#now I gotta figure out where to put them there's barely any space

[sonder-writes]

bro 😭 I've been drawing the cover for Settling In which is. taking forever cuz there's so many people lol, but I thought I was finished! only to discover I completely forgot about Diego and Lila 😭

[loulovingho]

Make It Ours

aka the one where Tommy asks Buck to move in

It started a little ridiculously. Buck didn't usually decorate his place for Halloween, but in his excitement over Bobby being back he'd gotten way too much for the firehouse and had a lot left over. So he took some paper bats home and hung them from his ceiling.

That should have been the end of it.

“We've got enough candy for a small army, I'm sure,” Buck said, resting his head on Tommy's chest, a hand softly rubbing over his pec.

“We don't really have any kids that come out to Harbor. A few of the kids whose parents are on shift will stop by, but that's about it.��

“Were you a Halloween fan growing up?” Buck asked, chills running up his spine as Tommy's fingers massaged his scalp.

“Oh yeah. We didn't really have the money to afford costumes, but I'd make stuff from old sheets or clothes that didn't fit me anymore. There was one year where-” Tommy stopped suddenly, and Buck looked up at him to see him staring out over the loft. “Are your bats animatronic?” he asked.

Buck's eyebrows furrowed. “What?”

Tommy nodded his head in their direction. “They're moving.”

“Oh,” Buck glanced back briefly. “Probably the air coming on. Makes them swing sometimes.”

Tommy halfway settled back into the bed, but it didn't last very long, because soon enough one of those “decorations” started flying directly into the bedroom. Then there was another, and another.

“Evan, you have bats!” Tommy exclaimed.

“I- oh my God, I have bats!”

Ironically, Tommy did not love all things that flew. Buck had known this since they went to the zoo two months into their relationship and ventured into the butterfly exhibit. That's when he saw Tommy dripping with sweat, barely taking a breath and clutching Buck's hand until he asked what was wrong.

And now, watching a 6'2 man made mostly out of muscle race to put on a shirt and shorts, foregoing underwear completely, so he could duck out of the loft with a yelp was truly fascinating.

The fact that he only stopped briefly to give Buck a kiss and tell him to grab his things and meet him at his place was the icing on the cake.

That man was inside me twenty minutes ago, Buck thought, a baby bat swooping above him. He felt nothing but pride.

Within an hour, he was bringing a suitcase and work duffel into Tommy's place. Tommy, on his part, had emptied him two extra drawers to go along with the one he already had there. He'd made space for him in the bathroom as well, and cleared a section of the kitchen counter because, “I figured you'd bring some of your cooking stuff with you.”

He wasn't wrong.

It took a few weeks for the bat issue to be resolved, due to the fact that Buck's landlord was out of town and no one else seemed to know what to do.

Once the place had been cleared of the bats, it took extra time for Buck to be able to air out his place and clean the droppings that had been so graciously left behind.

It didn't help that he had a pretty busy schedule, taking extra shifts before he knew he'd have a bat problem.

Eventually, Buck ran out of reasons to keep himself at Tommy's place.

One morning, as he got ready for his 24 and Tommy got ready for his 48, he decided it was time. “I think my place is now free and clear of everything the bats left behind,” he said, pouring coffee into Tommy's travel mug, then swapping it out for his own. “I'll be able to pick up all my stuff after my shift and get out of your hair.”

“Hm," Tommy hummed. "You should just move in here." It was so nonchalant it sounded the same as when he ordered his usual from the taco bar down the street.

Buck froze mid pour. “I- I should what?”

“Move in with me,” he repeated with a shrug, “if you want.” He walked over to Buck and pressed a kiss to his temple. “Think about it, Babe. I gotta go. Love you.”

“Yeah, I- I... I love you too.”

Tommy grabbed his mug off the counter and headed out the door, leaving Buck feeling like a deer in headlights.

Part of him wanted to chase Tommy out the door and ask, “How dare you ask so casually?!” The other part was eternally grateful Tommy exited briskly and gave him time to think it over.

Because, wasn't it too soon? He'd only ever done this moving in together thing one other time, and that wasn't exactly for a good reason.

They'd only said I love you for the last couple months. The words still sounded new, still made his heart swell every time they came out of Tommy's mouth. Still blushed when he said it back.

And did Tommy actually mean it? He did have a dry sense of humor that was sometimes easy to miss. Maybe this was one of those times. It was just a joke and he was meant to brush it off with a laugh.

He wasn't sure how long he actually stood there with a half filled mug of coffee in front of him, but eventually his phone dinged and pulled him out of his thoughts.

Stop panicking. Yes, I meant it. Seriously, just think about it.

Buck rolled his eyes, but couldn't help the smile that rose on his face.

Hate you. Be safe.

He only had to wait a few seconds for a reply.

Love you too. You be safer.

*****

“I'm kind of freaking out,” Buck said as Maddie grabbed her lunch from the fridge.

“Why are you freaking out?”

“Tommy asked me to move in with him.”

She paused briefly, eyebrows going up as she stood at the counter. “Really?”

“Yeah, yeah. Wh- Why really? You think it's too soon, don't you? It's too soon. That's what I thought when he asked, well suggested is more like it. He suggested I move in, and then told me to think about it, and then he left for work and then I left for work. And he told me not to panic and that he actually meant it, but-”

“Buck, I didn't mean anything by my really,” she interrupted, reaching out and squeezing his hand. “Honestly, I figured that was gonna happen once you stayed with him during the whole bat thing.”

“Really?” he asked, surprised. “I- I mean, you did?”

“You already spend more time at his place than your own. The bats were taken care of, what, almost a week ago?”

“Yeah.”

“And how many nights have you stayed at your place since then?”

“Well... Well, I had to work a couple of those days,” he tried to reason, “and then it made more sense to go to his place because we wanted to see each other but we were both tired from work.”

“You don't have to explain yourself, Buck,” she assured him. “I'm only saying it's not actually all that surprising.”

When Buck didn't look any more relieved than when he'd come into the call center, Maddie continued, “Have you made a pro/con list?”

He pulled a piece of paper from his back pocket and laid it on the countertop for Maddie to take. “Of course I did.”

She picked it up and read it over. “Great butt is number three? Did not need to know that.”

“It- It's a very detailed list,” he replied seriously.

“I can see that,” she agreed. “Although I can't help but notice there are no actual cons on this list.” She slid the paper back to him.

“That's why I'm freaking out.”

“Is this a bi crisis?” Josh asked, walking into the break room. “Because, if so, I feel like I should be involved. Also, I've been listening and I have something to say. May I?”

Buck nodded his head, resting his hands on the countertop. “Please. I- I could use all the help I can get.”

“Great. First of all, why are you trying to talk yourself out of it?”

“Because... Because, seven months ago I didn't even know I was bi, and then there was Tommy. And it's been great. He's funny, and kind, and he listens, and he's so hot-"

"Okay," Maddie waved for him to move on.

"Even when we argued, you know, we stuck around and worked it out. It's the healthiest relationship I've ever been in. It's the happiest relationship I've ever been in.”

“God, this sounds awful,” Josh deadpanned.

“Yeah, listen, Buck, if you don't want him I'll take him,” Maddie added with a smile. “I don't think Howie would mind.”

Buck grinned. “I'm just saying, it all seems so fast. I keep trying to think of reasons to say no, or wait a few more months, but I- I can't.”

“Okay, maybe you can't think of a reason to say no, because there's no good reason to say no,” Josh replied. “How's it been staying with him while the bats took over your place?”

“It's... It's been great. I thought there would be a big adjustment, but there really wasn't. He hasn't seemed bothered by my stuff being there, and it's been nice having someone to, ya know, come home to,” he added, a blush rising on his cheeks.

“Have you had any of the big conversations yet?” Maddie asked. “You know, kids, marriage, stuff like that?”

“Mhm. We agree on everything.”

Josh glanced at Maddie before replying. “I really don't see the problem here, Buck.”

“You don't think it's too soon?”

“I think,” Josh sighed. “I think life is really short, which you probably know better than anybody. And if Tommy makes you as happy as it sounds like he does, then you're the only one stopping you from that happiness.”

Buck rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a deep breath. “Sometimes, I still feel like a fraud,” he admitted. “Like it all came too easy. You know, I- I've heard how rough it was for Tommy to come out and all the crap he went through for years. I figure out I like guys and get a boyfriend in the same day, six months later he's asking me to move in and I can picture my entire life with him.”

“I think that's your brain messing with you,” Josh said. “Because to me, it sounds like you've had thirty-three years of searching for something that feels real, and good, and settled. And you've found it with Tommy.”

Maddie nodded. “I agree. He's good to you, Evan. Everyone can see you two love each other. I can honestly say I've never seen you happier or more sure of yourself. You don't need to doubt that. You need to let yourself have a win.”

A smile started to grow on Buck's face. He was pretty sure he'd already made up his mind, but there was still one thing that worried him. “What if it doesn't work out?”

“Then you do the opposite of what you're about to do,” Josh answered simply, “and you move back out.”

*****

Tommy already knew Buck was at his place before he got inside. The giant Jeep in his driveway was always a dead giveaway.

Half of him expected Buck's things to be neatly packed up by the door, ready to move back into his loft until his lease was officially up.

The other half expected him to be sitting on the couch with a downcast look on his face that said I'm not ready to move in with you without having to actually say it.

What he didn't expect was the door to swing back on him due to it slamming into boxes.

Once he managed to hold the door open and scoot inside, he looked around at well over twenty boxes that were littered around the entryway of his place, leading into the living room.

“Evan?” he called out, a smile already on his face.

“Here!” he exclaimed, exiting Tommy's bedroom and hurrying down the hall. “Here, I'm here! So-” Buck paused briefly to give Tommy a peck on the lips, then continued through the maze of boxes as he headed for the kitchen, Tommy following behind. “This isn't everything, obviously, but I don't actually think I'll be bringing all that much from my place. The bats pooped on a lot. Like, a whole lot. Plus, I like your furniture. The kitchen will have to have some new appliances, but I already ordered what the bats, you know, pooped on. You need to let me know what appliances have a family history for you- if that's a thing- before I throw them out. Some of this stuff is, well, it's terrible. Why don't you sharpen your knives, Tommy? Mind blowing. I know the boxes are kinda a mess, but I didn't want to unpack without you because that feels like me just taking over, ya know, and I don't wanna-”

Buck was stopped by Tommy grabbing hold of his hand and pulling him in close. He wrapped his arms around Buck's waist, and Buck's arms rested over Tommy's shoulders.

“I'm guessing this is a yes to moving in?” Tommy asked, nose scrunching up in a smile.

Buck let out a deep breath, grinning back. “Yes. It- It's a yes.”

“You didn't freak out too much?”

“I didn't freak out at all,” Buck protested weakly.

“Evan.”

“Okay, I freaked out a little,” he replied, ducking his head, “but not for the reasons you think.”

Tommy tilted Buck's chin so their eyes met. “What reasons?”

“I... The fact there wasn't a reason to say no. I- I freaked because it felt like it should feel too soon, but it didn't. It doesn't. It feels right.”

That's when Tommy leaned in for a kiss far less chaste than the one Buck had given him when he opened the door.

“Do we have to start unpacking tonight?” Tommy asked when they parted, resting their foreheads against one another.

Buck shook his head. He brought his hands to the nape of Tommy's neck and drew him in again, his tongue parting Tommy's lips. Clumsily, they began making their way toward their bedroom without letting one another go.

“Maybe we could work on christening the place then?” Tommy suggested, his nose brushing up against Buck's cheek. “For good luck or whatever.”

“Mmm,” Buck moaned, grabbing at the hem of Tommy's shirt and pulling it over his head quickly, tossing it on top of a box. “You have the best ideas, roomie.”

Tommy snorted at that, his head tossing back in laughter. “God, I love you.”

Somehow, they managed to make it to the bedroom, and Buck gently pushed Tommy down before crawling over him, leaning down to whisper against his lips, “I love you too.”

[princessbrunette]

all of a sudden, jj suddenly felt severely underdressed in his black muscle tank and cargo shorts. it’s not that he hadn’t been in a strip club before, he’d just never come to see pogue!bunny!reader at her place of work.

you’d left your shoes at the chateau after one of the many infamous pogue parties that you’d been invited to. if it were any other kind of cheap shoes, you’d probably just said forget about it. but for some bizarre reason, you’d worn some of your prettiest shoes that cost you an arm and a leg from the bills thrown your way at the club, so you’d been damned if you let those just get tossed in the trash because guys don’t know the value of things.

jj had actually used it as an excuse to slide into your instagram dms. shooting you a super casual ‘hey, left your shoes at the chateau. want em back?’ to which you responded ‘my hero!!!! <3’ and so on. anyway, the agreement was — he’d bring your shoes to you on your break.

it’s not as grimy on the inside as it is on the outside, but he doesn’t have much time to look around before he’s hearing the slapping of bare feet through the hallway — and suddenly a scantily dressed figure is throwing itself into his arms in the dimly lit space.

“holy— jesus christ.” he catches you anyway, though you can tell he doesn’t know where to put his hands, settling on the fat just beneath your ass. he swore you were put on this earth to tempt him.

“you came!” you smile in that melodic voice, unhardened by your surroundings. hell, he nearly did come.

“well, you called.” he shrugs, trying to be all nonchalant about it. he swings the shiny pink heels around his fingers and you squeal, taking them from him. “yeah— so, uh— if that’s all i could probably just see myself ou—” he juts a thumb towards the exit, going to stuff one hand in his pocket and missing all together as he backs away. he wasn’t sure why he was being so awkward, aside from the fact you were just stood infront of him wearing a tiny little triangle bra and a g string.

“stay!” your brows furrow adorably and it physically pains his chest, infact — he’s pretty sure he had a physical reaction, face screwing up with a wince. how does one tell the girl he’s attracted to that if he stays any longer he will pop a hard on? “s’the least i can do. come watch the show. i can hook you up with wings and some beers for free?” you bat your faux-lashes, the glitter on your cheekbone glowing in the low lighting as you tilt your head sweetly, putting on a show to convince him.

“wings, beer n’ boobs? you’re talkin’ my language young lady.” he smirks, unable to hide his usual ways and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

“yay, follow me!” you grip his hand, long acrylics scratching against his wrist and he rolls his lips together, eyes practically following each jiggle of your ass cheek as you walk before he even realises he’s in the main section. you settle him in, a little booth that usually probably occupies pervy businessmen— which really makes the blonde feel out of place. he came alone, and now he was sat here — occupying a booth. what kind of creep comes to watch strippers alone?

he’s about to jump up and make up an excuse to leave in pure embarrassment, but you’re smoothing your hands along his shoulders, batting your lashes and telling him you wish you could stay and chat but you’ve gotta go dance, and that his wings and beer will be coming soon. he blinks at you, under a trance and settles into the worn and suspiciously sticky leather arm chair.

soon you’re up on that stage and he wants to sink into the fucking ground. you’re unbelievably hot, and now it’s like something out of a porno he made in his mind, watching you saunter around the pole, dropping down to the ground and arching your back, shaking the meat of your ass effortlessly as faceless men throw money your way. he had nothing to throw but some receipts and old nickels in his pockets and he didn’t think you’d appreciate that — which didn’t matter anyway, because he was somewhat stuck to his seat.

he lifts his hands to adjust his cap before realising he’s not wearing one, and just as he realises his dick is sitting hot, heavy and hard in his shorts— you’re off stage, bounding over with everything jiggling. lord help him.

he thinks he might die when you clamber confidently onto his lap, straddling him front on.

“so how was it jayj did you like it? i know it’s a lil’ weird seeing me up there, i’m your friend n’all but was the song choice good atleast?” you tilt your head like a befuddled puppy dog before wriggling around— crotch to cock. “oh, nevermind. i can feel that you’re like super hard so i take it that you liked the show!” you smile, like you’d just said the most innocent sentence in the world. jj blinks, lips agape.

“uh— y—no, yeah it was… well, y’know. the body doesn’t lie.” he bucks his hips lightly in gesture before immediately internally questioning why he’d do something so creepy. luckily, you giggle — but he’s not sure if it’s because you liked it or because you’re well trained.

“well, next time you get paid come get a lapdance i’ll fix that problem jayj, even give you a discount.” you let that giggle slip through again, but there’s a breathiness to your tone that feels all too real. his brows jump up, eyes flickering unashamedly to your tits as you lean forward to his ear. “or jus’ get me drunk again next weekend? will probably do it for free ‘cus i like you.” you admit, looking all nervous when you pull back. you just shook your ass on stage, yet jj maybank was making you flustered.

“for sure. yeah uh— can… can definitely do that. yep.” he plays it calm and collected, sees you out with another bone crushing hug against your tits before speed walking to his company truck that he drove over here. his shift was over, so he wasn’t rushing to get back to work. moreso to beat off in the parking lot thinking about pulling that g-string of yours to the side.

[saigethearies]

saige’s terrortober presents…

trust me

while on an expedition into space, your budding romance with osamu came as a pleasant surprise- the murderer hiding amongst your crew, not so much.

alien!osamu miya x fem!reader

contents/warnings: murder, manipulation, and slight yandere, side character deaths, service dom!osamu, unprotected vaginal sex, vaginal fingering, oral (f! receiving), size kink, osamu is PACKING, praise, belly bulge, dacryphilia, use of pet names, betrayal, angst in the end, osamu still has his dyed hair but he’s in his twenties, this is basically an among us au bare with me

wc: 6.7k

18+ MINORS DNI

an: this one is posted a little late but it works out so it gets to be posted on samu’s actual bday!

“the fuck you mean you found a dead body?” terushima bites out from next to you.

your brain felt like it was lagging as panicked voices sounded off around you. there was no way one of your crewmates was dead. you’d all had multiple health screenings before getting admission into the space exploration program. no one would have gotten the green light if they were in bad health, so how could they just have died? and within the first week?

unless…

“there were multiple stab wounds,” director takeda said, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible to prevent the surrounding tension from worsening. “as of right now, we can only assume it was a homicide.”

the room fell silent as everyone let the news sink in.

“ya gotta be fuckin’ kiddin’ me,” a voice drawls from across the circular table. “we’re stuck on this floatin’ hunk of metal and we’ve gotta damn killer on the loose?”

atsumu miya had a scowl on his face, arms crossed over his chest.

“if that’s the case then we need to start narrowing suspects down now,” oikawa followed up. “someone in this room is a murderer, unless we have a stowaway hiding somewhere.”

“security is top notch, there’s no way someone would have been able to sneak on,” kanoka rebutted.

“well then,” daishou started. “it’s time to start hearing some alibis.”

“i was doing weapons,” asahi supplied.

“i can vouch, i was in the room with him,” oikawa added, the other nodding in agreement.

one by one, all of your crewmates stated where they were, what they were doing, who they were with.

“i was in navigation with the twins trying to get the ship back on course,” suna said. “since dumb and dumber decided it would be a good idea to push a bunch of random buttons.”

“i was tryin’ t’ find the air conditionin’!”

“don’t rope me in with his bullshit,” osamu miya muttered from besides his brother.

you spared a quick glance at the grey-haired man. out of all the people on the ship, he seemed to be the one you always found your eyes wandering to.

“where were you?”

the question pulled you back into focus. you turned to see terushima staring down at you, awaiting your response.

“i was reading some samples in med bay.”

his eyes narrowed. “did anyone see you?”

you blinked. no, no one saw you, but that’s because you were the only scientist hired on with a medical background. most of your time in med bay was spent alone.

would that make you look suspicious?

you figured that honesty was the best policy, so you went ahead and told the truth.

“no, i was there alone- but no one else is ever really in there unless they need treatment or need to run an errand, if that makes any difference.”

“so what i’m hearing is that you don't have a solid alibi.”

you felt your hands start to shake. “i-i guess not…”

“let’s hear where the hell yer ass was, terushima.”

the two of you turned to see osamu’s dark grey eyes trained on the man interrogating you. the intensity in them almost sent a chill down your spine.

“ya seem desperate t’ go ahead and put blame on the lil’ lady without even giving yer own alibi yet.”

was he defending you?

terushima sent him a glare. “i was emptying the trash in storage. daishou saw me when he passed by.”

a furrow appeared on said man’s brow. “uh, hate to say it man, but i don’t remember seeing you there.”

“the hell do you mean? you literally walked right by me!”

“the only people i remember seeing before the emergency alarm sounded off was kanoka and the director in shields. i was dropping off some supplies for them.”

“you can’t be serious right now!”

“well look who doesn't have a solid alibi now,” atsumu taunted. “it seems t’ me like yer dejectin’-”

“projecting,” suna corrected.

“-projectin’ onto someone else because ya don’t wanna look guilty.”

“you’re trying to imply that i did this?” terushima shouted.

“if the shoe fits.”

“that’s enough,” director takeda declares, getting the bickering to subside before it could escalate further. “we don’t need to jump to conclusions and we don’t need to fall into hysteria, either. making a rash decision based on little evidence won’t help anything. the body was found near the reactors, so on the complete opposite side of the ship from where everyone allegedly was. Therefore, we don't really have any leads at the moment.”

“so what do we do?” asahi asked, anxiety written all over his face.

“for now, everyone just stay alert and on guard. try to stay in groups or at least pairs if you can. i don’t think the killer will lash out if more than one person is around, and if worst comes to worst, we’d at least be able to pick out who was with who. if you do notice anything suspicious about a fellow crewmate, come report to me directly. rumors will only cause trouble. understood?”

everyone gave their confirmation, you barely being able to mutter yours out.

there was really a killer amongst your ranks.

you were stuck on a ship traveling further into outer space with a murderer.

“good. meeting adjourned, everyone back to your tasks.”

you turned back towards med bay, practically moving on autopilot as your mind picked apart every piece of information you just received.

“i find it interesting that the person closest to the reactors at the time of the murder was you. that is, if your story was even true”

the voice was followed by a hand roughly grabbing onto your arm, halting your retreat. you turned to see terushima’s glare trained on you, his grip tightening. “everyone else might be letting your shitty alibi slide, but i'm not.”

“your own alibi wasn’t even solid,” you argued back, trying to wrench free from his grasp. “you don't have any right to accuse me, if anything i could be saying the same things to you right now.”

“you’re a lot more combative than you were a few minutes ago. i guess you dropped the quiet, innocent girl act now that we're not surrounded by others, right?”

you wanted to deck this guy. how dare he continue to try and accuse you of one thing after another when you haven't done anything wrong. especially after his own shaky alibi had been exposed.

“that’s not the case at all, i just don’t like to be bothered by a hypocrite!”

“i’ll show you a fucking-”

“get yer filthy hands off’a her.”

osamu was at your side before you could even register. while the expression on his face seemed blank, terushima could see the silent fire raging within his eyes, practically challenging him to try and disobey the grey-haired man’s order.

still, the shorter man made no move to release you, which prompted your unexpected savior to speak again.

“if i have t’ tell ya twice, yer not gonna like what happens next.”

with that, terushima finally released you. he scoffed before turning to storm out of the room.

you let out a breath you didn’t even realize you were holding in.

“ya alright, there?”

looking up you met the dark, concerned eyes of osamu. the contact had the inside of your stomach turning into an ocean, waves swirling around within you as you held his gaze.

“i’m okay, thank you,” you said, trying to ignore the feeling of your cheeks heating up. “he seemed relentless, so i really do appreciate you stepping in.”

a smile then appeared on osamu’s face, and you wanted to burn the image into your memory forever because goodness did that man look handsome.

“it’s no worries, my ma taught me better than t’ just stand by when a lady’s ‘n trouble.”

you felt the corners of your own lips curl upwards. “well then she did a really great job.”

“how ‘bout i walk ya back to med bay,” he offered. “director said we needa stick together, wouldn’t feel right if i just let ya wander off alone.”

the waves inside your stomach felt as if they were growing to tsunami-level proportions. you had clearly noticed that osamu was a handsome man the day the crew was all introduced to each other, but you reasoned that you had a job to do on this ship so you couldn’t let yourself get distracted by what was essentially a schoolgirl crush.

now, however, the person of your attraction was guiding you through the halls with a large hand placed on the small of your back.

“i feel like we’re ‘n the start of’a nightmare,” osamu said, pulling you out of your thoughts. “can’t believe shunki got offed by someone on the damn crew.”

“yeah, it’s insane,” you replied. “i still can’t really wrap my head around it.”

“ ‘m sure that terushima jackass barkin’ atcha hasn't made it any easier for ya, huh?”

you sighed. “no, but i guess he does have somewhat of a reason. my alibi can't be corroborated by anyone. besides, nerves are running rampant right now, so i can't really blame him.”

the two of you reached med bay, osamu reaching for the handle and opening the door before you could even lift a finger. he was every bit as chivalrous as he was handsome, your knees feeling slightly weaker as he ushered you inside.

“well i think his reason for comin’ atcha was bullshit. he doesn’t have a solid story, either, so his whole outburst is rubbin’ me the wrong way. be careful ‘round him, will ya?”

the thought had crossed your mind during your earlier altercation with terushima. you knew you weren’t a killer, but him? it could be entirely plausible that a murderer had just been laying his hands on you. if osamu hadn’t come to your aid…

“i’ll try and steer clear of him,” you replied. “thank you again, osamu. i appreciate it, really.”

“of course,” he replied with a smile coming back onto his face. “and you can call me ‘samu.”

returning his kind expression, you nodded your head before turning to grab the samples you were working with earlier.

“anythin’ i can help ya with while ‘m here?”

“you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to, walking me back was already sweet enough of you.”

“nah, we gotta stay ‘n pairs, remember? can’t let ya just sit here by yerself with a killer on the ship.”

by the look on his face, you could tell osamu wasn’t going to take no for an answer, so you relented by pointing to the wireless connection panel on the wall across from you.

“i think that could use some maintenance.”

_____

while very tense, the next few days were quiet. no more killings, no odd behavior from anyone- besides terushima’s rotten attitude towards you, but at this point you were just getting used to it. everyone was taking it day by day, each uneventful twenty-four hours being looked at as a win. crew morale was constantly wavering, however. it was hard to feel confident in your coworkers when one of them was secretly a murderer.

your safe haven amidst all of the suspense was osamu.

he continued to spend hours at a time with you in med bay, your once silent workplace now filled with chatter and laughter. when it came time for him to leave to go attend to other tasks, you would often tag along.

“buddy system, right?” he would say.

atsumu and suna would also occasionally find themselves keeping the two of you company in med bay. watching the three of them banter was probably the best entertainment you were going to get on the spacecraft. with the way the dark-haired man interacted with the twins you would think that they’ve all known each other for a very long time, so you were surprised to learn that they’d only just met at the start of the expedition.

“it literally reminds me of mustard,” suna remarked, earning a burst of laughter from osamu.

“shut yer trap, sunarin!”

“did you just not think to use toner?”

“there is nothin’ wrong with my hair!” atsumu defended.

the bickering had been going on for the past five minutes, suna always finding a way to goad the blonde into being his personal entertainment. he almost had a talent for being able to get under either of the twin’s skin, antagonizing them almost as much as they antagonize each other.

“if yer worried ‘bout what's wrong with ya then yer hair is the least of yer worries,” osamu piped up, earning a small giggle from you. you were too engrossed in recording your sample data to notice the content smile come onto the grey-haired man’s face at hearing your laugh.

he came up behind you, leaning down so that his head was hovering above your shoulder. “what ya got goin’ on here?”

you kept your face turned down towards your desk, not wanting him to catch onto the way your cheeks were heating up at his close proximity. “just going over the results from asahi’s blood test.”

it was no doubt to you that after spending so much time together, there was…something brewing between you and osamu. at first you figured it was just physical attraction, but the more you were around him, the more you began to realize that wasn’t the case.

you felt a comfort with the man you hadn’t felt with anyone else before- not any of your friends, not any of your exes, not even your family. there was no denying that there was a genuine connection there, and whether you were falling for him so quickly because of the circumstances or because you were truly that into him, you didn’t know.

and it didn’t really matter to you, either. every day on this spaceship could end up being your last, so you chose not to waste your time overthinking.

“need any help?”

“no, but thank you, ‘samu. you're always so considerate.”

before he could reply, kissy noises were sounding off from the other two occupants in the room. the glare osamu sent atsumu and suna would probably have most peoples’ stomachs dropping, but the two of them seemed unfazed.

it was then that a red flash illuminated the room, a harsh buzz ripping through the air.

the emergency alarm.

you dropped your pen.

“dammit!” atsumu yelled. “not another murder!”

a hand was placed on the small of your back, guiding you to stand on unsteady legs. “don’t jump t’ conclusions, we don’t know fer sure.”

“well what else would it be?” suna asked.

you began to move towards the door, osamu’s palm not leaving your body.

“i guess we should go find out,” you muttered.

the walk was silent, the once tense atmosphere of the ship now suffocating as days after days worth of anxiety had come to a crescendo. the four of you waited as the cafeteria doors slid open, revealing the rest of your crewmates gathered around the meeting table.

well, all of them except one.

not again…

once you had all gathered around, director takeda spoke the words you’d been dreading to hear since the adjournment of the last meeting.

“another body has been found.”

silence.

“oikawa and asahi found daishou in the electrical room. he wasn’t moving and they couldn’t find a pulse.”

“that’s right around the corner from where the last body was found,” kanoka observed.

“on the same side as med bay,” terushima muttered under his breath, loud enough for you to hear.

you frowned. “can you at least wait until we get all the details before you try and start accusing me?”

“why? we’re already two men down, we can’t let this shit just slide again.”

“we won’t,” takeda firmly interjected. “there were several small bruises on daishou’s neck, so it seems that his cause of death was asphyxiation.”

“so whoever did this was able to choke a grown a man to death with their bare hands,” oikawa observed.

“wouldn’t that mean we have the culprit’s fingerprints?” you asked.

“unfortunately the perpetrator was wearing gloves.”

“damn,’ asahi sighed.

“well if they killed the poor guy with their bare hands then i really don’t think it could be the lil’ lady,” atsumu commented.

“yeah, ya really think these tiny ass fingers could choke a man?” osamu added, lifting your hand up to prove his point. your stomach fluttered when you saw how huge his looked compared to yours.

“here the two of you go fucking defending her again,” terushima barked. “she didn’t even have an alibi last time!”

“neither did you,” suna said.

“yeah, and this time all three of us were with her,” osamu motioned between him, his brother, and their friend. “so she has the damn alibi yer so bent over.”

“okay, so we know oikawa and asahi were together again, then the four of them were with each other,” kanoka listed. “i was checking oxygen levels with the director.”

all eyes turned to the remaining unnamed person.

“terushima, where were you?”

the man blinked. “i was doing weapons.”

“did anyone see you?”

“i-uh, well no, everyone was off doing other things.”

director takeda frowned. “so you have no one to confirm your whereabouts?”

“second time this happened,” oikawa commented.

the pierced man sent the brunette a glare.

“since he mentioned it already, wasn’t daishou the one who denied being able to verify terushima’s story last time? and now he’s dead, too.”

everyone went quiet at suna’s observation, terushima’s eyes widening.

“are you seriously implying that i fucking did this?”

“the evidence isn’t really pointing towards anyone else right now,” kanoka said slowly.

“what the fuck.”

“everyone else has alibis,” oikawa said, prepared to lay the facts on the table.”you’re the only one who’s been unaccounted for both times, and you have a possible motive for the most recent killing. no one else has the cards stacked against them like this.”

terushima looked around the table, everyone regarding him with a careful, withdrawn look.

“guys, come on!”

director takeda took a slow breath. “i’m sorry, terushima. but we’ve already lost two lives, and right now you’re the only suspect. we have to do what’s best for the crew.”

“fuck you,” he bit out, practically snarling. “fuck all of you! what are you gonna do now, shoot me?”

“no,” his superior said slowly.

“the ship has come equipped with a different way to handle violent members.”

_____

never in a million years would you have thought that what director takeda meant is that terushima would get ejected. thrown out into deep space to choke and freeze.

it felt so cruel and unusual. yet, your boss insisted that this was the best way to go about it. keeps the threat away without needing anyone to bloody their own hands.

you tried to take his word for it, but you still couldn’t help but feel that there had to have been a better method.

thankfully, the relief of the murder mystery being solved was enough to keep you from dwelling on it for too long. the atmosphere on the ship was light again, everyone more lively and talkative. there was still an underlying somberness held for those departed, but no more going through the day with bated breath.

well, almost.

you still couldn’t fight the feeling that something was…off.

as if your ship’s little mystery had been solved almost too easily. too conveniently.

“what’s wrong?”

osamu’s voice pulled you from your thoughts, standing at the entryway to your sleeping quarters.

“oh! hey,” you said, getting up from your desk. you had to crane your neck so much to look up at him. you tried to ignore how that fact made your heart skip.

as if he could read your thoughts, the grey-haired man brushed a strand of your hair behind your ear. “ya didn’t answer me.”

you gave him a small smile. “i’m okay, ‘samu, just tired.”

he frowned. “i don’t believe ya.”

a sigh escaped your lips. “i guess i’m just a little overwhelmed. i’m glad we found terushima out and all, but this whole ordeal has just felt like…a lot. and i think i've been struggling to calm down again, after things were so tense for a while.”

“i don’t like seein’ ya this worried, pretty girl like ya shouldn’t be frettin’ over a thing.”

the comment didn’t catch you completely off guard. osamu had started to become a little more flirtatious, but you always figured it wasn’t that serious. probably just a way for him to be affectionate.

as his dark eyes bore into you right now, however, you started to think that might not be the case.

“i’m okay, really.”

the hand that had brushed your hair away hadn’t left your face, thumb brushing against your cheek.

“i can see yer face lookin’ all gloomy,’ he said, moving closer to you. “c’mon, darlin’, talk to me.”

you took a deep, steadying breath. “i just want a break from all the stress.”

his hands were then roaming your back, pulling you into his chest. his lips found themselves at the shell of your ear.

“then let me take care of ya, sweetheart.”

the sexual tension building up over the past week came to boiling point when osamu’s lips slotted against yours, desire spilling over the sides and shrouding each of you in a cloud of desire. he started to press more firmly, tongue sliding in between the seam of your mouth.

he broke away from you. “ ‘s this alright?”

you nodded, eyes wide, before osamu’s lips chased after yours again, hand coming to the zipper of your pink bodysuit. he dragged it down slowly, revealing more of your skin inch by inch.

stepping out of the material, you stood before him in your matching set.

“so damn beautiful.”

you placed your hands on the back of his neck, eyes staring up at him doefully. “wanna see you too, ‘samu.”

“whatever ya want, darlin’.”

he peeled off his own bodysuit next, grey in color, and was left in just his briefs. gently leading you back towards your bed, he laid you down slowly.

kissing you once more, osamu started to move down your body, leaving little pecks against your heated skin in his wake.

“what are you doing?”

“i told ya i was gonna take care of ya, sweetheart.”

he pressed a kiss below your belly button, fingers gripping the hem of your panties. he glanced towards your face, chest tightening at the sight of your lust-blown expression, waiting for your okay. you nodded, and thus osamu peeled the lace off.

grabbing the underside of each of your thighs, he spread them open. kissing the inner part of each of them, his lips then finally descended onto your glistening cunt.

“ ‘samu,” you squeaked out.

he smirked, tongue grazing up and down your sensitive nub. the sensation had you mewling, fingers tangling into his dyed locks. your sounds made osamu smirk against you, adding two fingers into your cunt in hopes he’d hear even more.

the muscle started to move against your clit faster, mouthing against it like he was starved. another finger was then pressed into your pussy. you weren’t used to being stretched that much.

“too much,” you whined out. “ ‘s too much.”

“ya need t’ take it, sweet thing. if yer gonna take my dick later, ya need this.”

you felt your breath catch, the thought of being filled by him leading the heat in your stomach to start building.

finally hitting his fingers against that spongy spot deep within your walls, a cry ripped from you as he started to put all of his focus there. your legs were starting to shake, so osamu decided now was the time to switch up the motion of his tongue, drawing circles on your bundle of nerves.

you spasmed as your orgasm tore through you, whimpers leaving your lips as pleasure overtook every nerve within you.

osamu removed his mouth and fingers from you, inching back up your body before hovering over you.

“did so good, pretty girl, so good.”

you felt his thick fingers creep behind your back, undoing your bra. his eyes drank in the sight of your tits as he pulled the garment off of you.

kisses and bites were littered along your chest, small praises whispered between each. his lips moved back up your neck, leaving a final peck on the tip of your nose before speaking.

“ya think yer ready?”

you knew what he was talking about, nodding your head vigorously, excited to be able to feel all of him.

however, all of that excitement left your body when he finally removed his boxers.

oh…

you should have known. osamu’s whole frame was big and broad. why would his cock be any different?

god, would that even fit? none of your past boyfriends even came close to his size.

he must’ve seen your face grow pale. “what’s the matter, darlin’?”

you gulped.

“...that’s not gonna fit, ‘samu.”

“it will,” he replied, not even seeming fazed by your concern. “trust me.”

“but-”

“ya trust me, right?”

his gaze was zeroed in on yours, and you felt yourself become transfixed by just how endless it seemed, as if the space surrounding your little floating ship existed in osamu’s eyes.

“yeah, i trust you.”

another soft kiss met your lips. “good.”

his thumb was at your clit again, an attempt to distract you from the head of his cock pressing against your opening. he began to push in, a small whimper leaving your lips as you could already feel the burning stretch.

“relax, doll, ya gotta relax.”

more kisses were then peppered against your lips, silent reassurances as osamu entered into you further, each new inch making your brain feel as if it was going to explode.

“little cunt ain’t used t’ takin’ somethin’ this big, huh?”

you shook your head, confirming his suspicion as tears started to leak from your eyes.

“well, first time fer everythin’, sweetheart.”

you had no idea how he got the whole thing to fit inside of you. your pussy felt as if it was being torn apart at the seams in the best way possible, jaw going slack as he bottomed out.

“oh.”

osamu hummed. “tightest cunt i’ve ever been ‘n. yer just a dream, aintcha?”

you wanted to reply to his praise, but all that could leave you was a scream as he started to pull out and push back in. starting a steady pace, the man pulled you into a hungry kiss.

never before had you ever been so filled, moaning aimlessly into his mouth as the only thought your brain could come up with was so full, so full, so full.

he parted from your lips.

“ya feel it, darlin’?”

you didn’t have a clue what he was talking about until he thrusted back in, palm coming down against a protrusion in your tummy. the realization had more drops falling down your cheeks, babbles bubbling up your throat. he was going to rip you apart, and you were more than willing to let him.

“ ‘m gettin’ close,” he warned, forehead resting against yours. his hands then grabbed each side of your hips, holding you in place as he picked up the pace. “need ya t’ cum too, doll. ladies first.”

your cunt finally couldn’t take anymore battering, muscles spasming as you came hard on osamu’s cock. you saw him grin as your body shook, finally allowing himself to release with a low groan.

he made sure to pull out of your overstuffed pussy before you could get too stimulated, situating himself at your side so he could pull you into his chest. you rested your cheek against his pec.

stillness overtook the room as you tried to compose yourself, body still twitching with aftershocks.

osamu chuckled, kissing the crown of your head.

“i told ya i’d make it work. see, ya can trust me.”

_____

the next twenty four hours were absolute bliss. you and osamu were practically connected at the hip, all ooey gooey and lovey dovey with each other. atsumu and suna made gagging sounds every time they saw the two of you, but neither of you cared. nothing was going to ruin the oasis you’d built with one other.

the emergency alarm figured it was up for the challenge.

your eyebrows knitted together, pulling away from your lover’s side as you heard the sound pierce the content silence you’d been sitting in.

the uneasy feeling from before, the feeling that something still just wasn’t right came back to you.

“it might just be some mechanical issues,” osamu reassured, clearly trying to calm you down. you met his gaze, slightly taken aback by the expression in them. it was hard to read, but you just chalked it up to him being antsy, too.

“hopefully.”

the broken, bloodied glasses of director takeda proved the two of you wrong.

oikawa held them in the palm of his hand, a grim look on his face.

“he was in navigation,” he started. “i could barely even recognize him, that’s how bad the damage was.”

you couldn’t stop your lip from wobbling. your nightmare was still ongoing, and now the one person who kept you all sane had been beaten into his grave.

what came next broke you even more, though.

“kanoka is dead, too.”

two murders.

two murders on the same damn day.

you bit your lip, keeping your cries as silent as you could as the news settled.

suna was the first to speak. “do we need to move their bodies out of there, and give them a nicer…resting place, like the others?”

“that’s the thing,” oikawa’s tone now had an edge to it. “kanoka’s body wasn’t with the director’s, it was in lower engine.”

“so what does that mean?” you said, frustration starting to prick at you. “the killer moved her body? or had enough time to get from one crime scene to the other?”

“no,” asahi said. “oikawa was across the hall cleaning the air filters when he heard crashing in navigation. he remembered the time was around 7:30 pm. i was checking the reactor when i heard kanoka scream, and the clock on it read 7:27 pm.”

“ya mean t’ tell me they were killed at the same time ‘n opposite sides of the ship? how the hell is that possible?”

“is the answer not obvious?” oikawa bit out at atsumu. “there’s two fucking killers, and it has to be one of you four!”

“one of us?” you said in disbelief.

“yes!”

“wait a damn minute,” osamu started. “ya mean t’ tell us that if there’s two killers, it has t’ be two of us? not the two of ya, who’ve been stickin’ together since the beginnin’?”

“what ‘samu said! y’all have always been each other’s alibis, ya could have been bullshittin’ us the whole time!”

atsumu had a point. oikawa and asahi always being each other’s alibis would have been one thing when there was a singular killer, but now that there’s two? they could have been covering for each other the whole time. but still…

“if we were the killers why would we give away that there’s two of us? that makes no sense, we’d have nothing to gain from that.”

oikawa voiced the exact thought you had been thinking. they would have the element of surprise keeping their partnership under wraps, it doesn’t make sense why they would expose there are two murderers when it would be easier to let the impression there’s a singular one linger.

yet, you had gotten to know the other three people at the table. there was no way osamu, atsumu, or suna could be a killer. there was just no way.

“you could be playing mind games with us, who knows,” suna assessed. “there’s no telling what fucked shit you’re willing to do if you’re out here cutting people up.”

“no one is trying to play tricks!” asahi yelled. “the innocent people on this ship are in serious danger, we need to figure this out now!”

“the four of us see one another on a regular basis,” osamu said. “the two of ya are the outliers here.”

“we each have three other people that can vouch for us! the two of ya only have each other! yer outnumbered here!”

you were so overwhelmed. so much muddled information was being thrown around, no solid theories being able to stem from such minimal evidence. you weren’t going to be able to use your brain on this one, you were going to have to trust your gut.

“we’re supposed to believe the pair of two people aren’t the killers and instead the duo is hiding in the tight knit group of four? that shit doesn’t add up in the slightest, the two of you are talking out of your asses.”

oikawa and asahi turned to you.

“you’re smart, please tell us you believe us.”

you bit your lip.

“i just…can’t wrap my head around the idea that any of them could be killers.”

“don’t let being buddy-buddy with the three of them cloud your judgment. like i said earlier, why would we expose there are actually two killers if we were the two killers?”

a theory came to your mind, and you weren’t sure if you thought it up because it was actually plausible, or because you just wanted to prove your lover and friends were innocent. regardless, you shared it.

“the three of them are bigger than the prior victims, so they would put up a tough fight. two against four would be hard to pull off with them, so you could be exposing the murderer duo so that we get rid of two of ourselves and then make it a two against two.”

oikawa and asahi both blanched at your statement.

“she’s a genius!” atsumu exclaimed. “y’all really thought ya could put one by her, huh?”

“she’s wrong! we would nev-”

“i don’t know about you guys,” suna interrupted. “but i’ve heard all that i need to hear. let’s get them the fuck off this ship.”

the screaming and shouting that ensued as he and the twins pushed the two accused men out of the room and down the halls had you covering your ears, eyes squeezed shut as more tears dropped down your face.

you tried to tell yourself that you were okay. the murderers had been caught for real now, you were going to be fine. you were safe.

the ship went quiet, yells no longer being heard. that was all you needed to know that oikawa and asahi had been ejected.

footsteps pulled you out of your thoughts, suna regarding you with a nod as he re-entered the room.

“you alright?”

breathe in, breathe out. “i should be.”

“good. i'm gonna go send a message to headquarters. someone needs to tell them what the hell has been happening.”

you bid him goodbye as he left. standing up, you decided that being wrapped up in osamu’s arms felt like a good idea after the intense moment earlier.

they weren’t in med bay, so you did a little searching before hearing their voices from inside the admin room. you were about to enter the room before a sentence spoken by osamu stopped you in your tracks.

“i told ya t’ fuckin’ wait a while-”

wait for what?

“ ‘m sorry, i just wanted to get it over with! i told ya i didn’t want t’ be the one t’ kill the director.”

not even the limitless space outside could create the coldness you felt seep through every pore in your skin.

please be dreaming.

“ya still nearly got us exposed.”

“who cares? we’ve picked enough people off anyways. ship is ours.”

your pulse currently rivaled that of a racehorse, your brain not being able to deny what it just heard.

the twins were the killers.

osamu was a murderer.

movement to your left caught your eye, the brothers exiting the room only to stop in surprise when they saw you.

you tried to paint a look of nonchalance on your face, but it was too late. the panic was written all over you. there was nowhere to hide.

two very different emotions came onto their faces. atsumu practically looked predatory, whereas ‘samu almost looked as panicked as you.

“darlin’, listen to me-”

“cut her the bullshit, ‘samu, ya already dickmatized her enough.”

you found yourself backpedaling, fingers trembling as you attempted to put as much distance between you and them as possible.

“c’mon, angel, why ya look so scared?” atsumu taunted. you watched in horror as his brown eyes shifted to an inky black, the blonde about to lunge at you before his brother grabbed him by the collar of his maroon suit and yanked him back.

“not her,” osamu bit out, trapping his brother in a headlock. “i told ya anyone but her.”

“yer no fun, ‘samu!”

you didn’t wait around to watch them squabble, turning and running towards communications as fast as you could. you had to get to suna. he needed to know, and you weren’t going to be able to stand the slightest chance against the miyas without him.

choked sobs left you as you sped through the halls, sorrow and guilt eating you alive. sorrow because the man you had started to fall in love with, the man you had given your body to, the man you felt safe with ended up being a murderer. you felt beyond just betrayed.

then, your guilt stemmed from the fact that so many of your crewmates lay dead now, and several times you had let their killers roam free. not only that, but you’d also stood by as numerous innocent people were sent to their death outside in the vacuum of space.

you knew something was still off. you knew.

but your gut instinct had been fogged by your stupid, mushy emotions.

this was all fucked.

this was all so fucked.

“SUNA!” you screamed, sprinting into comms with red and bleary eyes.

“what is it- whoa, what’s going on?” he asked, placing his hands on your shoulders.

“we were wrong,” you said, throat tightening. “it’s the twins, they’re the killers! they’ve been playing us the whole time.”

“damn, that’s tough.”

his unserious response confused you. maybe he was in shock?

“also, correction,” the dark-haired man began. “the miyas haven’t been playing us the whole time…”

your heart nearly stopped when you saw suna’s greyish-green eyes turn the same black shade that atsumu’s had.

“...we’ve all been playing you the whole time.”

you couldn’t move, not registering suna’s grip on your shoulders tightening until you were being ripped straight out of it.

“don’t fuckin’ touch her.”

you felt yourself become engulfed in osamu’s arms, back pressed to his chest as he kept the two of you facing the other two…imposters in the room.

“dude, seriously? she’s the last one standing, we could complete the set.”

“sunarin’s right! c’mon, ‘samu!”

you felt his hold tighten around you, the same hands that slaughtered your crewmates now protectively embracing you. that fact made your head hurt.

“i told the two of ya, ‘m keepin’ her. lay a damn finger on her and ‘m rippin’ it clean off ya.”

he was met with begrudged silence from the two other men before suna let out an exasperated sigh. “fine, i guess she can live. she did really help us out by vouching for us back there, fucking oikawa almost had us figured out.”

“a pretty face t’ look at on the ride home won’t hurt.”

“watch it,” osamu warned his brother.

you didn’t know what they were talking about. you didn’t know what home was for them. all you knew was that you were gonna get dragged along, whether you liked it or not, by a man who built a bond with you through sugar-coated lies.

osamu leaned down, kissing the side of your cheek before whispering in your ear. “all my feelins’ are genuine, darlin’, that i can assure ya.”

you felt his fingers intertwine with your still shaking ones.

“ ‘m gonna take good care of ya, i promise.”

_____

saige’s terrortober masterlist

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for trying to block evade?

This happened several years ago, so I'll put the ages that we were at the time.

I [17F at the time], had an extremely close friend [17F] of 3+ years, and I still haven't found any kind of friendship that came close to the level of trust / openness that was there. So some of this backstory ranges from 14yrs to 17yrs.

My home was abusive, and she and her mom helped me figure out what was rational vs irrational, normal vs not normal, and pointing out local resources to get help - which was absolutely amazing and I could not thank them enough.

She invited me to her house pretty regularly, a couple times a week. We'd have hours of skype calls. She got me roped into Undertale & the fandom. Well, not that we really interacted with the fandom at large. We only publically posted some of the art and barely got noticed haha. Between the two of us, we had something like 26 AUs and had a lot of rp with multiverse shenanigans - like over 1200+ pages of google docs rp, because that's where we did like 90% of it. After we hit like 100-200 pages, we'd make a new doc so it wouldn't take so long to load. And we had like, at least like 9 docs I think. I was mostly in it for her, because it was really fun to just make up stories together. I could've done it with any fandom she threw at me, undertale is just the one that was popular at the time.

At one point, I think when we were around 16, I asked her if she wanted to start dating. She said something along the lines of maybe in the future, but not right now - she wanted to focus on school. Even though she declined at the time, she did say she appreciated me asking and that it meant a lot to her. And there were 0 hard feelings about the answer, we just kept on going the way we were going.

She got hit with a really bad level of depression, and stopped coming to school. After 2-3 days, I started calling her every day around lunch time just to check in on her and see how she was doing. See if there was anything I could do to help - bring some snacks, catch her up on classwork for the couple classes we shared, stuff like that. This was for couple months. More than just a mental health day, and the only reason she gave was Depression.

After a week or two of the daily calls, there was probably an aspect of toxic positivity on my end. Like "You gotta Do Something to avoid being trapped in your misery, even if it's just baby steps like sitting outside on the porch or going on a walk down the block" Not maliciously, but more out of not knowing how to handle a situation like this & genuinely wanting to help her because of all the help she's offered me in the past & fueled a little bit by fear because Depresssion is the excuse that my abusive parents used to justify their shitty behavior & neglect. Not because I was afraid of what she'd do to me, but more what she'd do to herself. That's one of the only things I could think where I went wrong, which I completely acknowledge and understand now.

She was still inviting me to her house, and we were still doing our normal thing there. Drawing and writing stories together.

After 4-5 weeks [? estimate, time is an illusion] of her not showing up to school, I can't remember if I asked if it was helpful or if she suggested that I stop calling every day. Calling every day was making her feel worse.

I did end up calling the next day or two at lunch - crossing the boundary was not my intent. We had planned to hang out on the weekend again, lunch is just when I remembered & had time to call to ask if she still wanted to hang out or if she wanted some space. I think she said yes to hanging out, didn't mention anything about crossing the boundary. Same with the next day - there was something I needed to ask clarification on, it wasn't a check in, nothing was mentioned of the boundary. I can't remember what it was now. This is another one of the places where I think I went wrong, which I acknowledge & understand.

I did stop the check ins like requested though. After those two off days, I did stop calling her every day at lunch.

She finished out the school year having shown up to class maybe 3ish times, I think.

Again, we were still hanging out regularly. There was no indication that I was doing anything wrong, there was no indication that anything I was doing was wrong. She was still the one inviting me to hang out at least half the time.

There were some problems that I was noticing that I just wanted to have a casual chat about and figure out, but she kept pushing it off as a "I don't have the energy right now, we can talk about it later" and we'd go back to the fun things. I don't really remember what those problems were.

In the summer, I went to a different state to visit my older sister that I hadn't seen in years. I talked to her about it, I was excited for it. We were still chatting regularly during my trip over skype or discord.

And then, during my trip that I was so excited about, she drops this bombshell. She sends me several massive messages detailing out a bullet point list of everything I've done wrong, that she's explicitly breaking off the friendship, and blocks me. 95% of things on that list either flat weren't true, or gross misunderstandings of what happened.

It was genuinely horrible things too.

For example, one of the things on the list was "Suicide baiting" or "Suicide guilt tripping" or something along those lines, which had happened several months if not a year before this. -I've only ever communicated feeling acutely suicidal to her 1 time. -Long before that, she made me promise that if I ever felt suicidal that I was supposed to immediately talk to her about it, for her own peace of mind so she wouldn't worry about me. -I reached a point of feeling acutely suicidal due to abuse at home & general existential dread, that happened to be during a time we had an issue.

I purposefully waited until after the issue was resolved, like 2 weeks, before telling her. I did that specifically so it would not be taken as a guilt trip or a form of coercion while still holding as true as I could to my promise. She made me promise to tell her, it was something very important to her. I made very clear to say "this is something I experienced a couple weeks ago due to unrelated things, it is resolved now, I got help through xyz means and genuinely feel better. You made me promise to tell you so I am telling you, I didn't want to say anything while we were having a problem for xyz reason." I just wanted to talk, and clear up the misunderstandings. I wanted to have a good conversation about figuring out where the communication went wrong, try and figure out how she came to these conclusions, and how that differs from my point of view. Do something to work it out, and just talk about it, and try and salvage this 3+ year friendship.

After I realized I was blocked, I was going through so so many emotions all at once. The whiplash of going from 5 to 100, Upset that I wasn't given any sort of chance to explain, the 5 stages of grief, being thrown away like the gum off your shoe, worrying about her and if this was the stage of isolation for depression, holding out the hope that we could still just talk and work things out, angry that she kept pushing off and refusing to have any sort of serious talk before this, doubting if anything she had said on 'normal vs not normal' - particularly communication styles, thoughts that maybe she was abusive and manipulative all along, maybe I was continuing the cycle of abuse, trauma flashbacks, anxieties that I had since squashed as 'irrational', fear that this was a sign that she was about to fucking kill herself and maybe the whole list was a lie so I wouldn't try and reach out and stop her, doubting my own reality and maybe the entire list she sent me was true and she was justified in her actions.

Simultaneously trying to process intense feelings and realities if it was true and I'm really secretly a horrible monster, if it wasn't true and she was about to die, and old traumas getting dug out of the grave.

God I was such an emotional wreck and did not know how to process or understand anything that was happening.

This is where the AITA comes in -

I was pushing through back to back panic attacks trying to contact her and figure out what was going on. I didn't want her to die, if that's what was happening. I didn't want to be discarded and thrown away like a piece of trash, if that's what was happening. I didn't want to have 0 chance of learning & growing as a person even if this friendship wasn't salvageable due to my monstrous nature, if that's what was happening.

So I block evaded like fckn crazy. Gmail, pet game sites, discord, skype, deviantart, whatever online platform that we shared that had messaging enabled. I called her phone several times. On the 3-4th call, her mom picked up and told me that none of the above was true. That she wasn't about to die, that I wasn't being thrown away like trash, and that I wasn't a monster. She didn't agree with her daughters actions and thought it unfair to me, but ultimately it was my friend's choice. All simultaneously which just did not compute.

If the list she sent me was true, I was a shitty horrible person. If it wasn't, and she isn't about to die, then not be able to just have a calm sit-down conversation at some point about it and clear it up - if I wasn't worth even attempting to make that effort then I was being thrown away like trash. I kept trying for days afterwards to talk to her - just, anything at all. Nothing got through, she never responded to anything.

And... that was that.

I didn't have a chance to talk to her again. I didn't have a chance to clear up misunderstandings, or understand what I did actually wrong and where, or any sort of closure.

Sometimes if I'm remembering it and feeling paranoid, I'll check and see if she's alive by looking at her online profiles for any activity. Like, maybe once a year tops now. According to the petgame sites, she's still alive at least. I'm assuming she got new social media. Literally it's just a "is she alive, do I have to worry about causing her suicide" check, I don't stalk or look into anything further than that.

Anyway, AITA for how extensively & desperately I was block evading?

What are these acronyms?

[py-dreamer]

...soo...

ok um technically this doesn't count at least in my timezone cause over here its already past midnight... um...

regardless...

weee!!!

I figured I'd make each of these mofos like individual post rather than make one really long reblog making it kinda hard to sort through and just list them using one tag instead.

So I suppose technically y'all get a double whammy today! Just gotta wait quite a while for it, heh...

So with this one I definitely did focus more on cake than the outfit. But hopefully you guys can still see the skrimblo

Anyways those are kiwi fruits, if you couldn't tell, don't @ me pls this is like one of the few times I've drawn fruits. Oh, and that black thingy? It's a tapioca pearl from bubble tea!! I think it's possible...

At first I wanted a more vibrant teal/green for the frosting and a lighter cake color similar to Mk's slice but that bright teal clashed hard with the kiwi fruit so I switched it out for the light light teal instead. Idk what flavor it'd be maybe like a more minty whipped cream.

Cakewise, it is darker than Mk's so I imagine it to be less airy, possibly more dense. Maybe like a ginger? Give any suggestions, but probably something funky for our funky girl!

Those 3 blobs with the weird cookie face on it is meant to be grape tanghulu with a dragon cookie on it! The rest of the cookies are as expected, good ole sugar cookies, though with the gold dragon I was having some trouble since Idk where to put the balloon since it left an empty space so I had to fill it with another cookie that would barely show, so yeah. That was fun

As for the dollops of frosting, I thought Mei is spunky fulunky, and a rich girl to boot! So let her have some pizzazz! I thought it appropriate

I think the balloon and dragon came out nicely, had to look for a reference for the dragon though. They're meant to be a paper decoration on a toothpick originally like Mk's cloud but at this point I leave it up for interpretation

Not much to say about the outfit, pretty similar to Mk's.

I know the KNY girls in their arts had skirts but my friend and I both thought Mei would look better in pants. (Not that she can't wear dresses, she slays in anything just that we thought she'd wear pants in this situation)

And I did try adding a little green skirt but it looked wonky and I didn't want that, bleugh

So I settled for compromise, making her like overcoat/vest thingy longer/ wider and gave her leggings so she also doesn't blend into the cake lol

And um life updates! I had like 4 tests today, I'm not kidding.

Good news is, tests for now are over!

Bad news is, still have an assignment to do...

Again, I'll do my best to keep this up. They are very fun and get my creative juices flowing I feel but no promises!

[razorblade180]

9 Days of Lancaster Day2: Roommates

Jaune Arc is no stranger to roommates. His entire life has known no such thing as a free space for him alone. This didn’t bother him. In many ways it prepared him for team living and other similar situations. However, he might have found the toughest situation yet.

Beacon is in the middle of a leadership workshop/retreat. All leaders of teams were sent off to take a special class far off on the other side of the kingdom. They had all been given money for living expenses near the site but everyone was pretty quick to figure out choosing the wrong place to stay or indulging in the revenue too much would leave them broke and miserable. Fortunately for Jaune, none of that was problem because Ruby and him decided to live together; giving them more than enough money left over to tackle anything.

The plan was solid and he didn’t regret it. However, it’s been three days so far and Jaune had learned his fellow leader was a tad messy at times and pretty laidback left to her own devices. These weren’t bad things, but has he grabbed the cover off the couch to put away, the sight of a red bra casually on the furniture again left him a little in distress.

Jaune:(Brothers give me the strength to endure…)

Ruby:AAAHHH!

Jaune:Ruby!?

He dropped everything and ran towards the horror scream behind the bathroom door. Jaune didn’t even get a chance to knock before Ruby came running out with her hair still wet and body wrapped in white towel as she hid behind Jaune. The boys mind was barely functioning already and now this!? He quickly faced forward into the steamy bathroom and noticed a sizable spider hanging from its web.

Ruby:Kill it!

Jaune:Ruby…we fight monsters. This is where you choose to fold?

Ruby:Grimm don’t sneak up on me in the shower and do you see Crescent Rose on me!?

Jaune:Yeah that’s fair.

Without wavering, Ruby watches Jaune cuff the spider in his hands before flinging it into the still running shower. For it to meet its watery demise. She cheered in his honor, but quickly noticed his reluctance to fully look her way.

Ruby:Jaune?

Jaune:Y’know if you kept your change clothes in the bathroom then you wouldn’t have to sprint out in a towel.

Ruby:But then they’ll get wet.

Jaune:Hang them! The steam gets out wrinkles. This is like the fourth time I’ve caught you in a towel.

Ruby:*raises brow* So you’re looking down the hallway every time I come out the shower. That’s interesting timing.

Jaune:I turn instinctively when I hear a door open! If I didn’t know any better I’d say you’re planning your exits.

Ruby:Pfft, you’re thinking of the wrong sister.

Jaune:I’ve met your dad. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree when it comes to either of you.

Ruby:You can turn the shower off by the way. I’m finished.

Jaune turns the faucet and turns to leave before remembering Ruby is still chillin in a towel. Now she has a second one for her hair. Thanks to Nora and sometimes Pyrrha, but mainly Nora, Jaune had gotten pretty good at hyper focusing on eyes. It was only difficult earlier because Ruby was much closer and well…short.

Jaune:While I have you here, can you please make sure not to leave your clothes out and about?

Ruby:Oh, where they everywhere?

Jaune:Not…everywhere. I just like to try and keep things tidy. Also…maybe change faster? You do have a speed semblance.

Ruby:Trust me, dashing out of here while wet ends with a hole in the wall and a bloody nose.

Jaune:That makes sense. Then maybe we could-

Ruby:Are you okay? I know we’re working out the details but I gotta say I’m a bit surprised. I’m not messier than your siblings am I?

Jaune:No, far from it. It’s more about the clothes and towel issues.

Ruby:But…*pouts* you never flack to Nora about it. I’ve seen her change in front of the two of us a bunch of times and you’re fine.

Jaune:That’s different!

Ruby:Wha- how!?

Jaune:Because….*red* She’s not you.

What a way to answer. Ruby noticed the redness on his cheeks and the brief moment his eyes betrayed his gaze before he completely turned his head. Ruby couldn’t say she was the greatest at reading in between the lines, but what he said was pretty darn obvious. Even so, Ruby now found herself a little red and choosing to respond in a way that truly was like her sister and father out of curiosity.

Ruby:Whatever do you mean~

Jaune:*flustered*….

His silence spoke volumes. Ruby looked down at herself and back up. Suddenly it was a little bit embarrassing to stay like this. She dried her feet on the carpet before dashing in and out of her room, now wearing her night tank top and some shorts.

Ruby:Sorry. I have gotten really comfortable around you, hehe… my bad.

Jaune:It’s okay. I mean why wouldn’t you be? We’re always so casual with each other so-

Ruby:No! I mean…*rubs arm* Why is this so weird to explain? It’s not that I’m simply comfortable enough to change around you. *blush* I am comfortable with the idea of you looking at me.

Jaune:….Oh.

Ruby:…Sorry, was that weird to say?

Jaune:No it was…something that needed to be said.

Ruby:Umm sooo I’m reading what you correctly, right? You see me as not just a friend or fellow leader, but a girl? I girl that you…

Jaune:Yes, I’m attracted to you. I…like you.

Ruby: Ah, neat. That’s flattering actually. I think you’re pretty handsome soooo yeah. I’ll be more mindful.

Jaune:I mean if it’s intentional then-

Ruby:*crimson*

Jaune:…I’m gonna stop talking now.

The knight awkwardly shuffles past Ruby. Thank goodness she lets him by. The girl stands there, pensively thinking about her actions. They weren’t all intentional but they were far from oblivious. Ruby dare say most were testing the waters. With concrete confirmation that Jaune saw her in a more alluring way, Ruby couldn’t help but feel very happy as well as a little nervous. After all, they had live under the same roof for at least 4 more days.

Ruby:This is gonna be a long workshop.

[alien-above]

My second coming out.

I think I was 18 when I came out as a lesbian. I don’t remember definitive moments of telling my friends. In many ways they knew before I did. Maybe it was all the drunk rambling about hot women when I lost my inhibitions. It must’ve been, because for all of my teenage years, I had been hanging up posters of male tv show actors and male band members and declaring they were attractive. I remember one afternoon where I was looking through a Kerrang magazine and I was gushing over how hot the lead singer of All Time Low was. Or maybe it was the guitarist. I really can’t remember. And at that time I genuinely thought that I was attracted to whichever one it was, and any other man that I had talked about. I really did. Because being attracted to men, being straight, was the norm and I had never questioned if I was actually feeling that way, or just blindly going along with what everyone else thought. And I suppose at 14/15/16/17 I had never experienced true attraction so I really had no way of actually knowing back then. And maybe that’s weird. Maybe I was weird. Or maybe, again, I just never had the time and space to consider the other gender or any gender, consider who I was.

But at around 18 I had sort of a revelation about women, without really understanding what it meant. Suddenly it was female actors and musicians I was obsessing over, talking about constantly and hanging up pictures of. And that felt right. It really did. I was finally certain about what attraction felt like. And when my brain and emotions caught up to what that meant for me, there just became casual talk in my friend group about me being a lesbian. Never any judgment or doubtful questions from their side. It just fell into my place. And I was so grateful and relieved to be accepted, that life just sailed on after that. But I also never did a lot of “soul searching” about it. Honestly the process of coming out seemed to happen completely without me in a way. Suddenly it just was. And that was it. I had a label now, and that would define my future. I really wish I would’ve given myself more time. Asked for more time, grown up a bit more before settling into something that in a way was just as much a directive of who I was supposed to be, as being straight had been.

I know many people want any lgbtq+ person to know their sexuality or gender when they start feeling and especially expressing being outside of the given norm. As if knowing a persons label restores the balance of things and the world makes sense again. It’s like they’re saying “well if you’ve gotta be different then you at least owe us an explanation of exactly what is so different about you”.

Fuck that. Whether you’re 5 or 12 or 25 or 50 or 90, you don’t owe anyone anything, you don’t have to explain, you don’t have to cram yourself into a nice little box with a nice little label, just so other people know where to store you.

I know that some people think that it’s ridiculous and attention seeking if a person decides to not label themselves, like it’s trendy to not only “want” to be different but also to “decide” that you’re so different that you’re not comfortable with these “perfectly well-fitted labels that everyone else can use so why can’t you, and just give us some peace”

Some people find power in labels and that’s amazing. Other people find just another set of expectations and dictations of who you’re supposed to be and who you’re allowed to be.

And without knowing it at the time, I had let myself be put into a box, before I had even come to terms with who I was.

I told my family in quite an unexpected way. As a protest against their generally homophobic talk. I wasn’t by any means ready to come out, I had barely been figuring things out, very barely confident enough to be myself. But I pushed myself to do it one night, because I was sick of hearing them talk like that, and a part of me thought that if they knew I wasn’t straight, then it would force them to have to reevaluate their thinking and speaking.

That night, that coming out, it wasn’t for me, it was for every other person out there, sat at a dining table feeling ashamed and rejected. It was a challenge in a way. One that I won, my family doesn’t speak like that anymore, they support me and I like to think that they’ve grown to see the world in a different way as the years have gone by.

But it happened. I was now out of the closet to the people closest to me. And I was a lesbian.

I was 18 or 19 back then. Now I’m 27. And I feel stuck and ashamed and uncertain. I’m hiding. And I’m so terrified that my closest friends will think differently of me, if I ever tell them that I’m not sure. I’m so scared that I will let them down, that they will feel betrayed or that they will think that I’ve been lying to them for all these years (and I guess that part is true), that I’m a fraud who was just desperate to be a lesbian.

I came out years ago.

But then 2 days ago I watched Red White & Royal blue, and season 2 of Heartstopper in the same day.

And I got this sort of pressing sadness in my chest, this overwhelming need to be able to be myself, because i knew and I know that I’m not free, I’m not out of the godforsaken closet in the way that is who I am. I think I’m bi, actually.

And what a terrible shame. Terrible, terrible shame. Shame on me. How dare I be the person who proves that every lesbian can be turned by a good-looking man? How dare I ask people to have to change their perception of me? How dare I be 27 and not know for certain who I am?

It’s messing with my head so much that I’m afraid I can never be honest. It’s messing with me so much that I feel like I’ve been slowly drowning in a cage for years and now there’s barely any air left. It feels like if I don’t get those words out soon then I’m not gonna make it. It’s so heavy.

And being openly bisexual, from what I’ve gathered, is not a fun rollercoaster to be on. You’ll be questioned and analyzed and doubted, you’ll have to constantly stand up for your own sexuality because it’s too fluid for pea-sized brains to understand, every romantic or sexual experience you have will be either a defeat or a success in the lgbtq+ community, you’ll be sexualized, you’ll be asked to cross your own boundaries because it’s “hot”, you’ll be seen as more promiscuous, and probably so many more things I can’t think of right now.

Part of the reason I also haven’t told anyone yet, is the simple reason that it’s easier to brush men off that you don’t want attention from, by saying that you’re a lesbian, so they’re wasting their time. It’s an easy out I’ve used many times. And I’ve felt so wrong about it every time because it’s simply not true. And what a fucked up world, that it’s easier to throw the lesbian card than it is to simply say no and have that be respected. But that’s an entirely different talk.

Am I really ready to face all of this, to have that conversation with friends and family, to admit that I’m not a lesbian and that I’m still figuring things out? To have to explain what to me is very personal, about how attraction works for me? To have to then also open up about the differences I feel with romantic and sexual attraction? To explain that I’m also not quite sure if maybe I’m somewhere on the demisexual spectrum as well? And is it too much to ask for them to understand that particular part as well? To have to lay bare every single moment of confusion and realization that has led me to have to speak up to be free? In a way it feels like I’m going to court and I might lose. Well I feel quite certain that I’ll lose and that for a very long time, I’ll be stuck in that courtroom until I’ve explained enough, to peoples satisfaction.

As if this isn’t about me wanting to be happy, it’s about making sure that the people around me are happy with who I am.

I just want to be me. I want to not have to be careful about what I say, I want to be able to gush as much about Henry Cavill as I can gush about Anya Chalotra, I want the freedom to fall in love with a person, without having to stress about whether or not it’s a woman. I want to be able to talk about attraction without hiding half of me, without suffocating myself in the process.

I want to be allowed to be 27 and still be figuring things out.

But still, I’m so afraid of what will happen. And it’s simply just not fucking fair that I have to be afraid. I have never even written about this before, too afraid to put actual words to how I’ve been feeling for so long, too afraid of making it real. But I’m taking a chance, and posting it here, hoping that maybe it will be a step on the way.

If anyone reads this, then please be kind ❤️

[ringlorn]

"Hey, I'm back with the stuff!"

Nezha all but glides in through the back door, arms laden with grocery bags while his Wheels do the work of leading him into the kitchen. Why his roommate wanted so much soymilk he'll never know, but he trusts Macaque's cooking skills.

Even if he makes lotus root dishes far too often.

There was a sale on kale this week—Nezha doesn't know whether Macaque would use that, but he buys one bunch anyways, figuring the macaque can always whip up extra snacks to take to his boyfriend, or Liu'er, or whoever he runs into around the city. Most of the time he doesn't know what the guy gets up to at all since his shadows make him virtually invisible—but that's on him for not really caring. The rest of the time they spend passing each other in the halls, through the windows, or actually sharing sauce over the meal table (and isn't that weird enough, him eating with a monkey that isn't Sun), living more or less...like roommates do, he guesses.

He's not sure why Macaque doesn't just move in with Monkey King at this point—they obviously like each other and even the third guy's been accepted by both—but it's the same question he could ask himself: why not move in with Sun? Too many monkeys, is his first reaction, but honestly the threat of Zhang San coming back someday and seeing the two of them in one house is what really keeps him in check.

(If he wanted to win over Sun, he would've done it first and a thousand years earlier rather than settle for second place now.)

Once in front of the fridge, Nezha opens it up and starts to put stuff around what's already inside, finally used to the proper placement of things. (Honestly, the looks he'd gotten from putting vegetables next to raw meat once upon a time?)

"Do you want me to take out any of this stuff?" he keeps talking as he works. ostensibly to no one. But having a roommate with six ears means you can whisper and he'll hear you just fine, so he might as well been shouting right now.

It's Nezha himself who needs to strain his ears for a response, only to hear nothing. He checks the clock on the wall—it's getting on evening, so the guy should be home to cook? Unless he ran off to hang with Monkey King again and pranked Nezha into coming back to an empty house or something.

Pah, joke's on him. He's rich enough to order takeout for the rest of his life.

Closing the fridge, the lotus prince saunters to the family room, still talking to empty air. "Also, do you know any good cooks? I mean, guys who do it for a living. A friend of mine's thinking to hire...I don't know where to get that kind of chef, snipe 'em from a restaurant or something?"

That's probably the easiest way to do it, but otherwise he was looking at online research instead. Magnolia could do that herself. It was also a pretty stupid question so he's expecting a snarky comeback, but the fact that no one replies is pretty telling.

Macaque's not home.

Just in case, Nezha decides to float upstairs, planning to listen in on the guy from outside his room. If the monkey's not sleeping, sick, or well, dealing with stuff like last time, he's likely MIA.

He doesn't expect to see Macaque's bedroom door standing ajar by the time he reaches the landing though. Exasperated, Nezha dismisses his Wheels and stalks over noisily on foot. "C'mon, you've never been this obvious with bait—"

The door creaks open. The inside is bare.

This...what, did he actually move out?

Looking around the empty space makes the ends of Nezha's hairs stand on end. It takes a moment before he unfreezes enough to scramble through his pockets for his phone. Fingers scrolls through his contacts—nothing, no name—then social media, where people are posting about the eclipse that dropped by while he was obliviously browsing the aisles of the supermarket.

Gone, just like that.

He's not sure what he feels at the moment. Honestly, the ones who should be missing him are—again, more scrolling back and forth—still here, so that's gotta suck. The other guy's gone too, though Nezha doesn't recall him as much as he does Monkey King with him, and—his brows wrinkle, thinking back to the fridge.

It's full of food, and right now he's the only one living in this house.

...tomorrow. He'd deal with it tomorrow. Keep what he could eat, donate the rest or something—it'd be a joke if he tried to cook like Macaque, but wasting his ingredients is even worse.

Do I tell someone? No, they'd probably find out for themselves—and maybe even sooner than he did, since they were actually close. He and Macaque were—well, they couldn't be friends as far as Heaven was concerned, but they weren't enemies.

They were comfortable, Nezha decides, in their special brand of impersonalized co-living that had the guy bossing him around with a spatula in one hand and a pan full of spicy sizzling vegetables in the other to scrub the toilets already, it's only fair, Nezha, before setting a full bowl of food in front of him for lunch half an hour later.

Wordlessly, Nezha walks to the bedroom windows and throws one open. A late summer breeze trickles through the opening, hot and heavy, making it hard to breathe. He inhales it anyways—and then climbs onto the windowsill before stepping out entirely. Of course his Wheels catch him before he falls, and Nezha turns mid-air to hover outside his building, staring at the windows darkening with the onset of incoming rain clouds.

The houses here are never left empty for long—the Stars always fill them with new, confused faces every few days. He'll probably get a new roommate next time, but he'd have to figure out the groceries before that, and there's no telling how the other monkeys are going to cope with this all, or if they'll even drop by to check.

He frowns at that thought. Would it be better or worse for him to be there when they do?

If he keeps the window open, they can let themselves in—or just use the balcony, another favorite. There's been no issue of thieves in this area of city so he can keep things unlocked—the locals know better to try against all the superpowered weirdos they get every month moving in. And even if nobody comes—

Well, maybe he's the one who needs time to readjust to living by himself again.

Nezha looks at his phone and decides to book a hotel for the night.

[frozen-fountain]

Find the Word Tag

Thanks again to @vcaudley; I'm leaving this one open to anyone who wants to do it.

Rules: Search your writing for the following words, and post an excerpt containing them. I give you grey, ocean, bitter, and ash.

Bind

“It was only a toy to you!” she cried, voice reedy and thin. The only one left. “It was half of me, and now it's gone!” Once, she could have propelled herself through the window and left only a star shower of broken glass ringing in her wake, racing through the sky where no hand or mind could bind her ever again. Once, she could have taken her body and ran, higher and faster than any measurer or plunderer could ever soar. She sank back to her seat on legs that turned to shifting sand beneath her heart. No choice, no choice, no choice but to wear the crown that bound her forehead – but they had to put it on her first. She could've melted it all over Kefka's harrowing hands, cleared a path with but a wave of her hand, grabbed the arm of the other little girl before it turned to ice and ran, ran through the hell of fluctuating dials and hissing steam where her people lived in glass cages. And then, and if, they might never - “You'll never know what it's like to be torn in two! Twice!”

In Widening Circles (Final Fantasy VI, Terra forms a support group for the former Kefka cultists, slice of life/character study)

Ring

“You gotta slow down, sweetheart, we're old and we ain't on spry little legs like yours!” She turned back and waited dutifully by the steps down to the dining area, and he leaned in and nudged Elmyra's side, lowering his voice to a husky whisper. “Packed the sailor suit, just so you know. Figured there'd never be a better place for it.” She laughed then, like she did that first day she found the thing in his closet, that low and dirty laugh that came out late in the evening after a few sips of wine. The long mirror in the pokey inn bathroom in Costa made him gleam, softened by the ring of lights that framed it. The dark and hunger of the slums hadn't eaten away at the muscle the mines put on him, and not a smudge of soot marred the white. As pure as snow, as new teeth, as Rufus Shinra parading at the prow of the boat. Aerith had giggled as she told him how cute he looked in it, the strip of pink in her hair bobbing up and down as she raised a hand to her mouth. But she giggled a lot, no matter how serious the situation, before whatever she saw in Bugenhagen's observatory sank her sunshine.

Aperture Priority (Final Fantasy VII, Barret visits Corel post-canon, psychological drama)

Silence

The city was wrapped in silence as Zuela left the light of their room behind her, throwing the loose thread free as she went. If the jungles of the south were abundant with fruit and flower and song, the north was abundant with space. The tall white trees that glowed with the very voice of the planet lined the pathways and made a loose roof that protected the city from the ravages of the polar wind. A full moon cast pools of silver light on the floor, shifting with the world's breath. Zuela hopped and darted in the shadows between them where no sentry could see her.

Clownfish (Final Fantasy VII, Jenova and the Cetra, horror/suspense)

Rest

There is no light in freefall, no night, no day, no clock, no wall, no end, the only meter the hymn that dreams a city far beyond their island, and all that is real are the chains that lie invisible over her heart. With stone lungs she breathes beneath them, a sigh that moves through all the world. Somewhere, elsewhere, here, there is a tumbledown temple where she cut her son's nails with a knife rough-hewn from a stray piece of flint, and where she taught him to die with purpose. “Our island is small, my love,” she said, placing a decisive kiss on the crown of his head as they sat under the broken doorway, uncrossed by any other feet for countless years. He waited, rapt and without complaint, as she stripped the scales from slender fish bare-handed to boil in brackish water. “But one day, the rest of this world will be ready for you. Your father is working very hard to make it so.” “And that's why he can't come see us?”

Penitent (Final Fantasy X, Anima character study, psychological body horror)

[concealeddarkness13]

Fire and Steel (Speedrunning Therapy) Part 3

Content warning for alcohol. Yes! I’m still actually writing this! Just as a reminder, this is an AU where Chess goes to @drabbleitout’s world of Time Borrowed! I actually wrote part 3 and 4 hoping to put them in one part, but the wordcount got too high. About 4,600 words for this part! And it might end a bit abruptly, but I’ll be posting part 4 right after this!

Part 1, part 2

Tagging: @ratracechronicler, @maple-writes, @pen-of-roses, and @for-fuchs-sake (just in case you’d like to see this!)

I smiled at the sight of the bar as Garnet and Valetta finished up a conversation in the front. Valetta snickered. “Take it easy, I’m not gonna do anything weird.”

“Yeah, I’ve known you long enough to know better than that.” Garnet stopped the car. “Alright, we’re here. Everybody out.”

I kept staring at the bar as I got out of the car. I had never been to such a cool bar! I had always had to go to the more underground bars, where people wouldn’t care that I had prosthetics from the experiments. “This looks like a nice place!” Wait, what if I didn’t even recognize any of the alcohol? Fuck.

“Well, of course,” Valetta said as she put on a different jacket. A leather one. My cheeks got hot as she gave me a playful jab on my shoulder. I still wasn’t used to the friendly touch. “We gotta show off a little bit. Only the best of the best for our guests. Crowds your thing? Downstairs usually gets pretty packed. I personally like the view up top.”

“Christ,” Garnet muttered, wrapping an arm around Beau’s shoulders. Oh. I was pretty sure who Beau was interested in now. “You’re probably driving tonight.”

“I figured.”

Valetta looked over at me excitedly, motioning me along. “So, what do you think? Upstairs? Downstairs?” She was shorter than me, and that made my cheeks burn worse. I was a sucker for height differences—either way.

“Upstairs. I enjoy open air more than enclosed spaces.”

“Same.” Valetta grabbed my hand at the entrance and pulled me inside, past the crowd and upstairs after waving and pointing upstairs to the bartender. I could barely take in the bar before she pulled me upstairs, but it looked bright and lively. The atmosphere wasn’t so oppressive, but that was just because I knew people shouldn’t judge me for my prosthetics. When we got to the top of the stairs, she glanced back at me, flashing me a smile, and my eyes wandered to her lips. Damn. She was so pretty.

She opened the door to the roof, and it was so nice! There weren’t many people up here, but there was another smaller bar up here and beautiful strings of lights and fake grass. There was an awning overhead, with a few stained glass panels that also seemed to double as heaters. This was amazing! Valetta glanced at me. “Not too cold, is it?”

I shook my head. “I should be fine. But if I get too cold, you’re hot enough to keep me warm.” Shit. My cheeks burned even worse.

“That’s right, I gotchu babe.” Valetta laughed as Garnet slipped past her. They pushed some tables together for everyone near the edge of the roof, so we could still see the view well. I kept watching the city as colorful lights started lighting up the skyline.

Valetta pulled a chair out for me. “Alright, know what you want? I can grab it for you.”

Garnet sat down in a different chair. “Whiskey sour.”

“I was talking to Chess.” She laughed as Beau grabbed a menu and showed it to me. I looked over it quickly, but I didn’t recognize any of the names. Shit. “You should be taking drink orders.”

“A-ha, no, this was your idea.” Garnet grinned at her.

This one sounded like straight alcohol, which would be nice, and it wasn’t too expensive. “A whiskey sounds good.”

“Good call. Beau, want anything?”

“I was going to get a mug of hot water.” He grimaced but Valetta waved it off.

“I got you, bo-bo.” She headed to the bar as Ryker, Lora, and Ives arrived. She glanced over at them. “You better order before you sit down because you missed your chance.” Ives continued over to the table while the others waited to order at the bar.

He looked over at me especially. “I’m glad you made it safely.”

I had been looking over the menu, having no fucking idea what a burger or chicken was. But when I looked up, my cheeks burned all over again. He was gorgeous. I stuttered a bit before I could get the words out. “Yeah. I’m…I’m glad you did too.”

“I know how to drive,” Garnet muttered.

“If you’re concerned about the price of items, know that they honor a discount for first responders.” Ives sat down across from Chess. “Everyone always has great things to say about this place. So, please take your time in deciding what you want.”

“Yeah, no one is in a hurry,” Beau added. “We’ll probably be here for quite awhile. So don’t rush. I know it might be…different.”

I nodded, finally tearing my eyes away from Ives. Fuck. I still had no damn idea what anything was. “What do you like here?” I directed the question to anyone.

“The steaks are great, if that’s your thing,” Garnet said. “Sandwiches are a good route too. But I get the ceviche tacos, can’t go wrong there.”

“Everyone knows the fried chicken is where it’s at.” Valetta returned with drinks. “Though, if meat isn’t your thing, they have some killer vegan burgers.” She took a sip from Garnet’s drink before giving it to him. “Waitress tax.” She then handed the hot water to Beau, who clutched it in both of his hands.

“Burgers, hands down.” Ryker followed soon after, sitting beside Ives. “But it’s hard to go wrong.”

I glanced at the menu and took into account what everyone said, and I knew Garnet the best, and the picture of a steak did look really good, so I nodded. “A steak sounds good. Thank you.”

“Ives, did you get any help today with that configuration issue?” Lora asked. “They had you in there awhile.”

“Yes. The problem ended up being my rifle. It was a process of trial and error. Although I had no errors, the Auditors like to double check everything to be sure.”

“Does that mean you get to skip next week’s audits?” Ryker peered over the rim of his drink but scowled when Ives shook his head. “I dunno how you don’t throw them through the window sometimes.” Beau seemed to get smaller, clutching his mug closer. I was going to fucking punch any Auditor I found.

“You guys should’ve seen Chess with Niner,” Valetta interrupted. “She took to her like a fish to water. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Niner go into puppy mode so fast!”

Niner had been so good. And Valetta sounded like she was trying to distract them, and I wanted to test the waters to see if I could tell them that I wasn’t from this world, so might as well slip a hint in there. I looked up at Ives. “Yes, she was really sweet. I wanted to thank you again for letting me be with her. I admittedly have never seen a dog before, so it was a wonderful experience.”

The table got quiet until everyone exclaimed about me never seeing a dog in some way or another. Ryker leaned forward, looking at me. “Are you serious?”

I nodded. “There aren’t any dogs where I come from.”

“Oh, honey, you’re missing out.” Valetta patted my hand.

“In that case, I’m glad Niner was a good introduction.” Ives nodded. “I know not everyone is comfortable around dogs, but you’re very welcome. I’m sure Niner would appreciate seeing you again.” He kept eye contact as Lora started talking.

“Like, I know Niner is, well, Niner, but she just looks so real. Dogs are scary.”

“Do you have any pets at home?” Ryker asked. “Horses? Hamsters? Snakes?” Valetta shuddered at the last animal.

I shook my head. “Um. I don’t have a home. And what are horses?”

“She travels a lot,” Valetta said.

“But like, where are you from then? I can’t imagine a place that doesn’t have dogs or horses.” Lora set her drink down.

I swallowed hard, but they were nice, and I didn’t want to keep it from them if I didn’t have to. I glanced at Beau, and he nodded a little. “Well, um, I don’t think I’m from this world. I don’t recognize anything, and it’s a lot different from what I know.”

Everyone got quiet again, and no one moved. Garnet spoke up before anyone else. “Okay, so I know it sounds crazy,” he dropped his voice as Ryker looked over at him. “Don’t start that. She’s telling the truth.”

Ives nodded. “She is.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Valetta sat back. “What do you mean another world? Like another planet? A-another timeline?” Her mouth fell open. “Like when we all thought the world ended in 2012? And things got so stupid bad we were sure we were on the dark timeline. Are you from the bad timeline??”

“I’m thinking like another universe kinda thing,” Garnet whispered. “And is that really that strange considering a few years ago we had a literal alien living on our planet?”

“An entire universe without dogs??” Valetta hissed.

I nodded. It really was a tragedy. “Yeah, probably another universe. I don’t know how I got here.”

“What’s the last thing you remember before you got here?” Lora asked. They all leaned closer to me, and I shrank down a little at the attention.

“I was hungry and huddled in an alley, hiding from some…law enforcement who wanted to hurt me. And then I blinked and I was standing outside this city.”

“Oh honey,” Valetta reached over to hold my hands, and I welcomed the touch.

“She’s been through a lot,” Beau said. “Law enforcement where she comes from is a lot different than what we do here. Garnet and I found her this morning.”

“It was a little bit of a process, but I’d put my career on it she’s telling the truth,” Garnet added.

“Her prosthetics don’t match any known catalog of make or models. And they’re far too advanced to be an underground operation.” Ives frowned, staring at my prosthetic hand. “Are you wanting to go back from where you came?”

I immediately shook my head. “No. I’m alone there, and because I was forced into experiments, which gave me my prosthetics, everyone else sees me as lesser and a monster. I didn’t know anyone could be as kind as you guys have been.” I ducked my head as tears blurred my vision. That sounded so fucking cheesy.

I quickly blinked away the tears as Lora got up, coming over to pull me into a hug. My cheeks burned as I ducked my head into her shoulder. She gave amazing hugs. “Absolutely! Who would want to go back to that! You poor girl! How can anyone do such a thing?”

“Well, you won’t be alone here.” Valetta soothed her thumb over my knuckles, and my cheeks burned worse. “You’ve got us.” Oh fuck, I might actually cry.

“Ryker?” Ives asked, and I looked up to see Ryker studying the table, his jaw working and brow pinched.

“We gotta keep her away from Auditors. Of anyone, they’ll notice her prosthetics aren’t from here and I doubt they’d be above trying any experiments. That’s not happening again.”

I couldn’t find any words as I started crying. They were all so nice.

Lora continued. “Well, there’s no way we’re leaving you out here on your own. She’s going to need somewhere to stay.”

“She might not be sure where she wants to stay, even if she wants to stay with any of us,” Garnet said. “She’s just now meeting everyone. Maybe she just needs some time over dinner, and we can see if maybe we need to get a hotel room if that’s more comfortable.”

“Yeah, and this is about celebrating, too,” Valetta said softly. “We can worry about all that later. Right now, let’s spoil you!”

I didn’t understand, but I decided to not question it as I pulled back from Lora’s hug and furiously wiped my eyes. “Thank you so much. You’re all amazing.” I sat back down, sniffling.

Lora returned to her seat as a waiter came and took our orders. I ordered the steak, like I had decided. After I was done, Beau gently placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled. “See, everything’s going to be okay.”

I smiled back and nodded. It would at least be better than on my world. “I’m fine staying at one of your places, if that’s okay.” I didn’t want to be alone again.

“That should be fine. That’s what I do! We’ve started a rotation so I spend a week at everyone’s house. Does that sound okay to you? Or do you think you rather stay at one place?”

“The rotation sounds nice.” There were so many gorgeous people in the squad, and I could spend the night with all of them. My cheeks burned at the thought.

“I’m at Garnet’s this week. Would you rather be on the same rotation with me, or maybe your won? And, you don’t have to start the rotation just yet, if you’re not comfortable to. If you rather get to know everyone better, that’s completely up to you.”

Well, that could get awkward if I flirted with one of them and convinced them to sleep with me and Beau was there. My cheeks burned worse at the thought, but it would be nice. “I’m comfortable with the rotation. Maybe on my own?”

“Okay, that sounds great!” He smiled. “Just about anyone is going to be happy to have you over, so take your time in deciding.”

I nodded and watched the others, my eyes especially lingering on Ives. He was especially gorgeous. And he had Niner. I could see Niner again tonight. Oh shit. I certainly wanted to go with him if I could see Niner again. Once the waiter left, I looked up. “What are horses though?”

Everyone laughed, grabbing out some devices. Ives spoke up first. “They’re a type of grass eating, four-legged mammal, that have been used throughout history as transportation, racing, or as an agricultural working hand. They range in sizes, but most are quite large.”

“They look like this.” Valetta passed down her device, and I stared at the beautiful creature. It was so big and huggable and beautiful!!! “Have anything like that where you’re from?”

I kept staring at the horse. “I don’t think so. There aren’t a lot of big animals in the enclosure though.”

“Enclosure? Like…like a zoo?” Valetta whispered.

Oh, shit. They didn’t have any damn clue what I was talking about. I bit my lip. “On my world there are other sentient species besides humans, and because humans were too violent, the other species threw all humans into a small walled space to keep them away from any other sentient species.”

“Other species? Have they always been there or did they invade?” Everyone was staring at me again, and I instinctively made myself smaller.

“Are there many humans where you come from?” Garnet asked.

“From what we know, they’ve been around as long as humans have. And yes, there are a lot of humans around. They’re the ones I’ve really had to worry about, since I’ve been in the enclosure as well.”

“Is that where you lived? In the enclosure?” Lora whispered. “How small is it? Like a country or more like a city?”

I nodded. “It’s more like a small country. Multiple cities, but kind of cramped with all the humans stuffed inside. And yes, I lived there. I didn’t stay in one city for too long.”

“Yeah, I could see how…Jeez, that’s terrible,” Valetta hissed, taking a drink.

“Well, I’m glad you’re here instead of there,” Ryker said. “And I don’t blame you for not wanting to go back.”

I nodded. “Thank you. Could you tell me a little more about this world? Like any other animals I should know about? And, honestly, I was never allowed to hold a job, so could you tell me more about how to go about getting one?”

“Oh, uh sure. Let’s see…where to start.”

“This is Featherfall, one of the first sustainable cities that popped up about twenty years ago. Nearly everything here makes or harnesses energy.” Garnet pointed to the stained glass above us, and I looked up too. Cool! “That’s solarglass, takes power from the sun and runs the rest of the building. A lot of other cities in the nation started doing it too, but ours is a little more advanced. And that’s why you see so much green everywhere. Roof and balcony gardens have been growing for years.”

“It’s pretty now, but it hasn’t always been,” Ryker interrupted. “A few decades ago, we were on the brink of running out of clean water. Nearly all plant life was dying off an humans were on their way too.”

“As far as getting a job, that shouldn’t be too hard,” Lora shrugged. “We can get you registered for a work permit, see about setting you up for citizenship. I had to do that a few years ago when I immigrated in. I doubt it would be anymore complicated for you. We’ll get you all set up.”

“And through all the red tape.” Valetta winked. “Do you know of something you might like to do? We can always browse through the net and see what we can find.”

My cheeks burned again. “Anything with animals? I really like them.”

“Oh, I bet we can definitely find something like that! I think you’d be really good at that.” She smiled. “And maybe this weekend we can explore the city, see what might catch your eye. I know off the top of my head there are plenty of shelters around, or, if you end up liking training, we might be able to get you into a program like that!”

I nodded, smiling a little. This was going to be great! I’d be able to get a job with animals! “I would like that. Animals are just so amazing.”

“I’ll ask around too and see what we might be able to find for you,” Ryker said. “I know a few people who work for animal rehabilitation places and see if maybe they have any ideas if they don’t have openings themselves.”

Ives nodded. “We have traditional k-9 units at the station whose trainers work for a third party company. They may have intern positions. But I think getting to know the city and what options are available would be best. Find what you enjoy and are comfortable with doing.”

They were all so amazing. “Yes, I’d love to get to know the city. It’s a lovely place already. But that all sounds wonderful. I can’t believe I’ll actually be able to have a job.” It sounded foolish, but I’d never had the chance to get a job.

“We need to take you out shopping,” Lora giggled, while Garnet rolled his eyes. “She’s going to need her own things.”

“I’ve got some spare clothes and stuff if you need ‘em in the meantime,” Valetta said. “You look like you could fit into them.” She pinched her straw between her teeth but grunted with a sudden jolt, glancing over at Garnet. My cheeks just got hotter.

“That and if she needs a toothbrush or if she wants her own soaps and accessories. She’s going to want her own things,” Lora added, perking as the waiter brought out plates and started handing them out.

I stared at the huge meal they set before me, and I couldn’t believe it. All this? Just for me? My mouth watered, but I ducked my head first. “I can’t pay any of you back yet. I’m sorry.”

Everyone started talking at once, trying to tell me that I didn’t have to worry about paying them back, but still. Why would anyone buy such a big meal for someone they barely knew? But I still couldn’t stop myself from starting to eat. It was so fucking amazing.

“You’re practically part of the team,” Ryker said. “And this is what we’re here to do, to look out for people. It wouldn’t be right if we expected you to pay us back.”

“If we expected payment, we wouldn’t offer.” Lora smiled.

“Let us make up for all the assholes back where you’re from,” Garnet said. Once all the plates were passed out, they started eating too, and it got quiet.

Beau watched me with a smile. “So? What do you think? Is it different than where you’re from?”

I was halfway through the steak by now, and I was finally filling my stomach. I’d actually feel full! “The food’s really good. I don’t usually have such fancy food. And…I still don’t understand why everyone’s so nice. Might not for a while.”

Ives nodded, and I frowned, just now noticing that Beau and Ives weren’t eating. Were they not able to? That wasn’t fair. “That’s alright, it took some time for me to understand it as well. But it’s understandable if this is an extreme change for you. We understand.”

“Ives was originally made for military operations,” Beau whispered. “He didn’t really have any socializing programs like I did. He had to learn it from everyone else, I think from everyone here, actually.”

“You’ll get used to it. Just take one day at a time, alright kid?” Ryker smiled at me.

I nodded but fell quiet, finishing up my meal as I thought about everything. They were all so nice, and I didn’t know what to do. Was there a way I could make it up to them? As I fell quiet, the others chatted around me, but I barely listened. I just could barely believe that such kind people existed.

Once everyone was basically finished, Valetta looked around. “Anyone want anything else? I might get another shot? G? Chess?” Garnet was slumped, looking like he might topple onto Beau. He just smirked and shook his head, and Valetta looked over at me.

I barely felt anything from the alcohol, so I nodded. “I’ll take another whiskey.”

Valetta pumped her fist in the air and headed over to the bar with an unbalanced skip. Everything was getting nice and dark now, and it still didn’t feel too cold. The jacket Garnet had given me was so warm.

Beau turned to me suddenly. “Don’t feel like you have to get up and come to work with whoever you stay with. You can rest and relax. We can always swing by and pick you up while on patrol. Everyone kinda gets up early, so don’t think that you have to.”

I didn’t want to be alone if I could help it, and anyway, I never slept in. “I’m a light sleeper, so I’ll wake up whenever someone else gets up. But if you’d rather me stay, I will.”

“Well, it’s…it’s up to you, really. We don’t want you to feel like you’re trapped.”

“Can do a ride-along.” Garnet leaned back to look at me. “Just hang out all day, whenever.” He waved at the air, and Beau whispered something to him. “Oh, yeah, I mean yinz could go see Mikki.”

“Oh, that’s true. But it’s only your first real day, so you can do whatever you like. Take your time.”

I shook my head. “It…really doesn’t matter to me.”

Valetta returned, and I took a large drink. She sat down, looking over at me. “So, how are you liking things so far? Whiskey helping any?”

I nodded. “It’s really good, and the food here is some of the best I’ve had.”

“Glad to hear it. I think you’ll really like things once you get to take a look around. Or after a good night’s sleep. Know you’ve got to be exhausted.”

I nodded again. “Yeah. I think I’ve had…six hours of sleep in the past seven days?”

“Whoo! Rock on,” Garnet cheered.

“Don’t listen to him, he’s an insomniac,” Beau scolded.

“Shit girl, you definitely need some sleep then. Like a week to recover.” Valetta took a sip from her glass and leaned on the table. “We’re gonna get you somewhere comfy to sleep tonight. Don’t you worry.”

I frowned. It wasn’t that bad, was it? “I guess I need to decide who I want to stay with?”

Valetta nodded. “Let’s see. Ryker has an apartment smack dab in the middle of down town, it’s never quiet.” Ryker opened his mouth to probably argue, but he closed his mouth and shrugged. “Lora has a house just on the edge of the suburbs, so there’s dogs barking all the time. Ives has an apartment like sixty floors off the ground. Garnet has an apartment on the far end of town, like good luck driving all the way out there.”

“Oh c’mon, it’s not that far.”

“And I’ve got a swank little apartment just a few blocks from the station. Very modern. Brand new bed.”

“Ives’s is new. I think he just finished furnishing it a month or so ago,” Beau said.

“Three weeks ago,” he corrected.

I paused. Valetta was gorgeous, but Ives was also gorgeous, and he had a dog. I bit my lip. “If it’s okay, I think I might want to start with Ives.” My cheeks burned. “Especially if Niner’s there. But if not, I’d still love to go.”

“I don’t think that would be a problem at all.” Ives nodded. “Niner will be there as well, which I hope may make your stay better.”

“Ryker, if you need me to, I can ride with Beau for a ride home if you’re taking Ives and Chess home,” Lora said. “That way it would be fewer stops for everyone, and if you need to leave sooner.”

“If that’s easier.” Ryker nodded, turning to me. “Please don’t feel rushed or that you have to stay out late. I usually save the late nights for the weekends, so we can go whenever you’re ready.”

I couldn’t help but smile when Ives mentioned Niner. This would be amazing. “It really doesn’t matter to me. I don’t want to mess up anything.”

“If you’re tired we can go ahead and head out.” Ryker leaned around to whisper. “Judging by how quickly Garnet’s sinking, he probably won’t be here much longer. So you’re not messing anything up.”

“I’m used to not having a lot of sleep, so please don’t leave on my behalf.”

“Look, I’m an old man. I rather leave sooner than later,” Ryker chuckled.

“We all know we can’t stay out late anyway,” Valetta snickered. “Last thing we need is the whole squad down and out during shift. Don’t feel bad. Trust me, this won’t be the last time we get to do this. You should go ahead and head out. Get a good night’s sleep. You’ve earned it, girl.”

I nodded, finishing up my whiskey and slumping a little. I was really fucking tired, honestly. “Okay. I give in.” I made sure to keep my voice lighthearted.

“No shame in the game.” Ryker finished his drink, standing up and tossing the keys to Ives. “If you want, drop me off at home bright-eyes and you two can use the car. I’ll call a rideshare to get to work.”

“Are you certain?” Ives watched him, but Ryker nodded.

Beau placed a hand on my shoulder. “Call me if you need anything. Although, I know Ives is going to take good care of you.”

I stood up and smiled at him. “Thanks. For everything. I will.” I glanced again at Garnet and remembered the connection they had. I leaned closer so I could whisper. “And we’ll have to decide on a date to meet up alone to really talk about who you’re interested in.”

Beau stood as well, laughing and hugging me. I hugged him tightly back. He was so comfortable. “Okay, we should do that. Try to get some good sleep, you’re safe here, I promise.”

[ciaossu-imagines]

So, just as a prelude to the ficlet, I had a rough day yesterday and hated everything I wrote and deleted every fic or request answers I wrote but still wanted to write, so I ended up just being completely self-indulgent and wrote little comfort fics for my favourite characters off some fluffy memes. They're not my greatest writing but I figured I'd share them in between posting requests and my Homra! AU ficlets, so have some fluffy Spanner and Reader to start!

“Hey y/n, have you seen…”

Spanner’s words stopped short as he walked into the little office off the large workroom he shared with Shoichi and, occasionally, any scientist, inventor, or mechanic from the Vongola allied families who needed the space or were interested in the projects going on. He stared for a couple seconds, internally kicking himself a little for how loud he’d been when he entered and a little worried.

He had known you were working in the office, collecting and sorting through the raw data and running numbers and plans and checking to see if all scheduled deadlines were actually still on schedule or not. And he knew you’d been working hard. How could anyone not know? You spent hours out of your days in front of the computer screen, barely taking breaks, only grabbing quick meals, and bringing them back to the office to eat or taking quick shower breaks. You’d become a mouse in the background of the workroom, always there, just kind of heard as frequent little taps of keyboard keys at all hours for the past two weeks.

They’d all assured you that you didn’t need to work so hard, but Spanner knew  you well enough to know that you pushed yourself hard, that you always wanted to do everything so perfectly and that you put so much pressure on yourself and, while he wasn’t above reminding you to go take breaks, he wasn’t someone with any right to lecture you, even while you worried him to death. Wasn’t he someone who did the same, after all, and worried you just as much?

And there he’d come stumbling in so loudly, to find you slumped over on the computer desk, head cradled in a hand just inches from the keyboard, fast asleep. He’d guessed the crash was coming, knew from experience that a body can only go so long, and he was silently praying to the gods that he hadn’t woken you up from the sleep he’d been wanting you to get for days now. Almost holding his breath, frozen in place, he waited and waited, making sure you didn’t stir.

But you seemed fast asleep, slumped in the computer chair. Spanner let out an almost silent sigh of relief as he quietly approached the offices’ desk, looking for the blueprint he’d needed. Finding it, he slipped it out of the open folder, heading back to the workroom and setting it near the station he was working at. He smiled as he looked at his half-built invention, giving it a quick twice-over before patting it on its metal frame.

“Be back in one sec, little buddy. We’ll get ya all set today, promise. Just gotta take care of something first.”

Minutes later, he was back to sneaking quietly, shoes off and walking on tiptoes, back into the office where you slept. A bottle of water, a florescent pink Post-It note on it, and a couple tablets of Robaxacet were slid as quietly as possible on the desk a little ways from you. Spanner had had enough experiences in passing out in some weird spots while working to know the backache you’d wake up with. A blanket was carefully lifted from his arm, shook out as quietly as possible and carefully laid across your back and shoulders. He smiled as you remained still and asleep, breaths even and deep and your face peaceful.

He turned and crept quietly back out, pulling the office’s door closed behind him, only the blanket (a t-shirt quilt you’d made him) and the Post-It Note with his scrawled handwriting… ‘You’re doing good and deserve a break so take one 🙂’ the only clues he’d been there.

[ladowasnthere]

Random Prompts Combinatios #1:

DIY Projectile Removal + Gotta Stay Quiet To Avoid Discovery + Tight Spaces

Work: Whenever We Are

Characters: Ein and Zwei

CW/TW: Blood, DIY Stitches, Descriptions of injury (specifically crossbow bolt wounds and the removal of said bolt), Needles, Swearing, Guns (small mention)

A/N: I didn't mean for it to be this long, nor for it to take so long, but I have a habit of getting carried away, especially when it comes to these two. This was honestly, like most of my works, one great big ramble, if there's any mistakes, or something I need to add to the CW/TW list, please let me know.

Zwei yanked Ein into the narrow opening, one hand over their mouth while the other was pressed around the crossbow bolt sticking out of their bloodstained torso.

He stood still for a moment, keeping their bodies pressed close as he listened for footsteps in the hall outside. They came and went, a two pairs of shoes heavy and rushed against the cold stone floor of the cave. Once they passed, Zwei turned Ein around, stuffing their tall figure into the corner farthest from the cubby's entrance.

Ein protested of course, their wings and legs bent at what had to be uncomfortable angles as they were forced to lie somewhat flat in the small space. Zwei had barely any space to properly sit beside Ein but he made it work, even if he was forced to hunch over them.

Zwei removed his hand from Ein's mouth and a pained groan fell from their lips the moment he did. Ein bit their bottom lip to avoid making anymore involuntary noises and Zwei busied himself with the immoral's gear.

There was unfortunately no time for gentleness, so Zwei forced himself to ignore the various whimpers and whines of pain that escaped Ein's notice, nor could he slow down when noticed the way their body trembled with discomfort.

This was meant to be easy reconnaissance mission, however, the rookie Ein had been paired with set off an alarm, alerting the enemy of their presence. Ein had managed to get the rookie and a few other soldiers out of the underground base and to safety, but not without taking a couple hits themself.

Since their only other way of escape had left with the rest of the squad on Zwei's order, that left him and Ein with only one option left: Flight.

But then Ein took a crossbow bolt to the torso, and there was no way in hell Zwei could fly both himself and someone injured, winged, and taller than him to a safe distance at a reasonable speed.

This meant Ein had to fly themselves out, which they simply couldn't do with bolt sticking out of their lower ribcage. Which brings the duo here: an extremely cramped hidy-hole where Zwei was preforming emergency surgery.

Zwei had successfully removed Ein's chestplate and unzipped their suit, now his hand was hovered over the dark skin of their torso around the bolt. The bleeding wasn't too bad yet, but Zwei had already fished some gauze and a pre-threaded needle out of his first aid kit. Ein paled when they saw it.

"You're fucking kidding me."

They hissed under their breath, giving the general a hard glare. Zwei fished a lighter from one of his pockets, using it to bend the metal of the needle.

"Gauze isn't going to do shit for something this deep. I'm not killing you over something this small."

Zwei's response was clipped and monotone. The shuffling of clothing was heard and Ein held back a yelp when Zwei suddenly stuffed his gloves into their mouth.

"I apologize in advance."

That was all the warning Ein received before Zwei suddenly yanked the bolt out with a single fluid motion.

Their body tensed, shaking violently as their eyes immediately widened and their jaw clenched around the gloves. Zwei was suddenly grateful for his foresight of putting the gloves in Ein's mouth, else they might’ve bitten their tongue clean off.

Zwei worked a lot faster after that. He was fully hunched over Ein's bare torso, one hand quickly cleaning the area in the best way he could manage while the other brought the needle up. Fortunately, the size of the bolt wasn't that big, it was long and tapered without a proper arrowhead, so the hole itself wasn't very large either.

Zwei pressed the needle into Ein's skin with a practiced steadiness and curved it through as smoothly as possible. He was working off of nothing but the flashlight attached to his chestplate and tried his best to work with Ein's trembling form. When he had fully pulled the line through, he tied it three times before cutting it and moving to re-thread the needle.

When he finished he resumed his position over Ein's body, but paused again upon seeing their fists at their sides. They were clenched so tightly, their nails drew blood from their palm. Zwei furrowed hid brow and wordlessly moved their hands to his (mostly) free arm, he also spared a glance at their face, but quickly refocused on his work upon seeing it.

He would dutifully ignore the tears pooling in the corners of their clouded eyes. Their body was in the present, but Zwei could tell their mind was somewhere farther back. He didn't want to be the reason they had to relieve unpleasant memories. Ein's fingers dug bruises into his arm, but Zwei continued working.

Things were going smoothly until the last stitch. Ein's body had stopped shaking as much, allowing Zwei to work faster. However, right as he began to press the needle through for the final stitch, he heard footsteps approaching their little alcove.

Zwei quickly turned out his light and froze in place. The steps stopped besides the entrance of the space and Zwei cursed internally. Then he heard voices. Two of the patrol men were currently having a conversation outside of their cubby. There was a curtain covering the entrance that blended the opening into its surroundings, but they'd find it if they were looking.

Fuck.

Zwei couldn't stop now, they were almost done. Instead, he leaned in close to Ein, right beside their ear.

"Stay as quiet as possible. Guards outside."

Ein nodded, and Zwei moved back down to their torso. He leaned in closer, trying to see in the now dim light. He pushed the needle into the skin, but unlike the last four stitches, this one didn't go in as easily. Zwei frowned, realizing he'd have to force this one. He breathed, still able to clearly hear the guards outside.

Zwei held the skin with one hand while the other pressed the needle into it. Ein jerked at the sudden pressure, and their fingers (which had been close to relaxed) gripped his arm tightly.

𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺. He spoke to himself internally.

Another jab. Ein's fingers dug deeper.

𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦.

Another. Their body tensed.

𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦.

Zwei gave one final, insistent dig before the skin gave way.

"Did you hear that?"

A small cry had escaped the muffle of the gloves. They both froze.

"Yeah, don't know where it came from though."

"But it sounded close didn't it? Kinda behind us."

Zwei's free arm pried it's way out of Ein's grip and slowly moved to the handgun on his thigh.

"What? How can you tell all that? I barely even noticed it."

"I could just, like- I could just tell alright? You don't need to sound so judgy."

"I'm not-"

"𝘏𝘦𝘺!"

A third voice, loud and authoritative, ordered the pair of guards back to their stations. Zwei let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, but he didn't dare move until the sound of footsteps had came and went. Zwei pinched his eyes closed, breathed, then opened them again. He switched the flashlight back on and finished Ein's last stitch.

After being given the clear, Ein slowly maneuvered themselves upright before zipping their suit back up and replacing their body armor. Zwei busied himself with making sure there was no trace of the two of them left in the tight space. Once done, Zwei stood and poked his head out of the opening, looking up and down the hall for any sign of a guard. Finding no one, he turned to Ein.

"Ready?"

Ein met Zwei's gaze, and if they hadn't known each other for as long as they had Zwei might’ve missed the crease in their brow or the way they bit the inside of their cheek.

(His heart ached with their pain, truly it did.)

"Yeah. Let's go."

And they went.

[diah-the-demon]

yeah the vibe is different </3 it now feels less like a personal chat and more like a personal chat in a public space but what else can we do when tumblr keeps being homophobic TT-TT

yeah I hope so too!! I'll bring it up to her soon as we still have Sci-fi cons which we regularly attend bcs I think that'd be cool!

and aaaw that sounds adorable!! The Sci-Fi cons that I visit always have lots of kids that age running around with their plastik lightsabers and usually clone wars masks of Anakin and Obi Wan and it's the cutest thing to watch them run around and play out their ideas

yeah she probably won't ksjdlsk it's just that we're both so used of someone bitching at us for buying even the most necessary shit so we gotta get used to that no longer happening slkjdlsk I'll probably bring it up to her soon, maybe tomorrow after uni! Hell I can even pay for it myself, I still have a lot of unused money from the past few cons since I barely bought smth aside from postcards / small prints

ksjdslk you're going to have the sickest bookshelf if that works out! and I hope it does skdjsl But yeah that sounds like a solid idea as to where to put them!!

ooh I think with the shows coming out there should definitely be a spike on tutorials for them!! Though I highly doubt there weren't some to begin with with Star Wars being such a huge franchise!! (and yeah I think that could probably be a solid start!!)

Yeah that's also always what I have noticed (it's probably also one of the most comfortable options ngl skldjsk) I think attaching them is going to be the most tricky part but I bet there are tricks to do so very easily!

yeah it feels way more out in the open, like speaking into a microphone instead of like just a casual conversation sat at a table in the corner of the room.. we could switch to discord or insta dms if we want it less open but idk, feels weird when its not on tumblr

ooo that sounds like fun! i need to try going to a sci-fi con, i know they have some in edinburgh occasionally throughout the year so il see if i can maybe go there eventually

it was!! it was so fucking fun, i remember around that age me and my sister would have lightsaber duels occasionally, too bad the sabers were bad quality so i accidently broke mine when i hit it too hard </3 thankfully it was after halloween so i still had the saber for halloween, just imagine like an 8 or 9 year old with a darth vader mask and red lightsaber walking down a dimly lit street dsjdsslkdj

i remember when i went trick or treating later that day i used my vader helmet (well its more like a mask tbh, its only the front half of vaders helmet lol) as a bucket to keep my sweets and candy in dlskjdslkjds

thats fair i cant rlly blame you or her, it will probably take a long time to get over that (i know the feeling cause my mother is like that sometimes, its so fucking annoying. she does it less to me now cause i have my own money but still)

i hope it goes well when you talk to her about it!! i doubt she wont let you buy it but wishing it goes well anyways!! if you dont do it tomorrow tho do keep in mind the sale is i think only lasting 1 more week? (or until everything sells out) so dont leave it too long slksjdlskd

IK ITS GONNA BE SO COOL, id say my bookshelf is already pretty cool because ive got 2 shelfs of books (one is mostly manga and star wars books, other is recipe books and other misc books) i could put them in 1 shelf but ive done it that way so theres space on the shelf next to the books, so i can put the helmets next to the books!! thinking about it now i can prob get 2 on the bookshelf and then the other 2 could go ontop of it maybe, idk il figure that out when i get them dsjlkds

Edit: heres a pic of said book shelf, forgot to mention the (fake) plant that hangs infront of my manga!!! skdjd Ignore the basket on the second shelf of books btw thats just where i keep my socks rn lmao (and random clothes in the shelf below too sldjslskssjk, im working on it so ignore that)

Anyways i could totally fit a helmet or 2 in here, one where the origami book is and one where the basket is, then the rest can go ontop of the bookcase idk lol

oh yeah its def gonna be trending, i saw one for storm trooper armour a few months ago, not mandalorian but tbh they are close (i mean storm trooper armour was based on the clones armour which was based on mandalorian so it is connected lmao) even if there isnt im pretty sure i could probably figure it out on my own if i had to

i think the way il have to attach it is maybe velcro? cause pins could fall out and if i try to put it back on it will be in a slightly different area probably, so what im thinking is having small velcro patches put onto the body suit and some on the armour pieces!! probably wont work out how it is in my head when i finally do it but i can atleast have ideas until then lol

[spottedmischief]

Perhaps this whole thing had bothered him more than he let on. Perhaps it was her impatience that made him nervous. Perhaps it’s the fear that got him on the edge - all that fear cannot just come from getting blamed. There was something else going on but now he didn’t dare to ask. He already got enough that he barely got to process and he wasn’t sure how much more his furbrain was able to handle.

Perhaps he was just cautious not to make her upset. She is leader and an adult - one wrong word and she might forcefully drag him along, who knows.

Perhaps it’s because in a way, he gets it. Scar was terrifying and as time went on … maybe he wasn’t the legend they thought he was - now that thought process turned out to be true.

It was a nice offer and he appreciates that she clarified it can’t be rushed, but that doesn’t mean the thought of it was … Janja is the one who makes the decisions, not him. He wasn’t sure how to feel about any of that anyway - dad had taken the slow approach with him, understanding the confusion that it was a lot to take in that you have a dad after living for so long thinking his clan was the only family he knew. He didn’t ask him to join anything - it was the younger hyena who approached on his own accord again.

Though he was not sure how much of that has changed since he knew about Scar. Oh. Did dad send his leader after them for that? No, dad wouldn’t do that. Hopefully.

It’s just that - they all appeared so sudden after years of thinking Janja and Chungu were the only family they have known. Then he finds out - on his own too that everything they thought about the lion who helped hyenas was wrong. He doesn’t mind spending time with dad, he wants to get to know him better but to show up and ask to join a different clan? He barely knows them.

After everything they have been through together to just show up like that to say they would be safer there? Everything had been so frightening before he met Janja. They all settled in the clan. Janja as the leader, Chungu and him as second in command. Why would he want to give that all up? Why join a different clan where all what they fought for will happen again? To start from scratch?

Cheezi shakes his head. He got his mind stuck in a loop.

“Right,“ Janja, Scar, Kiburi, Reirei and Ushari never ask for input. Dad likely had bright ideas, didn’t he? Regardless-

He needs the time to process all that now. Clear his mind. Find someone familiar like his leader or Chungu. He just wants to be with his clan now.

“Listen, I uhm- gotta go ‘cause Janja is probably worried where I am by now,” he puts emphasis on the worried part as to not give her any idea that Janja might be some kinda bad leader. In his opinion, Janja wasn’t. It was his fault to begin with for messing up - and she already did say that she wants to speak with his leader about some things he told her - meaning he already gave her stuff that she’s not supposed to know about. He really needs to learn how to keep his mouth shut at times because if she talks to him, he knows that Janja is going to be upset with him later.

“Chungu likely too. Stayed out too long here already, so I gotta return to them - y'know, clan stuff."

He needs to process and figure out how to tell them but for now? He just wants their company. Or some space. Whatever comes first.

Shenzi could be impatient. She knew that much about herself, it's why she sometimes struggled to understand Ed. She was too impatient to slow down and dissect what he was trying to say.

Her ears folded back against her head and a slightly nervous smile showed her teeth as she thought back on what living in the same dens as the living 'Mad King' and the lionesses was like.

It wasnt a laughing matter that was for sure. Haha. Laughing matter.

"Never did laugh at any of our jokes, even before it all went to the dung heap." She snorted with an anxious giggle, the claws on one of her front paws digging into the dirt.

"Not yours....no." She murmured...she didnt seem as tense now. Certainly still a bit anxious but she was trying to calm her wired nerves. "Ya dont have to rush it....or rush trying to make a choice. Sorry, kid. Just want you to know you kids have a place where you'll be safe, not trying to uproot you or anythin." The matriarch looked a little sheepish

"Some young leaders are like that....think we should only listen to ourselves.....hes young. He'll learn. Whether that's by talking to someone more experienced like me or something happening he'll learn either way. I ask for Ed and Banzai's opinions before I do things all the time."

[fictitiousfoodie]

What A Shame

I LOVED writing this one it is hot and fast. ;) Enjoy 

Bucky has a shitty girlfriend and he soon realizes he should be with you instead. 

Word Count: 1554

"Bucky, you gotta move on from her. She treats you like garbage, and I get that part of you thinks that's what you deserve, but it isn't. You know if I am honest, Y/N would -"

"STOP. I can not think of her that way, nor do I want to. And thank you for the advice, but Alice said she had something to say, so I will hear her out. I am not saying I am going to forgive her; I am saying that I would hear her out and that if her apology is sincere, I would be willing to try and work on things."  Bucky said, cutting Sam off in the process.

"Ohh are you guys talking about Buck's POS ex-girlfriend?", Y/N asked walking up behind them with the key to the door they were all now standing in front of. She threw the key to Sam, and he unlocked the door.

"I am going to stop telling you two anything about my personal life," Bucky grumbled as he kicked the door in and fired shots into the room. They were raiding another enemy bunker with some special tech that needed to be recovered or destroyed. They were a well-oiled machine at this point. As soon as they breached and secured the room, they called for backup. Their job was done now, and it was time for them to go back home. -------------------------------------- 2 Days Later

"My my my Mr.Barnes, you do clean up well.", Y/N said, playful taking in the now cleaned-up Bucky standing in the kitchen.

Sam let out a low whistle, "I know what you are trying to do and it ain't gonna work on her."

"Wait, What are you trying to do?" Y/N questioned. "Nothing, at all. Sam is just being stupid." "Nah, he is trying to make sure that if he has to reject her, he looks good - make her feel bad about cheating..." "Alleged cheating." Bucky interrupted. "Fine..alleged cheating. But he wants to also make sure he turns her on if he decides to forgive her." Sam finished. "OHHHHH makes sense." Y/N snickered, trying to play along.

Bucky sighed and turned. He had a date, no, not date, a meeting to get to, and he wanted to be tastefully late, not rudely late. He was almost out the door when Y/N ran up and said, "Hey Buck, by the way, the outfit works." Then closed and locked the door.

"Why you gotta play with the man like that?" Sam asked, chuckling under his breath. Y/N didn't say anything. She just shrugged her shoulders and walked off to the living room.

She and Sam were in the middle of watching The Fast and The Furious when the door burst open, and Bucky stomped in.

"You're back soon," Y/N said from her spot in the recliner. She had put on a pair of leggings and an oversized shirt once Bucky had left, not expecting to see him until tomorrow morning.

Sam had turned over his shoulder to look at Bucky, "What happened?" "I ... I guess I will never understand the thinking of a woman," Bucky said with finality and bitterness. Sam sighed, "She didn't apologize..." "Nope, not even once. Tried to say it was because I was gone so much," he shot with a dry humorless laugh. Y/N started to stand up and walk toward the kitchen counter, making sure to pull up the oversized shirt so Bucky could see the curve of her ass as she walked. He had always told himself that there could never be anything between them because Y/N was younger, well younger than he was. She was bright and carefree, both things Bucky tended not to be. But he couldn't lie and say after what Sam had said and the comment she had made earlier, he was starting to consider it. His cock twitched in his pants as her hips swayed in the leggings.

"What a shame, Buck. What a shame. Could've been with me this whole time instead of what's her fucking name," Y/N said, turning and hopping up on the counter, only successfully hiding the smirk she had and not the playfully sinful look on her eyes.

Buckys heart studdered and halted, "With you?"

Sam smirked to himself, knowing that Bucky couldn't ignore it now. Sam had seen it a while ago. They complimented each other slowly. Both of them had started to see it too. "Told ya."

"Sam?" "Yea" "Get out now," Bucky snapped, stalking over to where Y/N sat on the counter, pushing into the space between her legs and getting in her face. "You really want this, Sunshine?" Although it mostly came out harsh as he wrapped his arms around her, there was a softness and genuine kindness behind his words.

"You're smart Barnes, I'm sure you can figure it out." Hearing his last name on her lips was all he needed. He lunged forward and captured her lips. His kiss was soft and gentle at first but soon gave way to hunger. Y/N wrapped her legs around Buckys waist and pulled him in even closer. She moaned into him when his hand tugged softly at her hair. She broke the kiss panting. "God, you taste good, Sunshine," Bucky said, pulling Y/N back in. Her hands went to the hem of his shirt and slide her hands underneath. His skin was warm and soft in contrast to the hard muscles that moved along his abdomen. She wanted to feel his skin against hers. She tugged at the shirt haphazardly, and Bucky got the idea, pulling away and taking his shirt off. Y/N bit her lips at how incredibly turned on she was by the man in front of her. He had barely touched her, and she could already feel the wetness growing between her legs. Bucky was back to her in a moment, shoving his own hand up under her shirt. She gasped at the cool touch of metal to skin.

"Sunflower, if that's the reaction I get from just wrapping my arms around you - you're gonna be ruined by the end of this." He pushed her shirt all the way up and over her head. He growled when he looked down to find Y/N wasn't wearing a bra and was already bared for him. He palmed her breasts and started to kiss down her neck. One hand continued to palm her while the other went to play and twist her nipple. Y/N bit her lip in hopes of stifling the moan he had pulled out of her. Instead, Y/N slid her hands towards the button of his jeans, desperate to get her hands on him. She was able to get the button and fly of his jeans and immediately slid her finger into the space between his jeans and briefs and felt his hard cock. Bucky twitched in her hand and growled, "Careful, Sunshine, you are making it hard to be a gentleman."

"Maybe I don't want a gentleman," she said, running her hand down the length of his cock. "Just remember, princess, you asked for it." Before Y/N knew what was happening, Bucky had pulled her hand from him, scooped her up, and put her on the floor. Then, he yanked her leggings off of her and pulled himself free of the confines of his briefs. Y/N, just starting to catch up to what had happened when Bucky jerked her up and placed her back down on the counter. Then, he moved back in between her legs and slide two of his metal finger into her. Y/N was glad that Bucky had his other arm wrapped around her. She almost fell backward at feeling him slip in and out of her.

"Oh my ...god...please..." Y/N begged. "What, Sunshine? What do you want?" "More...please..." "That's it, use your words. What exactly what you want?" "You...... I want you in me...... Please...."

Bucky couldn't hold back any longer after hearing Y/N beg for him to be in her. He moved his hand to her hip and slid all the way into her. She was tight and warm and felt fucking fantastic. He pulled her up off the counter, and Y/N wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders. Bucky pumped into her, and Y/N could immediately feel her orgasm building. He was hitting her just right, and it turned her on even more than he was able to do while holding her. Bucky could feel his own orgasm building and knew, by the way, she was tightening around him, Y/N wasn't far behind.

"That's it, Sunshine, you like when I fuck you rough. Make you mine."

Y/N couldn't respond. She was cumming hard as Bucky continued to fuck her through it. She had never felt so good in her life.

"Sunshine. Answer me, who is fucking you good?"

"You are James. You are." Bucky's hips stuttered, and his eyes flew open wide. He had expected her to call him by his first name, but he loved the sound of it on her lips. A few more thurst, and Bucky was cumming as well.

They stayed there for a moment, both coming down from their highs. Bucky placed a soft kiss on Y/N's forehead and whisper, "Come on, Sunshine. Let's get you cleaned up for round two."