#not my best work but certainly still like it!!!

[inkedinshadows]

For the requests: "I would certainly take all night" with Eris, please. I would be forever indebted to you. Can be smut or not, write it however you want! :)

Held in Firelight

Pairing: Eris x f!reader

A/N: Hi! No need to be indebted, don't worry! I just hope you'll like this bc I really liked this idea but I wrote it after six hours of class so it might not be my best work. I also don't know how to label it because it's a bit fluffy with a tiny sprinkle of angst and allusions to smutty bits? Idk idk I really like it tho

Warnings: arranged marriage, cheating (but the parties involved are aware so idk)

Word count: 1k

“I think he has a new lover.”

Your words cut through the comfortable silence that had settled over the sitting room. Eris raised a brow, but you continued to stir the wine in your glass, your eyes fixed on the swirling red liquid.

The silence stretched, broken only by the crackling embers in the fireplace. Eventually, he asked, “What makes you think that?”

You shrugged one shoulder. “He spent every night out this week. He doesn't do that if he's just sleeping around. He still comes home.”

Eris hummed, as if contemplating your answer.

These were your favorite moments—when Eris didn’t have court duties to attend to and could spend hours talking and drinking with you. It was your favorite way to ease the stress and tension of the life you had been forced into.

“He was out even two nights ago?”

You looked up at him. The firelight flickered on the side of his face, turning his hair into molten copper. You felt a sudden urge to reach across the couch and run your fingers through it.

“Yeah,” you replied. “Why do you ask?”

“It was your birthday,” he stated simply.

“So?”

He looked startled. “You really don’t care that he forgot?”

You sighed, setting your glass down. “Eris, he hasn't remembered my birthday in years.”

He didn’t reply, but his jaw clenched. You couldn’t tell if the flames in his eyes were just a reflection of the fire or if it was that simmering power of his.

With another sigh, you pressed on. “Let’s say he remembers,” you said. “Then what? You really believe he would spend the whole night with me, taking his sweet time to make me feel cherished, at least on my birthday?” You shook your head, the mere thought making you scoff. “No, I prefer it this way. He doesn't care about me, I don't care about him, and there's no point in pretending we do.”

Eris remained silent, his gaze fixed on the fireplace, his fingers clutching the stem of his glass so tightly you thought it might break. You knew he cared about you, that he hated your situation as much as you did, but even he couldn’t change it. Maybe once he became High Lord he’d banish arranged marriages and spare others from this fate, but it was too late for you.

Picking up your glass again, you tucked your legs beneath you and settled back against the pillows. You took a sip of wine, hoping that its rich taste might offer an excuse to change the topic, but you came up empty. You’d already commented on the flavor when he opened the bottle.

“I would certainly take all night.”

His voice was quiet, almost thoughtful, but when you turned to look at him, he was still facing away from you.

“What?” you blurted out. Surely, you had heard that wrong.

Finally, his eyes met yours, determined and unflinching. “I would take all night with you,” he repeated, “I would cherish you. And not just on your birthday.”

Your breath hitched. There had been a few lingering touches, a brush of fingers, words whispered after one too many glasses of wine. But never like this—so plain and blatant, so unguarded.

“Don't say that,” you murmured.

“Why not?” His eyes bore into you, pinning you in place. There was no escape—not that you wanted one. “We both want it.”

He was right. There was no arguing with that. Yet you still shook your head. “Eris, we can't.”

He moved closer. You didn’t resist when he took your glass and set it on the small table alongside his. An empty bottle stood next to an unopened one.

“Why not?” he asked again, his voice gentler now. “Just because you’re married? How many other females has he been with?”

Countless.

Maybe Eris was right about that too. Maybe you didn’t owe loyalty to a husband you had never wanted—a husband who had never been loyal to you. If he could have all the females he wanted, then maybe you could have the one male you wanted. The one person who always understood you, who never judged or mistreated you.

“When was the last time someone made you feel cherished?” Eris’s hand covered yours, his slender fingers intertwining with your own, squeezing once. “Made you feel good?”

You had never thought about your marriage in those terms. You had never wanted that union in the first place, so you had clung to the small things. Time away from your husband was good. You hadn’t shared a bed in a long time, and your conversations were awkward and stiff enough that the thought of intimacy hadn't crossed your mind in years. And you’d told yourself that was good enough.

But deep down, it had never really felt good.

Eris was still looking at you, his expression soft and understanding. As if he could see your every thought.

You looked away, unable to stomach it. “I don't know,” you finally whispered.

“Let me be that person.” He reached out, gently tilting your chin. “Let me make you feel good.”

Your eyes met again, and your resolve wavered. Then he brushed his thumb over your lips and spoke in a barely audible whisper.

“Let me love you.”

That word.

Love.

Your husband had never uttered it to you, nor had you to him. But hearing it from Eris… you knew he didn't mean just now—a stolen moment to carry in your heart. And that realization was the final push you needed.

You didn't know who moved first. One moment you were staring into each other's eyes. The next, your lips met.

He tasted like a wish come true after years of waiting.

You were done longing and yearning in secret, done pretending you didn't know what you truly wanted.

And as Eris loved you in front of the fireplace, you finally felt good. You felt cherished. And he took all night to make sure of it.

Taglist: @mrsjna @navyblue-eternity @paintedbyshadows @highladyandromeda @starswholistenanddreamsanswered @azrielsmate3 @mollygetssherlockcoffee @mirandasidefics @tinystarfishgalaxy @cynthiesjmxazrielslover @anarchiii @readinggeeklmao @anneas11 @azrielslittleslut @lilah-asteria @lorosette @azrielsrealmate @pey2618 @mellowmusings @k8r123-blog @daughterofthemoons-stuff @minnieoo @saltedcoffeescotch @georgiadixon @quiet-because-it-is-a-secret @ivy-34

1k taglist: @onebadassunicorn @thegoddessofnothingness

[optimisticgrey]

Based on this anon ask for @dekariosclan (and her beautiful answer), I tried to write an intro to such a story. I do not actually need a new story to start but it has been on my mind ever since the answer was posted and we all aware how hyperfocus works, so here we are.

The idea is a (female) Tav from our world being plugged by the Nautiloid and thrown into Faerûn.

masterlist | requests? | ao3| kink encyclopedia |

summary: You wake at the beach after attending your friends birthday party last night. There are people standing in front of you, looking as if dragged from a fantasy movie. What the heck is going on?

author's note: Please let me know if this is something worth exploring and that you would enjoy reading. I will also need guidance in regards of skills/class for this Tav (please🥺)

content warning: This is just an intro.

word count: 1,3k

AO3 Link

You notice you are half-awake.

Not quite there yet, your mind not fully emerged in reality but you are awake enough to notice your head hurts.

Massively.

There is pressure at the back of your skull, as if you have been sleeping on a rock.

It is incredibly painful.

So intense, your stomach churns.

It has been some time since you fell asleep randomly after a party but you cannot really care as you swallow hard with a too dry mouth and try to contain the contents of your stomach.

You can feel your heartbeat pulsating in your temple.

Everything hurts, you realize.

Not just your pounding head.

What the fuck was in that drink Silas gave you?

After all you know you should have not taken that last shot he handed to you. But it has been his birthday, who are you to judge the birthday boy wishes?

In hindsight, not the best decision.

And yet, this does not feel like a hangover.

Something is wrong.

Slowly, you become vaguely aware of your surroundings.

The air smells of dead fish, bacon and….wood? Wet wood? Like the wood your father used to fuel the stove in his hut where you spent so many weekends in the child.

Yes. Not yet fully dried, freshly cut wood, consumed by flames.

The stench of fish is more intense, though. You are certain, fish is not supposed to smell like this.

There is water rushing by, in large quantities.

A river? Not rhythmic enough be the ocean. No waves, just a steady rush.

Your face is warm but it does not feel like a fever. As if you are lying in the sun, external heat burning your skin.

There are hushed voices.

"She’s alive! Still breathing—thank the gods!" whispers one voice.

"But what, pray tell, are those trousers?" another interjects. "And that tunic—dare I ask if this is some bold new fashion sweeping the high city?"

"I assure you, it most certainly is not," a third voice cuts in. "I've never laid eyes on such fabric before—nor, I suspect, has anyone with a shred of taste."

Huh. Interesting. There should not be anyone in your bedroom.

Let alone three men.

“Let me through and take a look,” a woman orders.

You notice, the surface beneath you feels wrong.

Too hard. This is not your bed.

It is….sand?

The realization is enough to jolt you upright.

The sudden movement sends a fresh wave of pain crashing through your skull. It feels as if your brain is too large for your head, pressing outward, straining against bone.

You wince, flinching as the sunlight stabs into your eyes.

If possible, your head hurts even worse from this sudden movement.

Multiple people immediately step back and stare at you.

You are instantly certain this is not your bedroom.

This is not even your house.

This is not even your city.

You force yourself to take a slow, steady breath and look at them properly.

As if all of this was not strange enough, you are somehow certain you have left….home.

You know, with a quiet, head-hurting certainty, this is not your home.

But you do not know how you are certain.

You look at the people standing around you.

A black man with two different eyes, one is glowing red but the rest of it is black. He has black dreadlocks, bound behind his head. There are scars on his face and down his neck, but he somehow the gaze on his face is kind, intrigued.

Another man, with a surprisingly cute face with a stubble. An earring with a star dangles from his left ear. His dark brown hair is bound back at the top, dark brown eyes watch you curiously as he crouches to one knee in front of you.

And then there is the third person, you have never seen a person like this. You might be hallucinating, you think.

Isn’t that a side effect of migraines? This headache really feels like a migraine.

Her skin is light green with dark spots on her cheeks and around her eyes but her ears are pointed, ridged with delicate waves. Her nose is pointy yet somehow flat. She watches you with clear disdain, her lips pressed into a thin line. There is a fucking sword, resting in her arm, too.

She reminds you of a frog, though you try to suppress this idea. You do not know where you are, how you got here or who the fuck these people are, but you are quite sure, calling someone a frog might not be the best idea.

The other woman has one of the most beautiful faces you have ever seen. There is a small scar beneath her right eye, but it’s nearly hidden below freckles. Her hair is pitch black and she wears an interesting pointy silver piece on top of her long braid at the back of her head. Her ears are also pointed, but not as much. Her eyes are curious but restrained. Light green. Laura would fall for her instantly.

The last one might be a model. Pearl skin, beautiful sharp jaw line, the most perfect tone of silver white curls you have ever seen. But his eyes are deep red. It suits him somehow. You do not know what to do with this information. His ears are pointed too. You realize, he is an elf.

Of course, in all of this – whatever the fuck this is - there is a beautiful elf staring at you.

They all stand around you, watching you.

As if all of this would not be weird enough, you notice their clothes.

The dark eyed man is dressed in a robe? Clasped at the front with a white shirt underneath it. There are leather embellishments on the shoulders and surprisingly elegant brown boots.

Both women are wearing….armour.

You have no other way of describing it.

Actual, medieval-style armour.

There are definitely metal elements in it, on the chest, shoulder and legs, attached to leather part. The dark haired woman definitely wears chainmail.

What the actual fuck!

You’ve read your fair share of fantasy novels, watched all the big-budget adaptations, but you are sure this is not CGI. This is not a badly rendered animation or even masterful makeup artistry.

Not your own, your mind couldn't come up with this if you focus hard enough.

For a moment, you consider being in a coma. You read an article once, on people having the most vivid dreams while being in a coma.

Or experiencing a near death scenario.

No. This somehow - although you are not sure how - feels real.

A real fantasy.

But you are quite sure, you made it home last night, unharmed.

You remember drinking water. And electrolytes. In your kitchen.

You remember undressing, before dropping into bed.

No, this, somehow, indescribably, feels real.

You can touch the sand.

You hear the river you can see when you look to your right.

You can feel the sun on your skin.

You can feel their gazes on you.

You can smell the stench of fish, wood and burning flesh. Not bacon. There are corpses burning behind them.

Of course, there are fucking dead people. Burning dead people.

When you look up, there is a…..giant tentacle?

What the ever loving fuck!

There is a burning, gigantic squid to your left, one of its monstrous tentacles held by large, light brown stones around you.

Your mind rebels against the sight.

It is not a ship. Not really. A grotesque fusion of flesh and metal, twisted and burning.

And there is an elf and a walking frog person, apparently, so it’s a start to your personal fantasy adventure?

It kind of feels like a nightmare, though.

How can this be real?

But they do not look like badly rendered CGI or very expensive makeup and you do not even have time to comprehend the entirety of weirdness of this situation, the fact that these are in fact breathing people, as the dark haired, crouching man speaks.

“Hello. I am Gale of Waterdeep,” he says gently. “Are you alright?”

[whereianonymouslypostfics]

Costume Party

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x reader

Word count: ~5.8k

Summary: You and Wanda go to a Halloween party

A/N: This one was mostly for my own benefit tbh...

Warnings: fluff, lusting over wifey, angst

You’ve never done something like this before.

Correction. 

You’ve never done something like this before with Wanda. 

You’d lost count of how many parties you’ve gone to since starting at the clinic you were hired at right after graduation. There had been Halloween, New Year’s, and Christmas parties over the years, but it was no surprise to anyone which was your favorite. 

The parties were usually held at one of the doctor’s houses or a venue in town. Somehow, you’d avoided having to host at your place because although it was large enough, you definitely didn’t want anyone snooping around. You also knew it would be nightmare for security. One year you’d used Pietro’s house and that had gone pretty well, but you didn’t want to put him out again. Especially since he hadn’t been able to attend. 

This was exactly what you and Wanda were dealing with today.

You’d wanted Wanda to come with you to this year’s Halloween party hosted by the lead doctor at work. You’d thought about it a lot and you were convinced that if she dressed up enough, she would be unrecognizable. When the idea first came to you, you did extensive research to pick the best option for Wanda. Rather you picked the top three ideas and then presented them to your wife with a hopeful expression. You’d immediately disregarded matching costumes because that was one cliché you weren’t into. Your options had been narrowed down as well, and since you loved a good top hat, you were going to put together a steampunk outfit somehow. 

Wanda had met your options with reluctance. Not because she didn’t want to go with you, but as always, she was just worried that her disguise would fail. She didn’t want to be conceited enough to think that she’d be easily recognized, but she also didn’t want to risk the fallout associated with the alternative. You’d agreed, which is why all of the options for your wife included full, if not over the top make up.

“I’m not…can you explain this one again?” 

You remember how Wanda had shot you an uncertain look as she gestured to the picture you’d printed out of the costume you really wanted your wife to choose. 

It was from one of your favorite artist’s music videos and it involved pink hair, a suit, and makeup that made her look like a skeleton. 

A very hot skeleton.

You’d told your wife some of this, and since she’d recognized the artist’s name, she’d finally decided to go with it. 

“You’re sure you can find someone to do the make up?” 

You’d certainly considered this since as much as you’d like to give it a shot, you didn’t have the necessary skill. You talked to Nat and she’d used her connections to find someone in school to be a makeup artist. They’d already confirmed that they could do any of the three choices, and they were willing to sign an NDA.

It was all just up to your wife now. 

“Okay, let’s do that one then. It looks…cute.” 

You’d laughed at this, and you smile at the memory as you stand in the living room waiting for your wife to finish up.

It was the night of the party and you were already dressed and ready to go. Granted your costume didn’t involve quite as much work as your wife’s, but you’re still a little antsy to get going. You glance at your pocket watch. The one that you bought to go with this costume. It looked old and fit the theme perfectly, and it somehow cost less than $50. You know you’ll probably rarely use it after tonight, but it’s still worth it.

You’re excited to finally introduce your wife, or at least her alter ego, to everyone that you work with. You know it’s causing Wanda a fair amount of anxiety, but you’re going to do your best to reduce this as much as possible. You’ve prepared answers to any questions and you’ve practiced with Wanda a dozen times since she agreed to go to this party.

You’re ready.

Wanda’s regretting her decision to say yes to you. 

As much as she loves you, she’s not sure that this was the best idea. Her costume is coming together nicely, and she can’t say that she even recognizes herself in the mirror, but she’s still nervous. 

She has blue contacts in and her make up is almost completely done. Her pink blonde hair looks so out of character that she’d laugh if she wasn’t afraid of scaring her make-up artist. They already appeared a little on edge when they started, but as they’d gotten into their work they luckily seemed to relax. Wanda was trying to make small talk, but her own nerves made that minimal. 

She nearly jumps when she feels something brush against her legs and the hands in her lap. She glances down just enough to avoid getting poked in the eye, and she spots Rogue looking up at her curiously. She smiles at him and scratches his head before she realizes that he’s getting fur all over her. Luckily she’s not changed into her suit yet, but she’d hate to ruin the effect by showing up covered in fur.

Then again, if anyone will understand the plight, it will be a bunch of people in vet med. 

“Hey bud. Are you getting bored? We’re almost done here.” 

Not that she thinks Rogue will be any less bored soon since he’s not allowed to come tonight. The invite had kiddingly said that all pets were allowed, but there would be no pet sitters at the party. Not only did that sound like hell, but she is certain that Rogue would not do well. He’d probably stick to her side all night and she didn’t want that. She wanted to try and enjoy her time with you, and that would be much easier if she wasn’t worried about her dog while trying to maintain her cover.

Almost half an hour later, you glance up at the sound of the bedroom door opening. You smile when you see Rogue run out first, but you nearly drop your phone at the sight of your wife.

“Holy shit.” 

You’re smiling widely as you watch Wanda descend the stairs in all her glory. You try to focus on each part of the costume before taking it all in at once.

She hadn’t wanted to dye her hair for this so she’d found a very convincing wig. It’s long enough that the pink falls past her shoulders and down her back. 

The simple black suit with a white top looked tailored within an inch of its life, and you were obsessed with it. The dress shoes she wore were so new they shined and you don’t realize you’re staring until suddenly you catch a hint of your wife’s perfume. You look up and are immediately rendered dumb again at the precise, surprisingly flattering makeup. 

“Wow.” 

Wanda hadn’t failed to notice your attention, but she was a little preoccupied by your appearance to comment immediately. 

She’d seen you collecting pieces of your costume over the past few weeks, but this was the first time she was seeing it come together. She doesn’t realize that she’s stopped short and Rogue’s stumbled into her as she takes in your unreasonably attractive look.

You’re wearing a dark red tailcoat that extends down past your calves that are adorned in black boots that fall just short of your knees. Wanda focuses on the leather of the coat and how it tapers into a material that matches the red of your tight pants. Her gaze drifts back up to the elaborate belt and the corset that nearly makes her bite her lip. The corset dips into a V to reveal a hint of the black collared shirt you’re wearing underneath. 

“Well fuck.” 

You’re smiling widely as your wife finally meets your gaze before it flits to your personal favorite portion of your ensemble. The hat. 

You are wearing more jewelry than you usually do, and you’re not sure you can eat anything in the corset, but the look on your wife’s face is so worth it. 

“You like?” 

The unnecessary question is just met with a silent nod as Wanda reaches out for your gloved hands. She admires the gauntlets you’re wearing and the attention to detail that your costume required. She meets your gaze again with another muttered curse as she reaches up to touch the goggles that you have secured around your hat. You only considered wearing them briefly until you realized how hard it was to see through them.

You also had considered wearing a skirt or a dress, but this was a work party, and you didn’t want to overdo it. 

“You look fantastic, detka. Shit.” 

Wanda’s really regretting her decision to go to this party now because that means they need to leave soon, and she’d want nothing more than to stay here with you instead. She’d love to take off this costume piece by piece, but unfortunately, she’s going to have to wait.

You’re reaching out for Wanda, stopping just short of touching her face before your hand falls to one of her lapels. You play with Wanda’s fake pink locks with a grin of your own that tells your wife all she needs to know. That said, it never hurts to hear how much you appreciate her, out loud. 

“Thanks, babe. I’m a bit at a loss for words. You look so much better than I ever imagined. You did a great job, Lane!” 

The makeup artist that Wanda just realized was still here smiles politely before offering you a rushed thanks. You ask them to take a picture of you two before you let them flee to the car that brought them here to be escorted home. You gave them a hefty tip on top of their paltry fee, and since they signed the necessary documents to ensure their silence, you let them go with a thank you, but not another thought. 

“I’m kind of wishing I didn’t say I’d go to this party after all.” 

Wanda can’t help but laugh when you say this, and you have to resist the urge to lean in and kiss her. You don’t want to ruin her makeup. She sees you lean in slightly before falling back again and she offers you a sly grin.

“That’s going to have to wait. I’m also a little worried I can’t eat or drink anything at this party.

You’ll find out later that she can do both, she just has to be careful about it. You arrive a fashionably 30 minutes late only to be greeted by the lady of the house.

You smile widely and Wanda prepares herself for a night of niceties and subterfuge. 

“Y/n! Wow you look great! Oh goodness you must be Linda. It’s so nice to meet you!” 

That was the other thing about tonight. 

You had to remember that you were married to ‘Linda’ tonight, and that the woman beside you was in life insurance. It sold itself, but it was honestly not something very interesting to talk about which was key. 

You accept a hug from the taller doctor, and you send her a silent thank you when she just shakes Wanda’s hand before waving the two of you in. You can tell that Claire’s house is already full of your coworkers and their spouses, and you have to bite back a smile at the glee you feel at finally being able to introduce Wanda to them. You lead Wanda down the hall by the hand as you turn around to glance at the blonde with a knowing look.

The theme tonight had been very loosely thrown out by several people at work. Pop culture or media. Being the person that you were, you were very anxious about dressing up wrong, and Wanda had to remind you that it honestly didn’t matter. Pop culture or media could encapsulate practically anything.

Including a movie character. 

You pause momentarily before you speak up loudly enough for Wanda to hear you. She gives the blonde beside you a once over before realizing that she never would have guessed her costume if you hadn’t just told her.

“You look so much like Uma Thurman right now that it’s a little scary.” 

You note the yellow and black jumpsuit as you walk farther into the house where you catch normal music instead of something Halloween themed playing. That was one thing you didn’t enjoy about the holiday. The cheesy music. 

Claire laughs as she follows you to the open living room that has nearly two dozen people either talking, dancing, or enjoying the food and drinks. 

“It was Rick’s idea. He dressed up as Bill for some reason. I think he’s trying to tell me something, but I’m not quite sure what it is.” 

You stifle a loud laugh as you catch sight of the blonde’s husband at the counter mixing drinks dressed the part of a villain. 

You and Wanda make the rounds before either of you bother to grab a drink. You’d met multiple couples dressed up in a variety of costumes, and you think your favorite was a female couple dressed as Dracula and Freddy Krueger. 

Wanda’s paranoid as always and gets some bottle of beer while you get whatever was in the punch bowl. You smile at your wife lovingly as you lean against the small alcove beside the kitchen you’ve managed to escape to. You take a sip and spend the next few moments admiring Wanda’s still perfect suit and makeup. You are dying to kiss her, but as you watch her carefully sip from her bottle, you know that you’ll ruin her lipstick. The black lines carefully drawn across her lips have the effect of looking like teeth, and if you think too much about it, you’d be a little scared of her. 

The makeup doesn’t just stop at her face either. It extends down her neck, and any other exposed skin to make her look the part of a skeleton. The fingers circling the bottle are meticulously drawn on, and you’re surprised to see they’ve held up well to shaking half a dozen hands. 

“What’s on your mind?” 

You realize you’re caught when you meet Wanda’s gaze to see her shooting you a suspicious look. You don’t have time to respond before someone over her shoulder catches your attention. 

“Dr. Y/l/n, oh my God, I barely recognized you! You look so good!” 

You stand up a little straighter and offer a wide, genuine smile as you look over the younger woman’s outfit.

Meghan is one of the newer vet assistants at work, but she’s so quick to catch on that it feels as if she’s been there for years. She’s smart, a great multitasker, and you’re seriously going to miss her when she goes to vet school in a year. 

The brunette is dressed as Medusa and her long locks are styled to look like the snakes on top of her head. Her green dress glitters and has the appearance of scales that really bring her costume together. You say something about her hair, and she just smiles before she turns her attention to Wanda. 

“Thanks! I think that you win the coolest hair though. I was dying to wear pink but couldn’t make it work with this outfit.” 

She holds out a hand to Wanda who doesn’t hesitate to take it as she slips into her unthreatening wife-of-a-doctor persona. 

“I’m Meghan one of the vet assistants. It’s nice to meet you.” 

Wanda nods in agreement which you can tell is genuine. Of all the assistants at work, you talked about Meghan the most because she was usually a huge help on days you were there. You have to stop yourself from reacting when Wanda speaks up. 

“Linda. It’s nice to meet you too. Y/n has nothing but good things to say about you.” 

You watch in amusement as Megan blushes before she hurries to change the subject. She’s still so shy, and she tends to underestimate her value. She reminds you of someone else you know. 

“Oh, thank you. Now I have to ask since I know a bit about Dr. Y/l/n’s taste in music, but was the costume your idea or hers?”

You try not to flush at the question and the follow up questions that you’re sure your wife will ask. If not now, later. You usually mention your surgery days if they’re especially interesting, but you don’t think you’ve ever told Wanda about if they’re more relaxed. On these days, depending on who else is working, you’ll have music playing in the surgery suite, and sometimes your tastes are all over the place.

The last surgery day where you’d just had 5 dog neuters in a row, you’d been listening to early 2000’s pop. 

When you see Wanda smile wickedly, you know what’s about to happen. You’re just grateful that she chose Meghan to confide in because you’re certain you would have died of embarrassment if she’d told anyone else this. 

You watch Wanda lean in as if she’s telling a secret before she thoroughly throws you under the bus. 

“If I didn’t know better, I’d be a little insulted that she spent nearly two weeks watching all of Lady Gaga’s and Brittney Spears's music videos to figure out my outfit.” 

From Meghan’s expression, you can see that the brunette can’t tell if Wanda’s joking. She quickly clears this up though as she shrugs and offers the younger woman a smile.

“I’d already thought of an idea myself, but I didn’t want to spoil her fun. I’m just glad she didn’t ask me to dress up as a dog or something.” 

Meghan laughs as you roll your eyes because seriously? You wouldn’t waste the opportunity to dress up your wife by putting her in a dog suit that drowned her. You suppose that putting her in that costume would have helped hide her identity, but you hadn’t wanted to do it like that. Selfishly, you wanted to show her off. You wanted people to see how beautiful and smart and kind your wife was. 

Maybe not so kind right now, but that was fine. You could take what she dished out. 

“That’s hilarious! I’m actually surprised she didn’t bring either of your dogs tonight. The costume she made Boone for Halloween was so cute!”

You had to admit that you’d done a pretty good job with his costume. You’d worked on Halloween and you hadn’t wanted to dress up, but you definitely hadn’t passed on the opportunity to put Boone in a cute outfit. You had dressed him up as a dogtor because it was practically expected. He had his own little white coat that you’d fitted out of one of your own. You gave him a fake stethoscope and bought him scrubs that wouldn’t be too hard to tailor to fit him. You’d honestly put in an entire weekend getting it together, but you didn’t regret it at all. Even when Boone peed in it because you’d overlooked one crucial detail. 

“Did she tell you how long she spent on it? Hours! I thought she was just going to buy something to have him carry around, but I honestly should have known better.” 

As your wife and Meghan laugh and talk about you like you’re not there, you glance around the room curiously. You’ve met most of the people here already and you’re honestly getting a little tired. Tonight, has been a lot, and despite having fun, you can tell that your social battery has drained a lot since walking through the front door. You find your host and smile at the sight of her talking to a Velma and Daphne. You take another sip of your drink, but you stop short when something fuzzy brushes against your leg. You look down and see a small tortie staring at you. Your smile widens as you kneel to scratch the purring cat.

“Wan—Um Lin, look a cat!” 

Wanda looks down at you a little startled, but this quickly melts away when she sees the furry creature head butting your knees. She offers a small smile before she shakes her head with an adoring look that makes you glad that it’s too dark for anyone to see you blush from down here. 

“Cute. Leave it to you to find a cat to hang out with.” 

You start slightly when the cat jumps onto your knees, but you recover quickly and scoop her up into your arms. You scratch beneath her chin as you come face to face with your wife who is such a big faker sometimes that you can’t help but point it out. 

“Yes, cats are the worst. I don’t know how you even have one when you can’t stand them.” 

The teasing tone is the only reason that Wanda doesn’t start an argument right here in the middle of a party. She reaches out to scratch the adorable cat who’s getting fur all over you as she glances at you before sparing Meghan a look. She can’t have the brunette thinking that she actually hates cats. She’s married to a vet for Dog’s sake. 

“You’re one to talk, detka. Fletcher knows I love her and that’s why I’m the favorite.” 

Meghan snickers at this and you’re temporarily distracted by the pet name that you didn’t think Wanda would risk using here. You just sigh and smile dopily as the cat that has basically adopted you starts to play with Wanda’s bowtie. Her claws sink into it and she bites it furiously until it starts to give. You consider rescuing your wife, but she looks the most relaxed she’s been since walking in here, so you let it go on for her sake. 

You hear someone call Meghan’s name, and you turn to see another couple of assistants with what look like shot glasses. You’re so grateful to be out of your twenties. Meghan gives them the universal sign of ‘one second’ before she turns back to you with a smile. 

“Duty calls. It was good seeing you. Have fun with Misty.” 

You realize belatedly that this is the cat that Wanda’s still snuggling with, and you grin before something occurs to you.

“Have fun with all that alcohol. Find me before you leave? I brought the many pins you let me borrow last week.” 

Your costume, although cute, had been close to falling apart when Boone kept tripping over his stethoscope. Meghan had come to your rescue with nearly 10 bobby pins that you’d only realized you’d forgotten to return when you arrived home that night.

Meghan nods in agreement, and waves goodbye to Wanda before she’s off. You and Wanda are left alone, relatively speaking, with Misty the cat.

“She’s lovely.” 

You figure that Wanda’s talking about Meghan, and not the cat, but you can’t be sure. You only nod in agreement before reaching out to free one of Misty’s claws from the crumbling bowtie. Wanda smiles at you and then her eyes widen in surprise when Misty turns toward you and starts to swat at your face. Or more specifically your hat. 

“Y/n, she’s --.” 

You don’t have time to flee before Misty reaches out her paw for the feather that’s tucked beneath the goggles on your hat. You curse and try not to freak out when suddenly you have a cat clinging to your hat and hanging in front of your face. Wanda reaches out to grab her and you’re carefully, but quickly extricating yourself from your hat when hear laughing. 

You have an armful of cat in your hat by the time you realize your boss has come to your rescue. You see Claire walking toward you with Bill—Rick, who has a feather toy in hand. You try not to feel ridiculous as you drop to the floor and try to roll Misty onto the carpet. 

“I should have warned you, Y/n. She’s obsessed with feathers.”

You laugh despite thinking ‘no shit’, but you breathe a sigh of relief when the tortie spots her favorite toy and leaves your hat on the ground with nothing but a lot of fur to show for it. 

You stand up and brush out your hat as much as possible before you shoot the blonde a smile. 

“To be fair, I shouldn’t have to be warned about that.” 

You and Wanda take a moment to gather yourselves. After you help her untie her ruined bowtie, and leave it hanging from her neck in a way that’s somehow even hotter, she puts your hat back on your head.

“You’re so cute, Y/n.” 

You want to defend yourself because you’re sure Wanda’s poking fun at you, but you don’t get a chance. Wanda carefully leans in and presses her lips to yours in a soft kiss. She figures that it was worth it when you pull away a little dazed and free of the black streaks that cover her own lips. She smiles at you again before reaching out to grab your gloved hands. She brushes the cat hair off of them and your corset before she sighs inaudibly.

“Are you having fun?” 

Wanda asks this a bit later after you’ve finished your drinks and met a few more people. It’s nearing 10 o’clock and you’re honestly ready to leave. You figure you need to find the host before you duck out, but you decide to take a couple of minutes to hold your wife close where you’re settled on one of the loveseats. You are surrounded by people, but you only pay attention to Wanda who’s pressed into your side and leaning her head against your shoulder. 

You eventually nod before looking around for Claire. You don’t see her immediately, but you’re not too worried. She’s been an impeccable host as always, so you’re certain she’ll catch you right as you head for the door. 

“I am, but I’m getting tired. We better get home before I don’t have the energy to take all of this off.” 

Wanda opens her eyes when you say this and she spares your outfit a glance, as if she hasn’t been looking at it all night, and hums. She makes sure no one is within earshot before she offers you a smile. 

“I wouldn’t worry about that, Y/n. I’d be happy to help you.” 

You don’t doubt this, and you smirk before summoning the energy to sit up. You suddenly want to be home. 

“That’s very thoughtful of you. I would of course, love to return the favor.” 

Wanda laughs at you as you stand up and hold out a hand to help her to her feet. She grabs it and you tug her to her feet fast enough to make her yelp in surprise. She shoots you a glare when you laugh at her, and she makes a point of dropping your hand and walking away without looking back. You roll your eyes with a smile before you hurry after her obediently and meet her in the kitchen where Claire’s reappeared. She’s collecting dishes and stacking them in the sink for later when she spots the two of you. 

“Hey, calling it a night?” 

You smile before you nod and glance around the cluttered kitchen. There are glasses, cups, bottles, and plates everywhere. Wanda stands behind you, likely surveying the area with a similar intention.

“We were, but we wanted to see if we could help with anything before we headed out.” 

It took a bit of convincing, but you’d helped throw out some of the bottles and get the dishes loaded into the dishwasher before you were being shooed out of the kitchen. You hugged the other doctor again before thanking her for hosting. You and Wanda are near the front door before you remember what you’d told Meghan. You mention that you’ll grab them from the car and bring them back in, and Claire simply nods before claiming that she’ll give them to her for you. 

You keep chatting as you walk to your car with Wanda, and you vaguely register the presence of other cars as you duck into the passenger side and reach for the console. 

“Here they are. Thank her for--.”

“Freeze! Don’t move!”

You jump in surprise and then nearly stumble back in terror as you turn and see someone pointing a gun at you. They’re standing by the street but they’re crossing the lawn in quick, purposeful steps. You stiffen and faintly register Wanda gripping your arm tightly as she pulls you back against her. 

“Y/n.” 

She realizes before you do that this person isn’t a threat. They’re dressed as a cop and they’re not even looking at you or her. Their focus is on Claire who’s already scowling at the new arrival. Wanda doesn’t know who this is, but that’s less important to her than addressing your obvious anxiety. 

“Campbell what the hell are you doing here?” 

The brunette with the fake gun leers before he closes the distance between them in a hug that Claire looks like she’d refuse if she could.

“Don’t be like that Sis. I’m here for the party.” 

You’re just starting to breathe again as you watch the exchange play out with a dull sense of awareness that’s clouded by your anxiety. You try to shake your shock, but it’s hard and you’re still looking terrified when the duo turns back to you. 

“You’re about three hours late for that, but go on. Rick’s inside.”

Campbell is about to head inside, but he spares you and Wanda a look first. You’re not sure what he planned on saying, but the look on your face must be enough to clue him in. Wanda bites back a curse and you flinch at the question and the unwanted attention.

“Shit, you okay?” 

Claire turns to you and you force yourself to speak before she gets a chance. You’re not even sure if you’d decided what to say before the words are falling out of your mouth. 

“Fine. You startled me, is all.” 

You see the exact moment that Claire gets it, and you have to stop yourself from recoiling in shame. It would have been impossible to get off work for so long without disclosing to your boss what happened to you. At least the extent of your injuries. When you’d been kidnapped from work and then hurt by Rumlow, well you’d taken months off of work. You’d been in the hospital for a while, and even though you can’t be sure because of all the drugs you were on, you think that Claire visited you.

You’d told her later that you’d been shot, and despite returning to work without any complications, the incident stuck with you. It was impossible to ignore the effect of the traumatic experience.

Even months later, the idea of someone pointing a gun at you nearly threw you into a panic attack. 

You feel Wanda press herself against your back as an arm circles your waist, but you can’t relax. Not yet. 

“Campbell go inside. I’ll be there in a minute.” 

Her brother looks like he wants to argue but instead he just shrugs and heads out. He says something to you that you completely miss along with Wanda smiling politely in response, but you can’t bring yourself to care right now. You’re in survival mode and you immediately work out how you can get out of here as quickly as possible. You glance up at Claire before your gaze darts to the front door where you see Campbell disappearing. Someone’s standing in the doorway though and you nearly curse when you see Meghan looking confused.

You nearly shove the bobby pins that you miraculously held onto into the blonde’s hand with a pained smile.

“Here you go. Thank you again for tonight.” 

Wanda’s reaching into your pocket for the car keys, but you barely notice as you watch a range of emotions play out on your boss’s face. Concern, confusion, and then understanding.

“Are you going to be alright?” 

You manage to make your smile appear a little more genuine before you nod and manage a quick one-armed hug before ducking into your car. 

“I’ll be fine. Thank you.” 

You wait until Wanda says her goodbyes and gets into the driver’s seat before you take a deep breath. You watch in the rearview mirror as Claire hesitates for a moment before turning around and heading back into the house. If you had to guess Campbell’s going to get an earful, but you can’t think about that right now. You watch both her and Meghan disappear into the house before you realize that Wanda’s holding your hand. She’s started the car, but she’s turned toward you with a concerned look. She reaches out for you, but she stops short when you flinch. 

“Y/n, I’m sorry he scared you. I’m not sorry that Claire’s going to chew him out for it, but he didn’t know. He’s not a threat to either of us, okay?” 

You just nod a couple of times as you try to process what she’s said. You take a deep breath before removing your hat and holding it in your lap. You feel like you can’t breathe deeply enough in this outfit, and you really want to get home so you can take it off. Wanda seems to realize your dilemma as you start to take slow deep breaths. She buckles up and starts off down the street toward home. 

“Let me get you home, so I can take care of you.”

You crack a smile at this and you can’t help but sneak another look at your wife’s suit. Damn you hope she wears it again after this. You fiddle with your hat for a moment before you clear your throat. 

“I seem to remember you promised to help me take all of this off. Is that still on the table?” 

Wanda rolls her eyes at the question despite the fact that she’s glad to hear you ask. She doesn’t think that what you’d originally intended is still on the table, but she’ll just have to see what happens. Usually anything that triggers your anxiety like this leads to overwhelming exhaustion shortly after. 

Either way, she’s happy to do whatever you need to feel better. She doesn’t want tonight to be tainted by this incident. She’s glad she came out with you, and she’s even happier that you seemed to have fun. She would have to do some serious damage control, but hopefully dressing down, cuddling, and spending time with your fur babies will be enough. 

“We’ll see, detka.”

Masterlist

[theprioryorange]

team bonding - a jackieshauna x fem!reader series (part one)

pairing(s): jackieshauna x fem!reader

summary: in which jackie and shauna have been at each other’s throats for weeks now, bickering over the most insignificant things. one night after they have a ‘private talk’, they approach you with a confession & an idea which can help them bond and mend their friendship. (or! jackieshauna have a threesome with the reader to solve their issues because they both have been crushing on you for a while...)

tags ⎯⎯ ✦ best friends to lovers, threesome, rivals to lovers, smut, fluff, hints of angst, power bottom!jackie taylor, dom!jackie taylor, power bottom!shauna shipman, dom!shauna shipman, service top!reader, sub!reader, teasing, slight bullying, powerplay, face sitting, cunnilingus, fingering, degradation, praise, petnames, light bondage, slight voyeurism, edging 𝝑𓏲

warnings!: nsfw, graphic smut, explicit language, 18+ (minors pls don't interact!)

word count: 11.9k+

a/n: this is my first ever time posting any of my yellowjackets fics of mine on here so i hope you all enjoy, i’m also going to be posting this to ao3, my username is jurinsanna if you guys ever read stuff on there :) w/ this fic although it's fem!reader i have tried to make it as inclusive as possible, there's no like super descriptive parts about the reader (their body type, skin colour etc.) so i hope nobody feels excluded

oh also the reader has glasses lol

It had been four weeks in the wilderness and Shauna was seriously pissing you off.

“I can’t believe we’re stranded in the middle of nowhere and you’re still concerned about being better than me”, you groaned as you fed the fire more wood.

She looked at you and failed to see how you shifted under her gaze. “We’re gonna be rescued soon, asshat. I want to just keep up with my studies.” You tried not to laugh at how utterly ridiculous that entire sentence was; only a girl like her would be worried about her grades in a literal life-or-death situation.

Shauna’s most-likely snappy rebuttal was cut off as you both heard an impatient voice cough behind you. Jackie Taylor stood with all the confidence you expected of a popular high school soccer captain. She looked pissed off too. You fought the urge to roll your eyes but also bit back a little smile, it was always so funny when she was annoyed. She had been very annoyed recently, it seemed her and Shauna were arguing 24/7 about nothing and everything. Like fire and ice. They hadn’t seemingly meshed well in the past few days, it looked to be more than the fact the tensions were high and stress amongst the team was seemingly contagious.

“What are you two doing?” Jackie asked, eyes flittering between you like she was looking for something that wasn’t there.

“Sitting by the fire, what else would we be doing?” Shauna replied for the both of you, the fire hitting her eyes, giving the brown irises specks of gold that make you try to reign in the pull of desire you felt in your chest. Your classmate’s big brown eyes had been a weakness of yours ever since you had first met.

“I don’t know”, the confidence that seemed to be held in your captain dissipated in seconds. Jackie’s shoulders deflated and she uncrossed her arms like a child scolded. It seemed like only Shauna could do that, and maybe you, but there hadn’t really been  a chance for you to confirm that yet.

Captain Taylor was petty and bitter for a reason you couldn’t work out, you and Shauna could tell she wanted to say something else but couldn’t think of anything (much to her own embarrassment). You filled in the silence that was beginning to teeter on awkward: “Umm, well, do you want to sit with us?”, coughing awkwardly, you tried to avoid Shauna’s irritated glare.

“Okay”, the standing girl said with a voice that suggested she was pleased as punch, sitting directly next to you on the other side.

Sitting directly in between Shauna and Jackie was certainly interesting, the contrast between them always made you giggle, and shiver. Shauna sat with her legs apart, manspreading, her jeans splattered with mud and the blood of an animal you could not remember, her nails were short and blunt. They were painted as black as the abyss. Jackie’s manicured nails looked odd in comparison, and in general too, since you had been in the wilderness for around a month now. Her legs were crossed, and the shorts showed off the scrapes and bruises that littered her calves (her very perfect calves). Gulping, you looked ahead and let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding.

“What?” Shauna asked you directly, fixing you with a suspicious glare, sometimes you wondered if she knew about the way you felt for her and her best friend. You tried to brush the thought aside, she was probably just being broody as usual.

“What?” You threw back, panic rising in your throat, “why are you looking at me like that?”

She doesn’t answer and lets up her gaze, instead staring into the fire once again, you try to push down the taste of disappointment. You had really wanted an answer to that question, every time the brunette looked you in the eyes it produced a feeling inside your chest that was akin to melting. The feeling of disappointment however was short-lived as soon you felt a weight on your other shoulder, the side that Jackie was sitting next to you; her head resting on your shoulder comfortably. Oh, Jesus Christ, you flushed bright red, sending a silent prayer to whatever God was listening that neither of them would notice how flustered you were from such a simple, friendly gesture.

It turned out either God didn’t exist, or if He did, that He was not listening, as when you gained enough courage to turn back to Shauna, her eyes met your own. You looked away quickly but didn’t miss the flash of something jealous that passed across her face. It at first made sense to you, really, she and Jackie were such close friends, or used to be, she was probably just jealous that you two were closer now. You and Jackie were childhood best friends after all.

Shauna currently hated the other girl though, so that jealousy was curiously placed. Or… you were just misinterpreting it.

“Dude, I’m so serious if we don’t get out of here soon, I’m gonna go insane”, Jackie’s voice penetrated the silence. She sounded stressed, a plausible reason why she was practically laying on you.

“We’re going to be fine, ok?”, you didn’t fully believe the words yourself but said them anyways as you gazed at her with concern swimming in your eyes, wanting to comfort your captain more than anything else. Shauna made a noise of amusement beside you, causing you to turn to her with a glare, it always seemed like they were unknowingly battling for your attention. Or at least you constantly struggled to decide who to give it to.

“What’s so funny?”, Jackie asked her best friend, voice laced with disgruntlement.

“I’m just thinking about how when we get back, I’m gonna kick Y/N’s ass on the midterm”, Shauna’s voice was light, and you could tell she was a) not intending to hurt your feelings and b) genuinely excited to compete against you again academically. It made you nostalgic somewhat, remembering all those times you compared test scores when you were little.

“You’re so not”, your reply came quickly and made the other laugh.

“I remember when we quizzed each other on enzymes, you barely got four out of ten”, Shauna was quick to remind you, making you flush. It wasn’t what she had said that had made you redden (seriously, you didn’t care all that much for biology right in that moment… at least not the stuff they taught on the Wiskayok curriculum), it was her tone. All playful and almost sultry.

Beside you two, Jackie groaned; “God, you two are such nerds.” She had never been interested in school as much as Shauna and you were – which was funny considering she did actually maintain straight As.

You and the other girl both turned towards your captain with matching twin glares, “We’re really not”, you protested.

She reached a hand up and playfully wiggled your glasses, “These tell me otherwise”,  you heard Shauna snort behind you and tried not to flush. “I don’t know why you’re laughing, Shipman, you’re even worse”, Jackie laughed, carefully taking them off of you, you were about to protest, your vision already going a little blurry, but she soon was leaning over you. The dark blonde was pressed flush against you as she placed your glasses on Shauna, pushing them up the bridge of the brunette’s nose as she protested.

You tried not to squeal like a loser as you looked at Shauna, Jesus, the glasses were really cute on her.

“Looking good, Shipman”, Jackie teased. The taller girl huffed and took them off, handing them back to you with an apologetic glance. “Aww come on”, the popular girl protested. Jackie turned to you, a small smirk making its way gradually across her lips. “Don’t you think she looks good with your glasses, Y/N?”.

The question made you nearly faint, why was she asking that? It was clear Jackie knew what she was doing, from the way she was glancing at the two of you.

“Umm”, you hesitated, putting your glasses back on, of course you thought Shauna looked gorgeous no matter what, but it was embarrassing having to compliment someone so close to you. Especially when you had a massive crush on them and the person currently teasing you both. You turned to look at Shauna, instantly wishing you hadn’t, her big brown eyes held so much expectancy, she looked like a kicked puppy.

“Well? Did I look okay with them on?”,  she asked you.

The way she was looking at you made you want to cry. “Yeah, they look nice on you”,  your reply was quiet and nervous.

A small smile appeared on her face; you couldn’t see her teeth, but you could tell it was genuine. You couldn’t, however, tell that she was blushing. Jackie could though, ever so perceptive when it came to her best friend (and you, it seemed). “Aww, Shipman’s blushing”,  Jackie teased, she was still half leaning on you and didn’t appear to want to move anytime soon.

“I’m not blushing”, Shauna’s response was blunt but there was a hint of shaky embarrassment in her tone.

“Sure”,  Jackie drawled, not seeming to believe her. You didn’t know what to believe, mind too occupied with trying to figure out why Shauna cared so much about your opinion.

Soon they were both looking at you again, their gazes making you feel warm all the way down to your toes. Shauna took a moment to look at Jackie, before standing up, “I need to go help Taissa chop some wood, when it gets darker it’ll be too cold to do it”, her words made the feeling of desperation buzz in your chest. You didn’t want her to go, you wanted to stay there forever in between them on the cut-down tree trunk, saying nothing and doing nothing but listening to each other breathe.

“Duty calls”, you replied a little curtly, fighting the urge to lean into Jackie and fall asleep, she was so warm, and you were so cold.

Jackie stayed silent and Shauna made a move to leave, but not before pausing a moment to shoot a request to her best friend: “Could you meet me by the back of the cabin in like an hour? I need to talk to you about something.” The words made you nervous, even though they weren’t directed towards you, but Jackie didn’t seem to mind, instead giving her a thumbs up of approval before letting her arm drop again and wrap around your waist. After a moment she grabbed your arm and put it over her shoulder, your arm resting against her chest.

You and Jackie sat there for a while, your head leaned against hers, you could feel her heartbeat against the back of your arm, and it made you so tired you began to drift off. When you woke there was no one there but you, somehow the other had left without waking you up and had laid you down carefully on the log, leaving quickly, but not before laying a blanket over you.

The night air was cool, the fire had burnt out hours ago, and the hairs on your arms stood up as you wrapped the blanket tighter around you, standing to go inside. You could hear the other girls chatter inside and felt rather like you were about to go inside your home, it was odd how comfortable you all had gotten in that cabin. You wondered if in other circumstances the same sort of thing would have happened, the closeness. The door was opened slowly as you shivered on the porch, the girls went quiet at the site of you.

“Hey”,  Lottie spoke first, “you okay?”.

She looked concerned and you swallowed the feeling of affection that rose in your throat. These people were teammates, friends, fellow survivors, but they weren’t your family, you couldn’t think of them as such. The softness Van and Nat were looking at you with told a different story. “Uh, yeah, just fell asleep out there”, you said quietly.

Tai shot you a strained smile, “You want some food?”, she offered you an unremarkable selection of food: deer and berries. Your stomach made a sound as if it could see the food as well as your eyes could, Tai laughed a little, her smile real this time as she watched you grab a handful of berries.

Eating them quickly, you glanced around the room, “Where’s Jackie and Shauna?”, you asked.

Their places were empty and the girls around you shrugged, all except Misty, she regarded you with wandering eyes as she spoke; “They’re outside the back of the cabin, said they needed to talk privately.” Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion; they had been there all this time? Surely you had been asleep for at least two hours, what “private conversation” took more than an hour?

“I’m gonna go look for them”,  you said, leaving no room for argument, walking past the girls and through the cabin till you were outside, this time leaving through the back entrance.

It was so dark you had to squint to see, even with your glasses on. Everything seemed still, all that could be seen was the lining of the forest. Trees for miles. You began to grow worried, searching with a little more fervour for the two girls as you realized it was way too cold and way too dark for them to be out here alone. Still not seeing much, you went round to the side of the cabin, near an area of forest, your ears were suddenly greeted with an assortment of sounds: rustling, heavy breathing, moans?

“Hello?”, you called out, thoroughly flustered.

The sounds stopped, before being replaced with muttered curses and panicked shuffling. “Shit, uh- hey”, Jackie appeared from behind a tree and approached you slowly, as if you were a feral cat and would run off with any sudden movement. She looked positively debauched, her hair was messed up and her t-shirt was scrunched halfway up her stomach. You could see a litter of badly hidden marks across her neck and chest. Questions were about to tumble out of your mouth, but you both were interrupted by Shauna coming out of the same private spot. She approached you two slowly, looking as roughed up as the other girl, her mouth was swollen and she was holding her flannel as if she had taken it off, she put it back on quickly, to you and Jackie’s shared secret delight.

“What are you guys doing out here?”, the question sounded shaky leaving your mouth and you thought you already knew the answer, but that answer seemed almost impossible, maybe even too good to be true - not that you’d admit to yourself that you’d think of it as that. It didn’t make sense, Jackie Taylor was the straightest girl you had ever met, and the most sexual interest you had ever seen Shauna show was towards her scientific calculator during the last physics test you had taken.

Not to mention the fact for the past week they had been arguing 24/7 and had been at each other’s throats since even before the crash. By the marks on Jackie’s neck though, you could guess this time they had taken the phrase quite literally.

“Oh, just uh, talking through some stuff. Working out issues, you know?”, Shauna sounded nervous, and it made you even more suspicious. But you probably had just read the situation wrong, right? You were cold and still slightly tired, the dark could have easily pulled tricks on you, especially with your poor eyesight.

“Right, um, yeah”, you replied, “you guys should probably come inside.” They nodded quickly and followed you round the side to the front of the cabin.

“But um, could we talk to you upstairs privately? Once we get inside?”, Jackie spoke from behind you as you approached the porch. You were flooded with apprehension and a twinge of excitement and pulled the blanket tighter around your shoulders.

“Okay”.

The journey from the porch to the attic upstairs was eerily quiet, Shauna and Jackie seemed to be communicating in shared secret glances which made you feel twitchy and hot. What were they going to speak to you about? Did they not want to be friends anymore? The thought made your stomach turn. In just a few moments all three of you were standing in the cabin’s attic, the inside was a little warmer, so you dropped the blanket onto the floor where Shauna’s makeshift bed was. It looked oddly cozy.

Jackie spoke first, “So um, we wanted to talk to you about something, something we’ve uh… noticed.” Shauna nodded at her words, and they stepped a little closer to you, and each other.

You nodded, trying to keep calm, what the fuck was she talking about? “You know it’s, like, normal to have crushes on girls, right?”, she asked. The question was more rhetorical than literal, and it made your brain short circuit for a brief moment.

Your eyes widened. “What?”, the words were out before you could stop them. Shauna exchanged a glance with her best friend before elaborating.

“We’ve noticed you’ve been like, looking at us. I don’t know, I only noticed a few weeks ago when Jackie pointed it out to me, she said that you always stared at me. And then like, thinking about it, I realised you also always stare at her. You never really, like, show interest in boys or anything like that, so that’s the conclusion we’ve come to… and to be honest it’s the only one we can think of that makes sense.”

Jackie nodded with each word she spoke, seemingly comfortable with the idea that you had a crush on both her and Shauna or at least were somewhat attracted to them.

“We’re not mad or anything”, the light-haired girl rushed to clarify, anxious that you’d bolt off downstairs.

“Oh” was the only word that could come out of your mouth.

Shauna laughed a little, “I think we’ve broken her”.

Jackie laughed at that, before stepping a little closer to you with a teasing grin, “…We’re right though, about you liking us, aren’t we?”.

“W-what, I-I”, you stuttered before giving up on trying to talk to deny it, you moved for the door but were stopped by two hands on your chest as your captain stood between you and the door, blocking your attempts to flee.

“Oh, you’re not going anywhere, baby” Jackie pushed you roughly, laughing as you collided with Shauna, your back pushed against the brunette’s front as she held you in place.

“What?”, you were breathless, head turning to meet Shauna’s gaze - she looked almost ravenous. Turning back to Jackie, you realised she had a similar expression, one not too dissimilar from the one a wolf wore looking at its prey.

“You heard what she said” Shauna spoke from behind you, arms stilling your attempts to break free of her grasp. You didn’t really want to get away from her though, in fact, you wanted to sink into her arms as you felt Jackie’s soft wet mouth explore every yet undiscovered part of you. But appearances had to be kept up, it was a lot to take in all at once. Unfortunately (or fortunately) for you, they both saw right through you.

The girl in front of you laughed, “You know what me and Shipman mean, be a good girl and listen carefully now.” Jackie reached a hand out to trail drown your front, fingertips raising goosebumps down the soft flesh of your arms.

“Jackie and I, well, we’ve had some disagreements recently”, Shauna started to explain, but the cogs in her brain seemed to be whirring all too fast and she gazed at her captain slash best friend a little pleadingly, waiting for her to continue. Jackie seemed to notice her hesitancy and grinned, she moved closer towards you, tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear. She spoke then with a confidence Shauna currently did not have, or appeared to have anyway.

“I remember Coach saying one time that the best way two players could bond and fix whatever little problems they’d been having was by… actually, we want you to try and guess.” It was getting clearer by the moment that they were not going to make this easy for you.

You cleared your throat and tried to think back to what he had said, your mind came up blank, only thinking of the heat that Shauna’s front was producing by being pressed flush up against your back. You could feel how hard her nipples were through her bra. “I-I, uh, I don’t know”, your reply made them both laugh, Jackie smiled a little softer then, her eyes wandering to the girl behind you. You turned to follow her gaze, eyes meeting Shauna, the brunette leaned in to whisper in your ear, you could feel the warmth of her mouth near your neck and fought the urge to whimper. All composure was lost at the next word she spoke.

“Sharing”.

They let out twin sighs of desire as you made what seemed to be the most embarrassing and desperate noise of your life. “I think she likes that idea”, Jackie teased, running her fingers up to the hem of your t-shirt, they hovered there for a second before she grabbed hold of it, slightly tugging it up, exposing the skin of your lower stomach.

“Of course she does, she likes us”, Shauna grinned, her confidence seemingly growing by the second.

“Can I take this off?”, you were asked by Jackie, who was pressing her face into your neck. “It’s okay if you want to keep it on”. To them your comfort was more important than the amount of fun they got from watching you squirm, a small reminder that they had been your closest friends before anything else. They truly did care – a fact that made you comfortable enough to agree to their request.

You nodded. Neither of them seemed satisfied with your response though, so Shauna urged you further.

“Use your words, love”.

“Yes”.

“Good” Shauna hummed, moving back a little as Jackie pulled your t-shirt up and over your head. You could hear as their breaths hitched at the sight of you, you stood there a little nervous in only a black bra. “Wow” the girl stood before you spoke, always the first to give her opinion, “you’re beautiful”, she murmured.

“Jackie’s right, you’re gorgeous”, Shauna said, sounding almost out of breath - the brunette smiled a little and her eyes trailed down to the small of your back. As they took in your body you fought the urge to cross your arms across your chest, not because they were making you uncomfortable, but because you weren’t the most confident of people. Some people at Wiskayok had given you shit for your looks before, before joining the soccer team you had been pretty chubby, and none of the varying physical changes you had went through during your life had made a difference to the way you felt about yourself.

Jackie noticed your sheer nervousness, there was a glint of remorse and recognition in her dark eyes. “You don’t have to hide from us, ok? We love what we see, don’t we Shauna?”. Despite her shitty judgemental parents, and all the popular girl stereotypes Jackie fit, being cruel wasn’t one of them. Throughout your time being classmates and close friends with her she had always been in your corner. Right then was no different.

The same case applied to Shauna. The young woman in question nodded, moving forward so she could be pressed against you again. “Jackie and I are so excited to share you, just for us hmm?”,  the brunette was as close as she was before as her lips ghosted the side of your neck.

This time, Jackie moved closer as well, running a hand down your trembling body as she leaned in close to your face.

“Can I kiss you?”,  she asked, her voice was sweet, but her facial expression told a different story; it looked like she wanted to eat you alive. You’d be lying if you said you wouldn’t let her. You would let Jackie Taylor and her very stubborn best friend do anything they wanted to you.

“Yeah”, it seemed right then you couldn’t give more than one-word answers, your voice trembled as she leaned in and kissed you sweetly, she tasted faintly like cherries. It was probably the lip gloss she still had some of, despite the fact you three had been in the wilderness for nearly a month.

Both of you heard the strange, desperate sound Shauna had made at the sight of you two kissing. Jackie laughed and turned to her best friend, “Do you like watching us? Being watched? I bet you wish she saw us outside earlier, don’t you?”, she asked Shauna as you turned to the brunette who was flushing profusely.

Your stomach was still buzzing from the kiss with your captain as you looked at the midfielder. “Yeah, I do”, Shauna replied, looking mildly embarrassed at being caught out, but mainly just wanton.

“Why don’t you give Shauna a kiss now, baby? She’s ever so good at it”, the shorter girl let go of you and gestured to Shauna, who stood behind you with a hand on your waist. You didn’t need to be told twice as you turned your head and took Shauna’s mouth with your own, the kiss was every bit as heated as your one with Jackie’s was sweet.

“Shit”, you, and Shauna could hear the light-haired girl beside you let out a noise of approval as she watched you two kiss. “Slip her some tongue, Shipman”, she ordered, the words made you almost choke, as well as the fact immediately after you could feel the other girl’s tongue swiping against your bottom lip for entrance. Shauna was always good at following orders and Jackie was always good at giving them - the girl was the captain of your team for a reason. The dark-haired girl tasted like the berries she had eaten that morning, there were also hints of… cherry?

Oh. So that’s why they were in the spirit of sharing. You hadn’t been mistaken thinking what you thought when you saw them outside earlier. The thought of the two of them together out there, kissing heatedly against a tree, made your knees weak - even more so when Shauna let out a whine into your mouth.

“You two are really enjoying yourselves huh?” Jackie observed, lust-blown pupils fixated on the point where Shauna’s mouth - and, god, her tongue met yours. You half expected her to pull up a chair and put her feet up to enjoy the show, but Jackie Taylor was never one to just observe, she loved to be a little more hands-on. So, really, you shouldn’t have been surprised when she approached behind you and moved your hair out of the way, exposing the soft skin of your neck. You moaned into Shauna’s mouth as Jackie began to place hot, open-mouthed kisses on your neck, she grazed her teeth against your throat and could feel your pulse against her tongue. You trusted her not to bite too hard if that’s what she wanted.

“Fuck”, you groaned as you could feel Jackie bite your neck lightly. Clearly the weeks in the wilderness had awakened some strange primal urge in the both of them, but you weren’t complaining. She didn’t bite you hard enough to draw blood, and kissed the mark she’d made on your neck to sooth it. Her lips were now at your collarbone.

“So cute”, Shauna pulled away from your mouth to praise you.

“I need you both so bad”,  your pleas were cut off by the brunette.

“Let’s take the rest of these clothes off, me and Jackie really don’t want anything in the way.” The dark-blonde-haired girl pulled away from your neck and tugged down your shorts, stepping out of them you noticed how fiercely they stared at your body. The idea made you simultaneously ecstatic and nervous, more so the former than the latter.

They moved you onto the makeshift bed Shauna had set up on the attic floor, it wasn’t the sort of thing out of a romance novel but the three of you really didn’t care, you all were too busy thinking about getting your mouths on each other.

“Why don’t we get out of these clothes too, Shauna?” Jackie suggested, stood above in front of you, she didn’t wait for the other girl’s response as she lifted the crop top over her head, throwing it carelessly to the floor near where your discarded clothes were. Next came her shorts, kicking them off like you had, they joined the small pile of clothes that had accumulated. Of course Jackie Taylor was wearing pink matching underwear, even when stranded in the wilderness fighting for survival, her bra had little love hearts printed on it, her panties however only had one small red heart right in the middle.

Shauna’s eyes were locked on her chest, and you fought the urge to laugh. Their desire for each other had been so obvious, even before you had nearly caught them earlier, or before they had made theirs for you clear, and you had been so oblivious to it all. The taller girl stared for a few moments longer before following suit, taking off her jeans, once she got to her flannel, both you and Jackie made noises of protest.

“Wait, wait, wait - keep that on, but take everything underneath off.”, you were relieved that Jackie was so outspoken in the bedroom, as you were thinking the exact same thing as she was. That damn red flannel would soon be the death of both of you.

“Ok”, Shauna murmured as she took off her t-shirt that was underneath and then put her flannel back on over her bra, she kept it open with the buttons undone so both you and Jackie could see her perfectly sculpted abs. Her bra was black like yours. You resisted the urge to look down, knowing if you caught a glimpse of her toned, long legs you would most likely pass out before you could get to feel them wrapped around your head.

Jackie grabbed her waist gently and pulled her close, leaning in for a kiss that was all tongue. She only pulled away for a moment to pause and muse over your lustful expression, “I think she likes watching us”.

Shauna laughed at her words before replying: “Let’s give our girl a show then”, she moved towards her best friend’s mouth with more fervour this time. You could both tell she was getting more desperate by the minute.

They were right of course, the sight of them kissing drove you fucking insane. You sat from your place on the floor and observed as they made pretty little noises into each other’s mouths, you wondered if today earlier was the first time they had kissed. Probably not. They were best friends after all. It seemed like Shauna noticed your desperation, as soon she moved out of Jackie’s arms and was kneeling in front of you, a hand trailing up your chest.

“Can I take your bra off baby?” She asked, you looked behind her to Jackie, who stood watching attentively.

“Please”, you replied, you wanted, no, needed, to feel Shauna’s mouth on your bare chest.

She unhooked the garment skilfully, leading Jackie to tease her. “Wowza, Shipman, you’re a bra pro.” Shauna rolled her eyes, flushing a dark crimson before finally removing your bra. You smiled at how flustered she got when Jackie teased her. Both of their eyes immediately went straight to your bare chest, “Holy shit”, Jackie breathed out.

Shauna hummed in agreement, a hand itching to reach out and grasp one of your breasts.

“You have like…really nice tits”, the standing girl sounded like she was going to pass out. You could relate to that feeling as Shauna gently moved her fingertips down your collarbone to the top of your right breast.

“Can I…?”, she trailed off. You nodded eagerly and soon Shauna’s warm hands were touching the most sensitive parts of your chest.

“Oh”, you breathed out as she thoroughly felt you up.

“You’re so pretty baby” Shauna’s voice was quiet as she leaned in and kissed you.

“Jesus,” Jackie said from behind the both of you, sounding the most turned-on someone could physically be. “Let me feel her now, Shauna”, her tone was barely controlled as she approached and Shauna protested a little, the noise being muffled by your mouth.

“Come on, Shipman, we’re supposed to be sharing her.” Jackie whined, and Shauna fought the urge to roll her eyes.

“Fine”, she groaned as she pulled begrudgingly away from your mouth. It was flattering to watch them fight over your attention, a part of your brain was still convinced this was some elaborate joke – that all the rest of the team were about to jump out of the shadows and yell that you just got pranked. That hadn’t happened yet though, and didn’t look like it was going to anytime soon. They were serious about wanting you.

The realisation had your chest falling and rising quickly in the cold air but was soon warmed by Jackie’s breath. She sucked one of your nipples into her mouth, you gasped and tried not to moan, her muffled laughter causing vibrations through your body.

“You like Jackie’s mouth on you baby?”,  Shauna asked, sounding a little breathless herself. The midfielder opened her shirt so you could see her chest, she laughed when you flushed and looked away instinctively.

Soon Jackie was kissing up your chest, up your neck, and to your mouth: “Do you want us to touch you?”, she asked as Shauna moved to kneel on the other side of you. You nodded, too nervous and starstruck to form a sentence. “Hmmm, what do you think Shipman, should we give her what she wants?”.

The other athlete furrowed her eyebrows in thought, “I think she should work for it, like when we play soccer, you don’t just go for a goal immediately do you? You pass the ball, tire the other team out… that is if we’re still using the excuse that this is just one big team exercise for soccer.” Jackie cracked a grin at that. What Shauna was saying made you shiver, it was scary but exhilarating at how utterly powerless you were under their gazes.

Of course, you technically did have power and could stop at any time you wanted, but you liked feeling like they controlled you. “How can she work for it?”, Jackie asked, a cruel gleam in her eye.

“What do you think, Y/N?” Shauna turned to you then; pupils so blown with lust that her eyes looked almost black.

“I, uh, I don’t know”, your voice was unsteady, and you tried to hold back a moan as Shauna’s hands traced your breasts again.

“Aw, come on, I’m sure your slutty mind can think of something up”, Jackie laughed. Your face warmed and you shifted under Shauna’s hands, “I’m, “ - Shauna moved to pinch one of your nipples, “fuck, I’m not a slut.”

Shauna raised an eyebrow, “You’re letting your two best friends fuck you, that sounds pretty slutty to me”, her words made you squirm.

“It’s a good thing though, we like it”, Jackie added, moving to push your hair back away from your face.

“Yeah, we’ve been waiting to have you for literally forever.” Shauna’s words made you nearly choke on your own spit, how long had they been feeling that way? You imagined them sneaking glances at you in the locker room when you were all getting changed, or on the pitch when you would pour water over yourself to cool down during a drink break.

“Wait, fuck I’ve had an idea.” Jackie suddenly said, looking like a lightbulb had just gone off above her head. The amusing image was about to make you laugh until Shauna began to trace her fingertips lower down your body.

“What is it?”, you struggled to ask as Shauna’s fingers just reached the hem of your underwear, she looked up at you as if she was thoroughly pleased with herself. She was so mean, you loved it.

“You can put your mouth to good work.”

Oh.

“Shit”, Shauna laughed, “another genius idea I’m not gonna lie, I need to step up my game – poor baby looks like she’s about to pass out.” They teased you a few moments longer before Jackie began to grow impatient, needing your mouth on her.

“Is that something you want?” sure she was absolutely soaked through her underwear, but their priority right then was your comfort more than anything else. You were afraid if you opened your mouth you’d start begging, so silently (but very enthusiastically) nodded your head. Staying silent clearly didn’t save you from getting teased, as they cooed and giggled at your reaction respectively.

“Okay, baby, lie down for me”,  your captain instructed, the teasing tone from earlier being replaced with soft command. You wanted to ask how you could make her feel good with your mouth if you were laying down but trusted her enough to feel confident that whatever it was, was going to work out, so laid down. Shauna moved a few pillows behind your head, so that your neck wasn’t in an uncomfortable position, the consideration made your heart flutter.

“Shipman, help me take my panties off, will you?”, she asked a suddenly flustered Shauna as she unhooked her own bra and let it drop to the floor.

“U-uh, yeah, shit, sure.”

Next thing you knew, Jackie’s underwear was gone, and you were face to face with her pussy as she straddled your head. An embarrassingly loud noise left your mouth as you took her in. “You like what you see?”, she grinned from her position above you, you couldn’t see her face but could hear in her voice how much she was enjoying teasing you like this. Fighting the urge to immediately put your mouth on her, you bit your tongue and listened as they made fun of you.

“I bet she’s trying really hard to not taste you”, Shauna said, moving next to you so she could look at your face. “Jesus Jackie, she looks like she’s going to cry with how desperate she is”, she cooed.

Jackie laughed and wiggled her hips like she was taunting you. “Okay, okay”, she seemed like she was going to give you a break and lower herself onto your impatient tongue, “I’ll let her prove that she deserves to be fucked”. Your captain slowly lowered herself onto your mouth, with a moan she leaned her head back, pleasantly overwhelmed by the sensation of your tongue moving pressed flat against her clit. You moved downwards to her slit and prodded inside her with your tongue, hoping to find her g spot as soon as possible. It would be a complete lie to say you hadn’t given much thought to what your best friend would taste like, she tasted so good, and you knew you’d never forget her taste or her scent or the way her hands were now tangled in your hair.

“Shit, Shauna, she’s actually pretty damn good at this”, she spoke to you next: “have you had practice eating pussy baby?” You moaned into her and tried to respond but were too preoccupied with trying to get her to cum in your mouth as you needed to taste it desperately, your underwear was already soaked through but the things they were saying made them even more so.

“I don’t think she can talk”, Shauna chuckled, observing the way you kept going back up to Jackie’s clit to give it attention.

“Whatever, fuck, whatever she’s doing it’s- ugh- it’s working”, the girl above you sounded like she was drunk on your tongue, her words slurred and struggled. Shauna couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy, of Jackie, of you? she couldn’t tell - but knew whatever it was, was outweighed by the sheer arousal that overcame her watching as her best friend rode your face.

Jackie began to grind into your face, deciding she couldn’t just sit still any longer, she needed to have control. You gave it up happily, as usual when it came to her, your hands reaching around to grab her ass and help her ride your face.

“Slap her ass”, the brunette ordered, you obeyed without hesitation and soon a small red print showed on the unmarked flesh of Jackie’s ass. Shauna moved around and kneeled so that her and Jackie were facing each other, almost face to face, she kissed her deeply.

“Fuck”, Jackie whimpered into her mouth, already close. The other girl grinned and tucked some of Jackie’s dark blonde hair behind her ear.

“I didn’t expect her to be so good at this”, the brunette mused, it was true, she knew you weren’t completely innocent but hadn’t expected for you to be this good.

“Well, she’s beaten your science test scores before so- “, Jackie’s broken words were interrupted by a moan as you began to suck on her clit, “I’d say she’s pretty much good, fuck, at e-everything now”.

The midfielder feigned offence, “Just because she’s good at eating pussy and science doesn’t mean I’m not”.

“Wanna prove it?” Jackie asked her through breathy moans with the hint of a smirk.

“Happily, but right now it’s about this little slut”, Shauna moved a hand down to stroke some of your hair surprisingly gently. Gentle was not a word to describe how Jackie’s fists were still gripping your hair though as she impaled herself on your tongue. They began to kiss again, and you’d have given anything to see them as well as hear them, the desperation didn’t last long as Jackie’s hips began to stutter.

“Fuck, Shipman, she’s gonna make me cum.”

Shauna laughed, kissing her again, “Go on, babe. Cum all over our best friend’s face.” It turns out Jackie Taylor could take orders as well as give them, as soon she was coming hard in your mouth with a loud cry. She tasted even better than you had imagined, Shauna had to steady her so she didn’t collapse on top of you, both of you calmed her as she came down from her orgasm.

“Holy shit”, the striker breathed out, legs shaking, you tried not to let out a noise of disappointment as she moved off of your face, instead opting to sit on your lap.

That feeling was short-lived though as she carefully bent down to kiss you. Jackie groaned as she tasted herself on your mouth, your other teammate watched for a moment before kneeling beside you so she could kiss you too. Shauna made a similar noise, “Fuck, Jackie, you taste really good.”

“Thanks babe”, Jackie grinned, still a little out of breath. She looked down at you with an expression of satisfaction, “I think you’ve proved yourself, what do you think?”. You didn’t nod or speak, still too dazed from your mouth being buried in Jackie’s pussy.

“I think she’s earned it”, Shauna spoke for you, kissing you sweetly on the forehead.

The other girl hummed in agreement, “How do you want us baby?”. A million images instantly flashed into your head, all more vulgar than the last - the sad truth was you wanted too much. Wanted them too much.

“She’s always been indecisive, Jackie. Let’s just make her take what we give her, hmm? I’ve got a few ideas.” Shauna’s words made your head swim, a few ideas could mean anything.

“Such as?”, her best friend asked, the brunette simply smirked and moved in closer to the other so she could whisper something into her ear. You tried hard to listen to what she was saying but couldn’t hear anything over the pounding of your own heart.

The idea seemed to be a good one though as Jackie almost gasped with excitement as she turned to Shauna, “Oh, fuck, Shipman, you’re a kinky one aren’t you?”

The taller girl blushed to her friend’s delight, “Shut up”. Your eyes darted between them, what had Shauna suggested? The thoughts were interrupted as the midfielder began to take her flannel off, you bit your lip to keep from protesting, knowing seeing her bare chest would be worth the price to pay. To your surprise though she didn’t move to take off her bra, instead taking the shirt in her hands and adjusting the sleeves. Whilst she done that, Jackie got off of you and offered you a hand to help you get up.

“Get up and kneel”, she commanded once you were on your feet again.

You obeyed immediately and found yourself then kneeling on the floor of the attic, shaking with barely contained anticipation. Shauna stood only in her bra, the red item of clothing still in her hands, “Hands behind your back”. The young woman’s tone was blunter and more to the point than Jackie’s, less interested in teasing you and more interested in getting exactly what she wanted then & there.

A hint of confusion washed over you, but you trusted and  obeyed her anyways, moving your hands behind your back. The two girls observed you with mischievous smiles, “She’d do anything we’d ask, huh?” Jackie mused, sitting and watching as Shauna stepped forward.

The brunette took the flannel and began to bind your wrists with it, using it as sort of makeshift rope. Oh, she was tying you up. The fact it was with the flannel made it even hotter, Jackie thought so too; “We really like when you wear that, you know? It looks sexy on you.” Shauna blushed, it was a common sight with how easily flustered she got but never failed to make you and Jackie both smile. You unfortunately couldn’t see her face though in that moment, your face turned towards the wall as your best friend tied you up. Once she was satisfied with how tight she had bound your wrists and walked around you, so you were at eye level with her very toned stomach.

Shauna’s abs were a godly sight and you had to keep your mouth closed shut, scared of saying something incredibly pathetic about how much you wanted her inside you. She tilted your head up so you were gazing at her face, “My eyes are up here”.

You turned red as Jackie laughed behind you from her position on the blankets. “C’mon, stop teasing us and just take your clothes off!”, your captain exclaimed, her tone was playful, but it was clear she was growing impatient. You couldn’t help but agree, you had spent all too long fantasising about what the brunette’s tits looked like.

Shauna rolled her eyes, but her hands moved to the back of her bra to unhook it. She let the black garment drop to the floor and your breath hitched, you could barely handle the sight of Jackie’s chest, let alone hers as well as Shauna’s. They were going to be the death of you.

“Wow”, Jackie’s eyes raked over her best friend’s nearly naked body, “I mean wow”. Her words summed up your thoughts about your teammate perfectly.

Shauna shot her a nervous but appreciative smile, before looking down at you. “What do you think?”, it was like an odd mirror of your interaction earlier - except instead of asking how your glasses looked on her, this time she was asking how she looked without anything but panties on.

“You look beautiful”, you struggled to say, her whole body seemed to thrum at your praise.

“Thank you, baby… now”, she began to speak, glancing over quickly at her captain, “I was hoping you’d show me how good you were with your mouth, I mean Jackie got to feel your tongue, so it’d be unfair if I didn’t.” You let out a breath, cursing the fact your hands were tied as you felt the need to steady yourself. Her words made you lightheaded with desire.

“Please let me”, you spoke, trying to not ramble. She grinned and kissed you, guiding you back to where Jackie sat.

Shauna laid down, moving so that you were kneeling in between her legs. Jackie got up and kneeled behind you, beginning to kiss your neck, “Shauna was also thinking that whilst you showed her how good you were with your mouth, I could make you feel good with my fingers. It’d be cruel to make you wait longer, right?”

The idea made you shiver and had appeared before in some of your wet dreams. Jackie’s fingers were long, you had always bet that they could reach all the places deep inside you that needed to be reached.

“What do you say baby?”, the brunette in front of you asked, looking at you both for approval.

“Okay”, you nodded desperately, Jackie smiled against your neck and reached a hand around your stomach, moving downwards towards the hem of your underwear.

Just as she was about to move her hand inside, she stilled and pulled away, “Actually, let’s see you make Shauna feel good a bit first, she needs to take those panties off.” You could see Shauna try to hold in a grin at how mean she was being to you, you took in a deep breath, trying not to cry.

“Can you take my panties off for me?”, your taller teammate asked you, moving her waist upwards so you could easily move the underwear down past her hips. You were going to joke that you couldn’t since your hands were tired (quite literally) but realised she hadn’t forgotten that. They meant they wanted you to take them off with your mouth. Jesus, had half the novels Shauna had been recommending you this entire time been erotica? Where did she get all these ideas from?

It wasn’t to say though that you were complaining, nodding, and wasting no time in getting them off with your teeth. Once they were off both you and Jackie let out a noise at the sight of her, yours more a whine, hers more of a groan.

“Shit, baby, I’m jealous you’re going to get to taste her”, Jackie told you, trailing her tongue lightly against your pulse point. You squirmed at the words as well as the sensation, as they put the idea of Jackie eating out Shauna into your head. You prayed to whatever God that was listening that there was a chance you could see that in the future, no matter what happened to you guys out there after that, you’d die happy.

Shauna leaned her head back against the pillows, “Don’t worry you’ll get your chance”, she told her so matter-of-factly it made your stomach tingle.

Captain Taylor pulled away from your neck, “Good”, her reply was blunt, but you could tell on the inside she was ecstatic. Who wouldn’t be excited at the idea of a chance to eat out Shauna Shipman? You certainly were.

“Bend over then and tongue fuck her, or are you going to stay there all day?”, Jackie moved back and was growing impatient by the second. You were a little nervous but weren’t taking your time on purpose, just more in awe at the sight of a very naked Shauna Shipman, you liked it when your captain snapped at you though.

Shuffling back a little, you bent down so your face was in front of Shauna’s cunt. The brunette let out a half moan, half sigh as you licked a long stripe from her entrance all the way up to the top of her swollen clit. “I’d let you use your fingers on me too, pretty girl, but I really like the sight of you tied up. Bet Jackie does too.”

Jackie hummed in agreement, letting one of her hands trail across your ass. She was itching to get her fingers inside of you, but didn’t want to let you know that. Suddenly, the sound of a loud slap rang across the room as Jackie’s hand connected with the left side of your ass.

“Fuck”, you cried out, voice somewhat muffled by your best friend’s soaked core.

Shauna barked a laugh, “Oh fuck, she likes that, hit her again.” The striker slapped you again, the brunette in front of you closed her eyes and savoured the sound of Jackie’s palm making contact with your soft flesh. There was no denying your teammate had a hunger for violence, from her dangerous plays on the pitch, to her short temper and tendency to get into fights. So, there was little surprise when the discovery was made that Shauna Shipman was a bit of a sadist in the bedroom.

Jackie regarded the sight with equal lust and fascination, she was excited to figure out all the things that really made you melt. Things that would make you squirm, all your weaknesses that would make you do anything she asked you to. That would make you hers.

“Suck on my clit, baby”, Shauna moaned, her hips bucking up so her cunt could meet your mouth. You did as she said, taking her clit in your mouth and sucking firmly, your hands desperate to move around to her pussy, but the efforts in trying to untie the flannel were futile. Plus, you couldn’t risk ripping the fabric of that thing, it was the best thing in Shipman’s entire closet.

Shauna tasted amazing; they both did. You came to the realisation that you could do this for hours, days even, if they’d just let you.

“Do you want my fingers now?”, Jackie asked, watching as Shauna whined and writhed under your mouth’s ministrations. You pulled away for just a second to answer your captain with a plea, but Shauna still groaned in protest and grabbed a fistful of your hair, pulling you back down again. She never was patient.

Jackie took a hold of the hem of your underwear, pulling them down, she was going to ask you to move so she could take them fully off, but glanced at the almost feral expression that Shauna had and decided otherwise. If you were taken away from her at that moment the brunette would’ve most likely committed murder.

Jackie took in the sight of you and sighed, “God, you’re so fucking pretty”. The praise made your heart flutter and heat flood in between your legs, which were trembling from sheer desperation and adrenaline. You wanted badly to thank her, but your tongue was too preoccupied moving inside Shauna. It seemed you had found her sweet spot, as she began to squirm even more, her gasps and moans rising rapidly.

“Jesus, Shipman, you’re already close and I haven’t even stuck a finger inside of her yet. Don’t you want to cum together?.” Her words made you smile, it seemed like you really were good at getting them off, it made pride swell inside your chest. From now on, your biggest achievements weren’t going to be soccer championships, perfect test results, or all of that crap. They were going to be how fast you had made Shauna and her equally sexy best friend cum.

“Uh, fuck- “, the midfielder was about to retort something back but was cut off as you began to suck on her clit again, “I recall you didn’t l-last that long either, bitch.” Ah, she could deliver a good come back even in the midst of being given oral, your admiration for Shauna grew daily. The sting of the insult was mainly lost though this time as her voice shook, it was slightly shameful how something that felt like a bolt of electricity shot straight down to your core when you heard Shauna say the word “bitch” too.

Jackie seemed to notice your reaction, “Oh”, she laughed, a hand palming your now bare ass.

“What?”, the other grunted, breathing getting heavier as you took all the wetness she gave you.

“She seemed to like it when you called me a bitch”, the shorter girl said, soft fingertips trailing down to ever so gently brush against your slit.

“Of course she did, the little slut.” Shauna teased, she began to pinch her own nipples, rocking her hips upwards as you got her off with your tongue.

“Gosh, she’s pathetic”, Jackie breathed out, tone half fond and half in awe as her finger moved down and under to slowly circle your throbbing clit.

“Good with her mouth though”, the other replied. She had certainly found a great way to pass the time in the middle of nowhere. Shit, even if you guys were back in civilisation your tongue was certainly something Shauna would forgo a study session at yours for.

Your captain finally showed you mercy as she applied pressure directly onto your sensitive bud, moaning into Shauna’s pussy, you shifted so that by some luck her finger would be pushed into you.

“Want me inside?”, Jackie asked, begrudgingly moving her hand to tease you further, nearly as worked up as you were from all the teasing. Keyword: nearly, the lucky bitch had already came, she was already wet again though. Your captain knew you couldn’t reply, she was asking not for an answer, but to rile you up even further, she wanted to see you to beg for it.

“She’s been a good girl, Jackie, just fucking give her what she needs”, Shauna said, you knew she was only defending you because she was desperate to cum and right then only your tongue could get her there. If the brunette wasn’t so desperate, she’d definitely tease you along with her best friend.

There definitely was something stirring about her calling you a good girl though, since you were academic rivals as well as close friends, compliments from Shauna were scarce, the sappy side of her only coming out when she was drunk. You knew she loved you both, and knew that she cared, she just usually showed it in quieter, more subtle ways. Like driving you to and from school, picking up your favourite snacks, and always bringing an extra pen in case you needed to borrow it during the English class you shared together.

It seemed Jackie had agreed with the other girl’s statement as soon you could feel her index and middle finger enter you slowly. You moved back onto her steadily, she grabbed a hold of where your hands were tied together with Shauna’s flannel and used it to pull you onto her long fingers, controlling how fast or how slow the drag of them inside you was. “Shit, you’re so wet”, she whimpered.

Your tongue flicked against Shauna’s clit as Jackie let go of your tied wrists to play with yours. “You’re so good at eating me out baby”, the brunette praised, moving some of your hair out of your face, not wanting it to get in the way and bother you. The way she was caressing your face made you feel loved, it was a feeling that burrowed itself deep inside your chest. “I’m gonna cum”, the midfielder whimpered, basically riding your face now. You desperately needed to breathe but didn’t dare pull away - scared that you’d ruin her orgasm.

Plus who needed oxygen anyway? Your best friend’s pleasure was way more important than breathing.

Shauna came with a scream, her thighs keeping your head there as her cum flooded your mouth. God, even then you wanted more, it was scary to think you might never be sated no matter how many times she came. You eased up a little and licked her gently as she felt the aftershocks of her orgasm, moaning as the dark blonde girl’s fingers still worked inside you.

“Fuck”, Jackie groaned and to your disappointment, stopped moving her fingers, “that was like the hottest thing I’ve ever seen”. The other girl laughed, very much dazed and out of breath. You kissed Shauna a few times on her clit and inner thighs before deeming it okay to move your head away. You caught your breath as you rested your forehead against her thigh.

“You done so well baby”, the taller girl muttered, eyes closed as she ran a hand through your hair.

“Thank you”, you said, trying not to smile. You would’ve let the compliment override your brain completely, however your mind still was preoccupied with Jackie’s fingers that were still inside you.

“No, thank you”, Shauna’s voice was soft, “Babe, stop being so mean and let her cum - she deserves it”, she continued. The post orgasmic daze was making her softer, it seemed.

Jackie huffed fondly, taking the opportunity quickly to help you remove your underwear fully. They joined the pile of other clothes on the attic floor. “You’re going soft, Shipman. Of course she deserves to cum, but it’s fun to play with her”. With the words ‘play with her’, the striker began to move again and curled her fingers upwards deep inside you. You let out a strangled moan against Shauna’s thigh.

“There we go”, Jackie cooed, moving her other hand around so she could continue to play with your clit. It was as if she had done this before to someone else, as she knew exactly where to put pressure and where to just graze gently. The thought of either of them with anyone else made jealousy burn hot in your blood, pushing away the thought, you focused on what was happening now. Shauna observed a few moments longer before getting up so that she was sitting in front of you, holding you up, she kissed you soundly, groaning as she tasted herself on your tongue.

“You’ve wanted this for so long, haven’t you?” Shauna asked as Jackie put more pressure against your clit, rubbing small circles as the fingers of her other hand reached near your g spot.

You nodded, struggling to speak, a flurry of whimpers escaped your mouth as the sound of Jackie fingering you rang out across the room. The three of you knew the girls downstairs had definitely heard at least one of you by now, but you didn’t care, the only things on your mind were Jackie, who was now hitting your g spot, and Shauna, whose tongue you took into your mouth greedily. “God, you’ve always belonged to us”, Jackie spoke this time, her voice was unlike you had ever heard, it was as if something raw and primal was rising in her throat.

“Even before now as we’re fucking you”, she continued, every thrust of her fingers causing the familiar sensation in the bottom of your stomach to tighten. “I bet you’ve been waiting for us to do this, huh? Waiting around, following us everywhere like a lost little puppy, hoping we’d fucking notice you and just-“, she groaned as she felt you tighten around her fingers, “just fucking wreck you. We’ve ruined you for everyone else, haven’t we?” Her words made you melt into a puddle of desperation.

Shauna pulled away from your mouth, you could tell by the expression on her face that she absolutely loved the things her best friend was saying. “Shit, you’re right”, the brunette agreed, “I wanna know how many times you’ve touched yourself thinking of us baby, I wanna know when you do it.” She was practically whispering into your ear now, filthy words only you and Jackie could hear. “Every time after practice? When you see us in our soccer kits and just can’t help yourself? After we hang out or after our study sessions? I bet you’ve imagined me just swiping all the fucking flashcards off our desk and throwing you on there instead”.

Jackie laughed. “I wish that was on the biology curriculum, wanna let everyone know your ours”.

It seemed as if Shauna was working herself up again with the things she was saying: “I bet you’d love us to fuck you all in front of all of them downstairs, hmm? Let Tai and Lottie and the rest of them know you belong to us”.

At her words, and the mention of your teammates (who, despite your heart belonging to the two girls you were with, you were also desperately attracted to), you let out an obscene sound which could be only described as you losing whatever shred of self-respect you had left. Moving back and forth on Jackie’s fingers, you leaned forward and crushed Shauna’s mouth against your own, not only needing to feel her lips against your own and her tongue in your mouth. But to also get her to shut up because if she kept saying things like that, you’d either cum embarrassingly quickly or pass out and die.

Your efforts proved futile though as Jackie kept hitting places deep inside you that you didn’t even know existed. “Are you close?”, she teased, knowing you were about to cum all over her hand. Whining against Shauna’s mouth, you tried to squeeze your thighs and keep her hand there, knowing what she was probably going to do next. Just as you reached the edge, you felt her pull out of you. Her laughter rang in your ears as you teared up with frustration.

“Fuck, Jackie, that was so mean”, Shauna’s words seemed angry, but she was laughing, secretly just as deliciously cruel as her best friend.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it was just too tempting,” she apologised to both you and Shauna, knowing how much you had wanted to cum, and also knowing how much Shauna had wanted to watch you cum. Mainly to you though, as she could definitely see how wet you were from her position kneeling on the floor behind you.

“Please”, you pleaded, “I need you inside me, Jackie.” She let out a sigh of affection, rubbing your back a little whilst she contemplated whether she was going to let you cum this time, or be even crueller and deny you for a second time.

“Fine, my sweet girl. You’ve got me going soft for you, so better appreciate it.” She entered you again, instantly pressing up against a spot she knew drove you wild. You rambled gratitude to her as she used the fingers of her other hand to flick your clit.

Shauna peppered kisses across your face, glad that her best friend had finally decided to show you some mercy. “You’re taking her fingers so well, my love”, the midfielder said, grasping your face gently with both hands. You seemed to melt under both of their touches, Jackie’s more so literally as wetness ran down your inner thighs.

You were close again already, struggling to not cry out so loud the entire wilderness could hear you. The girl in front of you helped muffle your desperate whimpers as she kissed you again on the mouth with so much fervour your teeth nearly knocked together.

“Back onto me, yeah, just like that”,  you could hear Jackie demand. “Cum for me, please, fucking cum all over my hand baby”, she was begging now.

The words sent you tumbling over the edge and your vision nearly went blurry as you came all over Jackie’s hand, your wetness running down her forearm. Shauna had to hold you gently to keep you steady, so you didn’t fall face-first onto the floor, she chuckled and kept kissing you to drown out your moans.

The striker ceased her ministrations on your clit, not wanting you to become oversensitive to the point of pain, instead fingering you slowly as you came down from your orgasm. “That’s it”, she gently guided you, running a hand up and down your back as Shauna kissed your forehead sweetly. A few moments were taken as you caught your breath, basically sandwiched between them.

When you seemed steady enough, Jackie pulled out of you and moved to untie your hands. You grunted as you stretched them behind your back in relief, trying not to grin as you realised that meant you could now pull her and Shauna closer to you. You, having grown a lot bolder, sat up and reached behind you, gesturing for Jackie to come and kiss you from behind.

She did as you had hoped, wrapping her arms around your waist she placed a kiss against your neck, kissing her way up to your cheek and then across to your mouth. Soon you could feel Shauna’s mouth on you too, kissing your cheek sweetly, Jackie pulled away so that the brunette could kiss your lips too.

“Well shit, that was fun.” Jackie laughed, Shauna moved from you and captured Jackie’s mouth with her own. They kissed with closed mouths for a minute or so before Shauna got impatient and opened her mouth so she could feel Jackie’s tongue against her own. The sight of them together made your heart swell, a pang of regret seized you that you didn’t get to see them make each other cum, but that was quickly soothed realising that tonight was about you. You’d get plenty of opportunities to see them together in the future.

“Sure was. What did you think baby? You enjoy that?”, Shauna asked you, you lowered your head, flushing.

They laughed, “Don’t act all shy now”, Jackie teased. You didn’t reply, fearing that if you opened your mouth, you’d say something incredibly cheesy.

“The girls are all probably asleep, we need to get some sleep too I think.” Shauna’s voice was gentle as she pulled away from you both and stood up, gathering all your discarded clothes as well as her red flannel that had been untied from your wrists. She took some time folding them neatly as you and Jackie sat as she held you.

You were secretly glad that they didn’t seem to be making a move to put anything on, you enjoyed the quiet intimacy of being naked around one another. Your confidence still wasn’t ideal, but they had just proved to you that they loved every part of you no matter what. You could tell Jackie felt the same way too, with the quiet way she had kept looking down at her body when she had first taken her clothes off. She acted confident but she was just like any other young woman.

It was relieving to believe someone when they told you they loved you, let alone two someones. That night when you, Jackie, and Shauna fell asleep in each other arms, not even the dread of tomorrow could creep into your chest, as it was already full of love and comfort and a warmth so unfamiliar it made you want to cry.

The next morning wasn’t much different than usual, except for the fact all of the girls couldn’t stop staring at you, when you would catch their eye, they’d look away quickly as if they were embarrassed.

Shit, they had definitely all heard you three.

a/n: welp, that's it for now goobers, tune in for part two (and possibly three ;))

[lexicorp]

Transformers Earthspark: Another Place, Another Prison

"You missed me, aadmit it, you missed me!" (friggin bill cipher quotes are in my brain)

They're goofy and I needed more of them- They're my favorite dumbasses

Fun lil chapter with a bit of reprieve from the angst. Although Star still is struggling with the sussy bs, The main point is just as the title of the chapter describes. All about finding some distractions. Avoidance and denial are always the best coping mechanisms :3

Previous Chapter: Not All Scars Can Be Welded

First Chapter: The Need For Read

Next Chapter: A Game Of Charades

Chapter 15: Distractions

Once Starscream managed to reach the Terran’s little lab, he began carefully opening the cabinets in search of that energon. He found an assortment of inventions in progress, and organized cashets of parts and tools. Nightshade was actually rather impressive. Wheeljack could certainly learn something from the kid on the matter of structure. That inventor’s workspace had always looked like a typhoon had blazed through any chance Starscream had passed his door in the Academy. 

Eventually, he found the box designated for energon, and flicked open the lid. Of course it was in an Autobot crate. He should have thought of that first, really. Starscream’s focus immediately drifted away from the cubes, and landed on the patches. Those would be far easier to carry, as well as more convenient when he’d likely only purge the liquid variety in his current state. He wouldn’t exactly call that productive. So, he gathered as many of the patches as he could, stuffed a couple sheets of metal he found in their place, and covered it with the remaining patches before sealing the crate again. 

Starscream once again found the need to trace the perimeter on the journey back to his room. It was ridiculous that his leg and helm were continuing to put up such a fuss, but no matter. He was still plenty capable of achieving this minor victory of hiding away his little stash of energon. He could perhaps even periodically gather more bit by bit to increase it without them knowing. That’d be at least something to quell his nerves. 

Once all was in its place, he stumbled again as he stood, but pushed himself up stubbornly and glanced out the doorway. Starscream chuckled darkly at the fleeting revelation of how much this reminded him of those vorns on the Nemesis. Getting crippled by Megatron, limping across the halls, hoarding bits of energon. It was quite the classic it seemed. One that never ceased to humiliate him. Although a fact that has only proved his superior resilience. This was nothing he couldn’t handle.

“Confident now, aren’t we?” Meridian quipped and projected the insight that he was most certainly mocking Starscream’s previous statement towards the humans.

Starscream tightened his grip around the doorframe. “Yes. Actually. Now silence. I have no need for your petty interference.” He attempted to move towards the exit, but found his servo locked in place with a wave of disorientation as his optics flickered. He stumbled against it to prevent himself from falling, and put his other servo to his faceplate in a futile effort to stop those images from infecting his processor. 

When he finally got his optics to work in some semblance of clarity again, Mandroid was right in his faceplate, with an expression filled with contempt while still managing to look unimpressed. It was disgusting. “For someone with such a disgraceful record as yours, you have nothing to prove yourself worthy of such credence. You were notoriously ruthless in the war, and even if you fought beside these…Terrans, against me once, you clearly only know how to continue to destroy all that surrounds you. Why stop now? Why not give in to your nature?”

“Shut up.”

“Do you honestly believe that you can show your face up there and talk to them like you don't have a kill count in the thousands, with even more personal betrayals to speak of? Perhaps you could start a conversation by showing a shred of reverence. Yet we both know you’re incapable of such a thing.” Meridian was pacing around him with his floating helm following him as he moved. 

Starscream knew this abomination wasn’t real. He didn’t know why his processor was projecting this, but logically, there was no way Meridian was here. He was dead. They had melted that horrid suit he carried his corpse in. It was flatly impossible. Starscream just needed to ignore it. His inventive processor had been on overdrive as of late, and he just needed to push through like he always did. 

So, he forced himself to disconnect from the wall and walk right through the spector. Starscream put all his focus on keeping his peds steady. On the crisp, real pain that shot from his knee that loved to taunt him at the most convenient of times. He found the activation switch to reveal the stairs to the outside, and ignored anything that was supposedly lingering behind him. 

“Nothing to add?” A putrid laugh. “Go ahead then. Make a fool of yourself. Say hi to Alex for me.”

Starscream wasn’t listening to any of it. He didn’t care. Meridian didn’t deserve his attention. If that even was Meridian at all. Either way, he wasn’t going to grace it with another thought. He was going to get out of this suffocating confinement, and get some much needed stimulation. Any sort of distraction was exactly what he needed. 

Bumblebee was always a good option for some meaningless yet entertaining bouts of banter. He’d be the best candidate for Starscream’s attention. Any of the Terrans would surely be far too complicated to navigate at the moment. What would he possibly say to them? Hashtag? How would that conversation go? He still didn’t know how to make anything up to her, and now would most certainly not be the right time to contemplate it. 

The trap door closed behind him as he exited, and he slowly pushed aside the doors to the barn. Starscream hovered there a moment as he took in everyone’s positions. The humans had their wall opened up for the Terrans to share in their fueling session. They had some type of wrapped, organic slag, while the kids had some oddly shaped, frozen confection on a stick. It seemed like more of an excuse for a social event, like the Decepticons often did during their breaks. Perhaps such a thing wasn’t an abhorrent waste of time as he had once thought. Hashtag looked happy. 

That cursed vision of Unicron cut through him in a fleeting, yet persisting force. It was coming. None of this mattered. Their meager moment of joy was nothing. Meridians scheming meant nothing. His defiance meant nothing. In the face of eternity, in the face of a god. They were all…

No. What was he thinking? It was just his overdramatic processor again. It had to be. 

It had to be.

He needed to find Bumblebee. Focus on something else. Where was he? 

Starscream shook his helm and shifted his wings. He felt for the subtle gusts of wind, filtered the structures and flora with those cows that surrounded him in his optics; as well as tuning his audials to minute notes of sound. Solid. Real. Like the absurd noises those creatures made, or the familiar pacing of peds around the corner. 

He traced the edge of the barn and finally found just the mech he was looking for. That mattered enough. Right? Right. 

Starscream leaned one servo on the exterior wall of the barn, and put the other on his hip. “Hey.”

Bumblebee was stacking cubes of hay–an amusing name for such a thing–a couple brandishing painted targets. “What?”

Scrap. What did he want to discuss with the bug again? Surely he had some sort of direction in mind for this interaction. 

There was a moment of awkward silence between them as the question to his greeting went unanswered. He couldn’t let the scout think he came here without some sort of purpose! He needed to think of something. There had to have been something. 

“Weellll…” Starscream began with an air of boredom laced with confidence. “Surely you were deprived of my presence for long enough after that…unfortunate, incident with Megatron. I am here to graciously offer my company! What are you doing?”

“Riiight. I’m just setting up a small target practice game for the kids for after they finish lunch.” Bumblebee placed another cube, then pointed to the color coded rings on the target. “The exercise is on accuracy, and I even have a fun point system with prizes planned for them! Ehhh I admit, Alex helped me figure out the prizes–but the rest is all yours truly!” He put a proud servo to his chest plate. 

Starscream hesitated a moment as he scrutinized the rudimentary setup. “It’s a little… plain. No aerial targets? No projectiles for them to dodge? Tell me you are at least planning on throwing some incoming blaster fire. How would this teach anything?”

Bumblebee’s faceplate scrunched, then he ex-vented in frustration. “It isn’t meant to be so intense, just a bit of low stakes friendly competition to build some confidence. Not everything has to be some high stress ordeal to teach you something, thank you very much.” He dropped a cube to punctuate his statement, then knelt down to adjust it with a small grumble. “These kids already have plenty experience with that scrap if you ask me.”

“Hm…I suppose.” Wait, no, he couldn’t let the conversation lull out like that with only some passive agreement! He shifted his expression back into a comfortable smirk and prodded at the bug. “Are you certain that you are not simply too soft-sparked to allow them proper training? For Primus sake, a couple pebbles tossed their way wouldn’t permanently damage them. If you truly have confidence in their ability, you wouldn’t underestimate their threshold for punishment.”

Bumblebee tossed his servos in the air in some note of defeat. “Fine! I MIGHT add something for them to dodge. Like…water balloons! Ohoh now THAT would be perfect!” He bounced in place a moment before remembering where the objects he sought were located. “Wait here, I’ll be right back.” 

The bug dashed off towards the humans for their assistance in the matter. He had taken that criticism surprisingly well. Perhaps Dorothy had talked to him about that patience slag or something. Starscream wasn’t sure if he was entirely enthused about that prospect or not. It was strange having the bug agree to some degree instead of turning to accuse him of some sort of scheme against them. 

Starscream began tapping his ped in an effort to cement its presence below him as those images came into view again. Bumblebee was taking too long. What was it that he was even looking for with such urgency? Rocks would work just as well as whatever it was he was insisting upon. Why did it matter so much? The kids needed to be prepared for more than ridiculous little scoreboards anyway. Why had Starscream even initially agreed to that scrap?! None of them knew what was approaching, and they wouldn’t believe him if he warned them. Or…WAS it even something to worry about…?

“Hope ya didn’t miss me too much.” Bumblebee suddenly arrived and tossed a sack of flimsy elastics in his direction, of which Starscream instinctively caught with ease.

“What is this?” He inquired with a hint of disgust as he took one of the miniscule, assumed balloons from its packaging.

“They’re the water balloons, and since you wanted there to be projectiles so bad, YOU can fill ‘em up for me.” The scout strutted over to his ridiculous stacks of hay to continue his work with a smirk. 

“Uugh…” Starscream groaned as he rolled his optics. “This–” He shook the elastics– “was not MY decision. You really only fill this scrap with water? How droll.”

“Yup! There’s a spigot right over there.” The bug gestured a couple yards from Starscream’s ped. “I suggest you get to filling those things because it’s gonna take ya quite a while. Trust me. It’s more difficult than you might think to deal with those things.”

Starscream scoffed and knelt down beside the spigot and carefully examined the fragile, sack-like elastics. “Don’t be dramatic, Bumblebee. I sincerely doubt this pathetic thing could possibly pose such a challenge.”

“Uuuhuh. I warned ya.”

Starscream glared at him suspiciously. Did he sabotage these things somehow? 

He adjusted the balloon to the spigot and slowly began to crank the tiny, human sized wheel. If anything, it was absurdly precise and tedious. Then, the elastic abruptly detached itself and catapulted into the mud that resulted from the loose water. 

Bumblebee laughed. “See? Not so easy is it?”

“Oh spare me the “I told you so”, and focus on setting your stupid excuse for targets over there.” He carefully attempted to pull open the elastic to fill it again, but it only tore into a useless mess. Whatever. He’d get a different one. This wasn’t so hard. Besides, such meticulous work was a perfect task to keep his own focus tethered to this ridiculous moment.

“Excuse me, my targets are resourceful and awesome.” Bumblebee proclaimed as he gestured to one of the stacks. 

“Such strong words.” Starscream crooned. “Insecure about your lackluster little set up, are you?”

“Pff–” The scout scoffed with an indignant toss of a servo at the idea– “Hah, no! What would I have to be insecure about? That’s ridiculous. This idea is perfect and they are going to love it.” There was a moment of pause as he retrieved another cube and continuously readjusted their arrangement. “Right? Yeah. I know good target practice! You’re just a hater, as the kids say.”

Starscream snickered at the bug's antics, but growled as one of the balloons burst from merely being placed inside the bucket. These things were so weak. Why they were better than his rock suggestion was beyond him. “I will gladly be your ever loyal hater, Autobot.” He flicked his wings up tauntingly with a momentary glance back at Bumblebee. 

He rolled his optics. “Gee, thanks. I’m flattered.”

“You should be.”

A more comfortable lapse in conversation fell between them as Starscream focused on the rhythm he’d gotten filling the silly little balloons. A couple of those birds were communicating in passing above them in some strange string of music. Bumblebee’s constant pacing was quite amusing to track, paired with his occasional muttering. Even taking an occasional moment to parse out what the Maltos were up to in the background proved to be a productive use of his attention. 

Eventually, he topped off a fifth bucket filled with water balloons ready to be tossed at those unsuspecting Terrans. They had finished their fueling session and made their way towards Bumblebee’s target practice. He relayed the objective, displayed the parameters, and informed them that Starscream was going to be the one giving them an extra bit of a challenge to the exercise. Perfect. 

Twitch was the first up. She watched him and waved a taunting servo in his direction. Starscream carefully selected one of the balloons, retracted his servo into his arm, and launched the projectile her way. She dodged it with ease. Impressive. The longer her turn went on, the more difficult he made his watery onslaught as he rapidly threw them her way and predicted her pattern of flight. Soon enough, She failed to dodge three of the shots, which put an end to her streak. 

“Aw scrap! I totally thought I dodged that one!”

“You nearly would have, except you failed to account for your opponent changing their own trajectory at the last second.”

“You did great though! Never missed a target.” Bumblebee encouraged as he reset the cubes.

Hashtag was up next. She readied herself on her wheels after a quick scan of her surroundings, and the next round began on the scout’s signal. She had many close calls and missed one of her shots because of it. Yet halfway through, a new air of determination came to her faceplate, and her movements became more fluid and precise. Alas, once again, as Starscream allowed himself to aim with unyielding precision, she lost the rest of her strikes. The last hitting her square in the faceplate. It was good they weren’t rocks after all, he supposed. 

“Augh! Dang it, I was so on a roll that time!” 

“Hah! Perhaps, but if you want to keep your stamina for long term battles, you have to get consistent.”

“Hey, I’m supposed to be the teacher here Screamer!” Bumblebee complained plainly as he replaced the targets.

Starscream put a servo to his hip and arched an optical ridge. “Then by all means scout. Add some wisdom to the eager young sparks, why don’t you?”

“I will! Uh…well, Hashtag. You did great with utilizing your environment, but you could also try and transform your wheels away for quick stops to increase your sharp agility options when changing directions.” Surprisingly insightful.

“Ooooh, gotcha!”

Then came Nightshade. They were the first to actually retaliate against the incoming balloons with their own projectiles. They took a far more methodical approach by hiding behind the stacks of hay, and requiring Starscream to maneuver overhead on his thrusters to follow them. By the end, they got hit twice, and the third shot at the same time they had hit the last target in their alt mode. They landed, transformed back and shook off the water with a smile. 

“Well that was invigorating! It is unfortunate I could not avoid that pesky balloon at the end.”

“There’s a moment of lag when you are readying that final attack of yours with your alt mode’s wings. It leaves you far too exposed if you aren’t careful about it.”

“Yes–” Bumblebee interjected with a raised digit– “that’s true, but using your offensive tools defensively is very smart Nightshade! And I’m sure we could work on that move of yours in the future by taking inspiration from Twitch and how she can flip and fire at the same time! We can always learn from each other's tactics while on the sidelines.”

The game continued through the rest of the Maltos kids. They were all actually quite impressive with their varying styles. Although he had to scold Jawbreaker regarding the validity of eating the water balloon as a response to an incoming attack. That wouldn’t save him against real blaster fire or a missile. The fact that the dinobot had argued simply that it wasn’t, only proved that this method of training wouldn’t teach them the true seriousness surrounding the lesson. Even so, Starscream could admit that this version of events was far more fun. The atmosphere was calm. There was no looming threat of a trip to the medbay. Only the prospect of reward for doing one’s best. 

It all seemed very juvenile. All the same, he enjoyed toying with Bumblebee, giving the Terrans little notes of advice, and watching them light up at the silly prizes they won. Hashtag even asked to run the course a second time to improve her score. Starscream revelled in the fact that he could see her little bouts of improvement. As well as the fact that she listened to any critics he gave her. Starscream even showed Nightshade and Twitch how to rapidly change direction in the air. A tactic of which a couple of the other Terrans attempted to mimic from the ground.

Such moments of peace and comradery were fleeting. Yet still something he was determined to cherish in these strange times. He’d never spout such nonsense aloud, mind you. But it was true all the same. 

He could focus on detailing aerial maneuvers, and sharp shooting a moving target. Focus on the decisive wind through his wings, and the rocks beneath his peds. The vast sky overhead, with a single, small moon barely visible in the blue sky. 

He didn’t want to think about anything else.

[becausebuckley]

several sentence sunday!

@tizniz shared a lovely snippet and tagged me, so here i am, offering the next little bit of the marriage of convenience au <3 no-pressure tagging @playinginthunderstorms @kejfeblintz @unlifeira @serenelystrange @inell @smilingbuckley and @team-118!

“Sure.” Eddie blinks. He looks a little bit like he’s been caught doing something he shouldn’t do, which is silly. This is Eddie’s house, after all. Eddie’s couch, Eddie’s bed sheets, Eddie’s best friend turned husband. Eddie can stare at whatever he likes. “Just- I don’t think you should sleep here tonight.”

Dread curdles in Buck’s veins. He’s still tingling, but not in the fun just-been-kissed way. 

“Of course.” He swallows around imaginary bile and sits up, the blanket falling off him in a heap. “I’ll see you at work, then?”

“Wait, I- no, Buck. That’s not what I meant.”

“Well, what do you mean, then?” Buck asks, confused. Does Eddie not remember how many beds are in his house? There’s really not that many, it shouldn’t be that difficult to remember. There’s Eddie’s bed, and Christopher’s bed, and the couch, which is basically a bed these days. Eddie sleeps in his bed. Buck sleeps on the couch. That’s how it’s always been.

Neither of them has ever suggested that he sleeps in Christopher’s room. That’s been strictly off-limits, and though going in there now would certainly not hurt as much as it would have a few weeks ago – which is good, because Buck imagines it’s in dire need of a deep clean – it’s not an option, and they both know it. 

“You should sleep in my room,” Eddie decides. “In my bed. With me.”

[unholyhelbig]

Can we get a backstory for all to familiar? Like how they met and how she was before Kate trained her? Good work btw!

Title: The Woman in White (Read part one here)

Ship: Female!Reader x Vampire!Kate Bishop

Warnings: Vampire tendencies, blood, dom/sub dynamics, reference to substance abuse, biting (She's a vampire), murder (Still a vampire), pet names, alcohol, mention of incarceration, stabbing, horrible grammar

[A/n: okay, so this is not my best work, but I gave it a shot. I've been dealing with school and work lately but I'm so glad you guys enjoyed the first part!]

Main Masterlist | Read my stuff on AO3 | Leave Requests

There were little things about the large manor on Ivy Rowe that set off alarms in your mind. Small inconsistencies that should have set off alarm bells in your mind, red flashers screaming loud enough to tell you this was a horrible idea. Adrenaline was a hell of a drug and the way it filled your veins won out against rationale every single time. It certainly clouded your senses when you combined it with piss warm beer and a rolled blunt that was mostly stems.

The back door was open, so really, it took away one half of the misdemeanor from your already extensive record. It was cold in the house, dark and empty enough to dry half the water that clung to your body. The scent of chlorine clung to your skin and prickled dangerously. Fuck, it was massive in here.

You had an objective. There had to be a bathroom close by. But the kitchen was so captivating. Everything about the home was. Your intentions were innocent enough. You and a few friends often got tipsy enough to wander Ivy Rowe for a heated pool in the middle of September nights. Summer homes that were abandoned. Unguarded. People that had too much money for their own good.

You’d done worse. Crimes that were not so victimless, ones that would keep you up at night. Stolen cars and bloodied knuckles. Things that had you shivering into yourself from something other than the cold tile under your feet. Perhaps the reason why you were padding into a strangers kitchen now, peering into mostly empty cabinets when you ought to be returning to the warmth of the water instead. Where exactly had you gone wrong?

The school guidance counselor blamed the foster care system. You blamed the fact that she shook her Tupperware container filled with chopped salad (too much onion, too little mouthwash preparedness). Later, after court mandated therapy, you would pin the blame on the lack of love you got from your father before he got hit by a train when you were six. Now you just blamed your lack of motivation and your horrible job as a grocery bagger.

The fridge was empty, safe for a box of baking soda. Instead, you opened the freezer, rewarded with a chilled bottle of fireball. Something you’d vomited up on more than one occasion, but you were a fighter and the buzz of that outweighed the horrible memories. You whispered out a victorious “Bingo” at your prize.

Without a second thought you cracked the top off and swallowed back enough of the burning liquor to make your stomach tumble and your head fuzzy. Your throat had a pleasant enough burn and your initial mission was soon forgotten. Whoever owned this place was loaded, the exact opposite of you, who was working off an empty stomach.

You took a smaller, less greedy sip, as you began to wander the manor, feet numb to the coldness. There was interesting artwork scattered around the pristine white walls. Deep reds and brilliant royal blues. Windows that were covered in thick curtains and blocked your view of the pool. A grand piano that rested just adjacent to a large stone hearth, left unlit during the warmer months, you assumed.

Unbothered, you moved through the halls like a phantom. Not shoving things into your pockets, like you would have if you were interested in taking things. There was almost a calming trance that had taken over you with the aiding hand of the alcohol. You’d polished off a good bit of it by now. Besides, you hadn’t any pockets to push valuables into.

Dust didn’t coat any surfaces, your fingers dragging across countertops and the gilded edges of frames. Painted oil portraits that gave you pause, but did not turn you to stone as they should have. Your muscles were loose, and jaw even more loose, the spiced taste of cinnamon on your tongue.

Eventually, you found yourself in a library, scoffing as you skimmed the dark wooden bookcases brimming with all types of literature. Bound in gold and leather and tickling your senses with something akin to decay. One single book, you were sure, could sell for enough to cover your rent for at least a month. But you weren’t interested in that. No, you’d always had a soft spot for the written word.

You set the nearly-empty bottle of fireball on a coaster for posterity. Your fingers, long since un-pruned from being out of the water for so long, grasped onto a dark green book that was expertly bound. You pulled it from the shelf, testing the weight, dragging the pads of your fingers over the pages that were cut to perfection. It had been so long since you had held something of such prestige without the urgency to tuck it against your chest and zip a coat over it.

“In one moment, every drop of blood in my body was brought to a stop.”

Your breath hitched, fingers tightening around the book. The world around you seemed to tilt but you had enough sense not to stumble back into the shelf behind you. Certainly not enough to stop your head from whipping up at a dizzying speeding. You wanted to hurl, swallowed the bile down, gripped the shelf all in one moment to steady yourself.

A girl- no, a woman- was standing predictably with a lit candle at the mouth of the library. She was a specter dressed in a white silk nightgown. Something that was once white, you supposed. It was stained in a darkness that you could smell over the liquor on your own breath as blood. It was smeared across her face, her lips and her fingers.

She had a tint to her cheeks that made her look human, and by god, you figured she was. Stunned and stupid and you stumbled half a drunken step because where was all the blood coming from? She had to be hurt. She wasn’t acting like she was hurt. No. This beautiful creature was entirely calm.

“There, as if it had that moment sprung out of the earth, stood the figure of a solitary Woman, dressed from head to foot in white” She continued speaking and you glanced down at the words on the cover of the book, not knowing what else to do. The candle had been set down and the flames reached the gold lettering on the front. “Wilkie Collins, if I’m not mistaken.”

You swallowed thickly, taking in the sight of her once more: the expanse of her legs, the height of her. The ethereal beauty. She reached for the bottle of fireball and polished off the rest, leaving a faint red ring where your mouth had been, clearly unsatisfied with what had been left.

“You’ve broken into my house.”

“Yeah, seems so. We interrupt something kinky?”

She laughed, a light an airy sound that somehow cut into your ears and sent a shiver down your spine. You nearly blacked out, stars forming in your eyes and taking over the majority of your vision. The woman was in front of you. Closer than just a moment ago. You hadn’t recalled her moving, nor the book exiting your hands but it wasn’t there anymore. How much had you had to drink?

Her teeth were sharper, shiner, up close.

“No, no. Not at all, doll. At least your friends at the decency to stay outside like the mutts they are.”

“Who the fuck do you think you are, lady?”

She smirked at you, more of a snarl, her bloodied hand shooting out with unnatural speed to grip your jaw with startling strength. She was taller than you, wrenching your gaze to her own. You weren’t one to back down, not easily, but a whimper had escaped your lips at the feeling of her pure power. “Ah, you’re forgetting that you’re the one who broke into my house. You’ve got quite the mouth on you for someone at such a deep disadvantage.”

You hiccupped, leaning into her cold touch “I wouldn’t call my drunken charm a disadvantage.”

This had never worked for you before, and you figured it wouldn’t work for you now. All you’d ever done was amp up law enforcement until they threw you in a cell, or aggravate a judge until they extended your sentence with the roll of their eyes. You never really minded because it meant a hot meal and a bed to sleep in, albeit a scratchy one.

She scrunched up her nose, loosened her grip a fraction. Your breath was stuttered, the middle shelf digging deliciously into your spine. She���d backed you into a corner, her leg slotted easily between both of yours. It was icy cold and pinned you down with ease. Her fingers trailed down your throat, stalling at your pulse point.

The woman’s nose pressed into the small of your neck. She breathed deeply, pressing herself flat against you. The coolness of her cut through your haze, if not for a moment. A groan pushed past your lips. She smelled sweetly of sage and of what you recognized as blood. The slick adhered to your bare stomach, mingled with the scent of chlorine.

One of her hands dragged down the length of your stomach, the other squeezing your hip. She hummed against your throat, a growl that seemed to penetrate you so wholly that you felt it vibrate in your bones. Your body betrayed you, head leaning to the side to expose your throat to her.

“Jesus Christ,” She rumbled, pulling herself back almost violently, digging her hand into the side of your neck. Her tepid grey stare. She panted chest-deep, searching your face with something akin to confusion. Another stunted snarl “Fuck.”

There was an overcast in your mind, something that flickered, a triggered response that screamed at you to run. This was your moment. But was it really? You couldn’t find your way out of the manor. You had stumbled drunkenly in here and now that that high was working it’s way out of you in a tangle of fear, there was nothing left to do but stay pinned under this woman. This creature. This demon.

She swallowed down something, her words, the lingering taste of blood, maybe whatever was holding her back from finishing you off. She stared at you, eyes the size of cue-balls, face stained in dried red pulp. Ever captivating. You trembled under her touch, waiting for her to make a move.

“If you’re waiting for me to beg, I won’t.”

“Beg?” She chuckled darkly “For what?”

“Fuck me. Kill me. Release me. Whatever you’re meant to do with me, just fucking do it.”

She clenched and unclenched her jaw in an almost methodical way. Your words weren’t exactly measured, nor were they resigned. They just were, ruminating as the fear dissipated and the reality took it’s place. You’d been stabbed once during your second time incarcerated, a rusted blade shoved between the sinew of your ribs. Once the pain had subsided, and the warmth of the initial spurt of blood dried to something cold, you were left with the reality of the wound. Much like now.

“Interesting,” She rasped, running her thumb over your pulse with the slightest of tilt to her head. “Your friends, they pleaded until their throats were raw for their lives. Yet you stand here in defiance at the very thought of getting on your knees for me. Why is that?”

“You strike me as someone who is used to getting what they want.”

She caged you in with another snarl, nose nudging against yours, you didn’t so much as flinch. “You strike me as someone with nothing to live for.”

You were effectively riling her up. It sent a thrill straight to your core. You should quit while you were ahead, but the dangerous stranger was right. There was nothing you had to lose but minimum wage at a shitty grocery store. This was exciting, and fun, and you might as well test your luck before your brutal death. “I don’t see how that complicates things for you.”

“Darling, I think you underestimate my pension for complicating things.” Again, she wretched your face closer to hers, grip strong, hand gripping your chin, teeth suddenly grazing your cheek. “It would be easy to kill you. Easier still, to fuck you. Destroying you? God. I would love nothing more.”

Your head was tilted to the side in a show of strength, her mouth on the side of your neck. The woman was not gentle with her intrusion, canine teeth breaking past tissue and muscle. You yelped in pain, hissed as her fingers dig into your hips with bruising strength. Her body pressed flush to yours was almost a calming balm.

For her harsh words, she was gentle, breath hot on the nave of your neck. She swallowed greedily, your balance beginning to waver. The more she drank, the better you felt. Naively, you clung to her, and she supported you. The silk of her nightgown slick under your fingertips. You were quickly losing consciousness.

The edges of your vision started to pulse around you, a gasp pulling past your lips and inflating your lungs with desperation. You were shocked at the tenderness she embraced you with as she pulled the life from you. Much too gentle for someone ushering in your demise.

The hangover that accompanied death was worse than anything you’d ever felt before. Nothing compared to downing the handle of liquor that you’d lifted from the dangerous strangers freezer, nor the pounding headache and the crick in your neck that you’d awoken with in a holding cell next to a half-naked woman named Sherri who patted your head comfortably.

Death lingered, and so did the twinge of discomfort from the canine teeth that dug into your jugular the night before. You screwed your eyes shut, refused to spring them open. Afraid of the prospect of light. The wounds had scabbed over and even the simple movement of your arm to your throat felt like a task that you did not want to repeat. Shoveling wet sand.

“I was beginning to think I had gone too far with you.”

Comfort be damned. That smooth voice made your head spin. You were alert and pushing yourself up from the comfort of your aloofness in moments. You were in a bed, using the heels of your feet to shove yourself into the headboard. She did not flinch from your flailing movements, just raised an infuriating eyebrow.

You were dressed now, at least. A t-shirt that smelled of her, of sage and the metal of blood. Your own, you presumed. Still, you clutched at the blankets that covered you as if you were indecent. Neither of you were. The room was shrouded in the same darkness as the rest of the home. Would you ever have the privilege of seeing light again?

“Here, you should… drink.” You couldn’t help but flinch when she reached to the side table and picked up a glass of water, guiding it to your hands. “You’ve been unconscious for a few days.”

The kindness of her actions was giving you whiplash, and you were not one to fall for Stockholm syndrome, but your throat was incredibly dry and you swallowed the entire glass down with a quickness that was almost embarrassing. She watched you carefully, but there was nothing else in the room to watch.

She’d changed out of her nightgown, into something more comfortable and less crusted with your friends gore. You wouldn’t necessarily call them friends, now that your haze had cleared. You’d met them the night before when you bummed a cigarette off one, and then the rest seemed to come along.

It jarred you, seeing the creature with pale skin and inhuman beauty wear an ACDC graphic t-shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants. She looked soft in the dull light, and you felt it was to disarm you. Your exhale was crackling, fingers gripping the duvet.

“Hungover, huh? Yeah. The venom is a real bitch.” Something akin to sympathy flashed across vivid stormy eyes. “I get carried away sometimes. I’m Kate, by the way. Kate Bishop. Katherine.”

You blinked dumbly at her, holding your inhale in your chest until it burned. She was a bumbling mess. A stark difference from last night. There wasn’t confidence, nothing that pulled through form the headiness of her meal, it seemed. But you knew it was there. You couldn’t unsee the flash of red in her stare, the pointedness of her teeth. The fear and excitement that had rushed through you at her touch.

She seemed desperate to fill the silence your racing thoughts provided “You’ve got quite the record, y/n. I’m impressed.”

“You looked me up?”

It hurts to talk, unbelievably so. The water had only soothed the ache so much but you refused to show weakness in front of her. She tilted her head in curiosity, running her tongue subconsciously over the length of her teeth. You clocked a glimpse of their sharpness when she hummed.

“Of course. I’d like to know who I’m going to share my home with. I’ve taken the liberty of shadowing your criminal record, by the way. All of your records, actually.”

“I… what?”

You supposed maybe you had actually died with that spiced taste of cinnamon on your tongue and two teeth lodged in your neck. Erased from the world with the ease of a rich unhinged woman. It could be as simple as breaking through the wrong fence, drinking from the wrong bottle of alcohol and picking up the wrong book from the wrong shelf. She must have read the panic behind your eyes because she cooed sympathetically, condescendingly, at you.

“Your purpose, your only purpose, is to serve me.”

Your eyes snapped up to hers, body filling with an unbidden warmth. What had she called it before? Venom? It worked through you with a vicious pace. Hot and startling. Your veins lit up with devotion in a single moment and the rasp of her voice alone had you trembling to follow her orders.

You, of course, were not one to follow orders. It was in your nature to disobey and you grimaced, pulled away from her gaze and her power. She snorted. “You’ll fall ill if you fight it, pet.”

“You should have killed me.”

“Now, where’s the fun in that?” She let out a long sigh, running her perfectly manicured fingers over the dusty color of the duvet, as if she were bored. “Look, you challenged me last night. I don’t like to be challenged. I don’t like to be underestimated. Had you kept that pretty mouth of yours shut you’d be another meal like those smoke-tinged acquaintances of yours. But you didn’t. So I have no other choice but to teach you a lesson.”

“That’s it then, just two options, no middle ground?”

Kate let out a hum that morphed into something more of a growl that rumbled through her chest. She leaned forward, her arms on either side of you as you pressed yourself further into the backboard of the bed. There was an intricate design carved into the wood that you couldn’t make out, but you could certainly feel. She smelled pleasant and alluring.

She nosed into the edge of your jaw, and you sighed at the uncharacteristic warmth of her touch. Whatever she had done had brought something alive to her skin. Not the coolness that you felt the evening before. It was almost human. You felt the urge to pull her in closer, to press your lips to the plushness of hers. And her eyes- her goddamned eyes. They were the clearest thing in the room.

Your knees fell apart and she fit so easily between them, hovering over you, slotted like she belonged there all along. Your chest was heaving, her own breath soft and hot as it splayed against your cheek. “Do you know what I am?”

“I know what you’re capable of.”

“Yet, you continue to misbehave. Why is that?”

“It’s in my nature.”

“I suppose I can understand that.” She ghosted the words against your lips, punctuating them with nip against your bottom one. Her teeth were strong, drawing the metallic taste of blood and soothing it with her tongue. You sighed contentedly against them, mind hazing. “Don’t we feel so much better when we follow orders, though?”

Kate’s hand wicked into your hair, pulling back with enough force to make sure you looked her in the eye, but not enough to hurt you, voice raspy and firm with authority. “As my familiar, you will do nothing short of following orders. I refuse to award you with the mercy of death, sweet girl. You’re mine. We’re in this together, now.”

When she released you and removed herself from the room with a stealth that was inhuman, you found yourself with an unwanted ache. It was the venom of her bite, something she undoubtedly strengthened when she had dug them into your bottom lip moments ago. You could still taste your own blood against your tongue as you drew your knees to your chest.

Any argument died along with the lingering taste of yourself. Katherine Bishop knew no one would come looking for you. Another name that had been wiped away, another person who had vanished. You’d never made a lasting impression on anyone, had been cagey enough to push your friends away. Anyone without a penance for controlled substances had long since abandoned you.

It was just you and Kate.

She’d chosen wisely, and she knew it. Smug and rich, it seemed. You clenched your eyes shut and let the only two tears that dared to collect at your waterline slip down your cheeks in an unrivaled warmth. That was all you’d allow yourself. Anything else would be a sign of weakness.

You let your head fall back against the wooden headboard once more, eyes flicking to the pitcher of water on the bedside table. The empty glass that had a lip stain from your bloodied efforts. Resting snuggly under the lamp that rivaled the darkness was a book, bound in leather. A subtle comfort. A Woman in White.

[melwsnt]

I KNOW IT WON’T WORK, DEAN WINCHESTER

summary. late night calls with the person you’re supposed to stay away from might not be the best idea, but it’s worked for you, so far.

‘Part of me wants you back but, I know it won’t work like that.’

a/n. here’s a cute but sad little short one, pls feel free to request anything I’m bored out my mind and have the worst writers block also pls interact with this x!

The first call was tough. He’d called about ten different times before you found the courage to answer him. The distance didn’t help, hearing his voice through the phone, knowing he wasn’t anywhere near you. Knowing he was probably just as sad, not sleeping, not thinking straight, going out of his mind. He knew there was no going back. You did too. It was just too difficult. Too dangerous, too crazy, it didn’t matter that it hurt. You both realized it was best to leave things behind. But he couldn’t help it. He had to hear your voice. He had to call. And you couldn’t help but answer every single time.

It could last 2 minutes. Just hearing your voice, asking how you were, and hang up. It was that simple, at first. Until it eventually turned to hours, hours of smiling everytime he heard your laugh after he said something sassy. Laughing after reminiscing about old jokes, old trips, old times. Forgetting about why you were on the phone in the first place, forgetting the hurt for just a minute. Dean wasn’t the sentimental type. He certainly wasn’t the ‘let my emotions out and tell people how i feel’ type, but when it came to you, he didn’t care. He told you, every single time. He hated it. That he couldn’t be close to you, and he knew he’d never be again. You were far away from him, from it, and you both knew it was for the best.

Sam had tried reasoning with him. Telling him that what he was doing was just hurt you, and himself more. But there was no point. Sam has tried talking to you too. You were more understanding, but still told him it was useless. You couldn’t just throw Dean out of your life knowing he needed you. Knowing that those calls were the reason he hadn’t gone insane yet. Sam ended up dropping it on your side. He hated it. Seeing you both so dependent on each other. But he also knew how much it helped Dean get through the day even though he knew he couldn’t have you and you weren’t his anymore. Sam tried to understand, he really did. But he couldn’t help just bringing it up sometimes to try and make Dean open his eyes on the situation. Which of course- ended up in fights, in Dean brushing him off and giving him the silent treatment

You’d be lying if you said this wasn’t hard. But you would also be lying if you said those late night calls weren’t your favorite time of the day. He would call before bed, sometimes while having dinner, sometimes when waking up, he knew you’d answer everytime no matter the hour. You were there. And though it was a bad idea, you’d be there, stuck, for awhile. Because you couldn’t just let it go. Maybe this was bad. Maybe it was the worst idea ever. Maybe you were both out of your damn minds. But being crazy and maybe a bit delusional was better than not being in each others lives at all.

So far, that was the way it worked for both of you. And you wouldn’t change it for the world.

[artist-kreating-stuff]

Aw, thanks for the tag!

What’s the origin of your blog name?: It was originally something different, but that name was derived from two specific fandoms. As I started branching out into other fandoms, though, having a very specific name just didn’t seem right, so I changed it to a name that was a little more all-encompassing.

OTP(s) + Shipname: Dang, I have so many. First it was Jaya and Kailor from Ninjago. Then it was Shualt from Beyblade Burst. More recently, I’ve slowly been becoming more and more obsessed with Codywan from Clone Wars. Along with Rexiyo. They’ve kind of been growing on me.

Favorite color: Any shade of blue!

Favorite game: I don’t really play any games, but I do like to watch gameplays. Jacksepticeye and CoryxKenshin are my two current favorite gamers.

Song stuck in your head: Breathe by Olly Alexander.

Weirdest trait/habit: I pick my split ends. I’ve taken to having a pair of scissors next to me when I’m working so that I don’t damage my hair further.

Hobbies: Reading, writing, drawing, and scrolling through social media. Problem is I often can’t decide which one to focus on during my free time, so I more often then not revert to the fourth option.

If you work, what’s your profession?: I’m a kitchen worker. Trust me, it’s a very messy business.

If you could have any job you wish, what would it be?: My dream job is to be a writer/illustrator, who doesn’t necessarily make millions, but certainly makes enough to keep herself comfortable.

Something you’re good at: I’ve been told my drawings and short stories are good.

Something you’re bad at: ANYTHING WITH NUMBERS.

Something you love: My family, hanging out, not a care in the world.

Something you could talk about for hours off the cuff: THE CLONES OF THE REPUBLIC. I WILL SPEAK AT LENGTH ABOUT HOW THEY DESERVED BETTER.

Something you hate: ANYTHING WITH NUMBERS.

Something you collect: I’m kind of embarrassed to say this, but I take screenshots of fanfics that I like so that I don’t have to scroll through dozens of media just to find it again.

Something you forget: A lot of things. So many things that I forgot how long the list is.

What’s your love language?: I don’t have a partner at the moment, but if I had one, I’d say small moments together and small gifts.

Favorite movie/show: Clue. It was the first true mystery classic that my parents introduced me to and still makes me laugh to this day.

Favorite food: Anything with pasta. Love me a bowl of noodles!

Favorite animal: Dogs. They’re too good for us, even though they (mine in particular) drive us crazy.

What were you like as a child?: Very very weird and naive. I said the weirdest things and thought they were the truth. Probably made my parents very concerned a few times.

Favorite subject at school: English or Art. I loved having an excuse to stare at paper for a while.

Least favorite subject: ANYTHING WITH NUMBERS.

What’s your best character trait?: Connect with me on my fixations, and I will be your friend for life.

What’s your worst character trait?: I hate to admit it, but I’m selfish. When I’m put in a situation, I’ll consider the other party, but I’ll also think about how I play into it.

If you could change any detail of your life right now, what would it be?: I’d be less dependent on others and more dependent on myself.

If you could travel in time, who would you like to meet?: Amelia Earhart. I’d like to meet the woman paved the way for women everywhere before she, you know, vanished off the face of the Earth.

Tag as many mutuals as you want! (no pressure): @littledudeholland @pixanefan @give-me-your-heart @mellow-lynx and whoever else wants to join!

Get to know your mutuals!

What's the origin of your blog title? When I was in middle school, someone told me "you dress so goth, but your personality is so happy. You're like a really cheerful grim reaper. A joyful soul collector." And that's been my username for most everything ever since!

OTP(s) + Shipname: Oooh, right now it's Jayvik, and tbh I can't think of another one, this is one of the first ships I've been really really into tbh. Other dynamics focused on my blog have actually been more platonic, like Irondad

Favorite color: Red!

Favorite game: Dungeons and Dragons! Both as a player, and DM!

Song stuck in your head: The Challenge - EPIC

Weirdest habit/trait? I download thousands of still frames of tv shows that I love so I can make memes out of them. But I have to sift through and delete all the pictures that are blurry or unnecessary, which takes hours. I think it's super fun because I'm autistic and really enjoy sorting stuff lol

Hobbies: Writing, playing DnD, making memes, and hanging out with my friends!

If you work, what's your profession? Not so much a profession lol, I work at a toy store. It's a part time job while I'm in college, studying to be a radiologist!

If you could have any job you wish, what would it be? Realistically? Radiologist. But ANY job I wish? Professional DM or Professional DnD player, like the people on Dropout or Critical Role haha

Something you're good at: I'm good at writing stories! I can write them well and write things that make people feel deep emotions, and I like that.

Something you're bad at: Recognizing when someone doesn't want help haha. I tend to try and fix things or help people when they just want to vent, and it ends up frustrating for both of us.

Something you love: I love stories. Any kind, I love so so many

Something you could talk about for hours off the cuff: My favorite shows and stories, my dnd campaigns and characters, my stories and ideas

Something you hate: Fascism. Bigotry. Willful ignorance. Fearmongering. Propaganda.

Something you collect: Dice!! I'm a dice goblin for sure haha

Something you forget: I often forget chores unfortunately

What's your love language? Physical touch and acts of service

Favorite movie/show: Ooh right now it's definitely Arcane haha

Favorite food: Sushi!

Favorite animal: Cats!

What were you like as a child? In a word? Unwell haha. I'm a good bit better now, still struggling with a lot, but better than I used to do

Favorite subject at school? English, I was always good at that class

Least favorite subject: Chemistry. I hate that shit so much lol

What's your best character trait? I think that I'm kind and willing to stand up for others

What's your worst character trait? I can be disrespectful to some types of spirituality unfortunately. It just doesn't make logical sense to me. I have two friends that are fully convinced that a cursed doll gave some youtuber testicular cancer. And I just can't see the logic or critical thought in that

If you could change any detail of your life right now, what would it be? Mmm. All of fascism shit is definitely damaging my calm so I'd love to change that specifically

If you could travel in time, who would you like to meet? Harry Allen. Google him he's a badass transgender cowboy

Tag as as many mutuals as you want!!

@sb-essebi @glitternightingale @blatterpussbunnyfromhell @captainhollowstories @kydrogendragon @misforvendetta @poetryinmotion-author @bocularteletheric @kai-ovillager @thatoneneuvichiliauthor @4amarcanethoughts @alexspearsxoxo @kotonni @buckybucananbarnes @kakesuwolf @martybaker @patheticjayce @sleepycrowhours @aixabi @up-the-bracket @snoopyviktor @emdashflower @humanshapedstress @hellsalore @juuzousmom @softandslow @fangirlshenanigans04 @batmans-attic @lvrstrsh @bluemoyai @tearexxwrites @bodyofvvater @lifeandeathepub @areesespiece @lancesblueazaleas @monaisme @milkywaysipper @carmendyy @tseecka @heazueken @tophat-69 @velocitychroma @prjctdiva @gremlinofchaos @ourvectorviktor @kenjinx @jxmimac @gh0stedvhampir @voxconcordia @arcaneheraldslawyer

ngl I tried to tag ALL my mutuals that I have, but this was how many it allowed me to do before it made me stop lol so here's as many as I could fit!

[sandu-zidian]

Im going away for a long time…

[necrotic-nephilim]

i personally have very complicated feelings on the Gotham Knights video game and the routes it takes with characterization. i think it has a charm to it and it goes in an interesting direction with everyone (especially within the confides of the plot of the game) but it does have certain moments that veer painfully fanon for me. (such as: the dialogue where Tim drinks too much coffee) it's an interesting story for what it is but i don't view it comics-based for characterization and therefore don't care to interact with it much for like. fanfic purposes.

that *said* though. i do have to give the game some kind of credit for giving one of the top five JayTim moments that lives rent free in my mind. every since i played the game, the cutscene lives in my mind daily. it's the specific cutscene where Jason and Tim are arguing about whether or not Jason's non-lethal bullets are too dangerous for the field, and the argument leads to TIm *standing in front of the target* Jason is shooting and telling Jason to shoot him. it lives rent free for me. i never stop thinking about this.

the absolute certainty Tim has that he is in no danger standing in front of Jason, who has a loaded gun pointed at his face. the way Jason *hesitates* for just a moment before lowering the gun. he thinks about it for just a second. Gotham Knights JayTim seem to get along very well and can rely on each other, but Jason still clearly holds a bitterness about his death and Tim that flickers through in some lines of dialogue under the guise of jokes. especially since this game deals *heavily* with concepts of Pit Madness causing an altered state of consciousness, i think it's believable that occasionally, Jason fights the urge to fight and hurt Tim for the feeling of being replaced.

i like their tension so much in this canon. they get along but you can *tell* Tim is afraid of addressing Jason's trauma or even addressing Jason head-on, and Jason leans into spooking Tim about it. which isn't very comics feeling in their dynamic, but it is an interesting way to place their dynamic if you're playing with a more timid Tim who's newer to the role of Robin. (which he seems to be in-game) he really doesn't want to offend Jason, or worse, piss him off. but he'll still face Jason head on for things like this, while completely aware of what Jason could be capable of.

and Jason seems very protective of Tim and respecting Tim as a Robin in typical Jason fashion. if Tim pushes, Jason *will* relent. he knows this is a kid who's proved himself and should be treated with equal respect, sometimes even more than Dick and Babs do in-game.

so for all that to culminate in Tim stepping in front of Jason's loaded gun that he *knows* is on the edge of being too dangerous, just to force Jason to listen? it's the most unhinged way Tim could've gotten his point across in this scene. he was literally daring Jason to hurt him and playing with a very dangerous fire. but he did it anyway bc he believed he could make Jason heel just at the thought of hurting Tim. and he was *right*. they're gay and i'm feral ty.

[hannahhasafact]

In honor of What We Do in the Shadows ending, here’s a bunch Guillermos from the many fancomics I never finished and will never finish ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿

[silveredlies]

Half truths and lies of omission were where he worked best. To twist something poisoned and corrupt so that it resembled beauty to be offered was a skill all on its own. There was no need for spells to charm of hypnotize save for some here and there when he had the power of words at his fingertips. Gaining desired information, turning others against their closest allies, stirring up battles in times of conflicts, all for his own gain. It was always nice that his hard work was noticed rather than those that bought in to a beautiful lie. Fools only bored him in the end. There were no true games if there was no challenge or perhaps he had simply become jaded in more ways than he thought. As for play acting, "Fior was smart to play along, though I am a little disappointed he knew already. I put quite a bit of effort in to that one. The necromancer boy, though...all it took was a drink. The Deathrunners leave a lot to be desired if they make someone so foolish their Underboss. I felt bad for him, truly."

To be brought into a lie so easily, there had been a touch of guilt when Mathias had left. Just barely, he had certainly done far worse in his long life. But now likely, his games wouldn't work any longer save for perhaps the bottom of the barrel folks. The ones ranked so low that they wouldn't be brought in to conversations of the Blood Witch. A true shame. Seeing the games come to their conclusion was always a bit disappointing but there were things to do before he found out what a deity could do to an insubordinate blood witch.

As he felt the small push towards himself, Corvinus wasted no time pushing back with his own aura of magic. Letting it seep through just slightly, pressing against the naga. But while the other radiated desire, his own was tainted with rage. Not towards Suresh, not right now, but often how his magic displayed itself. It was hatred and spite that allowed him to obtain his powers and still the powerful motivators that kept him going rather than secluding himself in his estate and watching the world fade away through the windows. But he was quick to pull his back and draw the small taste back into himself. They toyed with different weapons. "I think I'll just keep this one. Though it is adorable how keen you are to keep my jacket away. I'm not above self-maiming to get blood I need if pushed." Suresh had seen how quickly he had healed, there was no point pretending as if blood draw wasn't a tedious task. He felt the tail loosely wrap itself around his ankle though he didn't pull away. "Careful now," he gave a soft warning. The touch was fine so long as it didn't descend into violence and fighting again.

Still at the topic of the Nameless leader, Corvinus gave a sigh that was annoyed. As if it was a topic he didn't much care for. His lips pursed, leaning back into the couch with his arms stretched over the top and legs crossing. An image of openness and walls at the same time. His eyes moved to the windows, a long silence as he focused on the scenes down below. Fingers of one hand were tapping, dancing on the couch as though he were trying to come up with the perfect words. "...I'll grant you another trust," he finally spoke and attention rounding back to Suresh, "I said before you were the reason I came here. True in a way, but you weren't the one that initially drew my attention to the city. Just a happy perk." He thought about how far he should go, how careful to be. Whatever story he gave for the Nameless was a truth in a way considering where he was, so was the other. "I've been hunting while exploring the lovely city. The reason you haven't been able to reach the leader is because, well...he hasn't been here."

He'd been traveling, giving orders from afar, while gathering supplies and powers since his binding to the god. And trying to find a way to sever that same bond. "He came in to my country a few months ago. While I don't claim her lands, I ensure that my isles, my homeland, is safe. You wanted to know why I was here, I was drawn out. Forced into a game I had no intention of getting involved in to ensure me and my own are left alone. You want to know why I chose you three over the Nameless? You didn't interrupt my peace of mind. So I provoked, I taunted, all to create more noise to lure out what I wanted. Honestly, you lot did most of the work for me. And once I'm certain this is handled with the meeting, I will return home to my domain and continue my own works." Everything was stated so bluntly with that hint of annoyance on the topic. It was truths....though it was more the deity itself had lured and forced his involvement rather than any Leader in the shadows.

"I imagine he was still rather stuffy, even eighty years ago. Though an improvement over his predecessor." He listened and nodded, the reason why Callum as still alive was the one where their stories matched up the best. He survived simply because the Witch hadn't felt like killing him. But Corvinus' need to gloat was a delightful bit of petty that Suresh could understand. A sly smile breaking across his lips at the dog comment. However Suresh did have a healthy respect for Death, the Goddess and her chosen. Suresh didn't believe anyone, even Corvinus could outrun her indefinitely. Gold ophidian eyes drifted thoughtfully over the Witch's face. It was what he would do. Drop small seeds and hope the roots caused cracks... And the best doubts were plausible ones. Why would Callum lie about the reason behind the fight? What did it matter if he was following the charge of his Goddess? Suresh already knew how unhappy the Lightless Leader would be finding out how this exchange went between the Witch and him tonight.

The sly smile turned into a graciously amused grin, and the Naga shook his head. "Please. Take this as the compliment that it's meant to be. You are one of the most accomplished half-truth speaker I have ever met." Suresh shook his head, he was a prideful creature but he was careful and observant. Even while he played the total hedonist Suresh knew there was far more under the surface of Corvinus. He'd gotten a small peek behind the curtain and he had gotten a taste of how much was still hidden. Labyrinthian depths. "I heard you went play acting to a few others too... I hear everything... eventually."

Suresh relaxed a little, letting his body uncoil slightly. He had only glamoured his hands, not bothering with the rest of it. The talons were useful but they were just one small brutal piece of his arsenal. "The offer to replace the one I ruined is still there. But you do look nice in my shirt." His eyes drifted over his shoulder and chest, nodding, "I knew that one would fit you." Eternity was a long time to have to plan, to remember slightly, to hold grudges. Suresh slowly manipulated his little game board of the city, making moves that were designed to not pay off for a generation or longer. Position himself carefully in order to strike the quickest and best blow. The people that truly drew his ire he dismantled brick by brick. Methodical and cruel until all they desired was release from the misery. But it had been a long time since he'd felt the need to do that.

The feel of the warm hand in his own, electricity that he couldn't help jumping from skin to skin, it was just part of what he was, a soft pulse of desire. But nothing that couldn't be shrugged off by the Witch. Because yes, to touch someone that could ignore that soft current that drew people to him was lovely. Dangerous and alluring. His eyes watched as Corvinus brought Suresh's hand to his lips and kissed it. Terribly charming. And Suresh's eyes softened at the caress as he searched for the lie, for the flinch. The Naga wanted to tell him that he should fear them... but who was he to correct the other? A mischievous glint came into his eye as he drew his hand back. Letting them rest in his lap, golden nails tracing his own scales absently, "I have to confess, I haven't been that excited in ages..." He let his tail drift down and loosely curl itself around one of Corvinus' ankles. The Witch had accepted the hand, so why not push a little?

Listening to the Witch again it had that taste of truth enough. Missing pieces. What was one witch? The sentence made Suresh reguard Corvinus' thoughtfully before he answered, "Depends on the Witch..." The comment about the not being considered a god made the Naga shrug. "One cultures monster is another's god. Who knows? Maybe in another five hundred years someone will make a shrine to the Immortal Blood Witch and burn effigies to you?" Suresh's mind drifted back to his Advisor and the Lightless Emissary. So many coincidences... "Something I am curious about, where did you find him? You might be a wonderful lure but you had to post up somewhere to get his attention... And we've been attempting to reach out for a long while now... I simply must know, where was it?"

[orcelito]

I'm at the painful "confession" scene during the kage summit arc. It really is so emotional, but also... hm.

When I was younger, like 13 or so, I was a big Sakura and Naruto shipper. They were the first pairing I read fanfic for even. And in a way, I do still enjoy the two of them together... but it's moments like these that really drive home the fact that it Doesn't really work in canon. Not the way that it's set up.

As Sakura puts it, "Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke! That's all you think about!"

She's told that Naruto has feelings for her and decides to use it to convince him to stop going after Sasuke. She does love him, but not in the way she's trying to confess. The love they share is one of comradery, not necessarily romantic. The love of two people who have gone through such pain together, and who have leaned on each other throughout it all. And the fact that she's turning around and saying she loves him "simply like everyone else", now... it's trivializing. And the fact that she's trying to convince him of this, the fact that she thinks she Can convince him of this, is pretty hurtful. They've come a long way from when they were kids, Naruto the goofball vying for her attention while she yelled at him for being stupid. Sakura respects Naruto so much more than before, and Naruto respects her too. So the fact that she's still doing this... She's desperate, really. She thinks the promise he made to her to bring Sasuke home is what's driving him to let himself be hurt over and over and over again in the pursuit and protection of Sasuke.

But she's wrong.

That may be part of it, but it's only part. Naruto wants Sasuke back for himself, too. He let himself be beat up to avoid selling him out. He chases after him with single minded determination. Sasuke is his entire drive to get stronger, to catch up, to bring him home. Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke indeed.

As it is, Naruto knows she's lying to herself. And no matter what she says, he will keep going after Sasuke. Because that's just the person that Naruto is.

[cappurrccino]

i was gonna say "i shouldn't have to go to work when my brain feels like a depression slushie" and then i was like "wait but then i'd basically never ever go to work" and i'm actually doubling down on the first part now bc my god how am i supposed to heal my brain from burning out 5 years ago if i can never get an actual break

[deathsmallcaps]

I work as the person in an amusement park who watches the children who get lost. Here’s some advice. This also applies to any mentally disabled adults that are under your care. Keep in mind that many places will not look for a minor ages 13-17 unless it is close to closing or they are disabled, as corporate considers it a strain on resources and employee use.

1. Teach them your phone number. Best gift you can give them. I’m not supposed to have my phone out at work but I can cut down dependent’s being-lost-time by probably 400% if I can contact you. It also assures the children That We Are Doing Something and that They Are Helpful and Smart. If your dependent has a poor memory, apparently writing your phone number in sharpie and then covering it in nail polish makes it stay all day, even if they’re sweaty or getting in the water. I haven’t tested this but I’ve heard a lot of moms recommend it. I’ve also seen bracelets with little plates or the beads saying the phone number.

Addendum: your dependent may tell you that they know your phone number, but they actually only know your passcode. True story. This summer has been a lot better, but last summer exactly one child the entire season knew his mom’s phone number.

2. Acknowledge that dependent’s memories are faulty, especially in new places. If you tell them to meet you in X spot or that your stuff is all in Y place, they may not remember where it is or remember how to get there.

3. All dependents, but especially little ones, have shit time sense. They might find your stuff, wait there for a minute or two, and truly believe that they’ve been there for an hour. Half the small kids that are brought to me are ones who *know* where their stuff is, but haven’t seen an adult they know personally in 5 minutes, so they’re going to panic.

4. Don’t take naps!!! And don’t let your dependent go anywhere you can’t go or at least go where you catch them at the end!!! Yes you’re staring at the play structure your dependent entered, but can you see them? No? Then there’s a good chance they went elsewhere. So many of the littler kids that are brought to me are brought by genuine, good-hearted strangers who see lost children and take them by the hand. Away from the spot you’re napping in front of/staring vaguely at.

5. This might just be something from my work, but we will not call dependent’s descriptions over the loudspeaker. This is because if an asshole were to see your dependent, hear the description, know it’s a lost dependent, and decide to steal it, they can then use the excuse, “I know where your guardian is! Come with me!” And then lead them out of the park or toss the dependent over their shoulder. Do you know how many crying and screaming dependents leave the location every day? A lot!!! We’re a fun location!!! We’re not going to know if the dependent is screaming because they don’t want to leave or if a stranger is taking them away. We might call the description over the loudspeaker if it’s past closing time and the dependent still isn’t found. But before that, we will only report it over secure radios across the park.

6. Tell a park worker right away. Preferably someone with a radio. Even if you spot the dependent within the next minute, that means the dependent will have less being-lost time. Especially if we already have the dependent with, you guessed it, me. Also please tell us when you find the dependent.

7. Take a picture of your depdendent at the start of the day! That way security guards can have a good idea of what to look for. One mother told me her daughter was blonde and showed me a picture. Her hair color looked brown to me, but then I knew what to look for in the crowd.

8. Keep at least one person in your group in one spot at all times, especially if you don’t have access to your phone or forgot to give out your phone number to the guards. That way they can find you if they pick up the dependent. If you are the only person in your group, then PLEASE stay in one place or at least stay with ONE security guard. It sucks for the dependent if they can’t find you right away even if the both of you are looking for each other and a guard is helping them. You are NOT helping if you panic and run around. And keep your goddamn phone on you and answer calls from unknown numbers!!!!! God. This is a good time to do that.

9. If you lose your dependent in an attraction like the lazy river at a water park, and you have that ONE person staying in place, then this is what you can do with 1+ mobile people.

A. If only one person can be spared to be mobile, have them pick a spot and stay right there, watching the river go by. Eventually, if the dependent is in the river, they’ll go by.

B. If you have two people that can be mobile, both start at the same place in the river and go opposite directions. If you meet up again without spotting the dependent, well, they’re not there.

C. If you have more than 2 people, you can do B but also station different adults at the lazy river entrances/exits.

10. Don’t blame the dependent! Even if they ran away and/or are pissy that you’re upset once you all reunite, trust me, there’s a 99% chance they’re upset too. Yes, this is a good time to have a serious conversation with them. Yes, if this is a repeated problem, and/or you warned them you’d leave the park if this occurred, you should not back down. But also - they’re dependents. They’re not stupid, and they should be told consequences and dangers so they can make good decisions, but they will never have the adult/guardian perspective that you do. Be kind.

Also please for my sake teach them if they’re brought to someone like me, that it’s THEIR job to be safe and listen to me while us park workers look for you. It’s YOUR job to find the dependent, not the dependent’s job to find you. I had a six year old little girl genuinely toddler-howl at me because she wanted to go look for her mom. I’ve never before heard a kid her age howl like that. I can trick kids out of crying 9/10 times but howling came as a surprise lmao. I think I can manage it now that I’ve experienced it but damn.

Also make sure those kids are DRINKING. Being in a water park is NOT the same as drinking water. They should be drinking every 15 minutes at LEAST, I am NOT kidding.

Also if I call you to tell you your kid is here, please don’t call or text me back after you have the kid. I’m sure other places have phones for these types of things but the only one I have is my personal phone. And I am happy to get the kid off my hands and into your arms, but I’m using my personal phone so plz. Don’t call me back. Absolutely call me if you need directions to my ‘office’ in the park. Don’t call or text me after. I have stories about that hoo boy but this post is already long.