#prepped everything myself!! and it felt so good

[memorimoss]

Um,, you really create your own bliss

[planetaryupscaled]

Disenchanted

Male Reader x Karina

Tags: 6k, cheating, oral, story heavy

The story is not ours; we simply alter the original story to our preferred settings.

They say everything happens for a reason, if life gives you lemons turn them into lemonade. It always struck me as a strange saying a little too cut and dry. Like a mantra to lead my life with, it had been an upwards struggle. Devoid of any formal degree, in many respects I was a self-made man, grafting from the bottom of the pile and slowly making my way upwards, to the light, the fabled promised land of success, this is my story.

It was early 2020, still fresh from the Covid-19 meltdown. Looking back on it, we really did make a fuss over nothing, it was world ending stuff. Fresh out of a failed college career I had just turned 20, studies had never really held much of my attention, crashing out a year before graduation. Saying this, I was good at building networks, street smart you could say, I knew a good deal when I saw one and over the years, I would develop the timing and nous to know when exactly to pull the trigger. With a heavy interest in films, my main aim was to get into the industry by any means necessary. Luckily enough for me I knew a few people who were runners on in the SM Entertainment back in the day. The pay was basic if that and the job was menial, filled with odd jobs like fetching coffee or printing out stuffs. Nevertheless, it was a start.

“Seriously, where is that guy? the new runner guy, lanky looking kid,” Shouted the set manager.

“Ahem…” I replied, standing next to the sweaty looking man.

“What’s your name? You know what, it doesn’t matter, get a coffee to waiting room 4, quick kid,” he said, bits of saliva spraying everywhere.

God, I hated that guy, his breath always reeked in a mixture of cheap coffee and banana. Reluctantly I knocked on the door, prepping a fake smile for whomever was going to open it.

“Hey,” A chirpy voice said.

My mouth was lolling open slightly, mouth running dry as I struggled to form a suitable response. She laughed softly at my starstruck reaction, holding out her hand to shake mine. It was Karina. She was most teenagers wet dream, well, technically still is.

She was just as attractive as the in the magazines, her smokey brown eyes complimenting her tight, tone, bronze physique. I felt an instant twinge in my pants as I willed myself not to show my arousal, hoping to od it was not obvious that I was attracted to her. Brushing myself down mentally, I took a deep breath and fixed my shirt holding out hand containing her hot beverage. There was something about her, despite her arresting looks that calmed me. Maybe it was the kindness in her eyes or the kindness in her voice, whatever it was, it worked.

“Your- coffee,” I managed.

“How old are you?” She said, taking a sip of her latte.

“Erm… 20- Miss,” I replied.

“Seriously, call me Karina,” She smiled.

“You are pretty cute,” She followed up, handing me the piece of paper with a list of her requirements.

“From now on, you are my personal runner,” Karina said, high fiving me as she left for rehearsals.

I blushed at the comment, a throw away one at that but at the time, it was like gold dust to me. The piece of paper was basically a shopping list of drinks and snacks to get at what time. It remained this way for a year or so as I watched Karina’s fame sky rocket. It was almost inspirational how she climbed the ladder step by step. At that time, she was dating an actor, Lee Jiwook? Jiwoon? or something, I don’t know. Another forgettable character.

I had a sense that he felt superior to me, which granted at the time, he was dating Karina so one could forgive his arrogance. He was in her changing room on a number of times. There were rumors that they were due to get engaged which turned out to be true one it was released in the press a few months later. He was by all intents an purposes the luckiest guy alive in that moment.

On the rare occasions that we did get time alone, Karina and I talked about everything from our past to future aspirations. She even helped me get back into college, funding part of my studies to get into a foundation business course. It was a difficult time, I had to finish college, which I did with after work classes and after that, moved onto that foundation course. I was indebted to her in more ways than one, but our relationship never threatened to go any further.

Over the year I think Karina grew to see me as a brother of sorts. I mean it was fine, what more could I expect. Saying this, I always held on to that faint hope that we could be more, if only the tables were turned, and I was the rising up and comer, one could only dream.

If only I had known my time with her would be limited, maybe I would have been braver, more forward I told myself. However, it did not pan out that way, as per usual, life throws you lemons, make some lemonades right? Coming into the last few episodes of the final series I made my usual rounds, knocking on her door and entering without a response, only to find Karina scantily clad in a white bra and pair of cotton panties. I did it all the time, just enter and drop off a coffee, maybe have a chat, but this time was different.

“Crap- don’t you knock?!” Karina jumped, covering up her indecency.

“I- I did, I thought- sorry,” I replied.

I managed to sneak a peek at her crotch, sending my desires into over drive seeing her, Karina picked up the plushie, covering her sex. A drop of pre cum leaked my tip as I groaned internally at the visual stimulation. She was hot as fuck I thought in my head, what I would do just to be with her for one night. Regaining composure I chuckled, triggering her to break into a smile also, scrambling to get dressed.

“Nice plushie,” I said, winking at Karina

“Oh, Haha,” Karina replied blushing.

“Your morning coffee Miss,” I said, leaving her daily latte on the table, turning to leave as I closed the door.

That was my last encounter with her as I was moved to another set the day after. If we stayed in touch, it would probably be one of those funny memories we could bring up from time to time but it was not to be. Now in the present, decades later I was suited and booted, ready for my fourth-round interview for a Digital marketing executive role at The Prada Group.

—

“They will have you now,” The secretary called out to me, beckoning me into the conference room.

My hands were steady, nerves of steel. I had interviewed at many companies before, but had a renewed desire to nail this one. I had to; she was the co-founder. The days of being a runner were long gone, as I managed to land a junior marketing role. This however, was my bread and butter, marketing, networking and the like. It was like a hand in a glove, I loved it, and it showed in my work.

Holding my head high, I pushed open the doors, my presentation in hand, ready for whatever they threw my way. Ready for the interview? Yes, but ready for- Karina?! I was not. Under normal circumstances, shareholders would not be part of the interview process. Steadying myself I held out my hand, shaking each interviewer’s hand firmly. There were three, Karina being the last.

“Nice to meet you all,” I said with confidence.

I could see Karina racking her brain as to where she had seen me. The cogs in her head were turning till I saw her face light up.

“Oh my god, Minho!” She said, her face lighting up.

“In the flesh Mam,” I replied.

“Oh, apologies for the lack of professionalism, I worked with Minho...what is it now, Ten years ago?” Karina said, her smile lighting up the room and to my advantage, perking up the other interviewers.

“We can catch up after...carry on with the presentation,” she said beaming.

Unclasping my blazer and setting it to the side I went through point by point my ideas for the new product launch, our target audience, demographic and ways to capture their attention. It was as robust a presentation as I had ever given, leaving very little questions afterwards as the four discussed among themselves after grilling me with queries.

It was a positive sign then that all four were smiling in unison as my hands started to sweat, showing the first signs of how much this job meant to me. It was her presence that threw me a curve ball. After all these years, Karina was still as alluring as ever. If anything, she looked better now than she did when we first met. Now in her thirties, married and with kids, she looked fantastic. I managed to shake my fantasies of once an idol from my thoughts and concentrate on the panel in front of me, glancing at her every so often.

“Listen, we don’t do this regularly, but this interview has been far from the ordinary. Your links with Karina, coupled with her glowing references and your stellar presentation, we would like to offer you the job,” The man in the middle said.

I was slightly taken aback at the praise, this must have been the best interview I had ever had, taking a moment to process I smiled and nodded, shaking their hand in turn with acceptance.

“Minju from HR will settle the contracts with you by phone, I believe you are ok with our pay package?” The interviewer said.

“Yes Sir,” I replied, shaking his hand again.

To be fair it was a big bump on what I was on at the moment with the added benefit of an old love interest entered into the equation, it was a must take.

“Thank you for giving me the opportunity,” I said before turning towards the door.

“Minho, one sec, are you free later this afternoon for a catch up?” Karina said before I left the room.

“Sure,” I replied smiling before exchanging numbers.

It was a move so natural to me now, one which my 20-year-old self would be proud of. I had just nabbed Karina’s phone number.

“Well done on today,” Karina said, putting her hand on my shoulder.

“It’s really good to see you,” She followed up.

“Catch you soon,” Karina said smiling warmly at me.

“As long as you get the coffees this time,” I replied with a wink.

“Good one,” Karina reply, her cheeks turning a light pink for the briefest of moments.

—

For the first time in a long while, the fruits of my labor were finally bearing fruit. It was a constant struggle to get to this point in my career, blocked off at various stages in the chain by a combination of bad luck and wrong timing. I was always taught that we make our own luck in this world which is why I kept striving forward, kept pushing on, no matter what situation I found myself in. That interview had been a victory, a rare moment where the pieces just fell into the right slots, just at the crucial moment. On the way out, I had a quick glance around the office, taking in what would be my new workplace. Just at the back next to the director’s office was the marketing department, no doubt my new home going forward.

With great pride I made my way down the stairs and back to reception before being gently caught by the arm. It was the HR rep asking if I had a quick minute to sign the necessary documents instead of getting it mailed through. It did strike me as a peculiar move, normally it took HR a few days to draft the offer letter and send it out, but I thought nothing of it, browsing the important bits and signing off with my signature. Luckily, I had no notice to give as I had just left my role the previous week, a risk on my part, but one I felt I could confidently overcome. It proved to be the right choice as I handed the papers to HR.

“See you next week,” She said.

“Well done,” The rep followed up.

I nodded, shaking her hand, before turning to leave.

“Minho..,” A familiar voice called from behind me.

It was Karina, speed walking towards me through the crowd of workers. She caught many people’s glances, mostly men as they craftily snuck a peek of the former Idol striding confidently across the floor space. She was wearing an elegant cream patterned dress with a black leather jacket draped across her shoulders. It gave her that casual suave boss look, yet at the same time emanated a very elegant and feminine vibe. Her smile broadened as she caught up with me, lightly touching my shoulder as we walked side by side.

“Congratulations again, on landing the position,” Karina said with a bright smile.

It was hard not to be taken aback by her sheer beauty, but if time had taught me one thing, it was to stay calm and measured in moments like this.

“It... was a close one,” I replied with a grin.

“Pleaseeee, you totally nailed it, we are lucky to have you,” She replied.

“Ok now you are just flattering me for a free coffee,” I joked.

“Ah you know me too well,” Karina replied, chuckling lightly.

“I thought you were busy this afternoon?” I asked, as we made our way outside.

She shrugged her shoulders, playfully prodding me in the ribs with her elbow.

“They were just update meetings, not so important, besides it free’s up more time for us to catch up, unless you have other plans?” Karina said.

“No, not at all, we can go over some of my plans for the project,” I replied.

“No business talk, fill me in on everything else going on with you,” She said laughing.

We walked and talked for what seemed like a few minutes, till we reached a quint little French barista tucked away from the main road. Checking my watch, I realized we had literally been walking for a good fifteen minutes as it was already half past four in the afternoon. It felt seamless, chatting to Karina again, similar to the old days where we would talk about everything and anything while she prepared for another shoot in her Idol days.

“Skinny Latte?” I asked, eying up the menu.

“You know me so well,” Karina said in jest.

“Well, I had a lot of practice back in the day,” I replied with a smile.

Karina suggested we sit in the corner away from the busy eyes of onlookers outside. I had noticed she changed much in this aspect, not one to revel in the spotlight, she was quite reserved in many respects, no doubt influenced to some degree by her religious upbringing. I respected that, her values and steadfast nature in doing what was best for her and her interests.

“So, spill the beans, what’s been going on with you?” Karina asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

“Well, it has been quite the whirlwind to be honest,” I replied.

“Once I left that day, I worked on a few other company till I finally got a promotion to the PR team. From there I steadily plugged away, attending business class in the evenings, thanks to you, eventually graduating and landing an entry level Marketing role for a local website. I stayed there for a couple of years, continuing further study and gaining experience, leaving there as a senior marketing lead. My last job, that I just left was as the Digital lead overseeing different internal projects before rising to Miu Miu taking care of bigger picture stuff and here we are,” I said.

“That is quite the journey, I’m so glad you made it work for yourself,” She said, smiling warmly.

“Well, it was all thanks to your encouragement in the beginning, making me pull my finger out and get my ass into gear,” I replied.

“No, that was all you, I just opened a few doors,” Karina said, rapping lightly on my arm.

Something was different with her. It was like I was no longer seen as a brother but an equal in her eyes. It was the way she looked at me, no longer endearing, almost a bit curious. It triggered an itch within myself that I had to scratch, my infatuation with her since the early days only growing stronger. A feeling that I wanted to follow through and see where I could take this. There were the obvious blockers with her being happily married and all, but my selfishness got the better of me, kicking my moral compass to the side as I mirrored her actions, lightly touching her arm on occasion throughout or little catch up. Not that she seemed to mind at all, her beautiful smile always beaming, fixing her hair from time to time as our coffees soon turned into wine and eventually to dinner.

“So, tell me,” I said, motioning to her ring.

“Oh,” Karina replied blushing slightly at my abrupt change in tac, focusing on her personal life.

I did not expect much, as I knew she was relatively private in nature.

“Well, yes, I am married and have three beautiful children,” She said beaming.

Karina showed me a few pictures in my phone, leaning over the gap in the table to flick through the gallery. I could smell her perfume from here, laced in the depths of her nape, filling my nostrils with a sweet aromatic blend of floral notes and citrus. She smelt heavenly, as I felt my crotch stir at our sudden close proximity. We spoke for what seemed an age before she checked her watch after feeling her phone buzz. It was now half nine in the evening.

“Shoot..,” Karina said.

“God I better get going, the husband is messaging,” She said with an awkward smile.

“It has been good catching up, really good, you have changed a lot Minho,” Karina said, clasping her bag.

“Change in a good way I hope,” I replied with a chuckle.

I could see we had got through quite a number of bottles of wine as Karina dialed a local taxi for pick up as we settled the bill and walked outside to wait for her ride.

“Yes by the way,” Karina suddenly said.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“You have changed in a good way,” She replied.

“Ok that was like a five-minute delay Karina, losing your sharpness,” I said laughing.

“Pfftt, it’s the wine, deadly stuff,” Karina said, merrily leaning on my shoulder.

“You are much more confident and forward looking, it’s a good look,” She said softly.

“I can remember the first time we met, you were so star struck it was cute, standing there with a coffee in your hand,” Karina said laughing.

“Do you blame me?” I said chuckling.

“I mean it was adorable, your face was all flushed and, I can say this now but it was a little obvious you were a little too excited,” Karina said slapping my arm in hysterics.

I had hoped that she would have missed that all those years ago, but I guess she picked up on it, all of it. I could not help but laugh with her reminiscing about the past as the alcohol slowly set in.

“Oh, here’s my cab,” She said giving me a hug and pecking me on the cheek.

“It was so nice to see you, congratulations, again,” Karina said beaming, the smell of wine now laced in her breath.

“You too Karina, it was great to see you too,”

“Don’t worry I have managed to curb my excitement this time!” I joked.

Karina laughed, punching my harm.

“Must be losing my touch,” She said, smiling.

“I wouldn’t fret, you still have the same- effect..,” I replied, my expression of the cheeky, implying nature.

Karina blushed, swiping her hair behind her ear while she fidgeted on the spot for a few moments, smiling.

“Well, I best be going, see you in the office?” She said, gathering her composure again and leaning in for a hug.

“Yes boss,” I replied, closing the taxi door and watching her leave.

The walk home was a good one, a feeling of elation at nailing the interview and one of mild curiosity at the unsaid words and feelings I felt between us. With a bright smile across my face, I went to bed eager to get started on my first day.

—

Strolling into the work on day one all suited and booted gave me a great sense of accomplishment as the HR representative took me to my new office. It was large, much larger than my old one, decked out in a minimalistic art decor kind of vibe. It even had that fancy clap to shut blinds feature which made the inner child in me laugh in excitement.

“This is your team,” The rep said.

She introduced me to my marketing team manager Nayoung, who over saw our junior team members Sohye and Yeonjun. They seemed like a good bunch, all enthusiastic and willing to do the hard yards as we went full on into the new product launch. There was little time to settle in as the launch was happening in three months’ time, so all the marketing and advertisement had to be nailed down asap. From my first few encounters with Nayoung I got the impression that she knew exactly what she was doing, decisive in her actions but at the same time very popular with the other two. She must have been a few years younger than myself, perhaps on her late twenties, but her experience levels shone through her work. She had that girl next door look, yet commanded respect through her calmness and wicked sense of humor. She was sharp, I had to hand it to her, batting off my banter throughout the day and weeks with ease. It got to a point that our team work was seamless, synchronized as the group ramped up for the final presentation to Karina.

—

It was now week three, and the first draft was about to be presented to Karina for approval. The team had been working hard throughout the process, pulling late nights on consecutive occasions as all four of us tidied up the final bits of the slides.

“So, we heard that you and the boss lady go way back,” Yeonjun said smirking.

“Yeah, I have known her for quite some time,” I replied.

Sohye and Nayoung smiled at each other.

“Seriously guys, we are going there?” I asked laughing.

“Well, she is kinda hot,” Yeonjun chirped in.

“Kinda? She is drop dead gorgeous,” Sohye replied.

“Guys, just get to work, I will leave the company card with Nayoung, order whatever you want,” I said smiling.

“Is that a no comment?” Yeonjun asked laughing.

Before I could hit back with some banter of my own, Karina walked in wearing an eye catching black short, black top, showing off way too much leg for the office.

“Evening all,” Karina said, smiling, her eyes lingering on me for a brief moment.

I could sense Yeonjun and the team in hysterics as I gathered my laptop. He bit his fist obviously in reaction to Karina’s insanely revealing work attire.

“Let me take you through the final proposal, Boss,” I said with a cheeky grin.

“Lead the way,” Karina replied.

My office was just around the corner as I snuck another peek at her smooth legs before shutting the door behind me.

“Bit bold for the office?” I said smiling.

“Ughh don’t get me started, just rushed off a shoot with Women’s Health, barely made it in time through the traffic,” She replied, sitting down in the swivel chair and crossing her legs.

Something about what she said did not add up though. According to her PA she had finished in the afternoon, as the shoot had been moved earlier on in the day. I knew this because our meeting was due to be the following day but I moved it forward to tonight as we were in good shape with the proposal. With intrigue racing across my thoughts, I settled down beside her, making sure not to stare at her smooth legs.

“So, what you got for me?” Karina said, tilting her head towards me.

I ran her through our slides, pointing out the key take aways and messages of the campaign. Karina nodded intently, chiming in with slight tweaks here and there. She really knew her stuff, explaining the ideology of the company revolving around sustainability and making the world a better place through safe practice and renewable materials. If not for her flawless attire, I would have paid better attention as I found myself staring at her face before being brought back to reality.

“Don’t you agree?” She said.

“What? Yes, yes, I do,” I replied.

“Did you just zone out? Hah for a minute there your face reminded me of when we first met,” Karina said smiling.

The slight awkwardness from a few weeks back when I dropped her off at the taxi were now long gone as I felt her get more and more comfortable with my company.

“What do you mean by this part?” Karina asked pointing to one of the slides.

I moved in closer, feeling the slight brush of her calf on my leg as I explained the ins and outs of the slide. The touch of her leg on mine was not rebuffed as I continued with my explanation, using it as an excuse to gently continue to rub my leg against her bare skin, my knee now sneaking up her leg slightly as we sat side by side. I felt a slight jump in her demeanor so I quickly moved my leg away, maybe I had pushed my luck too far.

“Sorry- bit tight in here,” I said, breaking the silence, which was an odd thing to say as the office was large.

The awkwardness steadily grew as the tension cranked up, Karina finally looking up at me after I had finished my re run through her query.

“Thank you…” For taking me through it.

“It looks, good,” She said.

Her face now a few inches from mine, the silence filling the gap, I felt a sudden rush of blood to my head, moving forward without skipping a beat planting my lips on hers. Initially feeling a tensing in her shoulders, this quickly dissipated as our lips melded together, my hands now resting on the side of her waist as we embraced in deep heavy petting.

“Wait…wait…I can’t,” Karina said, her hands gently pushing me away as I continued kissing up her nape and nibbling at her ear lobe.

“Minho…wait...seriously I’m married..,” She followed up, breaking our kiss and rolling away an inch or so in the seat.

Her face was flushed red, hair slightly out of place as the ravishing woman looked at me, slightly unsure and ashamed. I could see her breathing had accelerated by the way her chest was rising and falling rapidly as she rushed to fix her dress.

“What’s the matter, don’t you want to?” I asked enquiringly.

“Its. Not- I’m married and have a family,” Karina replied clearly flustered.

I closed the distance between us in the chair again without a response from her as she just sat still, pretending to fuss before picking up her phone.

“Jaewook called, just going to call home,” She said hurriedly, turning her back to me as she dialed home.

Catching the chair mid turn, I spun her back around, just as her husband greeted her. Placing my leg in-between her thighs I slowly inched forward. The look in her eyes were full of trepidation, yet her body showed no signs of rejection as Karina sat completely still greeting Jaewook on the other side of the line.

“Hey honey, yes I’m- just…in a meeting,” Karina said.

My confidence now shot to a hundred due to our kiss moments before so decided to take things a bit further, reaching out my hand and running it along the inside of her smooth pale legs. Karina showed brief signs of resistance, squeezing her legs shut before I eased them open again with my other hand, travelling further up her inner thighs till my fingers made contact with her moist sex.

“I should be home...in a bit..,” Karina continued talking.

Her face was clearly conflicted, trying to hold it together while I pleasured her with my hands, cupping her wet pussy through her silky underwear, rubbing firmly on her clit.

“Fuck..,” Karina moaned into the phone.

Her eyes shot open in fear, realizing what she had just said as her husband sounded confused on the other line.

“No... I just found an error in the presentation that’s all,” She quickly recovered.

Smiling, I nodded, our eyes meeting for the first time during this sordid encounter. Her pupils were dilated, washed over in a glaze of lust as her mouth dropped, gaping slightly at the touch of my hands now rubbing her cunt with increased fervor. Easing her underwear to the side, I crept my fingers delicately along the length of her lips, piercing Karina’s slick labia with my digits as I proceeded to stoke the insides of her married cunt.

“God...Unghh..,” Karina gently moaned, holding the phone to her shoulder.

Luckily, Jaewook was in the thralls of an explanation about some work issues he had today, missing his wife’s whispered moans. Slipping in another finger and then another I was basically cupping her sex, removing her soaked underwear completely, placing it in my back pocket while I delved my hand deep within her folds, feeling her walls close in around me. Extending my finger deep inside her tight slit, my digits making contact with her g-spot as applied pressure with my wrist making her twitch and writhe in her chair.

“Jaewook- Jaewook...can…I... call you back..,?” Karina said, her voice now slightly ragged.

Sensing her impending climax, I doubled my efforts flicking her clitoris with my thumb as I rubbed her deep inside her cunt, stimulating her g-spot with my fingers while she creamed all over my hand. Karina’s thighs were covered in her slick juices, my wrist now leaking with her nectar as I felt her cramping up. Her cunt walls squeezing down on my fingers as I impaled my hand within her womb, fucking her with deep steady strokes.

“Shit...mpphhh,” Karina said, moaning into my shoulder as I had moved forward, resting my face next to hers as I attacked her pussy with quicker jabs.

“Babe...you still there?” I heard Jaewook saying on the other line.

“Uhhh...huh…Just finishing up here,” Karina replied.

Her pussy was twitching in my hand as I felt her hips buck, stuffing more of my fingers deeper into her married cunt as she bit down on my shoulder to mask her cries of pleasure while climaxing on my fingers. We stayed in this awkward embrace as I continued to rub at her sex, her pussy leaking down my palms and onto the carpeted floor while she finished her conversation with Jaewook. Hanging up the phone the look on her face turned from the relief of just being brought to orgasm, to more of one of remorse of what had just happened.

Getting up without a word, she held out her hand, wanting me to hand back her sex-soaked underwear to which I refused, standing up and cupping her face in my hands.

“I- can’t...we can’t…” Karina said rather tame.

“We already have,” I replied curtly, planting another kiss on her lips as I eased her back onto the wall behind.

“Wait- seriously...I’m- ughh...married,” She replied, her moans steadily increasing as my hands danced up her dress again.

“Seriously...plll...pleaseeee,” Karina pleaded in vain, her emotions caught between guilt and pleasure as I held a my cum soaked finger to her lips.

“Shhh...allow me to make you feel...better,” I replied.

“I may not be your husband...but you will enjoy this..,” I said, kissing her once more before dropping to my knees.

Karina’s eyes were wanting, slowly turning to my way of thinkings as I proceeded to lift up her dress and take in her essence. The smell of her sex was divine, a mix of the pungent natural notes of her cunt together with the sweet taste of her juice was a dream come true as I licked her slit from the bottom to the top, suckling on her throbbing clit with my lips.

“Mmhh...aahhh..,” Karina groaned lightly, running her fingers through her hair.

I was slowly breaking her resistance, feeling her push her hips into my face as I slung one of her legs over my shoulders while feasting on her slippery pussy. Dragging my tongue up her swollen lips, I pierced her folds, tongue fucking her slit with gradual spears, tasting her cream in my mouth as I eagerly lapped up everything she had to offer.

“Fuck- we...we can’t- ahh…”. Karina moaned louder as I hit the right spot, her clawing more desperate now as she forcefully fed me her cunt.

Karina was on tip toes now, her initial resistance dissipated completely as I had my way with her, licking her pink insides with my tongue as I felt her inevitable climax build. Her thighs were now clamped around my face as I hoovered up her sexual fluids, adding my fingers to the mix, penetrating her sex with my digits while sucking at her reddened clit.

“Shit...shit...mmhh...fuckk...ughh,” Karina yelled, her climax hitting its peak as she shivered and twitched around my lips.

I stayed on my knees for a while, taking in her heavenly taste in my mouth as the sultry woman eased me back to my feet. She was silent, not saying a word, almost as if saying something would be an admission of our wrong doings. If anything, I was leading proceedings backing into my leather-bound chair as I eyed Karina up and down. She knew what I wanted, a slight smirk forming on her lips as she slowly walked towards me.

We kissed softly, as I felt her hands drift slowly down my body as Karina descended to her knees, gently pushing me into my chair. Her expression was livelier riddled with hunger as she bit her lips gently, hurriedly unbuckling my belt and removing my trousers.

I stared at her full lips hovering a mere inch from my throbbing member as she kissed my crown through my boxers. My pre cum leaking onto my cotton underwear as she gently pecked at my cock with her soft lips, tasting the hint of salt soaking through the fabric. It was like watching a beautiful car crash happen in slow motion as Karina freed by cock from by pants, fishing it out and dipping her wet lips along the length of my shaft. Her soft hands feeling my meat with a firm grip that pumped with perfect execution as she finally took me into her wanting mouth, eyes locked on mine for the entirety of the act.

“Mmmm...mmm”. Karina hummed on my dick, while she gave me the best fellatio of my life.

I was lost in the sensations of her tongue lapping up the underside of my shaft in one fluid motion, before sucking down again on my crown, over and over feeding more of my twitching cock between her married lips. Running my fingers through her hair I thrust my hips gently into her wanting mouth as her nose made contact with my pubic bone, deep throating my entire cock till my tip made contact with her tonsils. I held her here for a few precious seconds, feeling her tongue coat my cock in more of her warm spit as she took me to the back of her throat, her eyes flushed with desire.

“Shit- Karina...you feel...soo...good,” I groaned, suddenly disrupted by my office door swing open.

It was Nayoung, holding the company credit card with a grin on her face. The instance she went to speak, Karina had expertly hidden herself under my desk, my cock still sheathed between her lips while she continued to feed on my meat, turning her attention to my sack with long deep licks.

“Boss can we up the limit to say 25 each?” Nayoung said smiling.

“Yeah sure whatever you guys want” I replied, slightly breathless.

Karina was staring at me from below, mouth open, rolling my sack around between her lips, slathering me in spit while I tried maintaining my cool.

“Everything OK Boss, you seem a little uptight?” Nayoung said concerned.

“Yeah...the draft went down well, Karina has just popped out for a call,” I said, a bead of sweat forming on my forehead.

“You sure...?” Nayoung replied.

I felt Karina now clamp down on my balls and suck hard while she pumped my cock with her fist, my shaft straining for release as my orgasm built up rapidly.

“Yes...no problem...keep up the good work,” I said, struggling to keep a straight face.

“Ok boss, we are just outside if you need anything,” Nayoung replied before leaving.

I waited for the footsteps to soften before letting out an almighty yawn thrusting my cock further into Karina’s mouth.

“Shit...Karina...I’m close..,” I moaned, gripping the back of her head as I continued to thrust between her lips.

“Mmm...mmhh...mmhhfff..,” Karina replied, her mouth stuffed with cock as my impending release came.

She never stopped sucking, bringing her mouth around my crown and allowing me to unload inside her oral cavity. Spurt after spurt of my sticky load painted her pink insides, feeding her a torrent of my thick and salty seed, the mother of three just lapping up my sperm with her tongue as she pumped my shaft with her fist, milking my twitching cock to completion while swallowing my load, closing her eyes in euphoria.

It was immense, watching her continue to work my spurting dick with her lips until I grew soft within her mouth. A gentle squeeze of my balls dribbling out the final drops of sperm from my tip into her welcoming tongue.

“God damn Karina...that was intense,” I said breathlessly.

She looked up at me in a cum drunk haze, my seed dripping from her bottom lip.

“So...do I taste better than your husband?” I asked cheekily.

She looked at me with a frown, coming back down to reality after her earth-shattering fellatio, she had just given me.

“I don’t usually let him finish in my mouth..,” Karina said meekly.

“Usually?” I replied.

“Never..,” She said, kissing my tip softly with her lips.

I reached out stroking her face as I scooped up the last dribble of sperm on the side of her mouth, letting the ravishing woman suck it clean from my fingers a smile breaking out on her face at the taste of my essence.

Our sensual connection in that moment was disrupted by the sudden ring of her phone. It was her husband and just like that her mood changed from a state of utter arousal to one of panic and remorse as she stood up, flattening out her dress and grabbing her jacket.

“I... I have to go,” Karina stammered, clearly flustered as her cheeks went a bright red.

“Email me the rest of the slides?” She said turning to me.

“Look- about...what just…” Karina started.

I cut her off, kissing her gently on the lips.

“Go... I will see you in the meeting on Friday,” I said gently.

Karina smiled, avoiding my eye contact, clearly riddled with guilt from what had just transpired, but she clearly enjoyed herself. It gave me a surge of confidence knowing that fact, even if she was not ready to freely admit it herself.

The picture of her locked in the thralls of passion as I felt her up for the first time would forever be seared into my memories. I was officially addicted and I needed to get another hit of her...

[flanaganfilm]

Good day Mr Flanagan. please what does "the rest is confetti" mean to you and in the context it was used in hill house??

Okay, here we go. Buckle up for a long read.

To answer this, I've got to explain a little bit about what was happening and where I was when I sat down to write episode 10 of The Haunting of Hill House.

Hill House was not a fun shoot. The picture above is from very early in production, when I was still chubby and happy.

It was my first foray into television. I was absolutely terrified that I'd mess it up. So I'd opted to direct all of the episodes myself, figuring that - if nothing else - I'd have no one else to blame if it went south.

It was the most grueling professional experience of my career. The shoot was by no means a smooth one, every day was an uphill battle from a budgetary perspective, and between the three giant production entities involved with the production, I spent a lot of time fighting over the creative and logistical elements of the series.

I began losing weight. I was smoking two packs of cigarettes a day.

By the end of the shoot, I had dropped almost 40 lbs.

I was very depressed. Every day was a battle, and for the first time in my career, I wasn't excited to go to work in the morning. We were fighting for basic resources, fighting for the show we wanted, and even fighting amongst ourselves by the end. It was grueling.

We hadn't written all of the scripts when we started production. I believe we had finished through episode 7, but the rest of the scripts had to be finished while we were already shooting.

We'd mapped everything out in the writers room, and I had great support on the other episodes, but I was writing the finale solo. I'd thought I'd be able to juggle it with everything else. I quickly fell behind.

I finally got to the script about halfway through production. I'd work on it between takes at the monitor, and then get home to our tiny rental house in Atlanta, where Kate was waiting with our baby son. (One of the rare bright spots of this shoot came when Kate found out she was pregnant about halfway through production. We even named our daughter Theodora, in honor of her origins.)

I'd typically fall down from exhaustion when I got home, but I had to push through it and work on the script. My weekends were spent shotlisting and prepping for upcoming episodes. We didn't have enough time to stay ahead of prep, so every available day was used for that... I went three months without a single day off at one point.

I'd sit up late staring at the script. I was in a dark, dark place. Overwhelmed, exhausted, and feeling like I lived in an eternal present. Each day bled into the next and it didn't feel like there was an end in sight. That feeling of unreality was heightened because we kept returning to the same sets, same locations, and even the same scenes throughout the 100 shooting-day production. Stepping back into the exact room we had shot in days or weeks or even months ago made the whole thing feel absolutely surreal. Making movies is always an non-linear experience, but this one felt particularly so... it was like the days of our lives were happening to us all out of order.

I remember feeling something like despair creeping into my daily experience on the show. And I remember dwelling on that when I got into the scene work of episode 10.

As I worked through the draft, I recall that despair coloring a lot of what was on the page. My filter was breaking down. There's a monologue at the beginning of the episode where Steven's wife Leigh (played by my dear friend Samantha Sloyan) spews out a torrent of eviscerating insults about Steve's value as a writer. That is just me vomiting onto myself. She was voicing all of my deepest insecurities about myself at the time, and of what I was doing with this series.

She says "Is anything real before you write it, Steve? The things you write about, they're real. Those people are real, their feelings are real, their pain is real - but not to you, is it. Not until you chew it up, digest it, and shit it out onto a piece of paper and even then, it's a pale imitation at best."

This was the mindset I was in for a lot of the shoot. The writing became a reflection of a lot of that turmoil, and I knew who I was referring to in that monologue - I was talking about my family. I was talking about how much of their lives I'd used as building material for this show. I was talking about the fact that I'd lost two loved ones to suicide, and seen what it had done to my mother in particular. And I knew I was using - possibly even exploiting - those people for this series.

There's a lot of despair in this episode. The Red Room, as we conceived it, was a place that would feed upon those emotions. Grief, sadness, loss... those were the real ghosts of our series, and where our characters find themselves at the start of the finale. They're being slowly digested - eaten alive - by those feelings.

So finally, it came time to write Nell's final scene with her siblings. I knew from the outline we'd constructed in the writers room what this was supposed to accomplish - she was supposed to be their salvation. She was supposed to take all of these feelings that we'd been wrestling with and finally provide catharsis... finally say something that would free everyone.

I remember sitting with a blinking cursor for a long time. The Crain siblings had just turned and seen Nellie standing by the door, and suddenly were able to hear her speak. But what should she say? What would I say? What would I want someone to say to me?

What she ultimately says lays bare a lot of what I was thinking about when it comes to grief. It exists outside of linear time, much as I felt I existed at the time. That sense of eternal present, that sense of a nonlinear eternity of moments and memories - it all came out in her speech to her brothers and sisters.

I remember feeling, looking at my insane present and looking back at my past, how strangely overwhelmed I was by memories. That I wasn't experiencing time in a straight line, and hadn't been for a while - for the better part of a year, I'd felt more like I was standing in a whirlwind of moments. "Our moments fall around us like..." Nell said, and I recall sitting back and trying to find the words.

"Rain," for certain, but there was something too uniform about that. The moments of life as I experienced them weren't that orderly, they weren't that small. They didn't fall the same way. Some sailed by, fast and unremarkable, while others lingered in front of me, twisting and stretching. So it was a good word, but not the right word. I left it on the page though.

"Snow" was my next attempt. Better, in that I imagined the snow blowing in the wind, swirling and dancing and feeling more organic. More chaotic. More like life. But for some reason, the word that stuck with me, the word I felt Nell Crain would connect with was...

"Confetti."

And that was because I was thinking not of Victoria Pedretti at this point, but of Violet McGraw.

Violet played Young Nell, and I wondered what she might have said if she experienced time this way. As an adult, Nell was despairing. Nell was overwhelmed. But as a child... there was an innocence to the word. There was a joy to the word.

I imagined moments falling around her, this little girl with the big smile and the wide eyes. Her moments would be colorful. They would be of different shapes and sizes, some falling fast and some falling slow, flipping and turning and dancing in the air, independent of the others. Sparkling, whirling, doing lazy summersaults as they sauntered down to Earth.

I thought of myself, and of the members of my family. I thought of those we'd lost. I realized what I hoped for them, and for us all, in the end... was to look upon that mosaic of experience, that avalanche of days and minutes and moments... and to smile with some of the joy we had as children.

And this, I thought, was something that gave me hope. This gave me a glimpse of some kind of salvation for them. This was also how I hoped my life might seem if I was a ghost - a cascade of color and light and shape and movement, something I could dance in.

So Nell smiled and said... "or confetti."

It stuck with me. The rest of her monologue gets heavy again, and gets to the real point of the show - the point of the whole series, if I'm honest - and that's forgiveness.

I figured the only thing that would let the Crain children out of the Red Room was to be forgiven. I thought of the losses in my own family, and I thought of what I wished for my mother and for my aunts and uncles and cousins and I tried to pour that into her final words.

"I loved you completely, and you loved me the same," she said, "that's all." And this was the point I wanted the most to make. That at the end of our life, if we can say this about each other, the rest doesn't matter. The rest is that rainstorm, or that blizzard, that fell around this one central truth, and maybe built itself in piles around it, to the point we lost sight of it along the way.

And I thought again of that little girl, and almost as an afterthought, wrote "The rest is confetti."

I liked the way it sounded, but I was insecure about the line. I almost took it out, in fact. I remember asking Kate to read the scene and talking about that last line with her. "Is it too cute?" I wondered. She was on the fence. "Depends on how it's acted," she said, and I figured she was right. We could always take it out if it didn't work. The scene could end with "I loved you completely, and you loved me the same. That's all."

Why not shoot it and see what happened.

I turned in the script, we published it quickly so that we could start breaking it down and prepping it. And the next morning I was back on set. I'd deal with episode 10 when it came down the pipe again, sometime in the coming months. We had a lot of shooting to get through before I had to worry about it.

I recall Netflix asking me to cut a lot of that monologue, and I remember them also having questions about the "confetti" line. I pointed out that it didn't cost us any extra to shoot it all, it was only words, and fought to keep the script intact.

Ultimately, they insisted I make a series of cuts on the page. I begrudgingly agreed, but left Nell's speech alone. I made superficial cuts around it, throughout the draft, and even considered changing the font size to fool them into thinking it had gotten shorter (I ultimately was told I wouldn't fool anyone and not to risk starting a war). But Nellie's final goodbye stayed intact.

It must be said - Victoria Pedretti SLAUGHTERED this scene.

By the time we got around to filming it, things had never been worse for the production. There was almost nothing left for a lot of us. Tensions were sky-high, resources had been exhausted completely, and we were all ready to give up.

Filming in the mold-ridden Red Room was depressing, morose, and led to a lot of arguments and unpleasantness. The room itself just felt gross, always, and we were in there for days at a time. The last thing we had to shoot in there was Nellie's goodbye.

Victoria came to set having to push through pages of monologue, and she did so with captivating bravado. I recall being teary-eyed at the monitor watching her work. And when we finally made it to the last line, I watched her deliver it with... a smile. A sincere, innocent, longing, joyful smile. A smile informed by the sadness, grief, and loss of her own situation, of her own life... but a smile that finds forgiveness and grace after all. Pedretti knew how to say the line, and how that word would work.

And as she said it, I knew it would stay in the show.

Over the years, that sentence has become something of a tagline for The Haunting of Hill House. I'm always a bit mystified and touched when I see people approach me with the line on T-shirts, or even tattooed on their bodies.

I started signing it with autographs back in 2020 after enough fans asked me to. Now it's my go-to when I sign anything related to Hill House.

The line, for me, represents a lot of things.

It's about the insane, chaotic, non-linear experience of making that show. It's about trying to find and hold onto joy, even in the grips of despair.

It's about the way the moments of our lives aren't linear, not really, and how we may be unable to understand them as we exist in their flurry. It's about finding hope, innocence and forgiveness in the final reckoning.

And it's about how, outside of our love for each other, the rest is just... well, it's fleeting. It's colorful. It's overwhelming. It's blinding. It's dancing. And, if we look at it right, it's beautiful. But it's also light. It's tinsel. It flits and dances and falls and fades, it's as light as air.

The rest is the stuff that falls around us, and flits away into nothing.

It's the love that stays.

[kaces-graham-crackers]

Stirring the Quiet - Tangled Thoughts, Clear Hearts

Jenna Ortega x Female Reader

Summary: Days have passed since the run-in with Jenna's friends, and Y/N is still reeling from the unexpected "grilling." With the fall festival next weekend, there's excitement but nerves, too. Amid taco nights and family teasing, Y/N's mind keeps circling back to Jenna and where things might be headed. But just when Y/N thinks they’ve got it figured out, a simple text from Jenna hints at something more—if Y/N's ready to take the leap.

Word Count: 3.8k

The familiar chime of keys jingling in my hand as I unlocked the doors to The Daily Grind felt like the start of any other morning. Wilma and I stepped inside, the café still bathed in the soft, early morning glow. It was peaceful, calm—before the chaos of the day began.

Wilma flicked on the lights and headed straight for the kitchen. “I’ll start on the pastries. You got the coffee?”

I nodded, already moving toward the espresso machine. “On it.”

The morning routine was easy, familiar. It helped distract me from the whirlwind of thoughts that had been swirling in my head since the run-in with Emma and Melissa. I knew why they’d grilled me that day—testing my character, sizing me up to make sure I wasn’t playing games with Jenna. The whole thing still made me laugh a little, now that the intensity of it had passed.

But still, it left an impression.

Wilma popped her head out of the kitchen, eyeing me as I spaced out again. “You good? You’re staring off into space like you’re waiting for something to happen.”

I shook myself out of it. “Yeah, just thinking about the other day.”

Wilma raised an eyebrow. “You mean when Emma Myers and Melissa Barrera came in? You still stuck on that?”

“Kind of,” I admitted, pausing to lean against the counter. “I know they were testing me. You know, for Jenna. Just wanted to see if I had good intentions or whatever.”

Wilma smirked, wiping her hands on her apron. “Sounds like they take protecting their friend seriously.”

I nodded, a small smile creeping up. “Yeah, I get it. But they really threw me off. I wasn’t expecting it.”

She chuckled, disappearing back into the kitchen. “Well, it sounds like you passed the test. Guess they know you’re not a player.”

“Yeah,” I muttered to myself. “Guess so.”

Even though I knew they were just looking out for Jenna, it still weighed on me. Jenna was a big deal—bigger than I’d ever thought. And having her friends throw me into an interrogation, even under the guise of acting, made me realize how seriously they took her happiness.

And now, here I was, not just thinking about what Jenna might feel—but how I felt too.

I busied myself with brewing coffee and prepping the counter for the first wave of customers, trying to focus on the normal rhythm of the morning. But it was hard to shake the weight of it all. I didn’t mind that her friends cared so much. In fact, it made me admire Jenna even more, seeing how loyal and protective her circle was.

What I couldn’t figure out yet was how I fit into that picture.

Sure, Jenna had shown interest—at least, I was pretty sure she had. The lingering touches, the way she looked at me, the way she’d said I was different. All signs pointed to something more than friendship. But there was still that little voice in the back of my head, the one that nagged at me, questioning everything.

Would this really go anywhere? Did someone like Jenna, with her fame, her life in the spotlight, have room for someone like me? And even if she did, could I handle it? The attention, the scrutiny—it was all so far from the life I was used to.

I wiped down the counter, trying to shake the thoughts away, but they clung to me like stubborn shadows. As I finished prepping, Wilma popped up beside me, holding a tray of fresh pastries.

“You’ve been in your head all morning,” she observed, her tone light but probing. “Wanna talk about it?”

I glanced at her, shrugging slightly. “It’s just... everything with Jenna. I don’t know, Wilma. I feel like I’m overthinking it.”

Wilma raised an eyebrow, placing the tray on the counter and leaning against the wall. “Overthinking? What’s there to overthink? She likes you, right? And from what I can tell, you like her.”

I sighed, leaning against the counter. “Yeah, but it’s not that simple. I mean, look at her life. It’s so different from mine. I’m just a barista, and she’s... well, she’s Jenna Ortega.”

Wilma gave me a sympathetic smile. “Y/N, you’re not ‘just a barista.’ You’re you, and that’s why she likes you. You don’t have to fit into her world perfectly. If anything, she’s probably looking for something real, something outside of all the Hollywood craziness. And that’s what you give her.”

Her words made sense, but there was still that lingering doubt in my chest. “I guess. I just don’t want to get my hopes up, you know? I’ve been burned before.”

Wilma’s expression softened, and she reached out, placing a hand on my arm. “I get it. But you can’t let fear of the past ruin something good now. Jenna seems like she’s really into you. You just have to trust that and see where it goes.”

I nodded, appreciating her support. “Thanks, Wilma. I just... I don’t want to mess this up.”

“You won’t,” she said with a reassuring smile. “Just be yourself. That’s all you need to do.”

I smiled back, feeling a little lighter. Maybe she was right. Maybe I was overthinking things. Jenna had been clear about wanting to spend time with me, and her friends had given me the third degree—which, in a weird way, was a sign that they cared about her and maybe even wanted to see if I was the real deal. That had to mean something.

The bell above the door chimed, and the first wave of customers started trickling in, pulling me back into the routine of work. But even as I poured coffee and rang up orders, the thoughts of Jenna lingered, like a low hum in the background of my mind.

Later that afternoon, I was taking a quick break in the back when my phone buzzed. I pulled it out, expecting a text from Wilma or one of my brothers, but my heart skipped when I saw Jenna’s name pop up.

I unlocked my phone, and the message made my heart flutter.

Jenna: Hey, what are you doing this next weekend? There's a fall festival in town, and I thought would be fun to check it out. Want to go with me?

A festival? The thought of walking through a fall festival with Jenna, surrounded by cozy autumn vibes, sounded perfect.

I quickly typed back, immediately.

Y/N: That sounds amazing. I’m totally down. What day were you thinking?

A few seconds later, my phone buzzed again.

Jenna: Saturday afternoon? It’s supposed to have food trucks, live music, and carnival games. We could just hang out and see where the night takes us.

I smiled, the excitement bubbling up inside me.

Y/N: I’m in! I can’t wait. Saturday it is.

After sending the message, I found myself grinning like an idiot, unable to stop thinking about how much fun next weekend was going to be. The idea of spending the day with Jenna, surrounded by the crisp fall air, pumpkins, and carnival lights, felt like something out of a dream.

As I tucked my phone back into my pocket and returned to work, my mind was already racing with thoughts of what the day might bring.

Two days later, I was back in the kitchen with Marcus and Caleb, prepping for a taco night instead of our usual routine meals. Mr. Noodles, as always, was perched on top of the fridge, his eyes darting back and forth between us as if supervising our cooking process. Caleb was working on the seasoned beef, adding his special blend of spices, while Marcus was busy chopping up vegetables, humming some random tune.

The smell of fresh tortillas and sizzling meat filled the air, making the kitchen feel warm and homey. But as much as I tried to focus on cooking, my mind kept wandering back to the fall festival and the fact that I’d be hanging out with Jenna.

“I can practically see the gears turning in your head,” Marcus said, breaking my thoughts. He wasn’t even looking at me, still focused on chopping tomatoes. “Thinking about your big day with Jenna?”

Caleb, always the more thoughtful one, glanced over from the stove. “He’s got a point, Ken. You’ve been pretty quiet for someone with a big weekend coming up.”

I shook my head, trying to brush it off. “I’m just... thinking. And it’s not a big deal.”

Marcus grinned, clearly not buying it. “Uh-huh. Just a ‘casual hangout’ with a mega-famous actress. Totally not a big deal.”

I groaned, rolling my eyes. “You guys are making it sound way bigger than it is. It’s just a festival.”

Caleb smirked, stirring the taco meat. “Sure, but it’s not every day you go to a festival with Jenna Ortega. It’s okay to admit you’re nervous.”

Before I could respond, my phone buzzed with an incoming FaceTime call. I glanced down and saw it was from Mom. “Uh-oh,” I muttered, grabbing my phone. “Mom’s calling.”

Marcus’s eyes lit up. “Oh, this should be good.”

I answered the call, and immediately, my mom’s face filled the screen, her usual bright smile greeting me. “Hey, sweetie! How’s everything going?”

“Hey, Mom,” I replied, trying to keep the conversation casual as Marcus and Caleb exchanged amused glances. “We’re just making tacos.”

Dad’s voice boomed in the background. “Tacos, huh? Save some for us!”

I laughed, and just as I was about to respond, my little sister Layla’s face popped into view, her excitement practically vibrating through the phone. “Y/N! Marcus told us you have a date with Jenna Ortega! Is it true?”

I shot Marcus a glare, and he just grinned innocently, continuing to chop vegetables. “Seriously?” I mouthed at him.

Layla’s squeal of excitement pierced the air. “I knew it! You’re going on a date with a movie star! This is so cool! Can you get her autograph for me?”

My face heated up, and I rubbed my temples, trying to keep calm. “It’s not a date, Layla. We’re just hanging out.”

But before I could explain further, Mom’s face appeared on the screen again, her smile even bigger now. “Ken, that’s wonderful! I’m so glad you’re getting out there again. It’s about time.”

Dad chuckled in the background. “You better make a good impression. Who knows? Maybe she’ll be the one.”

I groaned internally, feeling the weight of everyone’s excitement. “Guys, please, it’s not like that. We’re just going to a festival. No big deal. Casual hangout”

“Right,” Marcus chimed in, clearly enjoying this. “Just a casual outing with one of the most famous actresses in the world. Totally normal.”

Layla squealed again. “Y/N, this is awesome! You’re dating someone rich! Can you imagine all the fancy places you could go?”

I facepalmed, the teasing from my family getting worse by the second. “Layla, please. I’m still figuring things out.”

Mom chuckled, her voice softening. “We’re just happy for you, sweetie. You deserve to have fun.”

Layla was still practically bouncing off the walls. “You have to tell me all about it, okay? Even if she’s not Tom Holland, this is still huge!”

I sighed, finally giving in. “Fine, I’ll tell you about it. But seriously, it’s not as big of a deal as you’re all making it.”

Dad grinned, giving me a playful wink. “We’ll be the judge of that.”

As the teasing continued, Caleb and Marcus were grinning from ear to ear, clearly loving every minute of my embarrassment. Mr. Noodles, meanwhile, had managed to sneak closer to the plate of cheese, and Marcus had to shoo him away quickly.

After a few more minutes of chaotic family chatter, I finally ended the call, feeling both exasperated and oddly comforted by their excitement.

I turned to Marcus, narrowing my eyes. “You just had to spill the beans, didn’t you?”

He shrugged, not even pretending to be sorry. “Hey, where’s the fun in keeping secrets?”

Caleb chuckled, handing me a taco shell. “Don’t worry, Ken. We’re just happy for you.”

I sighed, taking the taco and rolling my eyes. “You guys are impossible.”

Marcus raised his taco in a mock toast. “Here’s to your ‘casual hangout’ with Jenna.”

I couldn’t help but laugh despite the embarrassment. Deep down, though, I was already feeling a mix of excitement and nerves about the weekend.

Whatever was going to happen, it was clear that my family—and Mr. Noodles—would have plenty to say about it.

Later that evening, after the chaos of dinner and the endless teasing had died down, I found myself curled up on the couch with Mr. Noodles resting comfortably on my lap. His steady purring was a welcome comfort after the whirlwind of emotions the past few days had stirred up. I absentmindedly scratched behind his ears as I scrolled through my phone, trying to unwind.

It wasn’t the festival yet, but the anticipation still hung in the air, making it hard to focus on anything else. My mind kept drifting back to Jenna, replaying every conversation, every moment we’d shared. Was I reading too much into things? Or was there something real between us?

My phone buzzed with a notification, and I glanced down, expecting it to be another message from Marcus with more teasing. But to my surprise, it was a text from Jenna.

Jenna: Hey! Hope you’re free this weekend. I was thinking we could check out this new art exhibit downtown. I heard it’s really cool, and maybe grab some coffee after?

A smile tugged at my lips. It wasn’t a festival or anything grand, but the idea of spending time with her, doing something as simple as visiting an art exhibit, felt… right. I quickly typed a response, trying to play it cool even though my heart was doing little flips in my chest.

Y/N: That sounds great! I’d love to. What time were you thinking?

She replied almost immediately.

Jenna: How about Friday around noon? We can make a whole afternoon of it if you’re up for it.

Y/N: Sounds perfect. Can’t wait!

As soon as I hit send, a wave of nervous excitement washed over me. It wasn’t just about hanging out with her anymore—it felt like something more.

I spent the rest of the evening thinking about how things had shifted between us, from casual coffee shop chats to this. It was strange, but in the best way possible.

Friday came faster than I expected, and by the time I was getting ready, the nervous excitement had hit full force. Caleb and Marcus, of course, were no help as they hovered around, watching me like vultures.

“So,” Marcus started, leaning against my bedroom doorframe with a grin. “Big day with Jenna, huh?”

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t hide my smile. “It’s not a date.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Caleb said, smirking as he fluffed a pillow on my bed for no reason at all. “But if it were a date, hypothetically, you’d want to look good, right?”

I glanced at them both, trying to suppress a laugh. “Hypothetically.”

Marcus gave me a once-over and nodded. “Well, you’re looking date-ready to me.”

“Guys, it’s just an art exhibit..”

“Uh-huh.” Caleb exchanged a knowing look with Marcus. “Whatever you say, Y/N.”

I sighed, grabbing my jacket and throwing it over my shoulder. “Okay, I’m heading out before you two drive me crazy.”

Marcus gave me a mock salute. “Good luck, sis. You’ve got this.”

“Thanks, I guess?” I muttered, shaking my head as I headed for the door. Mr. Noodles meowed from his perch on the windowsill, watching me go with what I could only describe as mild disinterest.

When I arrived at the art gallery, Jenna was already waiting outside, dressed in a casual yet effortlessly stylish outfit, as always. She spotted me and waved with that signature smile that always made my heart skip a beat.

“Hey!” she greeted as I approached. “You ready to be blown away by some modern art?”

I grinned. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

We spent the next couple of hours wandering through the exhibit, making comments about the more abstract pieces and laughing at our completely amateur interpretations. Jenna’s knowledge of art was impressive, though she played it down, explaining how her mom had always taken her to galleries when she was younger.

It was easy being with her—comfortable, even when the conversation dipped into deeper topics. As we moved from room to room, I couldn’t help but feel like this was the kind of moment you didn’t get often—something simple, but meaningful.

After the exhibit, we grabbed coffee at a nearby café, sitting by the window as we sipped our drinks. The conversation flowed as naturally as ever, and before I knew it, hours had passed.

So,” Jenna said, her tone a bit more serious as she swirled her cup. “I’ve been meaning to ask... how are things going? You know, with The Daily Grind, and everyone?”

I looked at her, sensing that she wasn’t just asking about my day. “Things are... good. Busy, but good. And you?”

Jenna smiled softly, her eyes meeting mine. “Same. But it’s been nice... having someone to talk to. Someone who gets it.”

I felt a warmth spread through my chest, a feeling that seemed to be happening more and more whenever we talked. But there was something different in the way she said it this time. Her gaze lingered on mine, and for a brief moment, I thought I saw something flicker in her eyes.

Before I could respond, Jenna shifted slightly in her seat, her fingers tracing the rim of her coffee cup. “Actually, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.” Her voice had a softer, more hesitant edge to it.

I tilted my head, intrigued. “What’s up?”

She bit her lip, almost like she was searching for the right words. “You remember when we first started hanging out? It felt... I don’t know, casual. But lately... I’ve been thinking it’s something more than that. Maybe it always has been, and I didn’t want to admit it.”

My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to process what she was saying. Was she about to say what I thought she was? Was this actually happening?

“I know I’ve been careful about keeping things... low-key,” she continued, her eyes still locked on mine. “But I’ve realized I don’t want to pretend anymore. I don’t want to overthink everything just because of how complicated my life is.”

I swallowed hard, my voice barely above a whisper. “What are you saying, Jenna?”

Jenna let out a small, nervous laugh, running a hand through her hair. “I guess what I’m trying to say is... I like you, Y/N. More than just a friend. And I’ve been trying to figure out if you feel the same way, or if I’m just imagining things.”

I blinked, stunned for a moment. Of all the things I’d imagined happening today, this was not one of them. Jenna Ortega, the girl who had been the subject of all my daydreams for the past few months, was sitting across from me, confessing her feelings. For me.

A grin spread across my face as my nervousness faded. I leaned in, gently placing a hand on hers. "You're not imagining things, Jenna," I said softly, my heart racing. "I’ve felt the same for a while. I wasn’t sure if I knew fully or was ready for it."

Jenna’s eyes widened in surprise, but a bright smile broke across her face. “Really? You’ve... felt the same?”

I nodded, my own smile growing. “Yeah. I didn’t want to push anything, especially since I know your life is crazy and complicated. But... yeah. I like you, Jenna. A lot.”

Her smile softened into something more tender, wrapping her fingers around mine and holding my hand. "I'm really glad you said that."

For a moment, we just sat there, the world outside the café falling away as we looked at each other. It was like everything had shifted between us in the span of a few sentences, but in the best possible way.

“Does this mean...” I started, trying to piece together what this meant for us. “That we’re...?”

Jenna laughed softly, her eyes twinkling. “Let’s just say we’re taking a step forward. I don’t want to rush anything, but I also don’t want to hold back anymore.”

I nodded, feeling a sense of relief wash over me. “I’m okay with that.”

We both sat back, the tension in the air replaced by something lighter, something that felt like the start of something new.

“There’s something else I’ve been meaning to tell you,” Jenna said, her tone shifting to something more serious.

I tilted my head, curious. “Yeah?”

She hesitated, fiddling with her bracelet for a moment before looking up at me. “I’ve been offered a pretty big role. It’s... out of the country, though. And it’s long-term.”

My stomach did a small flip. “Out of the country? For how long?”

Jenna sighed. “Six months, maybe longer. It’s a dream project, but I didn’t want to bring it up until I knew for sure. And now it’s official.”

I blinked, trying to process the information. “Wow. That’s... amazing, Jenna. But... six months?”

She gave a small nod, her eyes searching mine for a reaction. “Yeah, I know. It’s a lot to take in. I don’t even know how to feel about it yet. On one hand, it’s such a huge opportunity, but on the other...”

I didn’t know what to say for a second, my mind racing with thoughts. “You’re going to take it, right?”

Jenna looked down, biting her lip. “I think so. But I wanted to tell you first. I didn’t want to just... disappear without you knowing what was going on.”

I sat back, taking in her words. It felt like a heavy shift, something neither of us had been expecting. Six months was a long time, and part of me wasn’t sure how to feel about it. But at the same time, this was a huge step for Jenna, and I knew how much her work meant to her.

“I’m glad you told me,” I said, my voice steady. “It sounds like an incredible opportunity. I’m proud of you.”

Jenna smiled softly, relief washing over her face. “Thanks. I just didn’t want you to think I was... leaving, you know?”

I nodded, understanding the unspoken weight behind her words. This wasn’t just about the project; it was about us—whatever this was it was getting serious. And while the news felt like a curveball, it didn’t change how I felt. Not in the slightest.

“Well, we’ll figure it out,” I said, offering her a reassuring smile. “Whatever happens, we’ll figure it out.”

Jenna’s smile grew, and I saw a flicker of hope in her eyes for the first time since the conversation started. “Yeah. We will.”

[landossnorriss]

back to life | lando x older!she

Pairing: lando x older!she. Summary: with a new job on the line and a new adventure on her own for the very first time, she can't afford to risk putting a foot step wrong. it's a shame the younger f1 driver is used to living his life at 200 miles per hour and he's not afraid to pull her along for the ride. Word Count: 2.4ishk Warning: nothing yet... AN: this was going to be a one shot but i think we're looking more around 3-4 parts? i get word vomit and i simply can't stop myself. my intention with this script will be to keep her as non-descript as possible so that people can self insert at their own indulgence, the only thing is she's older than our fave number four. all the older!reader credit inspo goes to the lovely @coff33andb00ks <3

There was a high chance she was going to be sick. Why she had thought that she was ready to be in this position she didn’t know. The Mclaren account was not one that anyone wanted to mess with and at 29 she was officially the youngest person to manage it for Ashurst. Yep, she was going to throw up. When the promotion opportunity had come up she had thrown her hat in the ring for the experience, to test herself and see if she could make it through the interviews for such a role. She had prepped the best she could and told herself any feedback she got would just serve her for when she was well and truly ready to take on an account as large as this one. 

It was a good job she had been sitting down when the call had come through to join her boss in the office and celebrate the good news they had to offer her. The job would require a team she knew that, there was no way that she would be able to do it all on her own and the next stages would be deciding on any changes she needed to make and working on the team that would represent Ashurst for Mclaren but it was her name on the door, her choices that would make all the difference. Her say would always be the final one and she was ready to crumble at any given moment at the weight of it all on her shoulders. Impostor syndrome was being a real bitch right now. 

This morning she had been so sure that she could manage it, the meetings that she had held so far over Teams and Zoom had all gone swimmingly. Zak was charming and easy to work with, her team seemed to respect her despite the fact she was younger than at least half of them but all the confidence she had managed to muster that she could do this, seemed to leave her as she headed into the Mclaren center for the first time. She had been on a visit just once before, as nothing more than a fan before but now as she felt eyes on her the shirt she had made sure was pristine this morning suddenly didn’t feel smart enough, the click of her heels was too much and she was ready for throwing up all over again. 

Today likely hadn’t been the smartest day for her to be introduced to the key players in the game given how overwhelmed she had felt about the account already, but Zak had been insistent. Everyone would be on sight today and it would give her a chance to say hi before everyone vanished for the summer break she knew the team needed. Thank god as the team’s lawyer she wouldn’t be required to travel around with them all that often and most of her work could be done from home. She would miss her bed far too much to be away as often as the rest of the team were. Zak hadn’t been lying either, when he had said that everyone was here and she had given up trying to count the sea of people from where she was tucked into the center waiting for the stars of the show to arrive. 

She had never met either driver despite her time working with the team previously and she would keep her excitement over the matter buried deep. There would be no fawning and swooning, no acting star struck. She was a professional, a damn weapon in her field and she would be respected as a perfectly good lawyer, there was nothing and no one that would take her determination to smash everything about this promotion. 

Certainly not the green eyed driver currently climbing from his car as the rest of the team cheered for them. She had seen him plenty on the TV and always thought he was handsome, even if he was younger than her, but seeing him in person? Good god she needed to get it together. Day one, it was only day one in the damn office. There was no room to be mesmerized as Lando spoke to the crowds, taunted his team mate and generally seemed to be the center of attention in the room despite the fact there were two papaya boys in the room. This was his home, that much was obvious and these were his people. It filled her chest with an odd sense of pride that these were the groups of people she would be protecting and keeping in line, even from the background. 

For his part, Lando wasn’t doing much better at keeping his attention where it needed to be. He’d seen her as soon as he had stepped out of the car, eyes on the woman that stood just behind Zak. In her business-like attire she stood out like a sore thumb in the swarms of papaya and he didn’t mind it one bit. He’d never seen such a pretty face in this damn factory and before he could stop himself he let his eyes trail over her frame, she was older, not by much he assumed but just enough and were it not for the nudge in his side from Oscar he might have continued to stare at her. Who the hell was she? The question had continued to taunt him through the rest of the afternoon as he mingled, took so many photos and smiled so much his face hurt but his eyes had always managed to stray back to her. She had stuck by Zak’s side for most of the afternoon and he felt a flare of something unusual for him, even though it was obvious Zak was introducing her to people. 

“If you don’t stop staring at her, she’s going to get a restraining order against you before you’ve even met.” Oscar warned with another jab of his elbow into Landos side, the shorter driver whipping his head back to the younger with a scowl. 

“I’m not staring…just - who is she?” He found himself asking and he was unable to hide the tone his question held. 

“New team lawyer, or account manager I heard, she works for Ashurst but is our contact.” 

Lando frowned once more at the aussie before his green eyes inevitably found themselves looking for her again, desperate to trace over every curve hidden in that pencil skirt. How did Oscar always know everything first and more importantly how did he make that skirt a part of her everyday uniform? Despite everything that had gone on in the season so far, he had still been looking forward to the summer break celebrations and being back at the MTC. It always filled him with some sense of pride but any thoughts of team celebrations were now tucked firmly at the back of his mind because he wasn’t going to be able to concentrate if he didn’t find a way to be introduced to her soon. 

“What’s her – “

“Lando, Oscar, you got a second?” Zak called as he finally made his way to his driver pairing, a nervous lawyer in tow with him. 

Oscar could only roll his eyes at the expression that had formed on Lando’s face, that boy had never been able to hide anything a day in his life. Zak, squinting at his older driver, stopped allowing her past as they came to a stop in front of the boys. “Boys, this is our new lawyer from Ashurst, she comes with glowing recommendations and she is going to be around more and more so I expect you to be nice.” He offered with a beaming smile as Oscar stepped in first, given the frozen state of Lando, hand held out to the pretty lawyer. She was Lando’s type for sure. “Hi I’m Oscar, or Osc according to this guy, nice to meet you.” Turning his gaze between her and Lando he paused for just a second, the appreciation apparently mutual, before he gave a small cough as Zak was already busy calling someone else over. “And this here is Lando…he’s not a mute I swear.” 

She couldn’t help but smile at Oscar for just a moment, a flush on her cheeks as she noted the sarcasm in his tone before her soft gaze returned to Lando. First of all, where was his mother so she could thank her for his creation, and what the hell was he wearing because he smelt incredible. Holding out her hand to the older of the two men she waited for a moment before she felt his rougher hand slip into her own. “Right - I’m Lando, welcome aboard.” God could he sound any more awkward if he tried?

Luckily for both of them, Zak slapped a hand on Landos back, reinserting himself into the moment. “All introduced? I’ve invited our new lovely lawyer to the team dinner tonight when there are a few less of us so we can all get to know each other. How does that sound?” He beamed as he looked between everyone, a little slow on the uptake. 

“Yes, yes!” Lando beamed, god he knew he loved Zak for a reason. “I think that’s a great idea you should come with us!” 

“Oh I don’t want to intrude and I don’t, I don’t actually drive, where is the dinner tonight?” She flushed furiously at the idea she worked for a company like Mclaren now and still couldn’t drive. It simply wasn’t her fault that the clutch hated her. 

Lando, oblivious to the looks Oscar and now Zak were giving him, was already beaming with ideas forming in his head. Hot older woman, he could drive, a practical date. Win, win, win. Before Zak could even offer her a car Lando was already stepping closer to her. “I can pick you up, don't worry, it will do you good to arrive with a friend, arriving on your own might be a lot.” 

“Oh no Lando, you really don’t have to.” 

“Please.” The young driver scoffed with a wave of his hand. “Is that your phone, I’ll put my number in.” 

Feeling the blush she wore deepend she nodded, handing over her phone to the driver. He was being sweet, that was all she told herself because there was no way in hell it was anything more. He was, god he was gorgeous and she had seen the women he went for, younger, tiny, famous. She didn’t fit a single piece of his usual type, likely just an inch shorter than him in the heels she wore, her hips wider than most women cared for and five years older than him. 

“There you go, text me your address and I’ll pick you up at six thirty?” He offered, full charm in swing as he looked back at her. She was pretty from afar, but upclose? Lando just wanted to count each of her freckles and bumble over his words as he tried to flatter her. 

She needed a moment to compose herself and recenter, she had been flirted with before, she was pretty she knew that, but the men had never been, well fucking Lando Norris and big red flags that she was not allowed to flirt with in return. “Thank you, Mr Norris, I’m just going to go find the bathroom I’ll text you my address for later.” Maybe, she might still pull out if she could think of a good enough reason to do so. With the most awkward wave she could muster she found herself spinning on her heels, a string of curses sounding in her head as she tried to look calm whilst she was scurrying away to any form of locked bathroom door she could find for a very real mental breakdown. This was bad, this was very, very bad. 

Watching as she left Lando was pretty sure he let out an audible sigh. God what a fucking woman. Only the cough behind him brought him back to his current surroundings and he spun to face the questioning gaze of his boss and amusement of his teammate. “You’re not fucking the new lawyer.” Zak confronted boldly, that would be a can of worms he did not want to deal with. “End of, drive her to dinner, play nice, be ready to never be allowed to be alone with her ever again.” 

Lando wanted to protest straight away, that wasn’t fair, they couldn’t dangle something so sweet in front of him like that and then tell him that he wasn’t allowed to have it! Opening his mouth to protest Lando was met with a strong shake of his head as Zak took his leave, Oscar still fighting back laughter at the whole situation. “You’re so, so screwed mate. So screwed.”

[fortheb0ys]

PHILLIP GRAVES × TOP MALE READER

I want to spend the rest of my life fucking and sucking Graves😫👍Not proofread and kinda sucks cause I wrote this sleepy. FEM & MINORS DNI!!

Graves was your little bitch. He knew it. You knew it.

His men probably now know it by the way he was moaning like a whore grinding against both your clothed cocks together.

"Come on, Y/N. L-let me take it."

"You sure there? Looks like you could cum right here."

"I w-want it inside." Graves whimpers, feeling himself come undone.

"What's the magic word, sir?" You grab his hip, making him stop his movements. Graves tries to wriggle to try and get some friction but your grip was too strong.

"P-please, Y/N. I want you to cum in my ass." Graves felt his cheeks reddening, embarrassed at the sound of his own voice.

Your baby amused you. He was the captain of your team and but it seems like he would be the one calling you 'sir'.

"Well, since you asked nicely, I guess I'll give you what you." You say while patting Graves' hip to signal him to left his weight off for a moment while you take off both yours and his pants and underwear.

Graves moans as his erect cock touches the cold air.

You fall back onto Graves' desk chair, making him settle into your lap. You begin searching his bottom drawer for your secret lube but Graves' hand grabs your wrist tightly, stopping you.

"I'm ready. P-promise."

"Sir, we gotta prep you. I didn't wanna hurt you, sweetheart."

"No, really. I'm ready."

Graves reaches behind himself to pull out a dark green buttplug that was hidden between his perfect ass.

"Oh, you weren't lying. And staying on brand I see." You say as a large smile adorned your face.

"Yup. I played with myself this morning and was hoping we'd get a little fun time." Graves matches you smile, happy he'd finally get his ass stuffed with your cock and not just a plug.

"My smart commander is always prepared, isn't he?"

"Yep-yep. Y/N's smart boy."

You pull out the plug. Graves let's out a moan. He tightens to feel the drag of the toy against his walls.

At this point Graves was shaking like a leaf. Overwhelmed and coming undone. Only you, his precious little soldier could make him like that.

"Hurry, Y/N! That's an order." Graves commands as you position the tip of your cock at his entrance

"Sir, yes, sir." And without any further wait you slam into Graves, your balls touching his ass. A loud gasp is knocked exit his mouth and his eyes begin to tear up.

You didn't give him any time to adjust before you began thrusting in and out. With each motion, Graves moans turned into whimpers. The sheets began to run wet with sweat.

Graves is deep in pleasure, some much so he can't keep his eyes open. Tears were clouding his vision. Squeezing them tight as he focuses on you deep inside him.

"No, keep them open. I wanna see those baby blues."

Your thumb push to open his eyelids. Even more tears spill out. You smirk as his eyes roll back. God was he breathtaking. Eyes too clear for a man like him.

"Look at you, sir. You're so pretty around my cock."

At your words, Graves let a moans. He was always a slut for praise. He was so used to giving it but receiving it was a treat. So it was no surprise to you when you first found out it was his kink. He wanted to close his eyes again but wanted to be a good boy.

"Yep-yep. 'M pretty boy." Graves choked out. He felt completely drunk without even taking alcohol. Everything phased out of his mind but you.

No war. No pain.

Just you and him.

Your thrust were never consistent. Just sloppy and fast. Graves tight heat was always enough to throw off your rythm. Your inconsistencies added to the pleasure as Graves was never sure when you'd thrust so he didn't know when to expect it.

The sound of your balls hitting Graves' ass and both his and yours moans filled his office.

"God, sir. You're so fucking loud. But you don't care do you. You'd love for them to fuck you too, right?"

Your thrust become relentless, feeling that you were close to coming undone. By the way Graves was having a hard time forming words it seems him was too.

" 'M not sure if t-they'll take me seriously if they do."

"Nah, they would. Hell, they'll go the extra mile on missions in hopes you'd let them fuck this tight ass and gag you with their cocks."

"Oh my f-fucking God. P-please."

"Would you like that, sir? Your beloved men lining up to fuck you like a slut. You'd take them so well. Such a good reward for following your orders without question."

"Y-yes, please yes."

With that fantasy ingrained in his mind, Graves was so close to cumming. His walls tighten around you telling you so. Getting the message you grab his dick and start jacking him off, trying but failing to match with your trusts.

"S-so full."

"Now just think we can get someone to fuck you. Think about how even more filled you'd be. Can you take more than one cock, sir?"

"F-fuck yeah. God, it'd feel so good."

Graves places his hand on his belly, the imprint of your cock prominent. He loved the fullness you gave him and just another cock would give him such a pleasurable pain. He squeezes suddenly and sends a shock down your spine.

"Y/N, 'm close." Graves whimpers.

"Same. Let go for me, sir."

With that Graves paints his chest and your fist white with you cumming as well. The two of you lay there panting, trying to collect yourselves. You rest your forehead against Graves whispering that he's done well. He closes his eyes as gave him kisses between your words.

"God, that was good." He finally says, his voice hoarse.

"You're always good." You bring your hand and lick up Graves' cum, tasting his delicious mess.

"You serious about what you said? That'd they still respect me?"

"Hell yeah." You assure him again with a confident smile.

"Call them up." Graves smirks just thinking of the fun that awaits them.

[tobitofunction]

A Pact of Fire and Ice Part 1

Recently became obsessed with Cregan Stark but I still love the Targaryen's. So here I go.

No skin tone was mentioned only the mentions of hair colour. Also some differences from the books to this

part2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7

Everything went so fast just a few days ago you were eating dinner in Kings Landing with your family. Now the same family was finally severed after years of hanging by a string, your mother Princess Rhaenyra was supplanted by your Uncle Aegon, and your younger brother was killed by your Uncle Aemond on a diplomatic trip. You meanwhile are being prepped to your journey to Winterfell where you meet your betrothed Lord Cregan Stark. Your brother Jaceryer's offered your hand in marriage to the young wolf. After discussing with his council he accepted." My sweet girl why that face" your mother's voice made you turn around," I'm just preparing myself to leave my home and get married to someone I don't know" You shrugged, Rhaenyra sighed," I felt the same when I married your father Laenor, both of us weren't keen on it. Still, we made it work" she said touching your silver hair gently, unlike your brothers you have inherited the traditional Valerian features of purple eyes and silver hair much to your mother delight as it got suspicions of her firstborn son's parentage of her back for a while."But it mostly it will help us gain a great ally as if House Stark is on our side so will the rest of the north" Daemon said showing up out of nowhere, you sighed," I love being a political pawn" you said to him with an eye roll," Princess since you became off age your mother and I have been drowning in papers of houses asking for your hand in marriage but we haven't accepted any of them as your mother wanted you to make your own choices, but circumstances changed. You should be lucky it's Lord Cregan Stark who will be your husband and not someone else" Daemon said making you squint your eyes at him," Cregan Stark is an honourable man my sweet girl" Rhaenyra said trying to defuse the situation," I'm doing this only for you mother" you said after a minute of silence, she smiled at you and kissed your temple," You remind me of your father" she said," I wish he could have been here" Rhaenyra gave you a tight-lipped smile,"So do I, now say your goodbye's your dragon is being prepared as we speak".

Joffrey was holding tight onto you his face buried in your stomach, "Please don't leave. Don't leave me" he whimpered, tears falling down his chubby cheeks," I will be back before you know it Jof. Take care of Dragonstone and Mother for me. My brave little brother, I know you can do it" You said while touching his hair gently, he slowly backed away from you, wiping tears away. You turned to Corlys and Rhaenys," You be safe in Winterfell, Lord Cregan is one of the finest swordsmen the seven kingdoms have ever seen. He will take good care of you" Corlys said placing a hand on your shoulder," That's not the reason I don't want to go Grandsire" Corlys nodded," I know but duty is important. Both your father and mother didn't want to get married but they did as it was there duty to the realm", you didn't answer but just bowed your head, Coryls grabbed your chin and made you look up at him,"And you being in the north will also stop you taking up arms to ride into battle to fight your Kinslayer Uncle. I already lost one grandchild to the Greens, I don't want to lose another" he said sincerely, you smiled sadly at him before moving towards Rhaenys who took you by the hands," I wish Laenor would see you right now. He would have loved the woman you have turned to. I still remember how happy he was the day you were born, his first and only girl. Take care of yourself, take the long route to the north in case the greens try to attack. This alliance is a turning point in this war, with the north-","I know, with the North my mother's throne can secured back, they have the biggest army in the North" she nodded, she gave you a hug gently caressing your hair before letting you go. You smiled at her before turning to your dragon Tyraxes, a beautiful Snow White dragon whose scales glittered in a purple hue when the sun shone and green eyes,"issi ao ready syt se journey bē jelmor? (are you ready for the journey up north?)".

Meanwhile Cregan Stark was taking Jacaerys out for a hunting trip wanting to know everything about his future wife and Jace was happy to give him the info," She is a bit of a handful at times so good luck with that. People say she is like mother when she was younger. But her beauty is something from out of this world. Her hair shines like diamonds in the sun, her eyes a purple like never seen before and her skin as soft as silk" Jace said in a way which made Cregan wonder if he was in love with his sister, everyone in the realm knew about the Royal Families queer customs," She loves the colour red and always wears jewellery doesn't matter what the situation is rings, necklaces and earrings are always on her" Jace continued," I had this in mind for her do you think she will like it?" Cregan said reaching into his pelt pulling out a small necklace and handing it to Jace who gently took it,"Is this made out of Dragon glass and Valyrian steel?" Jace asked surprised," I found it within my family Heirlooms, I don't know the history of it but I knew it was Valeyrian steel because of the feel of steel it's just like Ice," he said patting the sword which was attached to his hip,"Valeyrian piece of Jewellery should be worn by a Valeyrian Princess" Jace looked at the necklace more in detail it was a dragon which wrapped around a dragon glass sphere, "She will love it. I'm sure of it" he said handing back the necklace. Cregan tugged back under his pelt,"Let's try to hunt for something, your sister will be here by nightfall"

Just like Cregan said you arrived at Nightfall, Tyraxes landed on the snowy ground, the snow jumped into the air from the impact of the large beast,"I'm Princess Y/N, I'm here for Cregan Stark" you said to an approaching knight,"Follow me your highness" he said trying to avoid eye contact with Tyraxes, you patted her nose before following the guard into the castle. You pulled your cloak closer to your body, as the clothes you are wearing aren't doing much to protect you from the cold,"It be warmer once you get inside Princess" the guard said noticing you shivering.

Cregan was waiting in the main hall, Jace was with him excited to see his sister again."Princess Y/N of House Targaryen has arrived Lord Cregan" the guard said. The older man moved towards you,"Your Grace, I'm Lord Cregan Stark, Warden of the North" he said bowing his head to you," I assumed so as the guard called you Lord Cregan and you are the only other person here beside my brother" you said while brushing snow of your shoulders," I have a room prepared for you my Princess. It's close to your brothers, tomorrow I want to show you around Winterfell" he said ignoring the tone of your voice, he did study you from head to toe, Jace wasn't lying when he said your beauty is from out of this world. Your hair looked indeed diamonds when the warm lights of the candles hit them and your eyes took his breath away, "What are you waiting for my Lord? I want to change and I'm in need of rest" Cregan nodded,"Follow me Princess".

You followed Cregan towards your room,"I hope it's to your liking Princess" he said opening the door, It was smaller than your room in King Landing and Dragonstone but it felt homier, the furs and many wooden objects with the warm candlelight, you removed your cape and placed it onto a chair,"It's surprisingly warm in here" you said as Cregan moved towards the Fire place where he threw in more wood,"It's because of the hot springs, you need to see them sister. They are amazing" Jace said excitedly,"I leave the two of you be. You probably have a lot to talk about. My Prince, Princess" he said leaving the two of you alone.

You sat down on the couch making Jace follow he grabbed your hands,"Luce...-","We never found a body, well never his full one. We gave him a dragon rider funeral it was nice, only you were missing" you said sadly making Jace squeeze your hand,"I wish I could have been there. I wish it was me who went to Stormsend. Since I heard about his death, I have been dreaming about our last interaction. It wasn't positive, he was scared and worried and I just yelled at him. It's not what a brother does, it's not what a King is supposed to do" Jace said getting emotional," It's not your fault, you were worried as well and emotions can run high during those moments. The only ones to blame are the greens, our Uncle especially" you said kissing his cheek, making him sigh,"I'm glad you are here my sweet sister" he said touching your cheek gently,"I should be mad at you, selling me off like I'm some cattle" Jace grimaced," I did what was needed, he recently lost his heir and second wife. He needs a new one, his council was encouraging him. He's a great man, he will treat you right" he said while gently caressing your cheek, you leaned into his touch and sighed,"If it will help us get back the Iron Throne then so be it. At least he isn't ancient like some of the other Lords" you said making Jace chuckle," Only the best for my beloved sister" he said,"I let you get some rest. Lord Cregan has the day planned out for you".

The next day you were awoken by a knock on the door, "Princess" a servant girl appeared from between the doors, "Lord Cregan asked me to assist you in getting ready" she said with a soft smile, you nodded and stepped out of the bed,"Did you sleep well Princess","Yes, the beds are softer than I imagined, so are the furs I thought they would be scratchy" you chuckled," Lord Cregan made sure we gave you the best furs" she said placing down a gown on the bed before she began working on your hair, "Is this for me?", "Yes, it's more suited for the weather than the gown you arrived in yesterday. Even though stunning it's ill-suited for the weather" she said,"Very well" you said looking down at the gown, It was a deep red gown made out of a think velvet, and it had embroidery in the form of flowers and leaves on it, "It's beautiful" you said," It belonged to Lords first wife, she wore it often" she said making you frown,"It must mean a lot to him than?" you said as the servant picked the dress up again and back unlacing the back,"She was his first love, gave birth to his heir, so yes the dress means a lot to him" she said as you stepped into the gown,"Why would he give to me than?", "Cause Prince Jacaerys told him red is your favourite colour and you need more suiting clothes," she said,"That's very sweet of him," you said,"Your hair is truly beautiful Princess. We in Winterfell heard of your beauty often, so often that it seemed exaggerated but now seeing you" she smiled,"I'm sorry, it's just here in Winterfell we don't see many variations in peoples looks. Your brother fits right in but you not so much....looks wise of course Princess," she said quickly finishing lacing you up,"Lord Cregan will meet you in the great hall for breakfast".

Cregan was drumming his fingers on the wood, the food in front of him slowly becoming cold,"More wine?" a cupbearer asked, but Cregan only answered by waving him away." So nervous, it's not like you" a female voice said making turn around,"Sarah what are you doing here?" he asked with a smile," I want to see my brother embarrass himself in front of the Princess of this realm" she smiled cheekily," I forgot how long woman take to get ready" he said making Sarah roll her eyes at him," Ironic as there are best clothes. Someone likes to make an impression" she continued to tease, Cregan playfully rolled his eyes, like you tried to make an impression with the young Prince. This is your best dress" he said making her blush," I just want to look good, we don't have royalty here often and besides he is engaged to another and why would a Prince like a bastard like me anyway" She shrugged. Cregan patted her hair gently,"You are my sister which makes you a Stark, it doesn't matter what the others say". Sarah smiled and was about to say something when the door opened revealing you, in the red dress which made Cregan get up from his seat,"My Lord sorry for the wait" you said folding your hands together,"The dress..." Sarah began,"It looks stunning you Princess" Cregan said, he wasn't lying, you indeed look ethereal with it but the emotions of seeing another woman in his dead love dress made him feel emotional, A bit of regret began filling him but also something else started to bubble inside him. He didn't know what yet,"Let's eat, you must be starving," he said,"This is Sarah Snow...my.." Cregan didn't know how to word it,"I'm his Bastard sister," she said bluntly,"It's an honour to have you here in Winterfell your Highness," she said bowing,"It's an honour to be here," you said with a tight-lipped smile,"Is my brother joining us?" you asked sitting down," No your grace, he's breaking his fast in his room. Today is for us to get to know each other and for you to know Winterfell" Cregan said taking a sip of his wine, and looking at Sarah mentally telling her to leave,"I be on my way, have a lovely day" you smiled at her,"She seems lovely" you said cutting into the food," She is, I love her dearly doesn't matter if she is a bastard" he said making you smile." I have another gift for you" he said,"Bring it to me" he said making a servant nod and leave the room before re-entering it,"Here you will need it for the outside" he said as the servant handed you the bundle, it was white with some black and grey thrown in it, it was soft,"It's made of Wolf fur, your brother and I hunted it. We are going eat the meet for dinner tonight" he said,"The craftsmanship id amazing" you said as," I will send them your regards. I thought white would suit you well" he said with a smile,"Thank you Lord Cregan" he smiled,"Let's go, winter is close which means it will get darker sooner and I have a lot to show you" he said while you pulled the jacket on.

"These are the Godswood," Cregan said as you looked around in awe, "It's stunning, it's like those woods from fairytales," you said as the snow crunched underneath your boots,"It's so much larger than the one in the red keep," you said while looking snow covered trees, Cregan hummed in response,"The heart tree is just this way" he said placing his hand on your back and led you to the centre of the Godswood. Soon you were met with the large white tree, the white branches expand in a longer fashion than the one within the Red Keep. The red leaves stood out on its white surroundings,"You believe in the old gods instead of the faith of the seven?" you said,"Yes, don't try to convert me, Princess, your brother tried and failed ","Do not worry, I don't follow the seventh anymore. I find comfort within the Gods of Old Valyria" you said gently touching the leaves of the heart tree."Tell me more about those gods than" Cregan said making you turn around to face him,"Maybe another time my Lord, I want you to continue showing me around Winterfell" you said crossing your arms behind your back.

Cregan continued to show you around Winterfell," The last thing I want to show you is this" he said, he led you to a large door that was made from unfamiliar material, it looked heavy, Cregan seemed to struggle a little bit to open it. Once open only darkness was can be seen," Those are the crypts of Winterfell, all the tombs of my ancestors are kept here" he said grabbing a torch before walking into the darkness,"A bit inappropriate for a first date, he could at least wait for our third before showing me where all his dead relatives are being shoved in" you mumbled before following him. It was dark and chilly and the air was wet which made you wrinkle your nose as you walked down the spiral staircase. "These are statues of the Lords before me," he said shining his torch on the statues, "This one is of my father," Cregan said, he said looking up at the large stone statue,"Do you remember much of your father?", he shook his head," I just remember bits and pieces, I wish I remembered more and I wish I could forget the day he died" you said, Cregan looked at you,"You where there?" you hummed," I hear commission in the throne room of Driftmark, it was only days after my aunt's funeral. I couldn't sleep because of the events from the last few days, so I decided to see what was happening. I found my Grandmother crying over some shard remains, Grandsire Coryl's was yelling at the guards so I knew it must have been my father" you said making Cregan look at you sadly,"No child should have witnessed something like that. I'm sorry Princess for your loss, for all of your losses" he said," Let's leave, this place is giving me the creeps" you said.

Jace was talking to Sarah when you arrived back,"Hello sweet sister how was your trip" he asked,"I know Winterfell now, which was the purpose of this trip" You shrugged making Jace give you a look,"It went well brother. I want to take a bath however" you said,"I will tell the maids to draw you one" Sarah said which made you nod,"Thank you. Until then I will go back to my dragon" you said walking off with Jace following behind. "Now sister, tell the truth about your trip" he said,"I said everything that needed to be said Jace. I won't fall in love with him after one trip," you said before breaking off into a sprint when you saw Tyraxes in the distance, "I missed you girl," you said hugging her neck,"So you saying there is a possibility in you falling in love with him," Jace said making you roll your eyes, "I didn't say that"," but you also didn't deny it," he said,"Don't you have a fiancé to return too and annoy?" you huffed,"Not until you and Cregan are wedded, he wants to marry in the way of the old gods" he said making you look at him with a lifted brow,"It's a very intimate ceremony similar to a traditional Valeryian one" Jace explained making you nod.

[dovesdreaming]

Pirates charm

Summary: You’re the daughter of Meg and Hercules, everyone always compares you to your mother saying your exactly like her. You couldn’t deny it either especially with how you wouldn’t let yourself swoon for Harry hook.

Requested

Masterlist

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Being the daughter of Meg and Hercules wasn’t easy. On one hand, you were expected to live up to your father’s reputation. The strong, brave hero of Olympus who could move mountains and defeat titans. People looked at you like you were supposed to be just like him- noble, pure, a shining example of what a demigod should be. But on the other hand, you were also Meg’s daughter. And that meant you were sarcastic, quick-witted, and more than a little cynical. If your dad was all about heroism, you were about surviving in a world where happy endings didn’t always happen. Your mother had made sure you understood that. She’d been there, done that, and wasn’t about to let you fall into the same traps she had.

You were, as people liked to say, the spitting image of Meg. From your sharp wit to the way you carried yourself, always with a knowing smirk and a hint of sass in your voice. You weren’t a wide-eyed optimist like so many people in Auradon. No, you knew better than that. Which was why Auradon Prep had become.. a little boring. The whole "perfect world" thing? Yeah, it got pretty old fast. Sure, there were plenty of bright, smiling faces and happily-ever-afters, but after a while, it all felt a bit fake. Like everyone was just pretending everything was perfect all the time. You needed something different. Something real. And then… Harry Hook showed up.

The first time you met Harry, you were standing by the docks, watching the Isle of the Lost kids as they arrived on their ship. Ben had done his whole "integration" thing, and now, here they were, villains' kids walking the pristine streets of Auradon. It was all very dramatic, with people whispering and staring at the new arrivals, like they were some kind of dangerous animals let loose in a zoo. You didn’t care about most of them. But then, you saw him. Harry Hook.

With his long coat, swaggering walk, and that trademark hook hanging from his hand, he made quite the entrance. His sharp blue eyes scanned the crowd, taking everything in like he was already planning his next move. His smirk was lazy, but there was a dangerous glint in his eyes that made you raise an eyebrow. And when his gaze landed on you? Oh, he noticed you too. His eyes flicked over your figure, taking in the sharpness of your features, the confidence in the way you stood. Unapologetic, like you didn’t care what anyone thought. It was enough to make him pause for a second, his smirk faltering before returning even wider.

“Aye, what do we have here?” he murmured as he sauntered over to you, his voice dripping with a Scottish lilt that sounded both amused and intrigued. “Didn’t know Auradon had girls like you”.

You crossed your arms, eyeing him up and down. “What? You thought we were all sunshine and rainbows?” He grinned, his hook tapping against his side as he stopped in front of you. “Somethin’ like that. But I think ye’re more storm clouds, lass. And I like that”. You gave him a dry smile, the corner of your lips lifting. “I aim to disappoint”. Harry’s grin didn’t falter. If anything, it grew wider. “Ah, ye’re trouble, aren’t ye? I can tell”. You shrugged, glancing at him with a bored expression. “If you’re looking for damsels in distress, you might want to look elsewhere”. “Damsels?” He raised an eyebrow, his smirk full of mischief. “I don’t do damsels. I like girls who fight back”. You tilted your head, feigning interest. “Good, because I’d rather throw myself off a cliff than need saving”.

He laughed, a deep sound that was rough around the edges, like he wasn’t used to laughing much. But there was something about you that seemed to break through his usual bravado. “Aye, I can tell”. After that, it was like a game between the two of you. Wherever you were, Harry wasn’t far behind, and every time he tried his usual pirate charm on you, you gave it right back with a smart remark or a sarcastic quip. He’d call you “lass” and you’d call him “Hook” with a roll of your eyes, but beneath all the teasing, there was something else. Something you weren’t quite ready to name.

Because despite all the back-and-forth banter, Harry Hook was different from the others. He wasn’t like the perfect princes of Auradon, who threw themselves at you with grand gestures and shining armor. No, Harry was raw. Real. He didn’t pretend to be something he wasn’t, and he didn’t expect you to either.You liked that about him, even if you’d never admit it.

One afternoon, you found yourself sitting by the lake, enjoying some peace and quiet when you heard footsteps behind you. You didn’t need to look to know who it was “Should’ve guessed you’d be here” you said, not even turning around as you leaned back on your elbows. Harry sat down next to you, close enough that you could feel the warmth of his body. “Can’t help meself” he said with a grin. “Ye’re just too much fun to annoy”. You glanced over at him, eyebrow raised. “If this is your idea of fun, you need a hobby”.

“Oh, I’ve got hobbies” he replied, his voice teasing. “But ye’re definitely the most interestin’ one so far”. You rolled your eyes, fighting back the smile that tugged at the corners of your lips. “You must be really bored”. Harry chuckled softly, but then his expression shifted, turning more serious. “Ye know, ye’re different from the rest of ‘em”.

That caught your attention. You turned to him, curious. “What do you mean?” He tapped his hook lightly against his leg, looking out at the water. “Auradon, it’s full of people pretendin’ to be somethin’ they’re not. All smiles and pretendin’ everythin’ is perfect. But you?” He looked at you with those intense blue eyes. “Ye don’t pretend. Ye’re real”.’You blinked, not expecting the honesty in his words. For a moment, you didn’t know what to say. You’d spent so long deflecting with sarcasm and wit that someone seeing through you like that threw you off balance. “I’m just me” you finally said, shrugging as if it didn’t matter. “Nothing special”. Harry’s gaze didn’t waver. “That’s where ye’re wrong, lass”.

There was something in his voice that made your heart skip a beat. You weren’t used to this, this raw, unfiltered honesty. People didn’t talk like that in Auradon. They didn’t look at you like they could see right through the mask. But Harry did. And, gods help you, you liked it. You cleared your throat, breaking the tension. “And here I thought pirates only cared about treasure”. Harry smirked, his teasing nature slipping back into place. “Aye, well, maybe I found somethin’ better”. Your heart did another unexpected flip at that, but you didn’t let it show. Instead, you gave him a lopsided smile. “If you think I’m going to swoon, you’ve got another thing coming”. Harry chuckled, shaking his head. “Nah, I wouldn’t want ye any other way”.

The two of you sat in comfortable silence after that, the sound of the water lapping against the shore filling the space between you. For once, there were no quips, no banter just a quiet understanding. Maybe you and Harry weren’t so different after all. Maybe, beneath the sarcasm and smirks, you were both just looking for something real. And maybe, just maybe, you’d found it in each other.

-

Thank you for reading!!

[lxmelle]

Gojo’s letters & the implied parting message (Part 2)

I came across a view on Twitter (now X) that was interesting that I probably would have never thought of myself. While I may not agree with it 100% on its own, I can totally see the value in it and I wanted to share it here, seeing as how others may appreciate the perspective too. I’ve added my own thoughts which you’re welcome to read… Then you can make up your own mind about your personal interpretation 😊

So the sentiment is as follows:

At the end of HI, past-Gojo casually went up to Megumi to tell him that he killed his father, showing us that he is a little tactless. But, upon being told what Megumi wanted, he respected that Megumi didn’t want to know and accepted this for 10 years.

Despite that; however, we can infer from things we have been shown that he has always wanted Megumi to know. He was probably waiting for a good time. (As we know, Gojo doesn’t really impose his view onto others.)

Knowing there had to be a time where this message was delivered, he prepped the letter that would only be delivered if he (Gojo) died.

And what better timing & purpose, if it could help Megumi absolve any guilt he might have over (his body) killing Gojo? (Because him being dead meant Megumi likely killed him, thanks to Sukuna.)

According to the person whose Twt I read, they felt that Megumi’s laughing reaction was due to Gojo’s uncharacteristic consideration for him.

In other words, he was relaying it after he died to Megumi as a way to say: You got this cuz I’m dead. “And if you think your father is out there somewhere, he isn’t. It was me who killed him. Soz!” So don’t feel guilty.

Hm. Well, this was kind of echoed in at least another tweet and there were a few who made it out as if this was a fitting interpretation.

I also gathered from my last post on this subject, that Megumi was chuckling out of fondness, like “Geez, that’s so typical of you, sensei.”

But I do personally think it’s important to underline the fact that Gojo has always put in the effort to understand people even if he struggled to show it, or showed it clumsily. (Just like, “have you had too much somen?” - as said to Geto, back in the day.) So maybe it seemed uncharacteristic to Megumi, but I hope as a reader, we understand that Gojo had his own ways of being kind.

After all who can blame him if he didn’t quite fully understand what it meant to have blood family, being separated from his own? Born as an anomaly - a mutant amongst mutants. Who felt like others (flowers) couldn’t never comprehend a creature — and who could, unless they were bestowed with some monstrous skill themselves? (Like Geto, and Gojo had hoped, Sukuna... but the latter clung onto his stubborn self-protective belief of not needing “love” (compassion) until the very end, choosing to die instead of taking Yuji’s hand - another post on this another time).

And Gojo, after having been told last words from Toji and Geto about the importance of family, he may have gathered that it was better for Nobara and Megumi to know, than to have it concealed from them. Hence, the letters.

Know your family. Then decide who your family really is.

My own thoughts about the theory are as such: Gojo may have really wanted to tell Megumi that it was he who killed his father, because this was the only person he killed without a reason. (…that we know of: Gojo was canonically shown to have only killed two humans - Toji & Geto).

After Geto left, the parting message was: “don’t kill anyone other than me” - in other words, don’t do what I did, because that will make you lonely. If you need to kill, kill if there is a clear purpose or meaning in it.

This was his last lesson delivered to Gojo. We know his parting phrase was imbued with meaning due to everything we saw in HI and the draft words that Gege released from chapter (78) - important enough to make it to the exhibition and Gojo’s JUMP GIGA Character Book.

Geto played a significant role in him smartening up, how to connect with others, how to empathise with people, to think about what his responsibilities were as someone with strength.

So Gojo telling Megumi this was almost as if to say: you can stop wondering about him now; you weren’t left behind. I killed your father. You don’t have to feel responsible for it because there was meaning in it too.

In words Gojo might use: I killed him, you killed me. We’re even!

I guess it’s not only because Megumi couldn’t help it being Sukuna’s vessel. But also that he avenged his father’s death. All of Megumi’s thoughts relating to his father and Tsumiki as above: Retribution, karma, discipline… fairness and Megumi deserved happiness too.

And he chose to live again, starting by living for Yuji. A new purpose… he didn’t want Yuji to be lonely.

A loneliness I think he knew all too well.

He can add on more family after that. Nobara. Etc.

That’s it I guess. Thoughts?

[writingescapades]

Mission Success?

A/N: Hehe. I was in a silly mood.

Rafayel was in an odd mood. He held you close, entangling his legs within yours, arms wrapped around your back as he buried his face in your neck. The only thing you could see were his ears, but they did not shout their owner’s emotional state as they normally did when he held you. Every so often, he would loosen his hold, muttering snide remarks and you would think he was finally letting you go, but any adjustments you made brought him right back to you, capturing you once more into his embrace. It wasn’t a bad way to end the night, but you knew better. There were fragments of torrent emotions surging just under his calm surface. You sighed and brought up a hand to his hair, relishing the instant, instinctive response he had as he nuzzled into your palm.

“Rafayel, are you really so upset?”

His eyes remained closed as he chose to ignore your voice, opting for your touch instead.

“It really doesn’t matter what happened. What’s important was that the mission was a success,” you try to console him.

“Insipid man,” he spat. “He is a fool that knows nothing”.

You chuckled a little at his emotional response. Truly it astounded you how chivalrous Rafayel could be.

“Who cares what he said? And anyway,” you said, voice slipping into a teasing tone, “I found myself agreeing on his words about you”.

Now his eyes opened, and they judged you while his lips formed the oh so familiar pout you were accustomed to. You grinned, edging closer and lowered your voice to a sultry tone.

“A handsome man who clearly knows how to have a good time”.

Rafayel’s ears burned scarlet, and you laughed as you leaned forward to kiss them.

“Although, I’m pretty sure his idea and my idea of a good time, strongly differ”.

Now Rafayel gazed at you with an arched eyebrow, silently asking his question. You shrugged and cupped his face.

“I think anytime spent with you is a good time”. It was a soft voice that spoke. A voice Rafayel heard only when it was the two of you. A late-night voice that emerged when you were truly spent and leaned on him for comfort. An honest voice. Rafayel held your gaze as his hands slowly moved up and down your sides. For a man that felt intensely, he had subtle methods of communication.

“Truly though, I should be thanking you. If you didn’t accompany me, I wouldn’t have gotten the information we needed. The mission would have failed”.

“I’m not sure how I should feel about my partner thanking me for accompanying them in their mission to seduce a target”.

“Technically, I seduced no one. That man only had eyes for you. Maybe I should put you as a special mission hunter?”

Rafayel just looked away and grumbled something incomprehensible into your shoulder. The mission was to extract information from a target. Such a situation would not usually fall onto hunters, but the circumstances were dire. When the mission was assigned to you, Rafayel was surprised by how transparent you were about it to him, but he was more shocked by your calm acceptance. He knew you prioritized work, but it worried him how far you would take this priority. In a sudden rush of emotions, he found himself grasping onto you, hands slightly trembling as he whispered, prayed, for you to let him accompany you.

Despite his depth of emotions, Rafayel was schooled in what he presented. It was rare, almost difficult, to discern what the man really felt or thought. Even now, despite your relationship being what it is, you couldn’t say you fully understood Rafayel. So seeing him holding onto you with a serious face and clammy hands, you found yourself unable to deny his request. Originally, the plan had him to sit a distance apart. Far enough to not cause suspicion, but near to assist you should you require it. Intel had told you everything to prep you for catching the man’s attention and holding it, but it only took a short time for you to suddenly divert the plan onto Rafayel. Despite placing a hand on your thigh, the man was looking at Rafayel, and whatever words spilled from his glib tongue were clearly directed towards the artist. So you worked fast and maneuvered the conversation towards Rafayel who quickly picked up on your intentions and played along. It was going well with information pouring out of the microphone for you to sequester away, when Rafayel suddenly got up and left. Despite his casual walk away from the bar, his eyes took on a darker hue, his lips were tightly drawn, and you knew his hands were tightly clenched in his pockets. You stared at his retreating figure despite hearing the words that caused the reaction.

Cool fingers trailed down your cheeks and ended at your chin, drawing your attention back to the man you were trying to console. His faced was wistful, his eyes deep as they gazed at your face. His thumb gently traced your lips then brushed against your chin.

“You don’t have to protect yourself around me. If those words hurt you, you have the right to tell me,” Rafayel gently spoke.

“Those words were said by a person I don’t know and could care less about. How can they hurt me? Besides, I think you’re the one that got more hurt”.

“To hear such filthy lies being spoken about one’s love, would that not enrage anyone? Am I not justified in desiring to send a hurricane or typhoon in response to this slander?”

“You love me?”

Rafayel ears turned red, and he snapped his attention away, letting go of your chin. “You,”.

“Does the Lumerian who loves me, feel the same as the man?”

“Oh course not!” Rafayel exclaimed, eyes wide. His hands instantly pull you towards him.  You start placing soft kisses on his face.

“Your words, your thoughts are the only ones that matter Rafayel”.

You can feel him finally relax and surrender to your affections. Then, just as you attempt to pull away, hands once more capture you in a warm embrace and a voice speaks low near your ear.

“Then let me show you my words and thoughts”.

[reiashiftsrealities]

shifting storytime <3

So sorry for the wait but IM FINALLY POSTING IT LETS GOOOO. So excited to share this experience with you all and I actually am tweaking from how much I want to go back. Also this is NOT proofread I apologize for any mistakes 🫶

DR: Hunger Games

How long was the shift: A week, give or take.

Method: Gaslighting Method (my own)

So in this DR, my name is Loralei Walker, and I’m from District 3. I think I said at least the district already but I’m reiterating. I’m going to be dating Peeta eventually but I didn’t meet him this shift. Finnick, Johanna, and Evangeline (friend I scripted in) are the people i’m closest to.

OH MY GOD okay so when I shifted, I woke up in my room with Chewy curled up in my lap. It like actually scared the living shit out of me so I shot straight up which caused him to nip my leg (granted I did like throw him upwards).

He’s so adorable ☹️☹️. He follows me around EVERYWHERE. He even followed me to the reaping ☹️. I scripted that I can take him to the Capitol cause he’s an emotional support animal, but it’s kind of sad to think that when I actually go to the Arena he can’t follow me :(

Now onto District 3: I didn’t expect this, but D3 is COLDDDD. It is FREEZING. It is FROSTBITE inducing. And blankets are a luxury, ironically. Like ice cubes in D12. Thankfully since I live in the Victor’s Village I have a couple of them but you literally can’t escape the cold.

Another thing; In D3, kids start learning about their district career at like 4 years old. School is from 5 am to 5 pm, kids 4-18. At 16, you have the option to take a test about 16-18 curriculum, and if you pass you get to graduate. If not, you stay until you’re 18. No do-overs. Not going to school is punishable by death. There are only a few careers you can choose from, which are: Technical Engineering, Technology Advancement, Robotics, and Computer Science. Being a Victor automatically exempts you from school + choosing a career.

D3 is very desolate and dark, considering we’re a tech district. There isn’t much wildlife or wilderness as big buildings completely take over the land.

District 3, except it’s a bit smaller.

Okay so onto the Reaping: That shit can only be described as ominous. Like watching it on TV really cannot compare to how it felt IRL. Hearing my name being called was like chilling almost, and I expected it! Literally can’t even think about how it must feel for the people who didn’t. My District partner was Beetee, which was so sad cause he was my mentor during my Games. After we left, he told me he’d do everything to make sure I was safe. I started crying he’s so sweet.

The train ride to the Capitol was SOOO AMAZING. I couldn’t even think about the fact that I was going to the Captiol. Seeing the Districts was so crazy, the Captiol really can’t compare to the beauty of them. I can’t remember which District it was, but we passed by a huge sunflower field. It was so pretty. And the sky was like a purple/pink. I wanted that sky tattooed on my body it was so pretty.

When we pulled up to the Capitol I was like IMMEDIATELY greeted by my prep team. I couldn’t remember their names and my stylist couldn’t either so we just called them Hughie, Dughie, and Lewie.

OH MY GOD I LOVE MY STYLIST SOOOOO BAD. Her name is Xotia and she’s a literal goddess oh my god she slayed so bad. Hold on I’ll show you the getup she had me in.

My outfit as a mood board. Didn’t wanna put that many photos.

SEE????? She ate so bad holy shit. Had me down bad for myself anyways

Slight deviation; My first impression upon meeting Finnick was “this mf crazy.” The aura on that man is INSANE. He’s such a natural flirt despite being enamored with Evangeline. I didn’t really meet anyone else besides Johanna, and she is actually insane. Her and Finnick are really good friends and they complement each-other well. Also, Johanna is a major lesbian. Like major. Yes I scripted she was but I’m considering it canon ☹️

I shifted back around the time we got to the training centre so I didn’t get to meet my man BUT I will definitely next time I shift 🫶 so I’m not upset about that. Besides I could’ve stayed longer but I didn’t want to.

All in all I am SOSOSOSOSOSOSO in love with this DR and actually can’t wait to be back I’m literally tweaking oh my god i canMt do this

Edit: IM SO DAMN SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG IVE BEEN FIGHTING FOR MY LIFE FOR LIKE TWO WEEKS PLS ☹️☹️☹️. Not an excuse really but it’s finally here so yay!!!

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[the-fiction-witch]

...Because he knows I love You

Media The Artful Dodger

Character Jack Dawkins

Couple Jack X Reader

Rating Flirty

Requested: y/n is a maid again and she helps Jack she's a very sweet girl, but Sneed likes her and like flirts with her a lot and Jack gets jealous bc he's in love with her.   Warnings: Aggressive unresponsive Unwanted Flirting (Lil Rapy)

I knocked on the little wooden door waiting a moment or two for a response,

"Come in!" He called, 

So I smiled and headed with my tray in hand, I shut the door with my foot and saw Jack Dawkins lying in his bed barely awake yet, but this was normal he had a habit of lingering in his bed longer than he should. 

But I greeted his weary face with a wide smile. "Good Morning Dr Dawkins," 

He forced a smile "Morning Y/n," He yawned,

"Breakfast time," I smiled setting the tray down on his table "Toast, eggs, bacon, and I managed to sneak you a few sausages, and an orange" I explained, and I jumped a little as I felt arms snake around my waist and he pulled me down onto his knee making me squeal a little with giggles,

"What would I do without you?" He smiled resting his chin on my shoulder 

"Starve," I giggled jumping off his leg and starting on my work to clean his room and organize everything, 

"I wouldn't starve," He said getting up and slipping his trousers on "I have the tools to cook, you're not even meant to cook for me but you still do."

"Well if I didn't you'd live off toast and milk." I laughed putting his clean laundry away and handing him a clean shirt for the day,

"Nothing wrong with toast and Milk," he said slipping his shirt on, snapping his suspenders over his shoulders and sitting to eat his breakfast 

"Alright," I rolled my eyes making his bed and leaving his waistcoat there for when he was done "Eat your orange" I told him

"I don't need it," he shrugs 

"Jack. Eat your orange. No more bacon till you eat your orange it's good for you." 

"Fine," he rolled his eyes eating his orange as the last thing he ate for his breakfast, "Thank you y/n,"

"You're welcome." I smiled, "Now, what tie are you thinking today? green? blue? your fancy blue one?" 

"Green I think, did you get the blood out of it?" He asked coming and slipping his waistcoat on, 

"Did I get the blood out of it? that's a stupid question to ask the best laundry girl in the world." I pouted playfully throwing him it and he only just caught it,

"True, I don't know why I asked" he chuckled "Humm?"

"What?"

"Have you been letting my clothes out without telling me again?" he asked adjusting his waistcoat as even now it was done it wasn't hugging him quite how it usually did. Immediately I noticed the problem the cinch at the back had come undone. 

"Would I tell you If I was?" I chuckled 

"Are you?"

"No, here." I smiled fixing the back cinch for him 

"Oh. Thank you."

"You're welcome," I smiled "You have that surgery today don't forget," I reminded him as I finished up with his room 

"I won't forget," He chuckled

"Good, I'll see you later. Soup for dinner?" I suggested taking the tray with me to the door 

"That sounds perfect." He smiled "Uhh Y/n?"

"Yes, Jack?" 

"...It's nothing, you get on."

"Alright, see you later," I smiled before I hurried back down to the hospital kitchens and started work on laundry and dishes. 

I hurried myself up to the theatre with my equipment, Jim was setting the theatre up still putting sawdust all over the floor, and Hetty working away setting the place up as people filed in desperate for blood. I did my best to stay out of everyone's way and soon enough the boys emerged. 

Jack Dawkins and Rainsford Sneed, came out of the prep room ready for surgery to the cheers of many visitors. 

"Gentlemen! The royal hospital somewhat... begrudging presents Dr Rainsford Sneed and the much celebrated Jack Dawkins!" Jack paid up the crowd enough to make me giggle especially when Sneed glared at him "Now we have a good one for you today, the leg, and two smallest toes were shot off in a fight, your wife wasn't it Mr Petrov?" He asked but of course, the man was in too much pain and panic to answer luckily hetty nodded, "Now the wound is heavily infected and has crawled up the leg meaning we are amputating today just below the knee." He explained "But the big question... who cuts?" He flipped his lucky coin and Hetty caught it in her hand before revealing it "Me." he smirked and the crowd went wild.

I almost didn't trust him, he always won when they used his coin, I could have sworn it was weighted or something. But they made prep for the operation. For a moment he playfully whirled his knife around and made eye contact with me, he smirked and winked at me making me blush "Time me." 

It was an utter rush I couldn't deny watching him work, so fast and smoothly with everything he did that in less than thirty seconds it was over. 

He took the applause and the few tips, and Hetty took the man to the ward to rest. 

So I began my work My first job was to take the bucket with the now amputated limb out to the box where we always put them, Before returning with my scrubbers, brushes, brooms and such. I took all the bloody sawdust away to be disposed of and began to scrub the floor. 

"It's not ladylike." A voice spoke up making me jump as I sat up a little seeing Dr Sneed leant against the wall watching me clean, this was pretty normal Dr sneed seemed to have this illusion that every lady in the hospital desired to be in his bed and would fight every other girl for such an honour, Underestably I did not. But that didn't stop his... attempts at flirting. I honestly wondered if any ladies fell for this sort of stuff?

"Humm?"

"Being knelt like that on your hands and knees, scrubbing" he smirked, 

"Well, It has to be done." I shrug returning to my scrubbing trying to get the blood strains off the floor, 

"The scrubbing has left you with a hole in your dress Miss y/n."

"A gentleman would look away Dr Sneed" I said just trying to get my work down and ignore whatever it was he wanted,

"He would" He nodded "You seem comfortable?"

"Comfortable?" I asked getting more water from my brush, 

"Comfortable on your hands and knees." He smirked, 

"Well, lots of cleaning to do" I shrug "You boys do know this floor is meant to be grey right?" I laughed,

"You must spend a lot of time on your hands and knees."

"I do. lots to clean."

"Dawkins have you like that a lot?"

"What?" I perked up, 

"Does Dawkins have you like that a lot?"

"His room is often messy" I nodded,

He smirked coming over standing where I just cleaned so he stood in front of me looking down at me "So you are on your hands and knees a lot in his room then?" 

I glared half at his words and half at him walking where I just cleaned! "Dr Sneed, I do not like what you are implying." 

"Liar." He smirked "You know... my room is pretty dirty too. I could do with your visit tonight."

"Well maybe if I get finished early" I answered continuing with my work but he continued to stand in my way so instead of scrubbing around him I scrubbed over his boots with my cold dirty water, 

He glared at me for doing so but I just smiled up at him "Insobordinante little thing aren't you? I see why he likes you" he smirked slapping my ass as he walked out my way, "But a pretty thing like you should stay the night with a man, not a boy."

"You're both boys," I laughed, "I'm partly convinced you boys are vampires. You both seem to have a taste for blood" I chuckled taking my bucket to empty it and get some fresh water, 

"Why don't you stay a while? just you and me?" He smirked wrapping his arms around me, 

"No thank you Dr sneed."

"Aww come on just Rainsford," He smirked,

"Why would I do that?" I glared trying to move away,

"You call dawkins Jack?"

"Cause he's nice to me."

"I can be nice to you" He smirked trying to kiss me but I shoved him away,

Just then the theatre door opened and I saw Jack there, I was happy it was him almost like he'd come to save me, so I shoved needs hands away. He looked so angry like he was about to deck sneed in the face, not the first time I've known him do that. 

"You want something Dawkins, Miss Y/n and I were just getting a little more acquainted" Sneed smirked 

Jack left angrily and I was so confused, 

"There, nice and alone again" Sneed smirked trying to grab me but I threw the contents of my bucket all over him covering him with dirty, bloody, wash water. I dropped my bucket and rushed up to Jack's room seeing him having loosened his tie and pacing around angrily.

"What the hell!" He yelled

"What?"

"Sneed! fucking Sneed! Really?"

"Ohh will you calm down I threw my wash water on his head."

"You what?" he asked already calming down a little 

"Yes. he was being weird and flirty and grabby so I threw my wash water on his head."

"He was flirting with you?" He glared

"If that's what you take of that sentence Jack yes."

"And you were flirting back?"

"God no!"

"No?"

"God no! it's sneed. Snivelling, slimy, sneed." 

"Oh." he nods "I uhh I thought for a moment-"

"What? That Sneed and I were flirting?"

"Sorry, I just... I heard you giggling and him talking and... I saw you alone I just..."

"Jack, were you?" 

"What?"

"Jealous?"

"...Maybe a little." he sheepishly admits

"Why on earth would you be jealous? of what?"

"Of... Sneed getting to be alone with you."

"You're alone with me on a daily basis? we're alone right now?"

"Yeah but-"

"But what?"

"But... you're not giggling and I don't have my arms around you, you know it's different when we're alone."

"And you jealous of me throwing my water bucket over his head?"

"No. I'd really rather you didn't." He said, "It's hard to explain y/n."

"Jack, yes or no, Were you jealous Sneed was alone with me?"

"Yes."

"Were you jealous he was flirting with me?"

"Yes."

"Were you jealous Sneed got to cuddle me? I was unwilling in this cuddle but that's not the point."

"I was jealous he got to hold you."

"Were you jealous he slapped my ass?"

"He slapped your ass!"

"Yes, he did."

"Bloody dick."

"I know. but were you?"

"...A little bit yeah."

"Why?"

He didn't answer a moment "Because... I know how he thinks about you."

"How does Sneed think bout me?"

"He likes you. that much is obvious. He's always talking about how... pretty you are, how cute you are, how much he wants to... Do things to you."

"Pervy Dickhole" I sighed 

"I know." He sighed "Half the time I think he only does it to piss me off."

"Why him saying he liked me piss you off?"

"...Because He knows I love you." He spoke up.

"You- you what?" I asked in absolute shock.

"I let it slip one day after surgery that I... Was falling in love with you. the first time I said it, been... feeling it a whole lot longer though."

"You're in love with me?"

"Yeah..."

"Why?"

"....what do you mean why?"

"Why? Why would you love me? You're a doctor, I'm a maid hell I'm not even that I'm a hospital chore girl, you're an ex-navy surgeon and insanely handsome, I scrub blood and shit off a hospital floor and I'm not even technically qualified for that! And you know I look like a scrub shit of a hospital floor." I explained "You could literally go into port right now and find a wife within like twenty minutes. why... Why would you want ... me?"

"Why wouldn't I?" he said taking my hands "You're sweet, you're beautiful, you can sass me better than any woman I've ever met, you cook and clean for me even when you don't have to, you force me to eat fruit and veg even when I don't want to because you know its good for me, you even do all my laundry and take my clothes out for me without me asking you, you take such good care of me, I don't care what your job is, or how educated you are, I just care that you give a shit about me. And I love you. I couldn't ask for a woman any better than you."

"You really mean that Jack?"

"Of course I do."

"I... I never knew you felt that way about me." I blushed "I- I love you too."

"You do!"

"Of course, I do, why do you think I take such good care of you? I want to make sure you are happy and cosy. Because I care about you. You don't have to worry about Sneed next time he tries anything I'll punch him. I just want you, Jack." I smiled hugging his chest

"I just want you to my darling" He cooed kissing the top of my head "You don't worry about Sneed... I'll deal with him. Do you want to stay here with me tonight? So you safe and we could... maybe cuddle a little?"

"I'd like that very much" I smiled giving him a sweet soft kiss, he happily kissed back with a wide smile 

"I adore you y/n."

"Aww I adore you too Jack." I smiled kissing his nose "Now. I shall go get your dinner." I began trying to leave but he grabbed my arm and pulled me back to his chest kissing me again

"No. We. Shall make dinner. You heat the stove up, I'll go get stuff for dinner."

"Alright," I smiled, "Don't just leave the veg behind because you don't want it." I warn him 

"awww you saw through my plans!" He complained 

[the-real-treasure]

Treasure Treasure!

An OPLA Sanji x Reader

Master List Here

Previous Chapter: Returning Tides of Home

Chapter Eight: Mon Cœur Est Un Petit Âne

Summary: In the aftermath of a violent duel, a head chef is forced into reusing long forgotten practices for healing with fish skin, and fish-men come claiming ownership of a ginger girl and a stolen map.

Trigger Warnings: Blood, knives, stab wounds, self-harm, self mutilation, scars, violence Word Count: 7,736 **Edited: 17/09/24**

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You sat at the small table in the kitchen with a blanket wrapped around your shoulders. Normally you were the last one up, having stayed up the latest to finish dishes and lay out plates for the next day. You had slept like garbage despite the comfort of being home, Zoro's words ringing in your ears and, when Sanji had woken up to prep for service that day, you had followed him down the stairs, bedraggled but desperate for the company. It was the only thing that had halted you from watching the duel, the rhythmic 'shwick' of the knife as he peeled vegetables.

You had already spent most of that morning in silence other then Sanji's movements, and you hadn't believed it would change any time soon until his voice piped up.

"Was he telling the truth, mon Cœur?" You look at him, "That Luffy boy. Are you, are you really going to go?" He doesn't move his eyes from the pile of carrot peelings he was creating. You stand and join him at the counter, taking a knife in shaking hands and begin to peel as well, albeit much slower and rougher then his nice smooth cuts.

"I thought I could help them. Him? I don't-" you blink sleep from your eyes again, "-I don't know if I can anymore, if he's even going to try." Your fingers are so stiff from holding his last night that you have to drop the knife and move the carrot around with your other hand, the rolling motion not happening for you. "Zoro is fighting that Warlord, Mihawk, this morning, and I made him so angry, and he might die and I just don't-"

Your words get caught in your throat and around your tongue, and you slur slightly as they all crash to a stop. Swallowing around them stings your throat and reminds you of sneaking sips of Zeff's good wine with Sanji at birthday parties when you were younger. You never did like the taste.

"I thought," you take slower this time, more deliberately, "that this could be our chance to go and look, just to try, but I've just messed everything up again," you dare to look up at Sanji and find he's already watching you, eyes gentle with sympathy. "I want to go." You state firmly, "But if you don't come, then I won't. I didn't mean to start an adventure without you, and I definitely won't be finishing it without you at my side."

The corner of his lips turn up and he leans down, leaving a sweet and gentle kiss to your forehead. You lean into his warmth mindlessly, like you always did. He pulls back and you open your eyes again.

"I know you wouldn't want to." He returns to his chopping, a smile back on his face, "But if you really want to go, I won't stop you. I'll miss you sure but I want you happy."

"I'm happiest with you." you answer, belief steadfast. He snorts a chuckle.

"I don't know about that, you and that Luffy boy seemed to get along great!" You miss the slight bitterness in his tone as you roll your eyes.

"First Zeff, now you, you're both ridiculous. He's my captain. Was. I dunno anymore, he's funny and silly. Smarter then he seems, but I'm sure you noticed that." You swallowed, humour dropping from your voice. "His dream was so solid, it felt like getting punched in the stomach or something. I-I wanted to keep that, that surety and I thought, maybe he could help us too." You look up at him shyly as he laughs.

"What a pair we make,” he plops the knife down on the cutting board, "the most ridiculous excuse for a pair, I have ever see."

"Oi."

"It's just us. You know, I can look after myself, I was gonna wait, we don't have to find the All Blue straight away. I was worried about you being comfortable. Happy." He shrugged as you gazed up at him "I was gonna save up, wasn't gonna let you be a dishwasher your whole life, and we were gonna go together, make sure Zeff was alright and then, I just- didn't really know when." His smile grew. "Trust us acting like this. Me thinking of you and you thinking of me."

"What other way to think is there for us?"

"What'd you think you're doing?" You both jump at the interruption, Zeff's voice ringing though the kitchen as he joins the pair of you.

"Chopping carrots, chef."

"Yeah, I can see that. But why are you doing it in my kitchen?" He limps up behind the pair of you, peering over your shoulders at your work. "I demoted you, remember?"

"That you did. But Patty's sleeping off a brutal hangover, so unless you wanna do brunch prep all by yourself..."

"Fine." Zeff begins his own prep, "You two made up then, I don't wanna see either of you moping about 'round here if yous haven't." Sanji throws him a glare, but he doesn't notice as he eyes the mauled lump of carrot in your hand. "And I'd appreciate it if you stopped mutilating my produce while you're at it."

You toss your head back with a laugh and abandon the lacerated vegetables. Zeff takes over your spot, sweeping the hunk of orange veg into the peel pile and began slicing mushrooms.

"Them carrots are cut too thick." You throw your hands in the air from your spot on the counter.

"You know I'm no help in the kitchen unless you want something burnt, chef."

"Not you, his." He snarks and Sanji gives him a dirty look in response. "And those eggs are too runny." Your best friend's eyes nearly rolled into his head.

"Give it a rest old man." Zeff ignores him, turning to you as he moves the tray of veggies, now oiled and seasoned, to sit above the oven.

"Where're the rest of your 'crew' this morning then? They haven't left you here, have they?" Sanji turns to watch the conversation, eyes curious as well. Yours shift to the ground.

"No, no they haven't left." The two blonde men are still watching you, "I, um. The swordsman, Zoro, he challenged a Warlord to a duel to become the greatest swordsman and I didn't think it would end well and told him as much..." You squeeze your lips together and your eyes burn. "I don't know if he'll survive, or if they'll want me on the crew even if he does."

"They'll be idiots not to." The gentle moment lasted for another second before, "And I can tell just by looking at that, that rémoulade needs a lot more oregano." You giggle as Sanji mouths along him mindlessly, throwing a smirk over his shoulder at you as he replies,

"Oregano is for savages." The growing argument fizzles out immediately as cries sounded from outside the kitchen as your captain comes barrelling in.

"HELP! HELP! Zoro- Zoro needs a doctor. He got into a fight with this warlord guy, but he lost." You shoot to your feet immediately, pulse pounding in your ears. "And now he's bleeding from everywhere-"

"Whoa, whoa. Slow down, chore boy. I can't understand a word you're saying."

"My friend is dying." Zeff eyes flick over to you, chest shaking as you force in deep breaths.

"Nearest doctor's on the Conomi Islands, it's a two-day sail from here."

"That's too long."

"Zeff," your voice is a whisper, "There has to be something, I can grab the first aid kit-"

"I can't help him." He rests a hand on your shoulder as your eyes go wide at him, "Hope your friend makes it." You grunt angrily as you shoot off to his office, grabbing the first aid kit and Sanji follows, pulling open the spice cabinet to hoke. "Where'd you think you're going?"

"To help their friend."

"Brunch is not gonna prep itself."

"You always told me to feed anyone who's hungry, I don't see how this is any different." Your hands are shaking so much that the kit spills open, tipping its contents over the floor as you gargle an angry yell at your useless extremities. Sanji crouches to help gather them back up as Zeff sighs behind you.

"Fine. Sanji, bring me my kitchen knives, Y/n, a bottle of our best whiskey. And a fresh yellowtail from the cooler. Bigger the better." You don't hesitate to follow his instructions, dashing off to the cooler as Sanji calls in confusion.

"A yellowtail?"

"Just do it already."

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Nami is holding a blood soaked cloth to the gaping slash across his chest when you all arrive, carting the basket of knives, alcohol and fish with you.

"Are you kidding? He needs a doctor." Zeff pulls the cloths of Zoro's chest and looks over the wound.

"Do you wanna save your swordsman friend or not?" They all watch as you place the basket on the counter to the side, Sanji pulling out the fish and rolling out the knives as Zeff uncorks the whiskey.

"Is that to sterilize the wounds?" Usopp asks shakily.

"Hell no. That'd be a waste of really good liquor." He takes a swig and his mind falls to the last time he did something like this.

Zeff stares down at you, the littler one of two little kids he had found himself responsible for after that last disastrous raid of the Cook Pirates. You sat now, two years off that bloody rock, hand flat on the counter top as you score at it -for once unbandaged- with blood pouring down the wrist of the hand that was clenched around the handle of his good knives.  Its the God damn boning knife too, the blade red streaked and bloody as it quivers in your grip.

He didn't know it now, but it wasn't from fear, that shaking. Long after the skin had healed as best it could, the shaking remained, your cuts so deep and so plentiful that they had done a number on the nerves in the fingers and palms.

For now though, for now he shouts and you drop the knife, which hits the counter with a vibrating 'twang' before skittering across the floor. You stand, dead still and eyes squeezed shut as he rushes you, ready for yelling, or perhaps a strike.

You weren't expecting him to take your elevated wrist, turning the hand over and inspecting the gouges for himself.

"Beautiful." Zeff strokes along the side of the fish before getting to work. First he removes the head in a swift chop, before filleting it, peeling meat and skin away from the bone. With precision, he scores out small cuts of the skin, laying them flat across a metal pan.

"Needle."

He swears under his breath as he pulls the thread tight, pulling your skin together before tying it off and snipping it close to the knot. You didn't move, didn't make a peep. He squints up at your blank face and mutters an apology for any pain.

"It's fine." You reply, your voice a whisper, "I can't feel anything."

Your reassurance does nothing but worry him more, a lack of feeling not being good sign if you were recover movement in your hands.

"What were you thinking." His question doesn't feel like one. "You can barely get your head round stirring a pot, what made you think grabbing a knife wouldn't end this badly." He stands, grabbing a tray of fish skin he had for some reason been meticulous when cutting.

He's making it sound like-

"-it wasn't an acciden-"

"I don't want to hear that." He slams the tray down on his desk beside you, metal and wood rattling against the force. "You," he points right into your face, "are never gonna do something like this again. Not in here, not under my roof." Gently lifting the thin stripes of fish off the tray, he lays it flat on your skin, crossing over the sutures he had just finished. "You feel like doing something like this again, or worse, you don't. You come and you find me, or Patty or Sanji. You do not sneak into the kitchen and steal my knives. You never do something like this to yourself again. You understand?" You refuse to meet his eyes, staring at the '66' and the scored out '3' that had mocked you for years. "Oi!" he snapped in front of your face, "You hear me?" Your eyes still avoid his.

"What's the fish for."

"It's an old seaman's trick. The fish skin helps staunch the wounds and heals the flesh a lot faster." Usopp peers over his crewmates' shoulders.

"Is he gonna be okay?"

"Look, I'm not gonna lie to you. He's lost a lot of blood. It might be too late for him."

"But it might not be." Luffy's eyes don't lift from Zoro's face.

"He's got one foot in each world right now, caught between life and death. You have to find a way to keep him tethered to our world. Talk to him, tell him stories. Sing him sea shanties for all I care." The crew move him carefully to one of the hanging bunks, gently laying him down on the swaying wood. "He may not reply, but at least he'll know his crew are still with him."

As you move to head back into the galley, Nami rounds on you.

"Where were you?" Her voice was tight and accusatory. "We were all there this morning, except for you." You swallowed thickly.

"He told me not to come."

"What? When?"

"Last night, I-" you ducked your head down between your shoulders. "-I had gone to speak to him, to try and convince him to stop again. It didn't go well," Your eyes dance across Zoro's still body. "He told me to got back to Baratie and to not come to the duel." Your fingers wring together, "I don't blame him, we were, very harsh to one another." Nami scoffed.

"You shouldn't have listened, you should've been there. With us."

"I know."

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"Mmm, something smells delicious." Usopp follows the scent wafting from the galley to find Luffy cleaning the Wado Ichimonji on the bench and you watching Sanji as he steamed rice and prepared fillings for more onigiri, some already sitting freshly prepared on the side.

"I just thought everyone'd be hungry, man. I know they" he gestures to you, "didn't eat last night, and there's plenty we didn't use. Never waste food."

"Cool." Usopp pinches one of the prepared ones that had been left for Luffy and bites off a small mouthful. Sanji looks over at the straw hat.

"What's the matter? Don't like fish?" He finally looks up from the sword.

"I love fish. I just need to get Zoro's sword ready for him. You know, for when he wakes up." Sanji and Usopp eye each other as he speaks.

"He's uh," Usopp wipes his face, "pretty badly hurt, man. There's an itty-bitty chance he might not wake up." Luffy continues wiping down the sword with a grin.

"Zoro's the strongest fighter I know. No way he's gonna let some warlord guy beat him."

"Well," Sanji speaks up as he moulds the rice in his hands, "you've gotta eat. Come on, if you don't want the fish, I got two-inch T-bones in the kitchen. Or, uh, maybe you're in the mood for saffron risotto?"

"His risotto's real good Luff, you should give it a try." You call from your spot beside your Sanji.

"I normally would get both, but I really gotta get the Waddy Itchy Monkey ready for him." You blink, long and slow, as Luffy's words swirl around in your brain.

"The what?"

"His sword. It's got a name." You face falls to your hands and you sigh.

"Oh."

"Luffy, it's Wado Ichimonji. Wah-do, Ichi-mon-ji." You sound out the words from behind your hands. Sanji eyes flick to you, before going back to the boy with the straw hat.

"Why?"

"I don't know. He said it was kind of special. Hey, Sanji, can you cook Zoro's favourite food?"

"Sure. What does he like?"

"Alcohol." Your voice is muffled beside him and he chuckles, eyes still focused on Luffy.

"He really likes rice balls." Sanji mumbles an 'm-hm' gesturing what was already in his hands but nodding along. "And beer, yeah. What about rice balls soaked in beer? Can you make that?" Sanji laughs and answers.

"I can make anything. Just tell me what you want."

"I want him to eat so that he gets back his strength. But I also want him to sleep so that his wounds can heal. Or maybe...maybe he just needs some water. Right? After all of that fighting, he must be awfully thirsty." He chuckles breathily, not really paying attention to their reaction to his suggestions. "But, you know, he's probably also tired, so...so yeah, we should just let him rest."

Sanji leans heavily on the counter, looking at Luffy seriously.

"Being a captain, it's the toughest job in the world, okay? Zeff once told me that making decisions is what separates a captain from the rest of his crew. And he was one of the best pirate captains that ever sailed the seas."

"Zeff was a pirate?" Luffy asked excitedly.

"Yeah. Captain of the dreaded Cook Pirates. They used to call him 'Red Leg Zeff,' 'cause his boots were always stained with the blood of his enemies."

"How'd you all meet? Were you on his crew or something?"

"Not exactly."

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By the time Sanji had finished recounting your shipwreck and stranding on that barren, inhospitable rock. You had perched yourself on the window ledge beside Zoro's almost completely unmoving body, eyes focused on the slow rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. It brought little comfort as both of your words from last night echoed through your head.

"I'm sorry Zoro." Your voice was a whisper in the still room, "I know I'm not much use if my whole power is based around guiding people to achieve their dreams and I'm telling you to stop, but I was just...scared."

Your eyes trail across his bandaged chest and your lip wobbles "Don't tell anyone but I'm a huge coward. I'm indecisive and have no idea what I want to do. I hate being like this, being afraid of consequences of actions I never take because I'm terrified of failing, but I just," you swallow back the tears desperately, "so much of the world is filled with such desperate hope. Such yearning want for something, for anything, and its all pointing in all sorts of different directions its hard not to feel empty in comparison when the people around me have something to strive for. You scared me Zoro. When we were in the galley, I thought it was because you were so so sure this was the next step to achieving your dream, but the more I felt it, and then last night again, I knew that it wasn't right. It wasn't pointing at Mihawk, not yet."

You stand, leaning over the silent man and whisper, "You need to wake up Zoro. That dream of yours is still screaming inside you I can feel it! Please don't give up on it, hang on."

With that, you leave, passing Luffy as he walks in to take his turn watching over and speaking to Zoro.

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"LUFFY! LUFFY!" Nami dashes into the galley, voice ringing through the entire ship. You and Sanji turn to her as the other boys return from Zoro's room. "The Arlong Pirates are at Baratie. We have to leave now."

"The who?" You query, sitting on the island perched beside Sanji's leaning figure, coat left abandoned in your room and tattoos exposed.

"What? Why? Why should we leave?"

"Because they're looking for you."

"Me?" Luffy asks incredulously pointing to himself.

"And the map." She turns to appeal to you and Sanji, "Those fishmen will tear this place apart if Zeff doesn't turn him over." You and Sanji spring into action, moving past the boys and sweeping out the door.

"Where are you going?"

"If Baratie's in danger, we need to be there."

"I'm coming with you."

Nami calls after him desperately. "Did you not hear what I just said? They are hunting you, we need to run."

"I'm with Nami on this one," Usopp joins in, "I'm really not trying to ruffle any feathers or scales-"

"I'm not running. We're going to protect this place."

"This isn't your fight, why would you that?"

"You fed us." Luffy and Sanji smirk at each other as Nami turns to you imploringly.

"Y/n, please, talk some sense into them, I know this crew, their captain, Arlong, has the highest bounty in all of the East Blue!"

(An orange haired woman and an orange haired girl are surrounded by trees in an orange grove)

"This is my home, Nami, they're my," Your gaze flashes to Sanji, "our people, our family. We have to protect them, we have to do something." You make eye contact with her and hold it.

(A windmill made from an orange peel.)

"You understand that?"

(A grave stone.)

"Don't you?"

(A dark room, filled only with maps and chain shackled to the floor. A little girl sits alone.)

Her eyes are wide as her eyes follow your arm, raised and pointing to the horizon out the window as your eyes swirl their colours together.

(The little girl stands, now a woman, with a blue-haired woman at her side, and a town free from a tyrant in scales.)

Her lips quiver as she answers shakily.

"You do not want to mess with him."

"It sounds like he messed with us first."

"Luffy please." She moves closer, but still is separated from the rest of you by the galley's counters. "Please."

"I can't let innocent people get hurt because of me. If those fishmen guys want a fight, we're gonna give them one." You and Sanji nod to him. He turns back to Nami and walks over to where she stands, silently fuming. "You stay with the ship and protect the map. Hmm? It's gonna be safe with you." He slaps her gently on the shoulder before you all make your exit.

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Following your captain as he slams open the doors, he moves to the railing overlooking the dining room. Lunch service is in full swing, the large room chock full of people. He leans over and calls,

"Which one of you is Arlong?" A deep voice belonging to a purple fishman with a long, spiked nose answers.

"Who is asking?"

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy. I hear you're looking for me." Arlong releases his hold of the customer and looks up at you all as you begin walking down the stairs. Sanji brings up the rear as you and Usopp followed behind Luffy, with you closer to the banister as Usopp kited the wall.

"Why, yes I am. So this is the pirate I've heard so much about? You know I was expecting someone... bigger." Luffy smiles.

"So was I." Arlong snarls up at him.

"Do you know who I am boy? I'm Arlong the Saw. Even the Marines flee before my flag." Luffy shook his head as you moved closer to Sanji, subconsciously acting as a barrier between him and the threat before you.

"Not ringing a bell. How'd you find me anyway?" Arlong smirks.

"An old friend helped me track you down." He clicks him tongue and one of the three other fishmen sat at one of the tables flips open a bag pulling free the decapitated head of Buggy.

Of course its the goddamn clown.

"Heya, Straw Hat! Did you miss me?"

"No." Your voice couldn't have been more monotone if you'd tried.

"Burpy?! What are you doing here?" Now is not the time to laugh, but you struggled not to.

"Believe me, it wasn't my first choice either. But these fine fishy folk persuaded me to point them in the right direction, which ain't easy when you don't have any hands." He chuckle to himself as you roll your eyes.

"How'd you even know how to find me?"

"I told you. I've got eyes and ears everywhere." There's a squishy squirming noise as a disembodied ear wiggles its way out of the band of Luffy's hat. The sight makes you gag as it flies back over to the clown's head as he cackles to himself. "AHA! Stereo!"

"You were listening all along? You heard everything?" Buggy nods as best he can while only a head.

"Everything. And that god old quick, 'cause you shidiots have no idea what you're doing. Hey Lips!" He hollers at the fishman sitting behind him, "How 'bout a scratch behind the old ear, huh?"

"Sorry honey"

"Oh, come on! Give a clown a break. I--" He places down the bottle he was holding and grabs atop of Buggy's head. "Oh wait! No, not back in the bag, it's so dark and wet and sandy!"

"Listen here." Arlong's voice is smooth in the silence, "I want my map, along with half of whatever you plunder as tribute. And if you bow down to me, I might even let you serve in my kingdom." Luffy's face was set in a glare hard as stone.

"I don't bow down to any man."

"I'm no man."

"Or fish." Arlong growls. "And you're no king."

"I will be when I get my Grand Line map." Luffy's serious face cracked into a smile.

"Then," he replaces his hat on his head. "You're gonna have to fight me for it."

"Then let the fighting begin." As he moves to step forward, a shot rings out and a bullet clinks to the floor between his feet.

Holding the smoking gun, Zeff glares down the barrel as Arlong turns on him. With a growl, the other seated fishman stands and smashes through Zeff's peg leg, before standing to full height and punching Zeff back through one of the tables.

As plates and glasses crash to the floor, Sanji and your voices ring out in unison.

"ZEFF!" Sanji sprints down the stairs while you bolt over the railing, running at the fishmen's table. With a swift kick, Sanji sends the one with Buggy's head flying, and he lands on the table, glaring at the one who attacked Zeff.

You instead square up to the fourth fishman, standing between him and Sanji as he stands to full height, towering over you in a combination of spackled brown and orange scales and a yellow shirt, with a long barbed tail and a wide and flat face.

While Sanji advances on the paler grey fishman, kicking and whirling around him, your chains drop from your arms, the shucking weight catching in your upturned hands as you begin your attacks, swinging the thick heavy metal at his head in an X shape before making a series of quick whipping attacks to his chest, pushing him away from the table and from Zeff, who stares at you in bewilderment. 

With a leaping kick, Sanji aims for the head of his opponent, just as yours catches hold of the spinning chains. Sanji's fishman reels back, punching him in the stomach and sending him soaring through the air only to crash into and overturn one of the tables, revealing Usopp hiding underneath. Your opponent, on the other hand, kept hold of your chains and began to spin. Pulling you off your feet with no effort, he spins and spins and spins, forcing you around and around in tighter and tighter before releasing you like a hammer in a hammer throw, sending you careening into the wall above the stairs, knocking a hole into it as you crash to the steps, rolling down them as debris cascades down around you. Usopp crawls up along side you, pushing you right side up as Sanji joins the pair of you. With a roar, Luffy swings at Arlong.

"GUM GUM PISTOL!" Though he had wound it up, Arlong catches his wrist with little trouble, ripping him off his feet and pulling him into the fishman's torso. Holding the boy by the shoulders, Arlong hurls him into one of the pillars holding up the upper floor, and he falls to the ground limp and groaning.

"Get up!" Arlong snarls. Luffy hops up, growling as he swings at Arlong, once, twice, three times, juddering him back a step each time. Arlong only chuckles. "Not bad for a human." You and Usopp haul Sanji's half-limp form up another stair. Luffy yells and strikes out again at Arlong, but he catches both of Luffy's fists and squeezes, pulling back towards himself as the length of his rubber arms diminish and force him face to face with the fishman.

"Uh...?"

"Oooh, big mistake." Arlong muses happily. "Now I'm gonna have to make an example out of you."

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You and Usopp scrabble down the dock to help Sanji haul Luffy out of the water, your arms weighing down as the sea water laps at them. You push past the wave of fatigue as you heave your captain's body up on to the wood, limp and heavy like it was weighed down with concrete.

As the boy gags and coughs up salt water, your eyes skitter across to Sanji, his strong pale chest now dripping wet. His eyes were focused on Luffy, so he missed the way your eyes glazed and your cheeks warmed as you followed the trickling path of a water droplet as it flows down the smooth contours of his sculpted chest.

Usopp does though, watching you watch him, before your aqua and gold eyes dart away to meet dark smirking ones. Luffy interrupts, lifting his head weakly with another hack and asks,

"Where's Nami?" The smirk on Usopp's face falls and you bite your lip between your teeth, sharp canines digging into the skin.

"She's gone Luffy." Your voice is quiet even to your own ears. Usopp continues.

"She's a member of Arlong's crew." His head drops back to the wood. You all look at each other as he remains quivering on the dock.

"No. She can't be."

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You and Sanji return to the wrecked dining hall as Zeff drops into a chair, all of you surveying the damage done. Sanji moves past Zeff without a word, lifting a broom and starting to sweep as you begin to right fallen tables and chairs, moving unsalvageable ones to a pile in the centre. Zeff's eyes close with a sigh.

"I don't need you to do that."

"We've got a full house tomorrow. Two dinner seatings, plus brunch." Sanji props the broom against the centre piece of the dining room, moving to clear some larger debris from the floor.

"Enough! I don't wanna hear this."

"What is your problem?"

"Me?" Zeff scowls incredulously at Sanji's question. "I'm fine, you're the one with the problem." He begins to rise from his chair.

"Zeff just stay there." Your voice is quiet behind him, but as always, both blondes ignore your tired tone and continue the argument instead.

"I'm just helping you clean up."

"Yeah, but no one asked you to, did they? So get out of my restaurant now." Sanji whirled on him.

"I told you I'm not gonna be a waiter."

"You're not gonna be anything, not if you stay here."

"Zeff..." Your tone turns from tired to warning, volume rising slightly but still they turn a blind eye. 

 "I did not save your lives so you could waste them at Baratie."

"It's not like we can just leave."

"Why the hell not? The little donkey is, to follow your dream, for you." Sanji's face curls as Zeff waves the hand not propping him up on a crutch at you.

"Because you couldn't run this place without me."

"Oh, please, little eggplant, your cooking is for shit."

"At least I don't drown everything in oregano."

"Yeah, at least I'm no the one who goes on moaning about the All Blue, only for the perfect opportunity to be hand-delivered to your ungrateful lap, to just turn your nose up at it." Sanji stills from stacking the mess of plates, glaring down at the stained table cloth. You slide up beside him and run your knuckles down his forearm.

"Sanji?" Your voice is low and soft, and his glare drops, large damp eyes turning to you. "We've been talking about going after it for forever and a day. We both want to find it, so let's. Zeff can manage things here, he has Patty and Akito and all the rest." You curl your fingers into his sleeve, tugging it towards you as you look up at him. "We can go with Luffy and Zoro and Usopp in the Merry, go rescue Nami and head for the Grand Line. It has to be there, we can finally find it for ourselves."

Your whispering only grows more and more excited as you go, eyes lighting up and swirling together as you beam up at him. Sanji turns a reluctant gaze on the man who had looked after and protected you both for the last nine years, only to find a stubborn glare in place on his face.

"If it means that much to you, go find it." He snarks bitterly. Sanji lifts the tray of crockery and spins away from you.

"Do you want us to quit? Is that what you want?"

"Quitting is staying here, it's giving up before you've even started looking!" His voice ricocheted off the tall walls and high ceilings as he blared at the younger man. "It's letting down the one person," his eyes flick to your figure, once again hiding in the shadow of your Sanji, "who has stood by and supported you every single moment. Don't you get it? It's one thing to have a dream. It's another to go after it."

Sanji steps back, falling in line with you as he stares Zeff down.

"Chore boy offered me a spot on his crew alongside Y/n." Your ears prick up and your figure straightens, "Maybe I'll take him up on that offer." He takes a grip of your arm, dropping the tray onto the table behind you both as he turns from Zeff.

"You want my permission, you've got it." With an angry kick to one of the knocked down chairs, Sanji pulls you into the back of house, screaming over his shoulder.

"FINE!"

"FINE!"

With quick steps and angry breaths raging through his chest, Sanji pulls you with him as you take the stairs up to the staff quarters two-at-a-time.

He throws open the door to your room, grabbing a duffle bag before starting to throw things from the small shared closet in, extra shirts and suit trousers, socks and underwear and his chef knife set, huffing and puffing the whole time.

You move much slower, lifting your coat from the hook, and gently tossing a few spare undershirts and overshirts, tank tops and small clothes, and a few pairs of your long, baggy, big-pocketed trousers going in as well. From under your bed you pull the dusty and decrepit wooden box that housed your sewing and embroidery kit.

A gift from Zeff to try and help work on the unwavering shake in your hands, it became a hobby you had invested huge amounts of your time to, most of your clothing bearing colourful thread designs or whirling swirling patterns. Your trouser pockets are emblazoned with scattered fish amongst rippling waves. You have a waistcoat -one you throw into your bag after a moment of consideration- that is spackled with vibrant flowers across the still waters of the turquoise fabric. Sanji and Zeff and Patty and Akito and Carne and all the other chefs have pocket squares and hankies and towels and shirts and skirts littered with designs of all shapes and sizes.

A small smile grows across your face and you tuck it away in the folds of your cloths, and tuck a few extra miscellaneous bits and pieces into the bag around it. You turn to watch Sanji for a moment.

"I'm going to go down." Your voice shakes him from his muttering reverie, and he looks at you. "I want to check on Luffy and Zoro, and make sure Usopp hasn't set the ship ablaze." He snorts.

"Mon cœur, of all the people in that little crew of yours, it isn't Usopp I'm worried about starting a fire." You scrunch your nose up at his quiet chuckles.

"That's because you don't know him yet." His chuckling dies down and he gazes up at you, eyes soft and gentle for you. "I'm going to say goodbye to Zeff as well." His eyes drop to the carpet and glaze over slightly. "If you want to join me...?"

"Not yet, mon cœur." His voice is hushed and tight. You don't push him. "Maybe later."

"Course, Sanji. I'll see you soon, okay? Don't take to long."

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You find Zeff exactly where you expect, hunched over his desk in the office at the back of the empty kitchen. He's pouring over papers, shoulders and moustache braids sagging. He looks over his shoulder with the sound of creaking hinges, watching as you let it hang open, the unusually silent and cold kitchen casting a gloomy atmosphere throw the little dark room.

"What'd you want? I'm busy." He turns away again, lifting and shuffling papers as you let the bag drop in the doorway. You take your seat beside him, stool still so low you have to bend your legs up to your chest to sit comfortably.

"Thought you deserved a proper goodbye, given I know I won't be back for a while this time." His body stills it's shuffling, fingers creasing the paper as his grip tightens. "I want to thank you Zeff. For looking after us, and taking us with you. Making sure we were looked after, even if you were a bit of a brute about it at times." He snorts at you, but doesn't look over. "You have no idea how good it was, to have somewhere where we were safe, where Sanji was safe, and we didn't have to fight just to-" your voice caught, "-just to live, ya know? We owe you a whole lot and I don't know when, or if, we'll be able to repay you." You trail off into silence, joining the head chef in quietude for a moment.

"Repay me," his voice breaks the still moment between you, "by staying safe. And staying good. Even if you become the fiercest pirates the sea has ever seen," his gaze drifts to you, "you keep good. Don't go starting trouble, especially if it's already looking for you." A small smile graces your face.

"I'll try. Can't promise, with this new captain of ours, but I'll try." His large hand, big enough to almost ingulf your face, drops on to your head and scratches at your scalp a moment.

"That's all I ask."

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You've just arrived on the deck of the Going Merry when you hear your captain screaming his first mate's name. You join Usopp, who had greeted you upon arriving, in dashing down through the tight passages to make it to the newly conscious man.

"Zoro!" You both cry out with relief when you seem him, eyes open and fist to Luffy's chest. Usopp pulls back, trying to hide his over excited reaction and finishes cooly, "I wasn't worried for a second."

"Shut up, Zoro-" you point at the man's face and he raises an eyebrow at your finger, "- you are never allowed to nearly die in a duel again. Not ever, especially not if we're so far from any medical help!"

"Noted." His voice is monotone, but a small smirk curves along his lips. Luffy thrusts his hand into the air, yanking the man into a painful position as he screams in joy.

"HE'S ALIVE!!" Luffy drops his arm gingerly as he groans in pain before Usopp starts up again.

"And I told 'em. I said 'You'd better not mess with the Straw Hats!'"

"Ya!" You all watch as Usopp mimes and mimics the noises of an intense fight.

"Sent 'em swimming for their lives."

"You scared 'em off, huh?" Usopp agrees instantly. "The Great Captain Usopp."

"So, what do we do now? Plot a course for the Grand Line?" You purse your lips.

"How?" All three look at you. "We don't have our navigator." Usopp blinks at you.

"But I thought we were going after the One Piece?"

"We are," Luffy assures, "but we can't do it without our whole crew. First..." He pulls the hat from around his neck and plops it on his head, adjusting the straps at his chin, "we're going after Nami."

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You are checking off the list of inventory as Usopp carried yet another barrel up on to the deck.

"Lot of dried meat in these barrells." It thumps down beside three others laden with jerky, and several crates of the juices of lemons and limes, "you think we brought too much?" Zoro peers up at your captain as he clambers ungracefully about the rigging.

"You know who you're sailing with?"

"Yeah."

"Mmm."

"Heard you guys need a cook." All heads spin towards the dock below, where a grinning Sanji stands, looking up at you all with his duffel bag over his shoulder. You let out a squeal so high that both Zoro and Usopp wince as you run to greet him, and Luffy cheers from his spot dangling above you.

"YEAH! Yes we do!" Luffy's cheer roars out as he begins to clamber down and you throw your arms around Sanji, squeezing him tightly as he laughs.

"I'm so glad you came." You're whispering, but he can hear you just fine as he squeezes back, only releasing his grip as Luffy appears by you both. The captain's hand claps his shoulder as he beams.

"Welcome aboard." As you follow Sanji further on to the deck, Zoro peers at the pair of you.

"Why are we bringing the waiter?"

Usopp answers easily. "Because we can't boil water."

"Not without starting a fire anyway!" You chime in merrily, clinging loyaly to Sanji's side once more.

You watch as Luffy and Usopp work to drop the sail, flicking at the ropes and tying them in messy knots. You shake your head, leaving them too it as Luffy releases the jib sail and takes ahold of the rudder, and you join your Sanji atop the sterncastle facing Baratie as the men on dock cast you away. The Merry begins to part from Baratie and you spot Zeff, Patty and the rest of the cooks watching as you start to sail away. You lean just to the left of the still broken rail and Sanji stands a step behind you. He begind to walk back to the main deck as Zeff yells up to him, your goodbyes already complete even as your eyes begin to water.

"HEY SANJI!" He turns immediately, joining you against the rail. "You keep your feet dry."

"Goodbye Zeff." His throat catches in his throat and he doesn't even manage to pull away completely before turning back again. "You know, all these years, living under your shitty roof, cooking at your shitty restaurant..." His eyes turn redder and redder as tears gather in his waterline and you take his hand, nails digging into your skin as he speaks. "I owe you my life! Thank you for putting up with my shit all these years, old man." A tear runs down his face and you wipe at it as gently as you can, your own eyes stinging as his lip quivers. "I'll never forget you, Zeff!"

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"Sooo..." Sanji is running his hand over the varnished grain on the railings as you lean with your cheek smashed against his arm. You blink an eye up at him, but don't move. "When did you work out that whole," he runs a fingertip along the tattoos etched into your skin, "chain situation then?" You breath deeply, repositioning your head to lean your chin on him instead.

"You saw my bounty poster, yea?"

"Yea love."

"Round about then. I..." you pull at your fingers and turn your eyes away. "...Might be from an island called Gaka. In the Grand Line." His eyes don't waver from your face. "There was a man in Syrup Village who had the same tattoos. I'm assuming he was from the island himself." You run your nails along the grooves in your skin. "He was able to drop the chains out of his arms and even control how they coiled and moved from a distance. It was, mostly, instinct." Your voice, already low, dropped even lower as you continued. "He was going to kill me and I didn't want to, so I struck back."

"He dead?" You blink and look up at him. His eyebrows are creased down and he's frowning at a small indent in the wood.

"What?"

"Is he dead? He hurt you, tried to kill you, is he dead?" Your teeth worry at your bottom lip as you look up at him.

"Yes." The crease on his brow eased slightly and he took your hand in his.

"Good."

A moment later, Usopp moves past Zoro to the main deck, calling to Luffy past the pair of you.

"So, we're... we're going after Nami, but how're we gonna find her?"

"Yeah, we don't even know where she is."

"Somewhere... with orange trees..." The words are mumbled, your face now buried back into Sanji's shoulder one deck below Luffy.

"I know someone who does."

You all join him below deck as he pushes a bag down around the disembodied head of a blue-haired clown. Luffy stands next to the table looking proud of himself as Sanji and Usopp watch on in horror and morbid curiosity. You and Zoro look at each, already done with the situation.

"Hello boys!" You duck your head closer to the green haired swordsman and he moves his own in closer.

"I vote we get the location and then throw him overboard." You don't see Sanji glaring at the other man's proximity to you.

"Agreed."

Next Chapter: Treasure Troves in Orange Groves

[cyberbark]

Hello I saw that you were taking requests! I'm unsure if your still taking them or not so if your not you can ignore this! I was wondering if you could write for a kokushibo or Rengoku x reader, maybe add a bit of a hair-pulling kink. If you'd like me to I can specify a bit more but the rest is up to your imagination! (Idk if you comfortable with it or not but if you are could you do a reader receiving blowjob-)

Note: Hey anon, thanks for the ask <3 I dunno if I did justice to this work but you can ask again if it wasn't how you wanted it! I only wrote for Kokushibo (i have awful time management skills), so yeah.

Also thank you to the ones who reblog, i love seeing your tags

minors and fem aligned dni

nsfw below. wc: 1.1k+

kokushibō — michikatsu tsugikuni “Surely a demon can take more than this, especially the second strongest one. Right?”

cw: power play, asphyxiation (g.), degradation (g.), sadism, oral (r.), slapping (g.), mouth fucking (g.), praise (g.), breeding (g.)

Nobody would believe you if you said that the upper moon one is a whore. But it was alright, such a sight was meant for your eyes alone. Kokushibo was on his knees as he held your waist to support himself while he worked his mouth on your cock. You’d occasionally shoot him unimpressed glances, urging him to be better at what he’s doing. He was certainly not that good at giving head but there is room for improvement. His tongue worked sloppily up your shaft as his fingertips started to painfully dip in your hips.

“Tsk— do I have to do everything by myself?” You tutted, giving him your full attention now. Kokushibo felt a shiver run down his spine because of your voice, excited for what’s about to come.

“Suck properly, slut.” You said with a dismissive glance. He took your dick deeper, it was hitting the back of his throat. He moaned at the slight burn of his throat as his warm mouth moved faster. Groaning at the pleasure, your hands went to grip his hair to keep yourself steady, tugging on it in the process. Kokushibo was breathing raggedly and went to pull away for a breather. Before he could, you gripped his hair and started to fuck his mouth, starting out slow. It felt so good. The desire had spread throughout your lower half, wanting to snap into two. Fastening your pace, you couldn’t be bothered more about letting Kokushibo breathe. He can take everything you give him, he’s your greedy whore after all.

“Some strong demon you are.” You jabbed lightly while letting out a few moans. Kokushibo let his arousal get to him as he shamelessly fingered his hole to prep for you. He kept moaning around your dick, sending up vibrations which made you pull his hair. You maintained eye contact with him for a few moments, “Does it turn you on? To be used as some toy by—hah— a mere human, hm?” You weren’t expecting a response but he nodded. It almost made you laugh, “You’re so desperate.”

Your dick was throbbing in his mouth. It was so big and your continuous thrusts made Kokushibo’s jaw ache. But he didn’t mind that, he rather found it erotic. He wanted you to use him like a common whore, only made for your pleasure. The power trip between you two was overwhelming for him, making his untouched cock jolt at the new feeling.

You were getting close, he could tell. With the way your eyes clouded over with lust, Kokushibo wanted you to fuck him into exhaustion. He needed you badly. A final groan left your lips as you came down his throat and Kokushibo swallowed at whatever few drops of cum landed on his tongue.

After a few minutes of catching your breath and letting Kokushibo have a break, you brought him to your bed. “Ass up f’me, slut.” He immediately flipped over and spread his ass for you. You chuckled darkly. Wasn’t he supposed to be a prim-proper demon? Oh well, you can hold that against him some other time.

You watched as his hole fluttered, waiting to be filled with your cock. His face was buried in the pillow, probably ashamed about this position. Him hiding his face simply won’t work, would it? Gripping the back of his neck, you forced him to turn the side of his face. It was flushed dark red, seeping down till his chest. “You’re cute when you’re embarrassed.” You say as you bring your hand to line your dick with his entrance, dismissing his whine at your statement. You entered him slowly, letting him feel all of your cock. Kokushibou managed to poorly bite back a moan.

His hole took your cock greedily making you gasp slightly. He was hot and tight and you wanted more of it. You shoved the remaining inches of your cock into him mercilessly and started off with rough thrusts.

Your other hand that gripped his neck now went to his mouth, two fingers prying it open and he obediently sucked. He let out pathetic moans and you grinned, seeing him so far gone in pleasure was a sight to behold. “You’re pretty when I fuck you, Michikatsu.” Maybe you shouldn’t have said his name because he cried out loud, already reaching his limit.

“Say please and I might let you cum, Michikatsu.” You say. Whatever sound reasoning was holding back Kokushibo, in that moment it all disappeared. He let out a stream of pleas, wanting you to give into his wishes. “Please let me—ah— cum! I’ll do anything, please!” His voice broke, it was quite amusing watching him beg. “Fuck—please!” His voice heightened by a few pitches and you laughed. “How badly does my slut wanna cum?” You teased, increasing your pace. You’d punish him if he cums without your permission, Kokushibo knows that, but you make it so difficult for him to hold back.

“Please! Ah— I w’nna cum badly.” He was slurring his words, mind going blank while he held onto the last string which kept him from cumming. Giving into his begging, you wrapped a hand around his cock, jerking him off. “Go on, lemme know who’s making Michikatsu feel this good.”

Kokushibo nearly screamed your name when he came undone, his hole clenching tightly on your cock making you moan. Your hand was messy with his cum as Kokushibo panted at his orgasm. You wanted to ruin him further. You picked up your rough pace, chasing after your own orgasm. “W-Wait—ah— please! I just came!” He cried, his body growing oversensitive. But that’s what you liked the best about him. “Surely a demon can take more than this, especially the second strongest one. Right?” You taunted.

You brought your dirty hand up to his mouth. “Clean your mess, Michikatsu.” He followed through and licked your hand, tasting his own bitter cum. But he’d do anything to you happy. He watched your stressed expression, then saw your cock going in and out of his hole. The obscene view was enough to bring him close to cumming again.

The irregularity in your thrusts pointed out that you were going to cum any given time. Kokushibo’s thighs were shaking with the immense pleasure, eyes rolling to the back of his head. You slapped his ass cheeks a couple of times to elicit a response from him. He moaned at every slap, feeling his cock leaking globs of precum. “Oh fuck— ’m gon’ cum in your pretty hole. Gonna breed you till you know you’re mine, whore.” You groaned and came in him with a last thrust. Feeling your warm cum shooting inside of him, even Kokushibo came untouched, mumbling ‘I’m yours,’ over and over again.

You pulled out of his hole, watching your cum leak from it. Kokushibo laid on his back, tired from your session. “We’re not done yet, Michikatsu. Demons have a higher stamina, and you love taking everything I give.”

[jungle-angel]

Winter Blues (Bob Floyd x Reader)

Summary: It's the time of year when you're not feeling quite yourself, but thank God for your husband

You had come home later than usual after a long week, exhausted beyond all human reasoning and your body screaming for rest.

All week long it had been one thing after another, first with your students and then with having to prep for the holidays and stressful situations outside the home. You felt every last cell in your body screaming for you to rest, your head heavy and aching from the stress.

You parked the truck in the driveway, the snow falling heavily as you stepped out onto the driveway with the last minute supplies for Thanksgiving dinner. The stress had weighed so heavy on your mind that no sooner were you through the door than you cracked. The tears started falling from your eyes as you hung up your coat, scarf, hat and mittens.

Your crying must've been a little more noticeable than you initially thought when you felt a set of arms coiling around your waist and a soft cheek smushed against the back of your head.

"My sweet baby," Bob mumbled. "What's wrong?"

"Oh Bob," you whimpered. "I'm just.....I can't.....I can't right now."

"Shhhh," Bob hushed. "You come with me and get settled. I'll make you a hot mint tea and we'll pop in a movie."

You nodded as he kissed your cheek. He helped you over to the couch where a blanket had been messily tossed aside, no doubt from an afternoon nap he had taken. As soon as you heard the kettle on the stove beginning to whistle, Bob brought in two mugs full of steaming hot peppermint tea, one for you and one for himself.

You told him everything that had happened in your day, even the little things that seemed to be bothering you. You felt a little bad dumping it all on him at once, but you knew he was a good listener who would help you.

"Oh sweetheart," he said wistfully. "Don't let it get to you. I know it's easier said than done, but I don't want you to stress yourself out."

You snuggled a little closer to him, his warm body comforting and soothing like the mint tea you had both been drinking. "I know I shouldn't stress myself out like that but....."

"Hey," Bob said reassuringly. "You know I love you even when you're stressed out right?"

You nodded.

"So come here and lets get cozy," he said, drawing you closer and kissing your head.

Bob switched on a movie and when it began playing you laughed a little. "Really Bob?" you chuckled. "Isn't it a little too early for us to be watching Christmas Vacation?"

"It's never too early for a Christmas movie sweetheart," he said happily, gently stroking the back of your neck and pressing a sweeet kiss to your lips.

You both laughed throughout the movie, quoting it back and forth until you forgot the troubles of the day, the both of you warm and cozy under the covers and falling into the deepest sleep you could have imagined.

[pablitogavii]

Doctora

Summary: You start your internship in sports medicine at FC Barcelona, meeting an interesting footballer who quickly develops a crush on you.

Pairing: Pablo Gavi x Reader

Warnings: there will be angst/smut/fluff

possibly a short series if you guys like it :)

Pablo's POV

We just came back from the short break, and my groin somewhat healed but I kept feeling numbness in my upper thigh that I didn't mention to anyone. I hoped it would just go away and besides everyone who knows me knows that I HATE doctors!

I would rather push through pain for days than go see a doctor. It was since I was a kid and they couldn't find my vein during regular check up at La Masia that I developed real fear of needles or any hospital related 'stuffs'.

It was during training when I was trying to lift weights with my legs that I kept wincing so much so that Xavi pulled me to the side to ask if everything was alright.

"Soy bien, no te preocupes" I lied but man was suspicious saying I should do a check up with one of team doctors before the next game. It was my very own nightmare!

"But sir, it's really nothing..I'm probably sore" I said realizing just how illogical that was considering this was a first training since we got back from a break.

"He's scared sir! Pablito is scared of doctors!!" Ansu joked around as others joined him making me do my best to hide the embarrassment for being afraid of something so silly. I was Pablo Gavi after all!

"I'm not scared cabrón. I just hate being poked!" I said proudly pretending like I currently had no worry in my mind (which was far from truth).

"Scared or not, you have to see the doctor after training Gavi" Xavi ordered and I could do nothing but nod rolling my eyes at the guys who were smirking at me.

This is just my luck!

Your POV

It's been such a long morning already with lots of paperwork and barely any time for a proper meal or a cup of good 'wake me up' coffee.

I was interning with the medical staff as the young college student so of course they gave me all the grunt work but I didn't mind feeling grateful for the opportunity.

"Hola..um..I'm sorry, I need someone to get my blood drawn?" Gavi walked in and I felt myself staring at him before focusing on his question instead trying to forget that I found him extremely attractive!

"I can do that. Take a seat please" I said and he does but furrows his eyebrows in process.

"Aren't you like my age? Can you really poke people??" he said and I chuckled at his choice of words while prepping the syringe and the needle.

"Well, I got my EMT certification done early and now I go to school while working here and yeah poking people is kinda my specialty. Do you have an arm preference?"I said walking up to him immediately noticing that he was the 'nervous patient' which was kind of adorable knowing how confident he is on and off the pitch from seeing him around the camp.

"Well..um..I don't know" he said and that's when an idea popped in my head seeing that he had his eyes shut waiting for me to do something.

I slowly pulled up one of his sleeves putting on a tourniquet and wetting the gauze with some rubbing alcohol. That's when I start excercising my plan.

"You know I watched you play in the last game and I thought to myself 'damn! that boy is fine!'" I smirk seeing that he was starting to relax as his confidence returned the moment I said that. Pablo Gavi loved to be complimented, that's for sure ;)

"Is that right nena??" he said as I cleaned his skin but he barely paid any attention to my actions waiting to hear me say something back.

"Mhm..I mean you in that sweaty home kit..and your hair falling on your forehead..it did things to me" I said opening the syringe and slowly tapping his veins.

"I bet I can do better things to you.." Pablo said and I felt my panties getting wet knowing that my words were god honest truth and then I finally poked his vein pulling enough blood to run all the necessary tests.

"Alright! We are all done!" my words took him by surprise as he opened his eyes shocked that he didn't even notice me poke his skin as he was too busy imagining the things he wanted to do probably..not that I minded ;)

"Wait..so was this all to distract me?" he said and I smirked tossing away the waste before getting back to my desk.

"I will see you next week when the results come Gavi" my smirk only grew when he got up and walked over placing his fingers underneath my chin making me look up before suddenly crashing his lips onto mine leaving me in utter shock.

"I'll see you around nena" he winked before leaving. Damn it! Getting involved with a player!?

That's just my luck!

Guys please comment if you want this to become a series because I really like the plot :)