#not beta read we die like men !!!!

[spicerackofblorbos]

-> link to event info and masterlist

Stargazing - The Neighbourhood Death Island Leon S. Kennedy x afab!Reader

Push until it pops, tryna clear my thoughts Better keep the ac on for me, not enough. Windows start to fog, clothin' coming off Making it too hot, you got me thinking Pull it out of park, put it in drive I can feel your heart beatin’ with mine. Underneath the stars, lookin' for a sign Glowin' in the dark til the sun shines.

☾ content/warnings ➼ Death Island Leon, smut (MDNI), car sex, semi-public sex, afab!reader, p in v, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it bbys), use of baby as pet name, slightly dominant Leon ☾ wc ➼ ~1.9k (it's not favoritism I swear! (lies))

The night had started off as pure as it could be given the circumstances of where y’all were. Leon had swung by around 8PM, picking you up in his old mustang that he put back together over a whole summer last year. For tonight’s date, he was taking you to the drive-in movies where they were showing the newest action movie of the season. He was adorable when he suggested it, how could you say no?

Leon wanted to get a spot in the back. He said it was because the screen was so large that it was better from that distance, and that happens to be a good thing. Because, fifteen minutes into the movie, you feel his large, calloused palm sliding up and down the inner side of your thigh.

“Leon, what are you doing?” You ask, resting your elbow on the open window with your head propped up. Your head turns in his direction to see him feigning focus on the film ahead. The faint sounds of shooting guns and screams weave through the air from the speakers and radios in people’s cars.

“Just making sure you’re still with me.” He leans his head back on the headrest, lolling to the side to face you with a lopsided grin.

“If I didn’t know any better, I would think you’re being a little too frisky in a very public place.” You raise an eyebrow at him. Despite your words, you can’t squash the arousal of the idea of being taken right here.

“And if I was?” His hand reaches up to gently grab your chin, forcing you to face him.

“Leon!” You hiss, your eyes searching for any semblance of a joke.

While there are hints of humor in his baby blues, there’s not a single trace of jest.

“You can back out, you know. But something tells me you won’t.” He taunts, leaning forward to slowly capture your lips in his, warm and gentle. His stubble pokes into your face as you can’t help but to melt into his touch. You can feel him smiling against your lips at yet another triumph.

“Shaddup.” You say before placing both hands on Leon’s face, holding him closer. The sounds of shifting can be heard as you and Leon face each other in your respective seats, lip-locked with each other.

After what seems like an hour, you both pull apart, a trail of saliva connecting you both before splitting in the middle.

“Mr. Kennedy, you are trouble.” You whisper.

Leon can’t focus on anything other than the throbbing in his pants and the look of your swollen lips and starry eyes.

“That’s what I’m told.” He smirks before turning on the AC and rolling up his tinted windows. Like a child, he smiles mischievously before locking the doors and turning around to wiggle into the backseat over the center console. It’s not graceful by any means, and you can’t help but laugh at the silly visual of his ass in the air as he tries not to hurt himself.

“Careful, old man.” You say lovingly.

Eventually, he makes it to the backseat, sitting in the middle and facing you. With a smirk, he pats his spread legs, asking an unspoken question.

Are you going to join me?

With a big eye roll and a sigh, you comply. You’re a little more graceful as you make your way back just like he did, giggling as you do. It’s almost as if you were both back in high school, 30’s be damned.

When you make it back there, before you move anywhere else, Leon grabs you by the hips and sits you down on his lap, now you’re facing him with your plush chest straight into his face. From this position, you can feel just how aroused he is for you.

“You didn’t bring me out here just to fuck me, did you?” You tease, pulling back to look down at your boyfriend.

“No, but it’s a bonus. We’ll just rent the movie later.” He smiles up at you before pinching your chin between his forefinger and thumb, tilting your face down to his to capture your lips in his again, this one heated.

While he nips at your bottom lip, he slides his hands under your shirt to feel the curves of your waist and up to your chest. One hand slides to the small of your back, the other tugs down one of your bra cups before enveloping your soft breast in his large hand, his fingers squeezing it as if it were made of memory foam. Slowly, he trails kisses down your jaw and to your neck, licking at your sensitive skin before sucking on it gently. The multiple areas of attack rewards Leon with a few of your soft moans.

Unconsciously, you start rolling your hips, your now soaked heat rubbing against Leon’s very obvious reaction to you. A hiss escapes between his teeth at that. Your hands tug up his shirt, him getting the hint right away. Awkwardly, he grabs the hem of the thin clothing, pulling it over his head before throwing it into the driver’s seat.

“Your turn.” Leon growls, grabbing the hem of your shirt and practically ripping it off you. He doesn’t stop there, reaching behind to unclasp your bra and letting the material slide off your arms and onto the carpeted floor of the car.

“You’re so fucking pretty.” He leans forward to capture your hardened nipple in his teeth gently, flicking his tongue out at it before enveloping your breast into his hot mouth. After a few seconds, Leon let’s go with a ‘pop’ before looking up at you. “So fucking perfect, you know that?” He sticks his tongue out and trails it over to your other breast, doing the same as he did with the other one. His hands slide down your sides and hips before resting on your ass, fingers squeezing hard as he leaves gentle bite marks on your soft skin.

“Want you…” You pant out, looking down at him with half-lidded eyes. “Want more of you.” You breathe out. Your hands at this point had slid up into Leon’s brunette hair, tangling your fingers in his soft locks as you lean down, pressing your chest up against his while you meet his lips again, pouring every ounce of love and obsession you have for this man.

While he parts your mouth with his tongue, allowing it to explore, he lifts your ass up until you’re on your knees. Quickly he finds the buttons to your shorts, undoing them as well as the zipper with deft fingers. You break away to help him, awkwardly wiggling out of them and your underwear and discarding them on the floor to keep your bra company.

Leon can’t help it, he cups your heat with his large palm before sliding it up, letting his fingers gather a bit of your arousal that you’ve been leaking this whole time. He brings those fingers to his mouth and sucks on them while staring at you. “And so fucking delicious.” He continues from his previous statements.

While you were on your knees, he took no time to unbuckle and unbutton his jeans, lifting his hips up to tug them down with his boxers until his large cock springs free, his tip angry red and glistening with pre-cum.

“Ride me, baby. Show me how much I mean to you.” Leon demands, his hands sitting on your hips and squeezing.

Gently, he guides you to where you’re hovering over his length, his tip teasing your entrance. With a bite of your bottom lip, you lower down, taking him slowly until you’re at his hilt as you moan softly. You don’t move, taking the time to adjust to his size. Leon leans forward again, giving you a bruising kiss, sliding one of his hands up your stomach, through the valley of your breasts, and up and around your neck as he holds you there.

Together, you both start moving. His hand on your hip helps guide you up and down while you use your knees as leverage, rocking into him. Soon enough, the car is filled with harmonious moans and the quiet slapping of skin. Even with the AC on, the car feels hot. The windows start to fog with every heavy breath from the two of you.

Leon’s lips make their way back to your neck, nipping and sucking, no doubt leaving a mark for you to see in the morning.

Good, he thinks. You’re his, everyone needs to know that.

Both large hands find purchase on your ass again, his fingers squeezing tight as he helps you slam down on him more.

“Fuck, you feel so good, baby. Taking me so well.” Leon groans, his toes curling from the tightness of your heat, so warm and so familiar to him.

“L-Leon..” You whimper, leaning forward as you wrap your arms around Leon’s neck, holding him close and tangling your fingers in his hair again. From this position, his body provides much needed friction against your sensitive clit that you can feel your impending climax coming sooner than later. “I’m gonna-” Your moan cuts off from Leon grabbing your hair and pulling you down into a heated kiss.

“Cum for me.” He demands against your lips, capturing your bottom lip in his and sucking. He reaches down with a hand and uses his thumb to circle your sensitive bud, helping you along.

Leon can tell by the clenching of your walls that you’re just a moment from coming undone, so he presses his lips against yours, swallowing your moans as you convulse on top of him. Your nails dig into Leon’s scalp as you ride your orgasm, the bliss so strong that you can see stars behind your eyelids.

“Fu-uck” Leon groans as he continues to rut into you, chasing his high from the feeling of your clenching walls and the sounds of your moans. With one more thrust up into you, he stills as he shoots thick white ropes into you, his head thrown back on the seat rest as he whines out your name.

There’s a moment of silence between you two, the only noises heard are the heavy pants shared between you both as well as the muffled words and sound effects from the movie still playing on the big screen.

You slump over, resting your head on Leon’s shoulder as you feel his now softening cock twitch inside you. He wraps his arms around your waist and holds you close, placing a soft kiss on your sweaty temple.

“Do you even know what movie we went to go see?” You ask finally, breathing now back to normal, but you still don’t move off him.

“Absolutely not.” Leon chuckles, kissing your forehead this time. “We can just go to my place and watch a movie there.”

You sit up and stare at him incredulously. He only stares back with a raised eyebrow.

“Are we actually watching it or are you going to run your hands up my thighs again?”

“Only one way to find out.” He gives you another lopsided grin. 

[bobby-r2d2-floyd]

The Nanny (Hangman x Reader)

authors note: so, hangman won by a long shot in the poll, but for the few that voted for the rest, they're still coming! i have to deal with the bs with my basement and i am a college student, so i have to deal with my coursework as well.

inspired by @roosterforme

this will be a mutli part series, im not sure how many parts though

pairing: jake "hangman" seresin x benjamin niece!reader; established mav x penny

warnings: some swear words and an inaccurate depiction of how social workers handle dropping a baby off to its living, absent father. also cyclone is a dad bc jon hamm if a dilf.

not proof or beta read, we die like men.

summary: Hangman wakes up one day to a social worker and an infant on his doorstep. the infant? his 3 month old daughter.

word count: 1.9k

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It was the one day that the Dagger squad had a later morning (11am, per Maverick’s request), so when the pounding on Jake’s door woke him up at 8:45, he was a little pissed.

He stumbled out of bed and the arms of some red head whose name he definitely doesn’t remember, throwing on a shirt along the way to his front door where the pounding is originating from and reverberating through his skull. “I heard you the first fucking time,” he curses out, throwing the door open and preparing to unleash verbal hell on the person standing at his doorstep.

All the words die out though when he sees an older woman standing there with a sleeping baby in a car seat at her feet. “Jacob Seresin?” she asks and his eyes bounce between the infant and the woman.

“Yes?” he asks, voice cracking a bit as he looks back to the woman.

“Do you mind if I come in?” he nods and moves aside as she picks up the car seat and steps inside. “My name is Caroline Husband, I’m a social worker for the state of California.” she tells him as she sets the seat down on his coffee table, “and this is Avery. Your daughter.” 

Jake feels his heart stop as he looks down at the little girl, “what, what do you mean?” he sinks down to the floor on his knees, heart racing and Caroline gives him a small smile.

“Her mother-” she looks down at the paperwork she was holding, “Samantha Barnes, passed away from complications shortly after birth, you were listed as father on the birth certificate.” 

Samantha Barnes… Jake remembered her with a small smile. They were briefly exclusive before she had disappeared one night, leaving behind the memories and a note saying she needed to go back home to help with her ailing father, her last living relative that she still spoke to.

“H-how uh, how old is she?” he asks, taking her small, but definitely bigger than a newborn, hand in between his finger and thumb.

“She spent some time with a foster while the state was waiting for you to return stateside. She just turned 3 months old.” Caroline forms him, which makes sense as he was just in the middle of the ocean for the last five months. “I have some supplies in my car that her foster mom put together for you, should you choose to keep her.” 

“Choose to?” he asks, as if there was any other option for him. The second he found out Avery was his, there was never any other option.

“You can alway sign your parental rights away, there’s plenty of families looking to adopt babies.” she says and he shakes his head.

“No, she stays with me,” Jake says as he stands and Caroline smiles up at him.

“Well then, there’s all the information that you need. Her old foster mom made a list of information for you, her pediatrician, what formula she was feeding, how to prepare bottles...” she goes on to tell him more necessary information about Avery but tunes her out as he watches the little girl start to wake up and look around, well, as much as a 3 month old can, he supposed. “Here’s my card, it has my personal cell phone number on the back should you not be able to reach me at my office in the event of an emergency.” 

He takes it with a smile and a thank you before walking Caroline to the door to help her bring the items in from her car and as quickly as she was here, she was gone. Leaving Jake to sit on his couch as he stares into the eyes of his daughter. 

He kicks out his guest after 15 minutes of sitting there before he’s googling how to put a car seat base securely into the back seat of a F-150. After fighting for what felt like an hour (only 10 minutes) he has his daughter secured in his car before driving way under the speed limit to The Hard Deck, only 45 minutes late to meeting up with the rest of the Daggers but as soon as they see him walk into the bar with a car seat, all the teasing for being late blows out of there mind. 

“Do we need to call the police?” Bradley teases and Jake lets out a nervous laugh.

“No.. no police needed.” Jake says as he sets his daughter’s car seat and diaper bag in the middle of the pool table the team was surrounding.

“Well, then who is this?” 

Jake takes a deep breath before answering, “this is my daughter, Avery Seresin.”

Immediately the team has plenty of questions for the team’s resident playboy. He explains the situation as best he can with the information he got from Caroline.

“I never even knew Sam was pregnant. She never said anything and then she was gone.” Jake says softly as he looks down as his daughter in his arms, sleepily drinking from the bottle he made and Penny gives him a smile.

“You seem like a natural already.” she says, snapping a photo of the daddy-daughter moment and he smiles.

“Yeah, I was still around when my sisters started having their own kids, all girls too, ironically.” he responds with a small laugh and the movement of his chest startled Avery awake and she starts drinking more steadily again.

The squad takes the rest of the day before the bar opens with turns holding the newest member of the team. Aside from Jake, Bob and Natasha were the only other two who seemed comfortable enough to hold her without needing any instruction on support for her head. 

“Does Cyclone know you have a kid yet?” Mav asks as he takes his turn holding Avery, seasoned from when Bradley was a baby and he used to watch him while Carole and Goose needed alone time. 

“Fuck, no not yet.” Jake groans as he rubs his hands over his face. “I need to go see him.”

“Go see him now, between Penny being a mom and me dealing with Bradley as a baby there’s plenty of experience here to watch Avery for a bit while you try to get some time to adjust to dad-life.” Mav says and Jake looks over at him.

“You’re serious?” 

“Yeah, besides, Avery is already better at 3 months than Rooster ever was.” Mav teases and Bradley makes a couple of offended noises before being slapped in the chest by Natasha. 

Jake nods, “okay well here’s her-”

“Hangman, get out of here. I did all this with Amelia.” Penny says as she pushes him towards the door and Jake pulls her into a hug.

“Thank you so much, Pen.” he says, meaning it too since Penny is the closest thing to a mom that he has since he hasn’t talked to his real mom in years. 

The drive into base wasn’t a long one, but felt like it was with how often he was checking his backseat and not seeing his daughter before remembering she was safe with Penny and Maverick at the bar. 

Walking into Admiral Simpson’s office, Jake broke out into a nervous sweat. “Um, excuse me, sir.” he says as he knocks on the open door.

Both Admiral Simpson and Admiral Bates looked up at him from where they were sitting at the desk discussing some news that they received from higher ups. 

“Can I help you, Lieutenant?” Cyclone asks and Jake nods, taking that as an ‘okay’ to walk into the office.

“Yes actually, I uh.. I was wondering if I would be able to get leave, sir. I had a surprise visit from a social worker this morning and-and my infant daughter.” he says as he straightens out his back and rolls his shoulders back.

“You have a child?” Cyclone asks, closing the folder that he had open to focus more on Jake. “Since when?” 

“Well, as of 9am this morning, sir. Her mother passed away after she was born and no other living relatives so… She’s currently with me. Well, not with me Captain Mitchell and Penny Benjamin are currently watching her.. sir.” 

Warlock and Cyclone share a look and Jake stands there nervously, “I know that this is short notices but all I’m asking for is a week to figure things out, find a sitter, get some kind of a routine started for-”

“Okay.” Cyclone says and Jake looks at him instead of the spot that he had been looking at on the wall. “You only want just one week?”

“I can have more, sir?” Cyclone nods, having recently become a father himself and knows how important bonding is for parents. 

“Unless something urgent comes, how does three weeks sound?” he asks as he pulls something up on his computer and begins to type.

“I would greatly appreciate that.” Jake says with a small smile and Cyclone nods, ending the conversation and Jake starts to walk out of the office.

“Seresin?” Warlock calls out and Jake turns around, “congratulations.”

“Thank you, sirs.” 

Jake drives back to the bar already feeling lighter than he had in the last 6 hours, and upon walking back into the watering hole, he sees a red faced Avery and a panicked Rooster.

“Bradshaw what did you do to my daughter?” 

“What did I do? She threw up on me!” he says, holding the infant safely, and at an arm's length away. 

The rest of the team is laughing behind him and Jake just takes Avery and lays her against him so her head is on his shoulder, “well I’m sure you deserved it.” 

Bradley glares at him before wandering away to the bathroom to clean up. Jake smiles and rubs his daughters back as she babbles in his ear.

“How did talking to the boss go?” Penny asks and Jake smiles.

“Really good, actually. Said I can have three weeks as long as nothing urgent comes up that’ll need the full team's attention.” 

“Well, if you ever need a nanny so you can have a break and none of us are available, my niece just moved to the area and is looking for work.” Penny says with a small smile as Jake moves to sit next to her. “Plus she has a degree in early childhood and special education.” 

“Okay, yeah I’ll let you know.” he says with a nod.

“Well, you can meet her tonight, she’s supposed to come and help me out here for the night since Jimmy can’t make it in.” Jake just nods and Penny pats his shoulder that Avery isn’t sleeping on while she stands to start opening duties for the bar. 

Jake didn’t end up meeting Penny’s niece that night, or any time in the following week. In fact, it wasn’t until the last week of his leave that he met her. 

Jake was holding Avery as he walked into the bar before it opened, she was babbling up a storm and he took his sunglasses off to put on the top of his head when he saw someone new behind the bar, head thrown back and laughing at something that Bob had said. 

You look over at him and he swears his heart stopped, “Hi! I’m Y/N Benjamin, but you can call me Saturn.”

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next part

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taglist: if you want to join the taglist for all my future works, shoot me a message and i'll be happy to add you :)

@mandylove1000

[wildmtthyme]

Sorry, Johnny Masterlist

Main Characters: Simon "Ghost" Riley, Marianna MacTavish (OC)

Supporting Characters: Johnny MacTavish, Brief Mentions of the rest of the 141 and other random CoD characters.

Synopsis: Johnny's gone and Simon learns that he's not the only one who's grieving his loss so deeply. In their ruthless hunt for Makarov, the hunters become the hunted and the team is driven to ground. Simon should know better but he's got nowhere else to run. Nowhere but a small white wash cottage in the Orkney Isles. Johnny'd just have to forgive him for knocking on her door. He'd have to forgive him for a lot of things.

Warnings: Canon Main Character Death, Descriptions of Canon Typical injuries, Eventual Smut, Grief/Grieving

Ending: Happy - because of course.

Goodbye, Johnny <- Posted

On the Lamb <- Posted

Nowhere Else to Run <- Posted

A Simple Life <- Posted

Bourbon & Photographs <- Posted

Nosy Cows <- Posted

Stay <- Posted

A Sweet Girl & A Desperate Man <- Posted

Dreams & Decisions <- Posted

[trashbag-baby666]

Man Flu-Buck/Bucky

Summary: Bucky has the flu…again but Buck is there to make it better.

WC: 1,195

C/W: Mentions of throwing up and naked body’s.

MOTA Masterlist!

Buck was sitting at his desk working on his homework. Bucky was curled up in his bed mindlessly scrolling on his phone. The sound of Bucky's mouth breathing filled the room.

He hadn’t felt good all day and he made sure everyone knew that. Buckys was always vocal about his feelings and he tended to come down with man flu.

Buck jumped slightly as he heard Bucky let out his loud sneezes. They always came in threes and they could wake the dead.

“Woah there,” Buck turned in the office chair. Bucky was sitting himself up as he grabbed a handful of tissues.

“I hate not being able to breathe,” Bucky groaned as he felt his stomach begin to ache again.

Buck sighed as he stood up from his desk and walked over holding a hand to the other's forehead, “John you’re burning up, this is probably more than just the cold you say it is.”

“I don’t know,” Bucky swallowed as he rolled out of the bed fast dashing to the attached bathroom. Buck stood back up from the bed as he heard the sounds of Bucky's vomit hitting the water.

“Sh, it’s okay.” Buck sighed, rubbing his back as he sat on his knees next to Bucky. The brunette rested his head against the cold tiled wall. He felt absolutely disgusting, his breath hot and slimy. The taste of vomit still on his mouth as he pushed his curls from his forehead, “I’m going to go get you some water okay?”

Bucky only nodded before he felt the saliva rush to his mouth again and threw up into the toilet. He hadn’t felt good for two days now, today seemingly its at its worst. Anything he consumed that wasn’t water he couldn’t keep down. He had been sent home early from school and waited patiently for Buck to come home.

Bucky wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as he tried to pull himself up with the counter but his legs ached. He’d been having body aches all day and sweating but shivering.

Buck came back with the water and saw Bucky with his back pressed up against the vanity he had a fistfull of the light blue rug.

“Feeling a little bit better?” Buck got on his knees as he cradled Bucky's face gently.

“Don’t breathe my air,” Bucky mumbled as he tried to duck away from Buck.

“Doesn’t matter,” Buck sighed as he held the cup up to Bucky's lips and helped him take a few sips, “I think you should take a shower, it’ll clear your sinuses. Might make you feel better too.”

“Can’t get up,” Bucky whined, “Everything hurts.”

Buck was familiar with Bucky and his man flu but this time. This was genuine and he could tell his Bucky was in pain. “I’ll shower with you then.”

He watched Bucky's cheeks heat up red and a small smile pricked on him.

Buck smiled to himself as he sat Bucky back up against the vanity and closed his bedroom door and then the bathroom door. He turned on the water in the shower, closing the sliding glass door. Buck tugged off his shirt then undid his belt kicking his khakis off to the side.

“Geez, at least take a guy on a date first.” Bucky smiled, his voice hoarse and barely audible.

“Maybe when you’re feeling better,” Buck smiled as he began taking Bucky's arms out of the sleeves of his sweatshirt. He pulled off his shirt and Bucky giggled as he poked his side causing him to laugh.

“Stop,” Bucky snickered, slapping Bucks hand away. Buck shook his head with a smile.

“Can you get your own pants off?” Buck asked as he pulled the fluffy socks off of him tossing them to the side with the puked on sweatshirt and shirt.

Bucky nodded as he hooked his hands onto the waistband and tugged them off with his boxers.

Buck had to remind himself that now was not the time to be hot and bothered by Bucky's cock.

“I’m so cold,”

“Just give me a second,” Buck stood back up, sliding off his briefs and getting two clean towels out from the shelf and hanging them up.

Bucky was in his own state of a fever dream, he felt like he was looking at an angel.

The way Buck's hair darkens as it gets wet,his blue eyes stare down into his. He basically drags him onto the floor of the shower and propped him up against the wall. He wanted to make out with Buck but he couldn’t get him sick, he had perfect attendance.

Buck sat down next to Bucky on the floor of the shower. Both of them had their legs scrunched up, “Are you comfortable, John?”

“Jus’ fine, Gale.”

“Hush,” Buck chuckled as he pumped some shampoo into his hand and gently began to massage it into Buck's hair. It had been a few days since Bucky's last shower, he would come home from school and sleep until he had to go again.

Buck grabbed the detachable shower head and pulled Bucky between his legs.

“Tilt your head back for me, sweety.”

Buck gently rinsed the shampoo from his hair then repeated with the conditioner.

Bucky struggled brushing his teeth without gagging but after they got his body washed. Buck dried himself before drying Bucky and leaving him in the warm bathroom while he got dressed and got Bucky some clean clothes. He ended up pulling off the sheets and putting clean bedding on messily then rushing back to the bathroom.

Bucky was sitting on the toilet lid, his head leaned against the wall, his brown grown out curls stuck to his face.

“Still warm?” Buck asked, feeling bad for taking a moment.

“Plenty,” Bucky took the red flannel pants and Boxers from Buck.

“Good,” Buck watched him to make sure he didn’t fall or get sick again.

Once bucky finished changing Buck took no time before he picked him up giving him a piggyback ride to bed. “Thanks,” Bucky smiled as he snuggled into the clean sheets and comforter.

“For sure, I put your dirty clothes into the washer.” Buck set the glass of water on Bucky's night stand.

“Will you nap with me?” Bucky stuck out his bottom lip and put on his puppy eyes. Buck so badly wanted to say yes and sleep till the morning pressed into Buck. But at the same time Buck had a big test to study for and he didn’t wanna get sick.

“I’d love to, but I gotta study and I’m gonna sleep in a spare room.” Buck frowned, “I’ll lay with you till you fall asleep though, roll over and let me be the big spoon since Curt isn’t here.

Bucky chuckled as he turned over onto his other side, excited to just feel Bucks' warmth on him. Buck took no time turning off the light and laying down next to him.

It took moments of Buck laying down next to him before he was conked out open mouth snoring.

Buck smiled to himself and kissed the top of Bucky's head.

[minimafioso]

Chuuya & Subtle Actions - 15 Arc (Anime)

This one is more of an observation

During the anime version of the 15 arc (I say anime version as it does deviate from the light novel) Chuuya's very guarded. He comes off as annoyed, haughty, and angry.

I noticed two subtle actions he made that shows off how much he tries to hide any form of concern or weakness.

As usual, lots of pictures ahead. I like visuals.

The first one most wouldn't noticed and I thought maybe I had been seeing things, but it's clear Chuuya's leg is pretty much incapacitated after Randou injures it. Broken? Sprain?

At this point Chuuya's been using his agility to launch kicks at Randou but with only one good leg he knows that's not an option anymore, thus he's reminded of his humanity and he removes his hands from his jacket. This is now a fight for survival.

When Dazai yells for Chuuya he puts gravity on the busted leg, knowing he cant move it anyway. So he'll become immovable and calls to Dazai to come to him, which he understands. Chuuya wont let Randou's subspace push him back.

There are subtle clues that prove this, such as when he lands originally he goes for his usual right leg but switches just before he touches the ground to put weight on his other leg. He also doesn't move unless with the left leg which he also uses as support. Chuuya's final attack on Randou isn't with a kick, it's a punch. He cant jump and uses gravity on rubble so he can finish things.

The light novel is much more brutal with how much of a beating Chuuya took, but this was at least a nod to the fact that more than likely he still fought with a busted leg.

The other observation is possibly just me over reading into things, but you know what? It ain't hurtin' anyone to post my musings.

The scene where Chuuya is betrayed by Shirase and Sheep is heartbreaking. This group that he thought were like a family immediately turned on him when they assumed he was with Port Mafia. I think they leave it up to the viewer if Chuuya is sweating or he does cry, and I'm leaving it up to interpretation here, but something I did notice was Chuuya's mouth.

There's a couple times I've noticed this, thought it could also just be an art director's choice, but when he's in obvious distress Chuuya's emotions are held back shown as he forces his mouth to stay closed. His lips look as though they are trembling.

This happens when he's fighting Randou. Once it's explained that his gravity wont work as easily you can see he's visibly nervous. Oh, my gravity wont work on him like this. Chuuya's eyes also tend to shrink, but this also happens when he's mad. His eyes are very expressive.

But what made me come back to this moment was a scene in season 3, when Chuuya finds himself in a position that he has to lead members of Port Mafia.

His boss could die, Kouyou, as well as himself, are unsure of their options, and Chuuya puts all this responsibility on his shoulders. He and Kouyou are the only available executives. They both know it's a set up but neither of them are anywhere near as tactical as Mori.

So when Chuuya goes to scope out the situation he's thrown off that the Agency is already going 'full force', something he wasn't anticipating. He's obviously not quite sure what to do, so he decides to go full force as well which ends up being his downfall.

And while this scene happens... his lips mimic the ones we saw earlier, not as noticeable but still there.

I tried to go back and see if this happens with other characters. I went through a few episodes and then lost focus, but I figure this could easily just be an animation choice for showing lips pursed together.

[hauseofhauhaudidyougethere]

Strawberry Pie (Songfic Drabble - Zhao x Reader x Joongi Han)

Song semi in title Strawberry - from Andrew Montana. I couldn't get the idea out of my head so I had to do this. Happy Valentine's Day!! This is more loosely aligned with my other works but make of it what you want. Goal was to keep this one short and sweet.

*****

Drip……….

Drip....

Drip..

---drop

Blood was gradually pooling and leaking out from what connected Joongi’s knife to the target. The attack was clean, precise, and measured.  All went as well as could have been according to the plan. The target was ordered to be killed the previous day with orders coming from above; Seonhee. The target: an approximately 45-year-old businessman who had gotten too comfortable with speaking of his work. Information security is not to be trifled with and when working with people that have associations with the Geomijul – it is imperative if you value your own life to do and say as you’re told. Regular civilians that find themselves fallen out of the good graces of the organization while actually having no clue just how they’ve managed to evade any legal consequence are unable to know when their demise is coming.

When a target is selected and the plan is created – all factors of the target’s life that are known are ripe for being exploited. Like picking berries from a vine, the speed and ease in which such plans are determined and launched becomes trivial. The murder was going to be framed as a suicide in which the target’s social media accounts had already been compromised and all that was needed for the right posts to be made was the signal from Joongi’s burner phone. Just one text to the number of the operative assigned to wait on him and another signal would be sent off to the one hunched in front of a computer screen inside a dilapidated abandoned cybercafe.

Being a hitman for a day-job, moving the bodies is never any less tiring or less precarious but as he does his job with skill, precision, and pride – there’s never been anything that could be traced back to him.  He knew he would want to be in and out of the target’s hotel room as quickly as allowed so as to not alert anyone to his secret entrance and not be caught; there were people waiting on him at “home” – the loves of his life.  Sending the signal that the target’s life had ended, he quickly set to work in creating the perfect scene.

****

I’ll bake you strawberry pie

Clean the blood and never ask why

I’ll be your alibi

Hide the bodies, change your hair dye

****

Drip……….

Drip....

Drip..

---drop

Rain gently tapped on the roof of You Tian, Zhao couldn’t sleep. He knew Joongi had to be out for his work but it didn’t make his presence any less missed.  His sleeping form wasn’t always but typically he would be in the middle of the three-person sleep pile. There were many days where Zhao and Joongi would wake up first before their lovely [Name] did and quietly laugh about the cat they had.  You were acutely aware of the lines of work both Zhao and Joongi were in, even if Zhao had still taken a step back; he was just as entrenched as he was since his childhood. You never loved them any less and never questioned it.  You understood and the loyalty you had for them was doubled over and returned by both.

Once he knew the opportunity to invite the both of you up to the loft he called “home” above You Tian could present itself – he invested in ensuring the bed was large enough that it wasn’t hazardous for anyone’s backs to sleep. Tight squeezes were fine but it would be all fun and games until someone woke up on the floor. Likely him, likely him – Zhao mastered the art of falling to avoid injury but all of that knowledge and reflexes wouldn’t reflect in sleep.

Being restless wasn’t good so he gradually unhooked his leg from where it had hooked with yours as you shifted in sleep and gently pulled himself down to the wood floor – leaving his blankets over you. The faint lantern from the kitchen counter gave him enough light to orient himself to where he sat his glasses at. His painted jet-black nails had chipped away indicating that it was time for them to be redone. Getting out the rubbing alcohol and finding where he left his color on the bathroom counter; he was getting ready to kill time at the dining table – there was a soft knock at the door. The smell of nail polish had just begun to mingle with the chamomile incense.

It was Joongi. He had begun carrying keys to get into You Tian during the off-hours so Zhao or the poor manager wouldn’t be the only ones that could let him in if you weren’t there too.  Unlocking the loft entrance door,  Zhao was greeted with the sight of his silver ashen hair now slightly overgrown and already begun to visibly spackle with black. Joongi would have to redye his hair before going out again.  He was hungry and he was tired. The bottom of the sky fell out during his escape; drenched in rain he still smelled of blood.  Some of it -clearly not his - was still on his cheek.

Holding the door for Joongi to slide in and discard his boots at the entrance before any greetings could be exchanged – there was rustling and shifting of the last weight covered up by blankets on the mattress.  Arms outstretching it was clear it was more than just readjusting.

The air was slightly but noticeably colder free from the warmth of the bed. Waking up alone only made it easier to notice the coldness as it was always harder to leave if not just one but two people were still lying alongside. They rubbed the sleep from their eyes and pushed up from the bed with eyes adjusting to the dim light. It was 3’ A.M in the morning and the rain only threatened to continue pouring outside.  With a swift movement, they were already up to greet the returning partner by the door. No words needed to be exchanged, Joongi’s coat was already unzipped and handed off to Zhao. Joongi never would go out in public with any of his natural hair color visible and given the lateness of the night, it was easier to step in and assist without any protest – if there ever were any it was simply because he never wanted anyone to go out of their way for him.  Pulling Zhao in for a hug and a kiss on the cheek, they clasped a hand around Joongi’s and began to guide him in the direction of the bathroom.

Pulling a box of his dye, towels, and facial wipes from under the sink, Joongi was already directed to sit on the bathmat; freshly laundered from the evening before he could fall asleep on it and not complain. “Shirt”, his love’s voice brought him back to attention. Looking over to his left, he quickly averted his gaze back towards the shower on his right. On warm nights, especially in the humidity of the summer it wasn’t unusual for all three of you to be sleeping shirtless in the same bed to make the arrangement work and remain bearable for everyone else – even if he was the only one who had to use not just one but two blankets.  He still was surprisingly prone to embarrassment and shy about it with the light flushing forming on his cheeks making a less jarring contrast between his skin and the blood that dried there. Not knowing how to respond to the soft remark of “Cute” that could have missed his ears earlier, he complied. A gray towel was quickly draped around his broad shoulders before his shoulders could be exposed for too long. His face was gently wiped to clean it off with the scent of witch-hazel reaching his nose.

With the hairbrush Zhao had picked out for him to use when staying over (Zhao purposely would buy the cute ones for everyone, if it had a cute design it was in the cart), Joongi’s hair was softly being brushed and divided up with clips to hold them in place. Massaging his scalp while doing so, his love smiled as the tension could be both felt and seen leaving his body with each exhale. Applying petroleum jelly to prevent staining to his face was another way to help ease tension with focus being applied on the temples and the forehead. With all of the necessary steps completed, the mixture of hair dye begun.

At this point, it wasn’t the first time either you or Zhao had helped him dye his hair but keeping the box handy was a good failsafe just to ensure that the job was done right and Joongi wouldn’t have to do it all alone or pay extra for a stylist. Taking the care and time to focus on each strand and section as it was being dyed and developed was one way the three of you could alternate between who was spending time with whom – although there were also times where dying Joongi’s hair became a fun three person activity in which the less active one would focus more on idle conversation or making jokes to see who would crack first if any. In a way, an unofficial system had been set-up where in most instances whoever got the opportunity to help with the dye job split off almost equally unless time and energy allowed. Quiet Sundays were one such instance where it was among one of the most fun times of the day besides meals together.  All Joongi had to do was dry his hair and style it to his usual one once all was said and done.

****

While the two were busy working on the hair dye – Zhao took his restless energy to focus on the kitchen – he could paint his nails while he waited for his two favorite lovebirds to be ready to get some sleep but knowing how Joongi’s day likely had been – fixing something to eat would take priority. The freezer didn’t have a lot of space but frozen strawberries had been on sale and there had been enough hinting around that (Name) was trying to see if he had ever baked any pies. He wasn’t someone who made a lot of desserts that were considered Western but the premade pie crusts he found in the fridge were a quick-start. All he had to do was boil down the strawberries with sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch to make the filling. He knew Joongi was someone who appreciated less sugar heavy recipes so when it came to desserts – there were times where he would either reduce the sugar or cut it with artificial substitutes; learning how the differences compared and stacked up against one another. As a chef, experimenting with different ingredients kept him on his toes and there had been a growing trend of customers looking for a sweet fix that were trying to monitor their sugar intake.  He didn’t quite understand it but if there was someone who could make something taste the best without having all of the standard or traditional ingredients – it was going to be him.

Whisking together his sugar mixture and cornstarch in a bowl – pouring it over the strawberries that had begun to heat in the pot on the stove top – all of the dishes that could wait until later to be washed were out. He was so glad the manager he hired and the rest of the staff were competent enough to be trusted to run the restaurant if he ever needed to take a step back because he definitely was not going to be up by the evening if he went to sleep now. Turning on the kitchen radio he was lucky enough to have that came pre-installed below one of the cabinets, he turned on the pop radio station and turned up the music loud enough that it could still be heard far enough to the bathroom. Tapping his feet to the rhythm and pacing kept him from falling asleep while waiting for the oven to preheat as the filling began to finish up. With an idea in his head, he took the top pie crust’s lattice and transformed it into hearts.

With enough time passed and all was set to go in the oven – he finally turned his attention to the nail polish that had been left abandoned on the dining table.  Using a fast drying topcoat and reusing the bowl from earlier he could speed up the drying process with an ice bath so he wouldn’t have to worry about the paint getting on anything else.

****

Within 30 minutes, the aroma of the pie baking in the oven had begun to fill the loft. By the time the pie would be done, it would be about 4’ in the morning. Nothing wrong with some pie for an early morning breakfast, right? Pulling out some red Bordeaux wine a customer had praised before and pouring three glasses – all he had to do was stay awake and find little things to do that could occupy time like already fixing up the “fancy” fine china of paper plates and plastic cutlery. He would splurge on the sturdy high quality disposable utensils and lived by using those before actual silverware if he was trying to cut down on dish usage, even if Joongi would look at him a little sideways. If it wasn’t for Joongi’s insistence on always using clean dishes – Zhao and the other lovebird would insist on reusing the same plates or bowls of it was just for themselves and no one else was around to question it. They would both joke he had been spoiled by living a life of luxury having to attend fancy dinner parties for his work from time to time for the sake of maintaining appearances. “Oh, come on doll, would Yeonsu have to worry about what others thought? They’re not gonna bite ya.” “No, I do think he would rather his beloved partners not run the risk of giving themselves food poisoning.”

That exchange ended with Zhao knowing he wasn’t winning this compromise and jokingly going “Tch.. as the Prince of Plates wishes, us commoners will follow by your lead”. With an exaggerated eyeroll, Joongi had gotten the last word, “I didn’t know the Prince of Plates washed dishes but I guess you get to be Chef Court Jester.” It took awhile before their third partner could stop laughing at the idea and mental images that had came to mind. The longer the three of you had been hanging around one another, the more comfortable and adept Joongi had gotten at participating in banter. Going toe to toe with Zhao wasn’t easy so it was a bonus if there was ever an additional ally.

By the time the timer cut the kitchen radio off and the pie had been pulled to cool from the oven – the shortest of the three was proudly escorting the freshly silver ashen-ed Joongi from the bathroom, “Tada! Our man’s brand integrity has been preserved!”.

That was about the truth of it – there had been the playful floating of ideas for other colors like pink or blue but they were all shot down quickly. Apparently, the second Joongi, Joon-gi Han was expressly not one to do other colors and that doing so would be jarring out of the blue but for the sake of temporary disguises or costumes maybe he could consider it had Zhao musing about how long it would take to do rainbow colors and what amount of time would make the process worth it. The frightening thing was he seemed to be giving it serious thought and joked that if Seonhee gave the order for him to dye his hair another color – he would have to oblige wouldn’t he? Zhao when determined was surprisingly thorough in going about seeing it through. He still talked to Seonhee given his semi-in and semi-out status with the Liumang under her control and participated in activities to say the least but him bringing up the idea to her without any prompting was something to picture. She was almost astonishingly receptive to the fact that Joongi had not one but two partners; Joongi wasn’t free from the jokes of there being a “political” marriage to link the Geomijul and the Liumang while also being secretly grateful that he had also found a partner who wasn’t as involved in the underworld. She thought they were interesting enough to enjoy spending time one-on-one that wasn’t spent with their two lovers hanging out as friends. Even the boss of the Geomijul needed a few hours of rest and play. Joongi while grateful they were both close to his boss, still silently prayed they didn’t go feeding her crazy ideas he would have to jump on. He already wasn’t safe from being teased in private about the relationship but her happiness for him was genuine even if it felt like she was more of a protective older-sister for the shorter of the three than him.

“Great job babe, now let’s get our favorite idol some food and into bed – breakfast? I baked a strawberry pie and cracked open this bottle of Bordeaux for us already while you two were busy”

“Day-drinking?”

“If you haven’t sleep isn’t it just about the same day Han-chan? I know you would like some food and the wine is supposed to be a good rec. It’ll keep ya asleep if you have a glass. Long day”

“I mean 4 am is about late at night if you mess with the wording, right?”

“See, they got the idea! Gold star to [Name]”

“Look, he even put hearts on the crust!” Pie and wine for breakfast it was, they couldn’t compete with the excitement on their lover’s face.

****

With dishes in the sink, three had finally retired to bed before the sun ever dared to rise. Zhao found himself in the middle of the sleep cuddle pile and knew he was both loved and appreciated.

[hustlemeanokay]

Uss'che | Words: 3013 | Lae'zel x Durge Drow Tav (Va'lin) | AO3 Link

Summary:

Lae'zel is awoken in the dead of night by her lover- she realizes that there's more than simple touch craved and he desires her word that she'll never let him harm her. She knows of the battles he fights in his mind and in his blood. She knows him. She is a warrior, fierce and proud and yet... this male has found a way to render her... tender. Or... Smut with a sprinkling of plot. Tav (Va'lin) fights his father's influence and loving Lae'zel gives him the strength to do so. And when I say he loves her, I mean he *loves* her. It's *absolute* for him (ba-dump-ish). His worst nightmare is hurting her and he takes comfort in knowing that she can and will protect herself from him. But I'm getting off track- this is a one-shot about the two of them sharing a night together. Va'lin being tender and loving and Lae'zel not knowing what to do with that... but still- the pleasure is there.

Notes:

SMUT! 18+ Minors DNI!

AO3 Link

[suuooe]

piercing | suo hayato x gn!reader

✧ "Did it hurt when you pierced your ears?" "Want to find out?"

✧ content: esrablished relationship, fluff, biting (there's one bite.)

✧ a/n: another suo drabble cause I can't get him out of my mind please help me. the overall layout of the drabble might be a bit too much, can't really edit it right now as I'm on vacation, but if it's too blocky I'll fix it once I'm back (⁠人⁠*⁠´⁠∀⁠｀⁠)⁠｡⁠*ﾟ⁠+

He mentioned that they were antiques...

You're stricken with the same trivia Nirei had provided you of Suo's earrings whenever your fingers twirl against the numerous golden tassels hanging off the red orb. Careful to not use too much force when you manage to wrap one tassel around your finger in case it were to harm Suo.

The aforementioned man, you notice - is a very pliant lover. Maybe you've picked up on his habit of people watching and observing, but the longer you've been together, the more you notice the small habits he does around you.

Becoming incredibly pliant to your every move and gesture involving him was the biggest habit he's donned. Bending down slightly when he sees your hand reach further up than normal towards him, immediately intertwining your hands when he feels the slightest brush and a recent one you noticed.

"Did it hurt when you pierced your ears, Hayato?" you questioned, your lover opening his visible eye to glance towards you, head still angled while you kept toying with his earring.

He always tilted his head slightly to the side to give you more room to play with his earring, sitting completely still to let you do such for as long as you please.

Suo only straightened his head back up when he felt your fingers leave his ears, instead turning his body slightly to come closer to you. Not that you weren't close from before already, having the habit of sitting directly next to him with a hand between his legs to get as comfortably close as possible.

"Hmm, I got them pierced when I was relatively young so I don't remember. Why, you plan on getting your own pierced?" he mutters, raising his own hand up to tuck your hair behind your ear to look at your un-pierced lobes.

"It would be a bit of shame though to pierce your ears..." he whispers briefly to himself, absentmindedly brushing his thumb against your lobe, pressing slightly at the unscarred skin.

"Mm..!?"

Suo's eyes widen slightly at the surprised noise you make, whilst you yourself hurriedly grab onto the same ear he had just pressed - instinctively pulling yourself a bit further away from your boyfriend. Your lover however is quick with his hands, already having a secure hand behind your back to prevent you from jumping away further.

You don't like how his slightly widened eyes were also mixed with a hint of mirth. "It just tickled a bit, that's all." you hurriedly say in defense, Suo only humming in response which makes your already reddened cheeks deepen further.

"I'm pretty sure though.." he starts, effortlessly lifting you up from the floor to make you straddle his lap, his hands resting on your lower back whilst your hands grab his shoulders to stabilize yourself, "That whether or not it hurts, depends entirely on the person." he finishes, looking slightly up at you with a mischevious smile now that you're more elevated than him.

"Want to find out?" he asks in a whisper, and before you can process what he truly asked, you feel the slight tickle of his hair strands brush against your cheek, immediately followed by a slight exhale against your ear. But before you can ask what he's planning-

Chomp

"Hmn?!" you let out another surprised sound, nails digging into his silk shirt in surprise as you jump up. But Suo keeps a firm grip on you, settling you down back on his lap as you feel the tip of his tongue prod against your lobe before he blows against the area he had just bit. "H-Hayato?" you exclaim in surprise, trying to push yourself away to make eye contact.

You feel his whole body shake in restrained laughter before he finally eases his hold on your waist, leaning back a bit to instead cradle your cheek and give your lips a brief kiss. Separating just far enough to talk, but still close enough for his lips to occasionally make contact with yours if he were to speak. "So? Did it hurt?"

[frownyalfred]

sometimes tagging "no beta" means haha, no one checked this for typos! and sometimes it means no one read this over because if they did, they would delete this, take away my computer, and make me go to therapy.

[cosmichymns]

Devouring Desire

Not my gif. NSFW. MDNI. I’ll eventually put this on AO3. Smut. Just smutty smut.

She pulls you closer and encourages you to rest your forehead on her bare shoulder with a kiss to your temple. You sigh despite yourself. Her scent, the dim light of the corner she pulled you into, and the soothing rhythm of the music has lulled you into a state of pure contentment.

“Don’t get too comfy over there in that dark corner!” Morgan yelled over, catching Emily’s attention momentarily. She smirked, rolled her eyes, and playfully flipped him up. He shook his head laughing and swatted at the air in her direction before turning back to the group.

It was just supposed to be another casual night at Rossi’s mansion on the hill but after dinner, people quickly paired off. Alex and Reid. Morgan and Garcia. Luke and Lisa. Tara and JJ.

You and Emily. Oh, you and Emily.

Rossi’s outdoor patio and garden had always been spectacular but you had a sneaking suspicion that Garcia had coaxed him into letting her string fairy lights across the yard to the pool and down the pergola near the fence. Which was currently where you and Emily had found yourselves.

Emily’s arms wrapped possessively around your waist, hands sliding down to grip the sides of your hips as she lead you in an impromptu intimate sway. You ran your nose up along the length of her long, pale throat and inhaled deeply. Her signature jasmine and clove scent, which you have now begun to associate with safety, intimacy, and peace, filled your nostrils as you let out a heavy sigh.

“You okay, my sweet girl?”, she cooed into your ear as she ran a hand up your spine to cup the back of your neck gently.

“Mmhmm”, you mumbled before remembering she liked you using your words. “I absolutely am”.

Emily hummed pleasantly at that as you moved to drop chaste kisses along her throat where your nose had just been. She pulled your bodies impossibly closer as she brushed your hair to one side and gently started stroking circles along the nape of your neck.

You felt it was too needy to admit out loud but you wanted to be pressed against her always. You wanted your bodies to melt into one. You didn’t want to know where she stopped and you began. Never have you found a love like this. These thoughts in combination with Emily’s swaying and beyond gentle touches had you tearing up. You felt your face begin to flush at your embarrassment as you tried a few deep breaths to try and regulate yourself.

Emily must have felt you shudder against her throat because she pulled away slowly and inhaled sharply again at the sight of your tears.

“Oh baby…” she spoke softly, bringing up her hand to swipe a warm thumb across your cheekbones. She kissed the corners of your eyes, the rest of the world shut out as she focused solely on you. “Wha… oh, sweet girl, don’t cry, baby. How can I help? Hmm?”

You let out a self deprecating laugh at your less than sexy sniffle and looked up into her intense, dark eyes.

“I’m okay just…” you tilted your head as you thought. “I never imagined I would have this. Have… you.”

You dropped your gaze and brought your hands to her upper chest, playing with her small white gold dainty celestial padlock necklace that you had given her after a year of dating. Without knowing it, she had gotten you the corresponding key necklace in the same celestial fashion. You remember the words “disgustingly sweet” coming from Garcia’s mouth.

Emily’s expression softened even further at your confession. With one hand still securely wrapped around your hips, the other threaded through your thick, natural auburn curls reassuringly. She knew you well enough to know words were wind.

Holding the back of your head in place, she closed the small gasp between your lips tenderly. She explored your mouth for a few minutes, the two of you lost in each other, and bit down on your bottom lip gently as she pulled away smiling. Despite having seen it a hundred times, the sight of her beautiful smile always took your breath away.

Your chest heaved now as you watched Emily’s face flush slightly. Your hands caressed down her body, stopping underneath the swell of her heavy breasts. You raked your fingers against the underside of them, almost impatiently, as you looked up at her through your lashes.

It took her no time to understand the meaning of your gaze as she tugged you by your hips over to the darkened corner under the pergola. A loveseat had been dragged over by a mischievous Garcia earlier in the night under the guise of ‘making more room’. You allowed her to pull you onto her lap so your knees were on either side of her hips.

“Let me see how beautiful you are, hmm?” Emily said softy, racking her eyes over your body as you leaned back a bit away from her.

Your fingers played idly at the hem of her navy off the shoulder top before dipping underneath and skimming the soft skin of Emily’s waist. You loved that as she aged she filled out a bit more in the best of places. It gave you a comfort you didn’t know you needed.

“So lovely”, Emily muttered almost to herself as she used a hand to push your hair back behind your shoulders as you tried to clench your legs together.

She eyed your slightly protruding clavicle hungrily and ran her tongue over her bottom lip before sucking it in as you attempted to slip your hand under her linen pants. Her hand immediately caught your wrist and it made you internally smile.

“You’re awfully bold this evening,” Emily chuckled, never once did her eyes leave yours to look at the others around you but the darkness of this corner was not lost on her.

“I just want you so bad,” you said in a thick voice that was even a shock to you and Emily licked her lips. “I need your hand tightening on my throat, your teeth on my shoulder… I need…”

“What, my pretty girl?” Emily’s voice was barely a whisper now, the lust fully taking over.

“I need you inside of me more than-“, you whine quietly. “-more than I need to fucking breathe. Please?”

You could see the instant blowing of Emily’s pupils at this confession as she gripped your wrist a little tighter. You knew she wouldn’t outright take complete control of you in front of both your friends and colleagues so you sometimes pushed her boundaries a bit in public… and you paid for it at home.

“A desire so violent it seemed devouring…” the dark haired woman breathed out unevenly and so softly that you almost didn’t hear her over the noise of the rest of the team.

“Anaïs Nin.”

Emily hummed in approval while her eyes finally dragged from yours and scanned the outdoor space quickly, though you’re sure she had tracked their movements in her periphery. It had gotten late all of a sudden. Luke and Lisa were sitting on another outdoor loveseat, playfully smacking the other’s thigh deep in uncontrolled laughter. Emily smiled. The boys were hanging around the wet bar laughing and Tara, JJ, and Garcia were sitting around the bonfire in the middle of the yard, drinks in hand. She noticed JJ’s gaze falling to the two of you every so often and as you turned to see what Emily was looking at, your eyes locked with JJ’s. As quickly as it happened, JJ ripped her eyes away, blushed, and pretended to rejoin their conversation.

“I told you she liked to… watch us every now and again,” you whispered, turning around and slipping your wrist from her grip. You couldn’t read the look on Emily’s face. “I’ve caught her half a dozen times already tonight.”

Emily’s possessive, jealous side flared in her eyes now as she secretly wished you had brought a shawl of some sort so she could cover you. You enjoyed this protective, territorial side of Emily. It turned you on far more than it should. She pulled you closer to her body, the apex of your thighs brushing the softness of her belly before leaning in to kiss you hungrily. You started to slip your own hand under your already hiked up dress, gliding your smooth fingertips under the band of your lace underwear

“Let her look. Just touch me please”, you say breathily. You had always known JJ longed for something more but you couldn’t quite put your finger on it. It was true you had caught her watching the two of you with curiosity and maybe envy? Whatever the reason, you felt empathy with whatever war she was waging within herself. “Please?”

“You. Are. Mine”, Emily practically growled, leaving harsh kisses against your throat and wrenching your hand from your underwear. She repositioned her arm so her palm was flat against your belly as it sunk into your underwear.

“I am absolutely yours. Always.” You breathed out, letting the statement hang in the air for a moment. “I don’t think it’s me, per se, but us. Some people are drawn to intimacy, to closeness. Voyeurs, you know?”

A moment passes before Emily speaks.

“You like it when she watches, don’t you?” Emily states matter-of-factly as she cups your wet cunt. “A type of exhibitionist.”

“What? No… I mean…” You take a deep, shaky breath as the short fingernails on Emily’s free hand start tracing up your arms, fingers toying with the thin straps of your sundress. “I like… um, when we are *almost* seen…”

“Mmhmm, exhibitionist”, Emily whispers as she pulls down the front of your sundress, exposing one breast. She leans forward and circles her tongue around your nipple, careful to not actually touch it. “You’re so goddamn wet for me, baby. So warm and slick.”

You can’t help the groan that tumbles out of your mouth and you can feel her smiling against your skin. Her fingers slip in between your wet folds to gather a generous amount of slickness and rub it on your clit.

“Emily…” you breathe out as you arch your back slightly, eyes fluttering shut. Your hands don’t know what to do with themselves so one ends up running your fingers through your hair and the other rests on Emily’s bicep. “Em…”

“Hmmm?”

Emily can feel your hot arousal flush against her palm and finally has pity on you, wrapping her lips around a rosy, sensitive nipple. Her index and middle finger start tortuously slow, wide circles around your clit.

You bite back a loud whine, trying to remain as quiet as you can but Emily has other plans. She bites down gently on your nipple and her thumbnail drags over the wet lace over your clit simultaneously. You cry out, mostly muffled by the music but out of your periphery you see JJ’s eyes focus in on the two of you.

You try to pull your body away in vain as Emily’s teeth continue to bite down, pulling your nipple taut as she refuses to let go. Her free hand holds tightly to your hips. Your body reacts immediately to the painfully pleasurable sensation as a higher pitched whine escapes your throat.

“Oh fuck, Em…” It’s high, needy, and loud. “We can’t… not here…”

Emily grins devilishly against your breast, giving it a pop of her mouth before answering you.

“I know, I know, baby. Just breathe for me. There you go. Good girl. They can’t really see us. Maybe just a shadow of the back of you”, she said as she trailed a line of saliva from one breast to the other, pulling against your dress as she went.

The affirmation sent a shiver down your spine as you let your head loll to one side, resting on your shoulder. Letting her eyes fall from your face to where she had been working so diligently, the sight of your reddened, angry nipple sends a punch right to Emily’s pussy. Humming, she takes the other nipple in her mouth, gently this time, and suckles lightly on it. The same way you do when you’re in a certain headspace.

Your face is hot and you feel slightly dizzy. A thin layer of sweat starts to gather at your temples. The sight and sensation of Emily pulling most of your areola into her mouth makes you breathe faster. Her cheeks are flushed, she’s looking right at you, and it might be the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen. You let out a shaky breath as you run your hand through her hair and grip the back of her head, holding her in place. You try to grind against her fingers but they remain slow in carefully controlled circles. You whine as you feel her fingers tighten their grip on your hips. You feel wet, hot cum pool at your entrance now.

“Emily…”

“Hmmm?” she answered, releasing your breast from her mouth as you notice JJ rearranging herself in her lounge chair, trying desperately not to be noticed. “Use your words, princess.”

Your back arched at the nickname you can only tolerate when you’re too turned on to argue with her.

“Please, it’s not enough. Faster, please. I-I-inside, I need you…”

“Hey, that’s my girl…” Emily coos sweetly in your ear as she takes her hand off your waist, light purple marks already blooming, and tucks a wild curl behind your ear.

A shuttered, frustrated sigh erupts from your throat as she abandons your clit and kisses you gently, your eyes being teary and lips pouty. She tuts you softly with a smile. Without warning or a second thought, Emily slams three fingers easily into your drenched cunt. Momentary pain morphs quickly into an intense, bottom of your foot tingling sensation as you buck your hips roughly.

Emily’s free hand reaches up quickly, palming the base of your skull, and crushing her mouth against yours as she swallows your shocked, long groan before it can leave your throat. You instinctively try to arch back but her hand has you trapped in place.

Exactly where she wants you.

Her thrusts piston in and out of you with such force that you know you’re going to be incredibly sore later. You feel the warmth in your belly seep into your torso and into your limbs. Your body feels like pure electricity as your increased moans and whines become music to Emily’s ears.

Neither of you notice but JJ is staring under lashes now and, though more than 30 yards away, Morgan has noticed a few odd noises coming from your corner of the yard. He eyes Garcia and she looks your way now. Panicked, she stands up and starts to loudly sing along to Africa by Toto in a mostly successful attempt at diverting attention away from the pair of you. JJ’s curious blue eyes still flicker between the shadows under the pergola and Garcia.

None of that matters though because you’re so close and Emily is swallowing your moans purposefully now. One hand anchors itself at the base of soft grey hair while the other tightly grips the forearm of the hand she’s fucking you with. As gently as you can, lest Emily completely deny your request, you push her forearm deeper between your legs. You press yourself flush to her skin now and nestle your face in the crook of Emily’s shoulder. She places sweet kisses wherever her mouth can reach.

“You’re taking my fingers so well, baby. They’re so deep inside you. You’re my good girl, aren’t you, baby?”

“Mmhmm, yes.”

“Yes what, baby?”

“Yes… Mommy”, you end up moaning the last part of the sentence as she rewards you with deep hum that vibrates through your body. “I love it so much when you fuck me hard.”

“I know you do. Are you going to make Daddy proud and cum right here on David Rossi’s patio? With JJ trying soo desperately to catch a glimpse of something and the others able to hear these desperate whines? Look at me, baby.” Emily whispers into your ear as you look up at her and nod furiously, your head still pressed against her long, pale throat. “Then show me. Fall apart for me.”

Emily quickly pumps her fingers once, twice, three times while curling her fingers to hit your g-spot perfectly while she eyes messy, tight circles around your clit. Everything catches up to you all at once. Her fingers. Your clit. JJ watching. The others trying to ignore your moans. Emily’s warm skin. And you come.

Hard.

Your hips momentarily stall out and Emily takes full advantage of the slight position change and fucks you as deeply as possible. She whispers sweet nothings into your ear, talking you through your orgasm. You see the most beautiful stars behind your scrunched eyelids. Or were they the fairy lights? Were you floating?

You don’t remember to stifle your loud groan until it’s halfway out. Emily quickly covers your mouth, only adding to your peaked arousal. You flood her hand with warm, sticky cum as she fucks your through a powerful orgasm. Your open, gasping mouth is pressed against Emily’s throat as you arch yourself into her. You can feel Emily kissing your jaw, your cheeks, your temple, then finally your lips.

This is pure bliss, you realize, as she slows her hand and coaxes involuntary jerks out of you by still rubbing slowly at your clit. Emily sweetly shushes and whispers praises into your skin and lips. She rubs your back soothingly and stills her fingers deep inside you, so very content to feel your muscles flutter occasionally around her. She knows how much you enjoy staying physically connected even after your orgasm.

“You did so well, my sweet girl. You were so beautiful moaning my name.” You soaked up her compliments like a sponge as you blushed even more than you thought possible.

For a long few minutes you both stay like that. So content to be intertwined with the other that you almost lost sight of where you were. Your breathing had stabilized and the fine sheen of sweet covering your body had either dried or had been kissed away by Emily’s full, red lips. You pulled away from her reluctantly, still able to feel her unmoving fingers buried inside you. Emily’s face was still only slightly flushed as she smiled at you but her lips were swollen and her dark irises were still no where to be found.

Emily started to very slowly and carefully withdraw her fingers from inside you after gazing down at you first. You nodded, took a deep breath, and relaxed your muscles that had molded around her. She pulled them fully out, immediately brought them to her mouth, and sucked each finger. Your eyes never left her fingers as she diligently cleaned them.

“I need to taste you, Mommy”, you murmured quietly, still watching Emily’s tongue as she now licked her lips. The need suddenly became overwhelming. “Please?”

Emily let out a breathy sigh and shut her eyes briefly as the pleasure of your words washed over her. “We can’t. Not here. They’ve already been privy to too much. We should get out there and at least make an appearance.”

Emily chuckled softly at your horrified look.

“I can’t go out there! And look at them. In the face!”

“Well as nice as this little cozy corner is, we can’t stay here all night. I’ll be right there with you.”

You sighed and took one last grounding inhale of Emily’s skin before lifting your head up and kissing her sweetly. Always taking care of you, she started trying to make you more presentable by pulling the front of your sundress back up, smoothing out the skirt, and running her fingers lovingly through your hair. You closed your eyes at her gentle touches, enjoying being take care of by this beautiful woman.

“Emily?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you know how much I *utterly* adore you?”

Emily smiled wide before leaning in and kissing you lovingly. “You’ll have to remind me when we get home.”

On the other side of Rossi’s backyard, the group waited anxiously for the two of you to step out of the partial shadows of the pergola before letting out a cacophony of overly sexualized moans. All but JJ and Rossi. The later had to be told something was going on over there because he simply couldn’t hear a thing over this “new fangled music”.

You could have died right then and there but Emily wore a goofy, almost proud smile as she playfully swatted your ass as you both made your way to the group.

Emily took a seat on a loveseat closest to Tara, holding out an arm for you as you snuggled into her side, blushing bashfully. She possessively wrapped her arm around your waist, resting her hand on your outer thigh.

“Get it, dude.” Tara said with a straight face, raising a single fist that Emily immediately pounded with her own.

Alex studied your reaction curiously while Garcia was just flat out relieved it was all over.

“Y’all nasty,” Derek said, playfully rolling his eyes and smiling before getting up to get another drink. “Anyone? Y/n? You must be thirsty after… all that.”

You inwardly groaned but the vibration of it reached Emily and she couldn’t help but laugh. You hadn’t been able to make eye contact with anyone but managed to nod your head.

“Yeah, something strong.”

You chanced a look at your longtime friend, Garcia, and smiled briefly before mouthing a silent thank you.

“Wait, what’s nasty? What happened?” Spencer suddenly interjected, looking around between you and Morgan. The group, including you, laughed at his utter lack of social awareness.

[satoruyes]

co-parent bakugou

katsuki bakugou x reader (part two)

   fwb! bakugou who often came by your dorm during college to drop off school work when you missed lectures and loads when you missed him.

fwb! bakugou who came by before bed to fuck you into your pillow and listen to your hushed moans, hushed so your roommates wouldn’t hear. (they did)

fwb! bakugou who’s scared of committing because he “couldn’t see you in his future” and was too focused on his.

fwb! bakugou who’s late night visits became more and more scarce.

fwb! bakugou who months later soft launches his new partner on his story after telling you he’s not ready for a relationship.

fwb! bakugou who stops breathing at the sight of your name popping up on his phone as he cuddles his partner while watching movies, and nearly has a stroke at the “Im pregnant.” text. 

_____

“well are ya sure it’s mine?” he asks, not daring to look away from you. you break eye contact and look outside the coffee shops’ window to focus on anything other than this conversation you’ve been dreading. “are you serious? you should know i’m not exactly one to sleep around,” you say to the man. he nods and his grip on his mug gets tighter, knuckles visibly whiter. “well, are ya keepin’ it,” he asks, “i don’t think  that’d be a bright idea for either of us.” you kind of glare but think over his words. “you know how my parents feel about abortion kats.. i’d be disowned. the second the press found out about it, my family would be done for,” your eyes start to water and a tear threatens to fall, you pause “.. i thought you said you don’t do relationships?”

katsuki stares at you and shakes his head, “those fuckin’ hormones already getting to your brain or somethin?“ he sighs, “you know i can’t do this *nickname*. i’m in a committed relationship with raya, we’re getting engaged next month. on top of that, i can’t be number one with a baby leechin’ of me.” your heart drops, “you’re.. getting engaged? i.. um.. well, congratulations. i’m sorry to burden you with all of this… and i can’t abort it anyway.. i.. i’m too far along.. and i cant do this.” you finish & get up from the table and leave.

________

baby daddy! bakugou who ends up losing contact with you for months after you block him on everything a refuse to meet up per your family’s request.

baby daddy! bakugou who nearly forgets about you years later til kirishima brings you up and shows him your instagram.

baby daddy! bakugou who gets home and stalks you from a burner account, finds out you still talk to everyone from college but him.

baby daddy! bakugou who sees a pretty little ruby-eyed girl down your timeline, her resemblance to him uncanny.

baby daddy! bakugou who pulls some strings and texts your number asking to meet his daughter, hana. 

___________

hana is 2 years old by now, forming choppy sentences and now waddling on her feet. after a week of texting, you finally fold and let him come over to meet his daughter. when you open the door to let him in he nearly finds himself choking on his spit at how beautiful you are. you looked even better than your posts, if that’s possible. you greeted him with a nod and invited him in. he takes his shoes off and head to the living room you led him to. you exchange stale pleasantries and small talk til you decide to go get your baby girl. “her name is ‘hana lei bakugou,’ as much as i wanted her to have my last name.”

you walk over to him and hand her to him, noticing the wedding band resting around his ring finger. you scoff, “wow so you two actually got married?” he nods and analyzes his daughters’ features. “shes so pretty, just like ‘er momma,” he half smiles and look up at you. “so i’ll have her back later tonight, gonna take ‘er home to meet the wife and all of that.” he goes to get off the couch. “woah, you don’t get to do that. you don’t get to come back back after all this time like nothing happened.” he looks frustrated for a second, “you can’t just- … yea yer right, ‘m sorry.’’

you nod, “how about we go up to her room and play?” he agrees and follows you into his daughter’s bedroom while carrying her.

“So.. how long have you two been in the area?” he asks, scanning his daughter's room. “I never really left, just moved closer to the city i guess,” you reply; putting hana down to the floor. She waddles over to katsuki. “hana, baby this is your father,” you look down at the little girl. At first she looks up at you with her glowing beady eyes then she looks over to Katsuki sitting over on a couch. “papa?” she asks and she points her dainty finger at him. you nod and smile. “yes baby, that's your papa.” 

katsuki looks at the little girl and she reaches up for him. “up.” she says, and he obliges. you two talk and rekindle for what seemed to be days. In reality it was just about 4 hours. “*name* it was really nice to see you again, let's go out for dinner sometime. with hana of course.” you lead him downstairs while he says his goodbyes to hana. 

-- 

“I told ya about this years ago raya, you can't be mad about this. What did you expect? for them to disappear?” bakugou yells at his wife. “well i didnt fucking expect you to go out of your way to to reach out either!” she pouts, anger and jealousy laced in her tone. “I have to own up to this responsibility now whether you like it or not, stop fuckin’ cursin’ at me. ‘m already stressed as is; ‘ion need yer bitchin’.” 

“oh so now i'm bitching because you went out and got some slut pregnant.. you're just full of it katsuki.” raya says, glaring at him now. “ya cant get mad at me because I wanna be a father, ‘nd not just leave some kid stranded out here.” 

“it's not just about the kid is it? do you miss the bitch or something? do you miss the sex? did she give you better head than I do?” raya accuses, bakugou sighs and goes to leave the room, “‘nd yea- she did give better head.” as he walks to their shared room he can hear her still yelling in the distance.

katsuki bakugou goes to sleep confused tonight. He wonders why was he such a prick. he wonders why did his heart pound so fast- why were his hands so sweaty when he saw you.

he couldn't do this. he has a wife. hes happily married, regardless of any arguments. his wife was the mayors daughter and promised him various things, she promised him glory. of course he didn't need her but it's definitely more helpful to have more "support." plus you hated him, only putting up with him for the sake of his daughter. no, it wasn't attraction- it was just nervousness. he loved his wife.

katsuki woke up to his wife, raya in his arms. she looked so pretty and peaceful like this. he snapped out of his daze and got out of bed to catch a shower. he couldn't help but find his hand reaching down to take care of himself. usually when he finds himself touching himself; its of thoughts of his wife from the night prior. but today it was you. he felt shameful but he just couldnt help it. he couldn't stop himself from thinking about you. hes only human.    

[wildmtthyme]

Home, Sweet Home

Eight years is a long time. Simon knew he should stay away but betrayal stings and panic drives him to go to the only place that has ever felt like home. The fact that he still knows it makes his chest tighten. The fact that she's still there makes him wilt. The fact that she's still waiting breaks his heart even more.

Or...

Ghost and Johnny need somewhere to hide in Las Almas when the shit hits the fan. If only for the night. Ghost knows where they can go... but it would mean opening the door on a past that he'd walked away from so many years ago.

SFW but slight warning on language and gore? Depictions/descriptions of canon-level injuries. Non-canon injuries. Spanish speaking Ghost. Tumblr only drabble. *I pulled the Spanish from memory so it's rusty, some might be a little wrong but oh well. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And yes... this is what counts as a drabble for me. -sigh- I might continue this when I have the motivation to.

Soap squinted slightly as he studied Ghost in the fell light of the belly of the carrier they were in, steadily making their way towards the airfield in Mexico. Price’s words over their coms when they were getting ready to leave still making him wonder. You going to be alright going back there, Ghost? And Ghost’s deadpan reply of Yes Sir. That had given him no clue as to what Price had been talking about. He knew that Ghost had history with Mexico as a whole but not with Las Almas in particular. It wasn’t the last time he wondered that on this mission. There were quite a few times he caught the elusive and closed off Lieutenant seeming to slip into an even more stoic sort of thought, gazing off into a distance he couldn’t see himself before he seemed to snap back to this reality and act as if that hadn’t happened.

Simon felt uneasy on Mexican soil, he always would. For a variety of reasons. When they landed in Las Almas… he knew questions were growing in quite a few minds at the familiarity between himself and Rudy. The way the man didn’t just shake his hand. How he clapped his shoulder, giving it a squeeze and saying it’s good to see you again, hermano. Simon had just nodded. He couldn’t reply for the nerves that spiked inside him. Rudy was a part of a life he no longer had. And he didn’t want to answer questions about it. He was hoping he could fly under that particular radar while he was in Las Almas. But when the shit hit the fan… well… he stopped caring about a lot of those nerves.

Soap listened as Ghost guided him through the streets of Las Almas… the darkened alleyways were like a maze to him but Ghost seemed to know them intimately. He led him through twists and turns, guided him along all the while his shoulder screamed at him from the bullet that grazed the muscle. He had no idea where Ghost was leading him… but he didn’t have much of a choice except to follow his cryptic instructions. Shadows were everywhere, looking for both Ghost and himself. Things were going from bad to worse as he heard the screams, the shouts, the citizens of this town taking the fall for his and Ghost’s escape.

Simon knew he shouldn’t… he knew he should get the hell out of town, get to Alejandro’s safe-house. But he couldn’t leave without Soap. And the shot he took to the thigh was slowing him down in the worst possible way. He knew he had to get it out before he could make any kind of trip. Alejandro’s safe-house was a few clicks outside the city and there was no way he was going to make that distance if he was bleeding out the way he was. He knew he shouldn’t. But he did anyway. He slunk through the shadows… guiding Soap through their personal com channel to the same place he was currently approaching. He gave him the final instruction before he snuck up the covered stairway… his gloved hands easing the rug out of the way, shaking his head with a deep frown at the key he found laying there.

How many times had he told her to not hide a key under the bloody mat. He eased the key into the metal door’s lock, at least she kept the bars on the doors and windows; though, she’d hated it when he had them installed. He turned the knob on the interior door and winced when it clicked, seemingly so loud. There weren’t any lights on inside, but that didn’t mean anything. He shut and locked everything behind him… only a foot in and he heard the unmistakable click of a gun, felt the press of a barrel into the side of his damned neck. His eyes cut over and he swallowed down a whole mess of… god… so much. She was just as stunning as he remembered. No… even more so. “Easy with that, love.” Her expression shifted in a heartbeat… from fierce and threatening to stunned. She pulled the gun away, he heard the hammer disengage… the safety click on… and watched as she stepped away from him, nearly staggering back into the small kitchen table that he’d bought for her when they moved in here. Simón… she whispered his name, as if she couldn’t believe it. He stood up fully, his height always imposing. He nodded, looking down at her. His fingers itched with the urge to reach for her. He blinked sharp as he swayed back a half step… her violent shove the reason. The fuck are you doing here! She hissed at him, luckily not yelling. This shit all about you?! Is that why these gringos are fucking around tonight?! He sighed and she just groaned, holding her hand up, that gun still in it as if she were done and walking away from him. His eyes flew down her unbidden… from her worn old T-shirt to her jean cut-offs… she was… so damned beautiful. “Needed somewhere safe to go before heading out of the city.” He found himself murmuring, not because he had to be quiet but because he felt like a damned dog with his tail tucked.

So, you brought this to my door? She had set the gun in a cabinet, shutting it away before shooting him a glare. Eight years and nada… but now, now you decide is time to come home? He clinched his jaw to hold back a sigh… and silence the stab of pain that word caused. Home. His eyes flicked around… the place looked a little different but not by much. Nothing much changed in Las Almas, that much he was learning quickly. “Can we stay here tonight?” He swallowed against a growing lump in his throat. She raised a dark brow at him, her arms folding over her chest, her hip jutting out. We? Who the fuck is we? His sigh slipped past this time… and he saw her immediate response. Her lips pressed into a thin, hard line. He did not want to deal with her attitude right now… his thigh was starting to cramp… and he was sure there was a small pool of blood starting to form under his boot. He was about to answer when he heard Soap through his coms. Metal door, this the place. He heard the echo just behind him and he turned, opening her door even though he heard her go off in a hiss. Pinche-cabron. He eased the metal door open, letting a confused and injured Soap inside.

Johnny glanced at Ghost but immediately saw the woman standing just there past the pass-through to the kitchen in the hall. She looked livid… but kind of not? He wasn’t sure. She looked between him and Ghost once he was inside and the doors were once again locked. Well, this is just great, Simón… now I have two big ass gringos bleeding in my house. She made a sound and waved behind her as she started down the hall away from them. Sit down before you fall down, I’ll get the kit. She muttered to herself, quite a few curse words in Spanish that he recognized as she vanished into the darkness. He looked up at Ghost. “Simon.” He said simply… there was a question in the word but the LT ignored him and limped a little, moving past him and over to the dinning room where he pulled out a chair and eased himself down, letting his leg stretch out.

Simon ignored Soap’s questioning look and the man followed, sitting in the closest chair. He was struggling with a lot in his head at the moment… and her statement reminded him of what he should have thought of in the first place. Soap and him being here put her in very real danger. But in his weakness… his moment of betrayal and panic… he just thought of the one place he could go that was safe. Home. It struck him then that his mind still thought of this place as that. She returned a moment later carrying a first aid kit… she set it down with a snap, her jaw tight as she reached for a box of matches on the table and flicked one to light the candle there. The soft glow was the only light she was affording. She looked at Soap and kicked her chin in his direction. How bad?

Soap watched the woman… she was… a total knockout if he were being honest. Tan skin and dark hair, obviously a native. Beautiful. Long legs… and… he knew his mind was seeking out anything to focus on other than the burning in his arm. Sure, he’d been shot before but it never made it hurt any less. He started working his vest off, wincing slightly around his eyes. “Jus’ a graze, hen… nuthin’ major.” He saw Ghost sit up a little straighter, take in a little more air when he called her ‘hen’… he wanted to smirk, the man giving him a little information without even trying to. She opened the box and pulled out a bottle of alcohol and some gauze, some gauze tape and set it on the table in front of him. And you. He pulled his shirt off, his eyes flicking between what he was doing and her interaction with Ghost, fighting another smirk as she poked the imposing LT in the chest. What has you bleeding on my floor?

Simon looked up at her and saw her brown eyes swimming in worry… worry she was trying to hide. He sighed and shook his head. “Is nuthin’. Jus’ need—” You think you can lie to me? She cut him off with a hardened tone. He sighed again before he froze… feeling her hand under his chin, making him look at her again. You wearin’ this calacas like it’s dia de los Muertos. Like you some dios de los Muertos. She removed her hand and focused back down at the box, sorting through some of the remaining first aid supplies. Take that thing off and answer me, the truth this time. He stilled… his eyes flicking from her to Soap, who was now cleaning the swipe on his arm with a slight grimace around his eyes, but the man had stilled too… his eyes not looking at him but he knew he was focused out of his peripheral. Waiting to see what he was going to do. He swallowed tensely before he spoke. “Can’t do tha’, love. It stays on.” She blinked rapidly before looking at him again, more pointedly this time, her hip shifting as he saw her clinch a muscle in her jaw. She opened her mouth but he hissed. “Es definito.” He spoke firmly, his voice taking on a growl as he held her gaze with that same firmness.

She pursed her lips, rolling around her words no doubt before she dropped some of the first aid supplies down with a slap. You wanna be stubborn, burro. Fine. She snapped at him before she dropped to a knee, hard. Her hands reaching for his belt, he jerked slightly but didn’t move otherwise. Bleeding all over my clean floor, acting all big and bad with your estupido gringo friend… she was muttering at him, he could hear the heat in her words and he flexed his thigh on purpose, the pain keeping his cock from reacting to her close proximity and the fact that he’d always found her even more attractive when she was angry. He pushed his hands down on the chair, letting her jerk his jeans down, quickly tugging his boxers back up into position while she pulled his jeans down to his ankles. He wanted to quip at her but with Soap paying such close attention… he couldn’t. Wasn’t the best idea anyway. She paused when her eyes locked on the wound… he heard her mutter quieter under her breath, still angry… but he couldn’t make out her words anymore.

She rose up onto her knees and tugged a headlamp out of the box, grabbing the bottle of alcohol off the table now that Soap was done with it… some gauze… and started making a proper mess. She cleaned her hands and then doused the wound. His muscle jumped and he clinched his teeth. She pulled the headlamp on and grabbed a pair of forceps from the kit… dipped them into the bottle of alcohol and swirled them around before she slotted herself between his legs, having to climb into the valley created by his jeans. It was… oddly intimate… and he knew it spoke volumes to how close they were… or rather, once were. Soap cleared his throat as he set the tape down, having finished bandaging his arm. Bathroom? “Down tha hall.” They both said in unison and Soap paused over that but otherwise made his way quietly away from them.

Johnny glanced over his shoulder once he was in the hallway… watching as that woman started digging around in Ghost’s leg for the bullet that was no doubt lodged in there. Ghost tensed up… hissed and he saw her set her hand further up on his thigh. Shh, big baby. Ghost chuckled low. Tha hand’s not exactly helpin’, love. She rolled her eyes and continued working. It was clear that they knew each other on a more… intimate level. But how intimate was the question. Was this a girl that Ghost had met while they were here? He hadn’t spent every single moment with the LT while they’d been here. But somehow… it seemed… like an older thing? He wasn’t sure. He went down the hall and found the bathroom, was pretty easy to do since there were only two doors. One to an obvious bedroom and one to a bathroom. He used it and washed his hands before quietly heading back out.

He didn’t return to the dining room though, having walked back into the main living area just in time to hear the sound of metal hitting the tabletop, the bullet rolling a little as it did. He went into the living room instead, settling down slowly onto the couch with a heavy sigh. His bones were tired. He let his eyes lazily move around the room… and they landed on an older style entertainment center… the top of which was littered with clutter. A statue of the Virgin Mary… some candles that weren’t lit… and pictures in cheap gold frames. One he spotted right away, it seemed to jump right out at him. Not because of her… no… but the man with her. He was huge… much larger than she… and he had familiar brown eyes. But the white man with the sandy blonde hair was a stranger otherwise. He had a crooked nose, a scar that bisected both of his lips in a single swipe… another on his chin… but those lips were crooked in a grin. And he was holding her in his lap sitting in the sand on some beach. His eyes moved quicker now, over the photos that held a lot of people he obviously didn’t recognize, until he saw another one with the man. This one was like the clue that cracked a case wide open. He was standing in front of a small chapel… wearing a uniform, younger… and there she was beside him, her dress white, a lace veil around her face, and he had her pulled in under his arm like that was where he always wanted her to be.

Johnny couldn’t help but look over his shoulder at the LT now… and it just clicked. Holy Shit, he thought. This wasn’t just some girl. This was the LT’s wife. No wonder she poked at him… she knew him… in pretty much every way. But… there was a strange distance between them now. Something had happened… something changed between them. Something that made Ghost come here on a plane with him and not come straight here to this apartment. Soap desperately wanted to know what that was… but he knew better than to ask. And frankly, at the moment, he was too damned tired to care.

Simon watched her as she stitched him up… her steady hands and unyielding focus hadn’t changed at all. He couldn’t stop his gloved hand from reaching, brushing some of her hair back behind her shoulder where it had been before it had slid off. She paused, froze for a heartbeat before continuing. Rudolpho said you were in town. He sighed quietly, watching as she dropped the needle back into the box and grabbed a tube of ointment. She dabbed it around the wound softly before laying a bandage over it. She stood up and stepped out of the trap his jeans created, clicking the light off before she did, plunging the place back into near darkness. “Rudy shouldn’t have said anything.” He muttered… he saw her shoulders tense… and felt the way his stomach dropped. She was quick about collecting the first aid supplies. There’s left overs in the fridge. You should shower… don’t get the stitches wet. He stood up, tugging his jeans back up and securing them… she hadn’t looked at him again and her words were uncharacteristically quiet. “Maria.” He breathed but she was already turning away from him and heading down the hall. I want you gone by dawn. She left him standing there like a jackass… and he felt like one, too. The tension thick around him. He sighed quietly before he turned into the kitchen and tugged the fridge open. He quickly made food for himself and Soap… he ate in the kitchen, hiding from his colleague.

Johnny ate the rice and meat quick, using the tortillas like bread… it was probably the wrong way but he didn’t care, he was starving. As soon as he was done, he took his plate into the kitchen, where Ghost was already rinsing his. He did the same but hovered there as the LT was fiddling with something on his vest. “So… she seems nice.” He said quietly, testing the waters. And the look Ghost shot him let him know that those waters were the fucking arctic ocean. He held his hands up a little in surrender. You take the couch. I’m gonna go shower. He nodded. “Prolly won’t be awake by the time you get out.” He said low as he passed the man, he could already feel his eyelids drooping. One of them should take watch but he was just exhausted. And frankly… they were pretty well hidden and out of the way.

Simon hung his head under the cold spray of the shower, opting for as little hot water as possible. He needed to clear his head, get it on right before he did something stupid. Something like what he was doing the moment he was dry and had that towel wrapped around his waist. He shut her bedroom door behind him, his eyes already on her. She wasn’t laying down… she was sitting on what had once been his side of the bed, her hands in her lap, her head bowed. Go away. She whispered it but he heard how thick her words were. He swallowed thickly and shook his head. He only hesitated for a second before he reached up and tugged his mask off, having put it back on once he was out of the shower. He laid it on top of what had once been their dresser… but was probably only full of her clothes now. He crossed the room and he was a few feet from her when she erupted out of her seating.

She flew at him, her hands pushing on his chest in a half-hearted, hurt-fueled… well, he hesitated to call it an attack for how she very quickly sagged against him. His arms went around her, hands spanning her back as he shushed her softly… her shoulders rocking as she wept so damned quietly. He felt his eyes stinging, his throat burning, his nose itching. He never could stand to see her cry. You left me here alone. He closed his eyes tight and bowed his head, pressing his lips into her crown and taking a deep breath, nodding silently. She started struggling again, her hands balling into fists against him, she wanted to hurt him… but she hadn’t the heart to, he knew that. But he still tightened his arms around her.

Eight years ago… he’d left. He knew he’d been a fool to marry her in the first place but… he’d fallen so damned hard for her. He wanted her in every way. But the past had a way of sneaking up on him… and it did. It did in so many ways. She weathered his night terrors, his panic attacks, his episodes of PTSD. She’d stuck by him through it all… and he pushed her away. He fought with himself… against himself. Simon wanted her… but Ghost wanted to protect her from everything, even himself. He wasn’t split but he was close. “Had to make sure you would be safe.” He said low and heard her scoff against his chest. That was why he’d left in the first place… but that wasn’t why he stayed away. What had kicked it off was her asking for something he never thought he could have… something he couldn’t give her. She wanted kids. And he told her no. He couldn’t tell her why, though. So… after so many fights… one morning, before she even woke up… he just left. He left to hunt down Roba.

And he did. It took him three years… but he did it. He found that son of a bitch and killed him. Made sure he couldn’t come after him or her… made sure he could, if he wanted, give her a family. That they’d be safe. But… but then he didn’t come back. He didn’t return to her. He just stayed gone. Because he was technically a war criminal. He was a murderer. What kind of husband was he, then? The kind that hunted men like they were dogs? The kind that strangled them with their own hands? The kind that could slit another man’s throat without a thought? What kind of husband is that? What kind of father is that? No kind she deserved. She deserved the best. And that wasn’t him.

He kept in contact with Rudy, though. Her brother. Just… just to make sure she was alright. He sent Rudy money to give her… because he knew she’d not take it from him. But he never divorced her… and she never asked for one. Rudy never mentioned any other men… but he was sure there had been some. Not that he’d taken another lover in all that time… never. Not once. He was faithful to her. Always had been and always would be. Even though he was sure she’d been with others… but Rudy never said… in fact… his eyes flicked around the room now… there wasn’t a single sign that anyone else had been here. Just her. His side of the bed was vacant… his end table was empty. Almost like… he shook his head slightly at himself. She wasn’t waiting for him to come back. It was impossible.

He guided her back to the bed slowly. “I’s late, love… le’s get some sleep.” He murmured and felt her nod. He pulled back the woven cotton blanket and sheets… guided her into them. He glanced down at his towel and frowned slightly. Still have some boxers in your drawer. He blinked at her… looked over at the dresser and walked over… his hand shook just a little as he tugged what had once been his undergarments drawer open. He let out a shallow breath. Everything was as he left it… down to the vacant spot of the last pair of socks he’d pulled out. He looked over his shoulder at her but she was on her side, facing away from him. Had… had she been just… waiting for him to come back? He swallowed thickly and blinked rapidly before he took off the towel and laid it on top of the dresser, grabbing a pair of boxers and shaking them out before putting them on. They were a little tight, him having gained some bulk since he was here last. Climbing back into the bed was surreal… but wrapping around her, pulling her into him in the middle of that queen-sized was… second nature. A second nature he thought he might have lost somewhere along the way.

Simon was up and dressed before the sun… looking down at her still sleeping form. He knew that if he left now… it’d hurt her in the worst way. So… against his better judgement- as far as the mission was concerned… he knelt in front of the mattress and reached, smoothing his still bare hand over her hair softly. She stirred, her eyes fluttering open, locking on him in a sleepy haze. “Gotta move before the light.” He murmured out. He saw her chew on her lower lip but she nodded. Via con dios, Simón. He smirked and started to lean in but stilled, giving a slight shake of his head and started backing away only for her hand to snatch his collar and tug him towards her. He sucked in a deep breath through his nose, feeling her lips collide with his. It wasn’t a matter of not thinking… he couldn’t think as he climbed onto the bed, covering her in a heartbeat… bullying his tongue into her mouth and kissing her with every ounce of longing that broke free upon feeling her lips against his again.

God damn, he’d missed her so much. He felt he wrap a leg around his, felt her arms snake around his neck and hold onto him so damned tight that her muscles were trembling. His cock screamed from disuse, begged against the zipper of his jeans… she was so damned close… and yet so far away. He took a gasping breath, breaking the kiss that stole his sanity. “Can’t.” He breathed out… pushing his hands down into the mattress to lift himself off of her. “Not yet.” He kissed her again, a shorter but no less heated one. She was panting, her lips tinged red from his stubble. He pressed his brow to hers, holding her eyes… watching as they turned glassy on him.

He shushed her softly, ran the backs of his fingers along her cheek. “Te amo, mi esposa.” He kissed her softer then, just a peck really but it was sweet. He caught a tear on her temple and wiped it away. You come back this time, Simón… or don’t ever come back. He gave a nod, hearing the seriousness in her words… and the warning. “I will.” And he meant it. He climbed off the bed and took a deep breath before he pulled his mask on… then his gloves, hiding himself away. He looked down at her… bending slightly to brush some of her hair off her brow. “Still so beau’iful.” He said low and felt her bat his hand away, a bashful sort of smirk on her face. He couldn’t help his own huff of a smirk. Still so full of ca-ca. He chuckled and made for the door. Him and Soap stole a truck on the street and were out of the city in no time, aiming for Alejandro’s safe-house. He ignored Soap’s probing gaze.

Getting Alejandro his base back… shutting Graves and his men down… it all took a lot longer than he’d planned. But it was done. As Price, Gaz, and Soap all readied to return home… he glanced over his shoulder at Rudy. The man was eyeballing him with a hardened look… he must have spoken with Maria. He sighed when Price nudged his shoulder. Let’s head out. “Not comin’.” He heard himself say. He looked back into Price’s suddenly very serious eyes. “Got some business to wrap up before I head back.” He took a breath. “If I head back.” Price’s jaw flexed. You know this isn’t over. He gave a slight nod. “It might be for me.” He said simply. Yeah, he knew that Markarov was at the root of this. Yeah, he knew that. But he also knew that there would always be a big bad guy at the center of it.

There would always be another enemy pointing a gun at the world. And there would always be another operative. It didn’t have to always be him. “I’ll let you know.” Price’s aw tensed again, his mustache flaring. The thing about being dead, like him… was that he technically wasn’t in the SAS. He technically wasn’t in anything. He was dead. Legally speaking. So, Price couldn’t order him onto that plane and Price knew it. I’ll be waiting for your word, then. He nodded and Price walked off, obviously angry… but he’d get over it. Or he wouldn’t. Simon couldn’t control that. He waved Gaz and Soap off before he turned around and gave a nod to Rudy. The look Rudy gave him was half approving and half relieved.

This time… the sun was out when he climbed the stairs to the apartment… and the door was open, though the metal door was still shut and auto-locked. He didn’t let himself in this time, though. He knocked… and waited.

To be continued… probably.

[mandiemegatron]

ᴸᵃʷ ᶜᵃⁿ'ᵗ ᶠⁱⁿᵈ ᵗʰᵉ ʷᵒʳᵈˢ, ᵇᵘᵗ ˡᵘᶜᵏⁱˡʸ, ˢᵒᵐᵉʰᵒʷ, ʸᵒᵘ ᵉⁿᵈ ᵘᵖ ᶠⁱⁿᵈⁱⁿᵍ ᵗʰᵉᵐ. ᴿᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ ᵘˢᵉˢ ˢʰᵉ/ʰᵉʳ ᵖʳᵒⁿᵒᵘⁿˢ.

ᴿᵃᵗᵉᵈ ; ᴳ.

ᴹᴰᴺᴵ ʷⁱᵗʰ ᵃⁿʸᵗʰⁱⁿᵍ ˡᵃᵇᵉˡᵉᵈ ¹⁸+, ʸᵒᵘ ʷⁱˡˡ ᵇᵉ ᵇˡᵒᶜᵏᵉᵈ ᵒⁿ ˢⁱᵍʰᵗ.

ʲᵘˢᵗ ˢᵃʸ ʸᵒᵘ ʷⁱˡˡ ˡᵒᵛᵉ ᵐᵉ ᵒⁿᵉ ᵈᵃʸ, ᵃⁿᵈ ᴵ ʷⁱˡˡ ʷᵃⁱᵗ, ᴵ ʷⁱˡˡ ʷᵃⁱᵗ, ᵗᵒ ᵍᵉᵗ ʸᵒᵘʳ ˡᵒᵛⁱⁿᵍ ᵒⁿᵉ ᵈᵃʸ...

It was always at night, Law noticed, when you'd find the solace in the silence of the Tang as she swam through the darkened depths.

With the majority of the crew either sleeping or busy with keeping the Tang a well-oiled machine, you'd be here, and unbeknownst to you, so would he.

The sound was soft, like a gentle whisper on the breeze, that barely echoed in the small kitchen area as you tidied up and finished off the dinner dishes. Your voice chimed along with your baby den den radio, the same sang playing over and over though Law found himself captivated how you'd change harmonies every time it played.

He lost track of time of how long he'd stood off to the side, simply watching you in silence with his arms crossed comfortably over his chest as he leaned on the wall. His heart lurched and clenched as you hit a particularly high note, the sound crawling over his skin like a tingly and warm blanket. He'd never understand why you wouldn't sing in front of the crew, knowing they would lose their minds over having a crewmate that could actually carry a note.

"... some say you will love me one day, and I will wait, I will wait to get your loving one day..." The words tumbled from your lips almost absent-mindedly as you finished washing the dishes and moved onto drying and putting them away.

"Just say you will love me one day, and I will wait, I will wait to get your loving one day... and I will wait, I will wait..."

A small smile ticks up at the corner of Law's lips as he finally pulls himself away from watching your form sway slightly with the music, burning this image of you into his mind before taking that final step and quietly walking out from the kitchen area. The sound of his footsteps retreating pulls you from your mind, and you turn to see Law take the corner, hands in his pockets as he softly begins to whistle the same tune that played next to you.

Your cheeks burned bright red as you realize he must have been standing there, waiting to speak with you, only for you to be locked in your head. You shook your head with an embarrassed huff before going back to the dishes, turning the music up just enough to overtake the sound of your heart pounding in your ears.

As Law comes up to his office, he bumps into a yawning Shachi, who gives his best friend and Captain a pointed look as he quietly asks, "Did you talk to her?"

Law presses his lips into a fine line, almost frowning as he shakes his head. Shachi claps a heavy hand on Law's shoulder and grins before the orca hatted man adds, "There's always tomorrow."

The sound of your voice is barely a whisper by his office but Law turns either way, an almost lost look on his face as he gives a sigh. "... perhaps."

Shachi gives Law's shoulder a gentle squeeze before he makes off for his shared room with Penguin. Law barely registers his friend and crewman walking away, too absorbed by his thoughts until the sound of Shachi's door closing pulls him out of it.

Pulling himself into his office, he keeps the door cracked just enough that he can hear the murmur of your voice dancing off the metal walls.

"... There's... always tomorrow..." He repeats to himself as he sits at his desk, sighing heavily as he stares down at his unfinished paperwork.

"... just say you will love me one day, and I will wait..."

Another near nonexistent smile tugs at his lips and he picks up his pen with a soft chuckle, shaking his head slightly again as he finally settles in.

Just wait for me... he thinks to himself, sparing a glance at his office door. Just a little longer...

[todofics]

Off The Market | 1/6 | Todoroki Shoto x Reader

♡ Summary: The Todoroki name had always borne a heavyweight amongst even society’s finest. When the family’s youngest son, and heir to the title, is forced into the marriage market, it’s no surprise that he quickly becomes the season’s most eligible bachelor—hoping to avoid marriage for at least one more season, who better than to circumvent the ton other than his long-time friend, you? 

♡ Content: regency au, fake-dating trope, aged-up characters, age gap (4 years), mutual pining, fem reader, fem pronouns, mature content in future chapters

♡  Author notes: I recently watched Bridgerton and fell in LOVE with it. Who can blame me though? Nicola Coughlan, you have my heart. Anyway, this is my little love letter to that obsession! 

♡ 1.6k words/est. 15k words (chapter ⅙)ˋ°•*⁀➷ Main Masterlist ♡  MHA Masterlist ♡ Story Masterlist ♡ Next

Crystal chandeliers hung like constellations in the night sky, their scattering prisms causing the ballroom to glitter softly in its wake. As the rhythmic thuds of dance and orchestra filled the air, chatter flitted in the background. 

“Did you hear?” the Viscountess Ashido asked in a hushed tone, cheeks flushed a brilliant pink as she swirled her glass of wine. Despite it only being the first ball of the season, gossip spread like wildfire. The attention of the small group turned towards her as she continued to speak, “I hear Lord Todoroki is finally seeking to make a match.”

As you sipped on your lemonade, your ears perked at the sound of your best friend’s name. Shoto? Married? The thought made you snort internally. He never mentioned the prospect of marriage in their years of friendship - let alone in the last few months. If they truly knew the man, they’d understand that Shoto had always disdained society and its many traditions - offering himself out on the marriage market was simply… out of character. Then again, these rumors had been circulating every season since the man turned 22 (the year of your debut). It was a piece of gossip that was always best to ignore lest the man announce it himself. 

Still, even though most knew that rumors spread amongst the ton were often baseless (especially at an event this early into the season), those words always held particular weight. Even at a young age, Lord Todoroki always possessed an alluring sort of charm. From his dual-toned hair to his mysterious demeanor, Shoto’s presence commanded attention far before he stepped into society. Now, at 26, he had long lost all of his boyish features, his physique sharp and gaze undeniably melting. Somehow, with time, the already attractive boy only grew impossibly more magnetic. This, paired with his future inheritance of the Duke title, seemed to establish Shoto as the most eligible bachelor of each season - even if he was never officially on the market. 

“The Lord’s been ‘searching’ for a wife for four seasons now,” Lady Uraraka mentioned, not so swayed by the conversation. Her intentions had already long been set on the green-haired baron anyway. 

“I’ve heard nothing on the matter either,” you added, causing a few of your fellow debutantes to groan. If anyone were to know if Shoto was searching for a wife, surely it’d be you. 

The two of you had always been a rather interesting pair in the tons’ eyes. Having been friends since your younger years, they had assumed the year of your debut would lead to a proper courting from the male. However, each passing season made it evident that such a thing was far from reality. You and Shoto simply possessed a strong bond of friendship - something that both confused and delighted the debutantes as you settled on the outskirts of their group.

“No! This time, I hear it from the Duchess herself. The Duke intends to make arrangements unless Lord Todoroki makes his match this season,” Mina defended, adding more fuel to the fire. Duchess Todoroki herself had been speaking about it? 

After many social seasons spent in the countryside due to a proclaimed illness, the Duchess had only recently reappeared in court last year. This, of course, reignited old gossip surrounding her disappearance. After all, her first year gone coincided with the mysterious appearance of Lord Shoto’s now-defining mark. Thus, it was well-known by now that the Duchess kept to herself, her demeanor proving itself too delicate to get involved in spreading falsehoods. 

A frown etched across your face as you listened to the cheery pink-skinned debutante. Duchess Todoroki would never speak about such a thing unless it were true. While you knew Shoto was probably against the idea himself, a feeling of hurt still sank in your stomach as you wondered why the boy hadn’t told you. You considered him your best friend - and honestly, you thought he considered you his. Secrets like this ought to be shared.

Like wolves smelling fresh meat, mothers encouraged their daughters to accentuate their best features, readjusting their clothes and hair to make a good impression. Some of the more eager debutantes forewent this step, keen to catch the eye of the young Lord. They would stop at nothing to gain the upper hand, longing to become the center of his prospects. 

Suddenly, the room felt much too small, the heat sweltering as you excused yourself from the desperate group. You’d speak to Shoto later about his soon-to-be marriage.  Gliding across the room briskly, you quickly found the balcony door, stepping out and admiring the fleeting beauty of the garden below. The fresh air felt nice against your skin, the cooling sensation calming down the warmth in your cheeks. For now, all you needed to do was gather your senses - relax. Fanning yourself with fervor, your thoughts settled under the pale gleam of moonlight; eyes glazed over with careful consideration.

The sentiments that swirled within you made for great confusion. Irritation and… envy? Sure, the feelings of irritation were a given, but not once had you ever felt actual jealousy towards the man. Although you had always known Shoto to be an attractive man who would eventually marry, the thought of that happening so soon bothered you. You had grown used to the man’s constant presence in your life for years. With marriage on the horizon, that familiarity would simply have to die off - no bride-to-be would allow the future Duke to have such a close friendship with another woman.

Honestly, the situation was quite unfair. At your debut, speculations surrounding your relationship with the man had just about killed off any potential interest. Now, four seasons into your venture into the marriage market, your prospects had only grown slimmer. It rattled you that Shoto was seemingly leaving you behind. You clicked your tongue, attempting to snap out of the annoyed daze you were in. Unfortunately, this was just the reality of society. You’d simply have to succumb to your fate of loneliness. Maybe being a spinster won’t be so bad. 

Your thoughts were soon interrupted as the balcony door swung open, your gaze shooting back to see who it could be. “Found you,” Shoto flashed you a soft smile, his posture slightly hunched as he approached. It was clear that the advances of the debutantes had worn him out. He let the door shut behind him, opting to stand directly next to you despite the plethora of room the spacious balcony offered. 

“Lord Todoroki,” you replied, turning your attention to the glittering night sky. It was strange - that name felt so foreign coming from your lips. 

He frowned, “you know better than to call me that.” Shoto had always insisted on you calling him by his first name, and for the last few years,  you had relented (something you regretted now as his expression conveyed one of hurt). Still, you powered on, steeling your resolve. It would be best to distance yourself from the man now. 

With a soft laugh, you tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear. “I should get used to it - your future bride might not take so kindly to another woman calling your name.” His eyes widened briefly, hands clenched as he cleared his throat. Despite being outside, the air grew stiff, the tension so palpable you could cut it with a knife. 

 “That,” he paused, attempting to gather his thoughts, “is what I came out here to discuss.” Shoto’s social skills were mediocre at best, his awkward demeanor shining through the seriousness of his tone. You raised a brow, curious of what the man could possibly say.

“To discuss? You came out here to discuss your marriage prospects?” you asked with an incredulous tone, waiting for the man to get straight to the point. He shifted awkwardly, not used to receiving any sentiments of bitterness from your end. “You should have warned me.” 

Shoto shot you an apologetic look, “I… I was not aware myself until a fortnight ago,” he murmured. The situation pained him as well - despite his rapid approach to the average age of marriage, he still didn’t feel quite ready. “A fortnight? You should have written. That isn’t information you keep from your friends.” 

“I know,” Shoto acknowledged, taking a deep breath as he prepared himself for the spades of anger you were sure to cast. Instead, however, you surprised him. He should’ve known by now that he could never predict your actions.

“It’s fine.”

You had always been quite the firecracker -  your passion and zeal for life unmistakable. It was something Shoto had always admired about you; your enthusiasm balanced out his serious demeanor, allowing for a sort of yin-and-yang relationship. This relaxed response was unlike the you he had grown to know. 

“I am sorry,” Shoto said, mustering up every ounce of sincerity in his body. You sighed, unable to stay mad at the man for long, the years of friendship preparing you for his aloofness regarding social situations. “Really, I promise you it’s fine, let us move on from this topic,” you reassured. The thought of Shoto’s marriage prospects made you uncomfortable enough - it wasn’t something you particularly cared to converse about. 

Before he could let the topic change, Shoto turned to face you, his hands gently grasping your smaller ones as your jaw dropped in surprise. “Just… one more thing,” he started, voice wavering with nerves. 

“Allow me to court you.”

[it-was-summer]

Video Killed the Radio Star - Tape #3 (Spencer Reid x Fem!reader)

A/N: I am exhausted this weekend so if at some point you feel like the writing shows that DON'T BE ALARMED. It is simply just me fighting back the urge to go to bed. The chapter does contain a good amount of sexual assault and violence so please, please, please be mindful of that while reading. I love all the comments here and Ao3, they make my day! I have also been noticing a lot of love towards the original of this series and I appreciate everyone for taking their time to read the remake! Please know that as of right now this thing IS NOT PROOFREAD I JUST NEED TO GET IT OUT! Stay safe, healthy, and happy! -Love, Em.

Video Killed the Radio Star Remake Masterlist

Link to the Ao3: Video Killed the Radio Star

Previous Chapter: Tape #2 > Next Chapter: Tape #4

WARNING: Cancer mentioned, sexual assault, blood, knife, cutting, mentions of death, death threats. Remember that you are not alone.

Tape Contents: Spencer and Derek are sent to discuss your abduction with Adeline. You fight back a sexual and physical attack from Heather. Heather reveals her plans for what will happen if anyone finds you.

Word Count: 4,029

March 5, 20XX

Spencer wasn’t too fond of hospitals, but he was fond of children. He interacted with them, loving that he could see how they processed information–new and old—every day. He loved Henry to bits, the way the kid was so willing to listen to Spencer’s ramblings or the way he was so amazed at a magic trick Spencer was doing. 

Sick kids were a tragically different story, not that he didn’t like them. He always felt like… well, he was having a hard time conceptualizing it as he weaved through the crowded lobby. The pediatrics oncology unit was too packed for his liking. Statistically, he knew that one in two hundred eighty-five children could be diagnosed with some form of cancer before they hit twenty. That didn’t mean he had to like weaving through a small crowd of parents, doctors, and nurses on the way to room two hundred thirty with Morgan. There it was –the words for that feeling– watching someone younger than himself not being able to experience life at thirty. 

After finding the friendship keychain, Hotch decided that Reid and Morgan should find your alleged ride-or-die, Adeline Smith. Meanwhile, Hotch and Prentiss would drive to Norfolk to talk to your mother. Rossi and JJ were handling some information with the police, so they were all paired away. 

Derek and he slipped into the hospital room that housed Adeline and her daughter, Nicole. His chest tightened involuntarily at the sight of a mother stroking her daughter’s head, a smile on both of their faces. Derek was quick to speak, “Excuse me,” The mother and daughter jumped at the noise, and their eyes snapped to the hospital room door. “I’m Special Agent Derek Morgan, and this is Doctor Spencer Reid. We just have some questions.” His hands dug into his jacket pocket to pull out the badge, muscle memory for both.

Adeline’s hand fell from her daughter's hairless head to her shoulder, her fingers giving it a light squeeze. “Questions regarding?” She asked with a curious expression as she stood up, a skeptical look in her eyes. 

Spencer’s eyes met Nicole’s for a second, a small smile rising to his lips, and she gave him a nervous smile right back. He moved his gaze over to Adeline, who was now standing with her arms folded across her chest as she waited for the two men to answer her question. Derek looked over his shoulder at Spencer, then back at Adeline. He gently motioned for her to follow him to a slightly more private area to talk to her, the two moving to a corner of the room near the bathroom.

“Were you aware that Y/N L/N was being stalked?” Derek’s voice was calm as Spencer approached Nicole’s bedside chair and sat in it awkwardly. 

Spencer motioned towards the girl’s stuffed animal, a bright orange cat that sat in between her legs. “I love cats,” he said in a soft voice. 

Nicole beamed at him, grabbed the stuffed cat, and happily petted the top of its head: “Me too! This is Bee.” 

“Bee? Do you like Bees?” 

Adeline’s eyes strayed to Spencer's conversation with her daughter, and she nodded a little at Derek’s question: “We talked about it. She went to the police.” She said, a little numbly, before her head suddenly snapped towards him. “Why?” 

“She was taken from her apartment on March third. She recorded videos for the police to send to us, the Behavioral Analysis Unit, to help find her.” Derek explained gently as he watched Adeline’s face go pale. 

Adeline grabbed her clothed chest and searched for a breath, her eyes wild as she looked at Derek’s face. Her eyes began searching for some hint in his face that he was lying, but she found none. She couldn’t stop the tears that were filling her waterline, and she turned her body away from her daughter and Spencer in a desperate attempt to hide her tears from her daughter. Her knees felt weak as she tried to breathe. 

Spencer glanced back at Adeline and Derek, scooting a little to obstruct Nicole’s field of vision. He didn’t want the young girl to see her mother cry. Nicole shook her head slightly at his question, “No, not really. Auntie Y/N got her for me, and she loves bees.” She laughed softly, her words making Spencer’s heart melt a little. 

“Is Bee your favorite?” 

The girl covered the cat’s plush ears and smiled like she had a secret. “No, but she is my second favorite.” Her fingers scratched the stuffed animal’s ears gently. “Mr. Business is my first,” she whispered to him. 

“Ah, and where is Mr. Business?” His eyes searched her hospital bed, and then he spotted a stuffed cat, a tuxedo cat. He grinned a little, and he motioned to the stuffed animal with his eyes, “Mr. Business is a very fitting name, I think,” 

Adeline held out a hand for some space from Derek, and the hand clutching her chest came up to her mouth as she tried to keep from vomiting all over him. She had been stuck in this hospital when you had called her that first night. Having always loved talking to you, she answered enthusiastically. Still, the more she listened to the situation, the more she realized she didn’t have the emotional strength to comfort you the way you needed. And she said that to you. She said that to you. She couldn’t help you then, and she couldn’t help you now. She couldn’t even help her own daughter. 

A sob rose in her throat, and she shook her head rapidly. “No, no, no, we talked on that day. Th-That night,” She recounted softly to Derek through her tears. 

“What did you talk about?” Derek whispered the question softly as his eyes searched the room for some tissues, but his search was futile. He places a gentle hand on Adeline’s shoulder instead. 

“We talked about college; she wanted her mind off of things, so we talked about our apartment when we were in grad school. It’s been two days! What have you been doing for two days while my best friend went missing?” Her cheeks were red, her fingers pointing accusingly at him before she sobbed softly, and her hand was moving back up to wrap around her mouth to muffle the sound. 

“She didn’t show up to work on March fifth. That's when she was reported missing. We’re doing everything we can. What time did the two of you talk?” 

“W-we talked around nine, maybe nine-thirty?” She whispered back softly before she started to breathe heavily again. “Why didn’t I call? I should have called again. It was getting so late, and she had locked all the doors, and I thought she was just being anxious. I should have called her again. I should have left the hospital to visit her.” Her mind was spiraling, the neverending rabbit hole that showed her all the ways she could have saved her best friend, unhinged its proverbial jaw and swallowed her whole, ready to digest.  

Morgan wasn’t necessarily new to the information, as Penelope had already told him about your call logs from that evening, but he always liked to hear it be confirmed. It also helped him place an estimate of the time of your abduction. “Could you tell me about anyone, anyone at all, that might have been a little too into Y/N? Any ex-boyfriends that refused to leave her alone? Did she break up with anyone around Christmas?” 

“No, she hasn’t dated anyone for almost a year.” Adeline sighed thickly and shook her head as she tried to calm down. “No, all her ex-boyfriends, they were always so mousy. ” She sighed, “And they always look alike,” she paused and gave a soft, sad chuckle, motioning over to where Spencer was as he continued to entertain her daughter. “Well, they all look like your Doctor friend, if I’m being honest. She’s always been too nice for her own good, even in college.”

Spencer tried to talk over the sobs that could be heard from the corner of the hospital room, clearing his throat or laughing as Nicole stumbled through a story. “She’s a loud crier,” Nicole whispered with a gentle pat on Bee’s head. 

Spencer frowned as his efforts failed him, and he looked over his shoulder at Morgan, who was looking at him with a similarly sympathetic look on his face. He was about to say something when Nicole shoved Bee toward him, “You should give this to Auntie Y/N. Mommy said she was sad the other day. Bee always helps.” 

Spencer turned the stuffed animal over in his hands, and he debated telling her the truth, but thankfully, his better judgment decided against it. “It’ll be the first thing I do when I see her,” Spencer promised softly as Nicole smiled wide at him. 

As Derek and he walked out of the hospital, Derek’s eyes stayed on the stuffed orange cat in Spencer’s hands. As they pushed past a small group of people, Spencer found himself almost slamming into a pretty nurse, a gorgeous nurse. Her blue eyes blinked as she shuffled to one side, only to be unintentionally blocked by Spencer once more. She sighed a little and gave him a once over with a frown. Her eyes lingered on the gun holstered against his hip before she gave him a polite smile and said, “Excuse me,” and slipped past the two men with a determined look in her eyes.  

Derek only said something when they got into the parking lot, the two of them walking to the black SUV, “Did you pick one up at the gift shop?” 

Spencer groaned softly, making Derek chuckle as he walked around the car’s front to the passenger seat. “Open the door,” He said bluntly. When they were both inside the car, Spencer carefully placed the stuffed animal in his bag, and Derek chuckled again at the sight, turning the key. 

“You didn’t even buy me one,” 

March 5, 20XX

You were assuming Heather was angry with you. The assumption wasn’t baseless as the hunger in your stomach growled. You were quick to find that the harmony between a full stomach and morphine did matter and that harmony had left you many hours prior. You also were basing the assumption as you had spent what must have been a whole day fighting off tears and nausea. 

The sick part was that you were beginning to get used to how your body got swarmed with heavy, hot, and benevolent warmth. The dull pain in your ankle was silenced under the warmth’s blanket of kindness. It reminded you of a heated blanket in a strange way. 

You had finished the sips of your water before falling asleep and regretting it. You had learned that the bucket off to the side of the dresser was the perfect distance from the bed. Your broken ankle was dragging against the carpet with every movement.  The chain around your good ankle didn’t snag as you sluggishly managed to hold your body up against the wall to pee into the bucket.

Once you were done, you hopped on your good leg and managed to pull your clothes back on. Your body fell face-first onto the bed, eliciting a soft groan from your lips as you found your body reluctant to move from its new home. 

You closed your eyes and fell into the position, letting the bed sink in deeper. Your eyes snapped open with a sense of alertness that you hadn’t felt in hours as you heard the first click of a lock. Your arms weakly managed to push yourself up into a sitting position, pushing yourself back to your former position against the headboard. Your head throbbed at the fast movement, and your vision blurred as you tried to focus on the door. 

When it slowly opened, you sucked in a small breath of air, watching as Heather slid into the room with a tray of food. “Hello, my Catherine.” She sighed as she shoved the keys into her scrub pocket with one balanced hand. “My, my, someone is looking pale today.” She asked as she sat down in the chair off the side of the bed with a gentle, pretty smile. 

You nodded a little. Your lips were numb as you licked them. “What day is it?” Your voice came out quiet and strangled. 

“Monday,” She stated simply as she twisted the top off a bottle of apple juice. She handed it over to your already waiting hands before she carefully lowered the morphine drip’s intake level. You greedily drank the juice without thinking twice, desperate to get something in your stomach. 

You panted lightly as you pulled the half-empty bottle away from your lips, “Th-the date, I mean,” 

“March fifth,” She rolled her eyes as she carefully rearranged a neatly made turkey sandwich on a paper plate, slowly placing the plate on the edge of the bed for you to take. “You moved in here early Saturday morning, don’t you remember?” she laughed out like it was the silliest thing she had ever heard. 

You felt your mouth start to move to correct her, to tell her that you didn’t move in; she had kidnapped you. But as you stared at the turkey sandwich on the edge of the bed, you realized that playing along would be better. Playing along meant more food and less nausea. Playing along meant living longer. “Right,” You said breathlessly as you pulled the paper plate to your lap. “How could I forget?” 

Heather smiled a little as she watched you bite into the sandwich, happy to see you adjusting. You were eating so fast that she was a little worried about your empty stomach. She didn’t want to make feeding you so sporadically a habit. But yesterday, when she came up with a food tray, she thought about your rudeness and how cruel you had been to her. It made her stomach twist into angry knots. She decided that not feeding you for a day would be a lesson.

“I’m so happy our first fight is over. I hate to be angry with you, Catherine.” Heather’s sweet tone wasn’t lost on you as she touched your arm gently. Your chewing slowed for a second before you swallowed, your eyes glued to her hand on your arm. 

“I picked out every gift just for you,” She sighed softly as she traced soft circles against your skin. You fought back the urge to pull your arm away. “You’re a hopeless romantic, you know? You remember in college when you and Adeline dressed up as Lizzie and Jane Bennet. No one got it but god,” She sighed, her eyes finding yours as you stayed frozen. 

The hand on your arm slowly reached for the paper plate on your lap. Your fingers twitched a little as you fought back the urge to grab the food as she placed the plate on the nightstand beside your bed. Everything was happening so fast and yet incredibly slow at the same time.

Then she stood up and crawled onto the bed, swinging one leg over your lap before stranding you with a white smile. Her hands came to cup your face and tilt it up. A soft sigh fell from her lips. “You’ve always been brilliant,” 

You shook your head in her hands lightly. The warmth of the morphine was slow to leave your body, but as your body filled with an intense feeling of dread, you could feel everything. Your ankle throbbed sharply, and you were starting to feel like you were about to be sick again. “I’m not,” 

Heather threw her head back and laughed as if it was the funniest thing she had ever heard. When she lowered her head to meet your gaze again, she leaned closer, one of her thumbs reaching up to trace your bottom lip. You cringed a little at the feeling, a sight that she ignored. “You’ve always been so humble, too. How did I get so lucky?” She whispered as she leaned in to kiss your lips softly. 

You felt your lips tighten and bile rise to your throat, and you swallowed it. You let her kiss you once, then twice, then a third time. Your lips stayed closed in a tight line as you tried to imagine yourself in a different position, but with every touch Heather placed on you, the more you stayed cemented in your reality. 

Heather pulled back with a look in her eyes that you could recognize as crazed lust. You didn’t want to. You didn’t want to know what her hands felt like anymore. You bit your lip to silence a whimper. Her hands pulled roughly at your shirt as she grabbed the hem of it and pulled it over your head with a simple yank. 

You shook your head quickly now, “No, Heather, I-I’m not ready. I don’t-” 

She shushed you softly with a gentle smile as she traced the swell of your breast slowly, the touch eliciting your tears to pool over your waterline. “I know you’re worried, but I’m going to take care of you, I promise.” Her eyes lingered on the prominent bruise on the center of your chest. She frowned, leaning down carefully to kiss the blue and black patch of skin. 

“No,” You cried softly, your voice soft before you decided that you couldn’t take it anymore. “No!” You yelled, causing her back to straighten and sit up. 

“I’m sorry?” She asked with a soft scoff. 

“I-I can’t do it, I’m not ready. I don’t want to, Heather. Please don’t make me.” You begged softly as tears rolled down your face. “I’ll try next time, I promise. I just, please, please don’t make me.” 

Heather frowned a little before she let out a harsh laugh, her arms folding over her chest tightly. She looked down at you, “You know I saw your precious little Adeline today,” 

You felt your back tense at Adeline's mention, “What? I thought you worked in pediatrics, not pediatric oncology. W-why did you see Adeline?” 

Heather reached out a hand to press on your bruise roughly, the feeling making you wince. “I work in pediatric oncology. Sometimes, I help Nicole. I loved it when you visited her at the hospital. It was almost too easy to steal the copy of your apartment key from Adeline. She doesn’t love you as much as I love you, you know that, right?” 

You shook your head, and you cried harder as you realized that you had never even noticed her at the hospital. Your focus has always been so zoned in on Nicole or Adeline that you didn’t even register Heather’s presence. Would Adeline remember Heather? You doubted it. 

“She talked to some agents or something and was inconsolable. Fucking useless friend of yours. Anyway, I ran into them in the hallway. Scrawny kid with some buff guy, I’m sure Adeline called them.” 

You found your hands grabbing her hand on your chest and shook your head side-to-side. “No, Adeline doesn’t know. I didn’t tell her anything. I didn’t, I promise.” 

Heather’s eyes met yours briefly before they trailed down to your bare chest and your hands holding onto her wrist. “Say you love me more than her then,” 

“I-I, what?” 

“Say it.” 

You opened your mouth, but all that came out were gentle sobs as you tried to form the words, terrified that she was about to do something to Adeline. The thought of Heather hurting Adeline had you gasping softly for air. 

Her eyes were on yours again as you panted softly, “You don’t love me?” Her spit hit your cheek as she hissed the words in rageful disbelief. She was off your lap in seconds as she moved to the dresser and quickly pulled out a small pairing knife. 

“Wait,” You cried softly as you tried to hurry away from her, making a vain attempt to get up from the bed that was meant with a howl of pain from your ankle and your body slumping over the edge lamely. 

Her hands grabbed your ankles, good and injured, and pulled you roughly to the edge of the bed. A scream left your throat at the contact. “You think I’m going to let them find you?” She questioned in a suspiciously calm voice as she grazed the smooth side of the knife against your collarbone.

You stayed frozen as she leaned in closer, her lips at the shell of your ear, “If they ever found you, Emma. I would kill you and then myself. I’ve already decided. We have to be together,” Her voice in your ear had you breathing harder as she slowly pressed the tip of the knife into the area above your heart. 

The knife only stung at first before it felt like a ripping pain. Heather dragged the knife into your skin with a deliberate sense of control. Not too deep, not too superficial. Something she wouldn’t have to stitch up. She made a diagonal line before staring a few inches apart from the other cut. “We belong together, Jane.” 

You cried out again as she started dragging the knife into your skin once more, “Please,” 

“You just need to open your heart. If they ever found us, I need to mark where to shoot. Stay still.” 

As Heather got close to completing the ‘X’ mark on your chest, marking you as a possible target. You felt your body thrash under her weakly. The edge of one of the lines skewed to the left, and Heather let out an annoyed groan before she pulled the knife away from your chest and to your lips. “Stop fucking crying,” She growled as she slashed at your bottom lip. 

You hissed at the feeling as blood coated your chest and filled your mouth. You stared up at her as soft sobs kept leaving your mouth, “Fuck you.” You muttered before gathering as much spit as you could in your mouth and shooting it directly at her. 

You laughed as it made contact with her cheek, and she wiped the bloody spit away with the back of her hand. She laughed harshly as she nodded a little, “Okay, so you want to be a brat.” She laughed. 

She was sliding off the bed now, leaving you lying on your back, her chest rising and falling quickly as she gripped the pairing knife in her hand tighter. “Enjoy the rest of your meal. It’ll be your last one, Emma.” She snapped at you before stomping to the door and flying it open. 

Once she was gone, you stayed there, staring up at the ceiling wordlessly. You licked at the cut on your lip gently as blood flowed freely into your mouth. You swallowed the copper-tasting liquid as you let the consequences sink in. She was going to kill you if they found you, and you had already called for a team of highly trained professionals to come to find you. 

You almost laughed at the irony. You didn’t want them to find you. You did want them to find you. It was almost hilarious. You tried to smile with your cut lip but found the action too painful to manage. 

You didn’t want to die at twenty-eight. You wanted to see your mom again, Adeline, Nicole, hell, you wanted to go to work one more time. You rolled onto your stomach and cringed the way the fluffy comforter grazed the bleeding “X” on your chest. You reached for the morphine drip and rolled it closer as you slowly turned a knob and upped the intake. Your shaking hands then moved to the sandwich on the nightstand with a sigh. 

She could kill you when they found you, but if she thought you weren’t going to try and manipulate the situation, she was dead wrong. You weakly bit into the sandwich while trying to think of a plan. 

You refused to die without leaving a mark.

TAG LIST: @babyspiderling @cocobean16 @kodzukenie333 @mmmunson

[hauseofhauhaudidyougethere]

Reader x Zhao Tianyou X Joon-Gi Han 10k

It was 3’am on a Tuesday night – the day rolled over into the night as it always does but here you were laying awake on your mattress and scrolling through your phone as a tiger would circle its enclosure. The rain pitter-pattered outside your window overlooking the rest of the Bar District. You had only been staying in Ijincho for a couple of months and managed to snag the upstairs room above the Survive Bar. Almost like a family favor or “family” favor if you will. The bartender – Boss, owed a lot to you and the circle you used to aid in the shadows of. Much to their chagrin, you always wanted to help out even when matters didn’t concern you and had you dancing the line between aiding criminals and being a concerned bystander.  Even in school you were always operating out of your own honor and moral code, regardless, of how many tussles that landed you in.  If you tripped into an alley where men were blockading a businessman until he paid a “toll” – you better believe that “toll” would be paid in the spattering of their own sputum on the pavement.  Sometimes the falls would quite literally land you in trouble, but hey, what’s a little fall if you break it and break someone else’s bones that needed to be broken in the process? Medicine was one of your areas of interest, but you never had the gumption to stay in school long enough to become a doctor or a nurse. DIY First-aid was your specialty. Online classes for any degree seemed cheaper than going the traditional board-in schooling route if you really had to get higher education. Society changed a lot from one generation to the next and the job market wasn’t anything like it was even in the early 90’s and 00’s so education, while seemingly required still wasn’t a guarantee.  Always having a back-up plan and a back-up for the back-up with a few extra back-ups as well though seemed like the best way to try and adapt in a way that living would not be soul-sucking.

                Despite your looks, you knew how to handle your own in a fight and if you couldn’t – luckily, you had the fortune of finding people who wouldn’t mind lending a hand or being quick enough on your feet to run or claim surprise victories.  Being a latch-key little neighborhood vigilante as ill-advised and ill-suited to any higher-paying standard job worth its salt led you to amazing people and some hilarious stories in the right company.  Either you were a magnet for trouble, or you just so happened to be born unlucky enough to always be in the “wrong” place at the “wrong” time. This kind of life wasn’t one you ever regretted as hard as the going got.

You absentmindedly scrolled through your texts

Up-and-down

Up-and-down

Up-and-down

Up-and-down

*press* Your thumb slips

The group text with the two contact bubbles reading JG and ZT opened up. No new messages. Same old texts from last Thursday. Just the three of you sending images of cats you saved off the internet with some real images of them from walks spliced in. You sighed but understood both Zhao and Joon-gi were likely occupied with their own employment to have the time of day to talk to you. They dropped into the bar while you were the only one operating it Saturday night and Zhao had packed a mini-cooler of homecooked dishes – we’re talking eggplant stir-fry, braised pork, beef baozi, and sticky rice dumplings. He knew you enjoyed hot and sour soup back in America when you were growing up so with all willing, he would try really hard to bring some over to you on the downlow. It was a pretty easy soup to make when you had the right ingredients.  The way to the heart was through the stomach or so they say. The three of you ate together once all of the closing duties were done and the leftovers you knew you wouldn’t get to during the week were diligently packed into the freezer you had in your own room’s fridge. Boss never really spent much time upstairs and respected your privacy once the area became your quarters. He became a bit of a father figure, but you also knew that if you stuck your nose too far into trouble and happened to lose it – a few key individuals would run the risk of sticking their own necks too far out on your own behalf if they were around.

That old adage about food though must be true though or else he wouldn’t have managed to reach both your heart and Joon-gi’s in the world’s most unexpected romantic trio.  The relationship though just felt right – as if that was one piece of the puzzle that linked all three of you together – locking off unsecured edges and tying together floating pieces. You chuckle knowing that having been “official” for a little over a month still had its own upcoming landmines in the form of figuring out how to break the news to Boss in a way that multiple heads would not roll. Not yours but the man known as Joon-gi Han already died once – lord do we be the reason he dies a second time? Dead men walking really shouldn’t be as frequent an occasion to hear about but keeping secrets comes with the territory and at some point, you just accept it and shrug. Questions are a rare commodity and must be used wisely. Your continued survival likely resulted in no small part from the ability to have enough knowledge to know when you could have the privilege of being nosy or if being nosy would land you in boiling hot water.

Zhao was pretty cool too, and he could cook. And he could pull off whatever possessed him to rock basketball knee-shorts and tights. Watching him fight, you think you got the vision though. It was a surprisingly comfy pairing that didn’t restrict your movement but also provided minimal yet important protection and warmth for the leg real-estate that went uncovered. A unique spin on your stereotypical biker-gang goth bad boy if he was forced to breakdance out of gym class and upgraded his wardrobe with flashy patterned shirts to follow him into adulthood. If it was a fashion crime it was just another drop in the bucket-list of whatever charges he’s likely racked up over the years.  Honestly, though if push come to shove you could likely argue for bail on technicalities at whatever fashion court must exist. It had been years since you absentmindedly absorbed that one TV show telling people what not to wear.  Zhao has color/ patterns/prints/ and texture down so clearly; he’s doing something right? Thoughts of if you actually have any lawyer-ing abilities in you or just the bold self-assured confidence you can always make things work out somehow are a good enough distraction for your mind to wander in.  Being a well-rounded paradox of a human being was your specialty and the rules were just suggestions for the smart, the rich, and the fools.

Zhao and Joon-gi you gathered had been passing ships in the night during certain criminal underground meetings and it wasn’t until they joined Ichiban Kasuga – the hero of Ijincho’s merry crew that they really had the chance or even freedom to speak to one another. Joon-gi usually stood in the corner as a guard for his boss? Sister? Boss-sister? Seonhee. Zhao quipped that was pretty much the truth of the matter, and he was a pretty intimidating looking pit-bull.  However, if you really knew pit-bulls that had the chance to be raised right and in a home with enough love and care, they were very devoted and loving beings, so Zhao hit the nail on the head going past the unfortunate misunderstandings the general public had developed about them as a breed over the years.  Word on the grapevine the original was more of an arrogant poodle or a Pomeranian. Joon-gi figured that Seonhee liked you more than she liked him – you would at least appreciate his coffee brewing skills and Seonhee didn’t have the same frightening power over you or Saeko. Seonhee wouldn’t come by Survive Bar hardly any since it was difficult to pull herself away from her own duties with Geomijul, however, she did find a strong opponent in darts and a fun person to talk to when she had enough and needed to get out somewhere in the rare instances that she did visit with Joon-gi in tow – often just for you more than what the bar actually offered.

 Zhao had retired his main leadership of the Yokohama Liumang by the time you needed a place to stay in Ijincho and consequently got introduced to Ichiban’s crew as a new helper at the Survive Bar. Zhao still kept his ties though and is more like a VP with the Geomijul and Liumang being merged together in a more or less understood unity while also cooking at You Tian off of Ijin Street.

Boss retrofitted a privacy curtain for the bedroom area upstairs so you could just quietly chill in your wrapped off portion of the room if the space was really needed for discussions. The privacy curtain was a bit more protection considering the paper doors of the tatami room weren’t filled in. Generally, the booths in the actual establishment were all that was needed since the bar itself was a bit of a hole-in-the wall and both you and Boss had the ability to close it whenever the other wouldn’t be around. Income wasn’t plentiful but the two of you made do. Boss never spoke much about how his finances worked but you made sure the only thing he needed to worry about with your continued stay was that the bar was a place for you to sleep at. Not many places to camp in Ijincho that were safe.

 You didn’t mind sharing and often weren’t upstairs long enough during the daylight hours for there to be much of an issue, at least in the initial ideas, anyways. Being nosy was always fun until it wasn’t – you always lived to tell the tale of the consequences of your actions though. Not to mention, you could always retreat to the rooftop. The signage on the roof for the acrobatically adept and the bold was some form of hand-holding security if you were hopping on the first layer of the outer roof closer to the ground or trying to hop and get your way up top to the roof proper where it was harder for prying eyes to see if you wanted to attempt to stargaze.

You’ve snuck out without letting Boss know you ever left your hideaway with fancy footwork and proper rolling into the dirt lot west of the main entrance. It was still a little bit of a drop but if you were determined you could also take advantage of a little section on the northeast to drop down from. The pipes and railings for everything were extremely well-made and sturdy – it would just look weird if you got caught climbing around during daylight hours or when nightlife was especially bustling. There was never anything he kept you from doing per se but you liked the freedom and it did build adrenaline and suspense, wondering if he would ever catch on.  Being like a cat or a ghost, maybe even a bird if you had to pick a third thing to be likened to kept you from being bored and gave you enough practice in not being seen or notable enough for others to drag you into trouble even when actively involving yourself in it. Anyone that knew you and your face was never an enemy – at least not for long if you could help it.

You still chuckle thinking about when introduced formally to Ichiban’s crew – there was a near collective jaw-drop as they assumed you were his biological child. He was an old man but surely, he wasn’t that old? Well really, the dates could line up if you squint and think really hard about it, but your general timeline wouldn’t make sense with what life he lived before. DIY First-aid for old guys was not anything new to you though so being an occasional check-in nurse (fudging some credentials) would have been an acceptable guess. Poor man wasn’t afforded many ways to roll out of the jests with grace but you did your best not to add to much to it. He didn’t necessarily want you hopping right in with the crew – knowing that adding you into Ichiban’s rag-tag bunch was just another way you would wind up brushing with the criminal underworld even if all of the people in his crew seemed to be good at heart. Really the only two he would wholeheartedly approve of and could hope for you befriending was Sae and Eri. Eri wasn’t around often though and when she was – she kept her nose in the computer doing business reports.  He wished for your sake at times you would be like that though… but nope it was always adventure ahoy! Full steam ahead!! Sae herself didn’t really have much ties and he just couldn’t see you befriending anyone else (he thought wrong though). You love people and you love hearing their stories. Does not help you rarely had many friends your own age either so there was an ease in worming your way up to becoming acquainted with them all. Boss’s back keeping him from opening the bar some days also worked in your favor just because while glares couldn’t kill (yet) – Zhao trying to joke with you in particular if it seemed like it was getting flirty (you’re painfully dense at times – just like a certain assassin) would be shut-down with a cough and a knowing glare.

Joon-gi was very reserved so he really would not interact with anyone unless spoken to first or if the conversation was interesting to him. He came into the bar early one day when the Boss couldn’t make it and you were cleaning the piano. You were caught in the middle of a beginner’s attempt at Chopsticks goofing off not having much actual experience. You could read music but never played the piano to have learned what notes the keys were at the time. He told you it sounded pretty, and you told him he must have terrible hearing. A smart move though as you rarely heard him speak so he must be regarded as a strong listener. He grinned lightly amused and said it might be to something like that effect. It broke the ice though and made you seem more approachable to him. There wasn’t anything important left to clean so you pestered him into trying to play since he claimed he had to take a couple of lessons growing up (half-truth). The two of you managed to make a few hours fly by idly conversing until everyone else could actually make their way over. You didn’t seem fixated on his handsome looks but did have interest in his silver hair just from being curious about the actual amount of effort it took to maintain and the actual products he used so he lowered his guard a bit more having been used to just making conversations the times he would moonlight as a host at Stardust (keeping that to himself – of course – he tries not to speak about his past often). The only people that knew his actual birthname in Ichiban’s crew was Ichiban himself and Zhao. You wouldn’t be told later until after your romantic triad formed.

The crew didn’t always hang out fully together every day, but it seemed important enough that everyone got together at least once or twice a week to figure out certain plans and training just because while life wasn’t as high stakes when Ichiban and the gang were fighting against the former governor of Tokyo, Ryo Aoki. Bleach Japan dissipated and there was a certain kind of criminal corruption leaking out from its corpse. Terrible organization that really harmed those that couldn’t fend for themselves under the guise of “moral good.”  Against that fact, sometimes it would just be one or two people looking for a drink or a place to unwind, sometimes actual customers but not often. Some days you and Boss would be joking with Ichiban, Nanba, and Adachi. Other times you would be pouring drinks for everyone and chatting with whomever came in alone. Early on while getting yourself familiar with Ijincho and tending the bar alone, it came up in conversation that you believed you knew your way around a fight and could handle an occasional run-in with thugs that just wanted easy pocket-change. You and Ichiban were more similar than not which made you an easy addition to the crew even if Boss sighed a bit but let you be on your way since they still could pose for decent enough friends and let you learn the lay of the land while also keeping you from getting into too much trouble alone. Wandering from one place to the next and really only settling down as your interest allowed or whatever else kept you tied to one spot was your usual modus operandi. If there was something interesting going on, then you would find yourself staying in the same city or returning to old haunts.

Inviting people upstairs just to chat when the bar was actually busy wasn’t second-guessed in the small space allowed. There was a hallway upstairs with a door you could lock from the entry-side that led to the roof and to a small bathroom and laundry unit luckily enough. The bathroom had a sink, a large shower, and a small walled-off toilet room essentially. Not a lot of space for extras so you never had the space to build up lot of clutter. If it wasn’t something needed it would usually be packed away – ever the master of living in bags and organizing your clothes by laundry bagging. The bathroom would be an interesting employees-only bathroom if there was more than just you and the Boss. It made life easier though, having all the amenities just in case or if there was some sort of emergency where someone really needed to clean up.

The Boss would have let you stay at his actual residence but the space above the Bar was enough for you and you didn’t want to intrude anymore upon his generosity.  So long as you had your needs covered, internet and the knowledge you could keep your phone and a laptop safe then what more was needed? Cooking was fine downstairs when there was not any business, and you could keep a compact microwave upstairs for use as needed – letting the top of it be a place to sit things on like it was a super low table. Unconventional living spaces and spending most of your time cozy on the floor was 100% fine. You could even stick a dartboard on the wall near your room’s entry door and just keep it locked to prevent anyone who would forget to knock from being hit in the face or worse! What else could you ask for?

In the interest of security, there was a few hidden cameras installed that let you see when people approached the employee entrance on the side of the building and get a decent glance at the front end. The footage was viewable from your smartphone only as Boss relied on you and if you ever moved, he could get you to change things over (free live-in tech support! Great add on to the tenant resume).

-

One day, since it was just Zhao and Joon-gi at the bar with nothing else to do you invited them upstairs to play darts. Zhao made a joke about being early for being invited to a bedroom, but it went over your head and Joon-gi didn’t realize until halfway up the stairs when he covertly hit Zhao’s arm as the two followed behind you. The joke, having found at least an audience of one though, made it a success in his book. If Zhao could not make at least one witty remark a day or attempt to get on someone’s nerves, the theory was that he would probably implode and die on the spot when the clock hit midnight. A terrible affliction for whom? Unclear. Probably you? Definitely you and Joon-gi. Zhao would always have a target if they breathed and could speak.

This interaction led to the three of you spending time together more often just in a casual sense outside of whatever hijinks the day had in store. There was low whispers about something between Zhao and Joon-gi always followed by a little bit of laughter knowing though that it would likely be best to not be overheard. Zhao himself had a reputation to still maintain and even with his friends, it was a bit of a balancing act. He didn’t want to seem too soft. He could take what he could dish out but why give others the opportunity if you can help it? Zhao having the most familiarity with Joon-gi seemed liked two peas in a pod despite them both at first brush seeming unapproachable with Zhao’s cold front and Joon-gi’s quiet disposition. Two peas in a pod and two birds of a feather. You heard the rumors yourself from the rest of the crew and chuckled along, the premise seemed funny but as the relationship between the three of you formed – it seemed even funnier that no one seemed to be catching onto the full picture as things continued. You knew more about Zhao and Joon-gi than people like Adachi, Nanba, and Sae did. It would be unusual if any groupings of them were seen together without Ichiban also being present. Both of you were unique social glues.

On a lonely night similar to this dreary one at the bar, it was just you manning the shop. The entry bell-chimed and in sauntered Zhao attempting to act as if they both weren’t caught in a sudden downpour calling for Joon-gi to hurry up as rain only intensified outside and thunder began to crack.

“Great, two paying customers! We were just about to close for the night due to the lack of business. Now tell me good sirs you didn’t steal anything from a god of thunder?’  Joon-gi had a foot in the entryway when

BOOM BOOOM BOOM

The thunder was ferociously making itself known as lightning joined in.  Zhao couldn’t hold back from laughing and saying that maybe Joon-gi did. “How am I supposed to know? I’m not his keeper.”

“And you two showing up seemingly together at the exact time was just a coincidence?”

“Work.” – Joon-gi interjected dryly trying to see if there was a space he could take off his trademark black raincoat and hang it on and wiping his boots on the carpet.  The two had been in a long-winding meeting at Geomijul and Zhao’s brains were beginning to sizzle having been faced with a sea of paperwork. Who knew the criminal underworld had just as bad bureaucracy?

“Take a seat Zhao, let me take your coat Joon-gi, there’s a pack of disposable slippers if y’all want to switch into dry shoes. Not that anyone ever used them I can fetch right quick.” – A bit of a discernable accent slipping out - you swipe at the box that sat underneath the wire shoe rack with the umbrella stand and deftly open it up. Tossing a pack to Zhao who made himself at home on a barstool. You swore he was spinning around to see if he could get your attention while you were hanging Joon-gi’s raincoat on the wooden screen behind the last booth. It was a good enough spot as any for the moment. Zhao’s shoes gently but still audibly being dropped to his left as Joon-gi takes a seat on his right at the bar.

“Y’all? Where did you come from?” Zhao prodded homing in on a new opportunity for teasing.

“Space, Outer Space. Rejected and sent to America. They didn’t like me either so next thing I know I’m living in Japan with a host-family that kicked me to the curb! If you ever heard of the game, “hot potato”, I’m pretty much the hottest one.” – in a joking manner though the idea was generally true having spent the earlier portion of your life in the US and then having to learn Japanese to manage with a host-family and essentially being stranded without any actual relatives was how you spent your late teens to now early 20’s.  You were at the point where you could assimilate fairly well but your spoken words would sometimes be confusing when all of a sudden, you’re using words from a bit of a different dialect.

 Namely Kansai-ben which captured your actual origins decently well. It happened considering how long you’ve had to get by on your own and spent interacting with people that actually supposedly came from the region. If you weren’t a word sponge early on you would’ve been even more lost, though it was also harder having to learn how to grasp writing and the actual means to begin to think in the language, so it wasn’t like constantly switching from one to the other.

Surprisingly, the game was somewhat familiar to Zhao as there existed an equivalent in Japan called the bomb game (bakudan game) and the brief cultural exchange lessons they had in school growing up were the ones that sticked with him the most outside of being expected to have good grades. The teachers actually cared and tried to put effort into making the lessons fun. It wasn’t often kids would get to play games in class let alone talk about them, so it beat staring down a math textbook.

“Really? Must be their loss. You’re not too hot to handle. Although, speaking of potatoes – is it not too late to serve food? The vending machine in the office was all busted up by a chucklehead on accident so unless you bring your own snacks you just have to deal with it. This is one of the few late-night spots that are a bit different from sitting at Smile Burger. If Joon-gi isn’t hungry I think we’re in the company of  a robot.” Joongi’s eyes narrowed a little at Zhao but he did affirm that it had been a while since he had a proper meal.

Taking your cue - *customer service voice activating* “Yepper pepper! Would the two of you care for cold noodles, our homemade beef jerky, olives, or curry? We can serve chicken or beef at the moment! The Boss’s Special House Curry is currently unavailable – olive of our deepest apologies”

The puns were so painful that Zhao seemed to wince but the two of you actually heard Joon-gi laugh and smile.

The Joon-gi Han??

‘Smiling? Laughing? At one of your bits? Is this reality? Has hell frozen over? Are we living there right now?’ Thunder was still rolling outside but you knew the bar had a generator that would likely keep it running if the power went out for a couple of days so long as it had been filled with oil properly. It probably was, it wasn’t like it was used often but you knew Boss was generally on-top of things like that, so you just trusted it was full.

The key to getting him to break down into actual genuine laughter was terrible puns, or maybe it wasn’t helped that the poor man was as Zhao indicated starving and his brains too were also fried. It was a miracle they didn’t have bacon for brains.  Even Zhao seemed stunned but the happy energy you felt from him could have powered a lightbulb as the laughter was contagious.

Both ordered your own special beef curry which while simple was something you made your own twists on as Boss was stingy and wouldn’t even give you the recipe to his own house curry. You kept the ingredients as pre-prepped as they could be so the cooking process wouldn’t take long as it was more of a skillful reheating job. Your own secret ingredient was a faint amount of quality cocoa powder, when making beef curry just a little bit was enough to make it comparable to ones that supposedly mothers would tend to over hours as it simmered on the stove top. To ease appetites, you offered some rice crackers you kept under the bar for yourself so the sad side bowl dishes of olives wouldn’t be so sad. You weren’t much of a drinker, so the alcohol and olive pairing encouraged by the cocktails on the menu were lost on you.

You understood the concept but at the very least if there’s olives and beef jerky on the menu, having some boiled eggs on the menu would at least be more encouraging for a light lunch or something to that effect. Your generosity was very much appreciated because it was still an agonizing twenty minutes before the food would be done. At this point it was closer to closing time than it wasn’t, but the standard hours were for the regular world. The usual suspects pretty much had free reign to come and go so long as they could get in with someone around. It wasn’t often you had a lazy day – if the bar wasn’t open and Boss wasn’t tending to it – you were probably outside finding things to do and likely with one or more of those usual suspects.

Serving both hearty helpings of beef curry as the beef that all needed to be cooked that night went into your curry, the two began to chow down. Zhao being the resident chef could tell you had some cooking skill and liked how your curry was flavored. He figured he could probably come up with the same recipe on his own, but it wouldn’t be the same because it wasn’t something freshly cooked by you. He likes his own dishes but it’s tiring to go through the trouble of cooking for one person -himself- all the time. Outside of cooking for You Tian, Joon-gi was really the only person he ever made food for with any semi-regularity. Joon-gi loved Chinese dishes and the grandmothers at Eomeoni’s Vow treated him well so it wasn’t unusual to wind up with more than enough kimchi of many varieties to essentially trade with.  Zhao would ensure Joon-gi was fed without the pretense of there being trading though as he always wanted to be sure that none of his men would go hungry and that extended to his friends and anyone, he would consider close.

The two would discreetly meet-up sharing reusable containers in which Joon-gi was always the one who wound up with more food for his own abode. Zhao would never keep the containers the kimchi he received was stored in, he would always empty out the kimchi into one of his own jars and fill the newly empty container with food he made himself. It was very infrequent that everyone met up at You Tian for Zhao to serve them food but it had happened in the past.  He had also served up garlic shrimp making do with what Ichiban had in his own previous quarters at an entirely different bar with much appreciation for the owner on a night where everyone was too wiped out to go to their own homes. Everyone else could get their own food but he had a soft spot for Joon-gi in particular that he tried to keep concealed. He worried about how he fared since no one usually pays much mind to the guard-dog in the corner and that general urge to look out for him persisted leading to them talking more and drinking together as time and space allowed.  How long has it been since someone cooked him a meal directly?

Joon-gi was pretty much wolfing his portion down while still not making any mess. How one could eat so fast but not make a mess was a mystery. ‘Just leave it to Resident Pretty Boy’ or so you thought. He did have an undeniable elegant flair in how he tried to carry himself and act for better or for worse. If you weren’t so familiar with him, you would’ve just taken him for a snooty pompous guy but getting past the initial impressions he did seem to have a good heart. It was easier to get him talking in smaller group settings or one-on-one but those were rare. He only seemed more comfortable with Zhao or Ichiban and noticed the same if it was just the two of you as time passed. Making friends was fun.

“Easy there, Joon-gi – I can dish out some more if you two are still hungry for seconds – free of charge.”  Zhao and Joon-gi were hungry men and stressed, very stressed and very tired. Coming to the bar to eat and hang out with you while restorative was just a dent in recovering from the brain drain. You offered a pairing of beers that you thought would have went with the curry and they both placed an actual order – the food wound up being free since it was technically off-menu and it’s easier to handle freebies on food than messing with the alcohol inventory. The air of the bar was filled with warmth and laughter contrasting against the harsh weather outside as the storm still raged on.

It wasn’t like the weather was going to be letting up anytime soon and you three being the only ones in the bar meant that closing up for the night would be easy. Maybe against better conventional judgement about inviting two guys who have been drinking into your own room late at night – you offered letting them play a game of cards or something upstairs. Go-fish and Koi-Koi were always fun for you. Although koi-koi was more of a two-player game.  Zhao seemed to have drunk a decent bit of alcohol and while Joon-gi wasn’t drinking as fast it wasn’t like you knew their tolerance well enough to gauge what kind of drunk they were. Red flag central to some but they were your friends, and you didn’t think there was really any risk. Worst case scenario you just have to start kicking people – nothing new.

Letting Zhao put his shoes back on and grabbing Joon-gi’s rain coat off where it had began to dry, you told them you could pop it in the dryer upstairs to be on the safe side. Even when the rain lets up, you figured it would be cold outside and would have hated for Joon-gi to have walk his way back home without a warmer jacket. It was pretty rare for him to be seen without the black raincoat so he really only had on a plain black-t-shirt underneath. Boo for lack of color variation but the all-black color choice was fairly spiffy and not the worst thing in the world if you didn’t question Zhao’s choice of pants.  Leading them up the stairs it sounded like Zhao and Joon-gi were stepping evenly and there wasn’t any obvious stumbling prior either so far the sailing was smooth.

Settling down in the excuse of what seemed to be a kitchen area where your trusty mini microwave rests outside of your bedroom – the three of you sit cross-legged and go through multiple rounds of Go-Fish before winding up in the longest round that mankind had ever bore witness to. You could handle playing Monopoly and even enjoy it in the right circumstances, but the unusual stalemate had you watching as Joon-gi, and Zhao seemed to be studying each other’s hands more than your own in a form of competition. If you weren’t so prideful yourself, you would have just let them have the cards they were trying to get and let one of them win instead of fighting your inevitable loss silently.  Its unclear who passed out first but the next thing you know, you’re waking up with both Zhao and Joon-gi’s heads resting on your lap – essentially being forced to remain in place against the poor old, abandoned stove left upstairs. The item box you had in front of it was a good little table for the way you went about things but now you’re in the most unusual predicament of a lifetime. You’ve seen people joking and asking for help when a pet falls asleep on their lap but never “Hey there’s two of my friends asleep on my lap, please advise”

Internally panicking and feeling a bit of a flush set in because of the human contact you notice that Zhao’s glasses were somewhat drooping off of his face. Your legs were for the time-being locked in place but you still had free movement of your arms all things considered. Reaching up just a little bit above you, putting whatever playing cards that remained in your hand on the waste of space stovetop you gently took his glasses and folded them sitting on the box to your left. Carefully moving your arms so as not to be a major disturbance to either of the sleeping men who on closer look as the gentler moonlight streamed in from your window seemed so peaceful. Being so vulnerable is a rarity and when you’ve lived through chaotic times, even being able to fall asleep in the same room as someone else can say a lot about trust and human connection.  Honestly, while inconvenient you can’t say you didn’t mind even if your legs were more asleep than you could ever be in that moment. It was likely for the better so long as you didn’t have to wake them up for getting up to go use the restroom which seemed like a selfish need at this point, they likely earned the rest and had been running on less sleep than you’ve been. It was fortunate enough that with them laying on their backs and legs extended out they didn’t come too close to accidentally knocking on your actual sliding bedroom door. You thought you set your smart-phone on the counter next to the stove and could try and at least figure out what time it was instead of assuming there was probably only a couple of hours until the sun came up. Holding your hands up though and trying to stretch too far would surely be a disturbance… you were in a tough space. Especially as your arms were beginning to also fall asleep, bringing them in front of you like a half-circle resulted in you brushing up against both of the men’s hair. Zhao’s black hair was softer than expected, although if you had to bet money on someone’s hair being a helmet in its own right you figured it was likely his, Joon-gi’s hair was maybe the softest ever. In the right lighting his silver hair could be seen as a stunning snow white like a bunny’s tail. It would be rude, weird, and awkward enough that you would want to crawl into a hole even more than you already do if either of them woke up to thinking you were stroking their hair. At least if you brought your arms back to your sides content enough to just try and let them hang on the floor  that would hopefully be a better choice.  The awkwardness wouldn’t fall solely on you at least, you’re not the one laying your head on someone else’s lap next to another dude. Your mental thought-process may not make sense to anyone else but you – but somehow your part in this should at least be cancelled out. You can look out of your window a bit to see that the weather seems calm, you can shut your eyes and try to go back to sleep until the morning figuring that by then the predicament can just be replaced with another one, or you can just watch the rise and fall of both Zhao and Joon-gi’s chests. Watching people sleep though brings you right back around to being awkward in the uncancellable sense since they’re both sleeping away so you will just have to resolve to either keeping your eyes up or keeping them closed.

Hearing the almost rhythmic breathing of both Zhao and Joon-gi falter you can feel them beginning to stir and have to brace for how the three of you are going to handle this.  One or both of them could leap up and begin apologizing furiously. Second option, maybe one of them will run the risk of standing up too fast and falling over which could lead to a bit more chaos considering the enclosed space, third option –

“Well well, I see the extra meaning in letting sleeping dogs lie” – Zhao beginning to lift his head off your lap and pushing himself upwards slightly so he’s facing Joon-gi more than he is you, lightly laughs as if this was the most normal thing to ever have happened to him.  Joon-gi gradually opening his eyes as he recollects where he’s at having fell asleep with the both of you over a game of cards that required the patience of a Buddha, he immediately begins to scramble off you while uttering apologies. It unfortunately is not bright enough to be fully sure that he’s blushing. Your lap now free with and legs able to move since Joon-gi wasted no time in changing positions as soon as he was fully cognizant of what was going on – the embarrassing nature of the situation is getting to you. Zhao is living for it though and isn’t sure which is better having found his glasses so he can watch how both of you are reacting.  At this rate you’re not even looking for an apology from him as much as you think he is trying to flirt with Joon-gi.

Zhao Tianyou – will never be sorry a day in his life for his specific kind of chaos. At this rate though, he could likely go a few days without actively poking fun at someone because this should be enough fuel to prevent that theorized curse from killing him the instant he goes too long without it.

Looking for an out in this situation – not giving yourself enough time to gain feeling back in your legs you’re shouting apologies and excusing yourself for fresh air practically bolting even if you seem like you’re about to to trip and fall. You grab Joon-gi’s rain jacket from the dryer and set it on top before throwing yourself up onto the rooftop to where the stars are still visible.

The cool night air feels good across your warm face which only seems to be getting warmer as you can hear footsteps approaching up the staircase. The rooftop door still flung open – they can easily see you splayed out in the middle of the rooftop like one of the brightest stars in the sky. If you had more feeling in your legs you would have considering maneuvering yourself off the rooftop and running to go find a convenience store to kill time at like nothing happened between the three of you and you wouldn’t bring it up again.

‘God – if you’re out there why are they still lying next to me’ – Zhao motioned for Joon-gi to follow him as your gaze was focused skyward and the general order was to follow his lead.  Zhao moving a bit quicker and taking up space to mimic you gave Joon-gi who while still embarrassed was better at hiding it than you were at this moment in time.  The roof should open and swallow you whole. Figuring that the situation could not get any weirder, though the only option is the easiest one and that is to remain in place.

Joon-gi is struggling to find the words as he knows it’s up to either him or Zhao to do so but since Zhao wanted to make himself leader he tries to look and see if he can pick up any semblance of a shared glance or at the very least something other than you just trying to remain zoned in on the sky above.  He breaks the silence.

“The moon is beautiful tonight isn’t it?”

“Who would’ve known?” Zhao chimes in “- although I think it’s clear to see if you take a closer look” and he’s rolled over in your direction

And now Joon-gi copies Zhao’s actions……

‘god is dead – we killed him – I killed him – we are living in the end of times why is this happening to me!!!!’ you scrunch up into a fetal position with your face in your hands as your mind races and begin to roll around as much as you can without bumping into either of the men next to you.  Your bashful emotions are as clear as day but you manage to get some of the initial nervous energy out.

“I think the moon is pretty, but the stars shine brighter” and as fate would have it – there were three bright and bold stars you could easily group together above the group impromptu stargazing session. You are not getting out of this one that easy trying to recover from it.

Zhao and Joon-gi turn back to laying on their backs to see the sky as you are at this point and lifts his hand pointing them out, the sound of his rings moving in an almost looser clanking nature might be a decent stand-in for a star twinkling sound-effect if you could imagine it. He points out the three brightest stars and makes sure that both you and Joon-gi are looking at the right spot.

“You know? Those stars are like us right now. I wouldn’t want it any other way.  It’s been a long time since any of us have had the opportunity to take the time and really enjoy everything the world out there has to offer. When you spend most of your life living on the other side, it’s not unusual to go without light – sun, stars, and moon if you get what I mean. You can’t even take solace in knowing the ones you care about are looking at the same sky if they never see the light either.”

“I think he is right. It has not been all that often that work has allowed for people like me or Tianyou to have the privilege of sharing in light with loved ones and not having to be ever vigilant for any signs of danger. We still have to continue our work or else even more darkness could replace what leaves. However, to spend time with you both has been the most illuminating for my life.”

You are processing both of their statements, are they both asking you out? How do you respond? It seems rude to have a response for just one person over the other. You’re not trying to hurt feelings – it’s true that spending time with both of them has been the most fun you’ve had in a long time and that things are different when it’s just the three of you together. Although getting to be a part of what must be Ijincho’s most motley crew is what led you into this particular situation, overall, it’s been a ride from the start to its current point.

“If you both are willing – we can repeat this over and over as much as our schedules allow –

I love the both of you” – The words tumble from Zhao’s mouth; they are sincere but the vulnerability can be felt. He wouldn’t be saying it if he didn’t mean it.

“I- I love the both of you too” you stammer out knowing you are on the start of a new chapter in your life, having never confessed that you felt more than just purely platonic or familial love with those you were close to.

“My answer is clear.”  Joon-gi moves closer to you and takes your hand closest to him holding it in a tight grip – sitting up gently from his previous position - His hands are calloused but you can tell he takes the time to take care of his skin. He uses his other hand to indicate he’s reaching for Zhao’s.  Zhao’s black nail polish is still striking in the dark and his rings make it easier to tell with the moonlight. Joon-gi not using much in the way of words has drawn you into the middle of a group hug. He leans down and places a kiss on your forehead before doing the same with Zhao.

Welcome to your new reality. You have two boyfriends now – a partner for each hand! Amazing, unforeseen, who would’ve known? Your mind having to settle only to run double-time on processing what just happened has made you feel extremely tired. Joon- gi and Zhao both begin to yawn only for you to yawn louder than them.

Flicking his phone from his jacket to quickly check the time, Zhao reveals it’s only 4:45 AM. “Is there enough time left to try and ensure the lovely sleeping beauties can get enough shut-eye ?”

“Boss only opens after lunch on Tuesdays, if he comes in at 10 AM to get ready for the day – so long as you two aren’t seen still hanging around... he should be none the wiser?”

“Is it not a good idea to tell him that we’re all an item now?”

“Whoa there Joon-gi I don’t think being seen coming down from the lovely [Name]’s room is a good idea – at least in the morning before they’ve even had the chance to be ready for the day. I love you both but I would rather we come up with a better idea of dropping the news first – what do you think he would think?”

“…. I see your point and I stand corrected. It would be a bad idea to let everyone else know immediately.”

“Bingo. Besides our formidable Boss of the Survive Bar, do you think Seonhee would take kindly to even more of a merger between the Yokohama Liumang and the Geomijul?”

“…..”

“Uhm – isn’t saying something immediately a bad omen anyways? There’s nothing wrong with us going about things mostly the same way is there?”

“Wise thoughts here – wise… anyways we can discuss it later for right now I think we all should try and get back to sleep before you and me have to make like Robin Hood and slip away before we run into any issues”.  Joon-gi nods and begins to yawn again.

You take the time to point out your own ways of hopping off the roof without anyone else knowing you’ve ever left your room. Both men take in the directions and you all make your way back down to your own quarters. It’s still dark enough to not have any issues with the sunlight but you close your curtains and have an alarm set for 8:15 – whatever rest you three get will be better than nothing.

Bringing out the spare futon mats and covers you make a wide spread of them out on the floor and luckily have spare pillows, so no one is doing without. It’s awkward but laying on futon mats next to each other sounds like a more cozy plan than having your back against that cold stove. Zhao has his coat neatly folded up and stuck in the corner near the door with his shoes facing the rooftop access hall. Joon-gi takes his raincoat and rolls it up. You hand them both a pillow and have it to where there is enough blanketing, it is easy for any party to adjust as they see fit. It’s not close to summer yet so the weather isn’t hot enough to make this arrangement impossible without blankets. The best thing for you at the moment is taking up sleeping space closest to your window. It makes more sense to be on the inside since Joon-gi and Zhao will be the ones who want to leave before they’re the ones responsible for explaining what happened overnight. If it was just you – you could likely manage just fine. Boss would not have any reason to be suspicious but if you had to explain something – it could hopefully be done in a way that doesn’t cause conflict.

Joon-gi settles in next to you – “I always find myself getting cold at night” he remarks pulling up more blankets than he thought you would have needed while still cozying up to your back. There is a thermal heater behind you – honestly very cozy but you would not be able to bundle up the way he is without sweating bullets.

That leaves Zhao as the outermost spoon, he doesn’t need much in terms of warmth because of how Joon-gi is currently bundled up next to you. You can still feel his presence despite not being next to him in this sleeping arrangement. Love is probably the best term that comes to mind being able to feel safe and relaxed having these two cuddled up to your back. Sleep comes quickly after shared murmurs of “good nights” and it’s the most well-rested anyone has felt in a long time despite being awoken by the shrieking sounds of the alarm you set.

Joon-gi shoots up and softens looking at you and Zhao as you groggily turn off the alarm clock. He kisses you on the cheek and Zhao afterwards.  It’s great waking up next to the people you love having confirmation that last night did happen but they both should go if they value living. Another day of work ahead before there would be a “dungeon crawl” in the Ijincho underground and hopefully enough time after for three of you to be together. Zhao pulling himself out of the sleeping pile wraps you both in a hug and helps Joon-gi to his feet.

You hate to see them leave but following them to the door and up to the roof-top watching them leave, you have to say they look dashing.

-

3:15 AM Tuesday night

ZT: “Door – please?”

1 notification – motion detected employee entrance

The footage shows Zhao standing outside with Joon-gi’s arm draped across his shoulders helping keep the man on his feet. It’s not an easy task for one person alone.

You spring up out of your bed and rush downstairs to let them in.

“Seonhee.. Seonhee took the car” – Joon-gi speaks as the words drag out – you’re able to give Zhao some support and aid him in getting Joon-gi into your room. You go back downstairs and lock up the employee entrance door.

BOOM BOOM BOOM

The sudden thunderstorm signals its arrival with a fierce downpour of rain – it’s a good thing you helped your fellow lovebirds in when you did or they would have been out in the rain. Zhao having started getting out the blankets and futon mats learning how your room is laid out is aided by you. This time there’s extra hours to sleep in compared to the first night you guys ever shared a room.  Only thing is poor Joon-gi is out like a light already in the middle of the bedroom. The two were coming back from yet another meeting except it was outside of Ijincho, that mean the commute back took longer than expected and while Zhao had pretty much done the same thing – he wasn’t operating off the complete schedule Joon-gi was on. If there was a picture example for the term “sleep debt” – Joon Gi’s face would be underneath it. His ability to walk extremely long distances without getting tired was also something the two of you learned about as time passed as well. Perhaps his choice of pants really did give him hidden powers…

You settle into your now-regular spot sleeping closest to the window of your room and huddle up to Joon Gi’s side. Zhao gets to keep his right side warm. It’s a winning set-up for all involved because both of you think you can see even in sleep when Joon-gi knows he has some of his favorite company next to him. It’s not been often that the two of them crash in your bedroom to sleep but since the triad formed up it does result in you having the best sleep someone could ask for and with enough time all allowing – it’s possible for Zhao and Joon-gi to linger longer than 10-15 minutes before you’re watching them get off from the roof.  Neither have dared to leave the normal people way. At least if they fall off the roof – it’s easier to just say it was a case of parkour gone wrong. This will be one of the nights where you and Zhao sleep next to Joon-gi longer than usual luckily enough. Both of you wind up sprawling over him like cats would in sleep making for a humorous but heartwarming sight. He doesn’t miss his usual blankets when the three of you hear the alarm you have set for 9:20 AM go off. There’s only a set amount of minutes before it would be best for them to leave but the three of you share in the quiet togetherness before they get up to do the usual run and go.

[Name] – keep an eye on your phone! We’re going to bring you something later! A new pop-up bakery would take up rental space in the Commercial District and given that today was supposed to be one of the days where it was likely to be the easiest to get in during the morning rush – the big idea was that Zhao and Joon-gi would manage to go and scope things out. Researching new restaurant pop-ups was one part of running You Tian and keeping an eye on the competition so to speak. No one notices Zhao and Joon-gi using their jackets to conceal the fact they’ve been holding hands keeping pace shortly behind the other from the Bar District to the Commercial District.

Settling down on nearby grass after making their purchase with a bag securely stashed away in a drawstring bag he took off your hands – Zhao and Joon-gi both unwrap two red bean filled donuts from the bakery pop-up. They were one of the second-most popular items with the first being a gimmicky “galaxy donut.” The powdered sugar gets stuck on Zhao’s fingers and as he watches Joon-gi take a bite of his in order to gauge his reaction – he can see where the crumbs get left on his cheek near his lip.

“Eh- these are so-so. I can do better with what I have at home. What a waste of rental space. Honestly, the looks aren’t anything if the taste isn’t there.”  he jokingly laments knowing he’s going to be getting Joon-gi back into his place to be a cooking companion.

“I cannot say I have had enough donuts to have formed a strong opinion on these – but there’s not much flavor to these if that’s what you’re talking about?”

“Bingo.”

Zhao spies a certain stoplight trio walking on a road opposite to them

He scans and makes eye contact as anyone can hear Ichiban Kasuga before he realizes you see him, Adachi seems to be in on a riveting conversation as Nanba seems to be handling one bag of fresh bread and another bag of drinks from a nearby Poppo. He thinks Nanba seems to recognize them.

A sly smirk forming on his face – Zhao leans over to Joon-gi and kisses where the crumbs were left behind from the Zhao Tianyou ranked and judged mediocre donuts. Joon-gi seems to short-circuit as he stares at Zhao realizing he’s up to something. The two quietly laugh together and know what to do.

Nanba blinks again and looks over where he thought he had seen some familiar clothes and faces fairly close to one another. He attempts to focus but doesn’t see anyone at all. Hurrying along not realizing that Zhao and Joon-gi were ever seen together in the Commercial District that day.

If you were near a specific alley though you would have heard howling laughter. Zhao could not wait to share the tale later when enough time for the three of you to talk came around again.