#oh mister sasha

[ratatatastic]

i think a lot about sasha admitting hed wake up in the morning thinking it was all dream and then having to go no it was real all of it was real we won a cup for a whole MONTH

2024-25 Media Day | 9.18.24 (x)

[supercantaloupe]

carousel kind of sucks but when the children are asleep is a sweet song that i like a lot unfortunately

[amphibiahawks321]

Can you make Miss Sasha x Reader who is trying to flirty but failing incredibly?

[TeacherY/N leans against miss Sasha's classroom's door frame]

TeacherM!Reader : Hey miss sasha~

Miss sasha : .....

Miss sasha blushing : Oh! Hello mister Y/N! What brings you here?

TeacherM!Reader : Oh nothing~ but I must say miss sasha are you a piece of art~?

Miss Sasha : No? Why?

TeacherM!Reader : Cause I would like to put you against a wal-AAH!

[TeacherY/N hand slip making him fall down]

Miss Sasha blushing : .....

20 Minutes later'

[Taps Miss Sasha's shoulder]

Miss Sasha : Hm?

TeacherM!Reader : Miss Sasha are you a picture frame~? Cause I would love to-

[Gets hit by a shopping cart dragging him away with zip and Oliver riding it]

TeacherM!Reader : !!!?!?'

TeacherM!Reader : What the!!? Where did you two even get this!

20 Minutes later

[Cut to TeacherY/N head on Miss Sasha's shoulder]

TeacherM!Reader : Why does the world hate me....

[Miss Sasha chuckles and starts petting his hair]

[stubz]

Fenrir smiled as he watched his little love work. He came to surprise her with a dinner date after work but it seemed like there a few stragglers left. Not that Kim or the children minded too much, the little children giggled as they ran from a playfully roaring Kim.

Glyka he has had the honor of meeting before, the youngling truly lived up to his name for he was sweetness itself. Sasha and Rubi on the other hand were new so he had not yet been properly introduced.

"Run Sasha! Run or she'll get you!"

"Yesh!"

The little children ran as fast as they could, well as fast as Sasha could, Glyka and Rubi didn't want to leave their friend behind for the 'monster' to get. Just as any good warriors should do!

"Ra! I'll gobble you up-oh shoot!" Fenrir winced as he watched his little love slip on a stray toy and tumble backwards.

"I'm okay! Just uh, gonna take a moment. Friggin Legos..."

"Quick let's hide."

"Yesh." "Ye."

As far as Fenrir could tell, the two little humans were still learning how to speak. Which was surprising as they looked to be about 4 years old...he thinks. Human children are so much smaller than orc children so it's hard for Fenrir to accurately guess ages.

For the most part the two rarely said a word other than the handful that they could confidently say like 'ye(sh)' which was yes and 'no' which was obviously no. Despite this, Kim and Max managed just fine as did the other children. Never were the two excluded from games, always asked yes or no questions, they were treated like everyone else by both the younglings and teachers.

Said little children scurry over towards where Fenrir sits on the ground and hide behind him. The orc's massive frame easily hiding the three of them.

"Mister Fenrir, can we hide here?" Glyka whispered.

"Yes you may Glyka, actually, hold on." Taking out his folded up cloak, the orc puts it on and drapes it over the children behind him. "Stay still and Ki-Miss Kim won't find you." he shuffled to make sure everyone was covered.

"Thank you."

"Merci."

"Cпасибо."

"...Вы говорите на моем языке?" he peered under his cloak the children. "Je ne pensais pas qu'on enseignait la langue de la noblesse orque ici." he spoke to Rubi.

For a moment no one spoke until Sasha and Rubi began speaking non-stop at the same time.

"Vous parlez français!" the little girl beamed.

"Вы говорите по-русски!" the little boy giggled.

"Athea peut-elle venir à mon anniversaire?"

"Вы можете поднять машину?"

"Uh, wait, по очереди. Soulever une voiture?"

"You speak French and Russian?"

Finally Kim had gotten up from the floor and came to investigate the blanket orc fort.

"French and Russian? But this is orcish, Sasha speaks the common tongue and Rubi speaks the nobility tongue."

"Oh that's so cool! Are you sure our species never had contact with the other before? Cause French and Russian are the official languages in the countries they're from. Rubi is French and Sasha is Russian, they're still learning English."

"...I thought they just couldn't speak yet. I thought they might be toddlers still." he examined the two, lifting them up to his eye level. The children giggled and spoke to him in their respective languages.

"No hon," she laughed. "they're 4 years old. They just need to spend more time with the others and then they'll be talking in no time...but it seems like I'll be roping in Athea and the others to spend more time with them now. Do they also speak the nobility tongue?"

"Yes, titles mean little now but the language is still taught. Athea and the others would be happy to spend more time with Rubi and Sasha. I imagine they'll be quite happy to speak in our native tongue more with friends." he smiles.

.

When the children were picked up Sasha and Rubi eagerly dragged their respective parent to Fenrir. Kim fought back a laugh at the wide eyed looks on the moms when seeing the 8 foot tall orc speak fluent French and Russian.

Talk was made, numbers were exchanged, calls on speaker phone done, and now Athea is attending Rubi's birthday as her friend and as Sasha and Glyka's translator. The boys were already invited but this will make things easier for everyone, specifically the parents.

While Fenrir and Kim left for their late dinner date a thought came onto him.

"You don't speak French or Russian. Nor does Max."

"Yep, although he's learning Spanish and Japanese."

"But...how did you communicate so perfectly with them then? Not only the language barrier but they also just rarely spoke the few words they know."

"Body language and gut feeling. We have translators for human languages but most of them only work if you can type what you want to say meaning children their age can't use them. So me and Max mainly have to rely solely on body language sometimes feeling."

"I guess when you live in a world with thousands of languages you need to."

"Yep. Sometimes I wish we only had like 5, I could learn 5 languages."

"I like your diverse world though. So many cultures and stories. Each one unique and wonderful. Just like you." he grins leaning down to kiss the top of Kim's head.

"...well...I don't actually wish that. Specially now." she smiles.

[parasolladyansy]

Ikrit’s PKMN Timeline

Unlike me, the mister actually played through just about every single region (currently playing through Alola in Ultra Sun, the last region he hasn’t visited) along with a bunch of crazy mods, challenges, & randomizers. This translated into Ikrit: a very intelligent & capable trainer who has done a lot of traveling, mostly for field research for Hoenn’s meteoriticist, Professor Cozmo, though now he also travels with Ansy. 🌠

Ikrit’s home region is Hoenn (which is kinda funny considering that out of the two of us, I’m actually the one with family ties to southern Japan, where Hoenn is based lol!) though now he lives with Ansy in Unova when not running around other regions. His designs are also based on the male PC, albeit with a usually darker palette. His trainer class is PKMN Researcher, though it doesn’t reflect much in his design lol.

Before me, the mister didn’t really nickname his Pokémon, but we thought it’d be funny if Ikrit’s Pokémon were named after Fire Emblem characters (his favorite game series) - we had a lot of fun name these lol. The only exception is his main, Sasha the Glaceon - a long time ago, he told me he liked the name, & how it could be used for a boy or girl (PS: Sasha is a boy)

PS: OH ALSO! So the inside joke about Y, how he met a “certain girl” & she forgot - the mister had said one of his fondest memories while we were dating was replaying X & Y together. I…forgot all about it. 😅 I remember now, but yeah, that’s the joke. 😂

[valdaycare-au]

i got no money and i got no kids, can they help me get some?

Hey, uh, Mateo here. They had me type this up because Miss Kirra and Mister Sasha were comforting Miss Ling, and Vincent is still lying on the floor (you'll see later) so I'm writing this response red-faced and flustered. Needless to say, Miss Ling was completely overwhelmed with the fact that the daycare was gaining popularity the wrong way. Nothing wrong, of course! Tìa Zyanya did tell us that bad publicity is still publicity but is this... uh... bad? I honestly don't know. ʘ⁠‿⁠ʘ Vincent begged to differ but...

Oh well. He had it coming.

Bonus Panel:

Behind text: I DONT UNDERSTAND, WE'RE A DAYCARE, A *DAYCARE* AND PEOPLE??? INQUIRE???? FOR THE SITTERS FIRST??? ESPECIALLY VINCENT AND SASHA, AND GUESS WHAT? VINCENT TOLD ME WE SHOULD TRY AND PROFIT OFF OF THAT ATTENTION INSTEAD BUT ZYANYA WE'RE A DAYCARE! A DAYCARE!(more ugly sobbing) WE'RE BABYSITTERS, YES WE DO HOME SERVICE BABYSITTING TOO BUT LATELY SASHA AND VINCENT COME BACK TO THE CENTER AND THEY BOTH LOOK TRAUMATIZED OR DISAPPOINTED BECAUSE THERE'S NO KIDS TO TAKE CARE OF AND THEY JUST WANT TO HIT ON THEM—

[fishhawish]

A little birdie told me you're writing for Fundamental paper education. What's your head cannons for every teacher?

Oooo yay

Keeping this one basic because I'm tired

Miss Circle

She specializes in geometry teacher (hc from her compass)

She hates being called a cat because her demon horns

She's really curious about Miss Grace and Miss Sasha

Miss Bloomie

She definitely likes sandwiches imo, she just looks like she packs a sandwich for lunch daily

She's the kid who was like "uhm actually" in school especially during science classes

She looks like she would be bipolar about affection. One moment she wants to be held and the next she's going to explode if you touch her.

Miss Grace

She can't decide how she feels about Miss Circle a lot of the time. She feels uneasy about her imo

I can see her hanging out with Miss Emily, Miss Sasha and sometimes Mister Demi at lunch

She canonically doesn't talk much but I feel like if you pissed her off you'd get more then just a few words

Miss Sasha

Really really really hard to anger, she's really good at keeping her cool is the way I see her.

I can see her definitely babysitting for some extra money during break occasionally.

Probably has nieces and nephews she loves to visit

Miss Emily

Her dress reminds me of 1950's France so I hc that she might have a French parent or be from France

She definitely has a garden or something, she'd garden to take stress off of herself

I hc that her upper body strength is weaker than a few of the others.

Miss Thavel

Probably reads Edgar Allen Poe for shits and giggles to be honest.

I also hc that she can speak many different languages and probably teaches some as electives classes

Although good friends with Miss Circle I think she also slightly fears miss circle due to her inhumane speed and strength combined with the fact she's almost 10ft tall

Mister Demi

Teaches band, marching band, concert band, and music notation. Oh and piano classes

Is that one guy who's insanely organized but it's confusingly organized and makes no sense so it doesn't look organized but it is.

Wears knee high socks because of his boots under his pants.

[kekeartzworld]

Splat Ref

Took all day but Splat’s reference is finished!

Wanted to design a character like her for a while now but I finally done it

Not 100% sure if the current lore will stick.. maybe I’ll change her to be Miss Sasha and Mister Demi’s adopted daughter later on

Alts below

☟︎

Reference with paper effect

Character art

Character art with paper effect

Oh yeah!

Splat was first introduced in this comic from my previous post

Hope you like her =3

[late-to-the-magnus-archives]

Vast!Jon AU and Archivist!Sasha snippet

Sasha is about to take a statement about Mister Spider.

Sasha has only been Archivist for a couple of years. She thinks she's just getting an interesting story.

Sasha does not know what's about to happen.

(AKA: And YOU get some trauma and YOU get some trauma!)

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

“Statement of Jonathan Sims, regarding the creation of the photograph most commonly called the ‘spider leg illusion,’ taken… when?”

“Oh, uh - July 15th, 1995.”

“Statement taken direct from subject, February 6th, 2016. Now, Jon - I know it’s been a while, but I’d really appreciate it if you’d tell me what happened on that day.”

Jon was going to tell her the official story.

After all, everyone knew it - it was part of his biography. 

It’s why he started taking photographs.

He’d been eight years old. A local bully had been murdered in front of him - some drug deal gone wrong, they said. And needing to make sense of it, needing to find a lens through which he could feel more in control, little Jon had stolen his grandmother’s 35mm camera, went back to the crime scene, and taken forty-six photos. 

Each roll of film could take twenty-four shots. He’d had to replace the roll, somehow figuring out how to do it without exposing or ruining anything.

Why not a full forty-eight? the police had asked him later, because he’d left two shots untaken. 

Because I was done, and didn’t want to be wasteful, he’d told them with grave solemnity, and between that bit of unintentional cuteness and the evidence he accidentally collected, he made the papers.

The photos - which his grandmother had developed out of raw curiosity - led to the arrest of three people, drug dealers, who went down for the murder of Darren Case, the bully.

But that wasn’t actually how it happened.

At all.

Jon opens his mouth to tell the lie.

And what comes out is not.

#

Eight years old.

A book.

A spooky, weird book.

Mister Spider, and some kind of mind control, and bruising (every day, bruising, but that was just life until Martin stepped in), and then his bully being mind-controlled, and those legs coming out of the house to take the bully away, and -

And Jon returning to the house, finding it again because he needed to see, and the door opening, and the legs coming out, the legs coming out, the legs coming out -

Almost as if showing off for him, or just saying hi, or taunting him because it could have eaten him and didn’t, or - 

One picture came out with those legs, just one, even though he’d taken forty-six, and it is the clearest one, absolutely crystal, with a clarity that seemed to go beyond what his grandmother’s camera could do, but that makes sense to Jon because that is what he saw.

Jon has always been able to photograph what he saw.

And nobody took that spider-leg thing seriously because what the fuck, because the important photos were the ones with drug-dealer faces in the windows and going in and out of the house and hiding Darren's body, and it’s not like photo manipulation of some kind hadn’t existed in the 90s, but Jon had no access to it, so it was a fluke, or double-exposure, or something weird.

Jon had insisted the spider photo was real for two months until he gave up trying to make anyone believe him.

His grandmother kept it.

And it had burned in the house fire that took his grandmother away.

He thought.

Somehow, apparently… it hadn’t.

#

And Jon is gasping, and Jon is crying, and Jon has relived this terrible moment as if he were there all over again.

He hadn’t had time to make the connection, but now, he has: You have been marked by the Web, said Elias Bouchard, who’d asked him for the story and did not get it, because Jon did not want to talk about it, but Jon couldn't do that with Sasha, no he could not, and now that it's all over, he cries out and covers his face.

Sasha can’t - 

She hasn’t ever - 

She has no words for what just happened.

She was there.

Lived it as young Jon Sims, feels bruised where the bully pushed her, feel damaged where she saw the spider-legs and has no explanation, feels betrayed as she is not believed even though she knows what she saw and has to deny it and has to hide it and has to force herself to pretend it wasn’t real -

Himself. Not herself. This was Jon’s actual experience, not hers.

Sasha is panting.

“What…” she says, weak.

“I… I don’t…” Jon says, weak. “What did you do?”

Sasha looks terrified. “I don’t know.”

He swallows. “Eye stuff. It’s got to be.”

“What?” she says, completely lost.

Jon is suddenly angry for her.

Elias hasn’t told her anything, and this is Martin’s friend. 

She’s nice. 

She believes him.

Wait. “You believe me?”

“Of course I do,” she says.

He’s very angry for her. 

Jon is leaning in, too close, like he has no sense of personal space. “Sasha. Do you know what Elias is?”

She stares at him.

“What this place is?” he says, and now, he can see.

She is marked, too.

Marked by the Eye.

He can see it as clear as day, beautiful, like a gentle staining of her veins, all the way through and so intricate and so intimate it could never be removed.

“Wow,” he whispers, reaching for his camera.

Sasha grips the table suddenly as though she thinks she’s going to fall. “Why are there stars in your eyes?”

Jon breaks eye-contact.

Sasha sways in her seat. She’s breathing fast, and her eyes are very wide.

"You," she manages, and sways in her seat again like the room is spinning.

He sees it.

Sees another mark, patterning alongside the Eye, not nearly as deeply, but very much there, and he knows he did that.

He just did it right now, completely by accident, sending her soul into the sky or however this works, and before he can melt down in horror, a rush of warm, pleased energy comes flushing through him, unplanned.

He inhales, for just one second utterly blissed out, unable to parse what he’s feeling.

By some great stroke of luck, she didn’t see him react to that. “Could you - I don’t mean to be rude, but could you leave?” says Sasha. “I need a minute. I’ll catch up with you, I promise, I’m not trying to be a bitch, I….”

He’s hurt her.

Shame comes rushing right in after that weird pleasure. “Oh, no,” he whispers. “Sasha, I’m - ”

“Do I really need to ask you again?” she snaps, shaking.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispers, and then he flees.

[floripire]

❛ I don’t scare easy, so when I do, I pay attention. ❜ (Abigail Starters)

abigail › @ask-alicelockwood

oh, gods. what is this hell of a town going to throw at them now? as if briefly resurrected moms and exes - and the plethora of other things that followed - weren't enough.

"makiagi tabi," floribeth whispers right before she and alice enter the woods of mystic falls. please, excuse us. may we pass?

brown and orange leaves crunch beneath her feet. technically, fall starts today but floribeth shivers like winter already came to mystic falls. it's cold. it's been cold for days. weeks, even. much too cold to be natural. (not that anything is ever any sort of natural in this town, or beyond it.)

she gnaws on the inside of her cheeks as she thinks. kim hughes? dead. jesse strohmeyer? dead. renee ford? dead. james stephens? dead.

the thread connecting them - or, rather, the connective tissue between them - was, aside from their humanity and enrollment at the local high school, the fact that they all competed in the miss mystic falls pageant on april seventeenth.

bartholomew fell jr had competed, too. sort of, anyway. he'd been sasha stoteraux' escort. and he'd been the one sounding the alarm when sasha hadn't showed up to school or to any of their pre-planned movie night-and-bestie hang outs. (final destination, bartholomew had said mournfully. that's what they were going to watch together.)

and right when the younger of the two is about to quip that this is all very scream, alice beats her to the punch and says: ❛ i don’t scare easy, so when i do, i pay attention. ❜

"because whatever or whoever killed those kids and spirited sasha away is still out there?"

maybe they should call doctor saltzman or mister williams and inform them of whatever the hell this new development is. she's already fishing her phone out of her pocket when she sees that there's yet another problem to be added to the list.

damn it, floribeth cursed underneath her breath. no cell reception.

"you said that if you die, i'd get all your books. if i die, you're getting---you'll get my books. i already promised loren and mia they'd get my funky sunglasses collection, leah gets my snow globe collection and i promised wade, mg, landon and jed they'd get my consoles if i ever get staked prematurely."

[askbloomingsymphony]

Welcome

I love lesbians (maybe a little too much) so welcome to my blog dedicated to shipping two of my FPE ocs Symphony and Blossom

(Artwork above is by me)

I will say this quickly in case you’ve forgotten

Blossom is the daughter Miss Circle and Miss Bloomie, Symphony is Mister Demi and Miss Sasha’s kid

Oh yeah! Symphony’s cat Oreo may also appear in responses if I really feel like it

Symphony will have a music note (🎵 ) with blue text and Blossom will have a paper (📄) with purple text

🎵: Sample

📄: Sample

If Oreo does get thrown in as a cameo, the text will have a cat (🐈‍⬛) next to it along with Tumblr’s default text color

🐈‍⬛: Sample

OOC text will be pink with parentheses around it

(Sample)

You can say anything in the ask box just don’t be too fucking weird

Asks: OPENED

Anonymous: ✅ (please don’t be fucking perverts)

If you are wanting to ask Blossom’s parents some shit, I’m going to suggest that you go to @ask-ciroomie-fpe

Thank you, have a wonderful day

(This is a blog managed by @kekeartzworld)

[ratatatastic]

"it was a special and amazing moment for me, forever thankful for the city of tampere to be that kind and letting me celebrate the big moment of my life with pretty much the whole city...not enough words to say how special moment that was for me" oh mister sasha the entire world would die for you just to celebrate your cup day with you

2024-25 Media Day | 9.18.24 (x)

and also for no other reason than i miss sasha cup day and because our beat brought it up behold recap of sasha cup day

and of course also the beauty of it all barkov city where he made all the finns romp around in shirseys with his name on the front oh yeah

barkov city my beloved any day is a good day to reminisce about it especially because the stream link no longer works and was only live for a month after broadcast: heres them playing charades, and also sasha barkovs metal theme, and also them exiling sasha to a seperate couch,

they also played a chubby bunny game and that was fun especially because sasha got so competitive about it while luosty and lundy choked on marshamallows beside him

[thepaintedlady00]

Nightshade

Chapter 10 | Chapter 12

Chapter 11: Amuse-Bouche

TW: Some sibling boxing, A bit of choice language from Ari and Sasha in regards to our idiots, Howard 😒, a bit of sexual tension, flirting, Jake's gonna have a real HARD time 👀, Lena's gonna help him out... 👀👀, aka bathroom blowjob. This chapter is a bit shorter than normal (like 15 pages, sorry!) And I'm sorry if it reads as kind of rushed, I really wanted to get it out before my surgery tomorrow and it's not a particularly plot-heavy chapter so I figured it'd be alright. I did a quick edit of this so sorry for any mistakes! This chapter does, however, mark the beginning of Spice Town!

Hit. Hit. Dodge. The music blared in my ears, and the wall pictures vibrated with the beat as I danced across the mat. Hit. Hit. Dodge. Sweat beaded down my forehead, making my hair stick to my temples. 

Hit. Hit. Dodge. I breathed in the hot air that tasted like sweat and leather. My mind wandered, the smell shifting in the air with a breeze of alcohol as someone opened the back alley door. A new taste coated my tongue… A cherry old-fashioned mixed with the bitter tang of Jake's cigarettes.

Hit. Hit. "OW!"

Patrick chuckled with an evil grin. "You're distracted today." I threw my punch into his arm, wiping the grin off his face entirely. "OW!"

"Fuck you!" I growled out as the two of us danced in the ring together. "My mind has never been more focused!"

"Focused on dick!"

I landed three hits to Pat's gut before he got me in the side. I raised my fist again when Ozzy's loud whistle stopped both of us in our tracks. "What the bloody hell are you two doing?" He shook his head. "You two know you're not allowed to spar with each other."

"No one else would spar with me," I told him. "I wanted to get a good workout before my shift."

"Don't see why you didn't just call up your little boyfriend," Pat mumbled. I didn't even glance at him as I punched him in the gut. "I probably deserved that one."

Ozzy waved us forward. "Get outta there before you hurt each other. Idiots."

Peter looked up from his newspaper. "Told ya he'd find out. You two are always too much in a ring together."

"You're no better, mister! Why are you letting them pull this in the first place?" Oz asked.

"I'm a recovering cancer patient," Peter said with large puppy dog eyes. "I did my best."

"Bull!" Patrick and I said in unison.

Ozzy rolled his eyes. "Oh, give me a break with those eyes. Lena, go get ready for work. Patrick, clean up your mess. Peter, tell me what horses are racing tomorrow."

We all followed Oz's instructions. I dragged myself up the stairs and threw my sore body into a boiling hot shower with a relieved sigh. The week had been… Interesting since Jake and I's makeout session in the bathroom at Home Bar. We hadn't kissed again, but the urge was always there whenever we got too close to each other. Why does he have to have such soft lips? I whined to myself. And be so good at kissing? And so attractive. With a sigh, I pressed my head against the chilled tile. I had it bad.

I got dressed and bid my little family farewell before quickly making my way to the restaurant. Nick smiled from behind the bar and gave me his usual "morning red" when I passed. Scott and Isaac were bickering about some menial topics when I slipped through the doors and greeted the kitchen. Bitch paused to yell a quick "hey Lena" over their shoulders.

Upstairs the locker room was packed. Everyone was talking and gossiping as they got dressed for their shifts. Sasha leaned against his locker while Heather and Ari shared the couch, priming their looks. "Good morning!"

"Morning, Tiger," they greeted.

I peed Jake's locker and put his jacket inside before making my way to my own and changing into my cooking gear. A few seconds after I put my shirt on, Jake rounded the corner setting his bike in the hall with a smile aimed at me as he entered the room.

“Morning,” Jake mumbled, heading to his locker.

Still finishing with the buttons on my shirt, I looked over at him. “You look like shit.”

The second his locker opened, he shook his head, grabbed his jacket, and tossed it to me. “Put that back in your locker for me?”

“No!” I hollered, tossing it back at him. “If you wanna sneak your shit into my locker, do it on your own time, pretty boy.”

“Pretty boy?” He questioned with a raised brow.

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t pretend like you don’t know you’re pretty, Jake. It’s tacky.”

With a slight tilt of his head and a bright gleam in his eyes, he started taking out his earring. “So I’m pretty and tacky?”

“I don’t make the rules,” I replied, smiling.

Sasha gestured back and forth between us with wide eyes. “Do you believe me now?”

Ari shook her head. “There’s no way.”

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“I’m trying to get these bitches to pay me my money!” Sasha replied with a sigh. “I won the bet. They clearly did the nasty. What more do you want? A photo? Video?” He turned his head to us. “You two didn’t happen to tape you’re very passionate sex, did you?”

Jake chuckled, shaking his head. “Jesus, he sees one make-out session, and he’s already hunting for porn.”

"Pay up, you nasty vaginas!" Sasha suddenly demanded, holding out his hands to Ari and Heather.

Heather shook her head. "Not a chance. One make-out session does not equal them fucking."

"Of course they fucked!" He insisted. "I was there! I saw them with my own two eyes! There is no way they didn't hook up after getting caught like little vandals!"

Ari glanced at me, eyes trailing up and down my form for a minute before she looked at Jake, squinting slightly. "I gotta go with Heather on this."

Sasha scoffed. "Excuse me?!"

"Look!" Ari insisted on pointing to Jake's back as he lifted his shirt over his head. "No claw marks, and he's only got two hickeys on his neck. Lena looks like the type to mark her territory." She smiled at me. "And our Tiger only has one little hickey on her collarbone with none on her boobs. No teeth marks either. Jake's a hungry boy," she smirked wider. "No way he's leaving a meal as fine as that without a few nibbles."

"Wow," I deadpanned. "You guys are bigger idiots than I thought."

“Tiger, tell them!” Sasha begged.

I gave him a loving pat on the cheek. “Sorry, dear Sasha, but you’re gonna lose your bet.”

He groaned loudly and slapped Jake on the shoulder. “I blame you!”

“Me?” Jake questioned. “The fuck did I do?”

“Nothing! That’s the point!” Sasha sighed. “It never takes you this long to seal the deal. Not even with the chittering baby monster.”

With a shrug, Jake nodded to me. “Take that up with her. I woulda fucked her months ago if she would have let me.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”

“Am I?” Jake chuckled. “Sorry, princess.” He looked over at Sasha with a shit-eating smile. “Fuck off, Sasha.”

“Thank you,” I hummed.

Sasha pointed to us before scoffing and muttering insults in Russian as he made his way out the door. I searched through my locker, hunting for my hairbrush before sighing and looking at Ari. “Do you have a hairbrush I can use? I can’t find mine.”

She hopped up and retrieved one from her locker. “You know, for someone whose apartment is spotless, you’re kind of shit at keeping track of your things.”

“I’m very organized,” I argued. “I'm probably taking shit home by accident.”

"So organized of you," she teased, heading down for family meal.

Once Jake and I were alone, that familiar air of sexual tension settled in the room. We likely would have acted on it a few times if it hadn't been for Simone and Olives' impeccable timing. The two of them came in together, making light conversation and putting a minor feeling of division between Jake and me.

Things between him and Simone were tense recently, but that didn't seem to stop the two of them from holding conversations with one another or joking in their free minutes. It made sense, given the nature of their relationship, but it still made me feel nauseous. I left the room while they talked and went to the long table for the family meal.

Howard set a glass of wine cow in front of me, gesturing to the glass with a smile. "Go ahead."

Swirling the liquid briefly, I lifted it to my nose and smiled at the light smell of lemon and the fruity notes of toasted apple. “1999 Dom Perignon Sparkling Wine.” I lifted the glass, sipping the sweet and flavorful liquid with a smile. “Amazing.”

“It’s your favorite,” Howard replied, examining the bottle.

“You remembered that?” I asked with a laugh.

He set a hand on my shoulder and shrugged. “I’ve got a good memory with important things like this.”

From across the table, Jake scoffed as he took his seat next to Simone. He drank the wine in his glass, glaring at Howard the entire time he went over the events of the night's service. It should have made me roll my eyes and call him ridiculous, but the small and majorly insignificant jealousy Jake felt whenever Howard came anywhere near me made me feel light and giddy. It was dumb. We weren’t dating; we weren’t anything… but I still smiled down into my glass. 

Service was a blur as I hopped between line and dish, helping out in any way I could before Howard instructed me to restock the glasses at the bar. I grabbed one of the clean racks and carefully moved to the side of the bar that usually wasn’t so busy. Unfortunately, I practically tripped over the body blocking the doorway. Jake quickly lifted the counter for me and helped me slide under while he continued to speak to the man in the way. “How much?”

“A thousand.”

“Fuck yeah,” Jake smiled and shook the man's hand. “Same place as last time?”

I glanced at the two of them, meeting his friend's eyes as he shamelessly checked out my ass. “Yeah… Hi.”

Fighting the urge to roll my eyes, I turned my head away to refocus on stocking the shelf. “Hi.”

The man groaned and leaned forward on the bar. “I’m Tommy.”

“Nice to meet you, Tommy.”

Jake shifted closer to me, giving his friend an exasperated look. “Really, man?’

“She yours or something?”

“No,” we said simultaneously, glancing at one another for a quick second before looking away. 

“You should come tonight,” Tommy said, his eyes having difficulty focusing on my face as he admired my figure. “We could definitely use a girl like you livening up the place.”

Jake’s jaw ticked as he snapped in his friend's face to get his attention again. “Lay off, Tommy. I’ll be there at nine.”

Tommy gave Jake a look before he nodded. “Alright, fine, sounds good.”

I resumed my simple task as Jake maneuvered around me, serving a few drinks before leaning back against the bar shelves beside me. “Sorry about him. He’s kind of a sleaze.”

“I’ve been working bars since I was fifteen, Jake. I’m used to a few choice comments from a few choice sleazeballs.” I offered him a smile, gently nudging him when the stern look on his face didn’t ease. “Relax.”

“You should come, though,” he suddenly said.

“Oh?”

“It’s some stupid warehouse party. I’ll be working,” he replied, acting as though he hadn’t entirely meant to invite me. “But you could hang out… maybe dance while I do that.”

With a thoughtful hum, I stacked another two glasses before looking up at him and batting my eyelashes. “You sure I won’t annoy you?”

Jake smirked, cocking his head with a slightly raised brow. “Oh, I’m positive you will.” His tone was low and teasing but held that thinly veiled sensual energy that made me feel breathless and wanting. “But I don’t mind.”

I held his gaze as I shrugged. “It could be fun. Would you dance with me?”

“I don’t dance,” he answered, blatantly ignoring one of the guests trying to get his attention.

“Shame,” I replied. “It would have been a good excuse to get up close and personal with me.”

His mouth twitched into a genuine smile before he concealed it beneath that shit-eating grin. “I can think of plenty of excuses to get up close and personal with you, princess.” I grabbed hold of the now empty dish tray and turned my head away from him, moving to return to the kitchen. “Are you gonna come?” He called out, watching me go.

I looked over my shoulder and nodded. “It sounds like fun. I’ll be there. Nine, right?”

Jake nodded. “I’ll meet you outside. It's kind of a shit neighborhood."

“He says to the boxer,” I teased. “See you there.”

The night dragged on, and I glanced at the clock impatiently with each passing minute. This wasn’t a date. Of course, it wasn’t, but my heart still pounded like it was one. Isaac caught me in yet another turn to look at the ticking clock and slapped my arm with a towel. “The hells your problem?”

“I don’t have a problem,” I hissed back at him, rubbing the red spot on my arm. “Just ready for the night to be over.”

He narrowed his eyes at me but returned to work without more questions. I continued to speed between line and dish the rest of the night until, at last, a spotless kitchen graced the kitchen staff's eyes. “Looks good, everyone. Now let's get the fuck out of here,” Scott praised, heading up the stairs already half out of his coat.

I changed quicker tonight and slipped out the back door without even bothering to meet up with the rest of the group for after-shift drinks, knowing full well Sasha would just use his annoying pestering to pry information out of me. 911 dress emergency, you free?

Quinn would likely be at work, but knowing her, she’d have a dress that I could borrow on hand. Absolutely. Head to the club. I’ll be on break in fifteen. Details as payment, though.

Deal.

The club was packed with a large crowd when I got there. Security helped me slide through to the back room, where I sat in Quinn’s makeup chair and waited for her to get done on stage. She hurried through the door and threw on a robe before she jumped into searching her dresses. “Hey, how's your night?”

“Slammed,” she replied. “But I’ve already made a hell of a paycheck, so I won’t complain.”

I fiddled with the makeup brushes on her desk until she set a red dress on the rack next to me. It was a relatively simple design, deep red with a generously low cut top and two strategically placed strips of seethrough lace on the sides. “Oh, you’re pulling out your good shit?”

She nodded, moving around me to grab some makeup. “Duh. This is for a date, isn’t it?”

“No,” I answered. “Jake just invited me to some warehouse thing he’s working at tonight.”

“Soooo a date…” she replied, holding my chin in her hands and working on my makeup without a second thought. 

“It’s not a date.”

“Yeah, and you’re just friends.”

“We are-”

“I’m not doing this with you right now,” she sighed. “Now, hold still, so I don’t fuck up your face.”

She gave me a dramatic look with red glitter and big clunky stars shimmering on my cheekbones and temples. It was one of her go-to night-out looks, and while it was a bit much, it would likely make me impossible to miss tonight, even for a bartender. Quinn’s nose scrunched up as she smiled. “Perfect. Now go get changed and get your cute ass to your date.”

“It’s not a date!” I hollered as I slid behind her changing screen.

“Whatever!”

Stepping back out, donned in the soft gown, I posed. “How do I look?”

She pulled my hair free of my ponytail and floofed it up before nodding. “Very hot. Extra fuckable.”

“Thanks,” I pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. “Maybe stop by when you’re done here.”

“Sure thing, text me the address!”

Outside the club, Dom sat on the back of his bike. When he saw me, his eyebrows rose. “Got a hot date or something?”

I shook my head. “I’m just going to some party.”

“Where at?”

“Some warehouse in Queens.”

He shook his head. “Hop on. I’ll drive you.”

I gave him a look. “Why?”

“Queens is Eddie’s turf. So I just wanna make an appearance, you know, make sure him and his boys are on their best behavior while you’re there.”

“How sweet.”

“New-”

“Newbies get the helmet, I know,” I said, sliding on the back of his bike and pulling the helmet over my head.

*

Jake stood outside the warehouse, listening to the loud music blaring in his ears as he smoked. Lena said she would be there, and if he were being honest, the anticipation was killing him. Ever since they’d kissed on the Ferris Wheel, it had been nearly impossible not to kiss her every time she looked up at him through her thick lashes. Whenever she and he were alone in a room together, he had to either keep his distance or fight internally over whether he should kiss her. It was obvious she wanted to kiss him. While he enjoyed knowing she was just as affected by him as he was by her, it made the whole situation more complicated.

He heard the familiar roar of the drug dealer's bike and watched the man pull into the parking lot with Lena hugging his back. From where he stood, he could tell she was dressed in red, a color he appreciated more each time she wore it. He’d practically dropped his cigarette when she stood up and slid the helmet off. The dress was low cut and hugged her figure perfectly, but the sides really killed him. The sheer lace brought out her creamy skin beneath the dress and accentuated her not wearing underwear. God damn this woman, he cursed, taking a long drag of his cigarette before tossing it to the ground and crushing it beneath his boot. She’s gonna fucking kill me at this point.

*

Getting a ride from Dom turned out to be a lifesaver. The streets were crowded with taxis as we wove through and made our way toward the old neighborhood. Once we’d parked, he made eye contact with a few bikers across the parking lot, standing next to the club while I got off and held his helmet back to him. “Gimme your arm,” he instructed, pulling out a pen.

“Seriously?” I asked while still following his order. “I’m not fifteen anymore, Dom. I know my way around.”

He drew the four-leafed clover on my wrist with his messy phone number above it. If lost, call Dom. It was something he used to do every night I came to him looking to get fucked up, and back then, it’d actually saved my ass more than once. He smiled and nodded toward the club. “Tell the kid I’ll kill him if he lets you get into trouble tonight.”

I turned around, flipping him off. “I’m not telling him that!”

Jake stood next to the entrance, cigarette embers still flaring at his feet as he looked me up and down and clapped slowly. “Damn, you really showed up trying to make me look like shit, huh?”

“I think you look fine,” I answered, smoothing my hands down his leather jacket. His eyes focused on my lips. “We heading in or what?”

I could tell for a split second he’d wanted to say no, but he nodded, turning and grabbing my hand as we walked toward the door. The bounders knew him and let us both pass straight through. It was exactly as the name implied. A sizeable empty warehouse filled with shitty lights and speakers, a band with a bar on the opposite end, and makeshift shelves filled with booze. Jake led us through the dancing crowd, carefully looking back to ensure I was still close by, even though he’d held my hand.

His friend, Tommy, stood beside the bar, instructing the second bartender as Jake slid his jacket off and handed it to me. “Watch that for me?”

“Sure thing, master bartender.”

Rolling his eyes, he tapped Tommy on the shoulder, and the two conversed for a minute before he noticed me. Then, with a sly grin, he elbowed Jake. “I knew you wouldn’t pass up a chance with that.”

“Fuck off,” Jake brushed off, jumping into work, taking drink orders, and quickly making them. Sitting at the bar in front of him and watching him mix drinks like he did every night shouldn't have been so fun, but it was. I especially enjoyed the moments of free time he’d get to lean over the bar and make me custom drinks with flirty winks and the unique brand of sexual tension we’d basically trademarked. After a while, I slowly made my way onto the dance floor, letting go of the stress that life had been building up to give in to this one night of fun.  

*

He couldn’t help but stare at her as she moved on the dance floor. Her wild hair and equally free spirit were something he rarely got to see at work, and fuck did he enjoy it. Most girls - people in general - looked ridiculous trying to dance in clubs, but Lena made it look sensual and fun. 

“Would you dance with me?”

“I don’t dance.”

“Shame. It would have been a good excuse to get up close and personal with me.”

He’d said he could think of better ways to get up close and personal, but now that he was here watching her move in that dress, his mind was blank. Finally, the man bartending beside him nodded to the dance floor. “She your girl or something?”

Without thinking, Jake nodded. “Or something.”

Lena turned and smiled at him before disappearing into the mass of bodies. “I can handle shit here if you wanna take a break.”

“Thanks,” Jake replied, moving around the bar as quickly as possible to seek her out on the dance floor.

*

Swaying with the music, I lost myself to the beat. It felt fucking amazing to let go and have fun. It felt more amazing when Jake’s familiar hands settled on my hips, pulling me back into him as he pressed his lips to my shoulder. “I thought you don’t dance.”

He grinned down at me, leaning in close enough that I could practically taste him. “It looked like a good excuse to get up close and personal with you.”

“You’re clever.”

“I try,” he replied.

The two of us moved against each other, our bodies creating a sinful and very dangerous friction that made a buzz of pleasure settle in my gut, slowly winding more and more as his hands roamed my body. Looking up at him as he danced beneath the lights, I really wanted to throw out my stupid notions of keeping our friendship intact. Instead, I wanted to jump into his arms… wanted to kiss him until we were tearing each other's clothes off. And if the dark hunger of his gaze meant anything, he felt similarly.

A few minutes later, I felt him press me unbearably close, so close I couldn’t help but moan at the unexpected action. Jake’s head pressed into the back of mine. “Fuck.”

“Wha-” I turned to ask, only to catch a quick glimpse of him hurrying through the crowd toward the bathrooms. He stumbled, nearly tripping as he practically shoved people out of his way. Something must be wrong. Following him, I called out, “Jake!”

He practically slammed the bathroom door in my face as I shoved through. “You should head back to the bar.”

“Are you alright?” I asked, watching him lean over the sink, sucking in deep breaths of air. I locked the bathroom door. If he was fucked up on something, the last thing we needed was some couple coming here looking to fuck. 

"I'm good," Jake practically groaned.

I touched his shoulder, pulling him to face me so I could try to figure out what he was fucked up on. "What do you need? Water? A hospital?" His eyes slid down the length of me, pupils blown wide and a light sheen of sweat beginning to glimmer on his skin. His chest rose and fell in rapid breaths. I pressed my hand to his chest, unintentionally pushing myself closer to him. "Your hearts racing. What the hell did you take?"

He said nothing for a minute as he closed his eyes and tilted his head back with a quiet "Fuck."

"Ja-" The question died on my tongue as the unmistakable outline of his fully hard dick became impossible to miss.

"I’m not high," he explained tensely. "I didn’t plan on being in such a confined space with you looking like that."

I looked down at the form-fitting, short, mostly sheer dress Quinn had given me to wear tonight. "Oh."

He chuckled. "Yeah, oh. I just need a minute."

I don't know what came over me; maybe it was all the shit pent up throughout our months-long flirting. Maybe it was just my body craving the chance to give him the pleasure I knew he wanted. Or maybe it was the way Jake looked beneath the dim lights in the dingy basement bathroom, head thrown back, sweat rolling down his throat, his hands gripping the sink so tight his knuckles turned white. Whatever it was made my lips move without consulting my brain. "I could help you."

"Not much you can do in a situation like this."

"There's one thing I can do."

He looked back at me, disbelief evident in how his face scrunched up. "What?"

"Are you seriously going to make me spell it out for you?"

"Absolutely."

"Do you want a blowjob or not?" I asked, point blank, looking down the length of him, eyes settling on the thick outline of his dick straining against his jeans.

He tilted my chin up, dark eyes examining my face closely. "Are you high?"

"No," I answered.

"Drunk?"

"No." I laughed softly. "I can leave you to figure it out alone if you’re not interested."

"I just want to be sure you know what you're doing."

"Does it look like I don't know what I'm doing?"

"No," he replied. "I don't want to take advantage of you." His face was smug as ever, but the tone of his voice held the sincerity the rest lacked.

I pulled myself closer, watching his eyes follow me, looking at me as if I was the only thing he cared about. "How about we set some ground rules then?"

"I'm all ears," he said, throat bobbing.

"First, let's not make this weird. This is just one friend helping out another." Jake chuckled but nodded in agreement, eyes settling onto my lips as his head unconsciously tilted forward, chasing them. “Second, no kissing on the lips.”

That made him scoff. “What, like we haven’t made out in a bathroom before?”

I rolled my eyes, setting my hands on the flat, lean-built plane of his abdomen. “If I kiss you, this will turn into more than a quick blowjob in some shitty club bathroom real quick.”

“Glad to know you find me so irresistible,” he breathed out. “Any more rules?”

"Just a small assurance. If I feel like you're taking advantage of me, I'll let you know, and I expect you to do the same.” His look felt deeper than what I could see on the surface. Jake looked like what I’d said. The simple and basic principle behind successful hookups or sexually charged favors between friends was something he’d never heard of before now. It made me sad, thinking of how his mind likely went to Simone and just how neglectful she was of the stability of their odd relationship with one another. I pushed it aside, now more set on showing him what a healthy moment of intimacy between two people looked like. “Now, do you want my help with your problem or not?"

"I'm all yours, princess,” he whispered, voice lacking all sarcasm that generally came with the nickname he’d given me months ago in Cape Cod. It was an admission. Pure and honest and more than enough to flood me with desire.

With a soft smile, I leaned in closer, chest to chest, hands fisting lightly in his shirt. Our lips nearly brushed as I looked into his darkened eyes and whispered back, “Good.”

I moved my lips to the side, pressing them to his jaw and slowly working my way down to his neck. My hands slid down to his belt, slowly undoing the fastenings and loosening the tightness of his pants just enough to bring him a moment of relief. He sighed, mumbling a quiet “Fuck.”

His head tilted back, giving me unrestricted access to his neck as I smiled against his skin, carefully palming him through his jeans with one hand. “Don’t get too excited tough guy,” I teased before latching my teeth around that irresistible, glinting, pierced ear. Then, moving my lips back to his neck, I sucked a new bruise into his delicate skin.

“So much for being discrete,” he chuckled, audibly biting back a moan.

“We haven’t been discrete for months,” I noted, working on undoing his jeans. “A few hickeys won’t be anything new.”

He watched my face closely, still searching for any sign of doubt. I appreciated it, but he wouldn’t find any. I wanted this. More than I thought I had. With the front of his pants open, my hand slid down, gliding gently down his length and pulling a long low moan out of his throat. God, I wanted him to make that sound all the time. I slid my hands into his jeans, pulling the fabric down just enough for his dick to spring forward, free of his underwear. 

Jake was well endowed, something I’d assumed but still somehow hadn’t really been prepared for. His eyes shut, and his breath quickened as I slid down his body. I pressed gentle kisses and quick bites to his neck before running my hands up his shirt and dragging my nails down his chest as I slid to my knees. I was no stranger to a quickie in some shitty club bathroom, but this felt different. I was far more focused on Jake’s face and the noises he made as I stroked him rather than his actual dick. 

I licked the underside of his cock first, enjoying the way he flinched and bucked closer to my face. God, he’s so pretty when he’s this desperate. Then, swirling my tongue around the pulsing, leaking tip of his dick, I closed my eyes to listen to the noises he made. Sex with men was usually quiet, especially oral activities, but Jake wasn’t like most men. He was shameless in the moans and whines and whimpers he made, and I couldn’t get enough of it. After making sure he was nice and slick, I slowly began bobbing up and down, pushing him further into my mouth until I reached the perfect spot where the tip of him just barely hit the back of my throat.

"God, you're perfect," he groaned, hands burying themselves in my hair. I expected Jake to be a puller. I expected him to want total control... To use me. But he didn't. Instead, his hands held my hair back, and as I looked up, the reason became clear. Jake wanted to watch me. He wanted to see my face.

I’d given guys blowjobs in bathrooms before, but it had never felt so intimate. They’d cared more about the feeling of my hot, wet mouth around their dicks than they cared about me. They hadn’t ever even bothered to look at me. I held his gaze as I bobbed my head, taking more of him into my mouth each time. Those eyes alone would undo me.

Tears stung the corners of my eyes, and Jake carefully brought a hand out from my hair to dab them dry. “You’re doing so good,” he praised. Oh fuck. His hand in my hair tightened, tugging on my roots just enough to send a lightning strike of pleasure shooting down to my core. I moaned around him, bringing another ragged moan out of his chest. His free hand cupped my jaw, gently kneading the muscles as his hips carefully met my mouth with eager thrusts. 

My hands came up to rest on his thighs, squeezing them and using them as support as his movements grew harder and sloppier. “Lena,” he whined, supporting himself on the sink and throwing his head back. “God… I’m close.”

I slid my hands up his thighs to rest on his abdomen. I could feel the muscles beneath his skin tighten each time he thrust into my throat. His breaths grew more harsh and labored. Just a few more thrusts and he’d be there. I hummed around him, dragging my nails down his stomach and taking hold of his arms, using them as leverage to pull myself closer until I was gagging on him. Then, with one last, deep thrust, he spilled down my throat. “Fuck!”

Swallowing every drop he gave me, I sat still, letting him carefully release my head before I pulled back, licking the tip of his cock for good measure. He panted above me, eyes boring down into mine as I slowly rose to my feet, using him to steady myself as my slightly numb legs wobbled. His head dipped down, the urge to kiss me plain on his face as he settled for dropping his head to my shoulder. “Holy shit.”

“Did that help?” I asked hoarsely. 

“Absolutely,” he answered. 

I couldn’t fight the proud smile on my lips as I squeezed his arms and pulled away to stand beside him, straightening myself up in the mirror. “Good.”

Still catching his breath, he pressed his chest to my back, lips skimming the back of my neck. His hands squeezed my hips, gently pulling the material of my dress up before I stopped him. “You’re not gonna let me repay the favor?”

“Not tonight,” I breathed, glancing at him over my shoulder with a smile.

Jake shook his head. “So what, you’re just gonna blow me in some bathroom and not let me pay you back?”

I fixed his jacket and belt, nodding. “Yeah.”

“You’re something else,” he replied.

“Something good, I hope,” I answered. “I’ll let you clean yourself up a bit. See you back at the bar, pretty boy.”

As I walked out of the bathroom, savoring the lightheaded euphoric feeling of Jake and I’s… activity in the bathroom, Quinn smirked at me from the bar. I slowly settled into the seat beside her, watching her pull a small tin from her purse and pop it open. “Mint?” I didn’t look at her as I accepted the small pungent candy and popped it into my mouth, wincing slightly at how it mingled with the salty tang left by Jake. 

“Well, that was impulsive.”

I shook my head. “Not a word, Quinn.”

“Oh, I’m not judging!” She assured me. “Lord knows I’ve given a lot less pretty guys blowjobs in club bathrooms. I was just making an observation.”

Jake slid back behind the bar, whispering a few words of appreciation to the other man working for covering for him. Then, he stood in front of us and leaned against the bar. “Didn't know you were coming."

"Wow, not even a thank you for dressing your girl up for you?" She scoffed. "I see how it is."

"Having fun, Quinn?”

She smirked. “One of us certainly is.”

“Need a refill?” He asked, brushing past her blatantly obvious taunt.

“Always,” she smiled even wider. “I am so glad you invited me tonight. Now I get dibs on the teasing.”

I shook my head at her. “Tease away.”

Tease, she did. For thirty minutes, she gave Jake and me her best material. She covered bathroom blowjobs, the ever-popular “just friends” comments, and more, but unlike the other times, she’d teased me there wasn’t any of the shameful weight. But, of course, I wasn’t hiding my attraction or feelings for Jake now, so her teasing ultimately made us both chuckle.

When the night finally ended, Jake walked me outside and waited for me while I hailed a cab. I nudged his shoulder. “Are you going to Ari’s big show thing this weekend?”

“Normally, I’d say fuck no,” Jake replied, grinning. “But now I know you’re going.”

“You don’t have to come just for me.”

“It could be fun,” he insisted. “Besides, she always throws a party after at her abandoned hotel, and that is always a good time.”

I smiled at him as the cab pulled up beside me. “Then I guess I’ll see you there.”

He lit a cigarette and placed it between his lips. “Maybe I’ll get to repay that favor I owe you.”

Favor seemed like a far too nice word for what I knew he had in mind. “Goodnight, loser.”

“Get home safe,” he answered, watching the cab pull away before he started hailing one of his own.

My apartment was quiet, filled with the soft white noise of my old TV playing in the living room while I changed and got ready for bed. I’d just gotten a glass of water when a loud engine speeding across the street sent me ducking for cover. I curled up on the floor, my back pressed tightly into the back of the couch as I listened, holding my breath, to see if the car would make another pass. 

Have you seen his car recently? I texted Dom with shaking hands.

His reply was almost instantaneous. No, why? Did something happen?

I forced an even breath out. No. I just thought I heard it drive by.

Stay put. I’m on my way.

Dom arrived at my apartment within a matter of minutes. He carefully drove through the neighborhood a few times, scanning the parked cars and the surrounding streets before he parked his bike and came to sit beside me on the floor. “I didn’t see anything, but I’ll stay the night to make sure.”

“You don’t have to do that,” I answered softly, holding my legs close to my chest.

Dom leaned forward to meet my far-off gaze. “Yeah, I do. Now go get in bed and go to sleep. I’ll take the couch.” I opened my mouth to protest, but he just rolled his eyes and stood up. He set up the couch and settled into the firm cushions, facing the door.

I reached over and held his hand for a minute. “Thanks, Dom.”

He squeezed it with a smile. “Get some sleep, kid. Nothin’s getting past me.”

That night I tossed and turned for a few minutes before passing out, knowing the truth of Dom’s words. Nothing was going to happen while he was here. Nothing ever did. For a minute, I could just close my eyes and forget that there was even a problem… for a minute, I could just go to sleep like an average person. I knew deep down it wouldn’t always be so easy, but I would pretend tonight.

[lunathejediknight]

*wriggles in* kiki helo my little flower!! whats ur opinion on ms circle, ms thavel and ms bloomie ?

miss circle is um... scary. I try not to upset her I have only failed a test in her class once and let's just say it did not end well, I am very lucky to have survived and only getting a small scar... oh God she is terrifying. miss thavel's alright I don't really have an opinion on her really. miss bloomie is one of my favorite teachers (apart from miss Sasha and mister demi) I find science to be really fun most of the time! she also kind of reminds me of my dad a little bit with the box cutter for a hand.

(also bear I love that you call kiki your little flower, I'm gonna use that)

[t00nyah]

also. remember my au where marcy's olivia's daughter and in general the girls get to amphibia earlier? yeah so i maybe wrote something.

something...like a fanfic maybe...small thingie...tee-hee.

sasha, in the throne room, in front of king andrias, is studying her surroundings and, to her shock, notices barely standing still marcy next to a blue newt – the royal advisor.

"mar…marcy?" sasha didn't really plan to start talking before she's permitted to, out of respect, but the surprise in her voice was really clear. marcy regina wu, in all her grace, but somehow with a tail(…?!), was trying not to shout and nodded in excitement.

"now hold on, what are you doing here? for how long..?" "SASHA!! hi-hi-hi-hi– oh, i've missed you so much!! i didn't believe i'll see you or anne ever again, but here you are – first anne, now you!!" "anne is here?.." "she sure is!– well, not exactly here-here, but she's staying in newtopia with her family for the agricultural – and i hope annual from this moment on, andrias, – festival! and, OOOH, i have so much more to–" "mar-mar, hold your horses," sasha takes a deep breath to process given information. she forces a smile. "hey, how about: we sort things out with my super-important meeting with the king and then we-e…discuss everything? and then you'll help me catch up to everything, okie, mar-mar?"

marcy, in fact, looked at her a little dumbfounded, and then embarrassingly looked away at the wall.

"oh yeeah…i kind of forgot that this was supposed to be an official meeting, haha."

after those words, royal advisor's daughter tried to make the most calm and collected pose she could. making a pause, sasha turned her attention to the giant newt in front of her.

"king andrias, i'm just a passerby, but i think i have something information about might be hidden from the prying eyes. i– i understand that i might not be qualified worthy either, but i need to know…" under the king's interested gaze, she took out of her small worn-out bag…

"OH, that's the box we found! it was with you the whole time?!"

and, once again, the order was broken by marcy's shout, to which lady olivia called her off with a strict gaze, getting an apology in return.

"i found it in the forest not so long ago. so…what? i want to know how it's connected to what happened." she looked at the king, who put on his glasses to take a better look at the artifact.

"well, that's an interesting finding. you see, marcy already told us the story about the music box… hm… perhaps if we put all our effort and check the royal archives, we'll find something! marcy, can i count on you to help with this…deal?" the giant salamander trustfully smiled at the girl and she gasped.

"CAN YOU?! i'm all in, mister! king!"

"i knew i could count on lady olivia's daughter," andrias grinned, to which he received a surprised, but pleasantly surprised, look from the royal advisor and turned his gaze to sasha. "we'll start tomorrow morning. but for now! i suppose our meeting is over, and i'd like miss marcy to properly reunite with our guest! go on, i'm sure you have a lot to discuss."

with a restrained squeal, marcy, as if on command, rushed to her childhood friend and hugged her so hard that they almost fell on the floor, saved only by the blonde's sense of balance. sasha replied with not any less firm hug and, when they let each other go, mar-mar gently took her hands with such incredible joy on her face.

"sashasashasashasashasasha!! you can't even imagine how glad i am to see you… oh, i can't wait till i'll show you where anne lives!! well, for now. for some time," there was a noticeable disappointment in the last words. "but! now… who wants a tour of the castle from the royal advisor's daughter, one of her kind, marcy rippletail-wu herself?!"

sasha awkwardly smiled to her.

"yeah, sure, mar-mar. can't wait. but we…" she looked away for a moment before looking into her friend's eyes again. "…really need to discuss. a lot. you get what i mean. we haven't seen each other in ages, isn't that crazy?" "exactly! oooh i can tell you so much, but first, i'd like to know what happened to you! look at your clothes! where'd you get it??" "…made it myself?" "…no. way. this IS SO COOL!!" "kinda. i didn't really have a choice. i luckily had a teacher though." "TELL ME EVERYTHING RIGHT FROM THIS SPOT!!" said marcy as they began walking away from the throne room.

---

so... little context i can give:

sasha ran away almost immediately and had to learn to survive on her own with occasional help from locals. marcy became adoptive daughter for olivia (rippletail *giggles in silly headcanons*). she also still really likes agricultural stuff...and begs andrias to hold a huge festival!! and anne lives with plantars (tho she had time when she ran away only to accept that she needs help from them, so they came to newtopia both for the festival and to search for answers in the heart of amphibia).

:)

[levi-supreme]

Hiiii may I ask for a friendship night for Valentines with Sasha? We're both single and just wanna go have some fun! (But maybe she's crushing on Niccolo and they haven't started dating yet).

Maybe we're going to take a dance class and have to figure out who is going to be leading? It's all in good fun! There's lots of silliness and laughing. Oh and, or alternatively... if there's food involved because, we like food LOL.

I think something like a casual pants suit that's loose around the legs might be cute! And perhaps a ribbon tied around front. Comfortable but just a tiny bit dressy that allows for movement.

Eliza!!! Omg this was such a cute idea. The idea of Sasha crushing on Nicolo and not getting asked out on a Valentine's Day date seems to be a very bad combination XD

Nonetheless, here's your lovely pantsuit for your best friend date with Sasha, and I hope you enjoy!! This is set in the events of this drabble, but the two of them aren't officially 'dating' yet haha.

Just like that drabble, you two call each other 'babe' as a cute nickname. Also, two random SNK characters will guest star as your dance instructors!!

There's quite a bit of dialogue, and I tried to keep this less like an instruction manual on ballroom dancing too (but there's some footnotes at the end hehe). I hope it was fun for you!!!

Rei's Ask Games: Valentine's Day Special (closed!!)

It was Valentine's Day today, yet, your best friend was in an extremely bad mood. Sasha had been crushing on the handsome chef Nicolo from the café on campus for the longest time ever, and likewise, he was interested in her too. She was looking forward to going on a Valentine's Day date with Chef Nicolo, yet all she got was disappointment when he told her that he had to work at the café that day because there were many couples going there for dinner reservations.

"Cheer up, babe, it's just a date," you told Sasha one night in your shared dormitory. Sasha was stuffing her face full of ice cream, sulking while eating straight out of the tub. "We can go out on a best friend date too." Hearing you, Sasha visibly cheered up, shouting 'sisters before misters!' in a loud voice before eating more ice cream. You chuckled, thinking of how to have the most fun with your best friend that day.

Come Valentine's Day, Sasha was surprised when you told her to dress up in something comfortable and easy. Seeing you wear a beige coloured pantsuit, Sasha decided to follow you, wearing a pair of khaki wide-legged pants and a white chiffon blouse.

"So, where are we going, babe? You've been so secretive." Sasha grumbled as you both left your dormitory.

"You'll find out soon." You replied with a laugh.

»»————-　　————-««

"You brought me dancing?" Sasha shot you a look as you both stood outside the dance studio. Many people were entering the studio to register their attendance for the class, yet Sasha was reluctant to enter.

"Yeah, what's wrong with that? It's fun. Plus, you get to dance with me, your best friend." Sasha looked around the studio after hearing you. Majority of the people there were couples trying to learn something new together, and Sasha felt the both of you stuck out like a sore thumb.

"Hi! Are you here for the dance class?" A lady with short platinum blonde hair came up to the both of you with a wide smile. "We're starting in five, so it's best to register your attendance." You gave the lady a nod and dragged Sasha into the studio, signing your attendances on a piece of paper. The both of you stood by the barres and waited for the class to start. Soon, another tall male with short black hair called everyone to gather in the middle. The lady from earlier was standing next to him.

"Good evening, class. My name is Marlowe, and this charming lady on my righty is my partner, Hitch. We'll be your instructors for the next 10 sessions."

Once the instructors finished going through the administrative details, they started with simple warmups and stretches, followed by the basic footwork of Rumba. You were having some difficulty catching up, but Sasha was doing a fantastic job following the tempo and the steps. She also seemed a little more intrigued by the lesson, and was paying better attention.

Instructor Marlowe then got everyone to form up into pairs, getting the males to stand on the left while the females stood on the right. You and Sasha stared at each other.

"Okay, now, who's going to be the guy?" Sasha looked at you.

"You're the better candidate, isn't it? You're the taller and manlier one."

Sasha playfully poked your rib, earning a giggle from you, "I'm manlier? Says the one who dared Jean to go on a date."

"And failed terribly," you grimaced, "oh, come on, Sasha, just be the guy. You're better than me anyway."

"Fine, Eliza, fine." Sasha relented and stood on your left. Marlowe then told the people standing on the left to mirror his movements, while the people standing on the right are to mirror Hitch.

"Now, gentlemen—and one lady—as the leader, place your right hand below your partner's right shoulder blade," Marlowe placed his right arm below Hitch's shoulder blade and everyone else imitated him, "and the lady is to place their left hand on their partner's shoulder, resting their arm comfortably like so." Hitch placed her hand on Marlowe's shoulder and you copied her.

"Remember to keep your arms and elbows joined together so that you can feel the connection. Next, hold your partner's hand like so." Everyone in class followed the instructions given by Marlowe.

"Always remember to look into your partner's eyes when you dance, yes? I don't want anyone to be looking at their feet!" Sasha and you looked at each other, and after a few seconds of silence, Sasha burst out laughing and you bit down on your lip.

"Oh, I am feeling that connection, Eliza, not sure if you do," Sasha wiggled her eyebrows and you snorted, causing the couple standing near you to turn around. You quickly muttered a soft apology before focusing on the two instructors.

"Now, at our count, let's try the Rumba together, shall we?" Hitch smiled at the class and everyone happily echoed after her. "On our count: one, two, three, one, two, three..." As Hitch started counting, everyone in class tried dancing together. You were really afraid of stepping on Sasha's foot, but Sasha was a natural; she switched over from the partner steps to the leader steps smoothly even without prior practise, since both of you were learning the partner steps together earlier.

After a while, Hitch started playing a song on the radio and told everyone to try and dance to the music. You were feeling more confident, and Sasha was doing a fantastic job leading the dance. Both instructors had their eyes on the both of you as well. By the end of the lesson, Sasha was smiling from ear to ear.

"Oh my god, babe, that was so fun!" Sasha laughed as she drank water from her bottle, "it was better than what I expected."

"Well, instructor Marlowe did seem to take a liking to you. Maybe you can ditch Nicolo and go for him instead." You joked and Sasha rolled her eyes.

"As much as he did disappoint me, I'm not ditching Nicolo for him." Sasha paused in her steps and a devilish grin appeared across her face. "You know what? Maybe I should bring Nicolo here next week. You can bring Jean." You nearly dropped your purse.

"No way, bestie," you cringed again, shuddering at the thought, "that one dare was enough. I am not asking Jean out on any more dates ever again." Sasha laughed again and hugged you close, talking excitedly about supper and how she was going to make Nicolo come here next week. You listened to her with a soft smile, glad that this best friend date turned out well after all.

In ballroom dancing, the male is usually the 'leader' and he usually starts with the left foot. On the other hand, the female is the 'partner' and she starts with the right foot.

I've always pictured Sasha to be a really fast learner, and she can definitely learn just by watching and observing too. She's also really good at making sense of things, so Sasha could definitely adapt to switching from the 'partner' steps over to the 'leader' steps without a problem.

Also, Jean makes a cameo in mention here because he's your mutual friend and you're interested in him. Once, Sasha dared you to asked him out on a date (which didn't go as well as you expected), so Sasha likes to tease you about it XD