#not perfectly happy w the results but i think it turned out okay
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venturethighs · 1 month ago
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Day Seven: Creampie w/ AMAB!Canon Venture
This one is nice and fluffy because I think we all certainly deserve that! After all, who doesn't love a nice, happy Venture? Evil people. That's who.
Reader is gender neutral, just like last time! You're also a bit more of a top for this one!
No warnings! Everything is consensual and is safe to read! Written in head canon format.
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♡ You wake up to the sensation of something poking your thigh.
♡ At first, you easily shrug it off in your grogginess as nothing more than the blanket being folded in an odd angle. Or maybe an extra pillow that got tossed between the two of you.
♡ However, you find that every time you adjust yourself, the poking doesn't stop. You begin to grow frustrated from it.
♡ "What is that–?!" You sigh, reaching back towards your thigh before your hand nudges up against something... wet?
♡ "Gah– I'm sorry!" They squeak, completely embarrassed about their situation. "I didn't want to say anything!"
♡ Your frustration turns to light laughter.
♡ "Aww, is someone embarrassed?" You playfully tease them, nudging up against their clothed erection again as another squeak escapes their mouth.
♡ "N-no!" Their face is bright red. "Okay– um– maybe a little. Just– help me out, would you?!" They get a little forceful with their wording.
♡ Another giggle rises from your chest.
♡ "Okay! Since you're so adorable when you're all flustered." You smile, turning over to face them.
♡ Your hand makes its way into their boxers and begins to stroke their length. Every pump of your hand has them panting as little whines and whimpers reverberate inside their throat.
♡ You press up against them further and lock your lips against theirs, exchanging intimate affection as you continue working them up.
♡ You sense your body become warmer as a result of your shared heat underneath the covers as well as your growing arousal.
♡ Then, you feel their hand grasping at your ass as their erection throbs within your steady grasp.
♡ "Someone's needy!" You snicker, feeling their painted fingers massage the outside of your clothed sex.
♡ "S-shush! Just... keep going! Please?" They beg. "I– I need it..." They admit defeat.
♡ "Oh, sweet thing... let me give you some relief then, hm?" You sit up further and slip their boxers down to expose their lower half fully.
♡ You do the same to yourself, letting your underwear fall down to your ankles before you discard them somewhere on the bed, forgotten.
♡ You grind up against them for a moment to tease them further, and you're rewarded with more delicious sounding whimpers as their back struggles to stay flat against your shared mattress.
♡ Then, when you've decided that they're nice and ready, you grasp their cock in your hand and align it with your entrance. You slowly insert it within you, until all six inches are sheathed perfectly inside.
♡ You let out a soft sigh of content as your hips rock back and forth. Sounds of your pleasure echo alongside of theirs, albeit much quieter for now.
♡ You feel their fingers grabbing at your ass once again. They attempt to gather as much of your flesh as they can hold in their hands, not wanting a single part of you left untouched.
♡ Your grinding becomes nice and steady after a while, feeling them throb deep inside of you every so often as you grip down tight along their length to provide them the sensation they were so desperately craving.
♡ And every time you do so, you can't help but notice them choke up just a little.
♡ "Oooh– does someone like that?" You lean down and place a kiss to their lips before gripping them hard again.
♡ Their brain is utterly melted from the pleasure. "A–ah!!! Yes–!!!"
♡ You smile and exchange a few more kisses before leaning back up to increase your pace further.
♡ The orgasmic energy building inside your hips grows stronger with every movement– finding yourself intermittently bouncing and grinding down upon them as their sounds grow louder.
♡ "Mmh– I'm close! I'm sorry! I'm close!" They cry, a hand straying from your hips to between your legs to help you along as well.
♡ "It's alright! Just be good for me, Sloan Cameron." You reassure them. "Finish inside me~! I know you want to~!"
♡ Their heavy, unstable breaths become audible as sweat drips down their fawn colored skin.
♡ They involuntarily thrust upwards inside of you and you moan their name again softly as your hands linger on their chest.
♡ You don't count the minutes it takes– instead, you're heavily focused on chasing the same ecstatic high that they are. Every stroke of their fingers and grab of their hand has you shaking.
♡ They murmur your name as warm ropes of their semen are unleashed inside of you without remorse. Their head flies back down onto the pillow, utterly exhausted.
♡ It's almost as if the creampie itself was enough to send you over the edge at the same time. The idea of being finished inside of just excites you– and knowing it was them, of all people? You could hardly contain yourself.
♡ Despite how long you've been together, it still riles you up... and you'll never get tired of it... that much was guaranteed.
♡ Now it's just the two of you holding one another in the afterglow, them rubbing your back until you both inevitable fall asleep once more.
♡ And neither of you would have it any other way.
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sketchy-rosewitch · 2 years ago
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Disturbia: Bo Sinclair x f!pregnant!reader
Part 2
Part 3
Part 1
Warnings: None
A/N: oh we did our research babes. Also so sorry for the wait, was working on my two other fanfics too. But here it is!
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“We’re gonna measure that stomach of yours now, see how that baby is growing.”
You lay back and watch as the woman’s dark curls bounce behind her as Dr. Fredrick makes her way across the small room to grab a measuring tape. She rounds the bed.
“Okay, you have gotten this done before by other doctors but I just wanna reiterate for consensual purposes. I measure from the top of the pubic bone to your uterus. Is that okay?” The woman tilts her head a bit, you watch her kind brown eyes and smile.
“Of course.”
You watch as she pulls the measuring tape with zero slack. She smiles gently before leaning back up.
“Just as I thought, perfectly healthy, 24 weeks, 24 centimeters.”
You’re smile reaches from ear to ear, she helps you sit up and you hop off of the bed.
“You’re all good to go! Lab results will be in, in a few days so just call us back for those. You have a paper for foods for healthier nutrition and exercises, the number for the childbirth preparation classes, and your information for what preferences you have during birth. They’ll see you out front to schedule your next appointment. Should be four weeks from now and at that point we’ll check everything again and get your whooping cough vaccine okay?” Doctor Fredrick guides you out the door.
“Yes thank you so much. I really appreciate it.”
“Have a good rest of your day now.”
-
You watch as the clouds roll in and pull your jacket over yourself more as you walk back to Bo’s truck. He sits in the divers seat, thinking. At least you assume so by his hand being over his mouth and him looking in the distance leaning against the window.
Bo has been that way in the past month you’ve known him. Always thinking.
You open the door and get in the seat. Heavy metal plays in the background. Bo’s shaken from his thoughts. You buckle yourself in and smile. “Everything’s going good! I’m so happy! I mean I did get nervous a few times I know I hadn’t seen a doctor in two months but a lot can happen in two months of a baby growing!” You explain, you set your papers in your lap and fold your hands over them looking out the window.
“That’s good, glad your baby is doing alright!”
There’s a tinge of fake enthusiasm in his voice. You don’t think about it too much and try not to roll your eyes.
You just assumed Bo didn’t like to talk sometimes and that was okay. But also this past month he’s gotten into more of an attitude. Either that or your hormones are too much and you’re getting more emotional. Either way he should’ve been more considerate with you.
Though, you were staying with him and you’re under his roof. So you don’t say anything. You stay quiet about it anyways because of your baby. Something about Bo just screamed that he liked to argue and shout. Which arguing and shouting isn’t good for the baby. Which means you gotta stay quiet to not cause that.
“Gonna make lobster rolls tonight hope that’s alright with you.”
You nod your head.
-
“Did you have a good day at work? I forgot to ask today.” You walk up to the house, Bo directly in front of you holding his keys.
“Yeah, actually got a couple and their kids who stopped by. Husband helped me a bit while the wife and kids went to the wax museum. Dead battery.”
You nod.
“Good! I just cleaned up a little in the house. At least where I could reach. Then watched a bit of TV.”
The door opens. You smell cooked food and scrunch your brows. You and/or Bo didn’t leave something on the stove did you?
You peak around Bo and one man stands in the kitchen. Long dark hair, he looks to be the same height as him. The man’s head turns.
Both of you look startled at each other. He wears a mask and that scares you and this is a man you have NEVER seen before inside a house you’re staying in.
“Goddamnit Vincent! I told you I’d cook for you while she was here. Get!”
You watch as Bo swats the man away from the stove and you tilt your head in confusion.
Now where have you heard that name before. You scowl and follow Bo into the kitchen. You look at the masked man, the mask resembles Bo’s face and looks like it’s made of- WAX! The wax museum.
“You do the art in the House of Wax don’t you?” You ask looking up at him.
The waxy mask looks down at you and nods. You smile at him. “Well it’s very nice to meet you Vincent… have you been here this whole time?”
You look between the two brothers. Bo was now at the stove and you and Vincent sat between the pool table room and kitchen.
“Yes, we-I didn’t want to make you feel unsafe. Having a masked man walking around the house is normal for us. Not so much for anyone else.” Bo explains, you tilt your head and smile up at Vincent.
“Oh you wouldn’t have scared me. I’ve seen worse. I apologize for Bo having to keep you away. Where are you living?”
You walk to the kitchen table and gesture for Vincent to sit to the left of you as Bo always sits on the right. He sits down with a loud thud making Bo jump a bit. You let out a small laugh.
Vincent starts signing and you blink on confusion.
“Oh! I don’t know much ASL! Let me get some paper real quick. I’m so sorry!” You get up and grab a pad and paper that you started to keep in the kitchen for grocery lists and hand it to him.
He writes down one word: basement.
“Oh! I didn’t even know you had a basement. Don’t you get lonely down there?” You ask. Vincent shrugs.
“He’s- uh, always been more of a loner type ya know. Doesn’t really talk to people.” Bo chuckles a bit and tosses some buns in the oven. Vincent nods in agreement.
“Ah, that’s okay. My mama was like that too. Didn’t really talk to anyone, except my daddy and me.” You shrug.
Bo walks over and sets plates in each of your spots. Vincent immediately picks up his food and leaves. You stop him on the way out. “Before you leave, I just want to say that you don’t have to stay in the basement all the time anymore. I’m so sorry that I was the reason you couldn’t come up. This is your house after all. You shouldn’t have had to accommodate for me. I- I mean I never even told Bo to stop smoking even though it’s bad for my baby. Cause that isn’t right it’s not my house.” You explain.
“Just… thank you. I appreciate what both of you have done. Even if I didn’t know you existed Vincent.”
You look at his face with a gentle smile. He gives a quick nod and leaves, probably going into the basement again.
“If you needed me to stop smokin’ I could’ve sweetheart.” Bo says a little aggressively. You shrug.
“It’s not my place. I would’ve if you were in my home but you aren’t. I’m in yours it’s just not polite.” You explain again. Bo laughs a little.
“I mean I guess. But I’ll keep the smoking to a minimum ‘round you and the baby. I apologize for not doin’ so sooner.” Bo takes a bite of his food.
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
-
“Vincent why don’t you stay up here a bit. I mean Bo won’t let me go into the basement cause it’s dangerous but I’d like to watch you work on your art… not exactly a lot for a pregnant woman to do around here. Already organized all the rooms I’m allowed in.”
Vincent seems to hesitate. It’s not that he isn’t allowed upstairs for extended periods of time. It’s just that he hasn’t been for years and it almost feels wrong for doing that. He also hasn’t been watched by anyone when he makes his art.
Vincent doesn’t hate hovering and he knows you won’t do it but he’s so nervous. Then an idea sparks.
He nods his head finally and you smile. You’re still a novice at signing and understanding signs so he pulls out a pen and paper he decided to carry on him after you two met.
“Will you let me paint you?”
You take the paper from him, your eyes light up a little and you can’t help but smile bashfully.
“Oh! Of course!”
You feel Vincent’s energy spark up a little and he takes your hand guiding you to one of the chairs in the living room. He moves things out of the way and moves the chair up towards the middle of the living room. Vincent gestures for you to sit down and you do so.
He’s quick to leave the room and you look at your belly rubbing it as you wait. You wonder how Bo is doing. Recently you noticed he’s been getting up early and staying out late, so you don’t see him often. For two weeks you’ve been eating dinner alone and you wonder if it had to do with the baby and smoking. You hope not. You miss him so much and the little conversations you two had. He talked so much yet told so little.
But you enjoyed his voice so much, you enjoyed those small smirks and smiles, the way he’d take his hat off and run his hand through his hair, his face crinkling in focus whenever you would talk.
You sigh and frown a bit. You want to see him again.
Vincent is back up stairs after a few minutes, easel, canvas, and other paint supplies. He messily gets set up before sitting in a fold out chair that was sitting against the wall in the living room.
“You can talk.”
You smile. It’s like being back at the hair salon. Speaking of, you look at your hair and feel it before sighing. You really need to go.
“Well let’s see. What to talk about.. Well Jonsey and I took a nice walk around the property today. Just enough until I felt tired, wasn’t very long. Then we came back to the house and took a nap, she’s the best at snuggling!” You chuckle at the thought of the dog being near your stomach as you slept. Vincent nods in agreement.
“Yeah I love animals, I always dreamed of working as a veterinary assistant. It’s unfortunate I had to stop, but I might go back to school after the baby is grown a little. Gosh speaking of dreams I had a crazy one last night!”
You continue to ramble and rant for hours until your stomach grumbles. You look out the window and realize the sun is gone. “Oh! It’s probably around dinner time. Do you want me to make you something too? I mean you’ve been working hard on your painting and stuff I’m sure you’re hungry too!” You say getting up, you watch for Vincent’s reaction and he nods at you. He follows you into the kitchen.
You pull out a pan.
“I’m thinking grilled cheese and tomato soup. I dunno kinda feeling it for dinner. That alright?” You look up at Vincent. He nods his head as he opens the fridge to take some juice out for himself. He grabs a glass and pours some in then shakes the bottle at you. You shake your head buttering your bread and putting some cheese on the slices.
“No, just some water will be fine.”
You set the sandwich in the pan and go to grab a pot. The dishes cling against each other as you try and pull it out. Vincent grabs the milk jug and then pours you some filtered water (you bought it for yourself and the twins had been using it ever since). You take a can of tomato soup out of the pantry and crack it open, it falls into the pot with a ‘plop!’ You fill the can with milk and mix it with a spoon and pour that into the pot too before turning on the stove for it.
You flip over the grilled cheese. Vincent hands you the water and you take some sips of it leaning against the adjacent counter to the stove.
“Have you talked to Bo lately?” You couldn’t help but ask. Vincent shakes his head.
“Hmm, does he do this a lot?” You furrow your brows, a pit forms in your stomach.
Vincent nods.
You frown and sigh. “Well if you do see him. Don’t tell him I said this but, I do miss him. I dunno it’s silly. I haven’t even known him for that long. But he feels like a best friend to me. So do you of course!” You smile and flip the grilled cheese to check how it’s doing. You set that on a plate and start another one. “I know I say it a million times but I really don’t know what I’d do without you guys. I really don’t, I mean I could’ve been dead by now if it weren’t for you two deciding to take me in. I really appreciate it.”
Vincent gives you two thumbs up and you laugh. You go and grab two bowls from the cabinets, then two spoons from the drawer. You stir the soup and wait until it bubbles. You flip the other grilled cheese while you wait and cross your arms.
“I think I’ll make him lunch and bring it to him tomorrow. Only issue is I can’t walk from here to the gas station… Sorry to ask but do you think you can give me a ride?”
“Well I can give you a ride.”
You look at the kitchen entrance and see Bo. You smile gently at him. “Oh that’d be nice but I normally sleep later than you. I’d hate to keep you waiting or to have you come back up for me while you’re working.” You pour soup into two bowls and take the second grilled cheese and put it on a plate. You hand a bowl and plate over to Bo then take the other one and give it to Vincent.
“Well I’m sure-“
“Bo we’ve had this discussion before I don’t want to ruin you two’s routines cause of me, it’ll be fine. Actually I’ll just drive myself. It’ll be easier on both of you.” You conclude, setting another sandwich in the pan.
“Whatever.”
The night is silent after that. Bo finishes his meal and heads upstairs and Vincent finishes his but waits for you to finish yours. You set the stuff in the sink and before you have a chance to turn on the faucet and start the dishes Vincent points out the kitchen. You sigh and leave heading towards the living room.
You look at the easel in the living room and go around to look at Vincent’s painting. The sink starts running in the background as you observe what he drew and has so far painted.
You sit in a long lavender gown, it’s completely different than what you wear now (which was just some maroon dress and a black cardigan). Your holding your stomach and smiling with your head tilted. The shading wasn’t quite done yet but it was getting there. The painting was absolutely beautiful. You’d thank Vincent tomorrow and compliment him too.
Right now though, you’re too tired. You need to get to bed.
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mikodrawnnarratives · 7 months ago
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so.. You know the s3 ep 6 of She ra? Yeah what if something similar happened in the Renegades Trilogy universe that resulted in this perfect scenario of everyone being alive and happy and it is only a matter of time before the facade collapses.
I haven't thought too much about what would cause this to happen but for know let me cook as I think about what COULD happen in this sort of scenario.
Her parents and Evie are alive and Nova for a while would be perfectly content with that, and believe her families death and the following years after were just a weird dream. Something similar would happen to Adrian and others and it would take Adrian for Nova to realize it isn't real.
Nova and Evie would get to bond before things take a turn and Nova even would be able to sleep peacefully since, everything has been changed to be okay. Nova doesn't have her ability to stay awake 24/7 and Evie doesn't have her telekinesis (since that power came to her as a result of almost dying). Nova keeps her power to make ppl sleep and Evie would most likely still have asset perception since she was probably a prodigy w/that power before almost dying.
When the illusion crumbles, I play around with what if the characters that died begin to have their bodies return to their fate. And so, bring on the b l o o d and horror
Since Evie didn't actually die, Maggie would also go through her own complicated series of events of discovering that everything wasn't real and I think it would be interesting if she tried to make Nova stay when Nova would need to leave to stop the illusion of this perfect life. Stop whatever villain or force causing it with the rest of the heroes.
Maggie is reliving her origins and ofc freaks Nova out so she's trying to get out of there.
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ciaossu-imagines · 11 months ago
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So happy be see this blog active again! If you’re still doing the request memes can I ask for K, N, and W for Yamamoto Takeshi for the nsfw one?
And I'm so happy to be active again! Thank you so much for the sweet compliment and for sending in the request. I am still doing this meme and I hope you'll enjoy; as always, smut under the cut!
K(ink): one or more of their kinks
Okay, I feel horrible because this is probably going to come off as incredibly shamey and rude towards this lovely anon, but I've answered this question for Yamamoto so many times over the years, in so many ways, that getting asked about his kinks is something I could happily live without for the rest of my days as a writer…and again, anon dear, it's nothing wrong with what you asked and I'm not upset at you for asking it, I've just answered it so much that I can't come up with much new for it and feel horrible and guilty because a lot of this is going to be repetitive or samey, I worry, for anyone whose been following my writing for any length of time and has read prior nsfw headcanons for Yamamoto.
Anyway, let me start by reiterating that Yamamoto is very open sexually speaking, to exploring and trying new things. He likes to experiment and takes the view of, in everything, you won't know if you like something unless you give it a try. So he's more than willing to indulge his lover's kinks and explore both his and their sexuality and boundaries and likes and dislikes. At the best, it will end up resulting in fun and pleasure for either him or his partner and at worst, one or both of them has learned that something just isn't for them.
Yamamoto also grew up in the age of easily available porn and I think he was really exposed to a wide variety of kinks and fetishes because of that, which did form some of his curiosity about trying out multiple things sexually.
However, I will say that Yamamoto's kinks are all almost entirely porn-based. He has few kinks and fetishes that he needs a partner to be willing to do or must have in his own sexual life. A lot of his fantasies he does keep to porn, especially as some of his kinks are not things he would actually want his lovers to experience, such as gangbangs, glory holes, orgies, and creampies.
He's open to anal play, both on himself and a partner. He's open to BDSM and is a switch. He's open to semi-public sex, though he does draw the line at actually being watched or there being more than a 50% chance of him and his partner actually getting caught. He likes the thrill of the risk, but doesn't want the consequences, if that makes sense. Really, there is very little that Yamamoto will not be open to.
N(o): something they wouldn't do, turn-offs, etc.
Which leads us perfectly into this next question. There are a few things that are hard no's for Yamamoto.
Yamamoto does not like sharing his partner. It feels too close to cheating, and I see him very much as someone who is not willing to cheat on his partner, no matter how tempted he might be. It's the ultimate sign of disrespect to him. He might be open to trying a threesome, either with another male or another female, but it would likely be something he experiments with with someone he isn't really all that serious with, or he might be willing to experiment with it if he and his partner were in an agreed-upon and happy polyamorous relationship, but it would be a very, very rare thing, more something to experience once. He's not into watching his partner be with anyone else, so cuckolding and swinging are also very much no's for Yamamoto.
Also very much a hard no is violent or outright degrading sex. He doesn't even need to try it because it instinctively raises a lot of very strong nope type feelings in him. Sex and violence are two opposite ends of the spectrum to him. Even if his partner makes it clear that they are okay with it, he cannot bring himself to engage in something he feels is him actively disrespecting or abusing his partner. It doesn't sit well in his mind and if his mind is unhappy, it is going to be impossible for him to not only enjoy the sex, but physically perform.
Now, the others aren't so much hard no's for Yamamoto as much as they are things he's really not turned on by and that can, in fact, turn him off. Shower sex is actually surprisingly on this list. It's awkward, dangerous, freezing cold for at least one of the partner's and just not as much fun as it looks. He will have tried it but it really goes beyond just not being something for him into an active dislike on his part.
I will say, despite liking some dirty talk and enjoying the sounds and such of a partner, someone who is super vocal, really loud, or an outright screamer in the bedroom? Huge turn-off for Yamamoto as it always pulls him right out of the moment and feels really fake.
W(ildcard): get a random headcanon
Now for the wildcard…Yamamoto is someone who actually gets hornier the more stressed out he gets. When he doesn't have a release for that horniness and sexual frustration, he just gets more energy than usual, almost gets the zoomies and burns it off through physical activity. It's just a weird quirk with him though, that the more stressed he gets, the higher his libido gets.
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whumperfully · 2 years ago
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Can't Breathe
Masterlist
CW: drowning, manhandling, recorded torture, humiliation, creepy whumper
Also marks off my bthb:grabbed by the hair
"And since you decided to be a little rebel, he's going to be taking your place."
The man grabbed him by the hair again and, with one hand angling the phone camera at his face, dragged him to the other side of the bed.
Matt blanched when he saw the water-filled bucket getting closer. "No no no... please no!"
The scream didn't make it out as his head was pushed underwater.
For the first few seconds, Matt thought he could take it. Back during middle school swimming lessons, he always used to win the breath-holding competitions. Aside from the uncomfortable position and the hand ready to rip his hair out, it couldn't be that different, right? Right?
He held up well for a full minute- counting it in his head. Right as his chest began to tighten, he was pulled out, a sharp pain in his scalp.
Before his frantic breaths could fill up his lungs again, the hand twisted his hair, forcing his head down again into-
"Please-"
-into the water again.
I can take this. I can take this. I can take this. I can take this- His chest tightened again. His lungs begged for even the tiniest bit of relief. He couldn't take it anymore-
Once more, the hand pulled him out, letting him take not even a full breath before-
"No-"
-pushing him under again. He wanted to breathe. He wanted to breathe. He knew he couldn't underwater but he wanted to- he had to- Or he was sure he'd die. But he couldn't. It would only make it worse. It would only make it worse. It'd only make it-
He was pulled out of the water again, ready. He took the biggest breath he could- but maybe he wasn't ready. Drops of water entered his throat through his nose- the wrong way. He was about to cough but-
"Sto-"
-into the water he was forced to go again. His mouth opened involuntarily, trying to cough out anyway- but he somehow ended up with more water in his throat and shit it burned. His throat burned. His nose burned. He had had enough. He wanted out out out outoutoutoutoutoutout please-
He was pulled out of the water again and in a split second- shoved back down.
No no no no no please. His mind shouted. His insticts won against his fear and, grabbing the edge of the bucket, he began pushing against the grip in his hair with all his might. Anything anything to get some relief.
Yet the fingers in his hair only twisted and turned, the grip tightening further to shove him deeper underwater. His nose hit the bottom of the bucket, his shoulders and back ached with the awkward angle. Finally, his hands slipped out, making him fall in deeper.
He just wanted to breathe... breathe... breathe... just one breath... please...
He could practically feel his consciousness slipping out from his hands before finally finally he was pulled out.
He bagan to cough as his head hit the ground, the man throwing him to the side.
"Aww! Aren't you a little baby!" A distant voice cooed.
Matt covered his face with his arms, curling up into a ball and coughing up water he didn't even knew he inhaled.
"I want you to look at the camera, darling. Wouldn't you wanna beg your brother to help you out?" A boot nudged his arms.
"Please..." He buried himself deeper in. "I just wanna go home."
"Perfect!" The camera shut off. "You're so lovely, darling." The man crouched down beside him. "That should make a nice trailer for him."
As fingers locked in his hair again, Matt let out an involuntary scream- "NO! PLEASE!" -quickly coughing and breaking down into shaking mumbles. "Please please please no. Please-"
"Take your arms off your face, honey. I wanna see it."
As soon as Matt reluctantly slipped them off, he heard the sound of a photo being clicked. Through his blurry tearful eyes he saw a phone hovering above him, the man's mouth twisted into a sick grin.
"Ah! Perfect again." The man pocketed the phone, smiling to himself.
Matt squeezed his eyes shut, more tears slipping down his cheeks.
"A- a- a- be careful now, boy." A thumb slid beneath his eyes. "You need to save some of those for later too."
Taglist: @whumpsday @rabbitdrabbles @whumpycries (lmk if u wanna be added or removed)
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ptergwen · 4 years ago
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sensation
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w/c: 4.6k
warnings: some swearing, suggestive tings, and a pretty bad ending
summary: it’s the last night of your world tour, and tom has the perfect way to celebrate
a/n: i know y’all have been waiting for this one! everyone really loved when worlds collide but i ran out of ideas for it lol sorry... anyways my solution was to turn it into a oneshot :D based off the au!! i’m honestly nervous about posting this cuz a lot of you asked for it and i don’t wanna disappoint but i tried my absolute hardest to make it special <3 please enjoy
-
“thank you so much! we love you!” you shout to the audience, laughing breathlessly when they shout back. one of your dancers pulls you into a side hug, you throwing your arm around his neck. “we’re so fucking lucky you chose us, that you came all the way here. i’ve seen some of you back at night one. wow.” your voice gets wobbly, thinking about how loyal your fans are.
the tour started in new york, and they’ve followed you here to london.
tonight is an emotional night for everyone. you’re about to wrap your last show before you continue again in the summer. touring the u.k. has been a dream, and you’re just as thrilled to travel the rest of the world after your break. it’s bittersweet because you’re going to miss the hell out of your crew and the millions of lovely faces you’ve sang to each week. but, you do get to spend your time off with a special someone.
he’s watching you from the sound booth, sending fond smiles and loud cheers your way. thanks to you, tom has been at every show you’ve played in england. he brought harry along this time because he’s also a fan and wanted to see you. well, tom is more than a fan at this point. you’d say he’s more of a boyfriend. you haven’t discussed labels just yet.
your dates have mainly been over facetime, since you live on opposite sides of the world with insane schedules. a heartthrob actor and international popstar is quite the combination. you’ve only seen each other in person a couple of times, the first being pretty recently.
zendaya brought tom along to hang out with you in los angeles. he happened to be there recording some lines for a movie. she saw your concert earlier that night and invited him to crash the dinner plans you’d made, resulting in the best surprise and most fun you’ve ever had. the other time you enjoyed each other’s company was one weekend in paris. that was... something.
besides those two miracles, everything between you and tom happens through a screen. you’ll down bottles of champagne or keep warm under blankets while talking about your days. it’s nice, having someone on the other end who listens and actually hears you. tom gets it. you both do.
finishing your tour in london is convenient because not only will you have tom to comfort you, but you get to stick around for a while. he’s invited you to stay at his place. you can’t wait to meet the other holland’s, his friends, and obviously tessa.
“fuck, i’m gonna cry. i’m already crying,” you announce to the crowd, though they can tell from the tears streaming down your face. more dancers huddle around you and turn your single hug into a group one. you’re laughing and sobbing and holding on tight to everyone. fans bawl their own eyes out, the fact that this is it starting to settle in. the onstage crew even gets choked up, seeing you like this.
tom pouts from where he’s watching. he wishes he could run up there and squeeze you tight, but he’ll have to save that for when you’re done.
“i love you all so much, literally every single one of you in this room,” you tell everyone for the nth time tonight, swiping a perfectly manicured finger under your eyes. “my lighting crew, sound crew, my band, my fearless fucking dancers-“ a hiccup cuts you off. people burst into fits of giggles, which is a much needed tension breaker. you adjust your headset so the mic doesn’t pick up any other bodily noises.
grinning, you rest your arm on a shorter dancer’s shoulder, then go on. “sorry, sorry. i just wanna say, like, three more thank you’s before i get out of here.” there’s a chorus of no’s and encouraging whistles at the mention of you leaving. you blink back more tears to delay the breakdown you’re going to have. “thank you to my friends who always show up for me.”
with a knowing smile, you glance over at tom. “and, thank you to my more than a friend.” he smiles back, both hands held over his heart. harry elbows him in congratulations. more screaming erupts from the crowd as they realize where you’re looking and who you’re looking at. this will be sure to spark some headlines. whatever, you’re used to trending on every possible social media platform by now.
“this is the big one,” you preface, taking in a breath while everyone quiets down again. “thank you to you guys. for trusting me, for caring about what i have to say in any way. i feel your love. i really do, and i hope you feel mine.” your fans yell that they love you back, dancers gently swaying you side to side, emotions on high. there’s one last song, and it’s over.
“this has been the sensation tour, and i’ve been your host. was i good?” you try to lighten the mood, earning a bunch of what sound like positive shrieks. the earpiece you have in makes it hard to tell. “y’all were even better.” exchanging looks with your dancers, you pull out of the hug so you can get to your mark for the finale. they follow your lead. music comes through the speakers.
“i’ll see you again soon, okay? i promise. here’s sensation,” you introduce the song, immediately bursting into more tears. it’s torture to say goodbye. thankfully, you have the most incredible fans on earth, so they sing along with you at the top of their lungs. that includes tom and harry, your ultimate stans.
when the show is over, you run right off stage and over to tom. he’s waiting on the side with actual heart eyes for you. you practically leap into his arms, a hand cradling the back of his head, both his arms draped low and tight around your body.
“you were so amazing up there! absolutely smashed it, darling,” tom breathes out. his face is smushed between your neck and mostly bare chest. “thanks, tom. seriously, thanks for being here tonight and every other.” you smile a tired smile and wind your other arm around his neck. he presses some light you’re welcome kisses to your skin. “mm, thanks for having me. how’s it feel to be done?”
you sigh, fingers running through his curls. “like the biggest relief, and also really sad.” you’re such a mess that you could cry again on the spot. tom senses it and lifts his head up to see if you’re alright. “super depressing,” you surprisingly reiterate without the waterworks. “i know the feeling. you’ll be back soon, though. you said it,” he murmurs, a grin on his lips as they brush against the corner of yours.
you’re about to kiss him properly, then one of your dancers comes up to you. you’d forgotten that there are still stage managers and security everywhere, too. you get completely lost in tom whenever you’re together.
“you killed, babe,” coco greets you, linking your arm in hers. tom takes the hint and lets go of you. he watches on with a smirk. “nah, you murdered,” you send the compliment back and bite your lower lip. “i dunno, i feel like someone murdered me!” there’s coco with her dramatics. she’s genuinely hilarious, your shared sense of humor playing a huge part in your friendship.
she brings your free hand to her heart. you gasp at how fast it’s going. “that shit is really beating, coco. are you, like, okay?” “probably not. it was the freestyle that got me.” coco went a lot harder than usual tonight, since it was her last big dance break for a while. she puffs air from her cheeks and nods to tom. “this your man?”
“yeah, you could say that. i’m tom,” he answers, holding out a hand for her. “coco.” she pulls it like you would in a handshake. you beam at them, one of your best friends and unofficial boyfriend finally meeting. “sounds promising. i approve,” coco mutters to you. bumping your hip into hers playfully, you take one of tom’s hands in both of yours.
“aw, we have your blessing or something? your permission?” you coo and get a push at your shoulder from coco in return. tom chuckles, his thumb running over the back of your hand. “no! i was gonna say you should bring him out back,” coco clarifies, like it was obvious. you’re not sure what she’s on about. “uh, what’s out back?” you question. “an axe?” tom teases.
coco gestures to the nearest exit. “we’re having a little goodbye party in the parking lot. fire pit, snacks. remember?” nope, you’d completely forgotten. the idea first sounded like the perfect way to end your night, so you agreed to go. that was before you were dripping sweat and mentally exhausted. now, all you want to do is unwind with tom and tom only.
the superstar life is one you’re happy to lead, just not at this exact moment.
“i do now.” you muster up your most apologetic smile for coco, tugging on tom’s hand. “i’m sorry, co. i think we’re gonna pass.” her jaw drops. you’re never one to skip these things. “aw, for real? it’s our last night!” tom threads his fingers through yours while you talk. “bro, we’ve been together for almost a whole year,” you laugh out, nuzzling your cheek into tom’s chest. “get sick of me.”
“never,” coco deadpans. she catches you gazing up at tom, relaxing as his arms hug your middle. she’s known you long enough to tell what’s a fling and what’s real love for you. this is something special, and she can’t get in the way of it. she’ll let you navigate this yourself. “ok, just for tonight. you’ll text me?” coco gives you a real smile, raising an eyebrow at tom. he gathers that’s a good thing. he’s in.
“mhm. maybe we can hang out tomorrow,” you agree and let your eyes flutter shut. all that’s keeping you up are tom’s strong arms. “tell everyone i love them.” “i think they know.” coco shakes her head lightheartedly. tom laughs at her. “be good,” she tells him and means it, rubbing your back on her way to the lot. that leaves you and tom alone at last.
custodians are cleaning up the arena, fans are piling out, and you’re clinging to tom while his steady heartbeat grounds you. this is the only after party you need.
“harry’s got the car when you’re ready,” tom mumbles, tucking a piece of damp hair behind your ear. you loop your arms around his torso with a hum. “i was kinda wondering where he went.” “yeah?” he gives you a small smile. “gotta ask what he thought... of the show.” yawns are creeping past your lips, tonight’s events catching up to you.
“i like feedback from the fans, or stans,” you elaborate in your sleepy state. tom uses his fingertips to tap your temple. “what about me? i’m your biggest.” “i’ll, um, follow up with you later.” your words are slurring. “right now, home.” warmth spreads throughout tom’s entire body, his house becoming yours for a bit. “your chariot awaits,” he affirms before helping you to your dressing room.
after collecting your things, you follow tom out to the car. harry is in the driver’s seat, and you two slip into the back. he exchanges a look with his brother through the mirror while you settle on his shoulder. you’re hugging his bicep, his lips pressing to the side of your head.
“thank you for driving,” you speak softly to harry. he starts to pull out of the spot with a nod. “no problem. get to say i was y/n y/l/n’s chauffeur.” tom clicks his tongue even though harry is joking. you snicker at his remark, joking back. “you want the job? better be a five star ride, then.” your banter brings yet another smile to tom’s face. his family is everything to him, so seeing you get along so well means the most.
“right, right. did you have a good time?” harry wonders, twisting to see behind him while he turns around. he also peeks at you snuggled up to tom before facing forward. “great, actually. did you?” you check, the grin clear in your voice. harry goes into full stan mode. “no shit! you were brilliant, y/n. god, every note was just like how you did it the studio.” he’s raving, which is much appreciated by you.
“good answer.” tom shoots his brother a wink. “‘s that what you wanted to hear?” he asks in reference to your conversation earlier. your response is a kiss to his shoulder. “yay. i’m happy you liked it, harry.” he buzzes with excitement, having his favorite artist care what he thinks.
not much is said for the rest of the drive. tom and harry make some hushed conversation about golfing this weekend while you struggle to stay awake. they’re obsessed with that damn sport. it’s honestly nice to see, that tom has something he likes to do when he isn’t shooting hollywood’s biggest movies. your free time will finally give you the chance to discover other hobbies.
you stumble out of the car upon arriving to the boys’ place, a backpack on your shoulders and tom’s hand held tight in yours. you’ve got only a few essentials with you for tonight. the rest is on the tour bus, so you’ll gather it after your hangout with coco. besides, everything you need at the moment is right here.
“home sweet home,” tom announces as harry unlocks the front door. his words bring a tired smile to your face. “finally,” you exhale, keeping your fingers laced with tom’s and following the two of them inside. “i could show you around a bit, give you the grand tour. or-“ tom stops talking, feeling your weight on him. harry huffs at how oblivious his brother is.
“mate, she’s falling over. save it,” he suggests and kicks the door shut lazily. you’re done in. you’ve been having to lean on tom since the show ended. “another time, then,” tom mumbles, securing his arm around your waist. “there is one thing i wanna see.” your voice is low, body curled into tom’s side. he raises an eyebrow. “and that is?” “your room.”
tom takes that in a suggestive way, like he does most things. “we’re getting right to it, are we?” he questions, harry gagging and you nudging his arm with your head. “not like that, dummy. ‘cuz i’m sleepy.” there’s a beat of silence. “ask me again in-“ “wow, look at the time!” harry interrupts so he doesn’t have to hear the details. he’s sure he’ll witness enough after it happens. “off to bed i go! goodnight.”
he rushes to get to his room, yelling out, “great show, y/n!” on the way. “thank you! night!” you call back, tom letting out a sigh. “div of the century,” he says under his breath. “must run in the family,” you playfully retort. that gets you a firm poke at your side. “where’s everyone else?” you glance up at him. there should be two other idiots and a lovely, furry lady running around.
“tuwaine’s gone to the pub, harrison’s filming late, and tess is at mum and dad’s,” tom fills you in, grabbing your arm and draping it around his middle. doing him one better, you hug him with both. you squint in confusion about the last part. “they watch her when i’m out,” tom answers your unspoken question. “ah,” you nod, then deflate ever so slightly. “i wanted to meet her, though. the other boys, too.”
tom smooths the pad of his thumb over your cheek. “you will, darling. it’s only for tonight.” he kisses the same spot reassuringly. “we’ve got loads of time.” “yeah, we do,” you agree, instantly cheering up and letting your head fall onto his chest. “now, where’s your room?” “just upstairs. you need some help getting in?” he’s only playing around, but you accept, tightening your arms around his neck.
“show me the way,” you beam at him. “happy to.” tom wiggles his eyebrows, you jumping up. your legs wrap around his waist, his arms holding you against him. with a satisfied hum, you squish your face into his insanely soft shirt. “what a diva,” tom sarcastically complains while taking you to the staircase. “doesn’t even say please. no manners from this one.”
“you try dancing in six inch heels for two hours,” you shoot back, patting the side of his neck. he moves one hand down to your thigh for a better grip. you’re nearing the top of the stairs. “think i’ll leave that to you,” he decides and squeezes your thigh. “look at me, carrying the whole music industry.” your face easily gets hot and your words turn to murmurs. “shut up. you should listen to other songs.”
you’re on the second floor now, tom going for the first door. he frowns at his rejected compliment. “no, i like yours. they’re my favorite.” “really?” your muffled laugh sounds from his chest. “what was the first thing i ever said to you?” he asks, a toothy grin on him even though you can’t see it. you recall the faithful night he slid into your dms while he carries you into his room.
he’d tripped over his words somehow, the fangirling fool. before that, he tweeted to the whole world that he wanted to see you in concert. it was a huge thing, and people were freaking out about it, even more so when your online interactions became routine. that’s nothing compared to where you are now.
you’re currently living with him and basically dating. possibly, in love. the base of it all really is your music.
“that you love me.” you pause for the ellipses. the corners of your lips turn up. “but, you really meant to say my work.” “both apply.” tom passes that off like it’s a side comment, carefully laying you down on his bed. you look up at him with a curious glint in your eyes. “what does that mean?” his cheeks flush, and he bites back the smile that’s growing. this was supposed to go... differently.
you sit up, breathing out a laugh at tom’s boyish behavior. he’s precious, truly. “you do love me?” those three words will change everything if he says yes. he takes both your hands in his and holds them between you two. you meet his doe eyes. “yeah, y/n/n. i do.” so, you were right. “i love you... and, that wasn’t how i planned on saying it.” signaling for him to elaborate, you tilt your head to the side.
tom sits down next to and faces you before continuing. “it was supposed to be romantic, right?” he rolls his eyes up to the ceiling, annoyed he ruined this. “candlelit dinner, flowers, that sort of thing. seems more fitting for the occasion.” you shift closer to him until your knees are touching. your face is lit up, voice dropped to almost a whisper.
“since when do we do things the way we’re supposed to?” you point out and set your hands on his shoulders. “we’ve gone straight from online dating to me moving in. that’s usually not how it works.” tom chuckles lowly. his own hands find their place on your hips. you’re so good with words. then again, you are a singer. “guess you could say we’re, um, spontaneous,” he agrees, fingers drawing circles on you.
you and tom have explored some of each other’s most intimate places, yet you’ve never shared a moment quite like this. it’s like meeting him for the first time again. he’s too tongue tied to spit out what he wants. you somehow know, anyway. what you cherish most about your relationship is that you two completely and totally understand one another, on every level.
“tom?” you speak quietly, butterflies filling up your body. “hm?” he hums back. this is one of those moments where it all just clicks. “i love you. i really, really love you.” you giggle out of the pure happiness that consumes you, tom joining in your laughter. “i love you, too.” he sounds like he’s said it a million times and he’ll say it a million more. he leans over so his forehead rests on yours. “really, really love you.”
your warm breath hits his face, eyes darting from his own to his lips. “i want you to be more than...” you trail off, unsure of how to phrase it. “more than... more than a friend?” tom pokes fun at what you said during the show. there’s less and less space between you with every second. “you mean, like, a boyfriend?”
“exactly. be my boyfriend,” you all but demand. you’re half asleep and desperate to be able to call him yours already. “bossy, bossy, bossy,” tom chastises, swiping his thumb across your bottom lip. how he goes from being shy and giddy to the cockiest person alive in minutes, you’ll never know. “please?” you throw in to sway him. your hand locks with his, slowly moving it off your face.
you run your tongue over your teeth. “at least kiss me.” “you don’t have to ask,” tom breathes, lips now ghosting over yours. “i was going to.” true to his words, he closes the microscopic gap between you, you pushing forward against him as you kiss back. your first kiss in love. his lips taste like the chapstick he always uses, and he moves them softly.
he places a hand on your knee, you opening your mouth so he can have access to it. instead, a yawn exits. tom pulls back with a breathy laugh. “you must be exhausted, yeah? let’s get you to bed.” he pecks your lips once more. “my girl needs her beauty rest.” that confirms your relationship. you scrunch your nose and grin wide. “and, she’s gonna get some with her boy.”
you’re reminded of how sweaty you are when you catch a whiff. “oof, wait. do you think i can take a shower first?” you grimace, fanning at the air for emphasis. tom uses the tip of his nose to nudge yours. “absolutely. need help in there, too?” he’s not asking in that way, only so nothing happens. the hospital wouldn’t be the most pleasant place to spend your break. plus, he doesn’t want to be without you too long.
“you know what? yeah.”
that’s how you end up intertwined under the hot water, letting it cascade down your back as tom hugs you close to him. you sigh in content and tangle your fingers in his fluffed over curls. you’ve learned that he’s super into having his hair played with. it’s endearing, how he instinctively leans into your touch, eyes closing as you tug on the roots.
he drops his head down to kiss your shoulder, dragging his lips to your collarbone in a way that tickles. they land on one of your breasts next. there isn’t anything sexual about it, only loving. just in case he gets too excited because it’s not uncommon he does, you gently put a finger to his lips. tom takes the hint and lets up. you continue combing through his wet hair while you step out of the water.
“do you ever sing in the shower?” he questions, drawing your naked body in closer to his. “sometimes, yeah. i honestly feel like i sound better there,” you admit and slide your hand down to the nape of his neck. tom’s tongue darts out to lick his lips. “not true. you sound beautiful everywhere, and don’t fight me on this one.” he smirks in satisfaction, you groaning at your loss.
“i really enjoy hearing your voice when it blares through an arena, though,” tom keeps buttering you up. you shake your head and settle both arms around his neck. “man, i just love you so much.” “i love you, sweetheart,” he murmurs back, you switching places so he can give his hair a final rinse. you watch him and his glowing body, admiring the sight.
“what a sensation you are,” you say mostly to yourself, which doesn’t stop him from hearing. “i see what you did there.” he eyes you while you do the same to him. your arms still around his neck pull him back to you. “tommy? do you sing in the shower?” you meant to ask him before, then he started throwing all those compliments at you.
tom scoffs, walking you back so you’re against the wall. “i don’t sing anywhere.” “what?” you gasp and put a hand on his chest. “you’re lying, you have to be. wasn’t billy elliot a musical?” he narrows his eyes at you as he tries to gage where you’re going with this. “that i did a decade ago, and way before puberty. couldn’t sing a word without cracking after that.”
your mouth is left hanging open in shock and disappointment. you bet he has a nice voice, and he’s downplaying it. “y/n,” tom begins, cupping your jaw with his palm. “since we’re living together now, there’s a lot you’re going the learn about me. good things, weird things.” he shrugs casually. “this is one of the weird things.”
“only because you make it weird! come on, let me hear you,” you request and wrap a leg around his waist. you’re giving him a hopeful smile. “god, no. you’ll hate it,” he almost laughs, a hand on your thigh. “i’m literally a singer. how could i hate something i love?” you refute, batting your lashes at him. “especially when someone i love is doing it.” “i love you, too. but, i’m not.” he’s quick to shut you down.
“drop a bar!” you try to coax him, which he already has a comeback for. “you first.” “i can’t. my throat is all scratchy from earlier,” you lie. tom presses his lips into a line, feigning pity. “aw, you know what’ll make you feel better? tea. i’ll go get you some.” he turns to shut the water off, so you grab his shoulders. “no, the steam is working. you can stay.”
“love,” tom addresses you in a warning tone that you can’t take seriously. he can’t either, a giggle escaping him. “my voice is shit. ask anyone, and they’ll tell you.” “i won’t believe them,” you hum, pushing back curls sticking to his forehead. “sounds like you just have stage fright. we can work on that, though.” “how?” he tightens his arm around your middle.
“i’ll bring you on for my next show. we’ll do a little duet.” you’re joking, though that would definitely be interesting to see unfold. “uh, never. what happened to you being tired?” tom cleverly deflects and digs his fingers into your side. you look down in defeat. “i forgot about that.” “yeah, yeah. no, seriously. we should really get to sleep, y/n/n.” he’s back to his sweet, attentive self. “‘s been a long night.”
giving in with a nod, you capture his lips in yet another kiss. tom never gets tired of them, and neither do you. you break it after a few seconds, lips lingering on his as they detach. “carry me?” you ask again, not caring how whiny you sound. tom presses a quick kiss to your forehead. “oh, you’re adorable. of course.”
well, you’ve found something to keep you occupied until the next leg of tour. you’re going to discover the many layers your intriguingly unusual boyfriend has.
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my-soul-sings · 3 years ago
Text
kiss the girl: ch 2
Fandom: Tears of Themis Characters: Artem x Reader
Summary: Armed with a trusty book, Artem Wing attempts to win the woman of his dreams.
ch 1 | ch 2
*** 
“Surprise her with flowers.”
Artem has skipped to the second half of the book where the practical suggestions are, because he doesn’t have the patience to carefully read the lengthy explanations of the “psychology of love”. The practical tips are simple enough, but the explanations following each of them are unnecessarily long and repetitive.
Ignoring those, he highlights the ones that stand out—those that sound more doable for him, at least.
The first one he notices is a classic: flowers. Of course. He’s done it before actually—he’d given her a bouquet of garden cosmos because she told him that she liked them. She didn’t really show much of a reaction back then, but he recalls the warm smile it had put on her face for the rest of that day. He doesn’t mind seeing it again. 
But, would it be boring to do the exact same thing? Maybe he can change it up slightly… If he recalls correctly, the book said something about how to send a bouquet of flowers in a way that will “keep her on her toes”. 
It doesn’t take long for him to scan the book and find the relevant page. However, as he goes over the detailed suggestion, his brows gradually turn downwards into a frown. 
“Will this really work...” he mumbles to himself, pressing a finger to his temple. Frankly, it sounds unnecessarily cliched and cumbersome… not to mention embarrassing. No doubt, if Celestine catches wind of this, she won’t let him live it down.
But, he supposes, if he’s going to take relationship advice from a book, then he might as well go through with it fully. 
Having made up his mind, Artem picks up his phone and begins typing up a draft message. 
***
You’ve barely stepped into the office when you hear Kiki calling your name in an unusually high-pitched voice. Your first thought is that she’s managed to get tickets for the upcoming concert for her favourite idol group.
But then you arrive at your desk and realise a marked change from how you had left it the night before: your usually clean and neat desk now has a large bouquet of garden cosmos placed right in the middle of it.
Artem’s is the first name that comes to mind, but you dismiss the thought quickly. With his shy and reserved personality, it’d be strange to expect him to send you flowers out of the blue. 
Your sharp eyes don’t miss the little pink rectangular card sticking out from the side of the bouquet. Kiki spots it at the same time as you do, and her eyes widen with a playful gleam, not even trying to be subtle with the way she’s leaning over to you, to take a peek at the message.
With a cheeky smile, you lean away from her too, deliberately hiding the card from her view, which only makes Kiki kick up a fuss about wanting to see too. Thankfully, Celestine isn’t in the office yet. You don’t think you can deal with two overly-enthused friends this early in the morning.  
Ignoring Kiki’s protests, you open the folded card to read it. As it turns out, there’s not much to hide from her. The message is a simple and curt one:
I hope this makes you smile. Have a good day.
“There’s no signature,” you remark, handing the card to Kiki who practically lunges for it. Her disappointment at the short message is obvious. “Why would someone give you flowers without signing off on it?”
“Maybe they forgot?” you venture, although you carefully search the bouquet in case you missed something else.
“Don’t tell me… Did you send this to yourself?”
You’re unable to hold in your laughter at the absurd idea, and the both of you simultaneously burst into giggles. Just then, your finger feels the edge of another piece of paper hidden between the wrapping paper. You pull it out, and it’s just a small, square card with the letter ‘M’ written on it in fancy, embellished lettering.
“Maybe it’s the first letter of his name?” Kiki suggests. “Who do you think it’s from?”
The letter ‘M’... You don’t know that many people whose name starts with that letter, and a familiar face is already coming to mind—he’s the only one who would pull a stunt like this, especially after you told him specifically a few days ago that you did not want him to send flowers to you, and especially not to your workplace. You don’t want to be teased by your colleagues and worse, Artem might get the wrong idea if he sees it.
“I think I might know who the culprit is…”
With a clenched fist, you pull out your phone and search up the contact before hitting the ‘call’ button. Kiki is left behind, cleanly forgotten, as you storm out of the office to give the culprit a piece of your mind.
***
When Artem enters the office that morning, the first thing he notices is Celestine and Kiki whispering to each other at the pantry while stealing glances at a certain attorney’s way. He follows their gazes to her desk where she’s seated and doing work as always, although today there seems to be a frown etched onto her face, and the bouquet of flowers are nowhere to be seen.
He panics for a moment, wondering if something had gone wrong with the delivery, but then he notices the wrapping peeking out from underneath the table when he walks past her desk and heads towards the pantry, where her two friends are obviously talking about her behind her back—literally.
“What’s going on?” he asks in a low whisper after exchanging morning greetings with them. “Did something happen?”
Celestine discreetly points in the direction of their sulking friend with a grimace. “She’s been like this ever since she got the flowers this morning.”
Artem’s brows knit together, and his mouth opens and closes a few times before he finally manages to piece together his thoughts into a coherent sentence. “I thought... she’d be happy to receive flowers.”
“I thought so too,” Kiki nods, “but when I asked if she knew who the sender was, she suddenly got angry. Said she knew who the culprit was and stormed off. Then she came back and she’s been doing work like this ever since.” She finishes her explanation with a drawn-out sigh, and her eyes return to the back figure of the junior lawyer who’s furiously typing away at her computer.
Artem follows her gaze, and nervously swallows a lump that had formed in his throat without him realising. As always, Celestine is annoyingly quick to catch on to what he’s thinking, and she startles him slightly with an elbow nudge to his arm. “Shouldn’t you put your things down in your office? Or are you here for coffee again?”
He’s not even in the mood to humour her right now. With an absent hum, he nods and quietly trudges towards his office.
Once he’s inside and the door is shut, his bag falls to the ground by his desk and his jacket is flung unceremoniously onto the back of his chair before he sinks into it, fingers entangling in his hair.
He’s screwed. Did he send her the wrong flowers? But she said she liked garden cosmos and he had sent her the same flowers before, so that can’t be it.
Then, was it the message? But he took pains to make sure that it was short, simple and pleasant. Or was it because it was too short? Had she been expecting more?
No, no, but Kiki said she got angry after she figured out who the sender was… which meant that she was angry at him. Had he overstepped the boundaries by sending flowers to the office?
That’s probably it. He messed up horribly. Of course she would be upset that her boss sent her flowers to the office—that was inappropriate. Entirely inappropriate. Why didn’t he think this through properly? Stupid, stupid stupid…
He’s so lost in his thoughts that he doesn’t even register the sound of knocking on his door. It’s only when he hears his name being called that he looks up, only to meet the gaze of his colleague whom he can’t bear to face right now.
Hastily, he fixes his hair from the crazed pulling and tugging just seconds ago, and sits upright in his chair while eyeing her cautiously. He’d better pick his words wisely here. “Yes?” The word comes out strained, as if he’s choking.
“I’ve completed the draft statement of claim for the Macrosoft employee issue—the one about the breach of restraint of trade clause and the conspiracy claim,” she says, placing a set of papers on his table. “I’ve also completed the legal opinion you requested for the resulting trust analysis on the Williams’ matrimonial property issue, and I will send you the draft affidavit for Mrs Jones’ case by the end of today.”
“Ah. Thank you…” Artem waits for her to say something else, all while scrutinising her face. She doesn’t seem as angry as before—although she does look a little confused when she meets his gaze.
“Did I miss anything?” she asks, already visibly starting to panic.
“N-No, it’s not that...” Should he just apologise right now and avoid letting the issue fester? He’s not sure if he should be happy or unnerved by how perfectly normal she’s acting. Is she not angry anymore? Or is she just doing an exceptional job of holding her anger in? All those reminders he used to give her about maintaining composure in front of clients and in court must have paid off.
“Okay. Then, if there’s nothing else, I’ll go—”
“Wait, just— just a second.” She peers at him curiously as he stands to his feet and walks over to her, all the while refusing to make eye contact with her.
“T-The morning... flowers… you...” For goodness’ sake, he makes a living off speaking before the court, and yet here he is, reduced to the equivalent of a blabbering toddler in front of his colleague.
“Ah... you saw those?” she looks away, and he sees the frustration from earlier returning to her face.
“You… don’t like them?”
“It’s not that,” she replies, twisting her lips. “It’s just a stupid prank to play on someone.”
“A… stupid… prank?” Each word is like a stab to his chest. Did he do something to give her the impression that he was making fun of her, or playing a joke? Most people think he’s too serious to crack jokes in the first place...
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve settled it with the culprit.”
For the first time in the conversation so far, Artem doesn’t sink further into his internal pool of self-pity. Instead, he’s now genuinely puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“I just called him to tell him to not send me flowers to the office anymore. I’ve told him before, but he really doesn’t listen to people.”
“Who?”
“Marius. You know how he is.”
“You think… Marius… gave you the flowers?”
“Yeah. He kept denying it over the phone, but I know better than to believe him. Who else would send me flowers for no reason?”
She’s staring at him expectantly, as if waiting for him to laugh at her rhetorical question or respond to it in some way.
Artem doesn’t answer. He doesn’t know how, because his mind has drawn a complete blank at this point, save for the one question ringing in his mind:
Where the heck did she get the idea that the flowers were from Marius?
In his stupor, Artem doesn’t realise that the silence in his office has been stretching on for far too long for it to be comfortable. And he doesn’t notice the realisation that clicks in her eyes after a while, until he hears a quiet, “ Oh .”
She sheepishly meets his eyes. “By any chance, was that letter on the card meant to be a ‘W’? As in, ‘Wing’?”
Should he admit it? If he does, will her anger shift to him? Should he just let Marius be the scapegoat and live the rest of his days in quiet atonement and regret?
Artem doesn’t get the chance to admit it, because she easily reads the answer off his very perplexed and obviously guilty expression. Obviously, he’s far better suited to defending criminals than acting like one.
“Are you mad?” he asks her, when she too, falls silent.
“Huh? No, no, of course not. Why would I be?”
“You were angry when you thought Marius sent you flowers.”
“That’s because it’s Marius. But I’m glad the flowers were from you .” Her lips spread into a warm smile, and in that instant, all of Artem’s worries dissolve into thin air. “I love the bouquet, it’s beautiful. Thank you.”
A smile of relief makes its way onto his face, and he nods. “I’m glad you like it.”
So there is some truth to the book that Celestine gave him after all.
In that case… maybe next time, he can send her roses. He hopes he’ll have the occasion to, anyway. For now, he’ll take it one step at a time.
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karmelek-writes · 3 years ago
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comfort zone I part 3
Harrison Osterfield x fem!reader, Tom Holland x fem!reader
Synopsis: What do you do when you love them but want someone else?
Word count: 4,5k
Warnings: angst, swearing, suggestive comments, mentions of sex, smut, adult themes
A/N: Hey guys! This is part three of the "comfort zone". I wanted to thank you all again for supporting me and commenting, reblogging, and liking the series! Also, sorry for the delay. The next part will come out on Friday, as usual. Let me know what you think of this part! (sorry for any mistakes, English is not my native language plus this part wasn't proofreaded)
Love, W 🖤
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When you entered Tom's bedroom you immediately felt your tensed body softening as the smell of Tom intoxicated your senses. There wasn't another place on this earth you felt more comfortable in than his room. It wasn't big but the cream-painted walls and huge mirror in the middle made it seem vaster. There wasn't much furniture, just all the necessities, but you had to admit that Tom had been keeping his room clean and fresh. It was typical, yet lego Death Star set and spiderman figures arranged neatly on a bedside table screamed Tom. You kept teasing him about this but in reality, you found it endearing. The souvenirs he brought home from the places he had visited were dusting on the shelf, reminding him of good old days having fun on set and hanging out with the cast after work. What always got your attention was his cartoon figure leaning on the wall next to his bed. He got it for his birthday after landing the role of spiderman as a joke from Harrison, his brothers, and you. Even when Tom was younger everyone knew he was born to act. His family and friends would tease him about it calling him a movie star which always made him fuss around. When he finally made it to Hollywood, you all knew what you had to do. You told him that you all had a surprise purposely hyping it up. Judging by his reaction you expected him to throw it out but he kept it. At times Tom was a nerd but it made you like him even more because despite becoming a literal movie star, he never stopped being this little cute boy who still slept in spiderman pj's he was gifted on his 19th birthday.
The cartoon figure was what you were looking at when Tom cleared his throat and locked the door. The action made you turn around to glance at him with confusion written all over your face. His focused gaze and sudden shift of behaviour confirmed your suspicion that it was going to be a serious conversation.
"So… Are we going to talk about what happened?" Tom's nervous voice rang in your ears making your heart rate speed up. You knew that was the moment you had to confront him about your feelings. “Because for the last couple of days I’ve been thinking about everything. I would hate to leave like that.”
“I know,” you sighed mentally preparing yourself to recite the speech you’ve created in your mind in advance. “Look, ever since I met you I feel like my life has gotten better. I never thought I would have such an amazing person in my life,” in the corner of your eye you saw Tom smiling excitedly at your compliment. His honey-brown eyes were sparkling and you had to stop yourself from hugging him and running your hand through his messy curls. “What happened between us was sudden and I’ve said it already, I don’t regret it. Actually, I’m quite happy with how things turned out,” you chucked at the end hoping it would relieve the stress and hesitation in your voice. Your words were all that brunette needed to confirm that you wanted him as much as he wanted you. In the room illuminated by the moonlight, Tom’s silhouette moved closer to you. Having approached you, he touched your exposed arm and traced his fingers up so gently as if he was scared he would break you if he pushed harder. His hand on your body caused shivers to appear and a slight flush crept into your cheeks. You hated and loved the contact silently hoping he would give you more. It seemed like your thoughts were heard as Tom slowly but confidently started to walk you backwards until you fell on his unmade bed. He leaned as close as he could, placing both arms on the sides of your head making it impossible for you to escape.
"I don't want to leave you here," he fussed, highly aware that the next few weeks were going to be hell without you lulling him to sleep, inquisitively going on and on about your day. Resisting the urge to pout you tried to overcome the feeling of sadness slowly accumulating in your chest.
"And I don't want you to leave," a deep sigh escaped your lips, pushing back the thought of him flying away the following day. "But we are here now, so what are you going to do about it?" you extended your arm to grasp Tom's messy curls, daring him to cross the boundary unconsciously set up the moment you've become friends to dive in the pleasure. Tom didn't give you a verbal answer, but knowing that actions speak louder than words, he lowered himself to place a soft kiss on the crook of your neck. The cracked lips caused a wave of shivers to run down your spine, your stomach dropping as you felt sudden wetness between your legs. Mixed with the wet marks left by Tom's tongue, the sensation made your eyes shut, spots emerging in front of them. All your senses were keen, escalating the intensity of the experience.
Tom was determined to work you up as he unhurriedly worshiped your body. A deep moan followed by a throaty “fuck” were the sounds at which you opened your eyes. Your longing stare met Tom’s one and you could swear right then, right there you had never seen a more mesmerising sight. Brunette’s once soft strands now had stuck to his forehead glistening from the sweat. His usually pale cheeks were now painted deep pink - a result of his unholy thoughts combined with the sight of your perfectly shaped body. Eyes dark with desire, hungry to capture every inch of your figure. You noticed beads of sweat dripping on your already wet chest, your shirt clinging to your torso enhancing curves you’d work so hard on at the gym. Lifting yourself on your elbows you signed to Tom to help you strip. You weren’t a self-conscious person, nor were you hesitant to show your figure, but you didn’t like to preen yourself on it. However, you felt the rush of confidence wash over as you caught Tom lustful ogling and wanted to take control of the situation. Shifting from underneath you poked Tom’s chest and pushed him to lay down. Foggy mind and the burn you’d felt on the skin still were dislimning your senses causing you to clumsily collapse at the top of Tom in your attempt to straddle him. Silent ouchs followed by a breathy laugh falling from the boy’s lips made your heart clunch in embarrassment. Much to your surprise, he kissed you as if he wanted to assure you that he didn’t find your awkwardness unnerving. In the few seconds of your make-out session, you recomposed yourself and broke the kiss wanting more as the throbbing between your legs became unbearable.
In the heat of a moment, you took off your bra leaving your breasts exposed for Tom to admire. You didn’t miss how his pupils dilated and his mouth went dry just by gaping at you. This fueled up your nerve leaving no place for doubt and hesitation in your mind. Shamelessly, you rocked your hips against his own at a slow pace. Grunts and scratchy moans could be heard, falling from Tom’s lips like prayers begging for your pleasure. With his eyes shut and fists clenched, he couldn’t look more beautiful, more vulnerable, falling into pieces for you. Finding pleasure in the position and the power you hold over him, you let yourself get lost in the bliss of his hard cock sliding through your folds, the tip teasing your sensitive clit in a steady motion. Wrapping his arm around your waist, Tom lifted himself until he was on an eye level with your chest, his mouth immediately clinging to your breasts, tongue swirling around your hardened nipple. Slowing down your pace, you cupped Tom's face and connected your lips in an aggressive kiss, teeth brushing and tongues intertwined. Fighting for dominance, Tom flipped you so that he was on top. Groaning, you brought him impossibly close leaving no space between your sweaty and hot bodies. Tom's little whimpers were more often now that he was thrusting into your hips, trying to bring himself closer to the limit. Knowing you couldn't last much longer you moved your hand to slip it into your undergarment only for Tom to stop you to do it himself. He licked his fingertips and shoved it into your panties, rubbing your clit in circles.
“That’s okay, cum for me baby,” Tom muttered, trying hard to catch his breath. Completely lost in the moment, you obeyed his command and let go of the tight knot that formed in your stomach. The sensation of Tom’s body pressing against you and his fingers playing with the heart of your femininity caused you to almost black out, starts appearing in front of your eyes. Letting out a pornographic moan, you tried to arch your back gripping the sheets so hard your skin turned white. You couldn’t tell for how long you were wiggling under your best friend’s body but it felt like hours until you were able to get back to reality.
Coming down from your high you took notice of a wet stain on Tom’s trousers. You opened your mouth to say something but he cut you off offering you some fresh clothes and a glass of water. Not thinking much, you accepted his little acts of care and walked past him to change in the bathroom.
Having closed the door, you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding and tried to calm your racing heart. While you were getting dressed Tom was silently freaking out. He could’t believe that you went this far. It still felt like a dream to him. At that moment he hated his lifestyle, he hated his profession that required him to fly away the following morning, splitting you up in the worst time. Maybe he could convince you to go with him? No, it was crazy. You had your life here, it wouldn’t be fair to take it away.
Tom’s running thoughts were cut off by the click of the door followed by your silhouette emerging from the room with a small smile. Tom returned the gesture and nodded at the bed, silently asking if you wanted to lay down with him. Getting back on the soft mattres, you let out a sigh contemplating if you should bring up your feelings. Truthfully speaking, you didn’t know how to act and it seemed like so did Tom. He sat down at the foot of the bed, facing away from you. He was scratching the nape of his neck - a habit that always betrayed his nervosity. He then suddenly stopped and it seemed like he came to terms with himself as he turned around to look at you with tears threatening to fall from his eyes and imperceptibly bleeding lip. He had to bite it to prevent it from trembling but the pressure was hard enough to rip the fragile skin of an organ. You couldn’t read anything from the look on his face and it scared you. Not thinking much you embraced him from behind placing your forehead against the side of his face. You wanted him to feel you, to detect that you were there for him.
“I-I don’t want to l-leave,” a broken stutter left his lips, repeating the words he had used before.
“I know, but people expect you to go,” you whispered to him, slowly rocking you two from side to side to the sound of the clock tickling and driving cars coming from outside the window.
“Tell me something that will make me stay,” his words echoed in the quiet room, so desperate and calling for help. Not thinking much you blurred out the first thing that came to your mind.
“I think I’m falling in love with you and that scares me but I don’t want you to go either,” before you got a chance to register your confession, Tom wrenched himself away from you to see if you were serious. He definitely wasn’t in the mood for jokes so when he identified your stoned expression he knew you meant every single word. Suddenly, a way of regret and pity washed over him, not being sure how to tell you the truth without breaking your heart.
“I… That’s… Um…” he tried to initiate the conversation but his mind was so fogged from regret and miscomprehension.
“You don’t feel the same?” you more of stated with so much heartbreak in your voice it took everything in Tom not to lie and tell you he’s always loved you to fix his mistakes. He stopped himself from it because you deserved something better than that. On the spur of the moment, he cupped your face hoping it would help him get to you easier.
“I love you, I really do but…” he couldn’t finish the sentence. It would kill him to watch your face fall with disappointment and sorrow, let down by the only guy who promised to cherish you forever.
“You don’t have to say anything more. I understand,” pushing Tom away from you, you got up making your way to the door wishing to get away from him as soon as possible. You were hurt beyond your expectations. All of the little moments you shared, the kiss, tonight, it meant nothing. You were livid at yourself, you didn’t know for what more - being so stupid to believe that he could ever love you or that he would ever want you for something more than just an easy fuck. Fueled by the sudden anger you turned to Tom with disgust painted all over your face. “Was I just a girl you wanted to try for a day and dump? Was I just good fun for you? Did you have fun playing with me?”
“God, no! I didn’t mean it to happen! I just did and I’m sorry, okay? Just please sit down and let me explain,” you were extremely angry but you needed answers so you stayed in your place, waiting for Tom to continue. “I tried so hard to love you. It just never felt right like there was something missing and I-I don’t k-know what it is but that doesn’t mean that I don’t care about you. I do love you, can’t you see that?” you didn’t reply for a few seconds and Tom started to get nervous. “Please, say something.”
“Can you try again?” you asked in a small voice. You kept your arms around yourself feeling uncomfortable out of the blue, your black socks suddenly becoming amusing sight to look at.
“Can I try what again?” confusion was evident in Tom’s tone. He knew he was losing you and he needed to do everything to keep you by his side.
“Try to love me.” silence filled the room as you asked the unfortunate question hoping for the answer you already knew you couldn’t get. But it was worth trying, wasn’t it?
“I’m sorry but I don’t think I can,” the words were hard for Tom to get out, a lump forming in his throat.
“Okay,” was all you muttered and at that moment Tom realised he fucked up. “I should go already, it’s late and you have to catch an early plane so…” you trailed hoping that he will get a hint.
“Please, wait!” he ran up to you as you were to exit his bedroom to wrap his arms around you in one last hug before he would leave. “I will keep calling every day, I don’t care if you don’t pick up or block my number. I will always try to get to you. You’re my oxygen, I need you,” if you were in a different situation Tom’s deep sobs would make your heart ache and feel sorry for him, rushing to lighten up his mood but now you didn’t have any of those thoughts. You just felt numb at his praying, a strange feeling settling in your stomach feeling his touch.
“Please, don’t become a stranger,” Was Tom selfish? Yes, but desperate situations require desperate attempts.
Freeing yourself from the brunette's tight embrace, you looked him in the eye for the last time and left the room wishing him good luck at his new job. He didn’t try and call for you, nor did he run after you. He stared at you silently tiptoeing downstairs avoiding contact with other people. You needed to talk about everything like adults but he knew you needed time and he was willing to give you that. He just wished he wasn’t leaving.
================================================
“Okay so… do you think we have all the stuff we need?” Harrison looked at you, having put your bag in the backseat.
“Yeah, granted that you didn’t forget to bring your big ego” you tried to joke and lift the mood but you knew it didn’t work when Harrison made a face at you. Since your not-so-nice exchange with Tom, you haven’t been in a pleasant mood. You knew that what he did wasn’t cool, but that didn’t stop you from missing him. You took off your phone, glancing at it for the twentieth time in the past thirty minutes only to see that you haven’t gotten any notifications. He said he would call. You felt stupid waiting for the guy who clearly didn’t want you and didn’t even bother to talk things out with you. You must have stared at your phone for a little too long because you heard Harrison clear his throat and saw him giving you a knowing look. You only rolled your eyes and put your phone back in your pocket.
“You can’t keep doing this, you know?” the blonde tried to take up a conversation with you. He knew something was up between you and Tom. He knew when you would stop smiling at him when he cracked jokes or when you stopped mentioning Tom in your conversations, or when he noticed Tom tensing at every mention of your name. He tried to get any pieces of information from his best friend but the brunette would always say that you were busy and that it wasn’t his business. Maybe it wasn’t Harrison’s place to be noisy but he had to admit that your careless aura was making him worry. Even when you were upset you acted more lively than now. He was aware that the matter was serious, he just didn’t know how to make it better… and he wanted to make it better for you.
During the last few weeks, your relationship progressed. Since Tom was constantly working, he didn’t have much time to call or text. And even if he did it seemed as if he wanted to spend it with other people. You couldn’t make out what went wrong in your relationship but you knew it was serious when Tom stopped making any effort. You’ve never seen him acting so indifferent towards you and it scared you. However, the lack of interaction between you two brought you closer to Harrison. You almost forgot how significant part of your life he was. Despite your sour mood, you enjoyed the time spent with him. He always made you laugh and feel needed. Your banter didn’t stop but it has changed into something softer and domestic. You found out that you didn’t mind it at all. Harrison still would do little things to drive you insane like casually tracing his fingers along your neck while putting a loose strain of your hair behind your ear or lowering his hand a bit too much than necessary while hugging you but it didn’t seem so unfamiliar and strange anymore. Talking to him almost daily, you learned to be more comfortable around him. To the point where you would hold his hand sometimes and stay over at his apartment after a long session of studying. That, however, didn’t mean that you couldn’t be playful. You knew that Harrison was as invested in your little game as you were. The rules may have changed a bit but it was still on. You had no idea what it meant for your friendship but it was too intoxicating to stop. Now that Tom was not there you could let yourself fully focus on it. You loved the feeling of uncertainty and on the other hand, you wanted to see how far you could push Harrison’s buttons. You were curious how much of it he could handle and if he would snap at some point. You couldn’t help yourself but subtly torture him with your slight touches during movie nights or walking around without a bra. You liked how worked up he always got. He would try to keep it together and act classy in front of you but eventually, you would catch him checking you out. In a way, it all felt wrong but all his attention was on you and you couldn’t help but feel good having this power over him.
When you got in the car you put on some music and looked outside the window. You didn’t want to talk to Harrison about your issues, especially not your issues with Tom so you tried to ignore his questions. Harrison, on the other hand, couldn’t find a way to make you open up to him. You two talked but he also wanted to support you when you weren’t feeling like you could handle things yourself. He remembered how Tom would complain about you being too secretive, even though you’ve known each other for years. That’s how he knew he would have to work hard for you to warm up to him. But that was the effort he wanted to put in. In the blonde’s eyes, you were the most intriguing person he has ever met. You two first came across in the cafe he worked at. You used to go there for some tea every day after classes during your first year. He’s been watching you for some time before trying to talk to you. One day his colleague dared him to get your number after he caught Harrison drooling over you during his break. So he gathered the courage and shot his shot. You two talked until the end of his break. He tried to get your number but you gave him your Instagram account instead. Soon you started to text each other and became really good friends. He would ask for your number a few more times but you always rejected him telling him to work for it. Harrison laughed to himself and shook his head. Even at the beginning of your friendship, you bossed him around.
“What’s so funny?” you asked, a bit confused by his sudden outburst.
“I just remembered how you used to reject me when we first met.” he turned to give you a small smile and started the engine.
“Oh yeah… You were desperate,” you smirked at him, knowing it would cause a good reaction and you weren’t wrong. Harrison gasped, abruptly turning to face you with fake hurt painted on his face.
“I wasn’t desperate! I just saw a pretty girl and wanted to take her out on a date but you were playing hard to get so you lost your chance,” he said it so casually you thought you didn’t hear him right.
“You evidently hadn’t worked hard enough,” you shrugged as if you didn’t care but in reality, your heart rate has sped up. You hoped that Harrison couldn’t hear your shallow breath. You never knew he wanted to take you out on a date and you didn’t know how you felt about it. The thought of him liking you more than just a friend brought butterflies in your stomach to life, making your whole body shiver. Maybe he wanted to take you on a date before. That doesn’t mean he’s still into you.
“So what should I do to get you to agree to go on a date with me?” the knot in your stomach tightened as his voice dropped down an octave. Was it possible he was still interested after all this time?
“I thought I lost my chance,” trying to keep it cool you exhaled softly hoping that the blonde didn’t notice how you squirmed lightly in your seat.
“Well… It depends,” he moved a little bit closer to you catching eye contact.
“On what?” you whispered gently trying not to raise your voice in fear that you would interrupt the moment.
Harrison’s voice matched yours as he whispered “How hard you can work after,” Noticing your disgusted look, he started to laugh deeply.
“Oh God, your jokes are so poor,” you shook your head at him, not finding his joke amusing.
“Oh come on, I know you’ve been dreaming about it,” he wiggled his eyebrows at you. Maybe, just maybe you have thought of it once or twice but you’d rather die than admit it to him. "Besides my jokes aren't half as bad as yours"
“Whatever, Osterfield,” you tried to turn around and fasten your seat belt not in the mood to argue but he stopped your actions again.
“Hey look... I want you to have fun today, okay?” his voice softened as he took your hand in his and started to caress your palm. “I know we joke a lot and stuff.. But I really want to give you something to remember, a memory you would always smile at when thinking of it… or when thinking of me,” he chuckled as if he thought he was never on your mind. Oh, how wrong was he. “Just forget about everything and enjoy the moment. Can you do that for me?” you thought you would melt under his gaze. He was looking at you so lovingly with a dazzling smile that couldn’t make you disagree with him. You felt like his ocean blue eyes were piercing your soul, taking your breath away. After a moment you realised that you could look into them for hours memorising the way his pupils dilated when he was looking at you.
“A-alright, I will.” you stuttered but still smiled at him and held eye contact. You didn’t know it was possible but his grin got even bigger causing you to do the same.
“Pinky promise?”
“Pinky promise,” he smiled at you for the last time and turned around to start driving. Harrison said he planned something special for you. You didn’t know what the evening was about to bring but you knew you were screwed.
Taglist: @osterfieldshollandgirl, @tom-holland-is-spiderman-archive, @harryhollandsgirlfriend, @peachyafshawn
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cassyapper · 3 years ago
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bless you @bisexyofficial
i’ll put a cut so ppl who dont wanna see it dont have to wade through my ramblings but
jonathan joestar’s whole life was a tragedy nd im tired of pretending it’s not
tw suicide btw
i have been thinking abt this for so long and i only recently figured out how to word it so let’s go
first things first;;; he’s in a carriage accident as a child, in which his mother dies while protecting him from the brunt of impact. i have no doubt in my MIND george kinda blames jonathan for his wife’s death because of this (ill get back to why i think so in a minute). but even if george didn’t, it seems like it’s in jonathan’s nature to blame himself as well
i think that’s why he tries so hard to be the hero (for example, when he steps in to help erina even though he was no match at all for the bullies). he wants to pay it forward if you will; he thinks he’s living on borrowed time, and he doesn’t want to carry that debt longer than he must, which in this case would mean...dying for the good of someone else asap. not good!
so frankly already i think he was never in the best place mentally but he was like okay relative to how bad it would get.
but then dio ~the invader~
dio comes in with the life mission of making jonathan so miserable he kills himself so that he can have all the joestar inheritance. jonathan no doubt picked up on this, considering dio was never subtle about it lol
i think the only reason he didnt go along with it is because, especially in western christain culture at the time, suicide was seen as the easy way out/a sin/something selfish, which wasnt how jonathan wanted to go. he wanted to kill himself sure but he wanted the benefit of the doubt regarding it and he wanted it to be because he was saving someone else
my proof of this line of thinking is all very subtle but it is there and it’s all in the fact that jonathan does nothing to stop dio from tormenting HIM. when he lashes out a dio, it’s only when dio drags others into their feud, like erina and danny and later george and eventually windknights lot. but when it was just him? jonathan took it and swallowed it and did nothing in retaliation. because he though he deserved it
this lack of action is echoed in how he just takes his father’s abuse as well; george jumped on the opportunity to belittle jonathan (such as the dinner table manners bs/otherwise always comparing jonathan to dio in a way “why cant you be more like him” way) and always believed dio over jonathan when they squabbled bc, as mentioned earlier, he blames jonathan for his wife’s death and he loves having some reason to be mad at jonathan. jonathan just takes it and accepts the unfair punishments (such as when george literally STARVED HIM, A GROWING PRETEEN BOY) because again, he believes he deserves it. he believes he is inherently bad
this line of thinking would also explain why he never tries to reconnect with erina until theyre adults and erina initiates it; he doesnt want her to be targeted because of HIM again. he wont drag her back into his messes for the selfish reason of him wanting her company
so. jonathan doesnt like himself. he is perfectly fine with others using him as their emotional/physical punching bag but he will get upset if others get involved
jonathan is selfless to a fault and it really really hurts, u guys. it’s born out of love for others but also a disdain for himself and that hurts
but anyway
then george dies when jonathan is only 19 and even though george was abusive to jonathan, jonathan still mourns him because he felt like he deserved that abuse. and to add salt to the wound, george dies in jonathan’s place iirc so jonathan just feels. awful. fuck god fuck. especially bc he died cause dio got obsessed with a mask JONATHAN left where he could find. obviously it’s not jonathan’s fault for real but this man will perform mental gymnastics to make himself out to be the one to blame because it’s how he’s lived his whole life and it’s how he stomached pain his whole life. it’s easier to take things if u think u deserve them
anyway anyway then part 1 main events. zeppeli, the only real father figure in jonathan’s life, dies, also in place of jonathan. i have no doubt in my mind jonathan feels like he’s a curse onto his loved ones at this point, if he hadn’t thought so earlier; a bad luck charm. after all, the later generations of joestar gotta get it from somewhere-
anyway this death does fuel jonathan enough to kill dio rather than any notions he mightve had of just dying heroically in the fight. esp because dio was gonna continue hurting people if he wasn’t stopped. so jonathan kills him rather than falling into a self-destructive fate
we see, when jonathan weeps over dio’s “death”, that he is sad over this death. most of this is bc dio was a brother in some measure to him since dio changed tactics of how he’d swipe the joestar fortune and became a little more amicable toward jonathan for a handful of years, as well as the fact that he now had time to properly mourn zeppeli/his father now. but i feel like another death he was mourning in this instance was less dio/his father/zeppeli, and more the death of his self-blame line of thought
 killing dio, a man who had become a symbol for jonathan’s self-blame and self-disdain, was a big stepping stone in jonathan’s healing i feel like. he’s gotta work on it obviously but i think at this point, when he had the guts to kill dio while also being self-preservative, he was ready to start trying to live for himself in addition to his loved ones. he was ready to unshoulder the guilt he had felt his whole life. he was ready to heal, because erina, speedwagon, and zeppeli showed him he had something inside him that was worth loving. and he might not have gotten it then but with time...maybe he would
he finally starts piecing a life together, a real life. he marries erina, he’s besties with speedwagon, he gets a new home, it’s good, it’s good, he is starting to become happy in life and happy he’s alive for the first time since he can remember
but then it turns out dio is not actually dead and he infiltrated jonathan’s honeymoon ship specifically because it was jonathan’s and he kills almost everyone on board while he’s there. erina is in danger again. a child is in danger. and much like dio was never actually dead, neither was his tendency to shoulder blame and self-disdain
basically, as a result of this jarring situation on a day that was supposed to be one of the happiest of his life, jonathan is thrown back to his 12 year old mindset; it was fine if it was just him. he can die heroically via fighting someone as vile as dio (which in my opinion is why dio even got the jump on him via the laser eyes in the first place; jonathan shouldve been able to dodge that........but w/e). but he can’t let this happen to the world. he can’t let this happen to erina. he needs her to get away from him and thus, the danger
and well, we know how part one ends. jonathan gets his wish. he dies alone with the person he hates most, having relapsed all the healing he had done. he dies a heroic death rather than a “shameful” one of suicide. he dies blaming himself for this mess, just how he had lived most of his life
jonathan is a tragedy. he is shouldered blame unfairly given to him from his father, dio, and he himself his whole fucking life. when he finally, finally has the chance to start healing and making peace with himself, dio kills him, and in addition to that, jonathan’s last acts are the results of a mental rebound from a healthier mindset to a unhealthy one, that culminates in his death. he is alone with the person who is representative of all that made his life shit when he dies
and dawg...it hurts so bad. fucking jonathan joestar
anyway this is why comments abt how nice he is make me so sad sumtimes, especially when it’s re how forgiving/”gentlemanly” he is. it’s bc he felt he deserved that hurt in the first place so of course he wouldn’t hold it against them. he’s kinda shocked someone would feel guilty over it in the first place, but he’s happy to forgive because he doesnt think a slight occured because he thinks he deserved it, which we can see in speedwagon’s introduction
anyway jonathan is as much of a tragedy as the rest of the joestars i need people to acknowledge this. im in tears
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cacoetheswriting · 4 years ago
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champagne problems, ch.8
Spencer is in love with you, but you’re engaged to someone else.
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Chapter Eight: Wild Love: Spencer gets something off his chest while you’re stuck in a hotel room. A/N: chapter is titled after this song if you want to listen while reading.     Word Count: 1.6k Warnings: cursing, mentions of alcohol consumption, heartbreak, unrequited / unreciprocated love, very angsty, this whole series is a real slow burn babyyy
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A/N: y’all are killing me with all the love on this story so far omg. i am so appreciative of every single comment, like, reblog, all the sweet things you say in the tags etc. etc. thank you and i hope you like this chapter (this one turned out to be more conversation than descriptions of feelings/thoughts just fyi) ! x
-
“Since we’re stuck here for the night, how about one more drink?” Luke asked, glancing between the team. “You buying?” Matt teased making everyone else chuckle. Luke rolled his eyes. “If that’s what it takes.”
All flights were grounded due to a heavy snowstorm. This meant that after solving their most recent case, the team were forced to remain on location. At a small bed and breakfast right in the middle of nowhere.
“I’ll have another drink.” Emily stated with a smile. “Sure, why the hell not. It’s not often I get a night away from my boys.” JJ added. Tara also raised her hand, indicating she'll have one more.
All heads turned to you and Spencer. The brunette doctor sat quietly in the corner. Clearly a lot on his mind. You were right by his side, gently resting your head against his shoulder.
A small yawn escaped your lips. “I think I’m gonna call it a night guys.” You said, slowly sitting up. “It’s been a heck of a day, and the bed is calling my name.” The group groaned, but didn't protest. Instead, they all looked to Spencer who seemed to be debating his options.
“What about you Reid?” Luke asked. “Care for another one?”
“Sure. Uh, I’ll walk Y/N to her room and I’ll be right back.” “It’s okay Spencer, stay. I’ll be fine.” You countered while getting up to your feet however, the handsome doctor wasn’t taking no for answer.
Unknown to you, unknown to everyone apart from Penelope, Spencer’s been trying to find the right moment to tell you how he really felt. He spent the last two months debating whether it was a good idea. The idea of telling you he was still in love with you scared the shit out of him because it could go one of two ways:
1. You feel the same way and call off the engagement. The two of you get back together and he spends the rest of his living breathing days making you the happiest woman on earth.
2. You don’t feel the same way and you end up resenting him for lying to you, his confession ruining your friendship.
Either way, someone will end up getting hurt.
“You really didn't have to come with me doctor.” You said stopping outside the door. Spencer shrugged his shoulders, his nose twitching simultaneously. “I wanted to. Plus sitting too long causes a number of health issues. Your leg muscles weaken. Your hip flexors shorten, and it can cause compression on the discs in your spine which can lead to premature degeneration, which results in chronic pain.”
You arched a brow. “So what you’re saying is that you’re really just looking out for yourself?”
“No, I-I, well...” He flustered and you couldn't help but chuckle. “We’ve been friends long enough for you to know when I’m just messing around.” Friends. The word stung. “Right. Sorry.” He glanced down at his shoes.
Sudden concern flooded through you. Gently, you placed a hand on the side of his face, and slowly lifted it back up. “Are you okay honey? You seem a little off, and I hope you don't mind me saying but it’s not just tonight.”
He chewed on the inside of his cheek. Mind racing a million miles an hour. Of course you recognised his odd behaviour. He thought he did a good job at hiding his inner turmoil. Honestly, sometimes he forgets just how well you can read him. He forgets that you know him better than he knows himself.
“I hope you know you can talk to me.” You whispered, tenderly brushing loose strands of his hair away from his face.
The gleam in your eyes was so kindhearted. It was exactly that look that made Spencer think he truly didn't deserve you and that you were better off without him. It was also that look that made Spencer love you even more. The look that made him want to fight for you.
“Do ehm, do you think I could come in?” He asked after a moment of silence.
“Of course.” You let your hand fall back to your side. “Of course you can.”
Soon enough the two of you were sat at the edge of your bed. A noticeably tense atmosphere filled the air. Your eyes were glued to the side of his head, wondering what the hell was going on in that big brain of his, while Spencer looked down at his hands. Which at this point were trembling uncontrollably.
It didn’t take you long to notice, you could practically feel them vibrating against your leg. You reached out, giving them a little squeeze before intertwining your fingers with his.
“What’s going on Spencer? You’re starting to scare me.”
The hazel-eyed man took a deep breath before finally meeting your gaze. His features broken, as if he was about to burst into tears.
“I’ve been lying to you Y/N.” He stated quietly.
You furrowed your brows confused, taken aback by his admission. “W-what? What are you talking about? You’re the most honest man I’ve ever met.” You expressed, but he shook his head. His light curls bouncing perfectly. “I’m not. I’m really not.”
“Spencer.” “Please Y/N, please just… I… I haven’t been honest with you and it’s eating me alive. Usually you would be the person I turn to for advice on these things, but since it involves you… I-I really don’t know what to do.”
“Tell me.”
“It’s not that simple.”
You nodded your head slowly and swallowed your breath. “O-okay. Okay well, uhm… let me ask you this. If you don’t tell me, are you going to continue lying to me?” It was a weighted question which Spencer knew there was no right answer to. “Unfortunately.” He mumbled.
“Then I think, I think it is that simple.”
You were right. Every inch of him screamed you were right. Fuck. How the hell did it come to this? He had no trouble hiding his love for you these last few years.  He couldn’t understand why was it so difficult all of a sudden.
Abruptly, Spencer got to his feet and ran his fingers through his hair. A deep frustrated sigh escaping his lips as he loosened his tie. Your uneasy gaze locked onto him, following his every move. And as he closed his eyes, cracking his neck, you suddenly remembered that the last time he seemed this frazzled was the day the two of you broke up. Your stomach dropped.
“Oh no.” You whispered standing up. “Ohh Spencer.”
He turned on his heel to look at you once again. Your fingers were pressed to your chin, mouth slightly parted. You couldn’t possibly have figured it out?
“You’re breaking up with me.” It seemed like a silly statement considering you weren’t a couple. “I mean, you’re ending our friendship. That’s what this is, right? You don’t want to be my friend anymore and you’ve been lying to me by pretending that you do.” There were noticeable tears in your eyes.
“What? No, no, no. It’s completely the opposite of that.”
“I don’t think I understand. The opposite of-”
“I love you.”
“Well of course, I love you too. You’re my best friend. You’re family.”
“No.” He took a step towards you and cupped your cheeks with his hands. “I’m in love with you Y/N.”
You blinked. Eyelashes fluttering as the realisation of what Spencer just declared washed over you. He saw your lips quaver and your eyes widen. The dots connecting in your mind. All the moments you spent together, the conversations you shared. Everything was running through your mind like a homemade movie, making it impossible it collect your thoughts.
“I know I said I moved on, and that’s where I lied.” Spencer continued as you stared at him, unable to move. “I never moved on Y/N. I tried, believe me I tried. But you are a part of me, a part of my soul. You are the reason I get out of bed in the morning. Seeing you, your smile. Hearing your laughter. Being able to talk to you, and just be around you. Your aura. Everything about you is so intoxicating and I messed up big time letting you go all those years ago.”
Tears began to trail down your cheeks as you bit down on your bottom lip to stop it from trembling. Tiny salty droplets that Spencer slowly wiped away using his thumbs.
“I never said anything because I wanted to be there for you, first and foremost, in whatever way you needed me. I wanted to remain in your life after we broke up because your friendship means the world to me. I guess I thought-t, I hoped that maybe one day we’d get back together. And I know it’s unfair for me to lay all of this on you now, I know. And I’m sorry, I can’t keep it to myself anymore. You, I think you deserve to know.”
Quiet sobs filled the room. Your whole body was now shaking under his touch. Heart aching. It felt like you couldn't breathe.
All you ever wanted was for Spencer to love you. All you ever wanted was for him to tell you that he made a mistake all those years ago and that the two of you belong together. 
“P-please say something.” His plea was barely a whisper.
All you ever wanted.
“I-I.. Spencer, I...”
You finally got all you ever wanted. The brunette doctor was standing in front of you professing his love, and yet it felt like he just stabbed you in the back. His declaration, those three cursed words you dreamt so long ago to hear come out of his lips again. It felt like the ultimate betrayal.
Don't know what to say to you now Standing right in front of you
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A/N: FINALLY A LOVE CONFESSION ! honestly this chapter was a little hard for me to write... it took me a while to actually sit down to it and actually be happy with what i wrote idk BUT i hope you liked it and as always i’d love to hear your feedback! if you would like to be added to a taglist, please let me know. thank you for your continuous support. with love, mal. x
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story taglist: @girloncorneliastreet, @haylaansmi, @rexorangecouny, @l0ve-0f-my-life, @obsssedwithjustaboutanything, @aperrywilliams, @sassy-hades, @rainsong01, @reverdevivre, @dracomikaelson, @softieekayy, @lunaofcrows, @andrewhoezierbyrne​, @blameitonthenight21, @lyl-26, @do-yr-research, @nazifa94, @stepsofthefbi, @chatterbug2-0
spencer reid taglist: @no-honey-no​, @calm-and-doctor​, @idroppedmygourd​​, @averyhotchner​
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alynomali · 3 years ago
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Iwaizumi Hajime x Reader  “𝚏𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜”
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A/N : Hi hello i just got into tumblr and this is my first time writing a full on one shot in english because english is not my first language ;( so i’m sorry if there’s any error in my writing but i hope you guys can still enjoy the story :D anyway i’m on an iwaizumi hajime brainrot and i know y’all too so let’s just get into ittt ***** 
Genre : Fluff 
Word Count : 5k 
You woke up feeling lightheaded. You brought the back of your palm to feel your forehead that was burning hot hours ago. But after four hours of sleep and taking your medicine, the heat has subsided and was replaced by your normal body temperature. You sighed in relief but you still didn’t want to step up from your comfortable bed. Instead you rolled to the side to grab your phone that was laying on the nightstand, to get some info on school assignment, or any big news that you missed throughout today from your friends because you didn’t manage to go to school. When you turned off airplane mode, tons of messages from your close friend’s group chat rang loudly with multiple  ringing sounds, coming one after another. When the ringing finally stops, you open the group chat and skim through the chat bubbles your friends sent, curious to what they are discussing.
“Oh? They lost?” you murmur to yourself after getting an understatement. Today is the match of your school’s volleyball team against Karasuno High School. From the people who went and saw the match, it was pretty intense and they were neck to neck to one another. But in the end Karasuno won and they only a point difference from Aoba Johsai. The further you read the chats, one caught your attention
 I saw Oikawa toss the ball to Iwaizumi from the right end of the court and Iwaizumi got to spike it perfectly! That was crazyy
 Yeah, but even with that perfect toss and powerful spike, Karasuno managed to get it. Both team are crazyyy
 I saw Iwaizumi-kun cried In the hallway, poor him. He must’ve think that that one spike was important
 Aww no
 You slowly sat up from your bed, while still reading those lines over and over again. “Iwaizumi…” you mumbled to the air. You then checked the clock hanging on your bedroom wall, you saw that it was 7.56PM. ‘He should be home already..’
 You heard a knock on your door, and your mom peeked through. “Oh you’re awake! How are you feeling?”
“Great! My fever is gone”
“If that’s so, can you go to Hajime’s house? His mother and father are working late and he probably hasn’t had dinner, so drop these for him okay?” asked your mother while holding a nicely wrapped box probably filled with food.
 “Uh yeah okay. I’ll get ready”
 It is not a secret. To you, your close friends, and specifically Oikawa Tooru, that you have a crush on Iwaizumi Hajime. This has been going on for a long time, since the beginning of second grade. You got to be in the same class as Iwaizumi. At first you were a bit scared of him due to the somewhat tense atmosphere surrounding him, but turns out, he is the nicest guy you ever met. He spoke in a deep and gruff voice, but there’s so much tenderness in the way he speaks. His arms and hands are big and calloused from playing too much volleyball, but whenever he accidentally touches you, he is always so careful with his grip, or makes sure that he doesn’t touch you in an inappropriate way. His tall figure always towers over your 160 cm figure, but it made you feel secure. And there are many small acts he does to you that always make something in your stomach flip. You know that those are just the way he respects the opposite gender (from your observation), but it still made him so attractive to you. Plus he looks cute and manly although not you can call a worldwide handsome. Also  He probably hid a well toned body underneath the layers of cloth he wears. Before you got too far and deep into your thoughts of that man, you quickly shook your head to focus on your current mission right now. Iwaizumi probably is sulking as hell right now and you want to do something nice for him, or maybe just there to give him reassurance.
 iwaizumi’s house is just seven minutes walk from your house. Before you rang the bell, you noticed that the gate was not locked. “Did he forget to lock it?” you opened the gate and made your way to the also not locked door. You saw his training bag in the hallway entrance, meaning that Iwaizumi is home. But you were glad that there were no signs of robbery. “Iwaizumi?” you called him. The living room and dining room were clean and empty. Not even a slightest sound was heard. “He’s probably in his room”. You climbed up the stairs and saw that the door of his room is slightly open and you could see him inside drying his hair with a towel, back facing you
You knocked on the door and Iwaizumi jumped slightly. “y/n? How did you get in?”. You sighed, “You left the front door and gate open,”. “Oh.., wait here then I’ll go lock it,” Iwaizumi then went downstairs leaving you sitting alone in his room on his study chair. You’ve gone to his bedroom a couple times but this time it feels different. The room is filled with his scent of cologne and shampoo from his shower earlier. You carefully breathe it in and a blush crept to your cheeks, just in time Iwaizumi stepped back in the room “Okay wha- wait, why are your face red?”
You flustered, “What! N-No I’m perfectly fine! Maybe it’s because of my fever earlier, hahahaha.”
Iwaizumi raised a brow, “Okay? Anyway, why are you here?” he asks as he takes a seat on the edge of the bed, keeping his distance from you.
“O-Oh yea, um, my mother made you dinner. She said that your parents will be home late,” you said holding up the wrapped box in your hand.
“I already ate but i guess there’s still space for your mom’s cooking. Say my thanks for her,” you smiled at his words.
“Should I walk you back? It’s dark.”
“What? No, it’s not even 8pm and my house is just seven minutes away.”
“Okay then, thankyou again. Be careful on your way back.”
‘Wait? No no no no, I can’t just go home like this. He’s probably not going to eat his food and be sulking instead,” You stood up. Iwaizumi thought you were going to leave so he grabbed his phone on the nightstand and got comfortable on his bed with his back resting against the headboard. He didn’t sense your figure leaving his room so his eyes left his phone to look at you, “why are you still here? It’s not appropriate for a girl to stay in a boy’s room.”
“You did very well today, Iwaizumi.”
“huh?”
You clutched your fingers, “You did so well in the match today. I’m proud of you. Never think that you lost because of a big mistake. You didn’t make any mistake. You gave your best as you always do. Winning or losing is just a result. What matters is that even if you lost, you still gave all your might in the court. All of your hard work, your sneaky practices at the park in the late afternoon, it’s all worth it. Because you gave it all in the court today. Nothing goes to waste.”
Your voice was stern, but there’s a hint of tenderness in it. Iwaizumi just looked at you dumbfounded . After a while, Iwaizumi gave you a soft smile “Thanks, sorry we didn’t keep our promise to go to nationals.”
“Don’t mind me. That is your promise to yourself.”
“Right.”
After that, you still stood there. Arms crossed on your chest. Iwaizumi eyed you in confusion. “What…? Is there again?”
You then sat on the bed beside him, arms still crossed on your chest, “You’re gonna cry. I’m gonna stay here to accompany you until you’re done.”
“What?! No, I'm fine, you should go home now.”
“I’m not gonna let you be alone until you feel better,” you said sternly
“W-Wha- ugh..” Iwaizumi turned his face to the side, not facing you as he can no longer contain the tears that have been threatening to fall ever since he was greeted by the emptiness of his house. Because of the silence, replays of today’s match became clear in his mind. Every step, every move, every shout of frustration , every cheer of happiness, and the last whistle signaling the end of the game. It was awfully clear, every bit of it, and it made him feel hopeless. Like there’s nothing that he can do. His shoulder began to shake, and you could hear soft sobs. It’s like he’s holding back to scream because you’re there.
You never actually see Iwaizumi cry and now being alone with him is his weakest state flustering you. You did say that you’re gonna accompany him but now you’re confused as to what to do. You stayed silent, just watching him. He still doesn’t face you and his sobs became softer. You don’t like this, he’s holding back so much because you’re there. This is probably supposed to be his time, when he shut his door, turned off the lights, and curled under the blanket. Letting out all of his frustration into anything he can manage. But then you decided to come. You hate to admit it but you ruined his time.
But still, you didn’t want to leave.
So instinctively, you reached out your hand to touch the back of his neck. You can feel Iwaizumi tensed up a little. As he slowly turned his head to finally look at you, you and your hand up further to the back of his head, fingers buried in his soft brunette hair. Iwaizumi’s red and teary eyes looked at you in slight confusion, and you stared back at him with a pang in your heart. Seeing his hurting expression for the first time feels like something stabbed your chest. ‘So this is what it feels like.. when you care so much about someone..’
Without another hesitation, you lean your body towards him and let his head fall on your shoulder. The warmth of his body envelopes you and you can feel the sturdiness of his body. You wrapped both of your arms on his shoulder, trapping him in a hug. Your fingers stayed buried in his hair as you started to give it a soft scratch in an attempt to soothe him. “I said I’ll accompany you. So vent all you want. I’m listening.”
You couldn’t see iwaizumi’s expression. But you could feel his body relaxed to your soft touches and he began to cry loudly, “Damn it! Damn those Karasuno..! I-I too.. I want to go to the nationals too fucking damn it!! I want to go with my friends too… with my juniors.. damnit! Damnit argh!!” you  tighten your grip on him cause you feel like he’s going to burst. But you’re glad that he doesn’t move away from you. He was always so physical about these things, but now he just uses his words and emotions.
After some minutes, the hurtful scream and cry gradually turns into a soft sobbing. Your grip around his shoulder soften as Iwaizumi slowly moves away from you. “S-Sorry for ranting and um.. hugging you,” he sniffed and rubbed away the remaining tears leaking out.
You smile, “Don’t worry, but it feels good doesn’t it?”. He chuckled softly, “yeah.”
You fiddled with your fingers on your lap, “I’m sure everyone is feeling the same as you, Iwaizumi. I’m sorry I barged in into your supposed to be alone time. But I just couldn’t help it, I just can’t go to sleep tonight thinking about how you will have trouble sleeping. The others maybe will, but I won’t let you. Because you’re-- um..” you immediately stopped your words. Because just now you were just about to say the thing. Being alone with him and getting caught up in the mood urges you to, but you reminded yourself that you can’t do that, not when he’s in this state.
“What about me?” Iwaizumi tilted his head to the side, eyeing you in confusion.
You immediately shot up from his bed and gave him a wide smile, “Nothing! Anyway, enjoy your food. I should get going now,” you said while pointing towards the door.
“Uh? Oh yeah okay, I’ll open the gate for you,” you were tailing behind Iwaizumi as the two of you were heading downstairs. Luckily for Iwaizumi, you couldn’t see heat creeping up to his cheeks and he is starting to register what just happened between you two.
‘Nah, she can’t be…. Right?’
                              ~------------------------------------------------~
 The next day, you woke up from the ringing of your smartphone placed on your nightstand. You didn’t bother to look at the caller ID and just answer, “Ugh.. hello?”
“Did you just wake up?” Iwaizumi’s deep and gruff voice from the other line jolts you up from your sleeping position, “I-Iwaizumi??”
“I want to return the lunch box from last night. I had been ringing the bell but no one came out.”
“Ah right sorry. My parents left early to my grandparents house. I’ll be there wait a second”
When you opened the door you were greeted by the sight of Iwaizumi looking nice and neat in a pair of black jeans and a slightly oversized denim jacket over a grey hoodie. Your breath hitch at the sight of him until he starts talking, “Here” he handed the clean lunch box to you, nicely wrapped as well “The food was good, thank you”
“Yeah, you're welcome. Um.. are you going somewhere?” You asked while accepting the lunch box.
“I’m going to see Karasuno and Shiratorizawa match,” he said, putting his hands inside his pocket.
Concern filled your expression, “Are you feeling alright?”
He smiled softly, “Yeah, I can’t stay bummed out for too long.”
“That’s good then!” You beamed with a smile.
“I’ll be going then. When will your parents come back home?”
“Um.. maybe at night. They said they're gonna be there for a while.”
“And why aren’t you coming with them?” he asks again.
“I’m starting to prepare for the college entrance exam,” you said while rubbing the back of your neck .
“Ah, that’s nice. Well then, goodluck on it. Be careful, if anything happens, call me or Oikawa” he said, turning his back towards you. This soft part of Iwaizumi showing that he cares about you always makes your heart flutter and makes you fell deeper for him.
“Y-Yeah.. thank you..” and with that, you closed the door. You sighed as you tried to calm the loud thumping of your heart.
You mumbled, “Maybe.. I can do it today.. he seems to be in  a good mood.”
You looked down towards the ground, thinking hard, “Confession huh…”
                                     ~----------------------------------~
 Later that day, Karasuno vs Shiratorizawa match ended with Karasuno as the winner thus continuing to the national stage. Surprisingly to Iwaizumi he met Oikawa in one of the seats and now they are walking together out of the gymnasium.
“Hey Iwa-chan~, let’s go grab some food. I’m feeling like shit,” Oikawa said with a scowl on his face, his nose scrunched
“Then don’t come to see the match if you’re gonna be like this!”
“Stop being so rude and treat your best friend nicely for once will ya?!” Oikawa said with his arms folded on his chest.
Iwaizumi sighed, didn’t want to deal with Oikawa’s words any further, “Fine let’s go get something to eat,”
“Yay~! Let’s eat at a fast food restaurant!”
Along the way to the nearest fast food restaurant, Iwaizumi’s mind was wandering everywhere. Oikawa started to notice this because his friend had been bumping into stuff during their short walk. Oikawa bumped Iwaizumi’s shoulder to get his attention. He slightly jolted and he glanced at him, “What?”
“Is there something on your mind?”
“Huh? No, why?”
Oikawa sighed, “Really, Iwa-chan. You should be more honest. You almost stepped on a kid back there.”
Iwaizumi only huffed at Oikawa’s words.
“Is it a girl??”
“Can you shut up.”
“A girl it is!” Oikawa beamed, “Who is it? Who is it??”
“No I’m not thinking of that!” Lies. The truth is he was thinking of you. About what happened last night. About how you gave him the warmest hug he ever received. How you convey your words of comfort to him. He may have kept a dumbfounded face at that time but the truth is thousands of butterflies were raging inside his whole body. He didn’t know if it was because he has a thing for you or if it’s because he was flustered because you’re a girl and he is a boy. He never really thought of fawning over somebody. All he thinks about is just studying and volleyball. Yahaba and Kindaichi always prattle about how much they want a girlfriend but he’s never really into those kinds of conversation. But what if he’s finally getting his first ever love story now? He’ll be damned because he’s never prepared himself for these kinds of things, even though he’s almost 19 years old.
So he decides to swallow hard his ego and eyed his gaudy bestfriend intensely, before he forces words out of his mouth “Um.. O-Oikaw—”
“Oh! Is that y/n-chan?” Oikawa suddenly said as he pointed a finger to get Iwaizumi to also look at where you were standing. Oikawa is about to call you when Iwaizumi suddenly blurted out
“W-Wait! Don’t call her!”
Oikawa looked at Iwaizumi confused, but then his lips formed a cheeky grin “Humm?? What’s this?”
Iwaizumi's face turns beet red, “A-Ah! No I-I’m—Um..” Iwaizumi wanted to die instantly at that exact moment because now Oikawa is clearly holding back his laughter. A mischievous grin is plastered on Oikawa’s face as he ignored Iwaizumi and made his way towards you calling out your name, “Y/n-chaann~!”
Iwaizumi gritted his teeth while covering half of his face with his hand “Fuck that shittykawa,”
You were standing on the side, beside the trashcan as you are currently finishing your drink so you can quickly throw it onto the trashcan. Until the familiar voice of Oikawa beamed through the street, making you quickly snap your head to the side to see Oikawa currently walking towards you with Iwaizumi behind him.
“Oikawa! Iwaizumi!”
“Yahoo, what you doing here alone?” asked Oikawa.
“I just came from the bookstore. I’m looking for stuff to help me study,” you answered, throwing your empty drink into the trashcan.
“Me and Iwa-chan are going to eat right now, do you wanna come? Iwa-chan really wants you to come apparently,” Oikawa said wiggling his eyebrows at Iwaizumi.
“HUH?!” Iwaizumi was beating the shit out of Oikawa while you only stood there smiling awkwardly.
“Uhm yeah sure I’ll come.” You answered when they finally calmed down.
“Yay~ okay then let’s goo! And Iwa-chan stop being so jumpy and fidgety will you?”
“I’M NOT! Come on let’s go,” you eyed Iwaizumi worriedly, wondering if you did something wrong. So you reached Iwaizumi's side and asked him “Hey, are you alright?”
“Huh? Oh yeah I’m fine. Don’t worry about it, sorry,” Iwaizumi said as he averted his eyes from you. Iwaizumi is acting weird when you join their walk to the restaurant just now, you didn’t want to think too much into it yet you can feel slight warmth creeping up your cheeks.
“We’re here!” After five minutes the three of them finally arrived at the said fast food restaurant. You offered to find a seat while Iwaizumi and Oikawa went to stand on the line to order. You finally sat yourself down and got yourself comfortable. Unknown to you, Oikawa and Iwaizumi are having their own convo about you.
“Is there something going on between you two?” Oikawa asks.
“…no”
“And I will say this to you over and over again, be honest Iwa-chan.”
Iwaizumi pondered for a moment before talking in a much quieter tone, “Yesterday.. y/n came to my house.”
Oikawa blinked, “What? Why?”
Iwaizumi grunted, reaching up his hand to rub the back of his neck to somehow ease the heat on his face, “Um.. she actually came to give me food because my parents are home late. And um.. after that…'' Iwaizumi trailed off, hiding his face from Oikawa.
“What! Don’t leave me hanging!” Oikawa then gasps, “Oh my god don’t tell me---!”
Iwaizumi quickly retorts, “No shithead! She just hugged me because she knows that we lost the game yesterday. And um I don’t know how to explain it but at that time, everything feels so intimate and uh- I don’t know…”
“Ohh~ So you’re in love?” Oikawa smirks.
To Oikawa’s surprise Iwaizumi didn’t yell or smack him in the head but only eyed him, “I don’t really know. I mean, I’ve always been so flustered whenever she does something for me. But I don’t know if it’s just because I feel nervous of the opposite sex.”
Oikawa tapped Iwaizumi on the shoulder, “Well my man, it doesn’t matter if you both are the opposite gender. If you don’t feel anything towards her then you will be comfortable in any kind of situation. Don’t worry I got your back, because I know you’re suck at this so I’ll make the chance so you two can have a talk together,” Oikawa said with a wink at the end.
“Ugh.. I can’t believe I’m getting advice from you… you look a hundred times more annoying right now.” Iwaizumi muttered.
“Rude Iwa-chan~!”
Suddenly people around them were silent and started whispering while looking in a certain direction. Oikawa and Iwaizumi stopped their bickering to try and see what’s going on. Not long after, there are two staff coming out from behind the counter to go to a certain table
“Miss, are you alright?”
“We have a change of clothes if you’d like..”
Iwaizumi pushed himself through the people gathering around the scene and saw that it was you. Your outfit was drenched in supposedly a drink, some of the liquid even splat onto the table and on the floor under too, making a mess.
“Y/n!” Iwaizumi goes into full panic as he runs towards you with Oikawa behind.
When they got to your side, Iwaizumi immediately asked, “What happened?! Are you alright?!”
“Yeah.. just now a guy came up to me and tried to ask for my number. I declined it but he just kept pushing me to do so, and I pissed him off so he threw the drink he was holding at me..” you let out a small laugh.
Iwaizumi gritted his teeth and punched his fist onto the table “Where is he now, that jerk!”
“It’s alright Iwaizumi! He already left. I’ll just go and change now, it’s not like things like this never happen anyways,” you gave him a reassuring smile. Iwaizumi looks at you in shock, “I mean for a stranger to hit on me! They are usually never that aggressive. I'll change now okay.” You said standing up from your seat, following the staff to get your change of cloth.
Iwaizumi let out a deep sigh and began to help clean the mess on the table. He shot a glare towards Oikawa who was just standing on the sideline, “What are you doing standing there trashykawa!”
Oikawa only smiled and shrugged, “I just don’t want to ruin your moment. You’d be a good protective boyfriend Iwa-chan.”
Iwaizumi only grumbled in response.
 After all of that commotion, the three of you still sat down and enjoyed the meal. Even though the staff told you three that the food will be at service, you didn’t think it was necessary so you still have your peaceful lunch with Iwaizumi and Oikawa. The conversation you guys had quickly washed away the tense atmosphere. Oikawa and Iwaizumi talk about the match earlier and how pissed they were that karasuno won. But they seem to be a lot more chill than yesterday so you just laugh it off with them. After that the three of you left the restaurant and walked back to your neighborhood.
You were still talking with Iwaizumi and Oikawa along the way. You seem to not notice but you were talking and smiling towards Iwaizumi more, it has always been like that whenever the three of you hung out. You and Iwaizumi always seem to gravitate towards one another and it’s making Oikawa feel like he’s third wheeling. But he’s not mad though, he finds it cute. Now he’ll just have to give both of them a push.
Oikawa halted his track and cleared his throat, “Guys sorry but I need to go somewhere.”
You and Iwaizumi both stopped talking and stopped your track as well, “Why so sudden, Oikawa?”
“No big deal, I just forgot to buy something my sister asked for. You guys can go home!” Oikawa then lightly put his hand on Iwaizumi’s shoulder, giving him a thumbs up and a big smile, telling him through his head ‘Good luck Iwa-chan!’
 Iwaizumi’s eyes widened, mouth went agape, ‘Now?! Wait, I’m not ready yet!’
“Bye you guys~!” Oikawa sprinted to the other direction, leaving Iwaizumi and you alone. ‘Damn that trashykawaaa….’
“Let’s go, Iwaizumi ,” you said softly. Iwaizumi quickly became flustered, “Uhh.. yeah right.”
The two of you fell into a comfortable silence while continuing the walk. You were looking around as you walked while Iwaizumi on the other hand was in deep thought, thinking of how to use this situation to make his move. His train of thoughts were interrupted by the sound of your sweet voice calling out to him, “Iwaizumi, do you want to drop by the park? There is this small taiyaki stand that I want to try.”
“Sure,” Iwaizumi said with a small smile.
It was a quite chilly day and a gush of wind just so happened to pass through you and Iwaizumi. You didn’t have your long sleeved because it was wet from an earlier accident and was replaced by a short sleeved one provided by the staff from the restaurant. They apologize that they didn’t have a much warmer cloth but you reassure them that it’s fine because your house is close by.
In the midst of trying to keep yourself warm by rubbing the side of your arms, you suddenly felt warmth on your back as a jacket draped over your shoulder. You look to the side to see that Iwaizumi took off his outer jacket and gave it to you, “You look uncomfortable, wear this in the meantime,” Iwaizumi muttered softly, trying to press down his embarrassment.
You felt your cheeks heated up, “T-Thankyou..” you slid your arms into the sleeve to wear his jacket properly. It was obviously too big for you and his scent immediately envelopes you.
The two of you reached the park and your face beamed a smile, “Thank goodness not many people here, the other day the line was quite long so I didn’t get it. Come on, Iwaizumi!” you said as you ran happily towards the stand. He smiled softly at the sight of your small figure on his clothes and followed you.
You both sat on a nearby bench eating your taiyaki, “Ah, it’s warm..” you took a bite and hummed in delight. Iwaizumi's heart flutters upon seeing your cute gestures.
“This really worth 350 yen isn’t it, Iwaizumi---” You looked at Iwaizumi and saw that he’s actually looking at you. You froze and felt your heart beat faster at how Iwaizumi looked at you with such adoreness. You went silent for a few seconds, just looking back at Iwaizumi until you whispered. “Um.. is there something on my face?”
“Yeah.. you’re beautiful,” Iwaizumi said softly with no expression.
“W-What?” you were taken aback.
Iwaizumi sighed and looked down to his hands, he fiddled his fingers as he spoke, “I’m not good at this kind of things.. so um..”
You waited for Iwaizumi to finish as your heart beats faster every second making it hard to breathe.
Iwaizumi grunted and rubbed the back of his neck, “Y-You know how you said that you sometimes.. got hit up by a random guy on the street and um.. I was thinking maybe it’ll be easier to brush them off if you.. you uh.. have a boyfriend…”
Your whole face now is red, “O-Okay..?”
Iwaizumi finally faced you, staring into your eyes, “I-I mean to say—I’ll be your boyfriend!”
You went silent and you only stared at him with your mouth agape.
“I have always been so flustered whenever I’m with you, and without noticing I get jealous when a guy approaches you, like I was so mad earlier when a guy—no, I’ll get mad at whoever did something like that to you. So uh.. I’ll be your boyfriend.. if you’d like… so I can always be there for you..” he trailed off towards the end.
You were so taken aback that you just fell silent. Iwaizumi covered his face from embarrassment, “Argh.. that is such an uncute way of confessing, I’m sorry I don’t---”
Suddenly you let out a laugh, Iwaizumi removed his hand from his face to look at you with a pout, “Don’t laugh at me!”
“Sorry sorry! But you are just so cute. I can’t believe you can be this cute,” you said with a smile still plastered on your face.
Iwaizumi grunted, “S-So.. what’s your answer?”
“Hmm.. but I’m kinda upset that you beat me into confessing..”
Iwaizumi’s head snapped towards you, “Wait what?”
“Last night I actually wanted to confess to you, but I thought that the timing would be bad so I’m thinking when I should do it. But it turns out you confess the day after. So I guess I shouldn’t worry too much about you,” you said giggling.
“Well, I guess you do always made me feel better,”
You both fell silent again. Iwaizumi nervously spoke again, “So.. are you saying yes?”
You smiled, giving him a quick peck on his cheek, “Of course~”
Iwaizumi slumped down on his seat, face already overheated, “I guess I have to get used to this..”
                                       ~-----------------------------------~
a/n : arrgghh i can’t believe i finish this, more iwa-chan fics will be coming soon because he’s a precious man :D
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jubilantwriter · 3 years ago
Text
Jaspvid Week 2021: Day 2 - Baking
(AO3)
@jaspvid-week
Togetherness is Soft and Warm
Summary:  Based off of Ellohcee's Kiki's Delivery Service AU.
David forgets that working for Clementine means more than just making deliveries. An impromptu lesson is all it takes to remind David of how rewarding it is to create something to share with another. Bread isn't always meant to be eaten alone, after all.
Word Count:  3121
////
It's a rather slow day in the bakery today.  David blows his bangs out of his face as he slouches behind the cashier, watching as the townspeople go about their merry way.  It's a nice and sunny day out, and he's only a little bit jealous that he's in here working while everyone else is enjoying the sunshine.  Ah, well, he needs a little bit more money anyways - there was a nice looking cat dish that he wanted to get for Max since the little black cat keeps complaining about the dish he has now.  A bored sigh escapes him as yet more people walk by the bakery.  Not a single customer so far, and he's been sitting here for what feels like ages.
"Davey?"  A sweet voice calls for him from the kitchen. 
"Yeah?"
"Can you come here for a mite?"
"Okay!"  He hops off the stool happily and walks into the kitchen, the heat from the ovens blowing up against his face as he blinks in surprise.  "...Oh!"
"Oh, sorry, hun."  Clementine dusts off her hands with a laugh and gestures towards him to come closer.  "I take it's pretty borin' out there, huh?"
He fidgets with his black shirt and shrugs.  "I mean, it's not too bad.  Sometimes someone will wave at me when they pass by!"
"Hmm, do they now?"
"Yeah!  And, um, they all seem to be enjoying the sun too, and they all look so relaxed..."
Clementine chuckles as she bends down to David's level.  "Do ya wanna take a break from work for a bit?"
"N-no!"  With an embarrassed blush, he waves his hands frantically in front of him.  "I don't mind working!  Who knows, maybe someone will need a delivery soon!"
"That's very true!"  Clementine nods along, her bun bouncing as she straightens up.  "But... hm..."  She taps her chin, looking off into the distance.  Curious, David follows her line of sight and sees her staring at nothing in particular.  
"Is something wrong, Ms. Clementine?"
"Just a bit."  She cradles her head in her hand as she sighs dramatically.  "Ya see, the bread's been sellin' like hotcakes since you joined with your lil delivery service, but I haven't been able to keep up with the demand!"
"Is that so?"  He gasps and covers his mouth.  "Oh no, I'm so sorry!"
"Now now, that's not a bad thing!"  She takes his hands and lowers them from his mouth.  "It's a good thing, really!  It just means I gotta work a little extra harder to keep everyone happy."  With a wink, she lets go of his hands to reach for a spare apron.  "And since it's mighty slow out there, I was wonderin' if you'd like to help me in here instead?"
"You mean... to bake bread?"  He looks over at the roaring ovens, and then to racks of cooling baked goods that lined the walls.  "But... it looks like you've already got enough to sell."
"Don't be silly!"  She walks over to the flour covered counter and pats it.  "What I've learned in all my years of bein' a baker is that there is always someone who needs a little treat, be it a roll or a muffin or even a warm, fresh loaf."  She smiles and gestures him over, helping him put the apron on with ease.  The old thing covers up most of his dark clothes, and she adjusts the bandanna around his neck so that it too can be partially covered with the apron.  "Plus, it'll be loads of fun to bake with someone else for a change!  I know I do most of my bakin' in the morning, but it won't hurt to do some smaller batches during a slow time, don'tcha think?"
"Mmmm..."  He rocks back and forth on his heels, looking out to where the front of the bakery is still quiet and empty, and to the kitchen where Clementine is grinning with a bright smile.  With a nod, he smiles back bashfully.  "Okay, I wanna help!"
Baking bread always did seem like a lot of fun!  Whenever he crept down a little too early, he'd always see Clementine hard at work, the dough she prepared the previous night already being shaped and kneaded and worked to perfection, and the smells...
Goodness!  And now he gets to help in making such treats!
"Wonderful!"  She claps her hands together and giggles, a small puff of flour erupting from her hands as she does so.  David laughs along and stands eagerly by her side as she pulls out a dusty bowl.  "Now, we'll be startin' from scratch here, so would ya kindly get me-"
The door to the store opens as the bell jingles.  Max walks in from the front, his feline face scowling as he yowls at David.  "Hey!  You've got a visitor!"
"Hold on," he keeps the apron on as he stops Clementine from going to the front herself, "I've got this!  It'll just be a sec."
"Alrighty, hun."
He grins as he races to the front, intent on helping their customer as quickly as possible.  "Hi, how can I-!"
"Davey!"  Jasper rests his arms on the cashier's counter, grinning brightly as he does so.  "There you are!"
"Jasp!"  He runs over and hugs the other boy, the two of them laughing brightly as they part.  "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I was feeling kinda hungry, and I thought, hey!  The bakery's got some sweet bites, and I'll get to see Davey!"  
"Oh!  If that's the case, is there anything you want?"
"Hmm..."  Jasper looks around the bakery, hovering by the shelfs and displays as he sizes up all the treats.  With a grin, he turns back to David and shrugs.  "Dunno!  What do you suggest?"
"Um, lemme see..."  He walks over to Jasper's side and looks at all the baked goods on sale.  There's muffins, rolls, biscuits, sweet breads, and so on... but perhaps, because he's been living with Clementine for a good few months, despite the good quality of all the food, he can't help but think that they've been sitting out too long and gotten a bit... cold.
When he thinks of a pleasant treat, he imagines it fresh from the cooling rack, warmth still radiating off of it, but having rested long enough that when he bites into it, all of the flavors that Clementine had carefully worked into the dough comes out perfectly.  He taps his chin and looks around the bakery some more.  His gaze lingers to the back of the bakery, where Clementine still waits for him.
Maybe... if he asks nicely...
He grabs Jasper's hand, shocking the other boy as he tugs him towards the kitchen.
"W-woah!  Davey, hang on-"
"Ms. Clementine!"  His call startles the woman, her reverie broken from where she was busy petting Max as he drank some milk.  "Is it okay if Jasper joins too?"
"Hm?"  Her gaze lands on the brunet standing next to David, the boy suddenly bashful and nervous as his hand is held tightly in David's.  "...Oh!  Of course, I don't mind at all.  You know what they say - the more the merrier!"  Before Jasper can protest, she looks around and finds one more spare apron.  She quickly puts it on Jasper, the poor boy being dragged about too quickly for him to keep up with the energy of both redheads.  "There we are!"
"What- what are we doing?"  Jasper finally manages to get a word, looking at David bewildered as the other boy grins and tugs him towards the counter.
"We're making bread!  Or something!  Actually, I'm not too sure."  He looks over to Clementine as she begins setting the ingredients on the table.  "What are we making?"
"Well, it can be anything you'd both like."  She hums thoughtfully to herself as considers the options.  "We can make something small, like biscuits and cookies.  Or we can make something filling, like pies if I've got the ingredients for it.  Or we can just do something simple!  Like a bread of sorts."  
"Hmmm..."  David taps his chin and looks to Jasper.  "What do you think?"
"Mmm, how about something sweet?"  Jasper meets David's gaze and grins.  "I think sweet breads are pretty stellar!"  
"I'm okay with that!"
"Sweet bread it is then."  
Clementine is incredibly patient with them as they bumble their way through her instructions.  Flour is spilt here and there, but she merely laughs it off and helps them make the right measurements.  David is intent on following her instructions through and through, though Jasper tries to have his own little ideas once in a while.
"Jasp!"  David bats away a giggling Jasper as he holds an orange up in his hands.  "We don't need that!"
"Hmm... actually."  Clementine holds her hand out and Jasper places it into her hand.  "I think we can do something with this."
"Like what?"  Jasper's mischief changes to genuine curiosity as she takes a tiny looking grater out.  
"Well, oranges are sweet, aren't they?  And the rinds of these fruits make for a lovely smell."  She rubs the rind against the grater, producing a zest as Jasper and David ooh and ahh next to her.  "Why don't you keep this up for me, Jasper?"
"Yes ma'am!"  He dutifully takes the orange from her and mimics her actions, his tongue sticking out a bit in concentration.  David can't help the giggle that escapes him as he watches Jasper work.  The brunet looks over at his giggle and makes a confused grin.  "What's so funny?"
"You were making a funny face, like this!"  He mimics Jasper's earlier look, earning a laugh from the other boy as he then makes a more exaggerated face.  This draws a stronger laugh from David as they continue to make faces at each other.  
"Now now, no horsin' around!  We still have bread to make," Clementine chastises, but her tone is anything but harsh as she smiles fondly.  "We still got plenty to do!"
"Yes, ma'am!"  
The rest of the time is filled with aimless chatter as the two boys follow her instructions, mixing the fresh orange juice and zest into the dough.  Jasper at one point managed to smear some flour on David's cheek, resulting in David smearing some flour on his face in retaliation.  Before they can start chasing each other around the counter, Clementine has them watch her knead the dough before letting the boys each take their turn.  Jasper is all gusto as he pushes and pulls the dough energetically before getting tired.  David takes over, and he tries to be more precise than Jasper, making sure the dough isn't too sticky before looking over to Clementine for her nod of approval.  When she dubs it done, she takes the dough and places it to the side and covers it.
"And now we wait for it to rise."
"Won't it take long?"  David looks out the window and frowns, the sun setting in the distance as worry sets in.  "Jasper, will you be able to stay long?"
"Mmm... well, I think I can push it until a little after eight."  He folds his arms behind his head and smiles wide.  "I should have some time until then!"
"That we do.  Why don't we bake some other things like cookies?"
"Yeah!"
Baking, as it turns out, is much more exciting than he anticipated.  There's something amazing with being able to make something from scratch with his own hands.  Sure, he's made eggs and pancakes before, but he's never truly baked.  And having Jasper next to him adds to the fun as the boy turns to do silly things that make David laugh.  For instance, trying to juggle a few eggs before one of them lands on his head.  Or even mixing the batter a little too fast and getting bits of it all over his face and apron.
Whatever Jasper does never fails to bring a smile and a laugh to David's face.  Nighttime comes far too quickly, and by the time Clementine pulls out their final batch of muffins and cookies, Jasper makes a startled jump as he checks the time on his watch.
"Shnikes!  It's super late!"  He rushes to pull the apron off in a panic.  "Aw man, my mom's gonna kill me-"
"Hold on, let me help!"  David unties the knot from behind and takes the apron from Jasper.  "There we go!"
"Now just a min," Clementine says as she walks to the front of the bakery, grabbing a paper bag and dropping a few of their recently baked goods into it.  She hands it to Jasper with a smile.  "For you and your ma."
"Oh, thanks," he says, fumbling to reach into his pocket to pay.
"No need, hun!"  She begins pushing Jasper towards the door as he stammers and tries to argue.
"But I gotta pay-!"
"Sweetheart, you helped make the treats, you don't gotta pay a cent for them!"  With a chuckle, she gently pushes him out the door and winks to David.  "Now why don't y'all say goodbye real quick while I go clean up and close the shop?"  She waves to them as she retreats back to the kitchen, leaving David and Jasper by themselves.  Jasper grins easily, holding the bag with one arm as he turns to face David.
"Honestly, I didn't think I'd be baking today when I came to get a snack," he says lightly, making David laugh awkwardly as he rubs his arm, "but I had a lot of fun!  It's... kinda nice to learn something else for once."
"Yeah, and it was nice to hang out with you here in the bakery.  I know I haven't been around much since I've got to do my deliveries and stuff but...  I promise to hang out with you more!"
"Nah, don't sweat it."  Jasper winks easily as David looks away with a blush.  "If anything, I'll just come find ya myself!"  
"Like today!"  They both share a laugh before Jasper shuffles his feet awkwardly.  
"Well," he says with a soft smile, "guess I'll be catching you on the flipside later?"
"Of course!  I miss flying with you, especially since the weather is so nice right now..."  He sighs, disappointment settling in as he realizes that he'd been spending more time working and training than he did taking time for himself.  A small voice reminds him to be careful, before he burns himself out again.  Before he can dwell anymore on his thoughts, a hand lands on his shoulder as Jasper's crooked grin greets him.
"We can do it whenever you're free.  I'm always willin' to wait for ya, no matter how long it takes.  You know me, I won't get upset."
"...Of course not."  A smile finds its way back to David's face.  Jasper always did have that special talent of cheering David up.  
It's probably why...
"Oh- shoot, I really should go now."  Jasper backs away quickly when he realizes the time yet again, awkwardly running backwards as he waves to David.  "We'll fly again soon!  See ya later, Davey!"
"Bye, Jasp!"  He waves to his retreating figure until he can't see him no longer.  As he walks back into the bakery to lock up, he finds that the entire place feels... more empty than it usually is.  Max coils around his feet, looking up at David with an unimpressed look.
"Stop moping," the cat says, stretching himself out as he leads David back to their room, "it's not like he's gonna be gone forever."
"Still..."  He sighs softly and looks around the kitchen, Clementine already gone now that their mess has disappeared.  "I kinda miss him already."
"Oh YUCK, that's DISGUSTING."  Max makes a hacking sound, making David chuckle at his dramatic antics.  
"What?  It's not wrong to miss friends after they leave!"
"Sure.  Friends."  Max quickly walks away, looking over his shoulder to glare at David.  "Now hurry up!  I wanna fucking sleep."
"Max!"  He follows after the cat, a little thought tugging at this thoughts.  "We talked about this- OH NO, THE BREAD!"
-----
Clementine wraps up the loaf in paper and slips it into the bag.  It's a start of another day, and he's actually got a few deliveries to make.  She smiles as she hands him a slip with a name and address.  
Jasper McFadden.  
She winks and pats his shoulder.  "It's still gonna be warm if you manage to fly as quickly as you normally do."
He blushes and hugs the delivery close to his chest.  "Right.  Um, see you later, Ms. Clementine!"  
"Fly safely now!"
He runs out of the store and quickly settles himself on his broom, concentrating with an ease that comes second nature to him.  The lift off is seamless, and he launches himself high into the air, already soaring towards his destination.
As he circles around the familiar neighborhood, a voice calls out to him from high walls as the brunet signals him down.  "Davey!"
"Hey!  I've got a delivery for you!"
"What's it?  I don't remember ordering anything."  Jasper takes the offered bag from David and pulls out a nicely braided loaf.  The soft sheen and sweet smell of oranges immediately has Jasper widening his eyes.  "Oh!  This is the bread we made yesterday!"
"Yeah, Ms. Clementine wanted me to deliver your fair share."  He stays on his broom as he hovers by Jasper.  "It should still be warm so you should try a slice!"
"Hmm, actually," Jasper looks up at David with a mischievous smile, "do ya have any other deliveries to do?"
"Um, no I don't think so."
"Sweet!"  He holds up the bread to David's eye level and gestures him down.  "Wanna try some with me?"
His heart soars at the suggestion, and he lands all too quickly as he stumbles into Jasper.  The other boy catches him easily and laughs as David straightens himself out.  
"I take it that you wanna eat some?"
"Yes!"  He grins brightly, already looking forward to spending more time with Jasper.  The scent of the warm bread wafts between them as Jasper leads him towards his house.  As they tear into it with jams and butter, the softness of the bread shows of their combined hard work, and Jasper makes a show of pointing out each little bit of zest that he made to his mother and David.  The bread is fluffy as he pulls the braid apart to eat it.  Perhaps its his bias to freshly baked goods, or maybe just simply the fact that he made it himself with Jasper and Clementine - whatever the reason may be, David just can't help but think that this bread is the sweetest he's ever tasted.  
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inevitably-johnlocked · 4 years ago
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Hi Steph, you’re amazing at what you do. I just want to know from a true connoisseur, which 3 fics do you think you’ve read and re-read the most number of times? As in, 3 ultimate comfort fics.
Hi Nonny!
Ooof, I’ve been asked a similar question here a couple weeks ago, but hmm, this is actually something I never really had to think hard about! EXCEPT CAN I GIVE YOU 5? Because 5 immediately came to mind. Is that okay?? OMG I’m so sorry. Plus 5 is a number I like better than three, sorry :P Another weird tic of mine. 
No surprise which is my first, hahah:
A Promise Made to Be Broken by PlantsAreNeat (E, 37,018 w., 7 Ch. || Fake Relationship, Pining, Slow Burn, RST, Eventual Relationship, POV Sherlock) – A young John makes an ‘if we’re still single at 40, we’ll get together’ pledge to a woman who ends up all wrong for him. She keeps reminding him of the promise, and won’t let go of it. John asks Sherlock to pose as his boyfriend at a family wedding, so as to dash her hopes permanently. Sherlock, who has at last acknowledged his feelings for John, reluctantly agrees despite knowing how painful it will be to ‘have’ John, but not keep him.
It’s just such a joy to read every single time, and I never skip any parts at all. Start to finish EVERY TIME. 
Next:
Iris by slashscribe (E, 11,948 w., 1 Ch. || Parentlock, Pining Sherlock, Post-S3) – Sherlock does his best to make John happy when John comes back to 221B with his new baby after the events of Season 3, but Sherlock has a track record of getting things wrong in this area. This story is an exploration of their gradual shift from friends to lovers, told from Sherlock's perspective, full of a lot of pining and lack of emotional awareness.
This was my first Parentlock fic I read and it’s why I now do read Parentlock. Still one of my favourites, and it’s short enough to read in one sitting. It’s just so sweet, and Sherlock is SO precious, and GAH I LOVE it. Another start-to-finish. Which then brings me to this one:
Albion and the Woodsman by Glenmore (NR [E], 54,437 w., 50 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Post S3, Parentlock, Pining Sherlock, Angst, Family, Drug Use, Depression, Sherlock POV, Light Humour, Reconnecting, Declarations of Love) – Sherlock and John are devastated after Mary Morstan makes her final moves. Sherlock relapses at the crack house, John walks around the world … and a lot happens in between. Parentlock, in the good way.
I REALLY like this fic because it’s Sherlock POV and it’s him learning about his feelings for John. THOUGH I feel bad admitting that lately, rereads usually start around Ch. 30, because I love John showing up all BAMFy in Ch. 34 and essentially tells the social workers to piss off. And Sherlock is RIDICULOUSLY adorably in love with John so much in this fic. I’ve reread the whole story enough to know what happens before Ch. 30, and all the smoopy stuff happens after that. BUT DON’T think I don’t love this story. I DO. A LOT. I just... Sometimes need certain parts of a story RIGHT now, and that one singular scene is one of them, and I always just keep going from there. :P
Next:
Classified(s) by blueink3 (E, 36,153 w., 4 Ch. || Wedding Date AU || Fake Relationship, Jealous, PIning, H/C, Idiots in Love, Happy Ending, Mary is not Nice, Escort Service) – Clara's American father is the ambassador to some such territory that Great Britain probably used to own, but she (and Harry’s undying love for her) is the reason John is getting on a flight at 12:30pm, flying across the second largest ocean in the world, and pretending to be in a perfectly happy, healthy relationship with an undoubtedly perfectly coiffed stranger. See, Clara is not only American (and wealthy to boot), she's also best friends with John’s ex-fiancée. Whom she's placed in the wedding party. As Maid of Honor. And John just happens to be Best Man. Bloody brilliant.
I just really love this one. It’s painfully sweet and OH GOD I love how much they fall for each other and HARRY IS TWINSIES AND SHE’S AWESOME. Love it. It’s such a feel-good fic with a great ending. Love it.
And:
Corpus Hominis by mycapeisplaid (E, 47,709 w., 12 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Case Fic, Fluff, Romance, Frottage, Angst, Anal, Blow Jobs, Rimming, Spas / Massages, Shampoo, Jealousy, Fake Relationship) - John knows the human body intimately. He’s had plenty of opportunity for study as a doctor, soldier, and lover. There’s one particular body, however, he knows very little about. When Sherlock launches himself head-first into a new obsession and they get sent on a case in an unlikely location, the pair discovers each other’s bodies with confusing yet delightful (and sometimes hilarious) results.
THIS FIC. GUH. Just, the way John pieces together how much Sherlock pines for him is ACHINGLY beautiful, that all comes together in a really tender scene in a pool. It’s the pool scene we should have had. UGH. AND SHAMPOO. And best friend Lestrade essentially telling John he’s a moron, LOL. LOVE this fic. I’m SO glad I finally remembered this one was the one with the Shampoo and the spa day.
-----
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY not my only always reads. In fact:
Top 30 Read-Again Fics (March 2019)
Top 30 Read-Again Fics Pt. 2 (Sept. 2019)
And I could TOTALLY do another 30 EASILY. The second one, I remember whittling it down quite a bit, LOL. These are just the first five that came to mind right away. I could also add these five:
a good old-fashioned happy ending by darcylindbergh (E, 32,731 w., 26 Ch. || Christmas, Frottage, Comfort, Est. Rel., Fluff, Insecure Sherlock, Frottage, Nightmares, Sleepy Sherlock, Marriage Proposal, Humour, Fluff, Dancing, Cooking, Happy Ending) – For Christmas this year, Sherlock wants to get John something special: something every fairytale deserves. Part 2 of things fairy tales are made of
Coventry by standbygo (E, 52,020 w., 26 Ch. || Dollhouse AU || Case Fic, Slow Burn, Sci-Fi / Fantasy, First Kiss / Time, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, BAMF John, Falling in Love) – “Let me get this straight,” John said, wondering when his life had become a science fiction film. “Some guy orders up a personality, a person, to his specifications, and they program this into a real live person, who has consented to do this, and she goes to this person and acts as his wife, or lawyer, or Royal Marine, or Navy Seal or what have you, and she has all the skills, all the knowledge, everything? Then you say the magic words, and she follows you back to The House, and they erase it all until her next appointment?”
Perdition's Flames by i_ship_an_armada (E, 63,435 w., 21 Ch. || Treklock AU, Est. Rel, Genetic Engineering, Angst & Fluff, BAMF!John) – Sherlock would do anything to save him. Risk anything. Give anything. His money, his life. His soul. What he does, though, is change both of their destinies forever. Genetic re-engineering is the only option left. It turns out researchers underestimated the life expectancy and potential abilities of genetically re-engineered subjects. The British government and what would eventually become the United Federation of Planets, however, had not. Part 1 of PF Universe
Shatter the Darkness (Let the Light In) by MojoFlower (E, 109,683 w., 23 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Genie/Djinn AU || Magical Realism, Kidnapping, Genie Sherlock, First Kiss / Time, Case Fic, H/C, Angst, Clubs, John Whump, Mild DubCon, Hand / Blow Jobs, Torture) – Fairy tales are for those who remember how to dream; not John Watson, broken and hiding from his bleak future in a beige bedsit. But then he discovers a lamp and finds himself in the dangerous riptide of an enigmatic man whose very existence is unbelievable, murder charges against his sister, and the growing pains of feeling alive once more.
Midnight Blue Serenity by BeautifulFiction (E, 151,907 w., 19 Ch. || Friends to Lovers, Gay Bar / For a Case, Drugs, Pining, Case Fic, UST) – When Sherlock infiltrates a club in order to track down a serial killer, his altered appearance is enough to make John question his assumption that Sherlock is beyond his reach. However, is he the only one who appreciates his flatmate's charms, or is Sherlock at risk of becoming the next victim?
---------
OKAY I NEED TO CUT HERE or I will go on and ON and ON. Hope this answers your question alright <3
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luverofralts · 3 years ago
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Post Arkhelios
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Abe is dying having to live with his deteriorating family. It seems like forever since he's been happy...it feels like forever since he’s seen Roman. With his parents’ marriage falling apart, he’s been thinking a lot lately about his own love life. Arkhelios is a small place and there weren’t a lot of gay or bi teens to date. There was Jorah, but he was way too young for Abe, and for whatever reason, Abe had always felt the Durant kids were like distant family to him. It would be creepy to try think romantically about them. It also didn’t help matters that if things kept going like they were, Jorah might soon be his step-brother.
Now that the Durants are unfortunately a fixture in his life, Ulyssa some times texts him about life at boarding school in exchange for dirt on her parents. She especially thought he’d be interested in knowing that Roman was having a huge falling out with his family, which was keeping him from coming home to stay with them. Abe couldn't blame him for that, Ulyssa was doing the same thing, and god knows Abe would have left by now if he had somewhere to go. College is still in the distant horizon, and Salem hasn't been impressed with the results of Roman and Ulyssa's recruitment drive, so appealing to Salem likely won't get him out of Arkhelios either. Still, it couldn't hurt if he were to go to the Bellamys and ask if they had a way to reach Roman. Salem had stopped paying for Roman's phone, and the school itself was so old that payphones were too much of a modern inconvenience for the school to bother installing.
Roman's room was still perfectly unchanged since the last time Abe had been there. There were a lot of good memories in this room. Memories of stolen kisses, of pulling off Roman's shirt only to accidentally put it back on inside out later, of his heart racing when Salem called them down to dinner while they were still tangled up in Roman's sheets....why had things gotten so bad between them? Was Abe just idealizing the past, or had he really given up something special when he let Roman leave?
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Visiting Roman's empty room had only made things worse for Abe. Now he would have to go home to his miserable family alone. Or so he thought until he ran into Wanda downstairs. Wanda had always been kind to him, and Roman actually seemed to like her as an aunt. In fact, there was a secret Roman had told Abe about her that Abe was desperately hoping was true. Witches and magic were real occurrences in places outside of Arkhelios; Roman was even learning a bit of it at school where witches were abundant and placed in positions of power.
“W-Wanda,” he stammered, “I don't want to be rude or anything, and I'm not going to out you to anyone...I was just wondering if you could maybe do me a favour?”
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It barely took anytime at all for the hall to light up with an unnatural glow, leaving only a silhouette of a human shape. Once his eyes had adjusted, Abe could make out the undeniable features of Roman's shocked face.
“Abe? Wanda?” he asked incredulously. “You teleported me here?”
Wanda laughed.
“From what I hear, you certainly couldn’t pull that off yourself.” Her tone was playful, but Roman’s expression fell.
“No, I guess not. Just another thing I’m failing.”
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Abe didn’t let him say another word. Roman was in his arms again. Something good had finally happened to him. Wanda left the two alone with a smile, and a promise to help Roman get himself back to his dorm when he needed to.
“I’m so sorry,” Roman sobbed against Abe’s shoulder. “I’ve been such an ass.”
“No, I’m sorry,” Abe cried. “I shouldn’t have let you go in the first place. Everything here is just terrible without you.”
“Everything at school is terrible. I’m barely passing, my parents have forgotten me, I was so cocky when I left that even Ulyssa won’t talk to me now. I thought I was going to be important, but it turned out that I was really nothing at all.”
Abe smiled.
“You’re something to me.”
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Morty was suddenly interrupted from his cat nap by two very noisy teens. Omar’s bed had been abandoned when he moved out, and that room happened to have a lock installed on the door. Morty wasn’t sure what those two were doing, so he watched impassively for a moment before readjusting himself against a pillow and drifted back to sleep.
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Abe and Roman held each other in Omar’s old bed until Morty’s constant staring unnerved them into moving to Roman’s catless room. The single bed was smaller, but it’s not like they hadn’t used it several times before. Eventually though, the two had to face reality and talk things out.
“I want to come home,” Roman declared. “Ulyssa is really happy over there, and maybe she has a shot of bringing people to Arkhelios, but even Grandpa has given up on me. I’m not good at any of my classes, and I kind of burned a lot of bridges when I first arrived.”
“It can’t be that bad, you burned a lot of bridges here too, and you were doing just fine.”
Roman laughed.
“Grandpa tried to marry me off to a straight prince when I wasn’t useful anymore. I can’t even be dumped off on someone properly.”
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“You would make an awful consort,” Abe said. “But maybe you don’t belong with a prince. Maybe you could belong with me? Seriously this time, no cheating or running off to marry straight princes.”
Roman looked surprised by the offer.
“Just so you know, I’ve slept with Ulyssa and made out with Jorah. If we’re going to do this, I guess you should know that. ” Roman shook his head. “I move to a different country and still only hook up with people from Arkhelios.”
Abe nodded. He’d assumed that much.
“Just so you know, sometimes I hear voices in my walls, and I think my house is haunted.”
“Ookay.” Roman was intially baffled by the admission, but he’d seen a lot since leaving Arkhelios, and the world in general was turning out to be very different than he’d thought it was. “I guess no hooking up at your house then.”
“You know my Mom would kill you if she ever caught us,” Abe laughed. “The only thing my parents can agree on these days is that they really don’t like you.”
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Malika pretended to be surprised when she walked into the living room and caught her grandson snuggling with that Chun boy. Very little happened in her house that she was not aware of. It was one of the benefits of being a tarot card reader. She would keep this to herself though; Salem was already too hard on their grandson. He was far too stubborn to realize that pushing Roman too hard would just push him into the arms of Abe and the Helios family. Subtlety was what was needed here.
“Roman! You’re home! What a surprise! I hope everything is okay at school.”
The boys all but jumped away from each other at the sound of her voice, and she sighed. Who did they think they were fooling exactly?
“No, everything’s fine,” Roman stammered. “I was just practicing my homework for magic class by teleporting here and Abe was just walking by, so I invited him in to catch up.”
Abe was beet red, and Malika saw the beginnings of a small hickey on Roman’s neck when he turned his head to look guiltily at Abe.
He must have inherited Omar’s stupidity. Even Kamalani could lie more convincingly than this.
“How wonderful that you’re progressing so well in your studies. Abe, would you like to stay for dinner then?”
Abe bolted up and looked towards the door.
“No, thank you,” he replied quickly. “I think my mom is working late, so I should help my dad make dinner.”
“Of course. “
So the Chuns don’t know about this little romance either. Interesting.
“Thanks for the visit, Roman. I hope to see you again soon!”
Abe walked as quickly as he could towards the front door. When she heard the door close, Malika hugged Roman and then beckoned him to take a seat next to her on the couch.
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“Have I ever told you that I once almost dated Abraham Helios?” she asked.
Roman looked appalled.
“Abraham? Gross, what could you possibly see in him?”
Malika pulled Roman closer to her in a motherly embrace.
“He was very attractive as a young man,” she replied. “He had so many ideas and such great potential. When I was your age, I thought for sure that we would get married and shape Arkhelios together. But then he betrayed me like young people sometimes do, and gave himself to nearly any girl he met. When I met your grandfather, I was a little older and wiser, and I knew that we could build a life together instead of following teenage hormones.”
Roman froze in place.
“Abe and I are just friends, “ he lied. Why was everyone in his life so against him dating Abe? He was a Helios through his mother, but that should hardly matter. Still, better not to make his grandparents even more disappointed in him at the moment. Maybe if he and Abe could make it until they were in college, they could finally tell their families to leave them out of their grudges.
“I’m glad to hear that,” Malika said warmly. “The people we love as teenagers so rarely stay in our lives as adults. Friendship is what usually endures over the years. When you’re an adult, I’m certain that this will make sense to you.” She winked and pulled Roman into an even tighter hug. “Now go get Wanda to send you back before your grandfather comes home.”
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baeklooming-day · 4 years ago
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Lemon cake | Baekhyun
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Lines 6. “I need a place to stay.”, 8. “You’re seriously like a man-child.”, 16. “You’re getting crumbs all over my bed.”
Summary: There is this boy who just won’t leave you alone, no matter which time of the day, and no matter how much your cat despises him.
Genre: Fluff!!, Cheeky Baek
Word Count: 2k
Main Masterlist. | Cheeky Baek Masterlist.
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„This is definitely NOT happening right now.”
You felt a familiar warmth creeping up your cheeks, a feeling all too familiar.
And all you could tell was that it wasn’t a blush of a pleasant feeling of any sort, it was the angry and flaming blush which was an evident signal of you starting to loose all your cool.
And you nearly did loose all your remaining cool in one go as soon as you looked down on your bathroom floor where you were crouching.
As good as half of your previously perfectly cleaned and shining bathroom floor was now all covered in little cat treats which fell from the ripped open packaging, leaving annoying crumbs on your new jeans, on the floor where they fell, some of them rolling away through the entire bathroom and stopping just when they hit the side of your bathtub.
Usually, you would take the scissors to open something like this neatly, but not knowing why, just today you decided to open it solely with your hands.
And just today, in that precise moment when you were about to open it with intention to surprise your cat with new snacks, your doorbell which unfortunately was loud as freak decided to invade the peaceful silence of your apartment and startle you almost to death, the result of it being you literally ripping the packaging open and creating a great mess.
Well, not that it was the doorbell which rang on its own and decided to make you hate this morning, but rather the person standing outside and ringing it.
It was exactly seven o’clock in the morning, and since you didn’t expect anyone at this early hour anyway, your blood started to boil once again as you could already tell who it was.
You let out a loud annoyed groan, slowly standing up. You didn’t even think of cleaning up the current mess present in your bathroom right now, you went out and made sure to close the door so that your cat couldn’t barge in and eat everything at once.
You would deal with it later.
Now, you needed to deal with another, much more nerve pulling problem.
You grabbed your phone which was laying on a little white table in your long corridor, throwing one quick glance at the screen to confirm your suspicion on who was behind your door just now.
Ten missed calls.
Twenty five unread messages.
And two snaps.
An almost disgusted expression made its way on your beautiful face, you let out yet another groan and walked towards your door.
You stopped right in front of it, wondering that maybe, just maybe, you could pretend as if you weren’t at home, but you decided that it wouldn’t do much now, as your annoyed groans were probably too loud to fail to hear, even through the closed thick door.
You didn’t even care or try to mask your pained expression as you decisively swung the door open, revealing a sight all too familiar to you.
Way too familiar, you weren’t even seeing your own reflection as often as what was before you at your doorstep.
„Are you waking up looking already like an ethereal goddess?”
You squinted your eyes, contemplating whether to just slam the door and lock it, disable the doorbell, and throw your phone through the window or just deal with it again.
You gave the light haired boy at your doorstep a look full of an unmasked disapproval, regretting taking so long to think, given that even if you really wanted it was already too late to slam the wooden door in his face as he smoothly slid past you into your apartment.
„Byun Baekhyun.” You said through your gritted teeth, trying to be as calm as you could.
The said boy turned around, placing his hand on the closed door next to your head.
What in the world was it, a move taken from some Korean drama?
„Y/L/N Y/N.” He mirrored you, saying your own name. „Why aren’t you answering me? I called you what feels like million times.”
„Yeah, figures, it was ten times, ten times too much.” You said, crossing your arms on your chest.
„Wh-”
„Baekhyun, I swear, how many times did I already tell you to stop following me around like some puppy.” You said as you pushed his hand away and proceeded to walk through your corridor to the living room, him just following closely behind you without adding anything.
Before you entered your living room, you abruptly turned around to face him, making him pretty much hit his head on the doorframe.
Well deserved.
„You are seriously like a man-child. You know that?” You asked rhetorically.
„My mom told me to follow my dreams, so that’s what I’ve been doing past these two months.” Baekhyun said, as if it was the most casual thing to say.
You only squinted your eyes again in response. „That was so bad.”
„Was it?” He walked past you into your living room, stopping by your white couch and tracing circles on the soft pillows with his finger. „I think it wasn’t.”
Alright, no, he was starting to ramble on.
You couldn’t continue talking like this, not when his sole presence was already driving you mad by now.
„Dude, I swear” You muttered under your nose. „So what do I owe this wonderful visit this time? And why are you looking as if a military van ran you over? Did you even sleep last night?” You questioned, critically observing the state he was in.
His light hair looked a little damp, whilst the visible redness of his chocolate eyes and dark circles underneath them looked like an evident lack of solid sleep.
Baekhyun let out a deep breath, playing with the silver ring on his finger. „Um. I need a place to stay.”
„You need what?” You widened your eyes. „Listen, I know you have load of friends. Go ask your boys!” You spat, wondering who did he think he was.
Whoever he thought himself to be, he wasn’t.
„But the question is, why do you need a place to stay out of nowhere?” You asked.
„Well” He started. „My mom left for a business trip and I, um, I don’t have the keys to our apartment. I forgot them inside.” He said, sounding at least a LITTLE bit ashamed of himself.
„And where were you last night?”
„I was out for drinks and stuff with friends...” He bent over your couch, resting his elbows on the pillows and massaging his temples.
„W-wait, wait.” You paused. „Baekhyun, are you drunk?” You asked the boy incredulously.
After hearing your question, he immediately straightened himself, as if trying to look composed even though it was obvious that he looked everything else but that. „I feel fine.”
You just couldn’t believe this.
„Dude, how baked are you?” You asked even more incredulously. „Haha, baked, Baekhyun, get it? Okay, never mind.” You quickly disappeared into your kitchen before he could make any comment on your obviously bad joke.
You opened the cupboard, looking for black tea for him, hoping that it would be able to shake him more awake and return clarity to his mind.
Just as you were opening the little elegant tea box, you heard Baekhyun’s voice coming from the living room.
„Awe, Earl Grey!”
You took a look at the tea bag in your hand. „Yeah, I’m making you earl grey!” You shouted back, not thinking much.
But then you almost burned yourself with the hot steaming water for tea, as the next thing you heard was a loud, not content meow.
Your cat must’ve woken up and come into the living room, judging by the tone of his meowing not being particularly happy about what he had found there.
You should’ve realized right away as soon as you heard Baekhyun’s voice, unfortunately the damage had been already done.
Your cat’s name was Earl Grey.
And he absolutely hated Baekhyun.
You thought that there wasn’t any particular reason for why Earl Grey visibly despised the careless boy, given that he was always nice to your cat every time he showed up.
You quickly filled the prepared cup with water and rushed into the living room.
You expected to be met with a very questionable scene, but instead you found only your beloved cat sitting on the couch and looking straight at you with big eyes.
Baekhyun was nowhere to be seen.
„Earl Grey, my baby, where did our baked Baek disappear?” You asked as you crouched in front of your couch and lovingly hugged Earl Grey, giving him a little kiss on his soft little forehead.
You went to the corridor again, looking around you.
Where did he go?
„Baekhyun?” You called.
Nothing.
„Baekhyun!”
Still nothing.
You already wanted to let out a loud groan once again, when you noticed a movement inside your bedroom.
Without hesitation you barged into your bedroom, your arms falling to your sides as you saw the view before you.
Baekhyun was there, unceremoniously laying on your bed, on your NEW soft covers, one leg on the mattress whilst the other one on the floor, eating the cake you left on your desk and leaving small cake crumbs all over the green and white pastel sheets.
„This is sick.” You said, surprisingly feeling the urge to let out a laugh, struggling to hold it back. „You’re getting crumbs all over my bed.”
You came closer to your bed, kneeling next to it and looking at Baekhyun who now was just staring at the ceiling.
„Baek, I made you some black tea. Go and drink it.” You said.
He slowly turned to his side, facing you. His eyes looked sleepy now.
Well, no wonder if he pulled an all-nighter with drinks.
You slightly widened your eyes as he suddenly caught you off guard by very gently taking your hand. „Will you like me if I drink it?” He asked, his eyes fixed on yours. „I just want you to look more kindly at me... I just want you to like me too...” His words were becoming always softer and quieter, as if fading with every second, his sleepiness taking over.
You didn’t know what it was, but you felt as if something just melted in your heart at this sight, the corner of your lips lifting ever so slightly at the sound of these mumbled innocent confessions.
Not even a minute later, Baekhyun was completely asleep, still holding onto your hand.
You could tell that he really needed that sleep, so you decided to just let him be.
You hesitated a little as you reached your hand out to trace a soft line on his forehead, gently brushing away the loose locks of light blonde hair fallen on his closed eyes.
His breathing was calm and even, given how quickly he fell asleep he must’ve been really beyond exhausted.
You carefully slid your hand out of his hold, placing a little panda bear plushie on the spot where your hand was before quietly leaving your room and going back to the living room.
You plopped on the couch next to Earl Grey who, now laying there and playing with his little mouse plushie, seemed to already forget about what happened there earlier.
You intertwined your fingers, looking at some invisible point in the space of your four walls.
„He will drink the tea if I will like him, huh?” You said to yourself.
You shifted in your seat, sitting more comfortably and reaching your hand out to gently scratch your cat behind the ear.
„Well, about not liking him, it is actually just you who he should worry about, right Earl Grey?”
Your cat immediately looked at you, as if he understood clearly what you just said. He stopped playing with his plushie and softly bumped his head on your arm, looking in the direction of your room.
„You will give him a chance?” You asked, placing your hand on your cat’s little fluffy head.
You turned your head to look to the corridor yourself.
„Yeah, maybe I should too.”
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A/N: leave me your thoughts!! don’t forget to reblog if you liked it!! 🤎
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wordsablaze · 4 years ago
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12~ i’ll be your lighthouse
tell me your problems (i’ll chase them away) Internal scars can be difficult to deal with but Eskel vows to heal any that Jaskier is weighed down by if it’s the last thing he does…
A/N: i didn’t think i’d finish this in time but i felt like spiting that spoiler so happy valentine’s !!
@random-nerd-3 @betaray-jones @w-s-kibela @in-love-with-writing002 @screaming-flapjacks @havenoffandoms @lasaga666 @mayastormborn
previous chapter
-
“Ow, Scorpion!” Eskel grumbles as said horse headbutts him. 
It’s the third time she’s done so in the last two minutes and at this point, it’s safe to conclude she’s trying to complain about Jaskier taking too long. Eskel would agree with her but he doesn’t actually know how long it’s supposed to take anyone to purchase several items at a tailor’s so he sticks to waiting. 
And waiting. 
And waiting.
And being headbutted by Scorpion twice more.
And waiting.
And-
“Eskel!” 
He turns his head to see Jaskier beaming at him, a small bag slung over his shoulder. It takes him a moment to realise what’s changed but he feels like a fool when he does for the bard is now wearing an entirely new outfit and it’s such a blatant contrast from his previous faded blue look that he has no idea how he nearly missed it.
“Well, what do you think?” Jaskier asks, his eyes bright. 
Eskel blinks. “It’s very different.” 
And it is. Although his chemise is a dark grey that’s only one shade away from looking like a shadow, both his doublet and his breeches are a deep red, decorated with spiralling silver patterns and black buttons that look far too delicate to function properly. 
Jaskier rolls his eyes. “Thank you, darling, I hadn’t noticed.” 
“And it looks, uh, very striking,” Eskel offers, still internally trying to get over how well the colour somehow makes his eyes seem even brighter. 
Thankfully, Jaskier doesn’t seem too bothered by disjointed feedback, turning his attention to Scorpion when she steps towards him, gently running his fingers down her mane. “Sorry I took so long but not to worry, dear girl, I found you some apples.”
Eskel watches, transfixed, as Jaskier pulls an apple out of his pocket and offers it up to her, this time with no hesitation or guilt whatsoever; it’s oddly relieving to know the two are on such good terms for some reason.
“I really am sorry I took so long, Rafal was just finishing something else up - a spectacular dress I must say - and wouldn’t let me leave until I bought two sets even though I told him several times that someone was waiting for me!”
Chuckling, Eskel shakes his head. “It’s okay, we didn’t mind the wait. Especially not if it means you look so much more, uh…”
Jaskier smiles. “Like myself? Like a bard? Like someone you’d wish to be seen with? Like a true master of the liberal arts?” 
Eskel starts nodding, only to frown. Before he can voice his complaint at Jaskier’s phrasing, Jaskier clears his throat. “So, should we get going? You mentioned travelling north, I believe. Piana would be the obvious next place to stop, though if you intend not to appreciate being able to sleep under a solid roof for as long as possible, then I suppose we could simply follow the river?”
“We can stop at an inn,” Eskel says first, a little confused. 
“Great! I’m almost certain I’ve never ruined any marriages there so it should work out perfectly. Shall we?” Jaskier asks, holding out a hand.
Eskel is too busy wondering how Jaskier breezes through conversation so smoothly to catch up in time and unfortunately, he only figures he’s missed something when the air turns sour around them. 
Cursing internally, he blinks himself back into the present. It’s only a second later that he notices Jaskier pulling his hand back. He reaches out to grab it before Jaskier gets the wrong impression, gently entwining their fingers. “Hey, what happened?”
Jaskier exhales slowly. “I thought for a moment that you might have… changed your mind. About the- this,” he manages, squeezing Eskel’s hand.
“Not for as long as I live, bardling,” Eskel promises; he’s more than proud of the small, honey-scented smile he receives in reply.
Scorpion headbutts him again, at which point he remembers what he was going to ask. “You said you only bought two sets?”
“Yes?” Jaskier frowns. “I did try telling him I only really needed one of each thing but Rafal was so adamant, you should have seen him! A lecture on fashion to rival my own, truly! But I honestly didn’t mean to-”
“No no, Jaskier, wait,” Eskel interrupts, “It’s okay. I’m glad you got more than one, that was the point after all. I just meant to ask if you’d like Scorpion to carry the bag, it doesn’t seem heavy and we’re both walking so it’s no trouble for her.”
Jaskier’s mouth forms almost a perfect circle before his cheeks flush and he nods. “Oh. Well, that would be lovely. You are most certainly the kindest man to grace the continent!”
Eskel can’t help wondering what kind of men Jaskier is used to dealing with if he thinks such simple compassion is so difficult to encounter. There’s one obvious answer but he’s certain Jaskier’s expectations are rooted in far more than just his time with Geralt so he holds off on cursing him this time. 
He also briefly wonders if there’s anything in the bag at all, it’s so light in comparison to when he has to carry his armour anywhere, but Jaskier hadn’t smelt like he was lying so he doesn’t risk worrying him by asking as he attaches it to Scorpion.
“Could I-?” Jaskier cuts himself off, then takes a deep breath and tries again. “Could I have my lute back?”
“You don’t need to ask,” Eskel replies, easily handing it to him. 
Jaskier nods, visibly relieved, and slings the lute over his shoulder where the bag had been. Though it seems as though the bag had been a substitute for the lute case if the way Jaskier’s whole frame seems to relax is anything to go by. It reminds him of how comforting it is to feel his swords at his back and he’s glad that Jaskier had felt confident enough to ask for such comfort. 
With that, they set off, Eskel keeping Scorpion’s reins in one hand and Jaskier’s hand in the other. It’s a little odd to have both his hands occupied but he can’t say he’s complaining. If he’s honest, he’s doing the exact opposite of complaining. 
“Why red?” Eskel asks eventually. 
Jaskier jumps, his grip on Eskel’s hand fleetingly tightening to an almost painful level. He chuckles softly as his pulse slows to its normal speed. “Quite simply, darling, it reminded me of you. I thought it would only be fair for my first new look to reflect the one who prompted its existence.”
Eskel has to close his eyes for a moment in order to process that. He’s not sure what he’d been imagining - something to do with poetic contrasts or rebuilding, perhaps - but such casual sincerity hadn’t even registered as a possibility and he’s pretty certain the newfound warm twisting of his stomach relates to being honoured. 
“Thank you,” he says quietly, “but you really didn’t have to.” 
Jaskier turns to him with an eyebrow raised. “And you didn’t have to delay our travels in the first place but here we are. Now stop rejecting my gratitude or I will force you to listen to it in every single tavern we stop by.”
“Aren’t you already doing that?” Eskel points out.
“That doesn’t count!” Jaskier argues. “That one is beneficial for both of us.”
It probably is, but Eskel has a feeling their reasoning would be rather different. He doesn’t say anything else, though, just gently tugs Jaskier close until their shoulders are brushing and appreciates the way his breath hitches before he relaxes again, smelling sweetly of silk and sunshine. 
He’s never before been in such close contact with someone for so long but it’s a pleasant change. Jaskier starts humming after a while, swinging their hands in tune with whatever he’s singing in his head, and Eskel has to force himself not to distract or interrupt him because good gods the experience is so soothing. 
Predictably, Jaskier freezes once he stops humming, looking for all the world like a kitten caught pushing something off a table. “I’m sorry, I-”
“Don’t need to apologise,” Eskel finishes for him with a smile that he wishes could be as soft as he intends it to be. 
“Right,” Jaskier agrees, then laughs. “You haven’t heard that one before, have you?”
Eskel shakes his head. “Should I recognise it?”
“I would be surprised if you did,” Jaskier says, “for I got it from a crumbling tome written in elder that I stole from an ancient crypt deep within the forests.” 
“You what?” Eskel frowns, not sure whether or not he should be concerned that Jaskier is inadvertently summoning vengeful spirits or the like with whatever it is he’s using to pass the time. 
It takes Jaskier a minute to stop laughing. “Okay, I lied. It wasn’t buried in a crypt and I didn’t steal anything… that time. But it was from an old tome written in elder.” 
Eskel sighs but gives in and laughs when Scorpion nudges him, causing Jaskier to grin happily.  “Clearly one of you thought it was amusing, what brilliant taste she has! Hey, that deserves better than an eye-roll!”
“Perhaps,” Eskel admits, almost guilty about said eye-roll. Almost. 
Jaskier snorts. “We both know you’re secretly amused too. So, do you want to hear it? Do you know elder?”
Eskel shrugs. “A little. Probably not enough to understand your song, though.”
“We’ll see!” 
And so they do. Except Eskel doesn’t see because he understands perhaps a dozen of the couple hundred words Jaskier sings, but it sounds enchanting all the same. It also feels enchanting because Jaskier taps out the rhythm onto the back of Eskel’s hand as he sings and he’d be lying if he said his whole arm doesn’t feel the resulting warmth. 
He’s not sure what to make of the words themselves; Jaskier’s tone is filled with hope and agony and something wistful that sounds as if it’s been plucked from the dreams of fallen angels. His voice never wavers in the slightest and yet there is an unease to his singing, a promise that threatens to be broken, a wish stuck between being fulfilled and being destroyed. It’s beautiful and it’s painful and it’s nothing he’s ever heard before.
Jaskier is breathless when he stops, face flushed and eyes sparkling, and Eskel wishes he knew more of what had been sung so he could adequately express his admiration. “That was magnificent,” he whispers finally.
“It is,” Jaskier agrees after catching his breath, his grin so wide it looks like it’s about to break free of his face altogether. “It was years ago but it feels like just yesterday that I learned it. I don’t even understand every word but it still makes sense together, like a mystery that can only be solved if it’s being sung.”
Eskel has no idea what he means but it sounds poetic and seems to fit him perfectly so he just hums in acknowledgement and lets silence wash over them as they continue. Not that the silence lasts long.
“Why do you wear red then?” Jaskier asks.
Unprepared for such a question, Eskel draws a blank. “It hides the bloodstains?”
Their hands being firmly tied together means he’s forced to stop walking when Jaskier freezes on the spot, his face a comical epitome of shock.
“Gods, Jaskier, I- I was joking. It’s not really- It’s just a nice colour,” Eskel blurts, torn between laughing and cursing at himself for being so thoughtless. 
He swears he can literally see Jaskier’s exhale. It only takes a few moments for him to recover and use his index finger to poke Eskel’s chest. “Don’t ever joke about bloodstains like that. I am well aware that you witchers like to think you can get injured and bleed out and stitch yourselves up as you please but you can’t. You can’t and you shouldn’t and I swear if I was in charge of things, I would have it outlawed to- to not take care of yourselves. You horrible, selfless, insensitive, beautiful beings. No! Ugh, that was meant to be an insult.”
Eskel is still torn between laughing and cursing but now he’s aware of a much more tempting third option, which is to wrap his arms around Jaskier and hold him close for a moment. A long moment. Several long moments, really. 
Jaskier buries his head in Eskel’s neck so Eskel lifts one arm to curl his hand around the back of Jaskier’s head, gently running his hand through his hair. Jaskier shivers at the touch but only holds on tighter so Eskel takes that as a sign to continue, waiting patiently as the wilting flowers in the distance between them fade into calmer waves of ink and rose and sunrise.
“I’m sorry,” Eskel murmurs.
Sighing softly, Jaskier pulls back. “No, I’m sorry. I…”
“You don’t need to explain yourself,” Eskel says, even though he would very much appreciate an explanation for such a fierce response. 
Jaskier shakes his head, brushing non-existent tears from his eyes. “I need you to know it wasn’t your fault… It was the... song. It’s a rather powerful tale and I forgot how hellish it is to convey. There are a lot of emotions involved in storytelling, you know?”
He doesn’t, not really.
And he wants to ask about the song, about whatever it is Jaskier had been singing about. He wants to ask what was being said and what the mystery entailed and why it was hellish to convey but the last thing he wants is for Jaskier to panic and spiral into guilt so he swallows his questions down.
“I can imagine,” he says, offering a smile.
Jaskier grins at that, raising both hands and placing them gently on either side of his face, his thumb stroking careful lines across his cheeks. “You have the sweetest smile, Eskel.”
When Eskel makes to pull back, Jaskier leans forward and draws him close until their noses are pressed together, his hands keeping his head where it is without hurting him even in the slightest. “Don’t run from my words, darling, they’re only the truth and they’ll catch up with you in the end.” 
“Why does that sound like it’s a threat?” Eskel asks, his throat strangely clogged. 
Laughing, Jaskier brushes his thumbs across Eskel’s cheeks again, this time tracing his scars. “It is a threat. I’m very threatening.” 
Eskel laughs. He hears Scorpion huff behind him and that only makes him laugh harder, Jaskier joining in until they’re both forced to let go of each other lest they topple over and hurt themselves. Well, falling over wouldn’t exactly hurt a witcher but Eskel doesn’t want to take any risks on the behalf of bards.
“Shut up, I can be threatening!” Jaskier exclaims, but he’s too busy trying to catch his breath from laughing too hard to sound as if he’s telling the truth. 
“Of course. I feel very threatened,” Eskel teases, but it’s not quite a lie. 
A part of him certainly feels threatened, the part that never before considered his smile sweet or his voice kind or his actions worthy of song. Though perhaps that’s a threat worth embracing, he thinks. Then Jaskier’s hand slips back into his and he decides it’s most definitely a threat worth embracing, with both arms wide open. 
Scorpion must agree with him for she nearly breaks his nose as she moves her head, forcing him to step closer to Jaskier until they’re back to their arms brushing as they walk, falling perfectly into step with one another.
“The murky depths of a hollow love, the lies that you see above… the surface…” 
Eskel groans as Jaskier starts singing again, still not remotely comfortable with hearing about himself so often, but both of them know it’s more of a performatory complaint because being immortalised in song is an honour he won’t refuse. 
He has no idea how Jaskier can walk and sing at the same time and he makes a mental note to pause for a break once the song is complete. The lyrics all but wash over him as they walk because he’s too focused on the way Jaskier keeps swinging their arms or tapping on his skin to keep himself in tune, and this time there's no subtle melancholy to watch out for.
“Be not afraid if danger is near…” 
He does glance sideways at that, though, because he’s pretty sure Jaskier had mentioned a siren as opposed to generic danger before, but Jaskier is grinning and winks at him when their eyes meet.
“For the rose of the wolves will hold your hand.” 
Eskel smiles back at that, tightening his grip on Jaskier’s hand. He doesn’t quite know how to convey that he feels the same way so he just raises an eyebrow. “I could have sworn that rhymed last time.”
Jaskier splutters in offence for a moment before elbowing him. “It’s not as though I’ll be singing that line in taverns, it wouldn’t be right for dozens of strangers to steal your lovely hands away.”
“Not to worry, bardling, It’s not a service I offer to just anyone,” Eskel laughs, frankly not convinced that anyone else would even be interested. 
“Well I intend to take full advantage.” Jaskier winks again. 
His face now all but aching from smiling for much longer than he’s used to, Eskel nods. “The pleasure will be all mine.”
Jaskier beams at him, his face still flushed from having sung for so long, and Eskel is absolutely sure that had their positions been reversed, he’d likely have sung that into a ballad of some sort.
“We should probably take a break,” Eskel says a couple minutes later once they reach a suitable place to stop, a small clearing visible not too far from the road.
As if on cue, Scorpion neighs and stops walking. 
“Well, I can’t argue with that,” Jaskier chuckles. 
And when they settle to eat this time, they’re sat right beside one another, their elbows bumping and their knees knocking together every so often, and Eskel marvels at how something so new and unfamiliar and borderline threatening can also seem so right.
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okay, i know it’s not quite valentine’s-worthy romance but there’s only one braincell between them and scorpion has it atm-
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thanks for reading! masterlist | witcher sideblog: @itsjaskier | next chapter
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