#of course she’d learn the language by living there but at first could she get away with only knowing english?

[improbabledreamgirl]

hypothetical; an American with an English degree wants to work in publishing but wants to move to Sweden. could she work for HarperCollins Nordic (an imprint of an American company) in Stockholm without knowing Swedish?

[loaksky]

I don't know if you've done this yet but can we have mean ellie is FWB with the reader but she's jealous when the reader is into someone else 👀

i have not + you know what anon i could kiss your brain rn ! i definitely view this pairing as separate from this fwb!ellie x reader, but this could also technically fit in their early timeline since nothing else has really been established about them...

content warnings: language, ellie being an asshole (very on brand for me to write ig lmao), reader actually sticks up for herself in this one, but eventually folds (i would too for ellie ngl) 18+ content that includes; brief mentions of strap-on sex, fingering (r!receiving), oral (r!receiving).

author’s note: i’ve been so unmotivated to write, but this request awoke something in me idk...also, if you’ve sent in a tlou request (yes even from june), i’m still cooking i promise! (and not in the way that ellie keeps promises in this fic lmfaoo).

main masterlist | tlou masterlist

You didn’t want to say anything at first, couldn’t be too sure under the lowlights of the party with bass-y music that makes both the house and your chest throb with every beat, but you see it clear as day on the drive home and a passing streetpost illuminates the purpling flesh on Ellie’s carotid.

She nearly jumps out of her skin when your fingertips brush over the blooming bruise, obviously fresh and warm to the touch.

“What the fuck?” she huffs, pulling the drawstrings on her hoodie to scrunch to fabric around her neck.

“Who gave you that?” you ask softly, expression on your face enough to devastate, but Ellie’s always been different, an anomaly of sorts when it came to the matters of her stony heart.

“Why does it matter?” she scoffs.

“Ellie,” you sigh. “You know why it matters.”

She’s swinging a right at the intersection, nearing the residential you live in.

“It doesn’t,” she grunts. “Because at the end of the night, it’s you I’m fucking, isn’t it?”

And you don’t know why the way she puts it stings so much this time around when she frequently reminds you both directly and indirectly that while you may be her most recurrent hookup, you’re definitely not her only one, but it does. Does so much that you’re turning your face towards the window to hide the tears that are pooling.

Because all you wanted was Ellie. Wanted her in ways she wasn’t willing to give you. Wanted to learn and grow with her, but she wasn’t budging and lately, you’ve been feeling stupid.

When she turns into your neighborhood, you speak.

“Just drop me off, please.”

Ellie’s slowing down, palm finding purchase on your thigh.

“Babe, c’mon,” she practically whines, kneading the skin there. “Don’t be like that.”

You shift away from her, gather your purse from your feet as she continues through the different apartment buildings.

“Babe,” she calls again when you barely wait for her to stop and you’re pushing the car door open.

And maybe it’s childish, but you’re wounded and quite frankly done with the back and forth.

“She’s probably waiting for you,” you add petulantly.

“Babe, seriously. You’re being annoying,” she warns.

“And you’re being a dick,” you bite back. “First, you drag me out to a shitty party where I don’t know a single soul even though you promised we could just chill and smoke while watching that stupid fucking space exploration documentary, then when we get there, you’re leaving me with a bunch of sleazy assholes while you do god knows what with the same girl you’ve been telling me not to worry about for the last five weeks.”

And of things Ellie’s looks horrified at, it’s the fact that you’d been observant enough to recognize the girl she’d thought she whisked away before your prying eyes could catch on.

“I’m not fucking stupid, Ellie,” you say with resignation. “I tried to turn the other cheek because I really fucking like you, but you treat me like shit and I deserve better than that.”

Of course you don’t know it, but those fucking words bite. They’re an automatic trigger because unbeknownst to you, both of your friend groups think the same thing. Aren’t afraid to let her know otherwise. And she’s obviously well aware that, Christ, yes, you absolutely deserve better. Is actually really insecure on the low because she doesn’t know why you stick around with a piece of shit like her when you could have so much better.

So she does what she does best when she feels like a kicked puppy and lashes out.

“Of course Little Miss Princess deserves better,” she mocks. “What fucking ever. I don’t know why I flaked on a ten for such a stuck up bitch.”

And you see right through her, know that she’s all bark and no bite, but it hurts regardless, when you step off to the side and she’s leaning over the center console to shut the passenger side door herself.

She’s revving off without another word, and to add insult to injury, your phone’s pinging obnoxiously once you get out of your well-needed shower.

els <3 sent a video.

It’s the blonde from the party. Of course those dumb LEDs pulse red in the background, making Ellie and her flavor of the night look a thousand times more seductive. Ellie’s kissing her sloppily, whispering things against her mouth that you can’t quite pick out.

els <3 sent a video.

The next video’s grainy, but you can hear the tell-tale squelch, the girl’s shaky moans and Ellie egging her on. Your cheeks are on fire and you feel like you’re about to throw up.

els <3 sent a photo.

You wonder if the girl knows, that Ellie’s sending you the most compromising footage of her. If she knows how grimy the green-eyed girl truly is, sending someone else pictures of her stuffed hilt-deep with the same strap Ellie’d used on you.

els <3: still think u deserve better ?

You delete the thread and her phone number.

Ellie expects you to crack first, you always do. Because even if she isn’t shit, she’s your biggest weakness and she knows it. Can say so with confidence, because maybe the same can be said about her.

She hasn’t fucked you in nearly two weeks and not a single body she touches can elicit the same feeling that you do. And in the back of her brain, she knows why, but Ellie’s prideful. Won’t dare admit it out loud.

So she cracks first. Texts you between classes.

me: i have a few joints + a coupon to tino’s if you’ll let me come over… :(

my #1 girl: Who’s this?

Ellie throws her head back and groans.

me: cmon baby, dont b like that. im srry i was mean, ill make it up to u

my #1 girl: I think you have the wrong number…

me: babe stopppp

Her text bubbles turn green after that message.

You forget that Ellie has a copy of your key because she’s never used it in the five months that the two of you have been in this precarious situation, and your heart falls square to your ass when you emerge from the shower to find her setting up a box of pizza on your coffee table.

“Ellie, what in the fuck?”

She feigns nonchalance, pulls a few joints from her jacket pocket. But the aroma of weed or the grease of the pizza isn’t what makes you wrinkle your nose.

It’s the smell of flowers that waft from a pretty vase sitting on the cut away of the kitchen counter.

Your gaze fixes on the girl who settles on your couch.

“You need to leave,” you say stonily.

“But I just got here,” Ellie says. “And I brought you pizza…and flowers.”

“I’m sorry, did you think that a five dollar pizza and a bouquet of flowers from Saver’s was going to fix the fact that you’ve been so fucking awful to me for the past half year?”

Ellie shrinks.

“Well, no…but—”

“You practically sent me a homemade porno of you and some other girl you fucked to get back at me for setting a boundary, Ellie,” you say sharply. “What, did it not work out? Did you—”

“I’m trying to be the bigger person here,” Ellie sighs. “I am sorry. I just—”

“You what?”

“I don’t fucking know, okay?” Ellie snips. “God, you’re talking down to me like you’re a fucking therapist or my fucking mom and—”

You’re shaking your head, crossing the room and picking up the pizza from the coffee table to shove in her arms.

“I don’t have time for this,” you mutter. “Kenzie’s going to be here any minute now—”

“Who the fuck is Kenzie?” Ellie balks, caught like a deer in the headlights.

“Ellie, don’t,” you warn.

“Don’t what?” she practically seethes. “You think I’m just gonna be okay that you’re spending time with some other stupid bitch? Maybe you’ve forgotten, but you’re mine.”

And she shouldn’t have glanced down at your cleavage as you cross your arms over your chest, but Ellie’s weak and you look too fucking pretty for your own good.

“Yours?” you ask incredulously. “Do you hear yourself?”

“Yes, mine,” Ellie affirms. “All fucking mine and no one else’s.”

“God, you’re so full of shit, Ellie,” you scoff. “I’m supposed to be loyal to you and be okay with you having a roster, but I can’t go on a date with someone I genuinely like because it fucks with your brain to have a legitimate interest in somebody?”

“You like her?” Ellie asks in disbelief. “Like, like her, like her?”

“Yes,” you reply without hesitation.

And that makes Ellie’s jaw set, makes her narrow her eyes at you.

“You like her more than me?” she taunts.

And maybe she has you there, but you refuse to give her the upper hand.

“I could learn to,” you answer honestly. “Because Kenzie is kind to me. She doesn’t treat me like an option, doesn’t act like she’s God’s gift to the fucking world and that I should kiss her feet for giving me the time of day. And I get it, you don’t like me the way I like you—”

“You think I don’t like you?” Ellie asks like the thought is unfathomable.

“I don’t think, Ellie, I know. We went into this without any strings attached, we established that it’d just be fucking, but I was honest in telling you that I caught feelings and you used that to your advantage. You lied to me on multiple occasions, you make me look stupid, like I’m fucking crazy.”

And you wish you’d gotten through your spiel without choking up, but Ellie’s the first girl you’d liked in a while even if she was bad news. And when you thought that maybe you could shake her, she’d come barreling back.

“Baby,” she murmurs, face softening as she’s crossing the space between you two to cup your face in her hands.

“Don’t call me that,” you hiccup, trying to push her touch away.

“Babe, stop,” she says firmly. “I’m serious. You think I don’t like you?”

“Well, you don’t fucking act like it,” you mutter. “Whatever. It doesn’t matter anyways because whatever this was is done. You’re free to do what you want, who you want, whether you like me or not.”

God, do you unwittingly light a fire under Ellie’s ass when she thinks of what this Kenzie girl could do to you if she lets you walk out the door. Absolutely loathes the thought of anyone else knowing what you look like in any state of indecency, that you fucking cry watching children’s movies, that you snore like a freight train if you’re tired enough and have a weird ass penchant for pickle chips when you’re high.

“You’re not going on that fucking date,” Ellie says with finality, palms sliding from your shoulders to skim down the length of your arms and situate over the swell of your hips.

“Who says?”

“Me,” she huffs. “Because I’m going to make it up to you and we’re going to smoke these blunts and eat this fucking pizza and I’m going to make you cum so fucking hard, you won’t even remember that you were thinking of leaving me for someone else.”

“You’re not my girlfriend, Ellie,” you reiterate. “You can’t just–”

“Maybe not then, and maybe not in this moment, but I will be,” she says, and the words catch you completely off guard.

She’s catching your bottom lip between hers to further disorient you, kissing you like this could very well be her last.

“Just give me some time,” she whispers, walking you back towards your bedroom. “I’ll get my shit together for you. Promise.”

And you know deep down that you shouldn’t believe her. She’s just feeling territorial and grasping at straws to keep you leashed, but Ellie’s always been such a good kisser and she’s devouring you like she really is sorry.

She’s tossing your against your unmade bed, caging you between lithe limbs as she leans back on her haunches to take you in. Your blouse rides up to reveal the flimsy bands of your lacy little thong and Ellie’s lacking decency as she flips your skirt up to reveal a growing patch of wetness.

“Were you planning on getting fucked or do you always go out like this?” Ellie ponders, fingers rough as she pulls the tiny scrap of fabric down your legs and nearly salivates when a string of your arousal leaves with it.

Your lips part to answer, but her thumb’s dipping between your folds, pad collecting some of your slick from your drooling slit to smear over your achey little bud.

“I asked you a question,” Ellie says gently. “You just gotta be honest with me, baby.”

“S’hot out,” you whimper, fingers closing around her wrist when your body jerks against a particularly delicious stroke of her thumb.

“Yeah?” she clarifies. “You wouldn’t let any else touch you, would you? Not when I take good care of you like this?”

Her other hand comes to toy with your entrance, doesn’t give you any warning before her middle and ring finger are sinking inside slowly.

“Oh, fuck,” you whine.

“You’re my girl, you hear me?” Ellie murmurs, leaning down to catch your clit between her lips. “You’ll be my number one, always.”

She’s teasing at first, tongue languid against your fluttering pussy, but you’re quiet, back of your wrist caught between your teeth to muffle your moans.

One of her hands reach up to yank it away.

“Say it,” she barks, pulling away from your needy heat.

“Ellie,” you whimper.

“Say it,” she repeats firmly.

“M’your girl,” you moan shakily, thighs quivering as she smoothes her palms over the underside of your thighs to push them up to your chest.

“Yeah, you are,” she whispers, spitting harshly on your heat. “My favorite fucking pussy.”

She’s eating you out like she’s missed you, like she’ll only be satisfied when you finally cum. And maybe it’s true.

Maybe not.

Especially when she draws nearly three orgasms from you and practically knocks you out.

You don’t know how long you doze off for, but when you finally wake up, the sun has almost completely set, bathing your room in a burnt orange glow that leaves your dewy skin warm and sticky. And perhaps it’s wishful thinking when you call Ellie’s name, met only with the echo of your raspy voice. After all, you’re tucked on the wrong side of bed, elusive girl nowhere to be found.

As you dress and search for your phone, you can’t even find it in yourself to be surprised.

neng ©️2023

[forever-rogue]

Hey hopefully you’re still taking Joel requests! Could I have one where reader gets hurt protecting Ellie and Joel tells reader he loves them for the first time? Thank you!!

AN | Someone asked for pain and angst, so here we are. Trust me, it’s going to hurt 😏

Pairing | Joel Miller x Fem!Reader

Warnings | Language; TLOU typical violence

Word Count | 3.4k

Masterlist | Joel, Main

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“Do you really think this place is safe?” there was a hard edge to Joel’s voice that caused you to roll your eyes at him. Once he spotted the gesture, he huffed and gently nudged your side with his elbow, “this is not a joke.”

“This is not a joke,” you teased and he was clearly not amused. That did nothing to deter your mood, “first of all - nothing in this world is safe. Second of all - relax a little bit. Stressing all the time doesn’t solve anything, handsome. Besides, this place is as safe as anything to stop in for a rest.”

“I say we listen to her,” Ellie took a step closer to over you and this time it was Joel’s turn to roll his eyes.

“Of course you do,” he held up his hands in a gesture of mock surrender, “fine. If that’s what the two of you want, go right ahead. We’ll stay here.”

“Yes!” Ellie grinned happily as she started to head towards the front of the old building. It was the remnant of an old department store; it was strange to think that Ellie had never even been in one before. You exchanged a look with Joel and he sighed lightly and shrugged his shoulders.

Before he could go to follow the young girl, you wrapped your fingers around his wrist and stopped him, tugging him back towards you, “you know I wouldn’t do this - anything - if I thought it was too dangerous, right?”

“I know,’ he promised with a curt nod, and despite his reassurance, he didn’t seem to relax, “it’s not you I don’t trust. It’s everything else.”

“I can handle myself,” you reminded him, “besides, I learned most of what I know from you. I’m not too worried about it.”

“I know you can handle yourself,” he reached up and tenderly brushed some dirt off your face, “the thing is, I don’t want you to have to handle yourself. I want you safe.”

“Unfortunately that’s not the world we live in,” you sighed softly, putting your hand on top of his where it rested on your cheek and gave a squeeze, “so we’ll just have to keep our eyes and ears open. Besides, Joel, you should have seen her face light up when she saw this place. She’s never even been in a store before it’s all new to her.”

“I know,” he nodded, exhaling slowly as he focused his attention on his feet, “we’ll just be extra careful.”

“We always are,” you leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek, unable to stop yourself. You noticed the way his face flushed a light shade of pink, “come on, handsome. Who knows, maybe this could even be fun!”

You grabbed his hand and pulled him along; if you’d been looking at him you would have noticed the smile on his face. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“So people would come here and buy all the things they needed?” The girl’s eyes were huge as she walked around a rack of clothes, touching the clothes in wonder. Everything was in pristine condition, just dusty and covered in small holes. You nodded as you pointed at a jewelry display case, “wow. It’s so strange.”

“You’d come to a place like this for clothes, beauty products, shoes, sometimes furniture and all of that,” you explained; of course she knew of places like that, but to actually be in one was a different story. It made your heart ache to think that more than likely she’d never get to fully experience going to a store…or a normal life. This life was normal for her; to you and Joel it had been a matter of adapting, “and then, you know, grocery stores for food, and other specialty stores. The best place, though, was always Target.”

“Target,” she echoed as you nodded, earning a small groan from Joel. You shot him as an amused little smile before sticking your tongue out at him, “what was at Target?”

“Everything,” despite your best efforts a wistful little sigh escaped your lips, “clothes, beauty stuff, home stuff, food - it was magical. One day, when this is not the world we live in anymore, and we have regular stores again, I’ll take you to a Target and you’ll get to experience it for yourself.”

“You think it’ll be like that again one day?” she was already through a display of earrings, brushing her fingers over them gently. You didn’t want to get her hopes up, but you also liked to remain optimistic. It was always funny that you and Joel meshed so well; you were eternal optimist while he was a grumpy realist. Balance, you liked to think, and love. 

“I have hope that yes, one day things will be different,” you affectionately brushed a few stray locks of hair out of her face. Despite the hardened exterior she’d first presented, she was slowly opening up to the two of you. You figured that everybody just needed a little love sometimes. 

“Me too,” she let out a huff, quickly enamored with another display. 

You kept an eye on her, but shuffled back over to Joel, hopping up to sit next to him on one of the counters near an old cash register. You set your hand down and felt him move his hand closer, his pinky brushing against yours, “you alright?”

“Yeah,” you glanced at him and found him watching you with a soft expression, “it’s just weird out here sometimes. It’s odd to see things just perfectly preserved and basically frozen in time. It’s like normal - it’s just so close but so far away. It makes me sad a little bit…we all lost so much.”

With that he put his around your shoulders and pulled into the side of his body. You slumped with relief and felt yourself melt into him. There was something so reassuring and comforting about his presence that always made you feel better. He pressed a kiss to the crown of your head as you rested it on his shoulder. 

The two of you sat in comfortable silence for a little while as you watched Ellie roam around the store, mesmerized by so many things. 

“What do you think?” you asked softly as he hummed in response, “do you think the world will go back to normal one day?”

“Do you want the real answer or the answer I want to give you?” he asked, his gruff voice reverberating in his chest. You laughed, but it was a bitter and sad thing. He reached for your hand, threading his finger through yours and giving yours a gentle squeeze. 

“I’m feeling very optimistic,” your voice was thick as a wave of feeling welled up in your chest, “give me the answer you want to tell me.”

“Well,” he started off softly, “I think everything will slowly go back to the way things were. And we’ll move back into the cities and suburbs, and life will go back to being normal. We’ll move into a nice house, we’ll get a dog and maybe even a cat, I’ll make sure you get that garden you always wanted. We’ll have neighbors we hate but we’ll invite them for barbecues and we’ll make cookies for everyone. We’re going to go all out for the holidays and everyone will remember us, the best  Halloween spooks and brightest Christmas displays. Maybe we’ll find a kid that needs us along the way or something. It’s going to be so boring and quiet, but it’s going to be amazing.”

“I love the sound of that,” your eyes were stinging with tears that you tried to blink back to no avail, “can I have that bay window in the kitchen and a little reading nook in our bedroom?” 

“You can have whatever you want, baby,” he promised and you knew that he meant it. Joel would do anything for you, just as you would do for him, “you name it and its yours.”

“As long as I have you, I’ve got everything I need,” you wiped at the tears that had pearled up and rolled down your cheeks before clearing your throat, “now give me your real answer…please.”

Joel paused, mulling over his words carefully as he tried to decide exactly what to say. But then he decided that he knew exactly what to say at that moment, “it doesn’t matter what my real answer is. I’m often wrong, as you love to remind me. Like I said, I’ll get you whatever you want. You want things back to how life used to be? Then that’s what it’ll be.”

“Ahh, you’re such a romantic,” you laughed sniffly before sitting up and moving your body so you were facing him, “never would have thought you were such a softie.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he pretended to wave you off but you could see the lovely smile that was on his face, “you keep that to yourself, you hear me?”

“Of course, handsome,” you leaned and kissed him gently, letting your lips linger against his, “whatever you say.”

“Hey!” Ellie’s voice cut through whatever Joel was about to say as she waved her hand at you, “I found some makeup! Can we try it on?”

You exchanged an amused expression with Joel before you slid off the counter, “don’t open anything just yet! Wait for me, kiddo!”

Joel watched you go, his stomach churning with a flurry of emotions. If he thought it was even remotely possible to give you what you wanted, he would have done it in a heartbeat. For you and Ellie. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You startled awake, blinking away the bleariness from your eyes. It took a few moments to realize where you were; you were currently on an old display mattress, covered in old, soft, and clean packaged blankets. It almost felt as good as your bed from once upon a time. Joel’s arm was slung around your waist as he pulled you against his chest. You could hear him snoring softly; Ellie was on your other side, staring at the ceiling and holding onto a stuffed animal that she had found. She acted like she didn’t care about it, but you saw how affectionately she looked at it and hugged it to her chest. She’d never had a stuffed animal before. 

“What are you doing awake?” you whispered softly as she turned to you with a look of surprise on her face. You shushed her gently, smoothing her hair out of her face, “it’s okay…there’s a lot of times I can’t sleep either.”

“There’s way too much going on in this head,” she huffed as you grinned at her, “I don’t know how you guys do it all the time.”

“I don’t know either,” you admitted and the two of you shared soft laughs. Before you could say anything else, you heard a sound in the distance, at the other end of the store. You sat up immediately, gently pushing Joel’s arm off you. Ellie sensed your worry and followed suit as you looked around, your eyes slowly adjusting to the dim light, “we gotta keep it quiet right now.”

“I can do that,” she nodded nervously as she moved out of the bed so you could climb out as well. You grabbed your flashlight, gun, and knife off the floor, slowly padding towards the sound, keeping as quiet as possible. Ellie, sweet, stubborn Ellie, followed you, despite the fact that she hadn’t been invited. She would argue that she hadn’t been told to stay either, therefore she could come. You looked at her with a raised eyebrow but she only grinned, “I’ll watch your back.”

“Stay behind me and quiet,” you pleaded and she nodded. You thought about waking Joel up, but decided against it; it’d be easier to just solve this real quickly by yourself. 

You weaved your way through the aisles and display, eyes peeled for any sign of movement. Surprisingly, you didn’t hear the sound again and part of you wondered if you’d imagined it. You swallowed thickly as you looked at the door that led to the stairwell. It didn’t sound like anything was inside, but you wanted to conduct as thorough of a sweep as possible, so pushed the door open with your hip. 

The landing was dark but you didn’t see anything besides stacks of old boxes and some random pallets, “stay by the door, yeah? If anything comes or you hear anything, close it.”

“What if you’re…in there?”

“I can handle it,” you promised, “I learned from the best.”

You slowly descended down the stairs, letting the light guide you as you came across…nothing. Maybe you really had imagined it all, wanting something to go wrong. That was the doomsday brain talking; it was almost laughable. 

It was when you were about to go down the third set of stairs that you heard it again. And this time it was coming from above you; panic set into your bones. You turned around to run back up the stairs when you heard that unmistakable sound. 

“Shit,” you heard Ellie’s soft voice and your brain kicked into overdrive. You took the steps two at time until you made it back to the landing and heard the awful sound of the clicker. It was almost haunting as you saw it getting closer and closer to Ellie. 

“Get back, Ellie!” you shouted, reaching for the gun strapped to your thigh, “get back and close the door - now.”

“But you’ll be in here-”

“I can handle it! Go!” 

The girl managed to slip away, shutting the door behind her, leaving you with the clicker. It turned to you, screeching its horrible song at you, as the gun trembled in your hand. It started to lunge at you, and you panicked, taking a step back and missed the edge of the step, tumbling down the concrete until you landed at the bottom. 

“Fuck,” you hissed as you tried to pull yourself up. There was an immediate, intense pain in your ankle that caused you to hiss in pain. You tried not to freak out further, reminding yourself that the calmer you stayed, the better this would end. When you looked for the gun, you found that it was still at the top of the stairs, “fuck!”

It was all happening so fast, the clicker making his way down the stairs as you pulled your knife out of its sheath. Unfortunately, it was faster than you were and by the time you managed to pull out the knife with your shaking hands, you were almost in its grasp. 

You felt it happen before you could even do anything about it. 

But you managed to grab the knife and shoved it through its eye, causing it to fall limp and crumple to the floor. Your heart was beating so hard you were shocked it didn’t burst through your ribcage.

You dropped the knife and your hand went to your neck and you gasped at the feeling of your own blood. You pulled your hand away and looked at your fingers, frowning at the sticky red liquid that was all over them. You willed yourself not to panic as you shuffled your way back up the stairs as best as you could with your hurt ankle, grabbing the gun you had dropped. 

If only you hadn’t fucking dropped it. 

You collapsed in front of the door, sitting with your back next to it. You opened your mouth a few times, finding it impossible to get out the words without them being totally obscured by your cries, “Ellie Bean? Are you there?”

“Y-yes,” she replied after a moment, “a-are you okay? Please tell me you’re okay.”

She already knew the answer. You cried, your entire body trembling as tears followed down your face, “I need you to get Joel and leave, okay? I know you’re tired, but you have to keep going. The two of you have each other - just go. Don’t look back and go forward. You can do this.”

“You’re c-coming with this. Right? Right?”

“Ellie,” you whispered, “get Joel and go. Go now and just keep going.”

“P-please don’t…”

But Ellie didn’t even have to turn around to fetch Joel. He was already standing there, an unreadable expression on his. 

“What the fuck happened?” Ellie couldn’t form words as she started to cry, wordlessly pointing at the door. Joel moved past the girl as he tried to step inside, but you blocked his way, “baby.”

“Joel,” he crouched down and hung his head, trying to keep it together, “just stay out there. Take Ellie and go.”

He put a shaking hand on the floor, emotion threatening to bring him to his knees, “what happened.”

You laughed softly, not at him, more so the entire universe. Fuck. He loved that sound more than anything; the idea that he’d never hear it again was enough to make his heart constrict. You desperately wanted to let him in, to get to hold him and kiss him one last time. But even though you had a little bit of time left, you weren’t willing to risk it, “we all have to go one way or another, right? A-at least I can go knowing I went for a good reason. Protecting Ellie.”

“Maybe we could…maybe…I can…” you heard the pain in his voice as he tried to keep it together, “I… let me in…please?”

“I don’t want you to see me like this,” you cried, biting the inside of your cheek, “I want the last time you saw me to be when we went to bed and you kissed me and held me. Give me that, yeah?”

“I can’t lose you,” he breathed shakily, “not you.”

“Joel,” he’d never hear you say his name again. The idea alone made him feel ill, “I love you so much, handsome. You’re gonna get Ellie where she needs to be. And she’ll help you too. You have each other and that’s enough.”

“I love you,” he choked, the words making your heart swell with joy. You knew Joel loved you, you’d always known, even if he hadn't put it into words before. Some things didn’t need to be said, “I love you.”

“Will you promise me something?” 

“Anything.”

“Get Ellie to safety, both of you to safety,” you noticed the gap under the door and realized it was just enough to slide your fingers under. You slid your hand through the gap as much as you could and you immediately felt his hand on top of yours, “and one day, when things go back to normal, you get that house with the bay window and reading nook and the dog and the garden and the nosey neighbors. Promise me?”

“I promise,” his voice was shaking as you closed your eyes, trying to picture that house in your mind.

“Will you plant daisies for me?”

“I’ll plant every daisy in this world for you.”

“It’ll be beautiful,” you grinned, even though he couldn’t see it, “and one more thing. You have to promise this to me, to Ellie, and to yourself. Don’t be afraid. Never be afraid.”

“I promise,” the crack in this tone made your heart ache, “I promise.”

“Good,” you gave his fingers a squeeze, “now go. Go and go and go until you get there.”

“I love you. Fuck baby, I love you.”

“I love you, Joel.”

It was a few minutes of quiet stillness, only the sound of your breathing and tears reaching your ears. Eventually he pulled his hand away and you could hear him standing up. Sobs wracked your body as you brought your knees to your chest and let it all out. 

Joel looked at Ellie and she wordlessly hugged him; he hugged her back tightly. 

“We should go,” she said so softly that he almost missed. He nodded, squeezing her just a little bit longer before letting go. 

She grabbed his hand as she started to pull him towards the little bed you’d made. It all felt so pointless now. The two of them worked in silence to gather their things to continue their journey. 

Your words were still rattling around in his head. Don’t be afraid.

A gunshot sounded off in the distance as Ellie and Joel walked down the escalator. He froze for a moment as Ellie squeezed his arm.

Don’t be afraid.

[ocn-blvd]

what once was.

summary ellie travels back to jackson after leaving for her revenge quest… only to live with a certain consequence.

warning nothing but utter despair </3

opening the door to allow the coldness and splatters of wetness from outside to evade the warmness of her lonely one bedroom house as you saw the face of a long lost loved one, standing in the hard rain with her hair and clothes sticking to her freckled skin.

"hey you..." that voice. that raspy, yet sweet voice you couldn't get enough of. you wanted to wake up to that melody every morning and you wanted it to be the thing that lulled you to sleep at night— but it was gone when she disappeared from your sight.

that shocked look in your eyes wasn't hard for her to miss - it was like she could read you like an open book. that’s a skill she's grown to build and learn since she’d met you at the mere age of fourteen.

"i missed you a lot," she admitted with that dorky smile of hers, nervous of what you'd say next. leaving you for half a year was one of her biggest regrets; deeming that leaving the only loving relationship she had behind for a fruitless revenge quest was foolish.

she cried in your arms that night, expressing how much she loved you as her tears stained the best shirt you owned. you told her you were seeing another woman, having been on a date with her a few minutes prior to this surprise appearance.

“i love you. i just can’t lose you again, i won’t be able to handle it.”

you knew the day that she left to avenge the death of her father figure that her mind was already made. she left you alone, with nothing else to fight for.

“you’ve already lost me.”

and she begged for forgiveness repeatedly, like a broken record. she needed you in her life. she couldn’t see a life without your beautiful form in it. her pleas clogged her voice box as she began to spill sobs instead.

that was a year ago, and now you were walking the streets with your new partner, hand-in-hand as you two shared a loving smile. unexpectedly, your bright eyes found her dim green ones.

“hi,” you waved at her, putting your hands in the front pockets of your coat. she couldn’t believe that you waved at her. that one word that fell from your lips was just enough to make her melt and to have her heart thump into that same rhythm whenever she was around you. she almost forgot how it felt pounding against her chest. and to see you in person for the first time since, felt even better.

“hi.”

“long time no see,” you chuckled as she felt the vibrations course through her veins and enter her brain, releasing endorphins.

“that’s an understatement,” she managed a soft curl of her lips. “i can’t even begin to describe how much i’ve missed you.”

and there it was; her love language of affirmation that continued to spew out despite her heart almost completely breaking from the sight of you officially moving on. it made that feeling you could only experience with her return; true love.

“i’ve missed you too,” you admitted, making her dimpled cheek mark a presence as she smiled widely— admiring every facial feature of yours as if she hadn’t done this a million times. you really were as lovely as she remembered. every detail that she missed about you had been burned into her memories.

“are you happy?” she asked softly; something she’s always wanted to ask.

you grinned and said, “getting there. how about you?”

“i’m okay too,” she masked that feeling of pain as her mind kept wondering if your new partner was the reason for your response. and yet, hoping all of these months made this moment all the more sweeter to her. “i’ve, uh… been thinkin’ about you lately.”

“really?”

“yeah,” your ears picked up the soft chuckle she emitted. she certainly missed this— missed you.

“did you ever think about me?”

“i have,” you looked down at your shoes that stamped the inches of snow. “i was wondering if you left Jackson.”

“i-i didn’t. i was hoping to bump into you again actually. you were the only thing keepin’ me here.”

and it echoed through your thoughts— you were the only thing keeping her here.

“i was worried about you.”

and to think that she thought you had completely forgotten about her. her eyes lit up like a bulb when she consumed soft your words. she had spent many months in a slump over the fact that you hadn’t been in her life— but now that you were here, it gave her much more hope. “i was worried about you too.”

you let out a giggle that made her smile. “you should’ve came to see me. you know where i live.”

“didn’t think you’d want to see me again.”

“why would you think that?”

“you’ve moved on. you have this entire new life without me,” she nervously played with her pinkie and ring finger, “that’s how i’ve been convincing myself anyway— that you probably never wanted to see me again,” she shrugged,

“i’m just your past now.”

“i’ll always have room for you.”

that’s when she realized that you truly were still the same girl she fell in love with. she was falling in love with you all over again; and she couldn’t stop even if she tried. her dates with three women for the past year couldn’t reach this level of endearment.

“i’m glad i stayed then. it was worth the wait just to see you again,” she fought tears like she was in a war, losing the battle almost immediately. she swallowed that emotional lump just for it to regurgitate itself through her teary eyes and shaky voice.

“i never got over you, you know? i just couldn’t get myself to,” and as each month passed, she just kept remembering the sweet memories you two had together.

they would be the only thing she had to cherish you by after you admitted that you didn’t see another romantic relationship with her as of that moment. but the sight of her breaking down in front of you was what pinched your heart with sadness of your own. you cupped her chiseled cheeks and wiped the soft pads of your thumbs over her wet cheeks, looking into those emerald eyes that were overflowing with sapphire.

“don’t let me be the reason why you’re not out there trying to look for someone new,” you only wanted what was best for her. she deserved happiness in this world so unfair. you watched her eyes water even more as she failed to contain herself. her voice never sounded so broken.

“how can i ever love someone else when i’m still madly in love with you? there’s no one even remotely close to what you mean to me. i don’t want anyone else. i only want you.”

[shanastoryteller]

Happy birthday! FMA is possible or dealers choice

Annie grew up with so many things being good but not quite good enough.

She hated it and swore to live a life of too much, to indulge in excess, to gain fluency in not one new language, but four, to travel and eat and fuck until she was sick from overindulgence.

Loving like that hadn’t been her intention, but pattern recognition can be a bitch that way.

Of course she was the first to jump out of the plane during training at the Farm.

She loves the sensation of falling.

~

Ben had been like being struck by lightning.

She’d been sand, shifting and impossible to grasp and disappearing with the next tide. Then with a single strike, she was glass. Changed forever, with no choice but to adapt or break.

Annie had thought that for Ben, she could refocus her heart, if not shrink it. He was a feast, surely enough to sustain even her greed, so there’d be no need for hunger to draw her elsewhere.

In the end, she hadn’t had time to find out. He was there, then gone.

Even when she gets him back, when there are a glorious few months when she thinks that just maybe –

But, well. Pattern recognition is a bitch.

In the end, Ben can only be an indulgence. It’s sweet, when she can, but she learns not to rely on it, to rely on him.

~

Jai isn’t someone she sinks into. She wants to, thinks that he could, but that pattern recognition gets in her way. Something about him never feels quite right to her, but so few things feel right to her.

Still. He’s dependable. He looks out for her. Even when things sour, when he turns angry and biting while jockeying for power with Joan and Arthur, he’s still there for her. He protects Eyal because she wants him protected. He goes back onto the field to help her.

When he discovers something terrible, and believes he can trust no one, he trusts her.

He dies in fire right in front of her and her glass heart shatters.

He was her friend, he cared about her, she trusted him despite all the reasons not to, and now he’s gone.

Why does this keep happening? It’s hard not to focus on the common factor here.

Herself.

~

She should know better when it comes to Eyal, but it’s hard. He’s a foreign operative for a competing agency and he’s an ass but every single time she’s needed him, he has been there.

Pattern recognition is a bitch.

Annie is so desperate to be right about someone, to hand someone her heart and have them treat it gently. Eyal is always sweet to her, always has her back, but she’s learned her lesson. She lets herself like him, because she should like him, and that’s safe.

Then Russia happens. Then he goes off book to break her out of a Russian prison and smuggle her out of the country when what should have happened was her dead on those filthy stone floors.

She knows how it will end, because it’s how it always ends.

When he betrays her, it’s almost a relief.

Except as he confesses, it feels like he’s lying to her – but what does she know, anyway? Her blind spot is always the men she thinks she can trust.

~

Then there’s Auggie.

He’s not an indulgence. She doesn’t fall in love with him so much as step into it, head held high and eyes wide.

She hopes that mean it can last.

[hochsleep]

Chapter 1: Just survive somehow

• Era: Season 1

• Warning: profanity, typical TWD violence.

• Summary: You and your little sister Lottie have to escape from the walkers in the forest. You both almost become lunch for the living dead, but suddenly you are rescued by a stranger, and thanks to persuasion you manage to get to his camp in the quarry. But it seems that the relationship between you does not work out. You will have to find an approach to him, because otherwise you will not survive.

• Word count: 4k

• A/N: Well, I've written...something. I actually have no idea how I'm going to combine this fanfic and the Daryl Dixon x OC fanfic on ao3 (there's a link in the pinned post on my profile page if you're interested), but I'm going to try. Yeah, I literally wrote in an introductory post a couple weeks ago that I wouldn't be writing big works on Tumblr and where are we now? I haven't been very consistent in what I've said. Anyways, posting the first chapter now.

I know it might be a bit boring in the beginning now, I'm not a big fan of the first episodes or chapters in series and books myself, but you have to start somewhere. I'm still just getting into the subject of Y/N fanfics, so I'll be learning as I write the work. What I can say now.

Please correct me in the comments if you find mistakes! Of course, I double-check my work before publishing, but something could still slip through. Especially since you, as an English-speaking audience, will be more attentive to turns of speech, slang and so on. Let me remind you that English is not my native language and I use a translator (you can read more about it in the attached post in my profile). So feel free to make corrections, I am always open to help and constructive criticism!

Oh, and also, congrats to everyone on the release of TWD: Daryl Dixons season 2!

Enjoy reading!

Then.

"Come on, Lottie, hurry up!" - you shouted to your little ten-year-old sister, who ran after you between the trees in the forest.

“Y/N!” a little girl shouted, following you but lagging behind every now and then.

A few walkers was getting closer, and it was like Lottie could barely move her legs. She had to run faster. She should have saved herself. But could you blame a ten-year-old girl? She’d had to lose her family and friends in the last few days, and there were the living dead walking the earth. The world has changed at the snap of a finger. Lottie probably still hoped it was just a bad dream.

You too.

You had to watch your neighbor across the street, Mrs. Faulkner, pounce on your mother and start biting chunks of skin off her neck without much effort. That's hardly realistic. But that's life now. All those radio warnings about a virus spreading in Europe turned out to be true. That it was incurable. That the dead will rise up and walk the earth again. That their bite would kill you and make you come back to life after a while. It all seemed so distant and unrealistic that you, like most Americans, just changed the channel on the TV or radio when you heard the news of the virus again. After all, there's been a lot of crap and "incurable" diseases throughout human history. If a plague in the Middle Ages couldn't kill the entire world's population, why would some disease do it in 2010 when medicine is booming almost everywhere in the world? Bullshit.

Where are you now? Running with your little sister through the woods while at least four walking corpses are chasing you? This whole thing really does feel like a cheap horror movie. Or a scary dream. A scary dream in a cheap horror movie.

“Lottie! You can’t stop!” you screamed while your little sister looked back and slowed down at every opportunity.

You had a hard time running yourself. Not that you’ve been a fanatic about physical activity in all the years of your life. Yoga and Pilates were your max and only on feel-good days. But the adrenaline in your blood was doing its thing and it allowed you to run faster and longer. Which was not the case with your sister. The girl was tired and breathing hard. She kept looking back to see how close the walkers were to the two of you, even though you had forbidden her to look back.

“Y/N, they’re close! They’re going to catch up with us!” shouted Lottie panting.

You started frantically looking around for a place to take cover. Apparently Lottie wouldn’t be able to run for much longer. You were breathing hard, too, and your legs were sore from the exertion. You had to hide. But where the hell could you hide in the middle of the woods? In the long run, you could hide behind a large tree, but the walkers had already spotted you and were following you, so that option was no longer viable. Climb a tree? You could if you knew how to climb trees. But even so, how long can you and Lottie stay in a tree? You’d have to come down sooner or later, and walkers don’t feel tired or weak, so you couldn’t expect them to give up and fall asleep at some point. No, they’re going to wait until the food comes down from the tree. And again, you can’t climb trees. But Lottie can. What are the chances she’ll agree to climb a tree while you distract the walkers? What’s the chance you’ll survive? How’s she gonna get back down and survive in the woods alone? She’s barely ten years old, for goodness sake, and she didn’t get out into the wild until the last few days! You're all she's got. She's all you have. So it’s just the two of you hiding and surviving together.

“Come on, sweetie, just a little more!” you grabbed your sister’s hand and dragged her forward.

Now.

“Carl! That’s not fair!” shouted Lottie as the boy stuffed the last five hazelnuts into his mouth and grinned cockily.

“It’s all fair, whoever got there first takes it all,” Carl said with his mouth full.

“I’ve just turned my back and you’ve already eaten it all! We’re out of nuts!” frowned Lottie.

“Daryl will find more when he goes hunting,” Carl only shrugged innocently.

“Then you’ll have to ask him yourself,” Lottie snorted and got up from the plaid she and Carl were sitting on.

Lottie approached Carol and Sophia, who were ironing clothes. Sophia’s father was a cruel man as far as Lottie could tell. He had forbidden his daughter from playing with the other two children at camp simply because he had decided to. And now the creepy man sat on a folding chair with a bottle of beer in his hand and strictly made sure Sophia stayed close to her mother and helped her with her “women's responsibilities” as he called it. It sucked.

“Hi, Sophia,” Lottie smiled at the girl, “and Mrs. Pelletier,” she nodded to Carol.

“Hello, honey,” Carol smiled gently at the girl. Sophia looked at her father warily and not noticing the vehement objection on his face, she smiled and nodded to Lottie.

“Carl ate all the nuts, but I brought you what I managed to salvage,” Lottie pulled a few hazelnuts out of the pocket of her jean shorts and held them out to her friend.

“Thank you,” Sophia said quietly and quickly tucked the nuts into her pocket while her father turned away.

“When can you play with me and Carl? Maybe tonight?” asked Lottie hopefully.

“Maybe tomorrow?” answered Carol for Sophia when she saw her head lowered frustratedly. “I’ll talk to Daddy, honey,” said the woman to her daughter, stroking her back.

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow then,” Lottie sighed and went on to find something else to do besides playing with Carl. She was still mad at him a little about the nuts.

You were on duty on the roof of Dale’s motorhome, a kindly older man who tried to change you every twenty minutes and told you to go get some rest. But the duty was actually a rest. You just sat on a folding chair on the roof of the car and watched the surroundings. Dale and Glenn were basically doing the same duties, only with a shotgun in hand. Just in case. You weren’t trusted with a shotgun. It didn’t make much sense since you couldn’t shoot. And you weren’t very good at close combat. So you just had to keep an eye on the area around the camp and warn them of possible danger. It’s no big deal. Except that the merciless Georgia sun was as hot as anywhere in Africa. It seemed that way to you, anyway. You were sweating in every part of your body, your hair sticking to the damp skin on your back, your clothes wet with sweat, and you were as tanned as if you’d gone to a tanning salon. The only thing that kept you warm was the powdered lemonade Dale had made, some old nature magazine from the glove compartment of Shane’s jeep, and the cowboy hat Andrea had lent you. Even though you've spent the last ten years of your life in Georgia, you've managed to hide from the heat until this day. Whether at home in your stepdad's garage under a fan while he blames his barely living car. Or at work in the supermarket by the house. There were old air conditioners that you thought were your age, but you didn't complain as long as they worked. Especially hot days you spent in a cozy old cafe from the 50's, where your mother worked as a waitress and let you lounge for hours in the coziest booth close to the fan. In general you had no need to sit under the sun in such hellish heat without a hint of shade. How could there be any shade on the roof of an old mobile home? You have to melt like a piece of butter on toast.

You heard someone climbing up the ladder to the roof. It definitely wasn't Dale, you'd have realized from his static grunts. It was Lottie. Her old pink cap appeared before you saw your sister.

“Hey,” you smiled at your little sister, “I thought you were hanging out with Carl and Sophia.”

“Carl’s a jerk today, and Sofia can’t play with us, her dad won’t let her,” the girl snorted and sat on your lap, because sitting on the sun-hot roof of the car wouldn’t be a good idea.

“Hey, I’d take a swear jar from you right now,” you tried to look at Lottie with a stern big sister look, but it never really worked. It looked ridiculous and hardly got any respect from the kid.

“Sorry,” the girl sighed, “but Carl is really behaving badly today. He ate the last of the nuts while I was distracted and didn’t even have a chance to protect them…”

“Are you really upset about the nuts?” you chuckled.

“No, more of an injustice…I was hoping we’d split the nuts fairly between the three of us, but Carl ruined it,” Lottie rested her head on your shoulder sitting on your lap.

It was so damn sweet. The way Lottie loves you. There’s often tension between sisters, but not in your family. Charlotte was born when you were 13 and that’s a really big difference, but you always wanted a brother or sister. And even though sometimes you had to miss seeing your friends to take care of Lottie when Mom and your stepfather, your little sister’s father, were working late, you still loved Charlotte with all your heart. Although it’s hard not to love her. She had a mild-mannered personality, rarely acted cranky, and sometimes acted like a little adult. At least you were a more rambunctious child at her age, according to your mother and other relatives. Only as you got older did you become a calm and peaceful person, and as a child you could afford to kick the asses of the boys who hurt you in junior high school. Charlotte, on the contrary, preferred to solve conflicts peacefully and disliked violence already at the age of ten. The age when children can be really violent, but your sister was not. Now, however, she seems to be really angry with Carl. But it’s probably because of all the stress you’ve both been under for the past three weeks. Everyone’s been on edge right now. That’s the way the world is now.

“I’ll find you some new nuts in the woods,” you said, stroking your sister’s soft hair.

“You’re afraid to go into the woods,” sighed Lottie.

“I’ll ask Glenn or Amy to come with me.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to ask Daryl? “Lottie looked at you in anticipation.

Oh, that’s right. Daryl. Well, that was a bit of a problem.

Then.

You tugged at Lottie’s arm, who was stumbling at almost every step. The walkers were coming faster and faster. Your courage and confidence were running away from you just as fast. But you did not let go of your sister’s hand and kept moving forward.

“Y/N!” the little girl’s shrill cry echoed throughout the forest.

You turned around and saw one of the walkers grab the hood of Lottie’s sweatshirt. A tall man with a rotten open wound near his collarbone, with gray cadaverous skin, white eyes, and rotten teeth and nails. Death itself came closer than ever to you and your sister. And you had no idea what to do.

“No! Let her go!” you screamed in panic at the walker as if he could understand you.

“Y/N!” large tears flowed down the little girl’s cheeks.

You closed your eyes, preparing for the worst. You knew it would happen sooner or later. From the moment your neighbor ate your mother. From the moment your stepfather John set himself up to feed the walkers two days ago so you and Lottie could escape. Since the world died. You knew you were going to die, too. And your ten-year-old sister, who didn’t have time to live. It has to happen, whether you’re ready or not. But you are ready. Death has taken over the world now, and who are you to fight it? You just hoped that you and Lottie wouldn’t have to suffer and…

With a dull thud, the arrow pierced the forehead of the walker that had grabbed Lottie and he finally fell to the ground dead. Lottie threw herself into your arms without thinking, wrapping her arms tightly around your waist and sobbing into your chest. You looked around in incomprehension until you saw a man with a crossbow. He put down the remaining three walkers with the remaining arrows. Clearly and without missing. Like he’d done it every day before the outbreak.

Man paused, looking at you and Lottie sobbing in your arms, and then without a word walked over to the corpses to pull his arrows from their skulls. Right now, however, you didn’t have the strength to say a few words. You didn’t have the strength to say a barely audible “thank you” for saving your life. The man looked at you, chewing his lower lip and without saying anything, lowered his head and walked away as if nothing had happened now. It would have been nice to stop him. But you were still standing still.

Now.

Daryl was sitting on a log outside his and Merle’s tent on the outskirts of the rest of the camp. He was cleaning squirrel blood off his arrows and hunting knife. Well, thanks to him, the camp wasn’t starving. Lottie and Sophia didn’t like eating something cute like squirrels, but there’s no choice. And while you weren’t thrilled about it either, better squirrels than the inedible berries you and Lottie had been poisoned with before you got to camp at the quarry. It was… unpleasant. You almost silently approached his “Dixon den,” as Shane called the tent of the brothers who preferred to stay away from the main group. But for an experienced hunter and tracker like Daryl, it wasn't hard to hear the branches crunching under your feet. Of course he noticed. Daryl turned toward you, where you froze for a moment between the bushes and snorted.

“What do you want, girl?” he asked, staring again at the dirty arrow in his hand..

“Hey,” you smiled shyly and moved a little closer, not noticing the vehement protest on his part. “Am I interrupting you?”

“If I tell you what you’re doing, will you leave?” Daryl didn’t look away from his work, still not looking at you.

“I don’t know…I guess?” you shrugged uncertainly. You didn’t want to annoy him, but you had promised something to your little sister. And yourself too.

“So what do you want? A chat? That’s not for me,” Daryl shook his head.

“I wanted to ask you for help to be honest,” you pursed your lips as you always did when you felt uncomfortable.

“Try it,?” Daryl finally lifted the piercing gaze of his gray-blue eyes to you and you felt even more uncomfortable.

“Take me with you on your next hunt,” you blurted out, deciding it wasn’t worth beating around the bush. Not with Daryl Dixon.

“No,” he answered immediately and went back to cleaning his weapon.

“Daryl, please,” you insisted. Not that you expected him to answer any differently. “I need to learn at least the basics of wilderness survival. You probably remember the state you found me and Lottie in in the woods…I can’t let that happen again.”

“Why? You’ve warmed up to a camp with people who can handle weapons. Just stay close to them,” Daryl snorted.

“I’m not stupid, Daryl, I realize this isn’t forever and sooner or later we’re all going to have to separate. When that happens, there’s no one to protect Lottie but me,” you sounded more determined than usual. Of course, it took a few days to pull myself together. “So I’m asking you to help me. Teach me how to track prey and how to tell poisonous plants from edible ones. Please.”

“Look, you’re sure of yourself, huh? Coming in here and making demands like I owe you,” Daryl was starting to get annoyed, it was obvious. He didn’t like the way you were being pushy, asking him for something like you had a right.

“I’m not making demands, I’m asking for help,” your confidence began to wane after his words. Daryl didn’t know you well. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have had the nerve to call you cocky. Or just at least a little bit of confidence.

“I’ve already helped you out on my own head…I won’t do it again, you’re not a goddamn charity case here,” Daryl chuckled.

“Okay, then what do you want in return?” you asked firmly.

The question wasn’t about your curiosity about wildlife, your life and your little sister’s life depended on you. Your only family. This is not a case where you can afford to back down and give up.

“As if you have anything to offer,” snorted Daryl dismissively.

"What would you want?" you asked, hugging yourself tighter around your shoulders in a protective gesture.

Daryl's right. What the hell could you offer him? In this current world, money has no value. Not that you had a lot of it, but it was the first thing you thought of out of habit. Then what? Daryl is an excellent hunter who has all the necessary survival skills and is good with a gun. That's why you asked him for help and not anyone else. Shane could teach you how to shoot, which would undoubtedly be very useful in the current circumstances, but it's not enough to survive in the woods without a group. Not without someone like Daryl, who is as well adapted to life in the wilderness as you could tell from a week of knowing him.

Back to the question, what could you offer him? What would Daryl Dixon want?

"I want you to talk less and get back on your own," Daryl squinted looking at you for a few seconds and then lowered his head again. The conversation wasn't going well.

"Why did you save me and my sister in the forest? Why did you bring me here? We might live a little longer being in a group, but when this is all over, we're both going to be eaten, so why did you have to build up to this moment?"

Daryl was silent. Like that day a week ago before he brought you to camp. Really, why did he do that? He felt sorry for Lottie. A dirty little girl, messed up to death. You didn't look like you really tried to save her during the walker attack and Daryl wondered why. How scared were you? Didn't believe in your own strength? Did you want to die? He didn't know. But he knew for sure he wasn't going to let a child be eaten alive by a rotting reanimated corpse. Not in this world. Would Daryl have helped you if you were alone in the woods? He wasn't sure. You seemed resigned to your situation and didn't try to escape, so why would he rescue you?

He already did anyway. And dragged you both to the camp. And then that same night he had a fight with Shane, who wasn't sure about the idea of leaving you here. And he got a good laugh from Merle, who thought he was being too kind to someone in the Dixon family. But you don't need to know that. You're lucky it was Daryl and not Merle who came across you in the woods. You'd be wandering around the woods now, rotting from the inside out, wanting nothing more than to eat anything alive. Just like your sister.

"Your sister needed a place and I helped you, that's the whole story," Daryl only nodded his shoulder.

"Why?" you persisted.

"Damn it, girl, what are you babbling about! I helped you, who cares why?" Daryl frowned and abruptly stood up from his seat in a flash of anger.

"I just..." you cringed at his loud tone and backed away slightly.

"Stop bugging me with this, okay? I saved you and your little girl, that's it! That's all you're gonna get from me, you understand? I don't want to teach you anything, I don't need you, save yourself!" Daryl waved his hand, yelling at you and you didn't even realize why you pissed him off so easily.

You looked at him frowning in incomprehension. Why the hell is he yelling at you for no good reason? And looking so angry, like you'd done something terrible to him. You didn't understand Daryl Dixon and his mood swings. That's why you tried to stay away from him, especially the first couple days. You were grateful to him for saving you, but he didn't seem like someone you'd easily connect with. And Daryl had just proven that to you again. You only came to him with the request because no one else could handle it but him. But apparently he's really not interested in this at all. You didn't want to and couldn't force him. You just hoped that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't as rude and aloof as he seemed at first glance. After all, he wouldn't have saved you if he was the way he showed himself to others. You'd just have to find a way to approach him and then maybe something would work. But now you weren't so sure.

"Well?! Don't look at me like that, get out of here!" he shouted one last time, turning away from you.

You snorted disappointedly, and after staring at his back for a few seconds, you turned around and hurried back to camp. You were mad at Daryl, that was for sure. Just like Lottie was mad at Carl, but you had a better reason than a handful of nuts. And you might have wanted to yell back at him, but not that it made sense. You'd learned to control your negative emotions a long time ago, and you weren't about to let years of self-discipline go down the drain because of Daryl Dixon. That's on him. Maybe you'll try again later when you've both cooled down, but definitely not in the next few days.

Daryl was difficult, but you have to find an approach to him. Not for your own sake. Certainly not for him. For Lottie. For the chance to prolong her life as long as you could.

Then.

“Hey!” you followed the stranger after a few moments of daze.

You almost lost sight of him, but he wasn’t trying to be quiet, and you could still hear the sound of his footsteps on the leaves on the ground. So as soon as your body began to obey you again, you followed him, holding Lottie’s hand tightly in yours. The man didn’t stop no matter how many times you called out to him. How rude. But in the present world, one didn’t think much of it. And you didn’t know him, but he wasn’t exactly friendly before the end of the world. And yet, you stopped the man from grabbing his wrist when you caught up with him. He turned around and looked at you with a frown, immediately pulling his hand from your barely perceptible grip with force. You seemed to have hit something wrong.

“Thank you,” was the first thing you said when he finally paid attention to you.

“Forget it,” wheezed the man with the familiar Southern accent you never got in the ten years you’d lived in Georgia.

“What’s your name?” you persisted.

“Go where you’re going,” the man snorted and turned away again to walk away.

“I wasn’t going anywhere,” you said before he could get a few steps away from you and Lottie, “I…I mean we have nowhere else to go.”

The man stopped for a moment without turning around, as if thinking about something.

“Do you live somewhere? Somewhere with people? You’re the first person I’ve seen in a week…I mean of living people,” you stared at his back without stopping to speak.

Hope flared in you. If there are still people alive, then you and Lottie have a chance.

But the man didn’t answer, only turned to glance at you. Your tangled hair, tied back in a low ponytail, your dirty knit sweatshirt over your once-white T-shirt, your mid-thigh jean shorts that were also dirty and torn on the side of your left leg, your broken knees with blood on them, your worn and dirty yellow sneakers. He looked at the little girl next to you. She had big eyes like yours. And while yours looked at him with weariness and a mute request you still hadn’t spoken aloud, hers were full of fear. Her long hair, braided into two pigtails, was also disheveled, and twigs and dry leaves were sticking out of it from the fact that she had been on the ground under the walker that had tried to eat her. Her denim overalls were stained with the rotting blood of the living dead, and the hood of the sweatshirt she wore over the rest of her clothes was now torn off. There was only one rubber boot on the girl’s feet, the other having come off in the process of escaping from the walkers. The man thought it must be very uncomfortable to run around in rubber boots. The girl held your hand and appeared behind your back, gingerly looking at her savior.

“Y/N, I’m scared…” said Lottie quietly, pressing her cheek against your hand.

Y/N. The man mistook you for this girl’s mom. A very young mom. But it seems that wasn’t the case. Although the two of you had enough outward similarities to think you were related to each other.

“Do you have a place to stay? Please…we’ve been walking through the woods for three days without food or water,” you asked quietly.

The man looked at you with a piercing stare and was still silent. But he didn’t stay silent for long.

“Please,” Lottie said even more quietly, looking out at him from behind you. And then he gave up.

How could he refuse to help a little hungry girl in one rubber boot.

“Follow me,” he said, looking into your eyes for a second, and then turned and walked on, expecting the two of you to follow him.

Of course you both did. Now the hope in your heart is much brighter.

[rayassecretlife]

Hold onto me

Pairing: Aged up!19 Year old Neteyam Sully x Fem!Human!Reader

Summary: You and Spider grew up like one another, left behind after the sky people perished in the war, but also like spider, you made a connection to the forest and the reef—very loved by its people. You get hurt doing something you shouldn’t have, and your mask breaks before you can react, but your best friend wouldn’t let you go.

Warning(s): Mature language, overprotective Neteyam, Mentions of death, Blood, mentions of drowning, etc (i suck at warnings)

Not proof read!!! Sorry for mistakes

Some might say that human’s don’t belong with the Na’vi, that they are alien to the clan and always will be—or how they’ll never learn the Na’vi ways. But to you, the Great War between your people and the Na’vi changed your life for the better. Unlike spider, you were loved amongst the clan—even by their Tsahìk, Neytiri. She treated you like her own, braiding your hair for you, making you new outfits to wear, offering her home to you, she was the sweetest woman you’d ever met.

Your mother was very close to the clan, kind of like grace in a way. You had many connections to the forest, but none to the reef. You also had an avatar body back in the forest, but you were always too scared to go through the transition with Eywa. You’d only been in that body once or twice, and Neytiri never pushed you, but she’d always tell you it would make things easier even though she was scared she’d lose you.

There was something about you. Something…different then spider. You were treated like one of them while he was the stray cat just walking around somewhere he shouldn’t be. When Neytiri and jake weren’t around, you had their children protecting you like their lives depended on it, never really letting you get so close to danger like spider. Along the many years of living on pandora, you befriended the oldest sully brother quickly, and he was now your best friend. You two went to each other for everything, he’d even find himself on his way to your small hut in the forest just to sit and talk during the night.

You fit in at the reef slowly but surely, seeing as Ronal didn’t know how to feel about you at first. Although she soon realized how useful you had been to the clan. You were a great healer to her surprise, better then most of the ones they had already. You were also very helpful in any aspect they needed you to be, an amazing swimmer too. You were so respected in both clans, the people would do anything for you. You were one of them.

“Y/N!” You ignored the voices behind you and jumped into the deep water, the few bodies following closely behind you. “I told you to wait for me!” You scoff at him and continue to swim, holding onto his Ilu.

“You worry too much, I’m a much better swimmer then you” you hum, tapping the mask that sat on your face before sinking underwater, letting his Ilu guide you to random spots along the floor. You could feel him watching you, ears still up with worry. It was funny, even being human you had still been a better swimmer then most of the sully family—except Kiri of course.

You soon swam back to the surface, laughing at the boys worried expression in front of you. “It’s not funny, you could drown!”

“And you can’t?” He glared at you but you didn’t care, only shrugging your shoulders with the click of your tongue. “Calm down, Forest boy. I can handle myself” The wave came at you fast causing you to sink under a little, water getting all over your mask in the process.

Before you could see the sky again, you felt strong arms pull you and you already knew it was him, practically pushing you above him and out of the water. “Ow, ow!” You whine at his tight grip and he instantly loosened up, still keeping a firm hold on your waist. He forgot how much bigger he was compared to you. “Neteyam, I was fine-“

“Fine? That’s not fine! You-“

“She’s fine, bro” You turned your head at the sound of Lo’ak’s voice, him and Tsireya approaching on their Ilu’s. “You guys wanna come see payakan?” Your face lit up but Neteyam instantly shook his head, dismissing his brother.

“No way. It’s too deep out there, what if-“

“Don’t be such a loser, Nete” His ears fall at your words while you climb onto his Ilu, running a hand along its back before smiling at the younger brother. “When are we going?”

“Y/N-“

“Right now” you nod and look over at Neteyam, his eyes staring you down with that same death stare they always gave. He didn’t want you to go but he knew you would anyway, even if he wasn’t there.

“Either come with me or I’ll go with them by myself” You always used this against him because he was way more protective over you then Lo’ak or spider. He grew up treating you how Neytiri did, respecting you and treating you like the fragile human you were.

But he was also your best friend, and he needed to protect you no matter what. With a groan, he hopped onto his Ilu behind you, connecting his queue with theirs as you giggled to yourself, one of his hands holding on and the other holding your waist firmly. He hated when you did that, when you used your life over any decision he had to make—because he knew he’d always choose you.

The water was surprisingly warm as you glided through the ocean, Neteyam refusing to go under the water because you weren’t too keen with holding onto the Ilu. You slowly approached the large animal after awhile of searching, stopping in the middle of the water as Lo’ak and Tsireya slowly sunk down into the waters.

You tried to follow but Neteyam wouldn’t let you, only making you glare at him. “Let go!” He shook his head and you groaned, trying to pry his hands from you but you knew you wouldn’t be able to. He was Na’vi, and jakes son after all. “Your such a scaredy-cat!”

“I don’t want you to get hurt” you scoff, rolling your eyes as you crossed your arms. You wanted to explore, to swim with Payakan and the others. This is why you never came out with Neteyam, you tried to hide from him most days for this exact reason. “Is that such a crime?”

“What the hell did we even come here for if you won’t let me go!” You complain and he sighs in defeat, still holding you against him. “Skxawng” you mumble and he couldn’t help but chuckle, the vibrations in his chest sending through your own. “What’s so funny!”

“You, Syulang” You look at him but he wouldn’t stop, only laughing harder once you smacked your teeth. “You trying to hurt my feelings makes me laugh”

“I can handle myself” He hums, nodding his head at your words. He knew you could, but the thought of you getting hurt scared him half to death. “I’m serious, Neteyam”

“I know you can, Trust me” He sighs, sliding off his Ilu with ease and dipping his head down into the water to check where Lo’ak and Tsireya were. He pulled his head back up to your pleading gaze, practically begging him to let go. “If I let you go, you have to stay close to me”

Your eyes lit up with excitement. He’d never let up that easy before. “Really?” He raises his eyebrows and you nod your head, his hands guiding you down into the water. “Oh my god, there they are!” You both look over watching Payakan surface, Lo’ak and Tsireya laughing from afar and waving you over. “Come on!”

“You said you’d wait!” Neteyam yelled as you swam away from the boy, making your way quickly to the younger brother. He pulled you to sit along Payakan’s fin, ruffling your hair with a laugh.

“He finally let up, huh?” You push his shoulder as he laughs, Neteyam holding onto payakan’s fin to get in front of you. “Oh come on, bro. She’s fine! She used to jump through the trees like it was nothing” He glared at the two of you, shaking his head at your laugh.

“Neteyam, it’s fine” You ran your hand along the animal’s skin, smiling as it looked at you. You signed to the beautiful tulkun, telling him how pretty he had been. You loved the reef and it’s animals, it was calming to you. “Sometimes I wish I wasn’t so scared to go through the transition” you sigh, turning to look at the people around you.

“I’d be scared too” Lo’ak agrees, shrugging his shoulders. “Do you know where spider is? I tried looking for him before we left but he was nowhere to be found” you shake your head at the boy along with the other two, but you weren’t really thinking about that. All you could think about was going underwater, wanting to swim so bad but you knew Neteyam wouldn’t let you. True, he couldn’t tell you what to do, but he was much stronger and definitely could stop you.

“Can we go under?” You ask slightly nervous and the two next to you instantly nod, already on their way back into the water. “Neteyam?” He sighs in defeat after looking at your expression, holding his hand out to help you back into the water. You smile huge, slipping back down while taking his hand. You almost instantly followed Lo’ak and Tsireya down, Neteyam being quick to follow your trail.

You followed Tsireya through the cracks and plants, signing to her here and there once you saw something new. Lo’ak stayed behind with his brother, watching him watch you.

You are so in love The youngest brother signs, watching Neteyam roll his eyes before he began to swim faster, Lo’ak following behind him with a smile. Neteyam watched you closely, admiring how happy you looked. Your smile made his creep but he held it back before Lo’ak could see,

More animals begin to come into view around you, Neteyam’s Ilu nudging your leg as it passed you. Eywa, it was so beautiful down there. Neteyam came behind you once you stopped, smiling at Tsireya who was talking to one of the animals. He could tell you were so jealous, feeling left out like you always did—but you also knew you couldn’t do things they could.

You turn to the boy, giving him a small smile. Thank you. You sign before heading up to the girl, leaving him by himself once again.

But something was wrong—very wrong. Neteyam could feel the growing pit in his stomach while he looked around, ears perking at the thudding sounds behind him. You and Tsireya looked back at the noise as well, your body carrying itself over to him before you could think.

Stay close he signs to you, fingers intertwining with your own. Sighs of relief leave your body when you see Lo’ak swimming toward you, but just before you could shake it off—the large shadow behind him catches your attention.

Neteyam quickly calls to his Ilu and your almost instantly scooped up, trying to track down Tsireya but she was nowhere to be found. You tugged at his arm but he shook his head, only worried about getting you out of there. You caught a glimpse of the animal as it swam past you, it was an Akula. One of the most dangerous animals in the sea. You needed to get out now, before you got hurt.

But it wasn’t until you felt the firm grip on your arm tear away, and Neteyam was no longer next to you. His Ilu swam away, and you were left alone in the open ocean, barely keeping your self afloat. You felt so scared, so lost without anyone around you. Everyone was gone, everyone was gone and you were left to fight for yourself against this huge animal.

When you thought it had been safe enough, you quickly tried to swim to the top, moving your arms and legs frantically not bothering to look behind you. You should have known it would’ve never been that easy, because In just seconds you were thrown halfway across the area you had came from, body colliding with one of the many rock structures.

You could barely open your eyes as water began to fill your mask, fear taking over your now bleeding body. Your mask is broken—on pandora.

Just as the huge animal was about to charge back at you, Payakan came clashing against it, your body getting swept up by a moving force under you. Originally, you thought it was Neteyam or Lo’ak, but to your surprise, the smaller creature under you was trying it’s best to keep you on its back, swimming with its queue wrapped around your arm.

Neteyam’s Ilu. You knew it was unusual for an animal to create a bond with anyone but their rider, but it felt like his was yours, always at your beck and call just like him. Once you reached the surface you could hear her cries as she approached a small rock island, Neteyam finally coming to view.

He was on his knees on the rock, one hand out for you to grab while his other held his side, small grunts of pain leaving his mouth. He had been wounded—he sent his Ilu to get you because he couldn’t.

After noticing your broken mask, his heart practically dropped from his chest. Lo’ak and Tsireya quickly reaching the two of you with calls of urgency to leave. “Come on! We have to go!” Lo’ak urged but soon realized your struggle to walk straight onto the rocks surface, struggling to breath the thick air they so easily did.

“Y/N!” Neteyam called loudly as you slowly felt your air cut off, your feet stopping almost instantly as you clawed at your throat. “Come on!”

“N-Nete!” You manage to choke out and look at him with the most fearful eyes he’d ever seen, Lo’ak and Tsireya now noticing at the same time. “M-my mask is broken!”

His head whipped back around to you, watching you fall to your knees with a gasp. He quickly caught you, pulling you into his arms while he tried to cover the hole in your mask, obviously not achieving much. “Shit! Lo’ak! We have to get her out of here, now!”

You couldn’t focus on anything as your vision became blurry, fear being the only thing you felt as Neteyam moved quickly with you onto Payakan, trying his hardest to calm you with the desperate words against your ear. You couldn’t breathe—God, you couldn’t breathe! You couldn’t cry, you couldn’t move, only suffer the loss of air making it to your lungs.

“I’m gonna get you help just hold your breath, Baby. I’ve got you—we’re almost there” His hands caressed your hair, voice becoming frantic while watching you struggle under him. “Great mother—fuck!” He watched as a single tear fell from your eye and he cupped your small face, tears threatening to fill his own. “Your okay. I won’t let anything happen to you”

His heart burned with fear—screaming for help as you approached the village. Even far away, the clan were able to notice you coming because of the large animal you’d been riding on. Neteyam’s wound hurt worse but he couldn’t pay attention to anything except you, trying his hardest to calm your fear.

“We’re here, we’re here—it’s gonna be okay” He takes your small hand into his own, but just as you look at him for the last time, your air had already ran out. “Y/N” Suddenly, everything felt blank. Everything felt silent. You stopped struggling, and your once loving eyes turned into nothing—that exact moment is when he lost it.

“Neteyam!” He couldn’t hear his fathers voice or anyone else’s behind him as he yelled your name, tears falling down his cheeks like waterfalls. Everything was static, nothing was there but you.

“Great mother! Please!” He begs, pulling your heavy head against his chest as the clan approached, Jake quick to run to his screaming sons aid. “No! No, no, no!” His cries were so loud, practically alerting all of the villages around the reef. He couldn’t let you go, he wouldn’t let you go.

Jake felt his heart tear into two at the sight in front of him, Neytiri coming up behind him to see what was going on. “Neteyam!” He had to hold her back once she realized what was going on, her own sobs still not enough to cover up her sons. “Get her something! We need the healer now!” Her voice was frantic but still nothing could be heard by Neteyam, his eyes and ears were only set on your lifeless body.

“It’s all my fault, I shouldn’t of let you out there—I shouldn’t have took you” He hugs your head, voice cracking at every word. The whole clan watched him fall apart, Neytiri desperately trying to get ahold of the healer.

“Brother, it will be alright” Kiri’s hand against his shoulder was enough for him to snap to reality, looking back at her with his eyes stained with tears. He felt your body lift up and he instantly turned back, watching as a few of the guys from the clan picked you up. “Neteyam!” He tried to follow you but his father stopped him, only to earn a single push against his chest.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” Jake stood there unable to respond as Neytiri sat crying for you, following the clan’s members to the healers pod. “She needs me! I need to go!”

“You know you can’t, it’s too crowded. Please, just wait-“

“Wait? She can’t breathe! And it’s all…it’s all my fault” His knees practically buckled under him, body sinking to the sand in front of the whole clan. It felt unreal—the pain in his heart was almost unbearable. Now, Jake noticed the blood pooling from his sons abdomen, falling to the ground to hold his sobbing mess of a son. “I’m supposed to protect her! I’m supposed to protect her, dad” his words stunt his chest like a thousand bees while his dad shushed him, Lo’ak now sunk to the ground as well only a few feet from them.

Guilt filled the youngest brother, tears brimming his eyes as he stared at the blood on his hands. He told you to go—he said it would be okay. His mother raised them to protect you and he couldn’t even do that. This was more then guilt and sadness, it was disappointment.

Lo’ak couldn’t watch his brother fall apart over you, not imagining the pain he was feeling. You and Neteyam were best friends but in everyone else’s eyes, you were so much more.

They needed you. The sully family needed you. But now, you’d never be able to experience the love he had for you—all because they didn’t listen.

There WILL be a part 2 to this! Stay tuned, this is just a small little thing to keep y’all occupied while I procrastinate the smut writings 💀

[letitiaslabyrinth]

YOU HAVEN'T SEEN MY GIRL

warning: none unless you count riri being absolutely head over heels for you pairing: Riri x y/n word count: 545 A/N: we fr dont speak on my writing schedule not proof read

The way Riri always looked at you with love in her eyes made you melt. It’s like she’s a cartoon character with hearts for eyes. Whenever she talked about you to somebody she’d always say “My girl”. You liked that. Being called her girl was something you lived for.

There weren’t enough words in the English language that could explain how much love Riri has for you in her heart. Every time she looks at you, a love song plays in her head. It’s not a sexual love song. It’s a slow, romantic one. Sad Girl by Lana Del Rey. That explains her love for you. That plays in her head whenever you’re in her view, and honestly, it makes her fall even deeper in love with you each time.

Just seeing you smile, seeing you write, cook, draw, seeing you do things that she knows you love, makes her fall even more in love with you. It’s not the fact that you do things that you like, it’s the fact that you do them with a smile on your face. Cooking, writing, and drawing all bring you happiness, and for Riri to be able to experience that in real-time makes her heart flourish. 

Riri fell in love with you on the first date. The way your hair was in two puffs with a few curly strands out made her fall in love with you because you knew how to do hair. She wanted that. She’s been meaning to learn how to do hair but she’s never had the time. The way you dressed made her fall in love with you because she learned, just by looking at you for the first time, that you put your comfortableness over everything. No matter where you’d be going, you were gonna dress how you wanted to. She liked that. The way your nails and lashes were done made her fall in love with you because it made her realize how much she could spoil you. That’s how she showed her love. She would get you just about any and everything you’d ask for. The way you spoke to the servers made her fall in love with you because it showed your true colors. It showed that you’re a kind soul, that you care about people. The way you kept eye contact made her fall in love with you because of how mesmerizing your eyes are. If Riri could stare into your eyes forever and ever with no interruptions, she would. 

Riri never expected to fall so hard for you. Of course, she’s not complaining, but when she loves, she loves hard. She told you this out of fear, mostly, but she was happy when you didn’t leave her side. You stayed with her and she stayed with you.

The two of you made so many memories together. Time went by quickly. Three months turned into six, turned into 12, turned into four years. Four years. Four years. 

You two were made for each other. Nobody could tell Riri differently, and even if they tried, she wouldn’t believe them because she believed in y’alls relationship. She believed in you, you believed in her, and that’s all she needs. So long as she has you, she’s happy. She’s content.

[omen-of-ice]

ro's reaction to a clingy mc who's love language is physical touch plss

Daeron: Isn’t truly used to physical touch that’s not also associated with battle or some form of sparring— barring the brief side hugs that Shanaera gives him— it’d be a completely new experience. He’d definitely be confused at first, would definitely be as stiff as a board, and he’d absolutely think you were trying to kill him the first time you went in for one. However, as he slowly gets used to your touches, to the way you melt into his arms, he’d slowly begin to soften, melting into your arms just as much in return, and he’d start to initiate them (hugs and physical affection) a lot more because it’s become something that soothes him; after a lifetime of war, you’ve become his shelter.

Larak: He’d absolutely adore it. Physical touch is a big thing for his people— albeit it’s typically to do with death or maiming. Would hold you like the most precious of treasures in return, wanting to make sure he doesn’t squeeze you too tight. Larak would definitely begin to expect hugs as a greeting from then on (once you get close enough to him). Becoming completely sulky if you were to forget as it’d quite the slight against his person.

Calypso: She’s quite the affectionate individual as it stands— as boundaries are a bit different where she’s from. So, you may have to discuss with her what’s okay to do and what’s less than okay… Would definitely be all for hugs and being close to you. Having you nearby brings a light to her life that the sun could never hope to rival. If you’d be willing, you’d definitely have a doting siren clinging to your arm for a good majority of the day.

Shanaera: She’s not big on physical affection or intimacy when it comes to those sort of things— it’s not how she was raised and it’s definitely not something she’d easily accept back into her life after going so long without it. She’d allow the occasional hug, especially if you were upset, but it’d more often than not be something you’d initiate. Of course, because of how much she adores you, she’ll learn to live with your need for hugs and the like— it’s not her cup of tea, but making you happy absolutely is… So it’s a trade she’s willing to make.

Fáelán: Is fairly clingy themself. So if your MC was also like that? Match made in Heaven, I’d say. Would love to give you hugs and whatever else you may want without a second thought— and they’d absolutely adore it if you wished to spend time with them. As being near you has always been one of their favorite things within their life— it makes them so happy that you feel the same.

Valerian: Likes to have you by their side regardless… The fact that you’re clingy and like to touch them? Perfect. Wouldn’t complain in the slightest because that means they can keep an eye on you and won’t have to worry about what you could possibly be getting up to. May not initiate hugs that often, they’d still dote on you in their own way and would ensure that you understand how much they treasure you. They’re a dragon after all, and you’re the most priceless gem they’ve ever seen.

[idontplaytrack]

Her Work of Art

AJ Campos x fem!reader

Warnings: MDNI, smut. Reader and AJ’s first time. Edging, fingering & kissing(reader receiving), coarse language.

In which, reader spends the night at AJ's house for the first time: Empty house, a couple drinks for courage, teenage hormones. You piece the puzzle together.

Or you and AJ have had enough of just making out, and you both finally decide to kick your relationship up a notch

Requested? Yes / No

Y’all let me know what you think :’)

You’ve been waiting for this moment: being completely alone with AJ. Well, not completely, per se- because there was currently a bit of a party going on. You and AJ were currently on hour two of attending the party and have already been selected players for a spin the bottle round while drinking some beers. So…you guys were a little tipsy seeing that you two didn’t consume alcohol often. Neither you nor AJ were heavy on the PDA, so when the alcohol gave you and her the courage to publicly makeout with each other, there wasn’t even a moment of hesitation. Which was…weird, for AJ. Or maybe just unexpected. She usually wasn’t like this. AJ was shy and careful - way shyer than you were in moments of showing affection. Your friends were shocked but cheered you two on, just for the heck of it. Half a minute later, you and AJ mutually pull away. But, there was no turning back. That ignited something in AJ she’s never felt: desire. Red hot desire for you.

Her gaze for the rest of the night seemed different- it was lustful. Her touches, they were no longer innocent- each one seemingly laced with the purpose to rile you up or let you know that she wanted you to reciprocate. This was completely new to you, and to her. She never would’ve thought she’d be doing something like this, trying to get you to understand that she wanted you tonight. The both of you were still learning a lot about the other person- especially in the field of what was preferred in times of…‘bedroom activities’. That hasn’t happened yet, but sweet kisses turn into handsy make outs more often. She’d even started to take your top off during one of those sessions.

The main thing stopping both of you was the nerves, taking the first step and going for it. You were scared that you had no clue what to do to make her feel good. And AJ, she felt that way too. But yet, nothing progressed because both of you were scared of disappointing each other.

“AJ, you want to-”

“y/n, you want to-”

“Oh, God. Wow, okay.” AJ thought to herself as she led you through the living room and out the front door. “We’ll go to my place. My mom and dad aren’t home, and Gabi will be spending the weekend at Chantal’s.”

You’ve never felt this excited…it was completely foreign feeling for you. That and what was coming up for you in about twenty minutes. You simply had a hard time keeping those sinful thoughts out of mind, a hard time keeping yourself from imagining her hands roaming your body, a hard time not thinking about her bare chest in front of your face for you to enjoy. After many, many close calls, you were yearning for more tonight. Way, way more.

Once you walked into the privacy of her house, your heart rate picks up as you feel that god forsaken rush of heat course through you before pooling in between your thighs. AJ was leading you by the hand at first, then she lets it go, sliding her arm around your waist. Single handedly closing and locking her bedroom door, she nudges you to sit on her bed, where she joins you a second later.

“You said you were ready for more than just making out?” AJ asks you quietly, her chocolate brown orbs staring into your eyes. Loving, that’s what they were. But also, a glint of playfulness, eagerness somehow oozed from them. You could only offer her a nod, feeling as if your ability for speaking was gone from the anticipation. “You…wanna take the next step tonight?” AJ continues asking, a hand on your shoulder, waiting for what to do next depending on your reply.

“Yeah.” You finally managed. She pushes you onto her mattress with that hand, slowly. You laid down on the soft surface, watching her clambering over to your side and laying down. She holds your face in both hands, caressing it as she kisses you on the lips gently, making you smile. Little by little, both your kisses become increasingly passionate. This goes on for a bit- the two of you enjoyed the familiarity. But soon, she reaches under your shirt to fondle with your clothed breasts, politely asking if she could take your top off. You agreed, shifting yourself a little bit so she had space to do so. As she slips the t-shirt over your head, she watches you- your face and your body. To learn how your face changes, how your body reacts to her gestures…and committing them to her memory so that she could use them to your advantage.

“Is it okay if I take this off too?” AJ asks, her fingers tracing on the fabric over your nipples mindlessly. It wasn’t intentional of her to do that and tease you. That was actually the last thing on her mind, but she was hoping you’d say yes just so she could explore your body and learn more of what you liked and disliked. And since she felt the hardened tip through your sports bra, a little dirty thought crept into her brain…she wanted to give it a little attention. Look, neither of you have had sex before, but there wasn’t any denying that you’d both given yourself some pleasure every now and then. She knew what to do for herself, and you yourself, but not for you. Not yet.

You caught the little bit of eagerness in her gaze as it locked in with yours. It made you blush- already, having that sort of attention on you. “I’ve never done this before so I’m just trying to figure out what works for you…what feels good for you. Of course, we don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to.” Her hand leaves your chest before she started speaking to you, but that was all you could think about now. Fuck, how you wanted her to touch you.

“It’s okay. It’s okay, I wanna do it.” You told her with a nod, feeling your cheeks heat up more.

“Okay.” She confirms, pulling at the bottom of your bra in the front to bring it over your head, tossing it aside like she did with your shirt. She grins, cupping your breast in one hand as she resumes kissing you. You don’t know what came over to you, but decided to use your teeth and tug on her lower lip. She doesn’t tell you to stop, so you thought she must’ve liked it or at least be okay with it. “Sorry.”

“Mm, that’s okay.” She responded with a chuckle, starting to move herself away from your mouth and to your jaw and neck. Her free hand switches over to your other breast to provide it with something to stimulate you. Her other hand was still on your face as she worked her way down. Her warm touch and delicate kisses were no doubt doing things to you. Pleasure. It was building without much effort.

God, you loved how gentle she was…it sends the raging swarm of butterflies in your chest down to the juncture between your thighs.

You let a soft whine slip into the kiss and her ears perked up, “You like that, baby?”

You nodded, “Mm.” Your response completely eaten up by her kisses as you feel her mouth reaching the area of your chest.

————

AJ’s tongue softly flicked your nipple, drawing out a gasp. You muffled the noise with the back of your hand and she seems to have picked up on how quiet you were. She removes your hand from its position, “Hey, hey. Baby, it’s okay. It’s alright. Let me hear you. I wanna hear you.”

You nodded without a word. “You want me to do that again?” She asks, her mouth dangerously close to where it was before she pulled herself away to talk to you.

Hurriedly giving her a nod, you murmur, “Okay.”

She continues licking and sucking on your growingly sensitive nub as her hands roamed your body. At first you were still a little hesitant, but the ache you suddenly felt in your clit forces you to become a whiny mess under her ministrations. Perhaps it was because it was your first time so every sensation felt incredibly intense, perhaps it was your yearning for this to happen that made it so that even with just her gentle ways with you. Either way, all you felt was pure bliss. Thinking how very lucky you were to be with her.

“AJ, AJ, please. I need to kiss you.” You cried out, even surprising yourself. With a final flick of her tongue, she detaches herself from you and moved herself up so she could give you what you wanted. AJ shifted you a little so you were now fully on your side. Next, you feel her knee gently pressing against your cunt. You moaned. Contented to hear your very first one of the evening, she chuckles. “Does that feel good?”

“Yeah, yeah.” You hungrily attacked her lips again while her hand busied itself with the task of groping your tits. “Oh, fuck.”

She notices your cheeks flushing a deep red hue, “Don’t stop yourself, honey. I love that- I love hearing you, pretty girl.”

Your shyness still shone through most of the time, the little sounds that slipped out from your mouth has become like hard earned rewards for her. She loves it, though. She loves every little thing about you. But she also hopes that you’d let go more, the more you two did this in the future. But right now, she was more than happy to be here like this, more so since she knows a little bit more about what riles you up, what to look out for in your facial expressions and your body language and what it meant.

————

You felt AJ’s hand going lower and lower down south, bracing yourself for what her next move was. She looks at you, to ask for permission. “You ready, honey?”

“Think so.” You managed. Her hand that was hovering over your apex was fully placed on it now, the tips of her fingers began rubbing your clit in a slow but steady rhythm. Fuck it, that did it for you. She’d successfully made your mind so clouded that all you wanted was that- for AJ to kept doing that over and over. You let out a low groan which was followed by moans that sounded so damn sweet to her ears. The fact that you usually weren’t one to use profanities made her even happier.

“Stop me whenever you want, okay? If it doesn’t feel good or it hurts, please tell me.” Her hand stops its motion as she speaks, making tears brim at your eyes. You needed her to keep going. You wanted to have your release.

“Okay.” You blinked furiously to stop the tears from falling. With that being said, her hand resumes its work on your clit, eliciting more sounds of pleasure from you as she smiled, admiring your blissed out face. Her work of art.

You feel her two fingers going along with the path, sliding close enough to your entrance for you to snap out of your little bubble of bliss for a split second. You see AJ’s eyes through your blurred vision that she was searching your face for any indication of resistance. All you could really give her in response were eager nods of your head as the words all felt jumbled up in your head.

“Yeah?” AJ verbally asks for confirmation because that’s how nervous she was about possibly hurting you or giving you something you didn’t want. “Yeah. You can go for it, AJ.” Finally. A proper sentence comes out from your mouth. You kissed her first, then her fingers moved again, reaching where you needed her the most. AJ dips her finger in smoothly and you moaned, “Oh, fuck yes.” Hearing that, she picked up her speed a bit, wanting to hear more. Then more, and more. By the time she managed to push finger number two inside you, you were so wet you could both hear it.

“Oh, my God.” She grumbles lowly, “Holy shit. You feel amazing.”

You whimpered, saying her name when you felt yourself twitch and clench around her. “Oh- shit.” You took in a sharp breath, falling flat onto your back, but AJ expertly just went along with your movement. She was now seated crossed legged in between your legs that were wide open, making you extremely vulnerable right now.

“Oh.” You groan, feeling the coil in your core tighten to its maximum. “Fuck. Fuck, AJ.” You cried out.

“Baby, why are you crying, y/n?” As innocent and sweet that question seemed, given the way she was finger-fucking you told you that she was being a tease at the same time. She pulled her fingers out, leaving you empty and frustrated. Tears actually spilled from your eyes now as you whined for her contact to come back. Her hands were then felt on the underside of both your thighs, pushing open just a little bit more so she could see what she’s done so far. You were red and swollen, and clenching around nothing.

“AJ…please.” You had several seconds to catch your breath before you decided to open your mouth to ask. She knew it was hard for you to do that, but she wanted you to do that, actually. But she was satisfied as it is just quietly delaying your climax for a short while to build up its intensity. Anyway, AJ was overjoyed that you used your words, reciprocating with her fingers pushing in and pulling out you repeatedly until couldn’t take it anymore and came around her fingers. She left them inside you without moving them much when she feels you slowly coming down from your high. Your legs started to shake, startling you and making you curse. So, AJ removes her fingers from inside you, placing a comforting hand on your inner thigh. Caressing it she goes, “You’re okay, you’re okay. It’s okay, my love. I’ve got you.”

As you were trying to catch your breath once again, AJ calmed down your involuntarily shaking frame as she watches you, still clenching around nothing, continuing to drip onto her bed. “Oh, my God.” You remarked tearfully. It snaps her out of her little moment, crawling back up to meet your face. “Oh, my God.” To be honest, you were freaking out a little bit, but you were also saying that because you just had that fucking unbelievable climax. As you soon forgot about it when you saw her face in front of you. “Hey, it’s alright, baby. I got you. You did so freaking well.” AJ caresses your cheek, pressing a chaste kiss to your lips then held you in her embrace, “I love you.”

[cookiesupplier]

Every Rose Has Its Thorns - Part Thirty-Six

pairing: Ricky Olson x ofc x Chris 'Motionless' Cerulli

warnings/tropes: slow burn, soulmates, strangers to enemies to lovers, betrayal, angst, fluff, smut, language, online bullying, panic attacks, stalking, mental health issues.

summary: In a world where soulmates inexplicably receive a tattoo that will match that of their soulmate the moment they turn eighteen years old, being famous and covered in very visible tattoos can make finding your true soulmate a questionable fate. For everyone involved.

author’s note: Unbeta'd, readers beware as always lol.

To read from the beginning, check out the Masterlist Here!

tags: @tearfallpixie @cncohshit @jordynyingling0219 @faceless-mirror @nyxthedestroyerofworlds @wild-child-7747 @witchyweeb34 @black-damask1999 @jilliemiw86 @ilovesamkiszka @lyschko666 @lacktoesandtoddlerants @bngurngheart @collapsedglasshouses @laurpartyprogram @sunsshinesunny @malerieee @talialovesmiw @shilohrosechicken @thatchickwiththecamera @tamtam-elizabeth

Tag List is Open, please let me know if you would like to be added to it or in general.

“Ava, can we talk?”

“Of course.”

Talia swallowed when Ava accepted immediately, even though it was already so late, she knew Ava would agree. She’d known the moment she’d asked her, especially because it was so late. Of course, she already knew with how worried Ava had been ever since she’d had her melt down with Ricky. Ever since she’d told her that she’s always be here to talk if she’d need her, and now here she was, finally asking, just, almost in the middle of the night practically. Hopefully Vinny would forgive her later when Ava returned to him irate and ranting. Talia had a feeling that was exactly how this was going to go down, considering what she needed to talk to her about, that was a definite possibility. Talia didn’t think this was going to be an easy conversation to have between the two of them, not when she knew she’d be lying to her best friend for years. Not to mention the fact she’d been lying to her while they’d also been living together for all this time, they were practically sisters. 

When Talia seemed to pause next, her breath caught in her throat, considering how to go about this. She knew she needed to do this, she was determined to do this, just not sure how she was going to get the words out without Ava hating her; Ava took the reins of the conversation.

“Come on, let's go make some coffee.”

Nodding her head slightly, tilting it towards the way she’d come from the kitchen area, and Talia smiled slightly at the suggestion, amused though considering what it would mean, they were up late enough.

“Decaf, hopefully.”

The wry smile that came from Ava,

“I don’t know, we could always turn it into a movie marathon if we need to, girls night hang out. Like old times. Ditching the boys.”

Talia laughed as she stepped in pace beside Ava, the other nudging her arm beside her as she teased the memory as she spoke, grinning with her. It was a good moment of nostalgia, but it would remain to be seen if Ava would even want to talk to her after she heard what Talia had to say to her tonight. 

Walking into the kitchen, Talia went towards the fancy coffee machine. The same one that she’d learned that Ricky had bought for Vinny after he’d gotten frustrated that the man had never been able to make a decent cup of coffee. Now, in saying that, Talia couldn’t really argue that the machine did its job perfectly. She hadn’t had one bad cup of coffee since she had been staying here, even if she had started going out to get her coffee of the afternoon. She’d been going out more to see Chris, then necessarily her need for caffeine. Well, at first it had just been to give Ava and Vinny space, but then if had been to meet with Chris.

Sighing softly, she closed her eyes at the tingle thinking about those afternoons. She was starting to think her damn tattoo was feeding from her imagination, that it was getting worse now that she even knew Chris was an option, well, no, that sounded crass. No, it was since he kissed her. It was almost as if that kiss had ripped open something with her tattoo, opened up the bond between them, a connection. Was that possible? Acting on it, was that what was forming this bond, was that what was making it real?

Did she want it to be real? If her bond with Chris became real, what would happen to her one with Ricky?

She’d never heard of a person having two soulmates.

She shivered slightly at the thought.

Not the time Talia, not the time. Right now, she needed to focus on Ava. Focus on here, on now, not to let herself get distracted.

She continued to make the coffee, and of course she knew just how Ava liked her coffee, half strength, skim, extra sweet. Finishing up both the cups, she brought them over to Ava, choosing to sit at the table, it was just easy staying in here with their coffees than moving around the house. Sighing, Talia sat in the chair, the very same table she’d had this similar conversation with Ricky and Chris the other day. Her hands wrapped around her hot mug of coffee, fingers heated against the porcelain cup, it was a refreshing feeling.

“This is something I should have talked to you about a long time ago, but, truthfully, I haven’t talked about this to anyone, I haven’t said a word about this to anyone until I had my meltdown. I explained to Ricky, and Chris, and now it's only fair, I finally explain to you the truth.” Her fingertips were mindlessly drawing patterns on the outside of her cup before she lifted the mug to her lips, trying to give her mind a short break. Taking a breath, just needing a moment to gather herself.

“Do you remember when I moved in with you, after my prolonged trip to Europe that year?”

Ava nodded quietly, and the fact that she was so quiet, told Talia she knew what was coming was so much more than just a simple confession.

“I wasn’t in Europe.”

Explaining everything after that, was so much more difficult this time around. Sitting there with Ava, was like being right back there in the past, in those moments. All those years ago when she was being ripped open by her family, by those doctors, when it felt like her whole existence was brought into question just because her family thought they knew better than her. 

She was in tears, a complete mess as she explained everything about the intervention, the institute, the way she convinced the doctors, how she’d gotten out. Moved in with Ava and moved on and left it all behind. Just pushed herself to forget about it. 

Ava was also in tears as she hugged her, squeezing her for dear life, desperate to know how she couldn’t have told her. 

By the time Talia had calmed down, and she had managed to soothe down Ava, she knew she couldn’t stop there with her explanations. There was so much more now, even if the rest was far more recent. So much that she’d been keeping inside for fear that she’d affect Ava’s bond with Vinny. Telling her about how she’d been feeling about ever since they’d met the boys, how Ricky had been making her feel from the start. Sure, in the beginning, it wasn’t likely surprising, but as she continued with the way her tattoo had been impacting her, what had happened at the party, like predicted, Ava wanted to kill Ricky for what he’d done. Talia shut her down cold before she continued, telling her to just listen, and let her finish.

She continued, and told her everything.

The party, her afternoon coffees with Chris, there were things that Ava of course knew in the course of events. Such as what happened with the live stream, with Grace, how it all had changed so much because it had gotten her and Ricky actually talking. The kitchen she knew some of, she had told her some, the discovery of the marks effects, then, her complete freak-out. That leading to her confession to Ricky, and Chris…

That, was when Ava stopped her, confused, why she was pulling Chris into this…

It was then that Talia paused, she wasn’t sure how much more she could tell Ava, how much more she had the right to tell her, because anything more, and it meant betraying Chris’ trust. Yes, she was Vinny’s soulmate, and Talia knew that she would likely know the truth of his soulmate bond, that his soulmate had died, but it wasn’t her place to tell her.

“Chris knows a lot to do with soulmates, and he’s helping us look into this soulmate bond, and… oh… no, no I can’t hide things from you again. There is more, but it’s not for me to tell you, because it's not just about me anymore.”

“Right, Ricky too.”

Ava still didn’t sound happy about the man, and Talia understood, for her, being mad at him was fresh, Talia had been dealing with this for weeks. Honestly, realising she wasn’t going insane, allowed her to give Ricky the benefit of the doubt, and just a little forgiveness. Not to mention, the caring he was showing her, the kindness he’d shown her in the last few days meant more to her than she could convey to Ava right now, it seems. All she could manage to tell her, was how much he seemed to have changed, how much he had been helping her. That everything felt different between them since Grace had been attacking them, that it felt like he had finally been opening up. She asked, but no, he didn’t seem to be opening up to their bond, and Talia told her she was okay with that, she respected that. Ricky had every right to protect himself after what that woman did to him. Reminding her with a smirk what she called her, soulmate stealing harpy.

Talia would do everything she could to protect him from her, even from others trying to force him to do things their way. Just the way he had done for her. 

“And Chris.”

“Wait, Chris?!”

Talia smiled at the look of confusion on Ava’s face at her question, she chuckled as she finished off the last of her mug of coffee,

“Yea, I know, a little confusing, and if I could tell you everything, I would, maybe in time. I promise, I’m telling you everything I can. I won’t keep any big life changing secrets from you again, Ava.”

She sighed. She felt better, knowing that she’d gotten so much off her chest. This had gone so much better than she thought it would, she had honestly thought that Ava would be angry at her for not telling her all those years ago.

Chris stared at his computer screen, last night after dinner, he’d posted in the message boards about his situation about his changing soulmate mark, just as he told Ricky and Talia he would. This time he didn’t do so anonymously, no, this time he wanted to be able to be alerted directly, and not just from every message on the board like he had last time. 

He’d been active on his board for years, ever since he’d gotten out of his inpatient treatment and joined the community, wanting to have a connection with other people in his situation without them knowing who he was. No one on the message board knew the account was him, he’d never shared personal information, he’d never shared images of his tattoo either, when it was black or white. That way, even if someone tried to match any information up to any of the band’s fan sites, they’d have no luck. Not that any of the sites had ever managed to nail down just what his soulmate tattoo was, just guesses over the years. He was completely anonymous on the board, just how he wanted to be.

So far, the message had gotten nothing back. Well, no, there had been plenty of discussion around his message. All of it, however, was nothing but pure confusion, and none of it involved anyone else that had heard anything even remotely connected to anyone experiencing anything similar to what Chris was. 

This was getting him nowhere, and he was nervous as hell. When more and more people were suggesting that something could be wrong, something could be affecting his body and he could be ill. That his skin under the tattoo for one could be changing the colour, and he should see a colour. Just now, a woman sent a simple message:

Have you considered cancer?

Nope. What the hell, nope.

Okay, he hadn’t told them the whole story including Ricky and Talia’s involvement not wanting to pull them into the board information, and didn’t want to include the sensations, but come on!

No, he was taking a step back from this avenue of questioning immediately. 

Sure, it had been less than twelve hours, but this was too much. No, he was going to call one of his friends in research, and see what they said instead. They might have something better than, it could be cancer.

Dividers by @saradika-graphics

[ash5monster01]

Perfect To Love Part 11

Pairing: Steve Harrington x FemReader!PlusSize

Warnings: fluff, mentions of bullying, body image issues, fat shaming, angst, trust issues, language.

Summary: Beth Walker was used to living in the shadows. She had only one friend and anyone else who paid her mind usually bullied her for her size. So she learned to keep her mouth shut, her head down, and her heart closed because she had to accept the fact that she would be nothing more than the fat girl to people. That is until Robin decides Beth needs more in life and that might just include a boy who she never would’ve thought could see her for who she truly was.

word count: 3,437

a/n: sorry it has been so long friends, I’ve had my wisdom teeth removed and am still in recovery but plz enjoy <3

Part 10 ←→ Part 12

Masterlist

Beth wouldn’t go as far to say she was popular. She was still far from it, but ever since Steve Harrington held her hand in those bleachers the kids at school started to treat her better. Some going as far as talking to her and getting to know her. Now that she didn’t have this huge target on her back she didn’t hate going to school anymore. She didn’t even care if the kids were doing it to get close to Steve, for once she could take a breath of relief when she walked through those doors. For once she got to know her classmates and become friends with them. It’s all she ever wanted out of high school.

“Hey Beth, wait up” Beth turned at the call of her name and Robin almost slammed into her from their sudden stop.

“Hey Claire” Beth said kindly even though confusion was all over her face. Claire was one of the most popular girls in their grade, best friend with Chrissy Cunningham, and Captain of the Cheerleading squad.

“Hey I just wanted to give you this” Claire pulled a neon pink sheet from the stack in her hands, passing it to Beth just to see three dancing skeletons, holding wine glasses, and ‘Come for the Boo’s’ written in bold letters above them. Below was Claire’s address and information about the Halloween Party she’d be throwing.

“A party?” Beth questioned and Robin peered over her shoulder to take a look at the posters that definitely cost more than 80 cents to print.

“Yes, Tina passed the torch down to me for the big Halloween Bash this year. I figured you and Steve could come, and your friends” Claire gestured to Robin and Robins eyes widened as she realized she had been invited too.

“Of course, thanks Claire” Beth told her with a soft smile and the blonde girl moved on, like it wasn’t completely bizarre to be inviting Beth Walker and Robin Buckley to a party.

“Are you gonna go?” Robin questioned as they continued their walk to their next class.

“I mean, I don’t see why not. No one harasses me anymore. It could be fun” Beth shrugged tucking the flyer into her folder.

“Even though she was definitely inviting you to get Steve there?” Robin questioned and Beth chuckled.

“Yeah, it’s not like she’s going to steal Steve from me. We’ve been dating for a little over a week and if he does run off with Claire I know you’ll just kick his ass for me” Beth told her as they reached their classroom, slipping into the desks beside each other.

“That’s very true” Robin pointed out and Beth laughed, permanent blush still on her cheeks because she was dating Steve Harrington. They had to of been in the twilight zone.

“The real question is, is my best friend going to go to this party with me?” Beth looked at Robin with a hopeful look and Robin beamed as she realized she could actually join her two best friends at her first real high school party.

“I thought you’d never ask”

And that was how Beth, Steve, and Robin made plans to go to this silly Halloween party. This time accompanied by each of the kids. Steve had put up a fight, a permanent scowl on his face, because the last thing he wanted to do at a party was babysit. But Beth and Robin assured him they’d watch out for the kids and if anything started to go wrong they would call Nancy and leave. Beth had tried to get Nancy to come along but she planned to call Johnathon and couldn’t be persuaded.

Beth had been able to convince the group to do The Goonies. Her and Steve as Brand and Andy, Robin as Andy’s best friend Stef, Mike after putting up a fight was Mikey, Lucas as Mouth, and Dustin as Data. Max sadly got stuck home with her Mom, helping her move things into their new home. Yet she didn’t complain considering her only options were Mama Fratelli or Sloth. Lucas on the other hand had been sad because he wanted his girlfriend there for their first high school party. Apparently since Billy passed away things between them had been rocky.

“I can’t believe I let you convince me to do this” Steve said squeezing Beth’s hand, looking cute as ever in the red sweat bands that came with his costume. All Beth could do was grin.

“They’re good kids Steve, not like you were in high school” he faked a gasp but Beth’s giggles kept him from feigning hurt feelings. All he could do was laugh along side her.

“The minute I see Dustin try any alcohol we’re out of here” he told her, leaning down and capturing her giggling lips in his own.

“What about me?” Beth asked once he pulled away and he chuckled.

“You can get as drunk as you want, but if your father asks, I had nothing to do with it” Beth laughed again as the group now made their way into the house. It was mainly dark, the music loud enough to make Beth’s ears ring, and the temperature inside was drastically different from the cool 50 degree weather outside.

“Stick together, no alcohol” Robin pointed at the kids as they made their way in the house, grins from ear to ear. They were officially high school partiers. Even crazier, Beth was the reason they were even there. They all ruhed off, not even reacting to what Robin had said causing the young girl to sigh.

"I'll grab us some drinks" Steve said, side stepping behind Beth as he gave her shoulders a squeeze. Robin looked up hopeful, seeking out comfort in an alcoholic beverage despite never have trying it before.

"Strong ones" Robin said and Steve just laughed, knowing Robin would more than likely be drunk two sips into a fruity wine cooler. Yet he pretended to obey as he disapeared into the kitchen. Beth used this moment to survey the room, costumes either intricate or half assed. No in between.

“This is surreal” Beth chuckled to her friend only to see her gasp as her eyes settled on something across the room.

“Vickie is here” Robin hissed before shifting to stand behind Beth. Beth only laughed because Robin could see clear over her head, she wasn’t much of a shield.

“She’s dressed like Molly Ringwald in Sixteen Candles, wow” Beth said as she spotted their red headed friend, pink dress, and blue flower crown. Beth quickly waved to to the girl. “Hi Vickie!”

“Beth! Hey!” Vickie waved back and Robin grabbed her friends arm, making her stop almost instantly.

“Beth are you kidding? I don’t know what to say to her outside of band” Robin seethed as the red headed girl approached and Beth just rolled her eyes.

“I’m right here, calm down-“ but then Eddie Munson was twirling Beth, higher than a kite, and shocked to see the girl who forced him to do homework at a party of all places. As he pulled the girl away Beth gave Robin a sheepish smile, watching Vickie approach her.

“Beth Walker, is it actually you or am I just really greened out?” he asked curiously, hunched over to look her in the eye.

“Hey Eddie, what’s your costume? Burnout?” Eddie chuckled, a slight shake to his head. Costumes weren’t really his thing.

“It’s you all right” then his eyes flicked up behind her just to see Steve approaching as the Brand to her Andy. “Apparently with Harrington too”

“Munson, if I didn’t know any better I’d think you were trying to steal my girl” Steve appeared beside her, costume to match, drinks in hand.

“Beth’s too good for me, she knows that” Beth blushed, never realizing Eddie had thought of her like that. “But you Harrington, you always snag the good girls”

“Alright, stop the pissing contest. Thanks handsome” Beth grinned at Steve, stealing a drink from the two in his hands. Steve blushed and she wasn’t sure if she actually had that affect on him or he had already taken a few sips before finding her.

“Dustin is here, might be nice to have an extra eye on him and the kids. Keep them out of trouble” Steve told Eddie, now business. He knew Dustin liked Eddie, he didn’t have to like it but if someone else was keeping him out of trouble he could accept it.

“No way, Dustin Henderson at a party. I’ve got to see this with my own two eyes” and as quick as he appeared, Eddie disappeared in search of his young Hellfire apprentices.

“Wow, this is strong” Beth told Steve after taking a sip but that didn’t stop her from giving him a grin and chugging some more.

“You’re gonna be the death of me Walker” he told her but she gave him a pout.

“Save the last names for people like Eddie” she told him and he felt his heart swell over how cute she was. He had never thought he could be so attracted to a bigger girl before but now nobody could compare. He was obsessed with Beth Walker and he wanted to make sure she knew it.

“You’re gonna be the death of me Bethany” shivers chilled her spine at the deep and sultry way her said her full name. She had always regretted answering Beth when Tommy asked her name, figuring he so easily turned it into Bertha. She was just so used to everyone calling her Beth for short. Steve calling her Bethany was something so personal she was sure to never get tired of it. That and B.

“Same goes for you Steven” she told him, grin covering her lips. Before she could react his lips were on her own in a sweet kiss, taking a small taste of the cherry lipgloss and alcohol to go with it.

“Let’s hit the dance floor baby, I got some new moves” he grinned and she just giggled, hand curling into his own as he led her to the dance floor. On her way her eyes flitted over the crowd, saying hi back to people who actually offered hellos for once. Then she spotted Colin, eyes trained on her and knuckles white from gripping his beer bottle. She wasn’t sure if he was angry about her attendance or Steve, she wasn’t sure about anything with him anymore.

As the night progressed Steve and Beth had put away quite a few drinks, spent a good hour or three on the dance floor, joined by Robin after she chugged her wine cooler to forget the embarrassment of stumbling over her words in front of Vickie. Beth realized it didn’t matter if she was here or not, as long as she was dancing with her friends. Lucas had been long gone, guilt ridden of leaving behind Max. Steve fought his departure for only a moment before allowing it. Now Dustin and Mike sat squished on either side of Eddie, deep in conversation about their latest campaign.

“I’m gonna grab a new drink” Beth yelled over the music, the alcohol making her more confident and Steve more affectionate towards her.

“Alright sweet thing, we’ll be here” he told her, hands squeezing at her waist and she was too drunk to care, even though his lust filled eyes set her insides on fire.

“Don’t cause too much trouble” she told him before scurrying off to the kitchen to find herself a refill. For the first time all night the kitchen had been abandoned and Beth appreciated the space for a moment.

“So you and Harrington are a real thing huh?” Beth jumped as the voice appeared beside her, some rum slipping up the side of her cup and onto the counter.

“Colin, you scared me” Beth said, ripping a paper towel and cleaning her mess. It was silly really, considering the whole house would be a mess by tomorrow, but she did it anyway.

“I figured you’d date a more quiet type like yourself” he said before slugging back a sip of his beer. He wore a bed sheet as a toga, half his chest peeking out from the white fabric. Colin Matterson was an asshole but at least he wasn’t ugly.

“I’m not quiet, you only think that since no one bothered to treat me like a real person” Beth told him, pouring some coke into her cup. She had made this drink stronger but only because it scared her that she was now somewhat comfortable alone with Colin.

“Guess I should have” he said and suddenly it was like all the air was sucked out of the room. “Considering everyone likes you now because of Harrington. I always figured it would be the other way around, torture the person dating you for dating you. If I had known it would be like this maybe I would’ve actually made a move”

“You don’t get to say things like that to me” Beth shook her head, taking a step back and a sip from her drink.

“Why not?” he asked, his beer bottle clinking as he slammed it into the counter.

“Because Colin, you’ve been my worst bully for years. You can’t just turn around now because you realize your reputation won’t be hurt” Beth was trying her best not to yell but once Colin jumped off the counter, vein appearing in his forehead, she realized the yelling was about to come.

“You don’t get it Beth! I fucking hated myself for liking you. I thought I was broken, that I couldn’t like the skinny cheerleaders that threw themselves at me. That I was into fat girls. I worried I’d never be attracted to anyone and people would judge me for the rest of my life for being attracted to you!” Beth gaped, shocked he even thought this was any argument at all. Calling her fat, hating himself for liking her. Who fucking cares!

“That’s where you’re wrong Colin. If you can’t see me for anything other than my size you have no grounds to stand on for liking me. Being fat isn’t all that I am! I’m fun, loud, happy, pretty, and yes fat. But if you can’t see that then maybe you are broken, but not in the way you think!” Beth yelled back, anger bubbling to the surface. She wanted to hit him, just like Steve did. Yet she knew it wouldn’t solve anything for her.

“I don’t know what to do Beth” he suddenly said so quietly she tried not to feel bad for him. He was confused, confused about why he didn’t like things most people liked. That he was different from normal. It was probably similar to how someone came to terms with being gay when being told it was wrong their whole life.

“I can’t fix it for you Colin, but I suggest you start liking people based on who they are and not what they look like. I ended up with Steve because he got to know me without someone asking him too, and that makes all the difference” Beth now at the mention of Steve instantly wanted to be comforted by him so she started for the kitchen door, absolutely no interest in hearing what he had to say.

“Hey what took so long?” Robin panted, giddy from dancing and drinking. Good thing they already figured to call Nancy for a ride home.

“Got stuck talking” Beth said, nuzzling into Steve’s side who just grinned. Beth wasn’t one to initiate intimacy so he wrapped his arms around her, guaranteeing she wouldn’t scurry off.

“Everything okay” he asked ducking down and whispering into her ear. Her free hand curled around his neck as she went to whisper back.

“It is now” she told him, suggesting that being close to him made it better. Then for the first time she pressed a sweet kiss to his lips, chest pushing against his own. She felt goosebumps rise under her hand on the back of his neck and it made her heart flutter to think she could give him goosebumps. All this time she thought no one would ever like her, see for themselves how great she was, and now she was giving Steve Harrington goosebumps.

“Ugh get a room” Robin groaned and Beth pulled back from Steve as she giggled, him still hunched over to keep his head near her own.

“I think Robin has had enough to drink” Steve said as he spun Beth around, pressing her back against his front and chin falling onto her shoulder.

“Actually I don’t think I’ve had enough, maybe one more and I won’t think about vomiting watching you two make out” she said and Beth laughed loudly, the sound causing Steve to pull her in tighter.

“She’s drunk, she’s normally team us making out” Steve said to Beth as if Robin wasn’t standing in front of them, swaying from the alcohol.

“She’s just jealous because she wants someone to make out with” Beth whispered back and Steve pressed a soft kiss to the side of her neck, half drunk and caught up in the taste of her. Beth felt the kiss all the way to her core and unintentionally pressed her ass further back into Steve. It was like her body knew how to react to his touched despite never being touched like that.

“Careful baby” Steve warned, his voice breathless. Beth turned crimson red as she realized what she had just done, the blush heating all the way to her ears.

“Alright, I’m done dancing” Robin said once she realized what was happening and rushed away. Steve kept Beth in front of him, careful not to let her move.

“You look surprised” Steve muttered, trying his best not to scare her but he was drunk and she was just so damn beautiful he couldn’t help it. Most of the night he spent fighting with himself to not look at the cleavage spilling over her white top.

“I just didn’t think I was capable of turning anyone on” Beth whispered and Steve let out a deep chuckle, closing his eyes and counting to three.

“Well Beth you are very capable, so just please don’t move” he said breathily, eyes closing shut as he pressed his forehead to her shoulder, trying to calm himself down. Beth found herself briefly wondering what Steve looked like all fucked out, probably pretty, like always. She had never had any interest before but the mix of alcohol and attractive guy stuck to her made her think differently.

“Sorry, but I have to kiss you right now” and against his wishes she turned, her front now pressed against him as she grabbed his face and pressed a slow and sweet kiss to his lips. Steve moaned lightly into her mouth and she realized now that if she was to lose Steve she would absolutely never recover.

“Alright we’re leaving, call Nancy” he muttered against her lips and Beth laughed as she kissed him again.

“So I can’t come over?” she teased and Steve groaned.

“Beth, I’m serious. It’s only been two weeks and I don’t need you seeing how badly I’m into you” Steve said and Beth sighed, sealing his lips with another kiss before another to his cheek, neck, and throat.

“Fine we’ll call Nancy” she told him and he still had his eyes shut, probably trying to remember all of the presidents and she just shook her head.

“The kids are watching please stop!” Beth turned to see Eddie was holding his hands over Dustin and Mike’s eyes. She giggled before shaking her head.

“We’re done, promise. Boys get ready to go” Beth instructed and Eddie removed his hands as they moved to obey.

“Looks like you need a cold shower Harrington!” Eddie called out and the boys both made grossed out faced as they collected their things and moved to join the group.

“Looks like you just need a shower Munson” and the boys laughed including Eddie who still wasn’t entirely sure about the Harrington boy.

“You’re probably right Steve, have a good night kiddos” he told them and Beth found Robin as they moved to the door, Steve going to call Nancy who thankfully wasn’t too far away.

“I’d say our first party was a success” Robin told Beth, her arm locked within her own, ready to have a sleepover, and pick on Alan during breakfast the next morning.

“Me too, it was more fun than I thought”

Taglist: @kindablackenedsuperhero @rinarecommends @starryeyedpoet17 @crustless-toast @loverofmarsss @alexa-33 @bethanysnow @middle-of-the-earth @princessadriana4-blog @mochminnie @legendaryhumandiplomatgoop @a-lil-bit-nuts @i-came-as-bostonian @krazyk99 @thunderstomp-and-tequila @cumslutforaemond @futuristicbirdtraveler @unholyhuntress

Comment if you want to be added to the tag list :))

[halfagonyandhope]

ignite the stars │ch. 3

first chapter (x); previous chapter (x)

Satine Kryze is an internationally-recognized scholar in genocide studies who recently resigned from the Department of State over her concerns regarding the agency's ethics. Ben Kenobi is a tenured professor at Georgetown University studying the use of religion to justify military conflicts. Once high school sweethearts, the two haven't spoken since parting ways for university. That is, until Satine accepts a research fellowship - at Georgetown.

---

Suddenly grateful she’d stocked up on wine, Satine reaches for the cabinet of glassware and then for a bottle next to the fridge. She’s never cared enough to learn which wines to chill and which to leave warmer, so her wine collection lives perpetually adjacent to the refrigerator. She takes a sip, knowing she wouldn’t notice the difference in taste anyway even if she had bothered to chill it.

The wine gives her permission to be bolder, and she makes her way to the couch, grabbing her laptop. Setting down the glass on a coaster, she decides the line between fuck and fuck it is now non-existent, so she opens an internet browser and types in Ben’s name.

If he’s been following her career, she needs to get up to speed on his. She will not allow him to have the upper hand here.

As it turns out, there is a lot to catch up on. He’d indeed graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point the same year she’d received her BA in anthropology from Stanford. She has to laugh when she discovers his major was sociology. Even four years removed from knowing each other, their worldviews were exactly the same and yet entirely different.

And when she’d jetted off to Oxford for her Rhodes Scholarship, he’d also been on the move. There is less on his life during this time period, but she’s able to gather he worked as a military translator abroad.

Of course he’s fluent in Arabic, she thinks, rolling her eyes. Because of course. 

When she’d worked at the Department of State, she’d been taught that some languages were more difficult than others for English-speakers to learn. Arabic - along with Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Japanese - was in the “most difficult to learn” category, according to State’s categorization schema. Ben likely had spent all of his years as an undergraduate taking classes in the language, even if he didn’t have enough credits for a major, and he’d probably spent a great deal of time abroad learning to speak it well enough for him to be hired as a translator.

And him being fluent in such a difficult language? Satine groans. 

Sexy as hell.

She navigates to another webpage, wondering what he’s been up to since. Then she arches a brow, surprised. She’d come back from Oxford with her doctorate, on her way to Northwestern for a postdoc, and he’d come back from the war with a distinguished record of service - only to enroll as a graduate student at a Big Ten school in the Midwest.

He could have gone to any Ivy League of his choosing, could have had a fellowship literally anywhere in the world.

And he’d chosen Wisconsin for his doctorate?

Satine takes a large sip of wine, pondering this. He’d been in the political science department. She hums in consideration. The Ben she once knew had been radically liberal, and she suspects not much has changed in his political leanings despite the years. Moving to a purple state didn’t appear to make much sense for him.

She shakes her head. Maybe someday she’d ask him about it.

A thought occurs to her, but no - he’d moved to Madison a year before she’d accepted the postdoc at Northwestern. But their time in the Midwest had overlapped. For two years, they’d been within a three hours’ drive of each other.

The realization constricts around Satine’s heart.

Then she’d been recruited by State, and he’d been recruited by Georgetown. He’d completed a one-year postdoc there before being hired on as faculty.

Their lives were like parallel lines, forever running next to each other but never quite intersecting. Satine drains the rest of her wine.

She has a feeling the two of them are headed for that intersection now, and at full speed.

---

Ben climbs back into bed, lanky muscles still glistening with sweat and the scent of sex. One hand reaches for her jaw to cradle her face as he leans in for a soft kiss; the other hand holds a damp, warm washcloth.

“May I?” he asks, and Satine nods. He pulls the sheet away from her body, and his eyes rove over her skin. She shivers under his gaze, at the cool air.

He presses the washcloth between her legs, cleaning away the evidence of their joining. Satine wonders when she will remember how to breathe.

“Ben,” she whispers, and he meets her eyes. “How did you…how did you know exactly what to do?”

She’d been terrified the entire time. She’d had no one to ask before, had no idea what to expect. Beyond that it would undoubtedly be painful.

But it hadn’t been.

Not with him.

Ben sighs in relief. “I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am that you think that.” He finishes cleaning her and tosses the washcloth in the bathroom. Then he folds himself around her, hooking a leg over her hip, and pulls the comforter back over their naked forms.

He kisses her, slowly.

“I did a lot of reading,” he eventually admits. “Apparently, it’s not always painful if enough attention is placed on the…uh, preparation.” He swallows, and his young, wide eyes search hers. “You didn’t look like you were in pain. Were you? Was it painful?”

Satine shakes her head. “Not in the slightest,” she says. She brings his hand to her lips, committing to memory the feel of his clever fingers entering her, inside her, preparing her for what was to come. “On the contrary, it was perfect.”

She can practically feel his smile.

“I wish we had more time,” Ben says. “I can do better…the more I learn about you - ”

“Hush,” she says, kissing him again. She can’t let him continue down that line of thought, for her heart is already broken enough. She can’t let herself imagine what they might have had. “It was perfect,” she repeats.

She thinks he understands what she is thinking, and he nods. “I lo - ” he begins, but the look on her face freezes the rest of the words before they escape his throat. 

She’d thought she could hold it together until after they’d parted, but she’d thought wrong.

“Please don’t cry, Satine,” Ben begs, his face falling. “Satine.” And he pulls her more securely into his arms. “We’ll see each other again; I know we will.”

She buries her face in the crook of his neck.

“Promise me.”

“I promise you,” he says against her temple, and it is the last time she hears his voice for eighteen years.

---

Satine blinks at her alarm clock.

Damn him.

She’d been particularly proud of the way she’d buried that memory. She hadn’t dwelled on it in years. Until, of course, he’d waltzed back into her life and she’d been assigned the office next to his.

Though it’s still too early to get up, Satine rises anyway. She might as well take the early bus to campus - she wants to find her office before Ben arrives. She will not run the risk of him finding her wandering the halls again, still as lost as she was the night before.

But as it turns out, she needn’t have worried. She remembers the route he’d shown her last night, and she arrives at her office with only having taken one wrong turn. Pleased, Satine unlocks the door and steps inside.

It’s dreary and dull, with empty shelves and an empty desk save for the computer that was delivered to her yesterday. She’ll have the shelves filled with books - including the one she’d written - in no time, but she’d never been one for decorating an office space. It always meant more heartbreak when she eventually vacated said space and had to pack all her trinkets into a cardboard box. 

As she hangs her peacoat on the hook on the wall, there’s a knock at the door. Satine looks up to meet blue eyes icier than her own.

“Asajj Ventress,” says the woman, sticking out a pale hand. There’s a surety in her shoulders only gained by successfully defending one’s work against snakes and vultures; even if she hadn’t introduced herself by name, Satine would know she is speaking to a colleague rather than a grad or undergrad student.

Satine shakes the proffered hand. “Satine Kryze,” she supplies, and she takes in the woman before her.

Tall, thin, blonde, and pale like Satine, the resemblance ends there. Ventress’ platinum hair is cut short to one side and undercut on the other, and facial tattoos - possibly hinting at membership to a northern Indigenous group, Satine guesses - extend out from the lateral-most points of her eyes and lips. Despite her slim features, Satine gets the feeling that Ventress could snap her neck if she so pleased.

Ventress nods. “Oh, I know who you are,” she says. “Before you, there were two women in the department. And with Billaba on sabbatical, that meant it really was just me.”

“Want to come in for a moment?” Satine asks, gesturing at the chair in front of her desk.

Ventress doesn’t answer but strides through the threshold, her skirt flowing around her as she sits. Satine moves behind her desk and moves to sit as well. As she does, Ventress’ eyes follow her. “You’ll have already met my partner, Vos,” Ventress says.

Satine will return later to ponder the strangeness of addressing a partner by their last name. Instead, she says, “Yes, I met Dr. Vos when I interviewed here. He asked insightful questions. Seemed like he actually cared what my answers were.”

The steel of Ventress’ visage flickers for an instant as she takes in this compliment of her partner. “He’s always been better at the social aspect of academia than I am,” she says. “But I am trying to improve. The junior faculty - Vos, Kenobi, and myself - we usually go out for drinks on Friday afternoons, after the department seminar. You should join us.”

Satine’s heart stops and then works overtime the instant Ventress says Ben’s last name. It must show on her face, because Ventress lifts a platinum brow.

Before Ventress can comment, Satine accepts the invitation. “I’d like that,” she manages to get out, and suddenly there’s movement in the hallway. From her angle, she can’t make it out, but Ventress has full view.

Smoothly, Ventress calls out in a sing-song voice, “Kenobi, why the panicked expression?”

Satine tilts her head, curious, as Ben appears in the doorway, still clad in his winter outerwear. “Not a clue what you mean, Ventress,” he says, and Satine can tell he’s lying.

Ventress, it appears, can tell as well, and her eyes follow Ben’s…which have landed on Satine.

“Ahhh,” says Ventress with exaggerated understanding. She says to Satine, “So you’re the woman.”

“Beg your pardon?” says Satine, but Ben has suspiciously disappeared into his office to hide the blush that has reappeared on his cheeks, having nothing to do with the cold from outside.

Ventress smirks. “It probably would be best if you hear the details from him,” she says, eyes sweeping over Satine, who has the eerie feeling she’s suddenly being profiled. “Suffice to say that before I met Vos, Kenobi and I had a…situationship. It went nowhere fast, entirely due to the fact that he was hung up on another woman.”

Ventress stands before Satine feels the words sink in. When they finally do, Ventress is already halfway out the door.

“See you Friday,” she says over her shoulder, and Satine just blinks.

Well, she can’t begrudge Ben once having feelings for Ventress. If she weren’t attached to someone, Satine thinks, I’d probably fall for her, too. Still a little off-kilter, she stands and makes her way to Ben’s office.

It’s everything hers is not, with pictures in frames on his desk and fabric hung on the walls, such as the kufiya near the window and a scarf adorned with what she suspects are Russian folk motifs near the shelves. Ben looks up as she enters, and Satine reaches out for the door frame. She finds herself internally swearing at him again.

He’s wearing glasses, and it’s making her knees weak.

Trying to ignore the feeling, she says, “So, you and Ventress?”

Ben groans and throws himself in the chair behind his desk. “She had to tell you. Hence my panicked look,” he says.

Satine ponders this. "You didn't want me to know. Why?"

"She will surely tell you all sorts of ridiculous stories about me, all of them true.”

Satine snickers as Ben continues.

“Ventress and I had fun,” he says. “I don’t regret our time together. But the best thing that came out of it was that I introduced her to Quinlan. You see, at the time, Ventress wasn’t in the department. She was adjuncting over in Russian Studies, and Quinlan had just started a postdoc here. They hit it off, eloped, and soon after applied for the same position in International Studies. The department decided they liked them both equally and arranged a dual career hire to incentivize them sticking around.”

His face had heated again while he explained, and a sly smile crosses Satine's face. “You met Ventress because she was your Russian instructor.”

Ben removes his glasses so he can scrub a hand down his face. He groans again. “I was only auditing the class,” he says. "And in fairness, I stopped auditing the class as soon as things...escalated."

Satine tries to hide her laughter behind her hand. “So you’d mastered Arabic and decided you needed another language to tackle?”

“Someone spent last night Googling.”

She waves a dismissive hand. “Last night I sent you a LinkedIn request, so you already knew that.” Satine crosses her arms against her chest. “So you audited a Russian class? For fun? How fluent are you now?”

He responds in what she suspects is perfect Russian.

“So she was a good instructor, then.” In more ways than one, apparently.

If possible, Ben’s face becomes more red. “Is this revenge for me teasing you about getting lost? Because I’ll refrain from mentioning it ever again if you pledge to never bring up my relationship with Ventress.”

Satine shakes her head. “Not a chance. This is far better dirt to have on you than what you have on me.” She makes to step out of the office but pauses, looking back. “Ventress invited me to your happy hour on Friday. I think this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.”

She grins at Ben’s dismayed look, and takes her leave.

[yuurei20]

Deuce Info Compilation Part 1: Deuce's Mom

Deuce first references his mother during Book 1 when it is revealed that he was “the only man of the house”, so he would help her with the heavy lifting that resulted from when she would “stock up” during sales.

Deuce references helping his mother during sales again in his PE vignette, where he uses the skills he learned as a child to help Sebek acquire pudding for Lilia (“I can’t tell you how many times I was barreled down over a single carton of eggs.”)

Deuce reveals that he had been able to shop for Trey and others at the dorm during the chaos of Sam’s sale, and Sebek compliments him as “a gifted human indeed”.

We get the story of Deuce’s past for the first time during Book 1 when he explains that he had been “wild” when he was younger (“yobisute” was changed to “I called my teachers names” as English does not have honorifics)

He says his change of heart was inspired by overhearing his mother crying about “how she must have been a horrible mom, and that maybe she never should have tried to raise me by herself.” Deuce insists on taking responsibility for his past actions, saying “She hadn’t done anything wrong. It was all me.” When he was accepted to NRC, he “decided then and there that this time, I wouldn’t do anything to make her cry. This time, I’d become an honor student—someone she could be proud of.”

The topic of his mother arises during Wish Upon a Star, as well, with Deuce saying that he once heard her wish for him to stop fighting and live a healthy life.

Deuce’s mother calls him twice during the Wish Upon a Star event, and the first time leads to a conversation with Silver where he says that his old friends used to make fun of him for being so close to her. Silver says, “It’s only natural you’d want to talk regularly with someone you care about.” 

Deuce shares a summarized version of his past with Silver and we learn that, due to his poor reputation, Deuce would get accused of things that he’d had nothing to do with.

He says, “Of course I got a huge attitude when people wouldn’t believe me. Looking back, though, they had every reason not to.” We learn that the only people who ever believed him were his mother and a neighborhood police officer who would always insist on hearing his side of a story and prove that he had an alibi when people tried to frame Deuce for things he hadn’t done.

Deuce says that, “If I could be like that, maybe my mom wouldn’t worry for much”. Deuce explains that this is why he wants to be a police officer when he is older: more specifically, a part of an agency that handles magical crimes, referred to as “magic marshals”. 

Deuce’s mother calls him again at the end of Wish Upon a Star to tell him that “Even Night Raven College couldn’t have asked for a finer Stargazer than you” and “You know I’m very proud of you”, which nearly makes Deuce cry. He says, “One of these days, I’m gonna make my mom happy by making an even bigger wish come true.”

Deuce brings up his dream of joining the police force again in his birthday vignette, saying that he he has put most of his effort into “media research”, watching movies and TV and memorizing “intense-looking running styles” and “cool-sounding one-liners to use when making an arrest”.

Deuce mentions his mother often: in the Culinary Crucible he talks about wanting to “learn how to cook good meals for when I’m at home”, saying that his mother would “always cook egg dishes for my birthday” and “now I know what mom means when she says she adds a pinch of love to her cooking”.

We learn that Deuce would help his mother cook as a child. He says that he recently learned that she’d had a cold, but she didn’t let him know until after she had fully recovered. Deuce says “I kinda wish she’d lean on me more when she’s struggling” and “the next time I visit, I want to cook for her and show that I’m more dependable than ever!”

When Crowley and Ortho threaten to expose the students for not going to rescue Idia from Eliza during the Phantom Bride event Deuce’s reaction is “my mom would cry if she saw me on the news like that”.

He also mentions his mother waiting for him during Winter Holidays, something he wants to buy but cannot afford and how he does not want to ask him mom for money, the curry she would make, sending her a picture of his halloween costume, helping her with household appliances and more.

[satansapostle6]

Lovers and Liars | Draco Malfoy

Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott, both determined and resourceful from reputable houses, find themselves at odds in the name of love.

Warning: Mature themes/language. Violence. Sexual content.

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One: Legacies

Months had gone by, and Draco and Lorelei were still tense as they watched the Second Wizarding War unfolding before their eyes. Draco knew that the time for getting ahold of the prophecy regarding the Dark Lord was coming closer and closer. Draco could hardly admit it, but he was anxious to learn how his father and the other Death Eaters would go about baiting Harry into stealing the prophecy.

Draco and Lorelei had both been uneasy after returning to Hogwarts for their second semester. But still, the two of them had found ways to maintain their sanity even as chaos between Hogwarts and Dolores Umbridge ensued. Draco, much to Lorelei’s disdain, had joined Umbridge’s Inquisitorial Squad, which took away from much of his time with Lorelei. Draco felt that that was the only downside to being in Umbridge’s good graces.

So, the time that Lorelei and Draco did get to spend together was treated as even more eventful than before. For the first time in weeks, Lorelei was finally able to plan a real date with her boyfriend, one that didn’t take place in the classroom, or in the Great Hall for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Lorelei had been able to secure the Astronomy tower for their date that night, having paid Crabbe five Galleons to stand watch so that no one dared interrupt them, including Filch or Umbridge.

That night, Draco was all hers. Lorelei was determined to give her boyfriend the best birthday he could ever ask for; another night under the stars with the girl whose skin shone as bright and gentle as moonlight.

“June fifth,” Draco Malfoy smiled, holding a glass of elf-made wine Lorelei had enlisted Goyle to swipe from the kitchens. “You remembered.”

“I always do,” Lorelei slowly glanced down at his soft lips, chuckling as he leaned in for a kiss.

“This really is the best birthday present I ever could’ve asked for,” Draco sighed, admiring her custom-made emerald green dress. “You are truly a vision.”

“Well, thank you for noticing,” Lorelei said with pleasure, “But this isn’t the gift.”

He raised an eyebrow curiously. “There’s more?”

“Of course there’s more,” she confirmed, reaching into the picnic basket she’d prepared. “Happy sixteenth birthday… Draco Lucius Malfoy.”

Draco looked up at her mischievously, unsure of what to expect. The year before, a few weeks after his birthday, Lorelei had gotten him Quidditch tickets so that he could attend a game with his father. Draco had no idea how, but he had a feeling that this year, she’d somehow find a way to top that gift. Ready to find out how, he took the carefully wrapped box from her.

“Thank you, my love,” he said cordially as he slowly tore through the silver wrapping paper.

Even though that was the whole point, Draco still felt almost guilty about tearing the wrapping paper, which Lorelei had obviously worked so hard at folding perfectly at the edges. The silver wrapping paper with beautiful black designs across it was elegant and delicate, just like her. Draco carefully unwrapped the box and opened it, amazed by what was inside.

It was a beautiful silver pocket watch, unique in the striking snake carved into the front of it.

“Do you know what that is?” Lorelei asked softly, as he just looked up at her for a moment before trying to place it.

It took a moment for Draco to realize why the pocket watch looked so familiar.

“Wait. I know what this is,” he said, a shocked expression on his face, “How did you even get ahold of it?”

“My mother knows a collector,” Lorelei explained.

“Well. I don’t know what collector could’ve ever come across the pocket watch of the best Quidditch player to ever live, but whoever he is, I could kiss him!” Draco exclaimed, still in shock.

“Is he really the best?” Lorelei wondered.

“I’m not having this argument again,” Draco said, staring at the watch in awe.

“Fair enough. Look inside,” she suggested.

Perfectly willing, Draco flipped open the pocket watch, noticing the small engraving on the inside. He read it with care, seeing the message written for him in the silver clear as day.

“To My Prince”

Draco looked up at her with a proud smile, unable to voice all of his feelings.

“So it can truly be yours,” Lorelei said quietly, unsure of what reaction she’d be getting.

“You are… the best thing to ever happen to me,” he declared with finality.

“Happy birthday, Draco,” she responded, chuckling at the surreal happiness she felt. “I love you.”

“I love you more than anything,” he realized.

Treasuring the perfect gift she’d gotten him, he set it aside carefully as he sat closer to her, arm around her protectively as they sat together, watching the night sky.

“Shooting star,” Lorelei observed, “Make a wish.”

Draco paused for a moment, before looking back at her.

“I made my wish,” he whispered.

“Was it for more of this?” Lorelei asked him. “Because that’s what mine was.”

Draco said nothing, smiling as he went in for a perfect kiss.

*****

“Lorelei… I may have lied to you,” Draco began, as they sat in the Slytherin common room together.

Knowing Draco, this could have been leading anywhere.

“About what?” Lorelei questioned.

Draco grinned, reaching into his pocket. “I may have saved one final Christmas gift for you. I was waiting for the right time to give it to you,” he announced.

“Draco, it’s June! You already got me three!” Lorelei teased.

“No, two of those were for your birthday,” he reminded her.

“Most people just combine them into one single gift for the year,” she pointed out, reminding him that her birthday had just passed on the eighteenth.

“Well. Unfortunately, I’m not most people,” he sighed, offering up the mysterious little black box.

Lorelei finally allowed her charmed smile to shine through, accepting the spontaneous gift as he watched her readily.

“You’re right. You’re not,” she grinned, “I really am dating the soon-to-be most powerful man in the world.”

“Keep talking like that, and we’ll have to go to bed early,” he warned her.

Lorelei hardly felt the need to stifle her excited giggle as she unfolded the black parchment inside the box, revealing one of the most beautiful pieces of jewelry she’d ever seen in her life.

“Draco!” she shouted, unsure of what reaction was even appropriate.

Lorelei had opened her present to find a ring inside, but clearly not just any ring. It was an exquisite ring with what could only be described as a giant stone on it, a stone that she had realized could only be a diamond. Lorelei had no idea how to even react, even despite all the lavish gifts Draco had ever gotten her.

“This is truly the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen!” she cried, immediately trying it on for size.

“That’s not just any ring,” Draco told her thoughtfully, “It’s much more than that.”

“How do you mean?” Lorelei wondered, smiling as the ring fit perfectly on her right ring finger.

“I had to unlock a vault for this one,” he explained, looking at the ring on her finger. “It belonged to my grandmother. Viola Malfoy.”

At this, Lorelei looked up at him in shock, understanding for the first time what the gift had truly meant.

“Your grandmother’s wedding ring? You mean the family ring?” Lorelei asked with uncertainty.

“The very same,” Draco nodded.

“But… Your mother never even got this ring,” she reasoned.

“She never wanted it. She saved it, for me,” he explained. “She wanted her son to be able to be married with it. In fact, she’s glad I asked for it.”

“Draco,” Lorelei said after a moment, “You’re not…?”

“Asking you to marry me now?” he deduced. “No, of course not, I just… I just thought you should know that you’re the one I want to give this ring to, someday.”

Lorelei studied him as she happily returned the ring.

“Do you know what today is?” he asked her.

“June twelfth?” she asked tentatively.

“Two weeks before the one-year anniversary of our first kiss,” Draco recited.

“You remember?” Lorelei said in awe.

“Of course I do,” he nodded. “In two weeks, we’ll have been together for one year. And I don’t want to stop there.”

Lorelei couldn’t have thought of anything better as she sat with him, enjoying their time together.

“This ring will be in my family forever,” he said as he returned it to its box, “And so will you. If you want to be.”

“I think I do,” she nodded, a smile on her face.

“Good,” Draco decided, relieved that everything had gone as planned. “I think I like the idea of having my life planned out… Just not quite in the way my parents do,” he admitted.

“You don’t have to judge yourself the way they would,” Lorelei thought as she spoke, “I find I’m the happiest with myself when I think about things the way I want to.”

“You’re right,” Draco admitted, “I just… I don’t know. A part of me feels if they’ve given me everything, the least I can do is do what they want me to with it all,” he expressed.

“That’s not the only choice you have,” Lorelei said.

“What else is there?” he asked curiously.

“You can always just walk away,” she pointed out with simplicity. “Just say no, and jog on.”

Draco looked at her in surprise. He never in a million years would have put those words in Lorelei Morrigan’s mouth.

“Could you?” he asked her.

She considered his question for a moment.

“If I had a good enough reason to,” she nodded. “Yes.”

The thought struck Draco as he took a moment for himself.

“Can I ask you something?” he said out of the blue.

“Anything,” she nodded.

“Would you walk away for me?” he asked.

“Would you ever ask me to?”

“That’s not the question.”

Lorelei paused as she contemplated thoughtfully, letting the idea stew before she trusted her instincts.

“I would,” she answered, leading him to a second question.

“Can I tell you something?” he asked nervously.

“Anything,” she promised.

Draco frowned, not comforted by the response as she tried to find a way not to completely ruin the beautiful serenity of her current disposition.

“I… almost had to decide whether I wanted to walk away,” he said slowly, “For you…”

“For me?” Lorelei questioned, a wrinkle in her brow.

She didn’t want to say it, but her first thought was simply ‘But, I’m a Pureblood’.

“Yes,” Draco nodded slowly, gathering the courage, “You know, at first, in the very beginning… my father wasn’t completely sold on us.”

“‘Sold on us’?” Lorelei picked at the phrasing.

“Yes, he, erm… Didn’t know if he felt you were reputable enough,” he explained further.

“Why?” Lorelei wondered, trying not to sound too critical. “I’m a Morrigan.”

“Yes, and he did say that that was quite impressive… But he was a bit disappointed, at first, that you weren’t, you know… Sacred Twenty-Eight,” Draco Malfoy provided diplomatically.

“Oh.”

It was a quiet, and matter of fact ‘oh’. But still, Draco felt guilty.

“But, he came around fairly quickly,” Draco assured her, “I mean… Considering you’re descended from the Ravenclaws, and such, it wasn’t a hard sell.”

“It’s not certain we’re descended from them,” Lorelei reminded him.

“No, it is,” Draco said.

She sighed exhaustedly. “Perhaps you’re right.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” he reassured her, “My father likes you now. We have his support now.”

“As much as you and Pansy did?” Lorelei rai

The mention of her made Draco grimace.

“I’ll admit, Father was way too attached to that prospect,” he noted, “You know… I think he was one of the few people who found her personality inspiring instead of repulsive.”

“I’ll say,” Lorelei scoffed.

Draco had the most sympathy for the insult.

“Well, at any rate,” she digressed, “I am glad he’s decided I’m worthy of ‘carrying on his bloodline’, or whatever.”

“You’re more than,” Draco replied with confidence, “If I had to procreate with anyone else, I think I’d cut everything off entirely.”

Lorelei couldn’t help but laugh at his dramatic tendencies. Seeing her uplifting smile made Draco laugh at his own joke as well, the two of them more in harmony than ever.

-

Chapter Twenty-Two

[sleephyuns]

The start of college was a breath of fresh air for Momo.

It meant the beginning of a new chapter. The start of a long, thrilling story. The tale of her adventures in a new country.

It meant freedom.

And with that freedom, came a chance to explore every possible facet of her life. Including her sexuality.

She’d made it a mission. A promise. Once the first semester was under her belt, it was time to go on the hunt.

She made note of things she’d seen in videos, thing she could only dream of doing before she even stepped foot on new soil. The possibilities were endless, if she found likeminded people. But there was no doubt in her mind that she could do it. She came to Korea determined, ready to live out her dreams with nothing but the belongings she could fit into two suitcases and a backpack.

And oh yeah. Sana had come with her too.

But that aside, she was ready for whatever opportunities life threw her way, in any form. Because of course she had come to a new place for much more than sexual encounters. Obviously. She wasn’t some weirdo like that. It was a choice she’d made, between Korea or the States. And in the end, she decided she couldn’t bring herself to go too far from home, even if freedom was what she was after.

So now she was here, ready and raring to go with her checklist of life. If she wanted to ace all her classes, she could do it! If she wanted to have a successful career, she could do it! And if she wanted to fuck any person who so much as piqued her sexual interests, she could do it!

…At least, that’s what she had planned for.

To have to trudge back up the stairs with a barely-passing essay in her hand was torture. Pure, pure torture.

Even worse now that she was in the second semester. But it was just so hard to get a good grasp on a language she hadn’t started learning until highschool.

She could handle math decently, but writing? No way, no way. If only she could just pull the thoughts right out of her head as she had them, no matter what language, and just print them across the paper.

Maybe then she’d be better at formatting a more realistic checklist for herself too.

As her hope faded away, that checklist started to become much more realistic over time. Much more simple, and faster to obtain.

Right now she was at:

- Go on a date (Sana didn’t count. That was a bestie thing.)

- Get at least a 70% on her midterms

- Make out with someone at a party (Sana still didn’t count. That was just harmless fun.)

- Try out her mom’s curry recipe with the ingredients available to her

- (Possible?) mutual masturbation with a (preferably new) friend (‘New’ eliminated Sana. Not that it would count anyway. That was a moment of weakness for both of them.)

- Remember to try out for dance club this semester

- Buy a new toy (the one Sana gifted didn’t count…)

…Ok, it was safe to say Sana had been checking off way too many things for her. But she wasn’t like that with every friend! No way! That would be crazy. Some friends were best left as that, with no sort of sexual benefits.

But Sana…

Sana was her best friend, her platonic soulmate… who she just happened to be very physically close to. She was just as enthusiastic as Momo was about using sex as stress relief or as filler for the gaps of boredom. Or, when she was annoyed that some guy she’d hook up with got insecure about the… size difference… between them and ghosted her. Momo would be there to bring her kind words and some physical comfort.

Was there anything so off about that?

Normally, after shipping off to a new country together, this would be the part where they’d slowly realize their feelings for each other. Then they’d run off together, and — after months of angst — would get together officially, knowing they were destined to love each other.

…Yeah right.

The thought of that made Momo laugh, glad no one else was in the elevator to see her little outburst. They really were just horny and high off of fresh independence.

Speaking of which, Momo thought as she got out on her floor, maybe she could ask Sana for another favor today. It was Wednesday, so she should either be at their dorm already or close to coming back. And if she wasn’t? Well, sharing a room with Sana meant it was easy to establish rules about “alone time” and all that. It was pretty much free reign, and Momo didn’t particularly mind getting walked in on, which meant there was no need to rush.

Yet, when she walked past the tiny sliver of a living area they shared with the room across the hall, rethinking on today’s failed academic mission in the cool silence, she realized something.

‘Something,’ being that she really wasn’t feeling a solo mission today.

Call it a bad habit, but she wanted to get lost in the heat of someone else. And her quickest option was always Sana. So she’d wait. Wait for as long as she could, at least. And if Sana wasn’t feeling fully up to it, they could work around it. She could just ask her to suck on her tits or something while her own hand took care of the rest.

Again, that was if Sana came home soon.

With a sigh, Momo shuffled into their shared room, practically chucking her crumpled essay papers on her desk.

“Just great…”

Even greater that there was no hope for revisions, even if she did have the courage to ask.

Just great, just great.

She slung her bag over her desk chair and missed, causing all of her papers and pens from class to scatter all over the floor.

Even greater!

She didn’t even feel like cleaning it up, deciding to just flop back onto her bed instead. She should really change into her more comfortable clothes but… ah well.

Laying there and thinking over her daily struggles was the plan. And thinking about fun once Sana got back….

It had been a few days since the last time. Over a week actually. It wasn’t her fault she was needy. All this thinking about essays and sex and class and sex and failure and sex and sex and sex…

It was making it worse.

Tossing and turning was making it worse too. She could feel how stiff her clit was whenever she shifted her legs even the slightest bit. She was starting to get wet too. God this was torture. Maybe she was ovulating or something because there was no reason she should be feeling this primal-

“Hello?”

From past her bedroom door she could hear a muffled voice. It was way to faint for her to make out who it was or where they were. For all she knew they could just be wandering out by the hall. Or maybe they were outside and the sound bounced itself off the walls. So she waited a few more seconds. Which was all she needed to confirm, because a knock followed soon after.

She wondered if Sana had possibly forgotten her keycard and sprung into action. Pulse pounding, chest heaving and mind racing, she ran out to the common area and opened the door and then-

And then…

Then it wasn’t Sana at the door. Not at all. It was-

“Hi, I’m Nayeon. Are you Sana?”

It was someone named Nayeon. Looking for Sana.

That made two of them.

“Uh, no. Um… she’s… not here,” Momo wasn’t quite sure what to say. This wasn’t even a dialogue option prepared in her brain for something like this. Pretty girl. Shoulder length hair. Who isn’t Sana. Full lips. At the door. Expensive looking clothes. Looking for Sana. Good fashion. Waiting for Momo to speak… What was she supposed to say??

“Sorry,” Nayeon easily filled the space that Momo’s voice couldn’t, “this might be weird since I never met her. Or you. I just got the room number because a friend of mine asked me to drop this off but… I guess Sana’s not here!” She laughed stiffly, holding up a folder full of papers and Sana’s worn down backpack. If she hadn’t come back yet, she must be searching all over for it by now.

Classic Sana.

Momo grabbed for the folder extended to her and missed. Then grabbed again, brushing Nayeon’s hand and jolting so hard that a few papers spilled out onto the room’s floor. Awesome. Really awesome.

It really wasn’t her fault, though. It was just a little hard to act normal when:

1) Momo hadn’t been expecting to meet any new people today (she had to prepare for that mentally),

2) The girl at the door was super pretty and seemed a lot more used to talking than she was,

And 3) She had to act normal, as if she wasn’t just about to plead for sex from (who she assumed was) Sana.

Her mind was jumbled. Unsure what to ask. What should she ask when she could barely process anything?

“Come inside?” She tried.

Nayeon’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline. “Huh?”

“Did you want to? Come? In? In here?”

“Um…. Why?”

“Because I… you.. um. You want to wait for Sana?” Momo weakly offered up. Anything to explain her awful attempts at everything.

“Oh! Well… no that’s ok. Like I said, my friend knows Sana. Not me. She said I should just drop it off here. So sorry to trouble you ummm…”

Nayeon stared at her. Hard. And it was kind of hot, but Momo wasn’t sure why she was doing it-

“Your name? What’s your name?”

“Oh. Momo.”

“Oh Momo?”

“No. Hirai Momo.”

“Hirai? You and Sana are both Japanese?”

“Yeah. We’re… good friends.”

Wasn’t she just the smoothest girl around?

“I see. It’s good you have each other,” Nayeon nodded, more to herself than to Momo. “Well, thanks for answering the door Momo. I have to go, but maybe I’ll see you around campus?”

“Yeah. I hope so.” She closed the door quickly wondering why the hell she’d said that. In fact, it would be better if they didn’t see each other anymore so Momo wouldn’t have to self destruct.

She pressed her back against the door, sliding down until she hit the ground. Head in her hands, she sighed loudly, trying her hardest to compose herself. But then-

“Um… Momo?” Nayeon’s muffled voice called out, “you forgot to take the bag from me. I’ll just leave it out here, ok? …Take care.”

…

Nayeon left. Sana still hadn’t come back. And the day continued as it was.

But Momo sat there, replaying the same 5 minutes of conversation in her head over and over. Unmoving. Until the only thing she could think to say about it all was:

“Yeah… I really could use sex right about now.”