#now if you'll excuse me my brain is leaking out of my eyes from the amout of thought I had to put into this.

[leffy0328]

Six-song soundtrack game - Melody Young the Mummy

Rules: If you're tagged, make a new post with links to music and/or lyrics describing the following:

1. An event that defines your character's past: Passive by A Perfect Circle

Dead as dead can be

My doctor tells me

But I just can't believe him

Ever the optimistic one

I'm sure of your ability to become

My perfect enemy

Wake up

And face me

Don't play dead

'Cause maybe

Someday I will walk away and say

You disappoint me

Maybe you're better off this way

2. How your character sees themselves: Problems by DeathByRomy

I like Coke, but only if you're mixing it with Jack

Then it's dope

Put it in my cup then hand me the smoke

I ain't tryna think about the world

I got too many problems

3. How others view them: Airhead by Honey Revenge

Damn, I'm such an airhead, no strength in my spine (spine)

With the best intentions, I can make it right (right)

Man, I'm really brain-dead, I don't see the signs

I'm stupid, I'm unconscious (unconscious)

Too high up, no stopping (stopping)

Excuse me, as I take it to the extreme, yeah

I don't think, I'm just acting impulsively

Running too fast but with two left feet

Tell me "Wait it out", I don't know what that means

Every thought I have, screaming, "Oh, God"

4. Their closest relationship (platonic or romantic): Lonely by Palaye Royale

So sick and tired of being alone

So long, farewell, I'm on my own

I'm sorry mom, I've got to go

I dug this grave I call my home

My life don't mean that much to me

So I'm living for you

Yeah, I'm living for you

And you can't stand the sight of me

So what's the point of this

Fucked up catastrophe?

I'm waiting for my time to start

As I waste it

As I waste it

I pop the pills to waste some time

As I'm faded

As I'm faded

5. A major fight scene: A Good Song Never Dies by Saint Motel

Stop, now let's begin

You're in too deep to go back again

Cash, it's pay-to-play

You want more hits than a lemonade

No, you don't own me

You don't even know me

Who, this vagabond

With a two-part path to the great beyond

How? Stay genuine

A ground floor opp', I can help you find

Oh, you're a dreamer

Call me when you're Bieber

And when they play it, you can't help but sing along

That's nothin' odd, that's nothin' wrong

'Cause a good song never dies

It just reminds you of where you were

The first time it made you cry, the first time you felt alive

6. End credits song: Turn the Lights Off by Tally Hall

Don't go in there

You'll become one

Freaky creatures

Monster party

Eyes of yellow

Scales and feathers

Tails in tethers

Turn the lights off

Bend the nightmare

You control it

Artful dodger

Easy does it

Shut the closet

Get under the covers

Snakes and lovers

Turn the lights off

Tagged by @swinefluuu THANK YOU!!

Tagging no one really. If you wat to do it go ahead.

[multishipper-baby]

Freddy & Fred Week Day 7: Last Day of School.

Summary: Freddy goes into surgery. Whoever comes out is, decisively, not Freddy. FHS: Farewell Despair Highschool AU.

The Hope's Peak executive is already waiting for him the moment he leaves class, watching from afar as he says goodbye to his friends. He's staring directly at him, with such focus that it's almost scary, urging him to rush even if he doesn't want to. He'd been informed that the project could take a while until it's finalized, and he wants to have a proper farewell before abandoning his class.

They'd already told him not to speak about it, though. It's a classified experiment, one not yet ready to share with the public, and most of his classmates have a tendency to run their mouth- there's an understandable worry that they'll leak the information, either on accident or out of a misguided effort to avoid letting him take part in the project.

After all, brain surgery is no joke. Even in such capable hands, he can't deny being scared, too.

"Your mother came to sign the waiver this morning, so now everything is ready for the operation" The man informs him when he approaches, showing him a copy of the document. He starts reading it, but the man pockets it before he has the chance to get far in it "Because of the secretive nature of the project, as of today, you'll be considered expelled as an explanation for why you won't be attending class from now on."

"Won't my friends ask questions if I get expelled without doing anything?" He asks, wondering what the excuse would be. He'd rather not have his classmates think of him as a troublemaker.

"Yes, but that's not our problem. We don't divulge student's information unless it's court ordered- they can think up their own reasons for your expulsion."

Such a thought makes him uncomfortable. He didn't want any rumours about him spreading around, and it wasn't very fair to his friends, not knowing what happened to him. How would they feel when they tried to reach out to him over the phone and got no answer? Would they worry? They didn't deserve that.

Perhaps he could send a text to the group chat now, warning about his disappearence. He'd already written a few versions and saved them in his notes app, agonizing over how much to say and what excuses to give, but hadn't yet sent anything. If he said something before, they'd try to get more information out of him, and he'd never been great at keeping secrets.

There wasn't any time left for another rewrite, though. If he didn't send the message now, he'd never get the chance to send it.

The executive glared at him as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, but didn't stop him, merely keeping an eye on what he was doing- probably making sure he wouldn't talk about anything he shouldn't or try to back out last minute.

Quickly reading over his options, he settled on the last draft he wrote, not wanting to waste time rewriting yet another version.

< hey guys! i'll be gone for a few months for surgery. dw tho, it's nothing serious! but i probably won't have my phone on me to talk :( see u guys soon! >

Was that a good final message? He wasn't sure. Maybe the exclamation points were a little too much, or the tone was too casual for what was supposed to be a serious announcement. Or perhaps keeping it casual was better? Being too formal could scare them, make them think the situation was worse than it actually was.

They were getting close to the operation room. Bitting his lip, still unsure, he finally pressed send on the phone and pocketed it, ignoring it when it vibrated slightly. Someone must've read his message already, but there wasn't any time to check the responses.

A few men in lab coats were moving around the room, all circling around an odd pod full of cables, big enough to fit one person. It didn't look anything like he expected an actual surgery room to look, but that could have to do with the experimental nature of this surgery. For results as crazy as he was promised, one couldn't expect the same level of technology that normal brain surgery would require. This was Hope's Peak Academy they were talking about- everything they did, they advanced on.

"You need to change into a hospital gown before the operation" One of the doctors informs him, signaling a room off to the side for him to undress.

He'd never worn a hospital gown before, and doing so now did nothing to calm his anxiety, but he knew it was necessary. The executives in charge of the project had explained it in detail when they first approached him for the test, how he'd need to be hospitalized for a while as they kept working on his talent, how his body would need to adapt as well as his brain. It wouldn't be a quick or easy process.

The man who escorted him there is waiting for him as he exits the changing room, taking the clothes off of his hands along with his phone, before hurrying him to go towards the pod.

The doctors talk amongst themselves as he gets situated, before one approaches with a needle. And then, the world fades to black.

-

Many things fill his mind once he's awake enough to analyse his surroundings: there are many people all around him, many of which are armed. Besides those directly in his line of sight, there's also a one-way mirror (how he knows it's a one-way mirror, instead of a normal one, he's not sure yet) on the wall, suggesting there might be others observing him. Medical equipment surrounds him, and he's wearing the sort of clothing a patient would wear, but doesn't seem to be in a hospital.

He doesn't know what his name is. Why doesn't he know that?

The men around him take a step back as he hoists himself up, trying to remain upright even as his legs shake. He's unsure of whether he should be walking right now, but nobody moves to stop him or says anything, so he assumes it must not be a problem.

Without any explanation or signs of what to do, he decides to focus on the mirror, getting closer to it so he can properly examine his appearance. Perhaps that'd give him a clue.

Messy brown hair, reaching down to his shoulders, with a medium skin tone. A scar that reached all across his forehead, covered in stitches, as if it'd just been closed. Grey eyes, with a black sclera. Bony cheeks, which suggested he might be underweight.

He doesn't remember having this sort of appearance- why? Had he looked different, before? In what ways?

One the doors in the room opens, and an older gentleman enters, wearing a suit. The man sends the doctors a glance before smiling, taking a few steps towards him with unending confidence.

"It's good to see you awake. We were worried you wouldn't make it pass those last few surgeries" He says, voice kind and gentle, but there's something off about it. The man is not to be trusted, he's sure of it "We have a few tests for you, now. If you succeed, then we can progress to the next part of the project."

He's not sure what the project is about, or what will happen to him if he fails, or why he needed multiple procedures to awake, but the man is already out the door before he can even open up his mouth to ask.

With no other option given, he moves to the door, and follows. Perhaps he'll get an answer soon.

[emjiroki]

Father’s Day enji 😳🫣 I’m listening 😳😳😳

Father's day for Enji 😍 my favorite Daddy (even if he's not the best father all the time lmao we make no excuses he's working on it) Let's get to something smutty 💕

18+ under the cut MINORS DNI

Warnings: Breeding kink

"Enji- fuck you're so deep" you moaned gasping as his fingers tightened around your thighs as he pressed them upward, sinking further into you.

"I know Angel, am i stirring your guts?" He said roughly, pressing a warm hand to your abdomen to feel himself fucking into you. You nod deliriously, a soft cry of his name escaping past your lips as your second orgasm of the night wracked your body.

"That's right, goddamn you're so tight" Enji groaned, a choked back growl hissing through his teeth as he thrust into just a little bit harder, fucking right up against your cervix. You could tell by the way his cock twitched inside of you and the ragged grunts and pants huffing from his chest that he was close, you wanted so desperately to lock your legs around him and keep him inside of you.

"Enji- pl-please cum inside of me, want you to fill me up" you pleaded as your toes curled, your third orgasm creeping up on the still lingering aftershocks from the second as you leaked around him and soaked the spot on the sheets beneath you.

"Need to pull out, you don't want to get pregnant do you?" He asked with a chuckle, the light sound bleeding off into a more guttural rumbling, his hips stuttering. You felt when he was about to cum, locking your legs around his waist and doing your best to hold him in place, shuttering as you felt his warm release shooting in strong spurts deep inside of you. His face was flushed a dark pink as you smiled up at him coyly, as if you didn't do what you did. You were surprised a little when he smiled back, the pitch of his lips almost feral.

"You're in for it now, love" he murmured deeply, pressing a hot lingering kiss to your ankle. You were about to ask him what he meant when he gripped one hand against your thigh and wrapped his arm around your back and flipped you both over so that you were straddling him, your hands splayed out across his chest for support. He pulled you down closer to press his lips to yours, a low groan bubbling up as you pressed your tongue in against his own. You felt his hand go up to fist into your hair, threading it through his fingers and tugging lightly to pull you back.

"Want to fill you up until I break this pretty little cunt" Enji murmured against the hallow of your throat, the hand still on your thigh beginning to move you up and down along his cock, the mixture of your releases spilling out to pool where you were still connected and making the mess even stickier.

"Please yes," you pleaded digging your nails into his chest as he fucked up into you, nudging against the soft spot deep inside that had your brain fuzzy and your eyes crossing, "I-I need it, need all of it"

He growled, a shuttering moan spilling past his lips as he moved his hands around to grip your ass and bounce you against him even harder, "you'll get everything I have, and more".

♡♡♡♡♡

It really didn't come as much of a surprise when you showed him the three different positive pregnancy tests a little over a month later ♡

[onlyseokmins]

[14:46] • l.s.m.

Pairing: lee seokmin x afab!reader

Genres: smut (minors dni!), established relationship kind of ig hehehe

Warnings: possessiveness, jealousy, mean!seok but he's whipped kind of, slapping, WAP LMFAO, choking again but fr, a tiny bit of degradation, bulge kink, mentions of oral (male receiving), slight overstimulation, mentions of voyeurism but not really, he doesn't cum inside but reader wants him to fjskdjf, cum eating lort, kinda soft at the end... as usual just hmu if I missed smth

WC: tumblr mobile bby it's kinda short again?? Maybe?

A/N: another unplanned thing but a continuation of this because mean seok lives rent-free in all our brains esp mine on god 😭 i think he'd be mean solely if his buttons were pressed enough anyways i love procrastinating on the wips I'm creating. God don't come for me AT ALL YO I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING 😭 ACTUALLY THIS ISN'T EVEN MY FAULT IT'S YOURS!!!

Seokmin's even crueler once he bottoms out.

Soft little kisses dotting your neck turn to harsh sucks and bites with the intent to have you lean the back of your head on his shoulder. Which you do, surrendering your entire body to his brutal assault.

His fingers pinch and pull at your nipples before he slaps your tits lightly to watch them bounce from the impact paired with a sharp thrust as his hips snap away and then back up into your warm cunt. Where it belongs.

He doesn't like being mean. Really.

But fury surges in his veins once more when he recalls the way the bartender tried to flirt with you. Leering like a creep at your curves. The frisky clubgoers letting their hands linger a little too long on your ass for his liking. Squishing unnaturally against the front of your body, casual talking as if it's not an excuse to get a sneaky look down your cleavage.

You're gorgeous, he knows that. Well aware of your allure. He fell for it. Hard.

But it's not like you're alone. His arm had been wrapped around your waist all night, shooting challenging glares in every direction because you are his.

Seokmin growls lowly in your ear and your pussy can't help but flutter helplessly around him.

He smirks. It's his dick your soaking cunt is speared on, his hands running up and down your body, his tongue tangling with yours when you tilt your head and kiss along his jawline until he leans down to meet your lips.

Your wetness that he usually likes to drown in, but instead merely played with earlier, leaks down both of your thighs. Every shallow thrust causes more to drip from your hole with a filthy squelch.

Absolutely messy.

He loves it.

"Feel good, baby? No one can fuck you like I do, right?"

"Mhm, yeah... so good. So full. Love it."

"Tell me what you like about me." Your eyelashes flutter as you struggle to focus and comprehend his question. "What made you choose me out of any bastard that would die to have you in his arms? Hm? What made this tight pussy want to swallow up my dick?"

Seokmin's been insecure ever since the first time you met him despite the fact later that night you were sucking him off in the bathroom of the club. Who knows. You'll never fully get it. But he always fucks the brains out of you whenever he's worried you may slip away from his grasp.

You know you'll be sore and have bruises for days. Delicious.

"L-love your smile."

"Yeah?"

"You're so... so kind."

"That so?" A hand returns to wrap around your neck although he doesn't squeeze like earlier. "I'm nice to you baby?"

"Ah, so nice... so sweet," you assure although a lazy smirk is on your lips as your eyes roll to the back of your head in delirium. "So lovely."

He chuckles darkly. "I adore how highly you flatter me but I'm not sure you'll think I'm so kind after this. So tell me, sweetheart. Why do you really like me."

"I — "

Seokmin cuts you off with a real squeeze to your throat, temporarily blocking your airflow. If you weren't feeling lightheaded before, you definitely are now. Floating in that happy little bubble you always find yourself in whenever he lets out his envious side.

When Seokmin snaps, the world pauses to watch him wreck you in awe.

Of course, no one's actually watching. To your knowledge. Although, he's fucking you stupid so who really can tell. But also, why would Seokmin ever divulge such a beautiful sight for anyone else's gaze?

You. Are. His. Alone.

"Or should I say what do you like about me?"

He releases his grip and trails his hand almost lovingly past your breasts and pauses just above your lower abdomen. Peeking over your shoulder, he groans at how he can see himself move within you as he grinds his hips, pelvis rubbing intimately across your ass.

"Huh, baby?" He rasps in your ears and you both moan in tandem when his hand brushes over the bump the tip of his dick causes and you clench impossibly tight. "Gonna answer me, beautiful?"

"L-love your dick in-inside me!"

"Uh-huh."

"No one... No one can fuck you like me, Seokminie. No one h-has a dick so perfect l-like yours is."

"That's right." Your neck is attacked with kisses, nibbles, licks, and bites. "Don't you forget it."

"I would n-never."

"I won't let you. Won't let this pretty pussy forget. Carve my name into this sweet cunt of yours for years to come."

"Mhm, Seokmin..."

"You'd love that wouldn't you."

"Yes!"

"Then cream on my cock, baby. Hm? Make me yours as well?"

His pace is brutal, speeding up as he eggs you on. You whine, reaching your arm around his neck to tug on his the tiny hairs on his nape as you feel the coil burning in your gut snap.

When Seokmin feels you let go, he bends you over doggy style. Hips slamming unforgivingly although his quiet whispers of assurance soothe you through the sensitivity that makes you clamp even harder around him. He can barely squeeze in but he makes it work, opting to slide his aching cock between your plush thighs.

You sob out though when you feel his release spurt out along your thighs. He usually makes sure to cum inside since you're on the pill and you're both safe. Slyly moving your hips, you try to slip his dick back inside to catch the last drops but Seokmin catches on with a click of his tongue.

"You're too sensitive for me, sweetheart." He flops down on his side, pulling you with him. Turning in his arms, you face him with a pout and he wrinkles his brow. "What?"

"I thought you wanted to stake your claim on me?"

His hand shoots down to wipe some of the cum off with a frown. "But I did?"

"You always do it inside."

"Well now everyone can see it clearly."

"Seokmin!"

A hesitant kiss is placed on your nose. "Kidding. Just rest a bit now."

You roll your eyes, grabbing his hand. Keeping eye contact, you lick his fingers clean. His eyebrows are still furrowed, eyes darkening at each kitten swipe of your tongue and light sucking you do as if he's still on edge. But the way the corners of his mouth tilt up fails to hide the lovely smile you're fond of.

Running a hand through his bangs and then cupping his cheek, you smile as well when he leans into your touch.

"I love you, you know? You don't have to worry about anything, I'm yours and you're mine, right?"

Seokmin's eyes flash back open and he suddenly doesn't meet your gaze, shy as if he didn't fuck you crazy enough to see stars. But despite all of that, intimate post-sex moments like these make your heart beat the fastest.

"I know... I love you too."

You press a kiss against his lips, smiling. "But I won't be opposed to you going crazy like this again, maybe I'll still let guys flirt with me if this is how you'll act."

His arms tighten firmly around you as he whines your name in protest. "Don't you dare."

"I won't my sweet boy," you giggle. "I wasn't lying at all, though. Everything is true. You're the only one for me."

His voice is small when he thanks you, burying his head in your neck to hide his embarrassment. It's all so endearing, every side to him. No matter what, you wouldn't change or leave Seokmin ever.

[maddenleftchat]

Hi. Saw that your requests are open so... give me some Gojo x reader. Angst to fluff. I love a good angst however I don't want to give myself a grief by only reading just a heavy angst so yeah make the end fluffy hahahaha.

Can I give you a prompt? "I can't believe you would do this to me after everything I've done for you?" Looking forward to what you'll cook for me. Thank you so much.

Sending tons of love ❤️

-🍫🍦

Of course 🍫🍦 anon!

Triggers: Swearing, Break up (?), Nothing really. Safe for all to read!

Enjoy.

Gojo

It has been a bumpy part of your relationship so far.

You had started to notice how Saturo was staring at other people.

How he no longer looked at you with the same loving eyes.

You noticed his physical actions twords you were getting less and less, except when it came to sleeping with you.

Though unless it involved sex, Gojo seemed distant.

Whenever you wanted cuddle and watch a movie, he would mumble an excuse.

It would take you a long time to convince him to finally sit down and watch a movie.

But when you finally did convince him, Saturo wouldn't even pay attention!

He was always on the damn phone.

Every single minute of every damn day.

~

Sure you understood that his work would keep him busy.

However he was never on his phone this much, even with work.

You soon reached your breaking point when he started ignoring you completely at the table to eat.

You had busted your back making this dinner for him, and all he did was take a picture of it and post it onto his social media.

It was the last straw.

In that moment you sat up and banged your hands onto the table with a great force.

You could care less about the stinging pain in your wrists.

Your brain was more focused on the rage that spilled out.

Your heart couldn't hold the overflow of emotions, so it started to leak out from your eyes in the form of tears.

Tears that burned with exhaustion and stress.

It leaked from your mouth in the form of words.

Words laced themselves with anger and sadness.

"What the fuck Saturo?!"

Your sudden movements and reactions scared and surprised your significant other.

He started at you wide eyed, the sunglasses that he wore dropped to the ground.

And all he could say was a meek, "Huh..?"

That's when you exploded.

"Really?! Huh?! Fucking 'Huh'?! You piece of shit!"

He didn't even have the time to reply.

"I can't believe you would do this to me after everything I've done for you?"

"What the hell are you even doing on that damn phone?! I've been keeping quiet this entire time and haven't said a single complaint about you! You've been so distant I'm tired of it! Get the hell out of my apartment!"

You yelled, your voice's strength never wavering.

~

It had been a few days now, and Saturo had tried calling you over and over again.

But you simply wouldn't answer.

He had grown tired of waiting, and decided to go get you back himself.

So that's what he did….at 5 o'clock in the morning…

He spammed your door bell until you answered, you weren't to please.

"What the hell do you want?" You said still half asleep.

He smirks, your so cute when your tired.

"I came to.. apologies.."

(Oof that was a hit on his ego)

You cross your arms and place your weight on your hip and raise a brow.

"I'm waiting."

Saturo stood in silence for a bit.

Wait-

You were really gonna make him do this?

Normally you say he doesn't have to apologize.

Your not serious.

He thought.

But the way you held yourself right now told him enough, you were not going to let this one pass.

Saturo sighed and got onto the floor. He bowed, touching his forehead to the dirty wooden ground.

His actions surprised and embarrassed you.

You were really hoping in that moment none of your neighbors would see this!

"I am truly sorry my love. I will, form now on, keep all of my attention on you. The love of my life." He said peeking his head up.

Your cheeks were a dark red from embarrassment.

"Yeah- whatever. Just get your ass in here be for any of our neighbors see!" You said in a hush tone grabbing his shoulder and pulling him into the apartment.

He turned and looked at you with a smirk.

"Our neighbors? So I'm forgiven?"

~

In short: He's a smart ass.

Word count: 678

_________________________________________

Thanks for reading!

[ghostonmyfeed]

12am THOUGHTS ON MHA Chapter 338

SPOILERS AHEAD SUCH AS THE MHA TRAITOR. I WARNED YOU.

I won't overanalyze it like I usually do (like the GFN post). This is basically analyzed crack thoughts so excuse moiii~

Ayoo my two cents on the latest chapter of MHA. It's 12am and my brain ain't fully functioning so I might be wrong buuuut

I read this blog article thing-- (idk what this is my brain ain't functioning) --- saying that Bakugo failing to forgive Aoyama destroys all the progress he made .

Okay- I know it's just supposed to be an eye catching headline but for those who agree I would like to defend my client's case 👩🏻‍⚖️

Bakugo was kidnapped, we all knew this. Although he didn't show any sign of fear & was just his usual explosive self, keep in mind that Bakugo blames(d?) himself for All Night's retirement. (I'm sure we remember that heartbreaking episode that started Bakugo's progress)

Now thinking that it could have all been prevented if Aoyama did not leak their location, I believe that he has the right to be mad.

I'd say that 5 blasts from Howitzer wouldn't even be enough. Yes, Aoyama might've not had much of a choice-- but Bakugo's the most affected character in all of this.

He was kidnapped, he had to be saved by All Might & believed it was his fault why they lost the symbol of peace. Thinking that it was you who was the reason for the No. 1 hero's end has got to be heartbreaking. You start to doubt and blame yourself, trying to look for something- someone else to blame but having nothing you'd start to question yourself;

"What if I was stronger?"

"What if I didn't get kidnapped?"

Now, finding out that it was not entirely your fault when you've been carrying that burden for so long - of course you'd get mad. You'll most likely lose your rational thinking like he did and would want to blame the traitor responsible for it as well.

So what if the rest of the class forgives Aoyama? They weren't the ones in Bakugo's shoes. They didn't have to blame themselves for All Might's end. They weren't the one kidnapped.

Yes they would (they do?) probably have some trauma because of that attack but think of what Bakugo might've felt. Yes he was rude to his kidnappers, he was still as explosive as his quirk but who's to say he wasn't scared or worried?

We know Bakugo's strong but the heavy burden he has been carrying must be a lot.

He's not as emotionally developed as his classmates, I agree with what's stated-- but, his anger is within reason.

I believe Bakugo won't ruin the progress he made. He won't ruin that character development, but there's a possibility he might get off track of that development.

And with that I end this uhhh idk what to call it. It's 1am now. Goodnight--morning?? Err

Of course I would also like to know more reasons why people believe he'd destroy his progress. It's not entirely impossible (but I just wouldn't use the word destroy, I think the development he made would still have an impact on his actions.) Enlighten me please, I'd like to know your thoughts on it.

I probably should analyze this better, let me know what you guys think

[nightingiall]

hey jess hope you've been keeping well! ❤️ just wondering if you'll ever do a niall pov of part vi of hitc when they were at the party bc i'd really like to know what went on in his head throughout the myriad of events that happened :)

story page // wattpad

The first person Niall sees as he walks through the door is a tipsy-looking Harry Styles. 

“Niall, mate!” he exclaims as he sees him, voice loud over the raucous music, hair a mess of slightly damp curls as he sends Niall a lopsided grin. “Take a shot with me!” 

And, well, how can he say no to free liquor? Especially when it’s the expensive kind that goes down easy and smooth, spreading a slinky sort of heat through his tummy when it settles in him. 

The Shack parties are probably his favorite parts of working at Hightstown, with great alcohol and interesting people all in the same place. Today, though, he doesn’t care for either of those things, eyes instead searching for a beautiful girl who he could not, for the life of him, stop thinking about. He could not stop thinking of curious, vulnerable brown eyes and a smile that made all the work to crack it worth the effort. He sees her everywhere, all the time—in his dreams and curled in odd corners of his flat with Spike and in everyone at this party—heart sinking when the ghost of her disappears into his imagination. 

If he makes his disappointment obvious at the absence of Rory Bhatt, then Harry doesn’t seem to notice, instead yammering on about Leslie or Gigi or—well, Niall doesn’t know, he’s not paying attention. He’s saved from being outed as a terrible listener by Alejandra, who makes her way over to them to ask if they want to play drunk Jenga. Harry declines but Niall allows Alejandra to drag him to the makeshift gameroom, if only for a distraction. At least if he’s immersed in a party game he won’t be thinking about a certain brown-eyed beauty all the time.

It works, but only for a few moments. 

Niall is invested in the game for a while, his competitive side rearing its head for the first few rounds. But once it’s clear that Leslie is going to be the clear champ, her alcohol tolerance putting all of theirs to shame, he simmers down a bit, instead joking around with Callie and stealthily pouring excess beer into Shane’s cup with Alejandra when he’s not paying attention. Sure, it’s a distraction, but with the cloud of competition disappearing into wisps in his mind, he finds his eyes often wandering towards the door, searching, heart surging whenever he catches a glimpse of long, dark hair. 

It’s never the person he’s looking for, though. 

“Niall,” someone murmurs into his ear. It’s Callie. Cheeks flushed, eyes bleary, and stray hairs sticking up slightly in the humidity that’s leaked into the house, it’s clear that she’s well on her way to being tipsy. Perhaps she’s already there. Her hand is on his shoulder and she’s leaning in close to him. So close that he instinctively takes a step away. She doesn’t seem to notice. “Heard you almost beat Leslie at beer pong the other night. Everyone’s talking about it.” 

He laughs but even to his ears it sounds a bit stiff, unnerved from how close she’s standing. “Yeah?” Beside him, Alejandra nudges him to take his turn, and he pokes at a block, releasing it easily from the tower. Take a whiskey shot, it reads. So he does. Deep brown, luscious, expensive whiskey. It’s clear that someone’s tapped into some rich person’s reserve to grab it. Distantly, he thinks that the color reminds him of Rory’s eyes. 

“Yeah.” Callie’s still talking. “We take beer pong very serious around here.” She sends him a sweet smile, deep pink lips framing bleached-white, perfectly straight teeth. Callie is tipsy, and still no one can deny that she’s beautiful. Blue eyes, blonde hair, and clearly interested in him. Her hand lingers on his shoulder, her smile a second too long. She’s beautiful and interested, yes, but Niall’s mind is stuck on someone else. 

He’s mid-laugh when he sees her. This time, it’s unmistakably her. Those eyes, hypnotizing, but for once, his gaze is pulled away from them because she’s smiling. At him. Big and bright and blinding and so beautiful that he nearly forgets there was a time that she made him work so hard to get one out of her. She’s smiling and she’s walking towards him and Niall feels any semblance of self-control slip away, slinking down his body and landing in his knees, which go impossibly weak whenever she’s around. 

“Rors!” The nickname is leaving his mouth before he can even think about it. He distantly registers that it’s loud, impossibly so over the ruckus of the party, feels other people’s gazes on him as he finds himself moving towards her, bringing her in for a hug, a moth to her flame. But he doesn’t care. Clearly he’s never known subtlety when it comes to Rory Bhatt. “You made it.” 

She smells like the color yellow. It’s something he first noticed about her. She had been standing near the pool and he was struck by the etherealness she exuded. Long, graceful limbs, the hem of her white dress catching in the breeze, flowing gently. She’d been wearing sunglasses but she took them off when he walked up to introduce himself. To this day he doesn’t know how he had the balls to do it. He thinks he smiled and held out his hand, but he can’t remember. He’d been too distracted by those big brown eyes. Guarded and questioning, catching the sunlight and sparkling. 

A gust of air flitted past them and it carried her scent up to him, and it is this that he remembers most. Not the feeling of her hand or whatever she said to him. But that, the quick glitter in her eyes and her sunshine yellow scent. Sure, one cannot smell sunshine, but something Niall’s chemistry professor from college—back when he dabbled in the sciences—said one day stuck out to him in that moment, that at the center of our galaxy, in a cloud of dust and gas, scientists found a chemical responsible for the flavor of rum and raspberries, that space probably smelled like a fancy brunch, sweet and tart. The next day, when Niall and his friends went out and bought rum and raspberries and got drunk in the middle of the day on the floor of someone’s apartment, they joked that the place smelled like sunshine. 

That was what Rory Bhatt smelled like. 

He registers the scent now, as he presses his nose to her hair when she hugs him back. Sunshine and lemons and Rory. Niall tries not to come across as a freak and hopes to every power on earth that she doesn’t notice him taking in the way she smells, but he can’t help it. He’s not yet tipsy but he thinks he can get drunk off of this alone, the way Rory smells, the warmth of her body seeping into his, the way those brown eyes catch the light when she smiles up at him. It’s intoxicating. He’s so fucked. 

Hopefully she doesn’t notice how completely out of his mind he is for her at the moment, but he doesn’t do much to help his case, mindlessly tangling their fingers together and dragging her towards the drunk jenga game. He thinks he banters with her and everyone else at the table but all he can really focus on is the fact that she squeezed his fingers when their hands were laced together. It’s stupid, of course, to hyperfixate on this one gesture. But the muscles in his hands replay the memory of her touch over and over again. The rest of him is just running on autopilot. 

Alejandra draws a King’s Cup block from the tower and everyone cheers because at least they weren’t that unlucky. Niall can’t help himself when he bends into Rory, his hand on her waist. “Lucky we didn’t get that one, eh?” he says, but it’s just an excuse to catch a whiff of her scent again. It’s all great until she turns towards him and he realizes that he’s made a mistake. He’s leaned in too close. Her lips are mere inches from his. All of his nerve endings feel magnetized and they’re jumping around within him, craving a connection with her skin. He’ll kiss her if he doesn’t find some self-control. He knows he will. So he desperately forces words out of him so he won’t do something that will ruin this precarious balance they’ve managed to strike. “Don’t think you’d survive a King’s Cup anyway.”

It works. Rory wrinkles her nose at him as she swats a hand against his chest, rolling her eyes. And it’s so cute that he’s surprised his brain is still functioning from it all. “I can handle my alcohol, thank you very much,” she retorts with a little huff. “And besides, you’re the one who’s already had way more to drink than I have.”

She’s not wrong. He can feel it now, the steady thrum of alcohol bubbling through him. It’s making him reckless. He can’t afford to be reckless. 

And still, he is. Callie topples over the jenga tower and Niall seizes this opportunity to tug Rory away. He’s been aching for a moment alone with her. It’s selfish, of course. Any time she gives him a minute of her time he wants more. Just earlier today they had all been goofing around in the pool and she’d swam up to him when he was taking in the sunset, and she jumped on his back to scare him. It’s hours later and he’s still wondering how on earth her scent still broke through the film of chlorine that had settled on both their skins. 

They end up on the patio, and when Niall closes the sliding door behind them, shutting out the loudness emanating from within, he’s finally able to take her in. As they settle together on a lounger, he has every intention of telling her how he really feels. 

I cannot stop thinking about you, do you know that?, he wants to say. It’s right there on the tip of his tongue and it nearly comes tumbling out before he catches the look on her face. It’s that concentrated expression she gets when she’s focusing hard on something, like when she’s perched on the lifeguard chair drawing or when she’s pouring out food for Spike in his bowl. She does that a lot, gets lost in her thoughts, daydreams. So he asks.

“What’re you thinking so hard about? You’re quieter than usual.” His voice is a whisper despite no one else being around. It’s just the two of them and the sounds of the night, crickets singing and leaves blowing together in the breeze. 

He can see the exact moment she’s back with him, her eyes coming into focus. The slightest of pinks bloom high on her cheeks and Niall would bet anything that the skin there is surging with warmth. He’s not thinking when he reaches out, passing off the graze of his knuckles against her cheekbones for brushing away the hair that’s blown into her face. He’s right. Searing heat meets his skin. It sends jolts of electricity right through him. Rory lets out a quiet laugh, a lingering smile on her face as she glances down at their hands, which have somehow intertwined without his knowledge. 

I’d move mountains for that laugh, he almost tells her. I’m so completely in love with your smile that I see it in my dreams. 

For the life of him he can’t get his fingers to stop brushing her hair back. It’s a tantalizing softness against his skin. Reckless. He’s so busy watching the movement of her features that he nearly forgets that she hasn’t answered his question. She’s gone and gotten lost in her head again. This time, he’s the one who laughs. “Rory. Where are you, love? It’s like you’ve always got your head in the clouds.”

She’s full-on blushing now, her shoulders quirking up to her ears as though she wishes to hide it. Niall suddenly can’t remember what they’re even talking about. He’s reeling, the mere sight of a blush sending his mind into overdrive. Something else nearly spills from his lips. What can I do to make your cheeks go red like that again? 

“Sorry,” Rory says, smiling wryly. “I guess I just daydream a lot.” Her eyes meet his again and suddenly, finally, he realizes that perhaps she wants to tell him something. There’s a sort of nervousness swirling in the dark brown that has anticipation building in his chest. He inadvertently leans forward, silently telling her he’s listening. 

“It’s okay. It’s cute.” He all but blurts the words out and it’s all he can do not to smack his hand against his forehead. It’s a good thing he doesn’t, because it means that he’d have had to let go of her hand. And he’d have missed the color rising to the tops of her cheeks again. His heart surges in his chest. “Besides, I probably talk too much anyway.”

Rory is looking at him like she’s never looked at him before. It’s intense and all-consuming at the same time. She holds the entire world of secrets in those deep brown eyes and he’ll do anything to get her to open up to him. Tell me, his fingers say as they squeeze hers, because suddenly, this feels important. Suddenly, he’s thinking that maybe they’re on the same page after all. 

She takes a breath. He’s hyperfocused on her. For a moment, the world falls away from them. The crickets stop singing. The wind is still. For a moment, it’s him, and her, and his beating heart, and her unspoken words. A moment. Rory opens her mouth. A moment. She’s finally speaking. 

“I guess I was just trying to figure out how to tell you that I—”

A moment, broken.

The sliding door crashes open behind them, the crickets start chirping again, the light summer breeze is loud in Niall’s ears. His heart is a heavy thump, thump thump in his chest, so out of order that it feels like it’s jumping around inside of him, stopping only when it feels as though it’s lodged up in his throat. 

A breath wooshes out of him as he turns to face the interference. His brain registers two things, both at the same time. One, it’s Shane and Zafar that are tumbling out of the door, laughing loudly about a fight happening inside. Two, his hands are cold, the skin trembling from the absence of Rory when she snatches hers away, startled by this interruption. 

What was she going to tell him? Irritation crawls through him at their moment being shattered, but he forces himself to laugh along to the dramatic reenactment currently being performed by Shane and Zafar. 

It all goes to shit from there. He’s sucked into the chaos of the boys. More people infiltrate the patio, the summer air now carrying the sounds of overlapping conversations when not only minutes ago it was a silent bubble for him and Rory. 

She’s no longer sitting next to him when he glances over, instead pulled into her own conversation with her friends, and Niall has to work so hard not to let his frustration show. It’s not anyone’s fault, he tells himself, that the only reason he’s at this party was the chance that Rory would show up. It’s his own fault. Earlier, at the pool, he should’ve just invited her over to his place so they could lounge around with Spike and drink red wine, like they always did on their nights off. 

Instead he’s here, silently simmering under the surface. 

It’s happening before he even realizes what is happening. 

Someone screeches, and it’s so loud that most people shift towards the sound, curious of the source. Niall turns around to realize it’s Callie. She’s holding up an empty wine bottle, face lit up like she’s had an idea. It’s only when Niall looks closely that he realizes she’s so drunk that she’s dangerously close to falling off her chair. “Let’s play spin the bottle!” she declares—or slurs, really. 

Someone beside Niall grumbles. “What are we in middle school? We’re too old to be playing spin the bottle.” He laughs at that under his breath, because leave it to Gigi to be this blunt about her displeasure on something. Beside her, Niall spots Rory, her face closed-off and stoic, a stark contrast to the softness of her features earlier as she smiled at him. He frowns. All he wants is to be alone with her again. 

Shane ends up initiating spin the bottle. He’s loud and cocky about it, not hiding his intention for the bottle to point at Alejandra, whom he’s openly had a crush on forever. This ignites everyone. Gigi and Zafar pipe in with some smack talk, a crowd has drawn up to watch the scene, and laughter swirls through the air as the moment draws on. 

It backfires on Shane, of course. The bottle does not land at Alejandra, but at Harry, much to everyone’s amusement. Shane tries to back away, face bright red from embarrassment, but he’s teased relentlessly by the rest of them, and it’s only when Alejandra says something like, “Guys always want to watch the girls make out with each other in this game but never want to hold up their end of the bargain unless it’s convenient to them,” that they all egg him on harder until he has no choice but to cave and give Harry a peck on the cheek. 

Niall laughs so hard at it all that tears spring to his eyes. He’s wiping them away when Rory catches his gaze. She’s grinning now, eyes glittering in amusement, and Niall just wants to capture the brightness of her face and save it in his pocket forever. A breeze floats by and sends her hair flying into soft wisps that frame her face and god he aches to reach out and tuck the strands behind her ear. Maybe he’ll just grab her after this and ask if she wants to get away from here, if she wants to head back to his. They can goof around with Spike and laugh about this on his couch. He can sit a safe distance away so he’s not tempted to kiss the smile right off her face. 

He doesn’t get too far with that thought because Callie is piping up again, declaring that it’s her turn, clearly not understanding that it was all a joke and Shane was just taking the piss. His mind is still on big brown eyes when Callie spins the bottle, and he’s still trying to blink away the image of being alone with Rory when he realizes that the bottle has landed on him. 

His heart is in his throat again. He’s sure that his apprehension is showing on his face but Callie doesn’t seem to care. She’s grinning wildly, clearly intending to do as the bottle decreed and kiss him, and he quickly tries to think of something to stop her, a nervous laugh leaving his lips as he says, “Uhh, Callie. I wasn’t actually playing.”

But she’s already standing in front of him. “You know the rules of the game, Niall,” she purrs, voice low, and Niall’s desperately looking around for help now. He tries to meet Rory’s eyes but she’s not looking at him. Callie’s leaning into him now and he doesn’t know why, for the life of him, he can’t get the word no out of his stupid mouth. “We’ve never made out before. It’ll be fun.”

It’s Gigi who speaks up for him, her voice edged with irritation. “Jesus, Callie, he said he’s not playing. What ever happened to consent around here?”

But it’s too late. Callie’s hands are on his shoulders and he tries to lean away from her, a hint for her to back off, but either she doesn’t notice or doesn’t care, because she continues to edge closer until the damn chair is stopping Niall from moving back any further and she’s too close to his face. Fuck, fuck, fuck, is all that’s going on in his mind because he’s too caught off guard to joke the situation off and he’s starting to think he’s going to have to physically move her off him to stop her. 

There’s a moment where Niall feels like time stops and he’s able to quickly glance around at the faces surrounding him. There’s Callie of course, in front of him with her lips pulled up into a smirk, eyes half closed. There’s Harry a ways behind her, face contorted as he cringes. Beside Niall is Zafar, who appears to be amused and uncomfortable at the same time, as does Shane. On the other side is Gigi, who looks like she’s two seconds away from getting up and yanking Callie away herself, Alejandra, who is frowning, and Rory. 

It’s when his eyes land on her that it’s like time speeds up again. He’s only able to catch those eyes, dark coffee brown, widened as she watches them, and then Callie is leaning close enough to obscure his view. 

Two things happen then. Callie’s too close. She’s one second away from kissing him when Niall makes a split second decision to jolt away, turning his face and shifting slightly so that her lips never land anywhere on him. At the same time, Leslie, bless her heart, loudly bursts through the glass sliding doors, yelling about the beer pong tournament, and Niall, blissfully, is saved. 

Callie is not happy. She makes an annoyed sound when she peels herself off him and Niall has to restrain himself from using the opportunity to put as much distance between them as possible by making a run for it. “We’re playing spin the bottle,” she grits out at Leslie, who, for her part, simply snorts. 

“What? Why? Haven’t you all made out with each other already?” That breaks the tension. Everyone laughs and starts to head back inside for beer pong. Niall rises too, but his eyes are on Rory. As opposed to moments ago when she was watching him, now, she won’t meet his gaze. He feels something dense and heavy flood into him at the sight of Alejandra rubbing Rory’s shoulders; it settles at the pit of his stomach and weighs him down. Alejandra whispers something to her and Gigi as they get up too, but when they all pass each other, Rory pointedly ignores him. 

Niall walks inside and tries to calm down but he really just wants to scream and flip over all the stupid beer pong tables. What just happened? Things had been looking promising. He and Rory had a moment alone, she was going to tell him something that seemed important, and then everything just spiraled out of control. Niall is kicking himself for not being able to outwardly tell Callie to back off, for not being able to reach for Rory and tell her that all he really wants is to get out of there and spend time with her. 

But she’s engrossed in a conversation with her friends now and he’s pulled into beer pong. Leslie, the reigning beer pong champ for who knows how many summers, has already set everything up and picked out pairings, and Niall’s at a table with a bloke named Jayden. They’re familiar with one another so they make small talk as they begin but Niall can still feel the overwhelming irritation that’s lodged into his muscles. It’s making him dizzy with an annoyance that threatens to bubble into anger. He’s just landing the ball into one of Jayden’s cups when he spots Rory heading towards him. 

His heart is in his throat again, and this time for a different reason. Rory’s got that look on her face once more, the intense, concentrated one. But when she notices him watching her it melts away, replaced with a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. She steps close to him, that sunshine scent of hers seemingly stronger now. With this and his residual embarrassment of earlier, Niall thinks he might go crazy. “Good luck,” she tells him, voice so low that it’s clear she only means for him to hear. 

But she’s barely looking at him. 

And she’s starting to walk away. 

Shit. He scrambles for something to say to keep her here with him but comes up short, and in a moment of desperation, he reaches out to grab her wrist before she gets too far. Distantly, he registers a ping pong ball knocking lightly against his stomach from Jayden missing his shot. He doesn’t care. “Rory.” He hopes his voice doesn’t give away how frantic he is. He feels like he needs to explain even though he didn’t do anything. “The thing that just happened—”

And they’re being interrupted. Again. Niall is going to rip his hair out. He’s about to tell whoever it is to fuck off when he realizes that it’s someone he knows. Johnny Torres. 

Niall lets go of Rory, fingers finding the ping pong ball instead. As he’s taking the shot, he hears Johnny say to Rory, “Haven’t seen you in a while, babe,” and his entire body goes so numb that he has no idea how he lands the ball in a cup. Jayden fishes it out and drinks, seemingly unbothered with whatever’s happening on Niall’s end, engrossed in a conversation with one of his own friends. 

Every single one of Niall’s nerve endings are on edge. He doesn’t know what to do or say. All he can focus on is Johnny’s hand around Rory’s wrist and think about how he heard the two of them have—or had?—a fling or something of the sort. He’s suddenly insecure. Maybe he misunderstood the look in Rory’s eyes earlier. Maybe she doesn’t feel the same way as he does and was about to tell him so. Maybe he’s been too obvious this whole time and she’s uncomfortable with it. 

Niall thinks he might hurl. 

Johnny asks Rory if she wants to watch him play at another table and Rory starts to tell him that she’s in the middle of a conversation and Niall starts to panic. What is he even going to say to her? 

“The thing that just happened…” That’s where he left off. How can he explain himself now? He might say too much. He might push her away. He can’t—he can’t think. 

So he takes a deep breath and lands another shot. “It’s alright, Rors,” he hears himself say, interrupting her mid sentence as he turns and sends her a smile. He needs to let her go for the time being. There’s too much going on and it’s making him crazy and he needs time to just think. “I’ll catch up with you later, yeah?”

She’s whisked away by Johnny to an adjacent table and Niall has to tear his eyes away to keep from staring. Jayden lands a ball into one of Niall’s cups and he quickly takes the drink, desperate for some sort of distraction from the events of the past twenty minutes. The beer is cheap and watered down and it goes down easy, but it has no immediate effect on him. Which doesn’t help because his eyes flit over to where Rory and Johnny is and he’s met with the sight of Johnny brushing away that strand of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. 

Before he even realizes it, he’s tossing the ball so hard that it knocks over a cup on Jayden’s side, beer spilling everywhere. “I’m so sorry!” he gasps when Jayden yelps. “I definitely did not mean to do that.” Niall passes Jayden some paper towels for the table. Thankfully, no beer spilled onto his clothes. 

“It’s all good,” Jayden says, wiping the table quickly and tossing out the now wet paper towels. He jerks his head towards Rory and Johnny, a knowing look in his glasses covered eyes. “Girl troubles?” 

Niall glances over again only to see Johnny’s hand on the small of Rory’s back. He’s holding her so close that their faces are inches apart, and Niall has to avert his eyes to avoid seeing something he doesn’t want to see. “No, we’re just friends,” he says to Jayden, but heat is spreading through his body so fast that he’s sure he’s red all over. He’s startled by the furious wave of emotions that crashes through him. Never has he felt this way before, a spiderweb of feelings over someone who is not even his. And he doesn’t like it. 

Jayden sends him a perceptive smirk, clearly noticing the flush on Niall’s face, and Niall grabs another cup to drink from even though Jayden hasn’t even tossed the ball yet. “Doesn’t look that way,” he shrugs, clearly amused. “You keep looking over at her with this sad look on your face.” 

Niall is shocked by this assessment, not having considered that sadness may be a facet of his tangled emotions. He’s upset, sure. But he has to remind himself that he and Rory are just friends and he respects that. Wanted that, even. He’d love for their relationship to be something more, but the summer is almost ending, and he would never want to be someone who hurts her because of any uncertainty that will come when it does. 

Jayden takes a shot and misses. “Don’t know if this helps,” he says nonchalantly, “but she keeps looking at you too.” 

Niall doesn’t know why but this is what makes him smile, even if it may mean nothing, even if it could be wishful thinking on his part that he is on Rory’s mind just like she is on his. 

Niall ends up winning that round of beer pong. He and Jayden part with a handshake and a few laughs, with Jayden giving Niall extra details about the fight that happened earlier. Finally, Niall is at ease. He doesn’t know what had gotten into him earlier but he doesn’t like that version of himself and resolves to keep his head down to avoid running into anymore mishaps. 

Apparently that isn’t possible. Because for the next round, he’s paired with none other than Johnny Torres. Niall sighs to himself because Johnny’s actually a really cool guy. Even if Johnny and Rory were a thing, it shouldn’t get Niall all riled up. After all, Rory has warmed up to him enough to call him a friend, a far cry from the beginning of the summer when she was guarded and distant towards him, and that was all he ever wanted anyway. To be her friend and make her smile. 

He and Johnny shake hands, wish each other good luck, and get started. Niall’s about to take his shot when something catches his eye. It’s Rory, of course. She’s standing on the other side of the room and she’s looking right at him. Their eyes connect and she smiles at him. It’s soft and beautiful and his skin is overheating again but it’s for a different reason now. She sends him a thumbs-up and a silent look that tells him good luck, and something else too, but he can’t quite figure out what. 

Niall smiles back at her, the world falling away for a moment before he remembers he’s supposed to be playing a game. When he tosses the ball, it lands directly into a cup that’s notoriously difficult to land. Cheers erupt around him. It’s clear that the rest of the partygoers are now invested in this tournament and have chosen favorites. Niall doesn’t care, though. Because when his eyes search for Rory again, he finds that she’s still watching him. He’s so thrilled by this that he sends her a playful wink. Her smile grows and he feels his heart give an excited flutter. 

“Ohhh,” Johnny is drawing out, drinking from the cup Niall landed the ball in. “I get it now.”

Niall quirks a brow at him, the beginnings of a laugh in his throat. “Get what?” 

Johnny smirks. “You and Rory. You’re into each other. That’s why she was being all weird when I interrupted you two.” 

Niall is blushing again and he wishes he’d stop doing that. Weird things happen to him whenever Rory is the topic of conversation and everyone else always picks up on it. “We’re just friends.” 

This time, Johnny laughs. He takes a shot and lands it in an outer cup. “Yeah. Sure you are.” 

Niall gulps down his beer. “What does that mean?” 

Johnny shrugs, the look in his eyes mirroring the one Niall saw in Jayden’s, knowing and slightly amused. “The way you guys just looked at each other? Looked like a bit more than friendship to me.” Niall somehow lands another shot and Johnny fishes the ball out to drink from the cup. “But we don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” 

For some reason, this is what breaks the wall of tension between them and they both start laughing. “Okay, fine,” Niall says. Johnny tosses the ball and misses. “I like her.” 

“Then you should tell her.” Johnny sounds so matter-of-fact that Niall nearly agrees with him. He stops himself, instead landing the ball into another one of Johnny’s cups. 

“I dunno.” Niall is the one shrugging this time. “I don’t want to ruin anything. It took basically the entire summer for us to even become friends.” 

Johnny laughs. There’s a bigger crowd drawing around them now. “For what it’s worth,” he starts, keeping it vague just in case they had eavesdroppers, “I seriously doubt that being honest about your feelings will ruin anything. I know her. And I think if you tell her, you won’t be disappointed by her reaction.” 

There are too many people around to continue this conversation now so they steer towards a different topic, but Niall can’t help but let Johnny’s words wash over him. He runs the risk of compromising this friendship he’s managed to cultivate with Rory, but what if she does feel the same way? Should he tell her?

He mulls this over for the rest of the night. Even when he wins against Johnny Torres. Even when he continues to play against Leslie. Even when he ends up winning the whole tournament and the house is erupting with cheers of his name, he’s only thinking of Rory. 

So when he turns around when it’s all over and spots her there, looking at him, smiling, he smiles too. I like you a lot, Rory Bhatt, he thinks he might say to her. It almost feels right. Because she’s watching him, eyes glittering, like he’s the only person in the room. It’s like they’re magnetically attracted to one another. People are clapping him on the back, congratulating him on dethroning the reigning beer pong champ, but his feet continue pulling him towards Rory. 

She looks beautiful. There’s a glow on her face, that strand of hair falling over her forehead, and she’s smiling at him so widely that it makes his knees weak. He’s close enough now to see a soft pink flush on her cheeks and he so badly wants to press his hands to it, to pull her close, to maybe kiss her, taste her lips, which are slightly red and shining with lip gloss. 

Maybe he’s had too much to drink. 

Anyway, he’s not able to get close enough to do anything because Callie’s stepping in front of him, throwing her arms around him in a hug and screaming about his win. He’s taken aback by her presence but tries to play it off, hugging her back. “Let’s celebrate later,” she says. She’s clearly still drunk because she tries to wink at him but both of her eyes go all weird. “You know where to find me.”

She’s off after that, wobbling away, and he doesn’t care enough to watch her go because Rory is thankfully still standing there. 

“Hey,” he says to her, closing the distance between them in three steps. She’s still clinging to that sunshine scent but she smells a bit like whiskey too. 

She had been looking at Callie but when she turns to him at the sound of his voice, she smiles. “Hi.” Her cheeks are even pinker up close and she’s grinning at him and he nearly blurts out how cute he thinks she is. “Congrats on being the first person to ever beat Leslie at beer pong.”

Niall laughs and Rory smiles wider. He loves that smile. He’ll do anything for it. He’ll even make a fool of himself for it. 

She sounds like she’s had too much to drink and he jokes about it, his heart lighting up when she giggles. It makes him feel like champagne bubbles are popping through his veins. That word is flashing in his mind again. Reckless. Because he’s selfish and he’s trying to figure out a way to steal more time with her. Because she’s here and she’s laughing and she’s looking at him like she wants to kiss him too. Is he imagining that?

“Wanna come back to mine and say hello to Spike?” he asks. He wants to make her laugh again. 

“Mmmm.” She’s still grinning. “I was just about to head back to my place. Hanna from the kitchens gave me a slice of chocolate cake that is calling my name.”

Niall’s heart stutters. He tries again. “Okay. I can walk you back.” 

Rory shrugs, and he finds himself stepping closer when someone bumps into her. “No, it’s fine,” she says, “I don’t wanna pull you away from all the fun. This is like…your moment.” Her smile falters for a moment but she fixes it back quickly. “And it looks like there are others who really want you to stay.”

Niall’s heart sinks. No, he thinks, please let me have more time with you. What can he say to make this better? He’s usually careless with his words but he tries to choose them carefully now, clearing his throat and trying to sound nonchalant. “Don’t really care about others, to be honest. I’d like to walk you home. If you’ll let me.”

Those must have been the right words, because all of her features are softening now. Coffee brown eyes and raspberry red lips. She smells like sunshine. “Yeah, okay,” she says, and it takes everything in him not to cheer out loud. 

They finally get outside after being stopped a few times and the night air is so refreshing on Niall’s skin. It clears his mind of the fog of events from tonight and he’s glad for it. They’re both drunk and stumbling into one another. At one point they are overcome with giggles and Rory is dragging him through their laughter because she really wants her chocolate cake. 

“Ugh. You’re so cute.” It slips out of his mouth before he can even think to stop it and he glances frantically over at Rory to make sure she’s not going to run away from his bluntness or something. He’s surprised to find that he’s inadvertently made her blush, a deep red color that spreads all the way to her ears. He can’t help the way he smiles at the sight. 

“Jesus, Niall,” she huffs, absentmindedly tucking her hair back. Niall has to resist the urge to reach out and run his fingers through it, the memory of its softness tingling against his skin. “You can’t just say things like that. And besides, after tonight, you’re the one everyone’s gonna be talking about.” He must look at her questioningly because she continues. “You’re like a hotshot now. Beer pong champ and a Shack boy? All the girls are gonna be falling at your feet. If they weren’t already, that is.”

She’s grinning at him and waggling her brows but Niall can’t find it in himself to be playful about this. Still, he forces out a laugh. “Not really, no.” 

Rory lets out a scoff, flipping her hair back. “Nonsense. Have you seen yourself?” This time Niall’s the one blushing. “I mean, Callie was basically drooling over you tonight. And she’s picky.”

He nearly groans. Why does the Callie thing keep following him around tonight? He knows Rory’s joking but he really doesn’t want to keep talking about her. 

“I dunno. I just kind of mind my own business. I’m not interested in the messiness of it all…the whole ‘Shack boy’ thing.” They’re close to Rory’s place now and this conversation feels like it’s taking a turn. And not in a good way. He tries to think of something to get them back on track, to get them laughing at nothing like they just were. But then Rory is talking again. 

“Why didn’t you do it?” She’s slurring again, and he thinks she might be changing the subject. 

“Do what?” 

She stalls for a moment, a tension seeping into the air, and it’s only then that he looks at her again. She appears to be thinking hard about something, the corner of her mouth pulled downwards. “Why didn’t you stay back? Like, Callie was clearly into you. She even invited you to—” She huffs. “Why didn’t you—”

“Jesus Rory.” He’s exasperated now because he really doesn’t like this conversation. How does she still not get it? He wants to spend time with her, not anyone else. Going to this party really was a terrible idea on his part. “I didn’t want to do anything with Callie.”

“I mean, I’m not judging you. It’s a party and that’s a thing. That happens. At parties. I think.” She’s drunk and she’s rambling and Niall wants to pull his hair out in frustration because how can he convince her that nothing is as she’s thinking at all. 

They’ve stopped walking because he’s annoyed now. All night he’s wanted to be with her. All night he’s been trying to spend time with her. How can she not see it when everyone else—complete strangers—have mentioned it to him. “Are you fuckin’ serious right now?” He doesn’t mean to sound so upset but he is. He's drunk and really fucking upset. “You’re taking the piss, aren’t you?”

Rory looks confused and he suddenly feels bad. “What? I don’t know—”

Jesus. She can’t be serious. He’s really going to have to spell this out for her. Rory and her big brown eyes and her sunshine smell. He’s so weak for her and she’s acting like she can’t see it. “Rory, there is no way you have no idea what I’m talking about. You can’t possibly be that oblivious.” She is, apparently, because she looks at him blankly and asks what he’s going on about. He thinks he groans her name out because what? Jayden mentioned it. Johnny mentioned it. Everyone at this goddamn resort has somehow figured out that he’s hopelessly in love with her and yet Rory is still the last to know. “Callie wasn’t the one I wanted to make out with!” he finally blurts out.

He looks at her to see if she’s pieced it together yet but she just stares at him. Her blush is back too. “Then…who—” 

“You!” The word echoes around them. The trees, the grass, the lampposts, all of them throw his voice back at the both of them. “You, Rory. This whole summer it’s been—” And, god, he can’t take it anymore. She’s inches away and watching him like she’s surprised and he’s suddenly so desperate to get her to believe that it’s true and he likes her and he wants to spend all his time with her and he can’t get her out of his stupid head. 

He’s desperate and he wants so much and she’s here and she smells like sunshine and he’s suddenly reaching for her and crashing his lips against hers because he doesn’t know what else to fucking do. Rory leans back like she’s falling and his arms find her waist to hold her against him and her body does this thing like it’s melting into him and holy shit, he’s kissing Rory Bhatt. 

And she’s kissing him back. Her head tilts, hands pulling him closer, throat releasing a sound that drains all the blood out of his head and he suddenly can’t even remember his own name. Her soft hair is tangled into his fingers, her lips tasting like fucking raspberry and rum and he nearly laughs because she smells like the sun and she tastes like it too.

She’s kissing him back and it’s frantic movements and heated touches and his skin is burning up like he’s Icarus and he’s gotten too close to the sun. She moans into his mouth again and he thinks he might faint. 

But then her hands trail from his neck to his shoulders to his chest, pressing slightly like she’s going to push him away, and suddenly his wits come back to him and he’s falling from the sky and crashing back to earth. 

Shit, he’s thinking. Shit shit shit. He’s drunk and he kissed her. She’s drunk and he kissed her. He wasn’t thinking. He got so caught up in trying to tell her how he feels that he took it too far. She’s going to think he took advantage of her because she’s had too much to drink and how could he be so fucking stupid!

“I’m sorry,” he rasps out, scrubbing his hands over his heated skin which burns from the memory of her touch and her lips and her warmth. “I shouldn’t have—I should’ve asked—”

“What?” Rory asks, but he can’t look at her. He’s too ashamed of himself. They were finally friends and he’s gone and ruined it because he’s drunk and impulsive and stupid. 

“I didn’t wanna ruin anything and now I’ve gone and—” Fuck fuck fuck, how can he fix this? His brain is in shambles. All he can think of is Rory and sunshine and raspberry lip gloss. He’s fucked everything up. He can’t fix this. “Goodnight, Rory.” It’s all he can say before he starts to back away, resisting the urge to just run. He’s stupid and she’s going to hate him forever. 

He walks and walks and doesn’t dare look back. He walks and the summer wind screams in his ears. You’re so stupid you’re so stupid. He walks and his thighs are burning but he doesn’t stop until he gets to his place. 

It’s only until he gets the door closed behind them that he hears how hard he’s breathing, feels the shame prickling against his cheeks. He can still feel Rory’s hands on him and his knees finally give out, his back sliding down the door as he presses overheated fingers to his eyes. 

She told him, too. He can still remember the look on her face when she did, sad and helpless and regretful. She told him about the bloke who broke her heart, who betrayed her, who took advantage of her. He had been so angry for her. And now look at him. What better is he? How could he do that knowing what she’d been through? 

She was drunk and he kissed her without thinking. 

Something is crawling along his feet and he moves his hands away from his eyes only to find that it’s Spike. He’s purring softly, tilting his head at him, and Niall reaches out to pull him close. Spike nuzzles into his shirt and purrs again, louder this time, and Niall wonders if it’s because he can smell Rory on him. 

“I really fucked up, Spikey,” he mumbles quietly into the soft fur. “She’s gonna hate me.” 

Spike licks his temple, letting out a soft mewl, and Niall sighs as he slumps back against the door. 

He doesn’t know how he’s going to fix this. 

[roseyelii]

a keigo takami one-shot i posted on my wattpad, you should go check it out ;)

https://my.w.tt/d8lxeMBkk9

⚠️nsfw warning: smut⚠️

dirty talk, unprotected sex, oral (female receiving), overstimulation

quarantine has gotten the better of everyone, ima (hopefully) be posting a couple of these with my fave babies

enjoy some bird man content. hope you guys love yagami yato👀

btw, h/n means hero name, okay now it starts

--------------------------

"breaking news! covid-19 strikes japan! country going into mandatory quarantine."

you stare at the TV in disbelief. great, a pandemic. just what the world needed. "keigo, are you hearing this?" you called out to your boyfriend. he poked his head out from the hallway and into the living room. he squinted his eyes at the TV as he read the news caption.

"oh, wow. does that mean we'll be out of work for a bit?" he asked, walking out into the living room. he wore a white tank top and grey sweatpants. you looked at him and shrugged. "i guess that will be up to certain agencies or maybe the people higher up along the food chain," you stated, not completely sure how this lockdown would work out.

"well, as long as i'm with my favorite girl, i'll be okay," keigo said, a cheeky smile stuck on his lips. he sat down next to you and wrapped an arm around your shoulders. you rolled your eyes at his corny joke and kissed his cheek.

"you're such a dork," you chuckled, leaning into his touch. your phone started to ring loudly, vibrating on the table. you slipped away from him and said a small 'excuse me' before picking up the phone.

"hello?" you said, walking into the kitchen. "hello, is this h/n?" a woman said on the other line. "yes, this is her speaking. how may i help you?"

meanwhile, keigo was in the living room, channel surfing. most of the channels were showing coverage on the coronavirus so he decided to turn it off. he let out a heavy sigh and sunk into the couch, leaning his head back.

he looked towards the kitchen and saw you on the phone, pacing back and forth. he stared up and down your body, seeing how your leggings hugged your thighs and bottom.

keigo bit his bottom lip as he got off the couch, his body moving on his own. you hadn't noticed your boyfriend coming up from behind you until you felt his arms hug your waist as his wings tickled at your sides.

"yes, i understand. how long will the agency be closed?" you asked, into the phone. you leaned your head onto keigos shoulder, unintentionally giving him access to your neck. he smirked a bit and immediately went for your sweet spot, not giving you any mercy.

you let out a gasp and jolted to grab onto his hair. "yes, yes. i'm okay. i stubbed my toe is all," you lied, tugging slightly at his hair. which only egged him on even more. he smiled against your skin as he left purple hickies on your neck. its not like either of you were going out anytime soon.

"alright, ma'am. thank you for informing me. i'll try to come by later. bye bye," you said quickly, hanging up abruptly. "finally, that took forever," keigo huffed, turning you around to face him.

you gave him a stern look, a look a mother would give a child when he was in trouble. "listen, bird brain. that was a very important phone call. now if you'll excuse me, i have to stop by my agency and fill out some paperwork," you groaned, slipping out of his arms.

his lips curled into a frown and followed behind you, like a puppy. "oh, c'mon. i was just kissing your neck," he chuckled, following your into your shared bedroom.

"you knew, exactly what you were doing, keigo," you exclaimed, going into the closet and taking off your leggings. you went to grab a pair of jeans but was lifted off of your feet. keigo had grabbed you and thrown you over his shoulder.

"keigo! what the hell?! let go of me, you chicken wing," you yelled, kicking your legs slightly. he left a nice slap on your ass and hushed you.

as the two of you neared the bed, keigo slipped his hands on your waist. he dropped you onto the bed, climbing above you before you could protest. "awh, is momma bird angry?" he cooed, looking at your disheveled hair and flushed cheeks.

"damm, right shes angry! you can't just pick her up and throw her down onto the bed. i'm still in my undies," you scolded, attempting to sit up. keigo kissed your lips roughly, taking your bottom lip and nibbling on it.

your hands made their way to his hair, playing with the tuffs at the back of his neck. you let out a low moan as his thigh pressed against your core.

he pulled away and looked at you with a smug expression. "don't you gotta be somewhere?" he hummed, glancing from your eyes to your lips. "screw that, you started something now you gotta finish it," you mumbled, pushing him back down into another kiss.

he grinned against your lips, his hands going down to your thighs. he squeezed the sides of them and made them wrap around his torso. he broke the kiss to move down to your neck, attacking the sensitive spot from before. and renewing the previous marks.

your let our a small whimper and moved your head up, giving him a bigger space to work with. he took advantage of what you gave him and left hickies in his wake.

wherever he went, he licked, bit and sucked on your skin. he moved down to your collarbone which was slightly covered by your t-shirt. "princess, we've gotta take this off now," he whispered to you. his voice was smooth and he spoke in a low tone, sending shivers down your spine.

you quickly sat up and lifted your t-shirt over your head, revealing your breasts. "no bra, huh?" he hummed, using his right hand to massage one breast while he began to kiss the other. he took the sensitive bud into his mouth and played with it with his tongue.

"mmm, keigo. skip the foreplay please, i'm dying over here," you groaned, your core becoming needy for attention. keigo shook his head and clicked his tongue. "no can do, princess. i like teasing you like this," he smiled, coming up to be face-to-face.

he leaned down to your ear and whispered, "i like having you needy for my touch. being hot and bothered until you beg for me. its music to my ears." your cheeks become unbearably warm as your insides grew butterflies.

he was funny if he think he'd have you begging. you wouldn't cave that easily. you chuckled at his cocky antics and turned your head slightly towards him. "have fun trying to get me to beg. i won't fold, keigo," you challenged.

he raised his brow at your challenge and slowly nodded his head contently. he began to move down your chest and torso. kissing your skin until he reached the waistband of your panties.

he kissed right above the lace trim, going from one hip to the other. he placed your thighs upon his shoulders, his mouth hovering above your core. your breathing had become heavier as you felt his hot breath fan against you.

you refused to make eye contact with him so you leaned your head back, looking at the ceiling. before you knew it, you felt him press a soft kiss to your sensitive bud through the cloth of your underwear. then he looped his fingers through the top and dragged them down your legs.

you felt like it was eternity before your underwear had made it past your ankles. he probably did it agonizingly slow on purpose, too. it's something he would do. just to mess with you and get you all riled up.

before you knew it, his mouth came in contact with your core, sending a jolt down your spine. "a-ah! keigo~," you hummed, your hands gripping his hair. "my oh my, baby bird. you're so wet for me, is this what i did to you?" he asked, licking along your slit. he looked up at you through his lashes, seeing your flushed cheeks.

"mhm, yes! keigo, make me cum please," you huffed, arching your back as he licked figure eights on your clit. one of his hands left your thigh, using it to insert two fingers into you. "god, you taste so sweet. itadakimasu," he smirked before he started to suck on your sensitive bud, his fingers moving faster in you.

your mouth hung open, unable to make any sound. it was like the moan was caught in your throat, just barely on the tip of your tongue. keigo felt your walls starting to tighten around his fingers, meaning you were close.

he debated on whether he wanted to edge your orgasm or not. but decided to give you your release. he had teased you enough for tonight. "k-keigo, i'm close," you moaned out, feeling the knot in your abdomen starting to come undone.

"cum, baby. come for me," he said, giving harsh licks to your clit. after a couple of seconds, you let out a gasp. back arching and toes curling, you grabbed onto his hair. you tried to pull him away, seeing that you were sensitive now. he resisted and gave more attention to your clit, overstimulating you.

"pfff, k-keigo! s-stop," you cried, sitting up and gripping his hair. he pulled away with a cocky smirk on his face, his lips glistening with your juices. "sorry, baby bird. i just loved the look on your face when you were cumming."

he sat up and crawled above you, like a predator intimidating its prey. he stood on his knees for a moment as he took off his tank top, slightly coming off the bed for a moment to take off his sweatpants. his member sprang up to his abdomen, the tip sensitive and leaking with precum.

he hovered back over you and kissed your lips harshly, tasting yourself on his lips and tongue. the action made you moan lowly as you wrapped your legs around his torso. "eager, are we baby?" he hummed, pulling away from your lips.

"aren't you still sensitive from my tongue, gorgeous?"

"keigo p-please."

"please what, baby bird? use your words."

you let out a heavy sigh and bit your lip. "kiego, please fuck me. i need you, badly. i want you to fuck me."

he let out a low growl as he heard your words, lining himself up in no time with your entrance. "i told you i would get you to beg," he chuckled before he started thrusting in and out, not giving you a chance to adjust to him.

"shit, keigo! you feel so good!" you moaned, your nails scratching down his back. he groaned in your ear, whispering sweet nothings to you.

"god, baby. you're so tight. you take me so well, i love it," he said, grabbing one of your legs and propping it over his shoulder. he hit your g-spot perfectly, making you let out screams at this point.

"mmph, i love you!" you yelped, his dick hitting your g-spot repeatedly. "i love you, too baby. thats it, let all the neighbors know who's making you feel this good. tell them who you belong to," he grunted, grippping your hips.

"you, keigo! i belong to you," you moaned. you felt your heart beat against your ribcage as your sensitive core became close to release again. "thats a good girl. i can feel that your close, wait for me, okay?" he hummed, coming down to kiss your lips sweetly.

you hummed lowly and attempted to keep your orgasm at bay but at this rate, you could barely make it. "agh, cum for me, baby. i-i'm close," he moaned, his thrusts becoming sloppier by the second.

you felt the familiar warm sensation in your abdomen as you tightened around keigo's shaft. "oh, fuck!" you moaned loudly, arching your back into the air.

"s-shit, baby," he grunted, making one last thrust as he came into you. his wings started to twitch before they fully opened up as he came. he let the two of you ride out your high before he collapsed next to you. you closed your eyes and panted, waiting for you to catch your breath.

"that was hot," he chuckled tiredly, looking at you with hooded eyes. you let out your own small laugh and nodded in agreement. after a couple of minutes he walked into the bathroom and got a bath ready for the two of you.

"c'mon, princess. let's get cleaned up," he hummed as he picked you up bridal style. you wrapped your arms around his neck as he stepped into the bathtub, sitting you down in between his legs. the water was warm and felt just right against your skin.

you let out a satisfied sigh as you leaned into your boyfriends chest. he smiled down at your figure as he hugged you.

"keigo?"

"yes, princess?"

"did you pull out?"

"uhm,, not that i can recall."

"keigo, you're so lucky i'm on birth control!"

"i know! cause you know how easily i forget things."

"don't be surprised when there are little keigos running around here," you huffed.

he smiled down at you and shrugged, "that doesn't sound so bad."