? Does your nigga have the room wired for sound or you just acting dense on purpose?”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re excused.”

“You don’t get to barge in my house in the middle of my recharging session, demanding answers to shit that isn’t your business.”

“All of this is my business.”

“Really? How?”

“Because you’re my business and have been over the last decade. I told you this from Matt to Drake to this Arab nigga, I don’t give a fuck about no PR stunts and relationships, we’ve been in this from the beginning and it hasn’t changed. When I feel like something is wrong, I’m gonna come whether you ask me to or not, guns blazing if I have to. We’ve been good for this long so clearly something has changed if you giving me attitude like this and I haven’t seen you in so long.”

Rihanna sighed and ran her fingers through her hair before settling her hands on her waist. Chris was right; he didn’t do anything he wouldn’t normally do when she came in town and she was overreacting.

“Look, I’m sorry. I’m just- I don’t know.”

“What is it? Is the pressure getting to you? Are you changing your mind? We’ve been communicating so well up until now, just let me know what’s up.”

“It's not you. I just don’t have my head on too straight.”

“Then let me help you, all you gotta do is talk to me, you know that.”

“I know Babe, it’s just- I’m still trying to figure it out. I feel out of control.”

“So stop trying to figure it out and just relax. You’re not gonna gain more control by acting out of control. Forcing things has never been helpful for you.”

“You’re right.”

“So sit down. Stop trying so hard to make things happen and just let them happen.”

Rihanna frowned and Chris chuckled, “what’s the matter, Baby Girl?”

“When the hell you’d get so wise?”

“I’ve had a lot of practice. Now can I get a proper greeting or you still taking your anger out on me?”

Rihanna rolled her eyes and she moved to sit on Chris’s lap. He kissed her and she laid her head on his shoulder, “I wasn’t taking my anger out on you. I was just frustrated.”

“Same difference.”

Chris made circles on her exposed thigh with his fingertip, “I missed you. Why didn’t you call me when you got in town?”

“Because I’m not staying long. I’m actually out of here tomorrow.”

“Even more reason why you should’ve called me.”

“I also didn’t come here by myself.”

“Ah, now that makes sense. Where’s your Arab money?”

“Fuck you.”

Chris laughed, “I’m serious. Where he at?”

“He left already.”

“Argument?”

“Gotta actually talk to have an argument. I’m just over everything and told him to go. Services no longer needed.”

“Should’ve never enlisted them in the first place.”

“I am not having this discussion with you again, Chris.”

“We’re not, I’m just saying.”

“No more saying. You’ve expressed your dislike with the arrangement enough over the last year or so. You didn’t like him, I get it.”

“So you my girl again or nah?”

“Always been yours.”

“But am I still sharing you or no?”

“No.”

“That’s all I need to hear.”

“But we’re not together, Chris.”

“By whose definition?”

“Anybody’s definition. I need time, Chris.”

“I can give you time. I’ve always given you that.”

“I mean real time. Not you sitting in the corner, staring at your watch and willing me to hurry up time.”

“I do not- nevermind.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“Well what do you expect? We were on a good path, babies, marriage, rings and then you spring him on me. Everytime I agree to give you time, you end up giving your time to somebody else. Regardless if it’s a real relationship or not, you’re giving time you promised to me, to somebody not me so yea, it makes me hesitate with this time shit.”

“It’s not like you’ve been waiting all alone.”

“Actually I have. Commenting on IG and shit doesn’t mean nothing when it doesn't translate to real life. ‘I’ve been chilling, minding my business, and taking care of myself. I’ve done nothing but wait by myself.”

“I never asked you to do that.”

“You’ve never asked me to do a lot of things but you knew I would, did you not?”

“I did.”

“So I rest my case.”

“This isn’t easy, Chris.”

“I never said it was but you aren’t making it any easier either.”

“Clearly.”

“So what exactly is your next step?”

“Haven’t figured it out yet. I really don’t know what I want or what I want to do.”

“Just chill for a minute. Give yourself time to relax and actually sleep for a while, it’ll come to you.”

“You’re always good for a positive thought.”

“I don’t like seeing you stressed out, Baby Girl. Makes me anxious and puts me on offense.”

“Chris, you can't protect me from myself.”

“I can try.”

Rihanna laughed as she leaned up to kiss his lips, “what’s your plans?”

“I came here for you. It’s up to you.”

“I just needed to clear my head, probably should’ve come here alone in that case.”

“That’s very true but you also had an image to upkeep so a certain presence makes sense.”

Rihanna sighed, “can I quit?”

“You can do whatever you want to do. Why are you asking me?”

“Because you’re my conscience right now. Can I quit?”

“Depends on why you want to quit.”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you quitting because you’re done or because you’re running?”

Rihanna went to say something then closed her mouth. Chris gently rubbed her thigh, “I am the last person to be giving advice on anything because I still don’t completely have my shit together but I do know what happens when you make decisions based on fear and not fact. I’ve wasted great opportunities doing it.”

“Like?”

“Our entire relationship. Past and present.”

“We’ve both done it if that’s the case.”

“We have, I just actually acknowledge it.”

“I really have no idea what to do.”

“You could start by stopping selling the public dreams.”

“What?”

“You keep pulling people into your PR antics, and that’s what they are no matter how you try to justify it, for the sake of keeping up an image that the public is comfortable with instead of actually being yourself. You being a savage is a cover. You being this pick ‘em and dump ‘em person is a cover. All a mask. You are selling them a version of you that is not real.”

“How would you know that it’s not real?”

“Because I know you. I know you in ways that the public would never get to know you. That’s why you burn out so quickly. That’s why you can’t commit to whatever you’re doing for so long because you’re not being true to you.”

“You’re only saying that because you’re included in what I want to do.”

“I’m saying it because it’s true. Listen, I’ve been out of the picture for extended periods of time and you still stick to the script. You pick people who you don’t really like because you know that they can’t hurt you. I pick people because they’re easy to get and easy to dismiss. I go for ease. You go for comfort.”

Rihanna sucked her teeth as she folded her arms across her chest, “I don’t agree with that.”

“I can accept that, don't make what I said wrong though.”

“So what about you?”

“What about me? I am a complete and utter fuck up at times, I’m transparent about that. I play games to distract myself and others from reality. I bullshit myself a lot but I know it. I accept it therefore I accept the consequences that come from it. You, on the other hand, not so much.”

“Are you saying that I don’t accept accountability?”

“Yea, pretty much.”

Rihanna pushed off his lap and moved to grab the duffel bag she was holding earlier, “Wow, tell me how you really feel.”

“Baby Girl, if you accept accountability, you wouldn’t be lying and justifying things to anyone, especially not to yourself. You wouldn’t be cleaning out the pictures of a man that you publicly entertained for a year even though you didn’t like him. You wouldn’t be hiding and letting the world turn you into a recluse, just to do what you want to do. You wouldn’t be teasing albums when all you really want to do is make clothes and make up. You’d be upfront and honest regardless of others’ reactions. The fact you haven’t and you can’t even verbally express why without providing justifications for it is exactly why we’re having this conversation. None of this can happen without your participation. You have to be accountable for that.”

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

“That’s fine.”

“And I’d like you to leave.”

“That’s fine too.”

“Are you serious?”

“I didn’t come here to argue with you or make you feel worse but we’ve prided ourselves on being honest with each other thus far so I don’t regret what I’ve said. I’m not judging you because we do what we have to do to survive,” Chris stood up and straightened his pants, “I’ve done worse. I’ve fucked up my life worse so I’m telling you from experience. IF you want to quit, you need to be honest with yourself about why and once you do that, you need to be honest about how you got to this point in the first place. That’s the only way for you to quit in peace because the change of outside circumstances doesn’t get rid of the issues inside you. That much I know for sure even though I’m still figuring out what comes next.”

“And this makes you so much better than me, huh?”

“Absolutely not. I’m still fucking up but I’m honest with myself about why and work on how to not do it again. I backslide every once in a while but I’m human. Maybe if you accepted that part about you, you wouldn’t be working so hard to keep up this image for the world.”

“I went back to you after everything we’ve been through, that wasn’t enough?”

“Wow. I hoped you came back to me because you wanted to, not to make me your redemption story. If loving me was the worst thing you think you’ve done as a human, that’s on you. I think. I’m just your most public mistake. Don’t confuse the two.”

“I never said you were a mistake.”

“Nope but you’re saying it as if our second chance was the only thing you’ve done that others’ didn’t accept. You’re protected but you’re not invincible.”

“Sounds like you want me to fail.”

“I want you to be honest with yourself about who you are so you can stop acting like what you’re pretending to be isn’t a bunch of bullshit. I want you to be successful while being you, the real you.”

“Chris.”

“Rih, Baby Girl, there’s really nothing else to say and I think I’ve pissed you off enough for the night.”

Chris walked over and kissed her cheek before he started walking towards the door, “Tell Mel I said bye. Oh, and you missed a couple pictures on the console.” 

He left.

“You know he’s actually right, Robs. He might be a fuck up sometimes but he’s an honest one,” Melissa said as she walked into the room.

“I’m guessing you heard,” Rihanna replied.

“I did. I thought y’all were about to start arguing so I was standing in the hallway.”

“No need. He doesn’t really like to argue with me anymore.”

“That bothers you.”

“It does.”

“Why?”

“It’s uncomfor-” Rihanna stopped mid-sentence, “Am I really that bad? Do I really avoid accountability like that?”

“Nobody can answer that but you. Maybe you really do need time. I’m not saying to shut down into complete isolation but you need to really think about your life and how you want to live it moving forward. Nobody is saying that the world needs to know everything but at least let what you do decide to let them in on, be honest and true to you. If you don’t want to do music or if you only want to do it on your own time, be honest about it. If you want to date, do it but be honest about it. You can be private without treating your personal life as a secret. The best savages are the honest ones.”

Chris had just pulled into his driveway when his phone rang with a FaceTime call. He put the car in park then slid over the answer key, “Hey Baby Girl.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize.”

“But I do. I overreacted and it wasn't fair especially since you came all that way to see me.”

“And you had all right to tell me to leave if you no longer wanted me there. There’s nothing to apologize for.”

“Are you home yet?”

“I just pulled into the driveway. What’s up?”

“Can I stop by?”

“Sure. I’ll order something for us.”

“OK. I’ll see you in a little bit.”

“Cool.”

[petri808]

For Bakudeku event on Twitter

Modern AU setting. Santa/Elf prompt

It started with a stupid dare to take a picture with the Santa in the mall, and Katsuki Bakugou never backed down from a dare no matter how stupid or silly it was. And really, how could taking a picture hurt?

With his buddies watching on, the blonde trundled up to the Santa and sat on the man’s lap for the photo, glaring at his friends who were giving him the thumbs up. ‘Fuckers, if they even so much as think... to...’ his eyes land on Santa’s helper dressed like an elf. ‘Oh, wow...’

“Smile!” The young man prompting from behind the camera smiled brightly.

He looked to be their age from what Katsuki could see. Messy green hair stuck out from under an elf cap, costume matching the color of his hair and eyes for that matter, but the freckles... just adorable! Such a bright smile practically radiated happiness, oh, and how the man’s eyes crinkled at the corners, twinkling like the soft Christmas lights set up around the area. Katsuki’s heart skipped and he suddenly forgot where he was.

“Sir, you may wait on the side for your photo.”

Huh? Oh, right, the stupid photo dare. He didn’t even want it, yet walked over to the waiting area where his friends were standing.

“Bakubro,” Eijiro Kirishima, his best friend questioned, “you seem dazed, did the flash blind you or something?”

“What? Pfft, no, why?”

“You like, totally zoned out at the elf, that’s why.”

The amused tone in Eijiro’s voice wasn’t lost on the blonde. “So? I thought he looked weird.”

“Oh...”

“Oh?” Katsuki’s brow raises. “What the fuck did you think I was thinking?!”

Eijiro grinned wide. “That he’s cute.”

“I didn’t say that!” He gritted out. “Don’t be putting words in my mouth!”

Katsuki continued to deny his friends assertions, and was so caught up in the bickering, doesn’t hear the elf coming up behind him until Eijiro stopped mid-sentence to look past him.

“Sir, your photo.”

The chipper voice was like a melody to soothe a savage beast. Clearly the opposite of personality from the gruff and grumpy Katsuki. He turned quickly and took the white envelope with a curt thanks before immediately getting the hell out of there! His friends followed, laughing, at his expense, but screw them! It’s not like he had a chance anyway! The guy probably had a girl or boyfriend being such a cutie cinnamon roll. The longer he thought about it, the worst his mood became. Katsuki worked hard to hide his anxieties, which is why he rarely dated.

“Dude, come on,” Eijiro tried to stop him from leaving the mall so soon. “We were just kidding!”

“I’m fucking tired, so I’m going home!” To forget all about the cute little Santa’s helper.

Except he couldn’t..

And kept thinking about the man, even dreamt about him that night. When Katsuki woke up the next morning, tired from a restless sleep, he pulled up the mall information on his phone to see how long they’d be running the Santa’s workshop. Two more weeks, and the last day would be Christmas Eve. Great. Two weeks to figure out what to do.

‘This is madness...’ Katsuki thought as he stood around the corner just out of view. He’d been watching the elf work for a week now, desperate to learn more. Was he gay, straight, taken?! Please be gay and single. So far, he hasn’t seen anyone approach the elf, but then again, he is at work and they might not come to bother him at work. ‘Argh! What am I doing here?!’

It was lunch break for the elf, and Katsuki watched as he removed the costumes hat and grabbed his belongings to go to the food court. But just as he leaves the front, a girl walked up. The elf smiled wide, happy with a light blush on his cheeks as they hug. Katsuki deflates the longer he watches them chat, and the deeper the man’s cheeks turn red. Oh... this must be a girlfriend. He turned away unable to watch any longer. So be it. He knew the odds had been low, that this cinnamon roll would be taken. Smart people jump at such opportunities, yet look at him, stalking someone because he’d been too afraid to say anything.

Katsuki sucked back the tears. No! He’s not gonna cry! Wtf is wrong with him! His hands clench at his sides and head hangs low. Time to leave and move on, there’ll be others or maybe not. But like a glutton for punishment, Katsuki turned to look one more time, take one last look at the cute little green-haired elf whose smile had stolen his heart... and who was staring back at him?!

The girl is pointing and grinning in his direction. Why the fuck is she pointing?! Katsuki’s takes a tentative step backwards, maybe they thought he was stalking?! Okay, so he was, but that’s not good. Crap! Why is the elf walking towards him now?! He looked around in a panic, should he run? Yes! Katsuki takes off in the opposite direction. He hears the man calling after him.

Stop! Wait! Please stop!

Why is the elf pursuing him?! Is he gonna report him to security? The girl probably called and they’re on their way...

Mister cute blonde guy please stop running!!

Mister WHAT?!

Katsuki stopped dead in his tracks, completely shook by the man’s words, but apparently the elf hadn’t planned on the sudden reaction and barreled head long into Katsuki’s back, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

���Are you crazy?!”

“You’re the one who ran!”

Both men’s mouths clamp shut, face to face, eye to eye... Katsuki sucked in a breath, heaven help him the elf’s emerald pools with hints of gold flecks bore straight into his soul.

“Why’d you call me cute?” Katsuki sputtered out.

“Because,” the man averted his eyes. “You are.”

Katsuki growled at the loss of eye contact and pulled the man’s face back towards him. He knew then and there he wanted to stare into those hues for the rest of his life.

“I’m not really good at shit like this, but,” Katsuki’s voice lowered. “I think you’re really cute too.”

“Is that why you were watching me?”

The hope twinkling in the elf’s eyes from such a statement sent Katsuki’s heart into an explosion of warmth as if he’d had dynamite stored inside him all along. Is this what love at first sight meant?

“What’s your name elf boy?”

“Izuku.”

The man’s giggles sent more arrows through his heart. Yup he was done. “I’m Katsuki.”

“Mister Katsuki, could I have your number? Cause I gotta get back to work but I’d love to call you later.”

“Pfft cut the mister part and why are you working at such a silly place?”

“Oh,” Izuku grew sheepish, “I needed the extra money to buy Christmas gifts. I don’t have much since I’m still in college.”

“Like how much?”

“Um, I saw a pair of earrings I think my mom would like, so this last paycheck should give me enough for it.”

“A store in the mall?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Get up,” he pulled Izuku to his feet. “Let’s go get it.”

“Wait!” He pulled back. “I can’t afford it yet.”

“It’s for your mom, and I can.”

“N-no, I can’t except such a gift.”

“Look, Izuku my parents own the jewelry store here and—“

“You’re a Bakugou?!”

“Shh, don’t shout that shit! Just call me Santa.”

Izuku shook his head. “I can’t accept that, w-we just met and—“

“I won’t take no for an answer.” He tipped Izuku’s chin up. “The fact you care so much about your mom makes me like you even more. Just say you’ll be my boyfriend, that’s all I wanna hear.”

“You want me to be your boyfriend?” Izuku’s words wisp out. “Is this all a dream?”

Katsuki chuckled. “One that came true maybe. Look, if it makes you feel better, my mom will be so happy I have a boyfriend she’ll probably give you anything you want in the store.”

That brings a giggle back out of Izuku. “Mine will too. Okay.” He smiled and let pot a long exhale. “I’d love to be your boyfriend. But I really should go back to work, they need me—“

“Nope,” Katsuki takes his hand and starts walking towards the jewelry store. “No boyfriend of mine works as an elf.”

“But Kacchan,” he pouts, “I don’t wanna crush the kids dreams. Let me finish the shift at least.”

“Ugh, fine.” Katsuki grumbled though the smile never left his face. “Find me at the store when your done.”

“Okay!” Izuku beamed, kissing Katsuki’s cheek before rushing off to work.

Katsuki touched the warm spot left behind on his skin and smiled. This little green-haired elf was his perfect opposite in every way and everything about him made him smile. Maybe he should thank Eijiro for daring him that day...

Nah!

[wiypt-writes]

Too Loose And You’ll Lose It

Ch3: Man, You Really Are As Dumb As You Look. Part 1 Co-written with @icanfeelastormbrewing​

Summary: Evan asks Stella on a date, Jake’s not impressed and the entire thing takes him on a little trip down memory lane…

Warnings: Bad Language words. SMUT via flashback in Part 2 (NSFW 18+)

Pairing: Jake Jensen x OFC Stella Stevenson.

A/N:  So the smut in this chapter is way back when the pair of them were kids. Both 18 before anyone says anything, and is designed to be a truthful reflection of a fist time! We hope you enjoy it because it certainly made us giggle a lot.

TLAYLI Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 2

It was a sunny fall morning, and for a Monday Jensen actually felt pretty good. He walked down the corridor, his heavy boots slapping lightly on the lino floor, whistling to himself. He stepped aside to let a pretty red head out of one of the rooms, turning to watch her walk away, grinning to himself as his eyes dropped to her combat trouser clad ass before he shook his head and continued his route to the office.

He walked in with a loud “S’up losers” and looked around “Where’s Stel?” he asked, nodding to her vacant desk.

“She got a call about 10 minutes ago and said she was heading for a coffee.” Pooch said, as Cougar gave a chuckle. “And no prizes for who was on the phone given the way she was grinning and telling us not to be nosey bastards as she left.” “Who?” Jake plopped down onto his chair, turning in it so he could see Cougar and Pooch, his legs extending in front of him.

“Man you really are as dumb as you look.” Pooch shook his head as Cougar continued to grin.

As he suddenly realised what Pooch was alluding to, Jensen’s eyes flew open wide “Don’t tell me it’s that guy from the bar the other night?”

“Yup” Cougar nodded “Clearly they traded numbers...”

Jake suddenly felt hot and there was an annoying buzzing in his ears. Swallowing he took a deep breath and shook his head “Nah, that’s not Stel.”

“What do you mean it’s not Stel?” Pooch frowned.

“She only met him like last Friday.” Jensen shrugged

“She’s not 10 anymore Jensen.” Pooch looked at Cougar “What, you expect her to wait for 7 years for this one as well?”

Jensen narrowed his eyes “That’s…that was different, we were kids.”

“Well she’s not a kid anymore.” Cougar smirked, picking up his phone “And she’s hot and free.”

“Yeah, what exactly did you think would happen?” Pooch asked.

“I-“ Jensen looked at him, then to Cougar, both of them watching him as he floundered for a response “-guess I don’t...”

“Nothing.” Cougar cut him off, looking at Pooch “The answer is nothing, because he acts like a dumbass and never thinks about what he’s doing.” “I was doing your momma last night.” Jake shot at him and Pooch snorted whilst Cougar shook his head with a groan which morphed into a grudging chuckle. Momma jokes were a well-worn jest between the group and it was an unwritten rule that when someone dropped one, no offense was meant or taken.

“Oh really?” Pooch turned to look at Jake, arching an eyebrow “Since when has Coug’s momma been called Stella, coz that’s all I heard you groaning from my apartment, and I live a floor down…” Cougar let out a howl of laughter as Jake glared at Pooch “You still get yourself off thinking about her. You’re screwed up, man!”

“No, that’s…I wasn’t jacking off last night!” Jake shook his head, “Pooch is talking shit.”

“Yeah but, made you blush!” Pooch winked and Jake took a deep breath, his cheeks flushed with heat. “Oh my God you actually do!” Cougar snorted.

“Fuck you both.” Jake groaned as he stood up and stormed from the office, bumping into Roque on his way.

“Hey Jensen where’s the fire?” Roque watched him go, before he turned and walked into the room “Where’s that ray of sunshine going?”

Pooch scoffed “He’s craving coffee all of a sudden.”

Roque frowned as Cougar let out another deep chuckle.

***** “So, not suit today?” Stella asked, taking in Evan’s casual appearance. He was dressed in a white Henley and black jeans which was a stark contrast to the crisp suit she’d first seen him wearing in this very place a week ago.

“No, I only wear that when I have some hot-shot boss to impress.” He smiled as he placed Stella’s coffee down on the table, gracefully sitting down in the seat opposite her.

“Suppose that’s the beauty of being in uniform.” Stella grinned, thanking him for the coffee. “Don’t have to worry about office wear!”

“Yeah, probably one thing I miss about being in active service.” Evan agreed. “Actually, come to think about it, it’s the only thing I miss about being in active service.”

Stella chuckled and picked up the large mug in her hands, inhaling deeply. “Man, I love Pumpkin Spiced Lattes” she grinned.

“I can tell.” Evan smiled “You’re practically purring over it.”

Stella shrugged “I wait all year for these things and besides, the last one I had ended up all over some guy’s shirt.”

“Poor guy.” Evan quipped, his eyes on hers as he took a sip of his own drink.

“Yeah, I basically scalded him.” Stella shrugged, “And he didn’t deserve it either, turns out he was a pretty nice guy.” “A nice guy that spent all day smelling of cinnamon and whatever else they put in a pumpkin spiced latte.” “Win-win as far as I’m concerned” Stella grinned, setting her cup down. “I like that smell.” “Maybe you should contact Starbucks’ head office.” Evan set his own cup down gently, his large hand still curled round it “Suggest they release a cologne.”

“Uh-uh, bad idea.” Stella swallowed another sip of her coffee. “I wouldn’t be able to resist. I’d be following every guy wearing it round like some kind of animal tracking pheromones.” Evan let out a loud laugh and Stella grinned watching him for a second before his laughter died into quieter chuckles and she cocked her head to the side a little “You know, I was surprised you called me.”

“Why’s that?” he frowned slightly

She shrugged “I dunno, I just thought you were fooling around at the bar and that you’d end up in some other girls’ bed that night.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth she inwardly groaned “Shit. I didn’t mean that how it sounded…”

“Well, if you must know I didn’t.” Evan said, his voice harbouring a trace of humour “I ended up cradling my friend’s head whilst he puked his drunk ass up all over his bathroom.”

“Sounds a lot more boring.” Stella laughed.

“To be honest, by the time we left the bar I was almost as drunk as he was so it was actually quite funny. We may or may not have trashed his apartment whilst we were on a collision course to the bathroom so…”

“Well as long as you weren’t drunk ass driving and on a collision course to his apartment.”

“No, I don’t drink and bike.” He grinned.

“You have a bike?” Stella looked at him, her interest even more piqued. The guy was hot, looked good in a suit, looked equally hot in casuals and now she was imagining him a leather jacket, boots…she glanced around a little as if she half expected someone with a hidden camera to pop out at her and tell her this was a set up.

“Yup, nice little Ducatti.” Evan spoke and she looked back at him. “I had to go back for it the next day. I wasn’t intending on drinking but, well, we’d had a busy week so it was nice to kick back.” “I know that feeling.” Stella smiled, taking another sip of her drink. As she did so she noticed Evan looking over her shoulder, a slight frown on his face “Is something wrong?”

“Yeah, sorry, just trying to figure out why that guy over there is looking at me like he wants to kill me.” Stella frowned and turned round, letting out a groan as she spotted Jake. He hastily turned to the barista, handing over his money, when he saw her looking and she shook her head, turning back to Evan.

“Will you excuse me for a moment?” she asked, before she stood up and made her way over.

“What are you playing at?” she demanded and Jake looked at her.

“Me? Nothing, I just wanted a coffee.” He shrugged.

“You can’t like to me JJ.” She arched an eyebrow. “Pooch and Coug tell you I was here?”

“Might have mentioned it.”

“Right, well you can take your coffee and go and stop giving my date dirty looks.”

“Date?” Jensen scoffed

Stella groaned, she hadn’t meant to use that…as this wasn’t a date, it was just coffee. “No, it’s not...”but as she looked at Jensen she stopped, frowning “Why did you say it like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like it was utterly ridiculous?”

“I didn’t…”

“Is it so hard to believe that someone might want to date me?”

“Well yeah, I mean no…I mean…”

“You know what? I’m actually not interested in your opinion so…”

“Stell, don’t…”  Jake sighed, “I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sorry.”

“What for?” Stella narrowed her eyes “Because I’ve got a pretty long list of things you’ve been a jerk about.”

“I don’t doubt it.” Jake mumbled, taking the coffee from the barista “Look, I gotta go do some…stuff.”

Stella watched him leave with narrowed eyes before she made her way back to the table where Evan was watching with interest.

“Friend of yours?” he asked as she sat down.

“No, well yeah…sorta.” She rubbed at her temple “It’s a long story.”

“I got time.” He shrugged.

Stella took a deep breath “Ok, short version is we met when we were 11, started dating when we were 17, he ended it 4 years later, only he didn’t…”

“Wait, he finished with you?” Evan cut her off and Stella nodded. “There’s definitely something wrong with him.”

Stella blinked before she let out a little huff of laughter “And now we ended up in the same team under Clay. So yeah, it’s kinda messy but it’s definitely over this time. Thing is I still want to be friends, we’ve known each other for so long but…” she groaned and shook her head “Sorry, I’m rambling and I don’t wanna scare you off before we’ve even starts…” she swallowed and shook her head as Evan’s eyes widened a little “Shit, that was presumptuous of me, I mean if you wanna start something…”

She trailed off, shaking her head, cursing herself for rambling as Evan leaned forward, his eyes twinkling.

“Well I’m kinda hoping you’re gonna let me start by taking you to dinner.”

She blinked “What? I mean, yeah, of course…dinner. Great.”

Evan let out a soft laugh “What are you doing tonight?”

“Um, tonight?” Stella looked at him” Nothing, I guess.”

“So how about it?” he asked “I know a great place in DC. I can pick you up?”

“Sure.” Stella swallowed, feeling the heat in her cheeks “I’d like that.” “Ok, settled.” Evan nodded, picking up his coffee “You know, considering Monday’s normally suck, I think I lucked out on this one. I got a second date on the same day as the first.”

“Oh so this is the first?” Stella teased.

“It absolutely is. At least it was in my head when I asked you to join me.” Evan winked.

“Hmmm, not convinced it counts.” Stella quipped.

“We can agree to disagree.” Evan shrugged “I mean, I’d hate to argue on our first date.”

Stella looked at him, before she shook her head snorting before she glanced at her watch “Shit, I really do have to go. I’m due on the range in 20.”

“I should be getting back to.” Evan nodded “You wanna text me your address and I’ll pick you up say 7:30?”

“Sure, that is a date.” She winked standing up and he laughed.

“Glad we agree on that one.”

***** Stella tossed her kit bag down on the floor and made her way to the bedroom, flopping down on her bed with a loud groan. The day had been hectic and now she wanted nothing more than to have a hot back and crawl into bed, but that wasn’t gonna happen as she had a date.

A date which she wasn’t particularly looking forward to anymore. Jensen had behaved like a petulant brat all afternoon, undermining her every instruction with the team they’d been leading through an exercise and she knew he was doing it deliberately. He was always the same, when something happened that he couldn’t process he went one of two ways. Either completely over the top childish humour or sullen spiteful brattishness, and today he had chosen the latter. The problem was, that whilst Stella knew she shouldn’t be bothered that he was clearly upset she was dating someone else, she was bothered. She felt guilty. And she knew it was pathetic. But she just couldn’t help it.

With a groan she reached into her pocket, ready to ring her so called best friend to attempt to talk things over when it lit up in her hand and she let out another loud growl of frustration as she realised it was her sister facetiming her. She debated whether or not she should answer but decided she better had or Rey would simply keep calling her all night.

“Hi.” She answered, a little unenthusiastically and Rey raised her eyebrows.

“Nice to talk to you too.” Rey said sarcastically.

“Sorry, it’s just been a really long day.” Stell sighed, before she fixed a smile on her face “You ok?”

“Yeah, just thought I’d check in. We haven’t talked in a while.” Rey smiled, brushing her long hair out of her face “Are you coming home any time soon?”

“Not until Thanksgiving.” Stella shrugged “Got a lot on. But I’ll be back for a week.”

“Ok, well I was gonna book me, you, mom, Jane and Janet into a spa for a day, my treat…well, Richard’s, but whatever. You fancy it?”

“Sure.” Stella nodded “That sounds great, thanks.”

“You could be a little more enthusiastic.” Rey rolled her eyes “Are you sure you’re ok?”

Stella scratched at her head and took a deep breath “No. I’m not. I mean, I should be but…”

“Hey, Stel…” Rey’s expression softened as she saw the tears forming in Stel’s eyes “What’s wrong?” “I have a date tonight.” Stella said and Rey frowned.

“So? You and Jake go out all the time. What’s the-“

“It’s not with Jake.” Stella swallowed “Jake and I…look, that’s over. And I mean it this time, he called quits.”

“Wait, wait…let me get this straight.” Rey frowned “You’re going on a date with someone that isn’t Gi-Joe?”

“Yeah.” “And you’re…upset about this?”

“Not upset so much. I feel guilty Rey.” Stella shook her head “Guilty about Jake and I know that’s stupid and-“ “You’re damned right it’s stupid!” Rey exploded “Fuck Stella, I love Jake to bits, despite the fact we fight all the time, you know I do but…well he dumped you like 5 years ago and I saw how broken you were…and then you got into that whole fucked up arrangement, which, for the record the pair of you may as well have still been dating, but that’s by the by. You’re not together, you have nothing to feel guilty about. And if he’s making you feel like that then he’s being a fucking prick but more to the point if you’re letting him make you feel like that, then you’re being a fucking prick too.”

“Wow, tough love much?” Stella mumbled, wiping at her eye.

“Yeah well you need it.” Rey frowned. “Fuck Stelly, it’s about time you got out there. You’re not thinking of cancelling are you?”

“No.” Stella shook her head. “Evan’s a really nice guy, I couldn’t do that even if I wanted to.”

“Evan huh?” Rey raised her eyebrows “What’s he like? Ooh, send me a picture.”

“What? I don’t have a picture of him!” Stella scoffed “I’ve met the guy like 3 times now. The first time I tipped coffee all down him.”

“Ooh, how very Notting Hill!” Rey said and Stella laughed.

“I hate that film.”

“I know.” Rey grinned, “So, come on, tell me about him, and I want ALL the details!” Stella took a deep breath and began to explain to Rey about how she’d met Evan and then bumped into him in a bar, how they’d met for coffee that morning, what he looked like, what she knew about him so far and by the time she finished the smile was back on her face and she knew instantly what her sister had done. She’d made her focus on why she’d liked Evan in the first place. Classic distraction technique, and it had worked. For all their bitching and arguing, Stella wouldn’t change her big sister for the world, and this was one of the reasons why. She was a brilliant confident and made Rey see things that half the time she was blind to.

“Damned, he sounds great.” Rey’s face split into a grin “I’m almost jealous.”

“Well, don’t get ahead of yourself.” Stella shrugged “It might go to shit after this date.”

“That’s the spirit, positive thinking…” Rey rolled her eyes, “Fuck Stella, don’t go into it thinking like that.”

“I’m not, I mean I won’t…” Stella took a deep breath as she checked her watch “Ah fuck, it’s half 6…I need to get ready. I only have an hour.”

“Ok, where is he taking you?”

“No idea.” Stella shrugged “Some place in DC. All he said in his message was to be ready for 7:30 and the dress code was smart casual…”

“Right, so this I can help with.” Rey grinned. “Stand up…go to your closet…” Stella did as she was told, heaving herself off her bed. “Turn the phone around so I can examine your wardrobe…” Rey made a twirling motion with her finger and Stella obliged. “Hmmm” she heard her sister mumbled. “I forgot what your dress sense is like. How long did you say we have?”

“Fuck you.” Stella laughed as Rey chuckled.

*****

Under Rey’s sharp eye they settled on a long sleeved, navy blue sweater dress that finished just below her knees, teamed with a pair of knee high, tan suede, slouch boots with a small heel. With a hum of approval, Rey told her she’d “knock him dead” before hanging up and allowing her to finish getting ready not after offering Stella one final piece of advice.

“Leave the jacket at home.” Rey grinned “Then, you can test his chivalry level when or if he offers you’re his jacket.”

Stella rolled her eyes and hung up before she headed for a quick shower, taking care not to wet her hair as it would never dry in time. Luckily, thanks to the fact it had been in a French braid all day, when she took it down it fell round her face in loose waves and actually looked like she’d meant it to look that way. She did her make-up, keeping it simple with a light brown smoky effect and grabbing her purse,  took a last look in the mirror and headed out of her room.

Evan arrived at 7:30 on the dot, just as promised and as she made her way outside she smiled as he was stood, leaning against a sleek black Mercedes. He was dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans, a cream button down and a tweed jacket with brown boots. Stella smiled as he stood up straight and opened the door to the car for her.

“You look lovely.” He complimented and she smiled.

“Thanks, you look pretty good yourself”.

“Glad you approve, hate to think I was showing you up.” He winked as she settled into the passenger seat.

Evan drove them the 20 minutes or so into DC. The restaurant he had picked was lovely. Not too fancy, but nice enough to be a little bit more special than a run-of-the-mill evening out the Losers often shared. Evan was an absolute gentleman, opening the car door for her, the restaurant door to allow her in first, taking her coat to hand to the Maître-D, pulling her chair out for her.  The food and drink was amazing, Stella ordering a gorgeous grilled steak and prawn salad, Evan opting for a burger which Stella commented looked big enough to feed her entire team. They split a bottle of rich and earthy red wine, Evan having driven didn’t want any more and neither of them wanted a hangover at work, not to mention Stella was conscious about getting drunk on their first date. The conversation was easy, that wasn’t a shock given how it had been between them in the bar the other night and over coffee, but this time they got to know each other a little better. Stella found out that Evan married at 22, divorced at 26 after his wife decided she couldn’t cope any more with him being away for long periods of time. He had no kids, parents both dead, and he’d been working for the CIA now for 2 years after deciding he’d had enough of life in the Navy.

None of it was forced, there was no awkwardness, and the 3 hours they spent together flew by and Stella wasn’t surprised therefore to find that when he pulled his black Mercedes C-class into the parking lot outside her condo building, she was really disappointed the evening had come to an end.

Evan cut the engine and Stella smiled to herself, her fingers running over the seatbelt. “So, the car is nice and all but I kinda wished I’d got to see your bike.”

“Well, I’m not sure that dress you’re wearing would have been very practical for riding pillion, Doll but-“ he turned to face her, his blue eyes locking onto hers as he smiled, and she didn’t miss the little nervous twitch of his lips “-maybe there’ll be another date so I can take you out on it?”

The fact it was a question didn’t pass Stella by and she felt the heat in her neck as she smiled gently “Yeah, I’d like that.”

Evan beamed “Great, that’s great.” He paused before he gestured over his shoulder “Let me walk you to the door.”

Stella didn’t bother to point out she was a lethal trained killing machine. Instead she nodded and tucked her hair behind her ear as Evan climbed out of his car and made his way round to the passenger side, opening her door. He held out his hand to help her out and once she was clear he shut the door and they walked side by side to the entrance, Stella still had his jacket draped over her shoulders from when they’d stepped out of the restaurant. He’d passed Rey’s test with flying colours after he’d dropped it over her shoulders without so much as a word when he saw her shiver slightly in the brisk, October air. Once they reached the door Stella stopped, removed it from her shoulders it off and he took it with a thanks as she reached into her bag for her key. She looked up at Evan who finished shrugging his jacket back on and she smiled.

“I had a really good time tonight, thank you.”

Evan took a deep breath, a cheeky expression lighting up his handsome face.

“Yeah, you know, considering you had so little faith in the fact I’d even call you, I think I did pretty well.” He quipped as she laughed “Two dates on the same day and a promise of a third…”

“Yeah, I’m still not sure that coffee this morning counts as a date.” Stella arched her eyebrow and Evan made a clicking noise with his tongue.

“Pity, because I had it on good authority that the second date was an acceptable moment to have a first kiss.” He looked at her and Stella swallowed, her eyes flicking to his lips before she hastily moved her gaze back to his, but the amusement in his eyes told her he’d seen.

“Ok, well, maybe I can be persuaded that coffee this morning counts.” She bit her lip.

Evan grinned, and reached out with one hand, curling it lightly against her hip as he dipped his head to hers, catching her mouth in a soft, sweet kiss. It wasn’t long, it wasn’t especially passionate but it was perfect for the moment. When they pulled away Evan smiled and stepped back, allowing her to open the door which he leaned over and pushed for her, his palm holding it in place so she could step inside.

“See you later” he smiled.

“Yeah, yeah you will.”

With a final glance over her shoulder, Stella headed for the elevator and selected her floor, sliding the key card into the slot. As the doors shut she leaned against the wall, a smile flickering on her face. She’d had a lovely evening, the kiss being the icing on the cake. She let out a little sigh as she realised that Evan was the first person she’d kissed since she’d started dating Jake (well, not counting Roque if you could even count that) and it had felt completely different. Her first kiss with Jake had sent tingles through her entire body, like someone had set off fireworks in her stomach, whereas that with Evan had been a softer flutter, like butterflies.

But, she supposed that was the difference between being a hormonal 17 year old kissing her first boyfriend and the now more mature and world-wise 26 year old she was.

At that point the doors to the elevator opened and she pushed herself off the wall and stepped through them.  

****

Jake opened the door to his apartment, pulling it shut behind him and glanced up as he heard the elevator doors open. Stella stepped onto the landing, looking in her bag before she glanced up and paused as she saw him. Jake took in her appearance. The long-sleeved woollen dress she was wearing finished just below the knees of boot clad legs and damned it, it hugged her curves in all the right way.  She looked fucking amazing.

“You look nice.” He offered and she smiled.

“Thanks. I would say the same about you but…” she gestured to his sweats, scruffy red hoody and dirty sneakers and he scoffed shrugging.

“Yeah, well last time I checked you didn’t need to get dressed up to go to McDonalds so…”

“Seriously?” she looked at him “Your eating habits are ridiculous. It’s 10:45!”

“Yeah well, I wasn’t hungry before but now I am.” He shrugged

“Fair enough.” she chuckled and turned to head to her apartment.”

“Where you getting in from?” he asked, not sure he wanted to hear the answer. He watched as she stopped and hesitated a little, before she drew her shoulders back and stood tall as she turned to face him.

“I’ve been on a date.” She said.

Yup, there it was.

“With that prick that bought you coffee this morning?” Jake blurted out and Stella narrowed her eyes dangerously.

“Don’t know who you’re referring to.” Stella looked at him “The only prick I know gets the munchies at almost 11 at night.”

Jake took a deep breath and rolled his eyes. “Piss off, Stel”  

“No need to be rude Jacob.” She glowered and he raised his eyebrows.

“You just called me a prick and I’m the one who’s being rude?”

“Whatever Jake” it was her turn to roll her eyes.

“Whatever Stel…” he mimicked in a stupid voice and she shook her head.

“Grow up” and with that final barb she turned, opened her door and shut it loudly behind her leaving him staring at the solid wooden door that sported a large, brass 4a in the middle.

Jake simply stood there for a moment, before his hands dropped to his hips and he let out a heavy sigh, looking at the floor. Funnily enough he’d lost his appetite. With a final glance at her door he turned and let himself back into his own apartment, pulling out his phone.

When he found the number he wanted he pressed dial, and waited for them to answer…

****

Chapter 3 Part 2

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Too Loose And You’ll Lose It

Co-written with @icanfeelastormbrewing​

Ch 3- Man, You Really Are As Dumb As You Look…

Part 1

Summary: Evan asks Stella on a date, Jake’s not impressed and the entire thing takes him on a little trip down memory lane…

Warnings: Bad Language words. SMUT via flashback in Part 2 (NSFW 18+)

Pairing: Jake Jensen x OFC Stella Stevenson.

A/N:  So the smut in this chapter is way back when the pair of them were kids. Both 18 before anyone says anything, and is designed to be a truthful reflection of a fist time! We hope you enjoy it because it certainly made us giggle a lot.

TLAYLI Masterlist // Main Masterlist 

Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection and to the simplest pleasure.

It was a sunny fall morning, and for a Monday Jensen actually felt pretty good. He walked down the corridor, his heavy combat boots slapping lightly on the lino floor, whistling to himself. He stepped aside to let a pretty red head out of one of the rooms, turning to watch her walk away, grinning to himself as his eyes dropped to her combat trouser clad ass before he shook his head and continued his route to the office.

He walked in with a loud “S’up losers” and looked around “Where’s Stel?” he asked, nodding to her vacant desk.

“She got a call about 10 minutes ago and said she was heading for a coffee.” Pooch said, as Cougar gave a chuckle. “And no prizes for who was on the phone given the way she was grinning and telling us not to be nosey bastards as she left.” “Who?” Jake plopped down onto his chair, turning in it so he could see Cougar and Pooch, his legs extending in front of him.

“Man you really are as dumb as you look.” Pooch shook his head as Cougar continued to grin.

As he suddenly realised what Pooch was alluding to, Jensen’s eyes flew open wide “Don’t tell me it’s that guy from the bar the other night?”

“Yup” Cougar nodded “Clearly they traded numbers...”

Jake suddenly felt hot and there was an annoying buzzing in his ears. Swallowing he took a deep breath and shook his head “Nah, that’s not Stel’s style.”

“What do you mean it’s not her style?” Pooch frowned.

“She only met him like last Friday.” Jensen shrugged “She moves slower, more cautious.”

“She’s not 11 now Jensen.” Pooch looked at Cougar “What, you expect her to wait for 6 years for this one as well?”

Jensen narrowed his eyes “That’s…that was different, we were kids.”

“Well she’s not a kid anymore.” Cougar smirked, picking up his phone “And she’s hot and free.”

“Yeah, what exactly did you think would happen?” Pooch asked.

“I-“ Jensen looked at him, then to Cougar, both of them watching him as he floundered for a response “-guess I don’t...”

“Nothing.” Cougar cut him off, looking at Pooch “The answer is nothing, because he acts like a dumbass and never thinks about what he’s doing.” “I was doing your momma last night.” Jake shot at him and Pooch snorted whilst Cougar shook his head with a groan which morphed into a grudging chuckle. Momma jokes were a well-worn jest between the group and it was an unwritten rule that when someone dropped one, no offense was meant or taken.

“Oh really?” Pooch turned to look at Jake, arching an eyebrow “Since when has Coug’s momma been called Stella, coz that’s all I heard you groaning from my apartment, and I live a floor down…”

Cougar let out a howl of laughter as Jake glared at Pooch “You still get yourself off thinking about her. You’re screwed up, man!”

“No, that’s…I wasn’t jacking off last night!” Jake shook his head, “Pooch is talking shit.”

“Yeah but, made you blush!” Pooch winked and Jake took a deep breath, his cheeks flushed with heat. “Oh my God you actually do!” Cougar snorted.

“Fuck you both.” Jake groaned as he stood up and stormed from the office, bumping into Roque on his way.

“Hey Jensen where’s the fire?” Roque watched him go, before he turned and walked into the room “Where’s that ray of sunshine going?”

Pooch scoffed “He’s craving coffee all of a sudden.”

Roque frowned as Cougar let out another deep chuckle.

***** “So, no suit today?” Stella asked, taking in Evan’s casual appearance. He was dressed in a white Henley and black jeans which was a stark contrast to the crisp suit she’d first seen him wearing in this very place a week ago.

“No, I only wear that when I have some hot-shot boss to impress.” He smiled as he placed Stella’s coffee down on the table, gracefully sitting down in the seat opposite her.

“Suppose that’s the beauty of being in uniform.” Stella grinned, thanking him for the coffee. “Don’t have to worry about office wear!”

“Yeah, probably one thing I miss about being in active service.” Evan agreed. “Actually, come to think about it, it’s the only thing I miss about being in active service.”

Stella chuckled and picked up the large mug in her hands, inhaling deeply. “Man, I love Pumpkin Spiced Lattes” she grinned.

“I can tell.” Evan smiled “You’re practically purring over it.”

Stella shrugged “I wait all year for these things and besides, the last one I had ended up all over some guy’s shirt.”

“Poor guy.” Evan quipped, his eyes on hers as he took a sip of his own drink.

“Yeah, I basically scalded him.” Stella shrugged, “And he didn’t deserve it either, turns out he was a pretty nice guy.” “A nice guy that spent all day smelling of cinnamon and whatever else they put in a pumpkin spiced latte.” “Win-win as far as I’m concerned” Stella grinned, setting her cup down. “I like that smell.” “Maybe you should contact Starbucks’ head office.” Evan set his own cup down gently, his large hand still curled round it “Suggest they release a cologne.”

“Uh-uh, bad idea.” Stella swallowed another sip of her coffee. “I wouldn’t be able to resist. I’d be following every guy wearing it round like some kind of animal tracking pheromones.” Evan let out a loud laugh and Stella grinned watching him for a second before his laughter died into quieter chuckles and she cocked her head to the side a little “You know, I was surprised you called me.”

“Why’s that?” he frowned slightly

She shrugged “I dunno, I just thought you were fooling around at the bar and that you’d end up in some other girls’ bed that night.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth she inwardly groaned “Shit. I didn’t mean that how it sounded…”

“Well, if you must know I didn’t.” Evan said, his voice harbouring a trace of humour “I ended up cradling my friend’s head whilst he puked his drunk ass up all over his bathroom.”

“Sounds a lot more boring.” Stella laughed.

“To be honest, by the time we left the bar I was almost as drunk as he was so it was actually quite funny. We may or may not have trashed his apartment whilst we were on a collision course to the bathroom so…”

“Well as long as you weren’t drunk ass driving and on a collision course to his apartment.”

“No, I don’t drink and bike.” He grinned.

“You have a bike?” Stella looked at him, her interest even more piqued. The guy was hot, looked good in a suit, looked equally hot in casuals and now she was imagining him a leather jacket, boots…she glanced around a little as if she half expected someone with a hidden camera to pop out at her and tell her this was a set up.

“Yup, nice little Ducatti.” Evan spoke and she looked back at him. “I had to go back for it the next day. I wasn’t intending on drinking but, well, we’d had a busy week so it was nice to kick back.” “I know that feeling.” Stella smiled, taking another sip of her drink. As she did so she noticed Evan looking over her shoulder, a slight frown on his face “Is something wrong?”

“Yeah, sorry, just trying to figure out why that guy over there is looking at me like he wants to kill me.” Stella frowned and turned round, letting out a groan as she spotted Jake stood in his combats at the counter. He hastily turned to the barista, handing over his money when he saw her looking and she shook her head, turning back to Evan.

“Will you excuse me for a moment?” she asked, before she stood up and made her way over.

“What are you playing at?” she demanded and Jake looked at her.

“Me? Nothing, I just wanted a coffee.” He shrugged.

“You can’t lie to me JJ.” She arched an eyebrow. “Pooch and Coug tell you I was here?”

“Might have mentioned it.”

“Right, well you can take your coffee and go and stop giving my date dirty looks.”

“Date?” Jensen scoffed

Stella groaned, she hadn’t meant to use that word as this wasn’t a date, it was just coffee. “No, it’s not...”but as she looked at Jensen she stopped, frowning “Why did you say it like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like it was utterly ridiculous?”

“I didn’t…”

“Is it so hard to believe that someone might want to date me?” she demanded, hands falling to her hips.

“Well yeah, I mean no…I mean…”

“You know what? I’m actually not interested in your opinion so…”

“Stel, don’t…”  Jake sighed, “I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sorry.”

“What for?” Stella narrowed her eyes “Because I’ve got a pretty long list of things you’ve been a jerk about.”

“I don’t doubt it.” Jake mumbled, taking the coffee from the barista “Look, I gotta go do some…stuff.”

Stella watched him leave with narrowed eyes before she made her way back to the table where Evan was watching with interest.

“Friend of yours?” he asked as she sat down.

“Yeah, I think so..well-” She rubbed at her temple “It’s a long story.”

“I got time.” He shrugged.

Stella took a deep breath “Ok, short version is we met when we were 11, started dating when we were 17, he ended it 5 years later, only he didn’t really as we carried on…”

“Wait, he finished with you?” Evan cut her off and Stella nodded. “There’s definitely something wrong with him.”

Stella blinked before she let out a little huff of laughter “And now we ended up in the same team under Clay. So yeah, it’s kinda messy but it’s definitely over this time. Thing is I still want to be friends, we’ve known each other for so long but…” she groaned and shook her head “Sorry, I’m rambling and I don’t wanna scare you off before we’ve even started…” she swallowed and shook her head as Evan’s eyes widened a little “Shit, that was presumptuous of me, I mean if you wanna start something…”

She trailed off, shaking her head, cursing herself for her verbal diarrhoea as Evan leaned forward, his eyes twinkling.

“Well I’m kinda hoping you’re gonna let me start by taking you to dinner.”

She blinked “What? I mean, yeah, of course…dinner. Great.”

Evan let out a soft laugh “What are you doing tonight?”

“Um, tonight?” Stella looked at him” Nothing, I guess.”

“So how about it?” he asked “I know a great place in DC. I can pick you up?”

“Sure.” Stella swallowed, feeling the heat in her cheeks “I’d like that.” “Ok, settled.” Evan nodded, picking up his coffee “You know, considering Monday’s normally suck, I think I lucked out on this one. I got a second date on the same day as the first.”

“Oh so this is the first?” Stella teased.

“It absolutely is. At least it was in my head when I asked you to join me.” Evan winked.

“Hmmm, not convinced it counts.” Stella quipped.

“We can agree to disagree.” Evan shrugged “I mean, I’d hate to argue on our first date.”

Stella looked at him, before she shook her head snorting before she glanced at her watch “Shit, I really do have to go. I’m due on the range in 20.”

“I should be getting back too.” Evan nodded “You wanna text me your address and I’ll pick you up say 7:30?”

“Sure, that is a date.” She winked standing up and he laughed.

“Glad we agree on that one.”

***** Stella tossed her kit bag down on the floor and made her way to the bedroom, flopping down on her bed with a loud groan. The day had been hectic and now she wanted nothing more than to have a hot bath and crawl into bed, but that wasn’t gonna happen as she had a date.

A date which she wasn’t particularly looking forward to anymore. Jensen had behaved like a petulant brat all afternoon, undermining her every instruction with the team they’d been leading through an exercise and she knew he was doing it deliberately. He was always the same, when something happened that he didn’t like he went one of two ways. Either completely over the top childish humour or sullen spiteful brattishness, and today he had chosen the latter. The problem was, that whilst Stella knew she shouldn’t be bothered that he was clearly upset she was dating someone else, she was bothered. She felt guilty. And she knew it was pathetic. But she just couldn’t help it.

With a groan she reached into her pocket, ready to ring her so called best friend to attempt to talk things over when it lit up in her hand and she let out another loud growl of frustration as she realised it was her sister facetiming her. She debated whether or not she should answer but decided she better had or Rey would simply keep calling her all night.

“Hi.” She answered, a little unenthusiastically and Rey raised her eyebrows.

“Nice to talk to you too.” Rey said sarcastically.

“Sorry, it’s just been a really long day.” Stel sighed, before she fixed a smile on her face “You ok?”

“Yeah, just thought I’d check in. We haven’t talked in a while.” Rey smiled, brushing her long hair out of her face “Are you coming home any time soon?”

“Not until Thanksgiving.” Stella shrugged “Got a lot on. But I’ll be back for a week.”

“Ok, well I was gonna book me, you, mom, Jane and Janet into a spa for a day, my treat…well, Richard’s, but whatever. You fancy it?”

“Sure.” Stella nodded “That sounds great, thanks.”

“You could be a little more enthusiastic.” Rey rolled her eyes “Are you sure you’re ok?”

Stella scratched at her head and took a deep breath “No. I’m not. I mean, I should be but…”

“Hey...” Rey’s expression softened as she saw the tears forming in Stel’s eyes “What’s wrong?” “I have a date tonight.” Stella said and Rey frowned.

“So? You and Jake go out all the time. What’s the-“

“It’s not with Jake.” Stella swallowed “Jake and I…look, that’s over. And I mean it this time, he called quits.”

“Wait, wait…let me get this straight.” Rey frowned “You’re going on a date with someone that isn’t GI-Joe?”

“Yes.” Stella groaned “Why does everyone find that so hard to believe?” “And you’re…upset about this?”

“Not upset so much. I feel guilty Rey.” Stella shook her head “Guilty about Jake and I know that’s stupid and-“ “You’re damned right it’s stupid!” Rey exploded “Fuck Stella, I love Jake to bits, despite the fact we fight all the time, you know I do but…well he dumped you like 4 years ago and I saw how broken you were…and then you got into that whole fucked up arrangement, which, for the record the pair of you may as well have still been dating, but that’s by the by. You’re not together, you have nothing to feel guilty about. And if he’s making you feel like that then he’s being a fucking prick but more to the point if you’re letting him make you feel like that, then you’re being a fucking prick too.”

“Wow, tough love much?” Stella mumbled, wiping at her eye.

“Yeah well you need it.” Rey frowned. “Fuck Stelly, it’s about time you got out there. You’re not thinking of cancelling are you?”

“No.” Stella shook her head. “Evan’s a really nice guy, I couldn’t do that even if I wanted to.”

“Evan huh?” Rey raised her eyebrows “What’s he like? Ooh, send me a picture.”

“What? I don’t have a picture of him!” Stella scoffed “I’ve met the guy like 3 times now. The first time I tipped coffee all down him.”

“Ooh, how very Notting Hill!” Rey said and Stella laughed.

“I hate that film.”

“I know.” Rey grinned, “So, come on, tell me about him, and I want ALL the details!” Stella took a deep breath and began to explain to Rey about how she’d met Evan and then bumped into him in a bar, how they’d had coffee that morning, what he looked like, what she knew about him so far and by the time she finished the smile was back on her face and she knew instantly what her sister had done. She’d made her focus on why she’d liked Evan in the first place. Classic distraction technique, and it had worked. For all their bitching and arguing, Stella wouldn’t change her big sister for the world, and this was one of the reasons why. She was a brilliant confident and made Rey see things that half the time she was blind to.

“Damned, he sounds great.” Rey’s face split into a grin “I’m almost jealous.”

“Well, don’t get ahead of yourself.” Stella shrugged “It might go to shit after this date.”

“That’s the spirit, positive thinking…” Rey rolled her eyes, “Fuck Stella, don’t go into it thinking like that.”

“I’m not, I mean I won’t…” Stella took a deep breath as she checked her watch “Ah fuck, it’s half 6…I need to get ready. I only have an hour.”

“Ok, where is he taking you?”

“No idea.” Stella shrugged “Some place in DC. All he said in his message was to be ready for 7:30 and the dress code was smart casual…”

“Right, so this I can help with.” Rey grinned. “Stand up…go to your closet…” Stella did as she was told, heaving herself off her bed. “Turn the phone around so I can examine your wardrobe…” Rey made a twirling motion with her finger and Stella obliged. “Hmmm” she heard her sister mumbled. “I forgot what your dress sense is like. How long did you say we have?”

“Fuck you.” Stella laughed as Rey chuckled.

*****

Under Rey’s sharp eye they settled on a long sleeved, navy blue sweater dress that finished just below her knees, teamed with a pair of knee high, tan suede, slouch boots with a small heel. With a hum of approval, Rey told her she’d “knock him dead” before hanging up and allowing her to finish getting ready not after offering Stella one final piece of advice.

“Leave the jacket at home.” Rey grinned “Then, you can test his chivalry level when or if he offers you his jacket.”

Stella rolled her eyes and hung up before she headed for a quick shower, taking care not to wet her hair as it would never dry in time. Luckily, thanks to the fact it had been in a French braid all day, when she took it down it fell round her face in loose waves like she’d meant it to look that way. She dressed, did her make-up, keeping it simple with a light brown smoky effect and grabbing her purse, took a last look in the mirror and headed out of her room.

Evan arrived at 7:30 on the dot, just as promised and as she made her way outside she smiled and gave a little wave over to where he stood, leaning against a sleek black Mercedes. He was dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans, a cream button down and a tweed jacket with brown boots. Stella smiled as he stood up straight and opened the door to the car for her.

“You look lovely.” He complimented and she smiled.

“Thanks, you look pretty good yourself”.

“Glad you approve, hate to think I was showing you up.” He winked as she settled into the passenger seat.

Evan drove them the 20 minutes or so into DC. The restaurant he had picked was lovely. Not too fancy, but nice enough to be a little bit more special than a run-of-the-mill evening out the Losers often shared. Evan was an absolute gentleman, opening the car door for her, the restaurant door to allow her in first, his hand in the small of her back as thy followed he Maître-D to their table,  before pulling her chair out for her to allow her to sit down. The food and drink was amazing, Stella ordering a gorgeous grilled steak and prawn salad, Evan opting for a burger which Stella commented looked big enough to feed her entire team. They split a bottle of rich and earthy red wine, Evan having driven didn’t want any more and neither of them wanted a hangover at work, not to mention Stella was conscious about getting drunk on their first date. The conversation was easy, that wasn’t a shock given how it had been between them in the bar the other night and over coffee, but this time they got to know each other a little better. Stella found out that Evan married at 22, divorced at 26 after his wife decided she couldn’t cope any more with him being away for long periods of time. He had no kids, parents both dead, and he’d been working for the CIA now for 2 years after deciding he’d had enough of life in the Navy.

None of it was forced, there was no awkwardness, and the 3 hours they spent together flew by. Of course Evan wouldn’t hear of allowing her to split the bill, picking up the check and Stella wasn’t surprised in the slightest to find that when he pulled his black Mercedes C-class into the parking lot outside her condo building, she was really disappointed the evening had come to an end.

Evan cut the engine and Stella smiled to herself, her fingers running over the seatbelt. “So, the car is nice and all but I kinda wished I’d got to see your bike.”

“Well, I’m not sure that dress you’re wearing would have been very practical for riding pillion, Doll but-“ he turned to face her, his blue eyes locking onto hers as he smiled, and she didn’t miss the little nervous twitch of his lips “-maybe there’ll be another date so I can take you out on it?”

The fact it was a question didn’t pass Stella by and she felt the heat in her neck as she smiled gently “Yeah, I’d like that.”

Evan beamed “Great.” He paused before he gestured over his shoulder “Let me walk you to the door.”

Stella didn’t bother to point out she was a lethal trained killing machine. Instead she nodded and tucked her hair behind her ear as Evan climbed out of his car and made his way round to the passenger side, opening her door. He held out his hand to help her out and once she was clear he shut the door and they walked side by side to the entrance, Stella still had his jacket draped over her shoulders from when they’d stepped out of the restaurant. He’d passed Rey’s test with flying colours after he’d dropped it over her shoulders without so much as a word when he saw her shiver slightly in the brisk, October air. Once they reached the door Stella stopped, removed it from her shoulders and he took it with a thanks as she reached into her bag for her key. She looked up at Evan who finished shrugging his jacket back on and she smiled.

“I had a really good time tonight, thank you.”

Evan took a deep breath, a cheeky expression lighting up his handsome face.

“Yeah, you know, considering you had so little faith in the fact I’d even call you, I think I did pretty well.” He quipped as she laughed “Two dates on the same day and a promise of a third…”

“Yeah, I’m still not sure that coffee this morning counts as a date.” Stella arched her eyebrow and Evan made a clicking noise with his tongue.

“Pity, because I had it on good authority that the second date was an acceptable moment to have a first kiss.” He looked at her and Stella swallowed, her eyes flicking to his lips before she hastily moved her gaze back to his, but the amusement in his eyes told her he’d seen.

“Ok, well, maybe I can be persuaded that coffee this morning counts.” She bit her lip.

Evan grinned, and reached out with one hand, curling it lightly against her hip as he dipped his head to hers, catching her mouth in a soft, sweet kiss. It wasn’t long, it wasn’t especially passionate but it was perfect for the moment. When they pulled away Evan smiled and stepped back, allowing her to open the door which he leaned over and pushed for her, his palm holding it in place so she could step inside.

“See you later” he smiled.

“Yeah, yeah you will.”

With a final glance over her shoulder, Stella headed for the elevator and selected her floor, sliding the key card into the slot. As the doors shut she leaned against the wall, a smile flickering on her face. She’d had a lovely evening, the kiss being the icing on the cake. She let out a little sigh as she realised that Evan was the first person she’d kissed since she’d started dating Jake (well, not counting Roque if you could even count that) and it had felt completely different. Her first kiss with Jake had sent tingles through her entire body, like someone had set off fireworks in her stomach, whereas that with Evan had been a softer flutter, like butterflies.

But, she supposed that was the difference between being a hormonal 17 year old kissing her first boyfriend and the now more mature and world-wise 26 year old she was.

At that point the doors to the elevator opened and she pushed herself off the wall and stepped through them.  

****

Jake opened the door to his apartment, pulling it shut behind him and glanced up as he heard the elevator doors open. Stella stepped onto the landing, looking in her bag before she glanced up and paused as she saw him. Jake took in her appearance. The long-sleeved woollen dress she was wearing finished just below the knees of her boot clad legs and damned it, it hugged her curves in all the right way.  She looked great.

“You look nice.” He offered and she smiled.

“Thanks. I would say the same about you but…” she gestured to his sweats, scruffy red hoody and dirty sneakers and he scoffed shrugging.

“Yeah, well last time I checked you didn’t need to get dressed up to go to McDonalds so…”

“Seriously?” she looked at him “Your eating habits are ridiculous. It’s 10:45!”

“Yeah well, I wasn’t hungry before but now I am.” He shrugged

“Fair enough.” she chuckled and turned to head to her apartment.”

“Where you getting in from?” he asked, not sure he wanted to hear the answer. He watched as she stopped and hesitated a little, before she drew her shoulders back and stood tall as she turned to face him.

“I’ve been on a date.” She said.

Yup, there it was.

“With that prick that bought you coffee this morning?” Jake blurted out and Stella narrowed her eyes dangerously.

“Don’t know who you’re referring to.” Stella looked at him “The only prick I know gets the munchies at almost 11 at night.”

Jake took a deep breath and rolled his eyes. “Piss off, Stella”  

“No need to be rude Jacob.” She glowered and he raised his eyebrows.

“You just called me a prick and I’m the one who’s being rude?”

“Whatever Jake” it was her turn to roll her eyes.

“Whatever Stel…” he mimicked in a stupid voice and she shook her head.

“Grow up” and with that final barb she turned, opened her door and shut it loudly behind her leaving him staring at the solid wooden door that sported a large, brass 4a in the middle.

Jake simply stood there for a moment, before his hands dropped to his hips and he let out a heavy sigh, looking at the floor. Funnily enough he’d lost his appetite. With a final glance at her door he turned and let himself back into his own apartment, pulling out his phone.

When he found the number he wanted he pressed dial, and waited for them to answer…

*****

PART 2 

[youllneverknowrac]

Oscar Diaz-Intoxicated

For @gisellyt

“Y/N, you need to drink some water.” You hear your best friend, Rosa, say from beside you. The two of you sitting in the corner section you guys had rented for the night. You had decided to have a girls night with your group of friends and after being at the club for a few hours you were way past drunk.

“Yeah, try to sober up some.” You other friend adds encouragingly,”It’s almost closing time and we have to go home.”

“Fuuuuuck water and fuck home.” You slur as you stand to your feet, your vision blurry,”I want to danceeee. Let’s dance you boring bitches.”

“I’m calling Oscar.” Another one of your friends say quietly so you can’t hear, going through your purse and grabbing your phone as you make your way to the dance floor.

“I Love this song!” You squeal, making friends with some blonde girl who was equally as drunk as you were. Your girlfriends making sure to keep an eye on you as they sit around the table.

“We should get a shot!” The new girl-Ashley?- says into your ear as you both dance together.

“B-52?!” You suggest

“Yummy! Yes!” She agrees and takes your hand, dragging you to the bar. You both clumsily climb onto the stools and grab the bar tenders attention.

“Hello, hi.” You smile and order the shots once he comes over,”Keep them coming.”

“Y/N. Don’t you think you’ve had enough?” The familiar voice of your friend says as she grips your arm.

“I think you’ve had not enough.” You giggle,”Drink with us, I got shots!”

“Shots, shots, shots!” Hannah? sings from beside you

“You don’t need any more alcohol.” Rosa groans, the bartender sliding the two tiny glasses over as you hand over the cash.

“Buzzkill.” You mutter as you quickly down it, turning to look at Nicole? who just slammed hers down as well.

“There you are.” A girl who looks exactly like your new friend sighs in relief,”Let’s go Jane, now.” She demands, grabbing her and pulling her away.

“Bye!” She calls out drunkenly, giving you a wave as she disappears into the crowd.

“Awe, I’m gonna miss her.” You pout before shrugging and ordering another shot.

“Nope, cancel that.” Rosa says and forcefully pushes you to your feet,”We’re going outside. Some fresh air will do you good.”

“No!” You complain every step of the way, the rest of your friends joining you outside as well. Each of them getting their own Uber until it was just you and Rosa left outside.

“Let’s go back in. They don’t close for like another thirty minutes.” You pout, lightly stomping your foot,”I don’t want to be outside.”

“Stop!” Rosa laughs, keeping a tight hold on you as you try to pull away.

“I got it from here. Thanks for waiting for me.” You hear your boyfriend say from behind you, his grip replacing hers.

“No problem, ella simplemente no dejaba de tomar.” She explains,”I’ll call her tomorrow, you should get her home.”

“Yeah.” He agrees with a nod,”You need me to drop you off?”

“No, it’s okay. I got a Uber.” She declines as you try to turn around to actually look at Oscar.

“Everybody stop grabbing me.” You say and pull yourself away him, nearly tripping off the curb.

“Get your ass in the car.” Oscar says, ignoring your request as he helps you balance yourself before pushing you inside his car and slamming the door shut,”Bye.” He tells your best friend, going to his side and sliding in.

“I thought you said one drink?” He asks as he starts the engine

“I thought you said one drink.” You copy his voice with a eye roll

“Are you gonna have a attitude?”

“I don’t know? Am I?” You say, turning your head to look at him,”I didn’t want to leave.”

“You can barley stand up, you don’t need to be at no club when you’re that drunk.”

“Whatever...loser.” You say amusingly,”Oscar’s a loser, Oscar’s a loser, a loser.” You sing

“This is why I don’t like when you go out with your friends. You get too wasted and then I have to take care of you.” He sighs, keeping his eyes in the road

“If you don’t want to take care of me then I’ll leave.” You offer,”I’ll go, you’ll never see me again. I’ll roll out of the car right now.”

“Shut yo dramatic ass up.” Oscar smacks, a small smirk forming on his lips a moment later.

“So mean to me. I just wanted to have a good time...girls just wanna have fun.” You say and lean towards the radio, connecting your phone to the gigged up old style radio with the cord,”This ones for you.” You say, the music blasting and Oscar instantly recognizing the song.

“Change this shit.”

You Ignore him and scoot closer, your two fingers pressing against his temple roughly,”Punch you in the face, muthafucka I knock ya teeth out

Every time I come through, I got my heat out

If you want smoke, ain't nothin' we gotta speak 'bout.” You shout into his ear, Oscar’s jaw clenching as he endures your scratchy voice,”I'ma start G-checking all you fuckin' clowns

One question, are you fuckin' down?

Wrong answer, here's a hunnid rounds.” You continue, acting as if you’ve had a gun in your hand before you get a bright idea,”Oscar?” You ask sweetly

“What?” He grits out through his teeth

“Do you have your gun?”

“What? Of course I do, why?” He asks, glancing over at you with a perplexed look.

“Let me play with it, it goes with the song. I wanna feel like a gangster.” You explain, your words sounding reasonable in your head.

Oscar doesn’t reply, instead he breaks out in laughter. His hand smacking the side of the wheel,”Fuck no! Play? Estas loca o que?” He wheezes

“Whatever, I’ll buy my own.” You say, scooting away from him and ripping your phone off of the cord,”A pink one. So don’t piss me off or I’m going to shoot you with it, cause I’m a OG.” You giggle

“Shoot me? Is that right?” Oscar laughs,”You wouldn’t. You’d miss me too much.”

“I would.” You smile,”I guess a pistol whip would have to do.”

“You know your mouth gets real reckless when you drink. Like you got no fucking filter.”

“Well if you wouldn’t baby me and make me come home, I wouldn’t be acting like this.” You tell him, reaching over and taking his hand off of the wheel so you can hold it,”But I know how you can make it up to me.”

“Hm, and how would that be?” Oscar asks, bringing his other hand up to take over the wheel.

“Tacos.” You smile,”And I’ll be the best girlfriend over.”

“Tacos? You’re gonna puke.”

“Pretty positive I’m already going to do that.” You laugh,”I’m so hungry, I’m going to starve.”

“Hay comida en la casa.”

“Okay mom.” You say as you play with his fingers,”But I don’t want food at the house...please papi. You know you want some too.”

“If I go, will you stop talking?” He asks teasingly

“No, but I’ll be very happy. You want me to be happy right? I’ll even get out and order them, I can do that. I think.”

“Fuck it, fine.” He sighs, making a detour and driving to the taco truck that was just outside of your neighborhood.

“Yay.” You smile, leaning over to kiss his cheek,”I love you.”

“Me or the tacos?”

“Both.”

He shakes his head, bringing your entangled hands up to press a kiss to your hand,”I’m the only person who will ever put up with your shit, don’t forget that.”

“Like I’m not the only person who would put up with yours? We were made for each other.”

“Tú lo sabes.” He grins, the rest of the car ride being filled with more playful banter and the occasional song performance from you. Oscar pulls into the lot where the familiar truck is stationed and parks a few feet away.

“Pastor right?” You ask him

“Yeah, get me four.”

“Excuse me?” You cough holding your hand out,”Money?”

He scoffs and digs into his pocket, pulling out a 20,”Go.”

“Thanks.” You grin and get out of the car, taking each step carefully,”Hi Emmanuel, hows your night.” You grin to the older Hispanic guy that has been in the community forever.

“Not as good as yours.” He chuckles as he takes in your appearance,”Tell me Mija what can I get for you.”

“Four of pastor and then three of barbacoa.” You answer with ease,”Could I also get a corona?”

“You got it, dame cinco minutos.” He informs before pushing away from the side window and getting your order together.

You walk back to the car, going over to the drivers side, the window already down as Oscar smokes,”Five minutes.” You say

“Aight.” Oscar nods, inhaling smoke before letting it blow out through his nose.

“Let’s go out together next time.” You suggest, leaning through the window,”We haven’t gone out in a while.”

“Maybe, if you really want too.”

“I do. I like when we go out together.” You smile,”Next week?”

“Sure mami, if nothing comes up.”

“Can’t wait.” You say happily, stretching your neck to give Oscar a quick kiss,”Thank you.” You laugh as you take the rest of the joint from him, moving away from the window as you smoke.

“Ladrona.” He jokes, a yawn escaping his mouth after since it was the middle of the night.

“It’s not stealing when I’m your girl.” You retort, taking the final hit before tossing it into the gravel.

“Nah, it’s still stealing.”

“Oh shhh.” You say exaggeratedly, blowing him a kiss after. You don’t wait for him to reply as you stagger back to the taco truck to wait out the last few minutes.

“Ten even, I put some salsa and extra onion in the bag for you.” Emmanuel says when he opens the window back up.

“Thank you, it’s smells amazing like always.” You grin and pay him before grabbing the change and beer in one hand, the plastic bag in the other,”Bye!” You shout out over your shoulder as you walk back to the car. Oscar leans over to push open the door, letting you slide.

“You got a beer? Seriously?” He asks as he takes the bag from you, digging through it and pulling out his order.

“Sure did.” You reply, twisting the cap off and taking a swing,”Ah refreshing.”

“Borracha.” He calls out before taking a bite of his taco.

“Funny, coming from a borracho.” You smirk, placing the beverage in between you guys so you could eat.

He flips you off with his free hand, eating more of his food before taking his own sip of the beer. Oscar eating like a normal person where as you moaned in delight with every single bite.

“Those were the best tacos ever.” You groan in satisfaction, Oscar gathering all the trash into the plastic bag,”Food is always better after a night out.”

“I agree with that.” He says before climbing out of the car to throw away the trash, the beer making you get the hiccups,”Let’s go home.” He sighs when he gets back in,”You’re gonna feel like shit tomorrow.”

“Good thing I have you to take care of me.” You smile, snuggling into his side and Oscar wrapping his arm around your shoulder as you feel your body wanting to fall asleep.

“Always.” He chuckles, driving towards the neighborhood slowly,”I’ll make you some hangover menudo for the morning.”

“Mhm I love you.” You yawn, your eyes closing.

“Love you mami.” He reply’s, letting you doze off. Whenever he reaches the house, knowing that he would not be able to wake you up, he carefully pulls you out and carry’s you bridal style into the house. He groans as he sets you down in the bed, taking your shoes off before covering you up with the thick blanket. Laying down next to you and rubbing his eyes, already knowing that you were going to be a pain in his ass tomorrow when you woke up. Which turned out to be only a few short houses later when you woke him up by running to the toilet to empty your stomach.

“See? You don’t need to be going out with your friends.” He smirks, kneeling down next to you as he rubs your back.

“Shut up.” You cough, more vomit spewing from you seconds later,”I’m never drinking again.” You whine, Oscar keeping his mouth shut and helping you get through the first meltdown of the day. Just like he always did.