#reaching into a bag of goodies(my brain) for a new au

[kaisollisto]

space beatrice before she sees the horrors

[bangtanloverboys]

the first cringe of morning // myg

summary - there were many things one would be nervous about when their new partner spends the night for the first time: was the room clean? is everything in order? did you shave? but you weren’t really nervous about those things, you were nervous as to how he would preceive your scars

pairing - boyfriend!yoongi x trans male!reader

genre - fluff, slight nsfw; newly established relationship au

word count - 1.7k

warnings - mentions of top surgery, reader is slightly insecure of his scars, anxiety, bisexual yoongi, bed sharing, cuddling, non-sexual body worship, kissing, very light non-sexual dom/sub undertones, kinda soft dom!min yoongi, min yoongi being an absolute sweetheart

author’s note - hhhhhh dream scenario honestly. . .happy pride month

Taking a deep breath, you pulled your shirt up, exposing your chest. You stared at your torso in the mirror, your eyes zeroing in on the two thin scars that decorated your chest. You’d gotten top surgery barely a year ago, the scars nearly faded away. You were happy with the results, you’ve never felt happier or more comfortable in your entire life even. You would never go back on the decision you made to get top surgery.

However, it didn’t stop you from being nervous. Why were you nervous? Your new boyfriend, Yoongi, was going to spend the night for the first time ever. You’ve been dating for a few months now and you honestly couldn’t have been happier. You told him you were a trans man a few weeks after you felt like you were possibly getting more serious; he nodded, thanking you for trusting him with the information. While you knew he would do nothing of the sort, your brain couldn’t help but think of terrible outcomes if/when he was to see your chest. 

What if he thought you looked deformed? What if he pointed out your nipples and how they looked weird? What if after what if after what if, plagued your mind. It was stupid and you knew that, but your anxiety continued to eat away at you.

The night so far had been pretty good; he arrived with a couple grocery bags of goodies, as you did ask him to pick up some things on his way over. The two of you had a nice dinner, watched a couple movies, and you were both getting ready to settle down for bed. It was established earlier that you weren’t planning on having sex at all that night, neither of you feeling quite ready for that yet. But you slept shirtless, meaning you had the options of either A. getting it over with and showing him or B. sleep with a shirt on and possibly overboil. Anxiety on the rise, you went with the latter option. 

A knock on the bathroom door startled you, causing you to drop your shirt. 

“I gotta brush my teeth. You decent?” Yoongi asked from the otherside of the door. 

With a light chuckle, you unlocked the door, pulling it open for him. “Come in.”

Walking in, his toothbrush in hand, he pressed a kiss to your cheek. “Thank you. Can I use your toothpaste?”

“Yeah, it’s in the little basket by the sink.” You gestured to the counter behind you. “I’m gonna get the bed ready.”

“Hey,” he grabbed your wrist, stopping you from going any further. “You sure you don’t want me sleeping on the couch? Because I’m more than fine with that.”

“No, it’s okay.” You responded, hoping your voice sounded reassuring. Yoongi stared at you for a moment, possibly sensing your nervousness. He didn’t say anything, only nodding; trusting your words. After releasing your wrist, you made your way to your bedroom.

You had cleaned up everything earlier that day, looking nothing like the mess it was the past couple days. But you were satisfied with it, as long as there was no mess on the floor or dirty dishes anywhere, it was fine. With a sigh, you began taking off the decorative pillows you had on display on your full sized bed, neatly stacking them in a pile. As you continued to get the bed ready, your mind wandered, thinking about how you were going to sleep. Did Yoogni have any sleeping habits? Would he cuddle you while you slept? Would he mind the heat you tend to give off when you sleep? So many different random anxieties started to build up over the ones already there. 

“Are we not going to sleep with any pillows or something?” Yoongi’s voice pulled you from your thoughts. Immediately you realized you went a bit too far and even pulled off the actual pillows from the bed, stacking them alongside the decorative ones.

“Shit- I’m sorry, I got a bit carried away.” You gushed as you put the pillows back on the bed. 

“No worries.” You got a good look at him as he walked across the room, towards the bed. He was wearing a loose fitted T-shirt, a pair of grey sweatpants that were hanging low on his hips, and his hair was a mess from being tucked away in a beanie all day. “Do you sleep on any specific side of the bed or free range?”

“I sleep on the right side.” You said, pointing to the side you were closest to. 

“Alright,” he nodded as he made his way over to the left side of the bed. Pulling back the covers, he climbed into bed. You moved to follow him, but he stopped you. “You’re gonna sleep in your jeans?” 

You felt your cheeks grow hot in embarrassment. “Right uh. Hang on.” You muttered as you turned around. As you shuck your jeans off, you can feel Yoongi’s eyes on you, causing the heat in your cheeks to spread to the tips of your ears. Standing in only your boxers and a T-shirt, you deemed yourself ready for bed. When you turned around to face him, you spotted a smirk playing on his lips. Avoiding eye contact, you clambered into bed, shutting off your lamp in the process, leaving you both in the dark room. 

The mattress beneath you shifted as Yoongi adjusted himself to lay down and get comfortable. “C’mere.” He wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you close to him. You freeze in his hold for a moment, thinking he’s going to possibly make a move, but instead you feel him nuzzle his face into your hair. You smiled as you felt his breathing tickle the skin of your neck. Relaxing into his touch, you allowed yourself to fall asleep in his arms. 

When you woke up to the sunlight bleeding through your blinds, you were genuinely surprised to have slept through the whole night. Usually you’d wake up randomly, but Yoongi was a good luck sleeping charm that now you had, you probably won’t ever let go. You shut your eyes again, wanting a bit more sleep before either of you have to get up.

Just as your mind was about to fall back into sleep, you felt the light touch of Yoongi’s lips drag across the skin of your neck. He peppered soft kisses over the exposed skin, gently tickling you. You giggled at the sensation, but didn’t pull away. In fact, you snuggled closer into him. As he sleepily kissed you, you felt the hand that was still wrapped tightly around your waist ever so slowly slip underneath your shirt. The skin to skin contact had you stiffen. Feeling your discomfort, Yoongi moved to whisper in your ear. 

“Are you okay with this?”

“I-” You struggled to get the words out. “My scars. I- I don’t-”

“Hey shh,” he murmured, kissing the shell of your ear before he readjusted himself on the bed, now hovering over you. “You can tell me, what about your scars?”

“I-I’ve. . . never really had a partner see my scars in a more. . . intimate setting. . .” You all but shrunk under his gaze, refusing to meet his eyes. 

“No, Y/N, look at me.” His hand went to your cheek, gently forcing you to look up at him. Meeting his dark eyes, you feel nothing but adoration pouring out from them, overwhelming you. “I care about all of you, scars and all. You are the most handsome creature I’ve had the privilege of knowing.” You felt tears prick at your eyes, threatening to spill. Your hand went up to cup his cheek, bringing him down to meet your lips. The kiss was nothing too special, it was slow and gentle, yet it didn’t stop your heart from racing. Yoongi’s other hand was sneaking back underneath your shirt as he pulled away. “Is it okay if I show you?”

With a gulp, you nodded.

“Use your words, baby.” 

“Yes.” You rasped out.

Once given the green light, he pressed a kiss to your lips, then your cheek, then your neck. He kissed down your clothed torso until he was over your hips, his hands slowly curling up the bottom of your shirt. His eyes never left yours as he exposed more and more skin, stopping just below your scars. Lowing his head to your stomach, he kissed you right below your belly button. Your eyes fluttered shut as he pecked all over your stomach; on occasion he’d catch you by surprise by blowing a raspberry, eliciting a laugh from you. 

He reached the edge of your shirt again, placing his hands on the fabric before moving it anymore. “Do you wanna take this off?”

“Yeah.”

It was a bit of a struggle but with Yoongi’s help, you got the T-shirt off. His eyes not once leaving you as he tossed the shirt to some corner of the room. The silence was thick as you watched him stare at you, saying nothing. Embarrassment burned in your cheeks as you moved to cover yourself, but his hands grabbed at your wrists, pinning them to your side.

“You’re absolutely stunning, Y/N.” He praised as he lowered himself to be over your ribcage. “Please don’t doubt that, I see nothing but the most beautiful man in front of me.” Yoongi muttered as he littered kisses along your scars, the sensation light from what little feeling you have left. His words left butterflies erupting in your stomach and your head reeling, trying to accept the compliments he gave you. You don’t think anyone has ever said that to you, hell, you don’t even think you’ve said that about yourself. But to have Yoongi tell you had you drunk. 

He’d nip at your skin, testing where you could feel, and when he felt you shutter against him, your boyfriend made sure to pay extra attention there. All while mumbling praises into your skin, assuring you that he thought nothing less of the world of you.

By the time his head came back up above yours, his lips were kiss swollen and you were breathless. Smiling down at you, he leaned down, kissing you one last time before pulling away. He laid his head down on your chest, snaking his arms around you to hold you tight. Your arms went to wrap around his shoulders, messing with his hair at the nape of his neck. There the two of you laid for the next few hours, as the sun rose higher in the sky, simply enjoying each other’s company.

[kuroo-shitsurou]

Bestfriend (College!Childe x College!Reader) PART 1

note: hello! i'm going to be making an entire college au series for the genshin characters ehe. this is a pretty lengthy one so i had to cut it into two parts. i hope you enjoy!

word count: 4.4k

"Why can't I get this shit to work?!"

You checked the clock.

3:28 AM.

Great. You had a half-seven morning class with professor Cyrus, and yet, here you were. Baking cookies at 3:28 AM. Although, baking wasn't really the appropriate term for it. Maybe... burning was a better fit.

You weren't a culinary arts major; Far from it, actually. You were in a college course that needed immense analytical and critical thinking skills: Accounting. You loved your course. You were always amazed by how numbers can always add up properly if you analyzed all the transactions properly beforehand. It also gave you more patience to thoroughly understand each problem presented to you so that you'd end up with the right answer in the end.

Which is why you were so dumbfounded when your cookies looked like pieces of charcoal the moment you took them out of the oven.

You followed the recipe, didn't you? Why don't your baked goodies look like those gorgeous gooey chocolate chip cookies on the website?

That was the... fourth batch of cookies you made that night. Frustrated, you carelessly threw the still-hot baking sheet in the sink. You didn't even mind that there were crumbs and burnt cookie residue in your damp sink. Like, there were burnt cookies on your counter, on your dining table, and even on your stovetop. Why be bothered about the sink, right? You could clean it up in the morning, anyway.

"Why am I even doing this?" You sighed, eyeing how there was a bit of black smoke coming out of your oven. You opened a window and fanned it out to prevent the smoke detector from going off. You didn't need more nuances adding to your already dwindling patience.

Taking in the sight of the flour, sugar, and egg-coated workstation you had, you realized that baking just wasn't your forte. If only your boyfriend was interested in receiving his complete financial statements for the year, then maybe you'd have an easier time in thinking of a present for his birthday.

You looked at the calendar.

July 20th.

It was the day of Childe's birthday.

He informed you yesterday that his friends had invited him to go to a party the night of the 20th to celebrate his birthday, and you politely declined his offer for you to be his plus one. Of course, he was disappointed. You could notice by how his cerulean eyes drooped to the floor and how his thin, pink lips pushed themselves into a pout.

"But... You have to be there, _____." He whined, taking your hands in his.

"I know, Childe. But you know that I have to review my presentation for professor An's class. It's going to make or break my term grade." You were disappointed. You wanted to spend the entire day with Childe, maybe cuddled up in bed, eating hot pizza and watching Netflix. However, you knew how much he loved partying and hanging out with his friends- Kaeya, was it? and the other boys in their fraternity. You disapproved of his frat-boy party-going lifestyle, but you didn't want to impose, so you just kept it to yourself.

"But it's my birthday," He reasoned, voice laced with sadness.

"I know, darling. I know. We can still spend the entire afternoon together before you head out to party with your friends... If you want. You're free for the entire day, right?" Your voice faltered a bit, unsure of whether he'd accept your proposal or not.

"Mhm! I'd be more than happy to spend the whole afternoon tomorrow with you, babe. We can hit the amusement park, or maybe watch a movie, or maybe have a picnic, or..."

As Childe continued to ramble on about all the possible plans you could do tomorrow, you couldn't help but smile at him. How his demeanor changed, and how he could never seem to hold a grudge against you even if he was upset. He spoiled you so much and you wanted to let him know that you appreciate him as much as he loves you.

And... Here you were.

You didn't expect baking to be so hard. You thought that following a simple recipe would lead to a great outcome the first time around.

Look how that turned out for you. Your tokens of appreciation for Childe were there. In the sink, on the counter, on the dining table, and on the stovetop. All burnt and inedible.

"Fuck this baking thing, I'll just get Zhongli to help me before lunch." You muttered, taking off your apron and retreating to your couch. You didn't want to sleep in your bed because your clothes were still messy, but you were too tired to clean up (too pissed to even care, to be honest).

And so, you flopped on the couch and set an alarm for 6:00 AM before you drifted off to sleep, dreaming of burnt baking pans and noisy smoke detectors.

-

The annoying sound of your alarm rang in your ears like a never-ending mockery of how your life is going. Why do morning classes exist? Why do alarms exist?

You groggily rubbed your eyes and rolled off the couch, landing on the carpet with a soft "thud". You blindly felt around the coffee table to look for your phone. Upon feeling the silicone texture of your case, you pulled it towards your chest and squinted your eyes as the bright display of the lock screen glared against your eyeballs.

You opened your phone by using the passcode (0720, go ahead and guess what that means) and tapped on the green message icon to open your texts. You then quickly typed out a message for a certain history major.

[ Hey, Zhongli, mind if you help me out before lunch later so I could bake some cookies for Childe? ]

Sent 6:04 AM.

You looked up at the ceiling and waited for a while, already planning out your itinerary for the day. The ding! of your phone was heard, waking you more than you already were.

[ I don't see why not. I have a vacant period right before lunch. I'm off at 9:00 and I'm vacant until noon. Are you free then? ]

Received 6:06 AM.

You couldn't help but grin. Zhongli was so kind. He was Childe's friend since high school, and although you found him somehow... creepy because of the knowledge he possesses (Seriously, was his brain implanted with a computer chip or something?), you still considered him a good friend.

[ Thank you so much! Yeah, I only have one class today anyway. I'll meet you in front of the main building by 9:00. ]

Sent 6:08 AM.

You got up from the carpet and stretched for a bit, wincing when the small burn on your arm stung. You had a few cuts and burns on your hands, fingers, and arms because of how clumsy you were in the kitchen, but it was fine. Who doesn't fuck up from time-to-time

You headed to the kitchen to clean up. You dumped all the burnt biscuits into a large garbage bag, wiped the counters, and put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. Most of the mess was already gone and disposed of, and you whispered to yourself that you could probably deep-clean later that evening after reviewing your presentation.

The ding! of your phone brought your attention back, and you smiled at Zhongli's response.

[ I'll see you then, _____. I appreciate you doing all this for Childe. ]

Received 6:15 AM.

You quickly made your way to your bedroom and grabbed different pieces to throw together a decent outfit. You assumed that Childe wouldn't let you go by the time that your little date would begin, so it's best to be prepared.

You hopped in the shower and did your morning routine, making sure to use your favorite body wash, which happened to be Childe's favorite scent. You dried your hair afterwards and threw on the outfit you prepared earlier. You checked your phone.

6:45 AM.

There weren't any new messages from Childe, so you assumed that he was still asleep. After all, it's his day-off from uni. The lucky bastard got to get one whole day without lectures, and the freest day you had still required you to attend one morning lecture.

"I have to rush to McDonald's if I want to make it in time," You whispered, grabbing your bag and slipping your shoes on before rushing out the door.

You wanted to buy Childe a nice breakfast before heading to your own class. So, you sprinted to the McDonald's just a corner away from your dorm and stood in line. You ordered his favorite breakfast meal: A big breakfast deluxe set with hot chocolate, five-piece nuggets, and a side of apple pie. You also ordered a McGriddle for yourself that you could sneakily bite out of in class.

Childe's apartment was right beside the McDonald's you went to, so it wasn't any trouble reaching where he was. You checked your phone again.

7:10 AM.

Crap. Twenty minutes until your lecture with professor Cyrus. Childe still seemed to be asleep, so you decided to leave his breakfast with the receptionist, Verr Goldet. She already knew who you were because of how often Childe invites you to his apartment.

"I'm really sorry to leave this with you, Verr. But I have to get to class in twenty minutes and I think that Childe is still asleep." You said sheepishly, placing the paper bag on her counter and fiddling with the strap of your bag.

"Oh, _____, you act as if I'm a stranger!" She laughed, taking the paper bag and placing it behind her. "Don't worry, I'll keep it warm for him. Would you like to leave a note?"

"Ah, yes please!" You took a piece of paper and a pen from your bag and scribbled a short message for the ginger.

Happy birthday, Childe! Have a hearty breakfast, I got your favorites. I'll see you later for lunch, okay? I love you! ♡

You tried to make your handwriting as neat as possible, and even added a messy doodle of the man himself. Although, it did look more like a potato than the man you were trying to draw.

"How cute you are." Verr sighed, "It must be nice to feel the wonders of youth."

"Thank you so much, Verr! I really have to get going if I want to get to uni in time."

"You're welcome, _____!"

You bid your farewells and headed out of the apartment's lobby, walking towards the shuttle stop nearest to you. You had at least fifteen minutes before professor Cyrus' class. The shuttle was about ten minutes away from uni, and it would take you a little over five minutes to get to his lecture hall. While waiting for the shuttle, you quickly tapped out a message for your boyfriend.

[ I left something with Verr for you downstairs. You better get it as soon as you wake up ♡ ]

Sent 7:15 AM.

The shuttle arrived as soon as you hit send. You showed your ID to the driver and scrambled for a seat, shoving earbuds in your ears to drown out the rest of the world with a bit of music. Fortunately, the shuttle ride was quicker than usual since there were lesser stops for that day. You gave a light bow to the driver before you rushed out of the shuttle doors and bolted to get to your lecture hall.

It was on the third floor of the left wing of the main building. You were desperately trying to catch your breath as you felt a burn rising in your lungs. You wanted to puke because of how hungry and tired you felt so early in the morning, but you brushed it off.

You sprinted down the hallway to professor Cyrus' lecture hall, seeing that nearly all the seats were occupied. There were still a few vacant seats at the back, but you were glad to see your friend, Xingqiu, waving you over from the middle row.

"Thanks for saving me a seat," You thanked your blue-haired friend, fixing your hair and disheveled clothes. You sat down just in time as professor Cyrus walked into the lecture hall and began setting up his laptop to present.

"No worries. I knew you'd be late. It's Childe's birthday today, no? You've been talking about it all week. I already expected that you'd do something for him this morning." He said, not even batting an eyelash as he carefully opened his laptop in front of him.

"That predictable, huh?" You chuckled, placing your own laptop on the table and taking out the McGriddle you shoved in your bag earlier. Professor Cyrus seemed to be tweaking a few things on his presentation, so you decided to use the spare minutes to eat the sandwich you purchased.

You scarfed it down in a few bites, leaving Xingqiu confused and a bit scared. He thought you were going to choke.

"Didn't you have breakfast before you left your dorm?" He asked, marveling at how you managed to eat the McGriddle in- four, maybe five? bites.

"I mean, I bought this," You said, motioning to the crumpled up wrapper in your hand. "It was getting late since I dropped by Childe's apartment to leave him his breakfast."

"How charming of you, _____." Xingqiu chuckled, slipping on his glasses.

"I wonder if he's awake now," You mumbled, loud enough for Xingqiu to hear, but he didn't react to it.

You opened your phone and saw seven messages from your dorky boyfriend.

[ _____ you're gonna make me cry ]

Sent 7:28 AM.

[ Where are you now? Are you already at uni? ]

Sent 7:29 AM.

[ God, I love you so much, _____! You even got me nuggets!! ]

Sent 7:30 AM.

[ I love you sooo much!! You're so cute it's unreal!! Btw, is this supposed to be me?? Do I really look like that??!! ]

Sent 7:31 AM.

[ I'm so lucky to have you, _____. You really are the sweetest!! ]

Sent 7:31 AM.

[ I'll see you later at noon. I'll pick you up at your dorm, okay? ]

Sent 7:32 AM.

[ You must be in class now. Good luck!! I'm already eating. Thank you so much, darling! I love you!! ♡ ]

Sent 7:34 AM.

You couldn't help but smile at how his aura radiated even through the screen of your phone. You clicked on the notification from Instagram and it opened to a video on Childe's story. It was a boomerang of him making a winky face and then showing his meal neatly placed on his table.

There was a caption beside a heart sticker which read:

What a great way to start my birthday. Thanks to my lovely @_____. I love you so much! ♡

A familiar warmth spread throughout your chest and you couldn't help but smile at how sweet he was. It was amazing, really. Childe's words and actions always had such an effect on you, and it didn't even matter how you were the one who did a romantic gesture for him because you were here all blushy and gushy over his sickeningly sweet messages of affection.

You put your phone away as soon as professor Cyrus soon started his lecture on the different trading policies limited by oversea regulations- or something like that.

The lesson itself was interesting, but you couldn't help to nod off and daydream about your wonderfully dorky boyfriend and his beautiful eyes, his cute button nose, his slim cheeks, his pink lips.

Childe sneezed.

-

As soon as the last bell rang, you quickly gathered your things and shoved them in your bag. You nodded a swift goodbye to Xingqiu before running off to the entrance of the main building.

Zhongli messaged you that his lecture ended earlier than expected, and that he was waiting for you by the entrance already.

You saw the brunette sitting on one of the benches, a thick history book in hand and reading glasses firmly sitting on top of his nose. You noticed a few girls just a couple of feet away from him. They were eyeing him up, probably drinking in the sight of this beautifully constructed creature.

You chuckled. It was common for you to be more aware of people fawning over Childe and Zhongli. They were a couple of incredibly hot males, you knew that. You got used to the sight of other people gawking and eye-fucking your boyfriend and his bestfriend that it was just hilarious and amusing at this point.

"Zhong!" You called, earning the attention of both Zhongli and the group of girls.

"Ah, _____. Glad you're finally here." He closed his book and tucked it away in his satchel (This man owned a satchel) before he stood up to greet you.

"Were you waiting long? Sorry." You said sheepishly.

"No, not at all. I was enthralled by this one chapter on the Ming Dynasty and their more underrated feats. History never fails to amuse me." Zhongli replied, a glint sparkling in his amber eyes.

"Hey, um," You inched yourself closer to him, "Mind if we go on ahead? Some of your fangirls are scaring the hell out of me." From the corner of your eye, you could see how they were drilling holes at your head from staring too hard. You could've sworn one girl was even holding her phone up, as if taking a photo.

"What?" The taller man whipped around to look at the girls and they scurried off upon seeing the intimidating glare in his eyes.

"You and Childe really attract attention everywhere you go, don't you?" You chuckled, walking towards the shuttle station.

"Childe, certainly. He, along with his... fraternity brothers do attract quite the crowd whenever they are together. As for myself, I doubt it. I'm more of the silent-type compared to him, anyway."

"Are you kidding me?" You bit your tongue to hold back the thought.

"I see."

"Those girls look familiar, though." He mentioned.

"Oh? Maybe history majors as well?"

"_____, if they were history majors, I would've at least recognized their faces more clearly. I feel like I've seen them somewhere."

"Ah, my bad. You and your eerily accurate memory." You teased, climbing onto the shuttle and sitting on one of the empty seats.

"It is not eerie, thank you very much." He retorted with a snarky tone, joining you on the seat.

"Of course it isn't. You remember what I said to Childe when we were watching that one movie Rex Lapis: Revenge of the Fallen?"

"Indeed I do. You said, "Rex Lapis would be hot if he was a human, don't you think?" and Childe replied, "Yeah, but I could probably beat him up. I'd be way hotter than him." It was comedy, really. Rex Lapis, although a fictional figure, has far more capabilities than Childe could even dream of."

"Do you... not see the eerie part of that?"

"What? That Childe thinks he can beat up an actual Archon?"

"No... Zhongli, we watched that movie three years ago."

"Your point is?"

"...I can't even remember what I had for lunch yesterday."

"Childe bought you some sushi."

"See what I mean?!"

"That means you have a poor memory, _____." Zhongli laughed at your face curling into a frown. "Anyway, while you were entertaining me with your banter, I recalled why those girls are so familiar."

"Do tell."

"They're part of Childe's posse."

You could've sworn your heart leapt to your throat. You knew that your boyfriend was pretty much sculpted by the Archons themselves, but, really? a fucking posse?

Zhongli noticed how the lump in your throat bobbed, and he decided that it was better to calmly explain how and why he knew about it.

"See, it was during the first year of university. Childe started hanging around Kaeya and his other fraternity brothers. There was this one occasion where Childe was nearly black-out drunk in a bar. If I didn't see on Kaeya's Instagram story, I wouldn't have known," You noticed how Zhongli's face visibly darkened, "These girls were hanging off him like koalas to a strong tree branch. It was unsightly."

"I... see."

"Although he was about to pass out, he pushed them away. Charming, really. He was already crazy about you even during the first year of uni. Even though you weren't together yet, he didn't want to "cheat" on you by entertaining other females." A soft smile made its way to your face upon hearing Zhongli's confession about how your boyfriend felt about you.

"I'm determined to make these cookies a success," You said determinedly.

"Glad to hear it. It seems we're already at your dormitory. You still have enough ingredients for the cookies, right? I assume you failed quite a few times yesterday."

"How did you even know?"

Zhongli once again laughed as you stepped off the shuttle, "Lucky guess."

Unbeknownst to the two of you, three figures were following you the moment you left the campus.

-

"_____ is so sweet! They got my favorite breakfast this morning." Childe mindlessly gushed over his significant other.

Diluc wasn't really one to listen to other people ramble on and on about feelings and love and romance, but it was his friend's birthday. He'd let it slide.

"Bro, that's just gross," Kaeya spat, taking a chug of his beer.

"Oh, shut up, Kaeya. Just because you don't plan on committing to anyone doesn't mean the people around you are obligated to do so as well." Diluc rebutted, without even looking up from his journal.

"You're in college. It's the time when you're supposed to have a shit ton of flings, no commitment. And yet you're here being loyal to _____?" Kaeya glared at Diluc, but the redhead only flipped him off.

"I don't see the problem with that." Childe spoke up, toying with the bracelet on his wrist. It was a gift from you during your first anniversary. You said you made it yourself, and although Childe could purchase all the expensive jewelry and accessories he wanted, this particular bracelet meant more to him than anything.

"The problem is _____'s going to hold you back!" Childe knew that Kaeya was half-drunk and it was still before noon, so he didn't really take his words seriously. "They aren't going to the party later, right?"

"No, unfortunately. They have to review a presentation for professor An's class."

"Hah! Review my ass. If I knew any better, that little toy of yours is just messing around with some other dude."

"Watch yourself." Childe stood up from his seat. He knew that Kaeya disapproved of their relationship because it wasn't really a "frat-boy" thing, but he didn't care about that. He cared about you more than a stupid reputation, and definitely more than a stupid lifestyle of partying, getting high, and getting drunk.

"Back up, softie. _____'s pussyness rubbing of on 'ya?" Kaeya's words were slurred, but Childe knew that there was malicious intent behind them.

"Look, I don't care about what you say about me. Call me a softie? Call me a pussy? I don't really give a shit. But the moment you start shitting on my _____? Don't even consider that I'd just stand around and let them be slandered, you piece of fuck." Childe was a few centimeters taller than Kaeya, and he always used that to his advantage when he wanted Kaeya to understand his point.

"Whatever you fucking say. It's your birthday, I'm not gonna fight with you on your birthday." Kaeya lightly pushed Childe away from him before downing the rest of the beer can in his hand.

"Don't mind him," Diluc spoke, staring into Childe's eyes. "He never thinks straight, whether drunk or sober."

"Yeah, I kinda got the message." The ginger chuckled, watching as Kaeya nearly tripped over his own feet while walking towards the case of beer supposedly for the party tonight.

"I'm glad that you and _____ are still getting along. It's refreshing to see normal people once in a while."

"Well, when you put it that way." Childe could only laugh.

"Where's the tall brunette at? Isn't he always with you?"

"Ah, you mean Zhongli? I don't know, actually. He has a lecture this morning and I wanted to meet him for a light meal before lunch, but he isn't answering my texts."

"I see."

As if on cue, Childe's phone emitted a soft ding!

He typed in his password and the screen faded into a photo of you. You were wearing one of his hoodies (it was way too big on you) and he could've fainted because of how absolutely adorable you looked.

He received a few Instagram DMs from Ellin. Ellin was a member of their posse. Childe would rather refer to them as "fraternity friends", but she insisted otherwise.

[ You're seriously praising _____ for being a good partner? Poor you, dear. ]

Received 9:41 AM.

He frowned.

[ What are you talking about? Mind your business. ]

Sent 9:42 AM.

[ Oh? It's not my business, sure. But you might wanna see this. ]

Received 9:44 AM.

[ 3 Images Attached ]

Received 9:44 AM.

Childe's eyes widened. Ellin sent three photos.

The first one was a photo of you and Zhongli standing awfully close to each other in front of the university's main building.

The second one was of you and Zhongli sitting beside each other in the shuttle.

The last one was... you and Zhongli entering your dormitory building.

"What the..."

He checked his messages to see if either you or Zhongli texted him about the ordeal. However, he was only greeted by messages wishing him a happy birthday from some of his family and friends back in their hometown. No messages from Zhongli, and no new ones from you.

"What the hell?"

He quickly typed out a message for his bestfriend. He didn't jump to conclusions; He trusted both of you, but what was this feeling in his gut? It felt icky, gross, and disgusting.

[ Where are you rn? Answer me. ]

Sent 9:46 AM.

His foot tapped against the floor at a rapid pace. Diluc wanted to question him, but the worried look on the ginger's face made him bite his tongue.

Childe wasn't the type of person to jump to conclusions, nor was he the type of person to get upset immediately over trivial things. But upon receiving an irksome reply from the amber-eyed bestfriend he knew and love, his blood began to boil.

[ None of your business. ]

Received 10:05 AM.

[jaepies]

𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙨 - attack on titan

eren x fem!oc

attack on titan au

inspired by 'see you in my 19th life' webtoon

author's note ; eunji is the 18th life name whilst hyejin is her general name :)

intro : sweet summer day

─━━━━━━⊱✿⊰━━━━━━─

memories are strange entities. they lay dormant in the cave we call the mind until all of a sudden - something as minuscule as a waft of a scent walks by, triggering a forgotten incident from decades ago.

as humans, we wonder about the memories of our previous lives which remain with our souls eternally. we ask questions about: who were we? how did our past selves use to act? perhaps they were delinquents who wreaked havoc on the neighbourhood or perhaps they were a pair of goody-two-shoes who could do no wrong.

maybe we even had a significant other whose love used to fill our days with boundless bliss?

it all seemed like a classified secret which the brain could never gain access to no matter how hard it racked all its neurones in an attempt to search for all the answers.

however, hyejin ban must have been a glitch in the system.

when her first life occurred, she didn't think much of it and lived it to the fullest as much as a working-class girl could in the 1800s (society was something of a different nature in those time). she grew up with plenty of friends and siblings, fell in love with a boy who had lived next door and worked as an average house-wife whilst the husband provided the money required to live comfortably with not much to worry about except for disease.

to say that hyejin was surprised when every detail of her previous self came flooding back to her would be an understatement. there is no word in the english dictionary to describe the shock which devoured her.

she had heard conspiracies of those who claimed to remember fragments of their past lives in her village before however she never thought them to be a thing of truth. it was as if all the memories had been transferred onto a hard drive and inserted into her new body, making her age at least 80 years as her 'life' flashed right before her juvenile eyes.

nonetheless, she tolerated having two sets worth of memories and had a rather quiet, peaceful existence with only her family to bid her a farewell as she silently passed. she watched as the 19th century came to an end and the world transitioned into a new one, marking an end of an era.

flash forward a few more lives and her soul had endured more than anyone could ever comprehend. each body presenting a new perspective on the mixed bag of earth. each body which she took on was distinctly different from the last as all her lives came in all different shapes and sizes as well as randomising which gender she was. from world wars to famine to milestones such as the first man walking on the moon, hyejin's mind remembered it all. only to leave it behind as the never-ending cycle of death and reincarnation continued.

some lives were shorter than others as unfortunate environments cut the thread of life much too soon, leaving much of the life to fall to the pits of hell. sometimes hyejin was treat unfairly as she suffered the struggles of poverty and faced many of the evils which the world had to offer. yet instead of living filled with resentment and agony, she took these as opportunities to grow wiser as a being. eventually, school became repetitive as the knowledge taught had already been ingrained within her.

as hyejin became used to her circumstances and gained a better understanding of what was happening, she set rules to live by. one of which was to let go of any burdens and troubles of past lives which could mental strain to her present and subsequent self.

﹝•••﹞

hyejin was rebirthed for the 18th time as 'eunji yun' and quickly she learnt that she had been born with a silver spoon in her mouth. she grew up surrounded by maids ready to cater for her every wish and need, it was a life where money would never be an issue and her family showered her more love than she had ever encountered before.  at the age of 6, her family brought a younger sister into the world who not before long began to mean the absolute world to <> and she took it upon herself to fill the other half of the parental figures that was left empty by her hard-working father.

the sun was shining brightly when hyejin's mother guided her to the family car, telling her vaguely that she had business with another mother at another household not too dissimilar from theirs. the girl let her curiosity get the better of her and asked why she had to come along - her mother just turned to look at her with a mischievous glint in her eye and replied with a face plastered with a simple smile that held no information. hyejin despite being wise beyond her years reacted with a childish sigh and dramatic slump in her seat as the car started to drive away.

soon a house in the distance came into view, the car slowing down as the wheels entered the extensive drive. hyejin thought her house had been grand however this house was the epitome of luxury even the air had the distinct smell of the rich. on the journey, she had been told this was the residence of a wealthy chairman whose son was of a similar age to her.

upon walking in she couldn't help but gasp from the grandiose of it all, the chandeliers hung on the ceiling twinkling away as the striking staircase sat in the centre of the foyer. her awe was shattered as she heard a chuckle infused with honey from a woman whose aura held as much awe as the impressive atmosphere of the interior did.

'you must be miss eunji yun, what a pleasure to meet you. i'm carla jeager.'

'pleased to make your acquaintance, thank you for inviting my mother and i to your household.'

all the etiquette lessons were quickly put into action as hyejin's voice uttered the stock response which she had practised numerous times growing up.

carla found the amusement in this textbook conversation and responded with another sweet chuckle

'no need to be so formal, your mother and i are very good friends, please make yourself at home.'

she spoke with such a heart-warming tone that felt so down to earth, it was like listening to melodic tunes of birds chirping - you wouldn't believe that her family was one with the highest status and wealth.

'carla, should we brew a pot of tea?'

her mother interjected whilst handing over her faux fur jacket to the maid who had discreetly made their way beside hyejin in the foyer. she had not even noticed that she had already slipped off her diamond-encrusted heels.

'ah, what a good idea! let's move to the kitchen'

eagerly the pair of mothers walked side by side already engrossed in a different conversation it was clear that they had much to catch up on.

swiftly after pulling her sneakers off, hyejin started to take a few steps before carla turned around, halting her,

'there's no need to follow us, i'm sure you would have a far more entertaining time with my son who you will find in the library up the stairs. will you be able to find your way?'

hyejin hadn't noticed the glow which consumed her eyes as she smiled at her, there was an extremely low probability that she wouldn't do what carla had asked of her.

'of course ma'am, don't worry too much about me and please proceed with your intended business.'

as hyejin heard the receding the steps of the mothers she couldn't quite help but catch wisps of their conversation.

'she conducts and speaks so eloquently for a 12-year-old.'

'sometimes i forget that she's even a child at all.'

holding onto the handrails, she looked back with a knowing smile as she began her descent up the stairs. following carla's instructions, the library was easily found. the walls filled to brim with all types of books from fairytales to encyclopedias on insects and ladders at every corner to aid with the books at the very top shelf that was too high for even the tallest of humans. the centre of the room held plush sofas and chairs clearly carefully chosen for the purpose of being able to read enjoyably.

hyejin's eyes fixed themselves onto a figure, not much taller than the 3rd shelf, desperately trying to grab at a book that was just out of his reach. his tiptoes only doing so much to increase his height, the girl scoffed in amusement at the sight in front of her and strolled over to the black-haired boy.

'need a hand?'

she hadn't meant for there to be a snarky tone however the words which tumbled out appeared as condescending when in reality she had just wanted the tiny boy who had yet to have a growth spurt.

'who are you? i don't need any help.'

his brows were furrowed together and his voice filled with defensiveness - hyejin thought to herself that it would be entertaining to watch this stuck up boy act in a childish manner.

going against the prideful boy's wishes, she reached over his head to slide the book that he wanted out of the bookshelf.

it wasn't long before reams and reams of disgruntled refusals came flowing out his mouth.

'get out of my way'

well, he was certainly direct with the way he spoke and with his words.

'you're in the way-'

the exasperated boy did not get to finish his second rude remark before being smacked on the face by the book which he had so urgently wanted.

this is what you most definitely call karma.

'you should mind your manners kiddo'.

it barely took a second before an ear-splitting screech encompassed the whole house.

─━━━━━━⊱✿⊰━━━━━━─

[oneofyatosfollowers]

Noragami/Wall-E AU

Prologue

The air was a visible mustard brown with dirt particles and other debris mixed in. It gave the natural sunlight a dull glow, just enough to illuminate the hunks of useless metal that orbited the planet. On the planet, similar junk made up mountains, piled high against windmills and phone poles. Lose paper and plastic bags caught against the skeletons of old sky scrapers that have long-since collapsed into more rubble. Everything old, rusted, and abandoned; covered in the same brown dust that seemed to make up the planet itself.

On the outskirts of the city, the trash dunes were much smaller. Pressed into compact squares and piled into neater cubes. Pathways between these heaps curved and stretched on for miles, the darker shade of brown the dirt made showing which were the most traveled on. Traveling at a relaxed pace, an object made it's way through the cubes with practiced ease, not even glancing at it's surroundings. Old 80s music echoed from the object, traveling without any clash.

The speaker was a small, bright pink electronic, plugged into another machine. This machine was imbedded into a creature that was once human, but now a cyborg of ancient technology, made only to clean up the leftovers of man-kind's time on Earth. As he traveled, a short breeze or two ruffled his black hair, greasily pulled back into a short pony tail. The pink iPod was shoved into the pocket of a light brown fullbody coverall. One of many small nicknacks in one of many pockets. The jean fabric more than wore down, but with every rip stitched back together almost seamlessly. On his right breast pocket, the name 'Yato' was stitched in black, below the title 'Wall-E'.

The trash cleaner made his way to the nearest non-compacted trash pile and took a deep breath through his oxygen mask. Sitting down the small cooler he carried, Yato reached above his shoulder to grab hold of a lean metal handle, his brain send the signal for object to unlock. The metal clasps embedded in his back fell open and the flatted compactor came lose. He brought it to the front of him and set it on the ground. Opposite to the handle was a folded steel box that would click into shape. In the middle was a heaver iron square that molded into the handle. Once set up, all the cyborg had to do was gather as much trash as can fit in the hollow box bring the handle- with the lid- on top and press down. After the trash was in a neat square, the Wall-E would yank the handle up and let the cube roll out before placing it next to the billions of others.

This jostling woke up a small cockroach, who peaked outside a soup can to see what the ruckus was. At the sight of the cyborg, the insect squeaked and made her way over to the pile that only grew as the years went by. She made her way up the piles without much effort and sat herself on the new block. At the sound of her squeak the trash-collector turned with a wide smile.

"Stray!" he exclaimed cheerfully, "You're awake! Goodmorning!"

At his words, the cockroach let out an annoyed shriek. Yato recoiled but never ceased smiling.

"Sorry. Nora. There is that better?" Yato reached a hand out to her waiting for her to climb on. Nora flicked her antenna and crawled on slowly, with her nose in the air.

"I don't know why you like the japansese way better," he said as she settled on his shoulder, "though I guess Nora is more of a name." he mumbled the last part. Grinning at her when she chirped in agreement.

To his left, something shiny caught his eye. Making his way over to it, Yato moved aside some old newspapers and found a trash can lid. He held it up and watched as the sunlight shone even brighter against the silver disk. Yato's blue eyes didn't look away as he moved the light to different parts of the lid.

"Pretty cool, huh? Rare to find something not rusted." He said, walking back to where he left the cooler and placing it with the other treasures found earlier that day. On his shoulder, Nora's head made the movement of rolling her eyes. Yato contiuned back down the path that winded around a skyscraper made of the trash-cubes. Nora faithfully on his shoulder. He made his way past the abandoned super store, its food long since degraded and any other item caked in dust. Some of the hallow gram advertisements flickered on and off, their color long since dulled and the music coming out slow and deep. One sign stood out to him, just for a moment, the sign posted across the globe long long ago. "Become a Wall-E and save the world! Be taken care of and live for ETERNITY!"

Yato remembers his father, a biotechnical engineer who lost all faith in mankind. Who chose to stay far away from the rest of humanity- here on Earth- but remained human. He remembers being the first sucessful Wall-E test subject of his father's design. Outliving his creator and all the other Wall-E volunteers who later realized money is irrelevant as a cyborg without a government.

Nora made a soft noise and Yato gave her a small smile- covered by the oxygen mask- and continued on his way, his footsteps echoing in the empty city.

When they made it to the train tracks, Yato looked both ways out of habit, then made his way north. Walking down the tracks, Yato stood above 'The Graveyard'. A place where Wall-Es that forever stopped working were laid. Most of their organic bodies have eroded away, leaving behind their inorganic parts. The young woman he helped lay down decades ago, was a special friend to Yato. the last of the Wall-Es. Except for himself. Yato took a deep breath in, his filter has become more and more worn down by the particles.

The stairs creaked as Yato padded down them, dirt falling in an avalanche to the ground below. He silently and carefully weaved among the older remains, looking to take only what he needed. One mask looked hardly touched, so he pocketed his old one and quickly exchanged the new. It wasn't as if he lungs needed clean oxygen, but the filtration is what kept him going so long in the first place. The owner of this one, either ignored it in favor of their new 'immortality', or no longer wanted to live forever.

By now Yato had reached the old transit staion. Large bridges connected to tall stair cases that hovered over empty terminals, deep enough to fit a blue whale and long enough to fit the Empire State building. Twelve of these ports were lined up for this station, all empty without waiting for return. More advertisements flickered into action as the Wall-E went by. Nora hissed at the reassurance the audio gave as it showed family deals for the Outer Space Luxury Cruise Liner. Pictures of Yato's former colleges compressing the trash in the local dump flashed by in a promise for the humans to return to a better home.

As he walked through more advertisements popped up, one for the main cruise: "Heaven's Sun"- mostly just called Heaven-which would hold the majority of the upper class and the worker-bots like Yato, as well as the very first space branch military. It held promise of the best food, comfort, and entertainment out of all the other cruises. Heaven's Sun is lead in this flocks departure, with a captain and cyborg copilot.

Yato stared again at the picture as the advertisement kept glitching. The promise was for five years. It was well past that. Of course the planet wasn't cleaned up yet, so of course they weren't back. But Yato hasn't heard word from Heaven asking for an update, or if they were even coming back. Or even if they were still out there.

On his shoulder, Nora buzzed. Yato didn't look at her.

"Did I ever tell you my dad designed the copilot after he worked on me?"

Nora didn't answer. He had, many, many times. The two had long since run out of new things to talk about, other than Yato's dreams or things Nora found. The copilot stared back with glowing red eyes and a small smile, his hair a light brown color, it matched the dust that littered the atmosphere.

By the time Yato made it home, it was dusk. He lived in an old massive semi-trailer, modified to open only at the pull of a lever. The inside was also modified to have rotating shelves, in order to neatly hold all of Yato's findings and necessities. Odd shiny nicknacks tied together with string hung from the ceiling, along side Christmas lights and posters. The lamps and lights all connected flickered on once Yato flicked up a hanging switch.

Once the door was closed and the air filter was on, Yato tugged off the mask letting out a large sigh, hanging it up on a hook. He then took off his ascot and hung that up too, before letting his hair fall out of its tie. He then set down his cooler of goodies and opened it. First came the trash lid, which he placed with the other shinnies. Next came some Capybara land keychains- each wearing different color overalls and a crown- which went with the other small Capybara toys. He continued emptying the box, a lighter with other lighters, a glass bottle, a pink scarf.

He had a movie playing in the background, often playing it when he got ready for work in the morning but it was finished by the usual clock-out time. But today he had called it quits early, so the movie was on the final scene. The lady capybara and the man capybara having successfully made it to an island together, after a harrowing journey. Yato crept closer with shiny eyes. They sang a beautiful song of love, having made it through together because of it and now never having to be alone.

Yato numbly took out his iPod and hit record, placing it next to the TV's speaker. His eyes never leaving the screen. He watched them sing while gazing into each other's eyes, their hands held between them, twining together seamlessly. When they leaned in for a kiss, Yato's eyes got even bigger and his heart did a bittersweet dance.

The movie then faded to black and showed the names of humans that created it. He sighed again and clicked the television off, taking his iPod as he did so. Walking back towards the the door he opened it again, placing the mask back on as he did so. He then plopped down on the ramp and began shaking out his cooler, feeling the wind shift as he did.

Yato looked up as he dusted the box, and himself, off. The smog clearing so that the stars could be visible. It filled Yato with the same wispy feeling the movie did, so he pressed play on his new recording. It echoed off of the small round speaker just under his chin, filling his bones with the melody. That was until is mainframe sent an alert through it. The song cut out as the alarm blared though the night. His blue eyes quickly flickered back and forth, numbers and words flashing through his parifial.

His vision went red when he focused to the front of him, the words 'Weather Alert' and 'Danger' flashing. A massive dust cloud was barrelling towards his home at an alarming rate. This wasn't common, but it wasn't unheard of. Regardless, Yato quickly got back inside, calling Nora as he did so, and shut the door before any dirt could get in.

He wouldn't be able to go out for a while so, it was time to hit the sack. Yato gave Nora some food, eating some dry ramen as well, then made his way to the bare mattress in the far corner next to the TV. He flopped down and threw the blanket haphazardly over himself, ordering his system to set an alarm for the morning, then go into sleep mode. Yato was asleep instantly.

[gukyi]

push your buttons | ksj

⇒ summary: you like dogs, and lucky for you, a cute boy in the park happens to have one that’s taken quite the liking to you.

⇒ high school!au

⇒ pairing: seokjin x female reader

⇒ word count: 2k

⇒ genre: fluff

⇒ warnings: dogs!!!!!

⇒ a/n: this is unedited, because i don’t have time to edit these days (and i’m also too lazy). also, i’m a cat person. requested by anon!

You’ve never exactly been the luckiest person, so to speak. Take, for example, when you were five, and the speaker who came to visit your school was giving out magnets and stickers to every kid they saw, and when you all returned to your classrooms from the auditorium, you were the only one without any sort of goodie in your hands. Or, when you were in middle school, in the cafeteria, rushing to finish some math homework you totally forgot about the night before, and the exact second the sheet fell on the floor, the janitor spilt his bucket full of mop water all over the cafeteria, absolutely drenching everything in its wake and rendering you homework-less. Case and point, you’re not particularly lucky, and your love for animals that your parents happen to be incredibly allergic to is no exception.

So you can’t have a dog. Or a cat. Or even, like, a gerbil. Every single one of them makes your parents sneeze like crazy, noses puffy and voices groggy, and you’re not sure if it’s the shedding, or the scent, or maybe just genetics, but there is no mercy for a pet in your household.

Which is exactly where the local adoption center comes into play. If you can’t get the pets to come to you, you’ll just have to go to the pets yourself. Good thing the shelter was looking for volunteers when you Googled their website. Sure, they’re not your pets, but you love and cherish them all the same, and—shh! Don’t say anything—you maybe sometimes hope that they won’t get adopted, just so you can keep seeing them. But you didn’t hear that from me.

It’s especially handy volunteering there, because smack dab in between your residence and the shelter is the local dog park, and if you said you didn’t get distracted every time you strolled past, you’d be a motherfucking liar.

Today is no different, especially because it’s off-leash day (!!!) and there is nothing more beautifully heartwarming than having a casual walk through a park and then suddenly being surprised by a dog, excited to see a new face in its life. You don’t even own a dog, but you’d rather backflip into a volcano than miss off-leash day.

You’ve given yourself an hour maximum to spend in the dog park before you have to go to your volunteering, an hour of puppy licks and frisbee tosses galore. Time well spent, if you’re being honest.

Setting foot in the dog park on off-leash day is like setting foot in the most wonderful alternate universe ever. It’s your dream world, seeing happy dogs bounding around hills with tennis balls in their mouths. Some of the owners even know you as a regular visitor, and their dogs do too, sniffing you like you’re a familiar being in their worlds, a friend.

You’ve taken to lying down in the dog park—mind you, where there is a clear patch and not a doggie bag in sight—and letting the dogs come to you, getting wonderfully surprised by the ones that you recognize, like Pickle, the German Shepherd who acts more like a Corgi, or Lansdale, who only likes being scratched on his lower back, or even Marshmallow, this tiny little brown Dachshund whose name strangely fits its personality, even if it doesn’t fit its physical appearance. Today, it’s none of them, and your eyes are closed as you feel little paws stepping on your chest, settling down on the the squish of your tummy. When you peek your eyes open, it’s a little white dog, dirty brown on the edges like it’s been perpetually rolling in mud.

“Hello,” you say excitedly, reaching out to let it sniff you. The dog presses its wet nose on your pointer finger, though, judging by its position on your stomach, it’s already made its decision.

“Oh God, oh my God,” you hear, and strangely enough, the voice doesn’t belong to a middle-aged mother, or a jogging man in his twenties, or a friendly senior citizen, like most of the regulars here. “I am so sorry.”

When you look up, it’s a boy, and he’s got this awfully apologetic look on his face as his eyes move from your face, to his dog, to where its sitting. He begins to come in focus more, the blood rushing to your brain as you sit up and regretfully force the dog off your chest, and you recognize him.

He goes to your school, and from the look on his face, he recognizes you as well.

“I’m so sorry, Jjanggu really doesn’t know how to control himself,” the boy says, and you know him, you know him, of course you know him, but what’s his name? “I hope he didn’t bother you.”

Might as well not dwell on it now. “No! No, I love dogs, I come here all the time just for them, it’s fine, I promise,” you assure the boy, reaching down and petting his pup right behind the ear, the sweet spot for any and every canine (except Lansdale). “It’s not a problem.”

“Really, though, I’m still sorry he totally just walked all over you like that,” the boy insists.

“He’s cute, I don’t mind,” you promise. “What did you say his name was, again?”

“Jjanggu,” the boy says, beaming as he looks down at his dog, clearly proud of him.

“And what did you say yours was?”

It’s not flirting. You swear, it’s not flirting. For the most part. Alright, so it’s a little bit of flirting, but it’s not like you’re throwing yourself at him. The best way to a man’s heart is through his pet, anyway.

The boy opens his mouth to respond, but it looks like the words get lodged in his throat, not ready to come out. “Uh, I—um,” he stutters. “I didn’t.”

“So, why don’t you tell me?”

“Me?” He asks, seemingly surprised that you’re still talking to him. “I’m Seokjin.”

“I’m Y/N,” you say, holding a hand out for him to shake. He does, firmly, like he’s promising you something, an offer you can’t refuse. When you lean down and hold out your hand in front of Jjanggu, he gives you a paw to shake as well. “You come here often, Seokjin?”

“I didn’t used to, but I think I might visit a bit more than normal now,” Seokjin says. Oh, so he will flirt with you back? “If Jjanggu gets to see cute girls, of course.”

You snort a little, amused by his banter. “Oh, yes. Jjanggu deserves that.”

“You go to school around here?” asks Seokjin, even though it’s evident that the both of you have definitely seen each other around the hallways.

“As a matter of fact, I do,” you say, checking the time. “I gotta blast, but I’ll see you around?” You ask, smiling.

Seokjin leans down to pick Jjanggu up before shooting you a charming grin. “Make time for me, won’t you?”

---

And make time for him you do. Maybe it’s the mutual appreciation you have for dogs that does it, or the convenient location that the park lies in, or it might even be that sneaking little feeling that sits at the bottom of your heart, the one that gets all disgustingly warm and fuzzy whenever you’re around him, but you can’t seem to get enough.

It’s nice, hanging out with him, walking Jjanggu around the park together when it’s not an off-leash day, keeping a relatively close eye on him as he bounds around the hills when it is. Before this, you didn’t know Seokjin well, only knew him as another boy in some of your classes, rolling with a different crowd. But when you and Seokjin meet in the park to walk his dog around, you don’t talk about that one test you failed or the awful woodworking teacher who doesn’t even know how to remove a splinter. School isn’t a factor in this equation, even if it’s where you see each other most often. Plus, Jjanggu loves you, and if that’s not reason enough for you to spend time with Seokjin, then you don’t know what is.

---

Seokjin’s all cheesy pick-up lines and dramatic gestures when you sit with him on the grass, watching Jjanggu play happily with the other dogs on the last day of school, which just so conveniently happens to be an off-leash day. Seokjin’s a year older than you, which means he’s graduating and you won’t get to have these dog-park-not-a-date-dates much more, so you might as well spend the rest of the day together.

“What’s gonna happen with Jjanggu when you go off to university?” You wonder aloud, fingers plucking the grass from their roots.

“I don’t know. I’ll probably have my parents walk him, or something,” Seokjin replies, shrugging as Jjanggu finds a new friend to tussle with, sniffing the other dog’s ass before determining he is an acceptable pal.

“I can’t believe I won’t get to see him anymore,” you whine, already nostalgic for the first day you saw him, a little white ball with brown edges, an apologetic boy running not far behind. You rest your head in the crook of Seokjin’s neck, and you sit there, swaying back and forth ever so slightly.

“When I come back, we can meet up at the dog park again,” Seokjin promises. “Oh! I forgot, I have something for you.”

You lift your head up, skeptical as Seokjin begins to fish in the pockets of the navy blue blazer he wears, all broad shoulders and crisp lines. “Why? You’re the one graduating, not me.”

“Here, alright,” he says, situating himself so he’s sitting across from you, rather than next to you. “Look at me.”

“I’m looking.”

It’s quite the view.

“What do you notice that’s odd?”

“What is this, Spot The Difference?” You inquire, bewildered at what Seokjin is asking of you. Nonetheless, you begin searching, eyes scanning through his tussles of caramel brown hair, to the little silver hoops in his ears, along the seams of his well-fitting blazer, down to the uneven laces of his shoes. That blazer is really doing a lot of things for Seokjin, and all of them are good. You can’t take your eyes off of it, that itching feeling under your skin that’s telling you that you’re missing something here. “Oh, come on, give me a hint.”

“It’s on my body,” Seokjin supplies, like that’s any help.

“I meant a hint that I can use, Seokjin!” You exclaim, pushing him back slightly, open blazer blowing in the breeze. “Oh no! One of your buttons popped off!”

Seokjin looks down at where you’re pointing, his second button leaving nothing but a loose piece of thread in its wake.

“Maybe if we search the grass, we could find it.”

“Y/N,” Seokjin says, hands coming to rest on your wrists as they begin to feel through the grass. “It’s alright.”

“It looks awful, Seokjin,” you tell him.

“I’m insulted,” Seokjin says, a hand over his chest as he looks at you, pretending to be offended at your brutally honest comment. The expression is just enough to distract you as his hand darts back to his pocket, fist curled around something. “Hold your hand out.”

“Why?” You ask, following his order without even trying to get a response beforehand.

He gently takes your rest in his one hand, placing his fist in your palm as you feel a small object drop into it, hiding in the crevices of your fingers. When he removes his hand, what’s left is a small navy blue button, akin to the ones stitched onto his blazer.

“Your button?” You ask, puzzled at the endearing but somewhat pointless present in your palm.

“It’s closest to my heart,” Seokjin muses, and if that isn’t the cheesiest, cutest thing you’ve ever heard come out of his mouth.

“That’s so… sappy,” you declare, rolling the button between your fingers.

“How about this,” Seokjin says, a proposal on his lips. “How about next time we walk Jjanggu in the park, it can be an official date, instead of just an outing.”

“I like that idea,” you say, smiling as you feel yourself leaning into him, eyes focused on his lips. You tilt your head in a little more, lips hardly a centimeter away from each other’s when a bark sounds out and you’re suddenly tackled, falling on your back. Jjanggu’s on top of you, oblivious to the fact that he just totally interrupted a moment between you and Seokjin, giving you this sloppy kiss all over your cheeks.

“I think Jjanggu likes that idea, too,” Seokjin says, chuckling as he stretches a hand over to rub Jjanggu’s stomach.

And lying here, Seokjin’s heart practically resting in between your fingers, you decide that maybe you’re unlucky with most things, but, you suppose, you have a little bit of luck on your side when it comes to cute boys with dogs that walk around missing the second button on their blazer.

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[dracusfyre]

Love and War

Another Winteriron Tumblr prompt fill!  From and for @imaginetonyandbucky

Original Prompt: age-reversal au; tony is 21 when obie finally lets him run lead on his first weapons demo, while at the army base, he makes friends with seal team sniper Bucky.  Explicit Sexual Content Ahoy.   (9k words)

Also on AO3

    “Who’s the bigwig that gets his own helicopter ride all the way out here?” Bucky asked as he scanned the sky for the lights of the incoming Apache.  “Even the colonel had to wait for the Wednesday circular.”

    “It’s Tony Stark with a box of goodies for us to test out,” Dugan answered, his contraband cigar an orange glow in the darkness.

    “And Tony Stark is…?”

    “Tony Stark is like the Bill Gates of guns and bombs.” Bucky heard Dugan’s feet crunch on the gravel as he moved closer and blew out a cloud of smoke.  “Word is he’s got a fancy new sniper rifle he’s trying to sell the Army.”

    “Well that explains why I’ve been assigned to be his babysitter,” Bucky said in resignation. He lowered the binoculars; the chopper would be coming in dark until it was almost on top of the base anyway, so it would be better to stop talking and listen for the sound of the blades.  “How long is he going to be here?”

    “His outgoing itinerary hasn’t been scheduled yet, so I guess however long it takes.”  His voice had a ‘better you than me’ tone in it that made Bucky want to rip that cigar out of his mouth and stomp on it.  It was bad enough when the higher ups foist a well-meaning journalist on them; usually the problem there was to keep them from climbing over the walls in search of a story.  But what in the hell was a rich old man doing way the hell out here? FOB Obelisk was a tiny special ops base in the mountains of Afghanistan that had maybe thirty people on base at any given time.  The food sucked, the entertainment was worse, and now Bucky was going to have to try to keep him entertained and try to figure out how to tell him that his fancy new sniper rifle wasn’t worth the metal it was made of without getting drummed out of the army.

    “Did I fuck somebody’s sister or something?  Why did the shit have to roll down this particular hill?”  Bucky kicked at the gravel in frustration.  “It’s not like my opinion is going to make a difference. Someone’s going to give a briefcase of money to someone with a star on their collar and the Army’s going to have 15,000 new rifles it doesn’t need.”

    Behind them a corporal stuck his head out the door of the transpo HQ. “Incoming,” he said, and then Bucky could hear the chopper blades.  Lights came on just long enough to bring the helicopter down and ruin Bucky’s night vision while the blades kicked up dust and gravel as they whined to a stop.  Bucky turned on the red bulb of his flashlight as he heard the door slide open.

    “Mr. Stark?” Bucky shouted as loud as he dared as he approached.   Thankfully the pilot killed the engine and he could hear again.

    “Working on it,” a voice said from the dimly lit interior of the helicopter.  The only passenger was struggling with the six-point harness, his helmet sitting on the seat beside him. He glanced up at Bucky, hair falling across his forehead.  Bucky stared at the long lashes, the straight nose, and the stubble along a sharp jaw and his brain froze.

    “Be right back,” he said, stupidly, and he turned around to where Dugan was watching him with interest. “That’s Tony Stark?”

    “Should be.” Dugan stepped onto the helicopter skids to peer inside. “Yeah, that’s him. Why?”

    “Can he even drive?” Bucky hissed, feeling a little hysterical. Almost six months with only his right hand for company, and now his job was to chaperone this walking wet dream?  “I was expecting a rich old white guy, like, I dunno, Bill Gates.”

    “Dude his parents died like, just a few months ago.  He got control of the company when he turned twenty-one.”

    “And when was that? Yesterday?” Bucky ran a hand over his face and tried to get his shit together. He looked back into the helicopter and almost got a face full of Tony Stark’s duffel bag.

    “It was quite a few months ago, actually,” he said as he jumped down onto the gravel.  The red light of Bucky’s flashlight gave a weird tone to his skin and the bulky flak jacket was not flattering on anyone, but it didn’t disguise the quirk of his lips as he smiled and held out a hand. Jesus Christ, that mouth, Bucky thought helplessly as he took it. “Tony Stark, genius billionaire playboy. And arms dealer, I guess.”

    “Sergeant James Barnes, but everyone calls me Bucky,” Bucky said. “This is Sergeant Timothy Dugan, better known as Dum Dum.  Is this all you’ve got?” Bucky said, nudging the duffel bag with his foot.

    “Careful, I’ve got grenades in there,” Tony said, and Bucky and Dugan both blanched and took a step back.  “Not really. All the toys are in those.” He pointed to the gorilla boxes the copilot and the flight line corporal were carrying into the transpo HQ.  Stooping, he grabbed the bag and threw it over his shoulder.  “If possible, I’d like a shower and a hamburger, in that order.”

    Bucky checked the time. “If you’ll follow me, I can get you a shower but midnight chow doesn’t start for another hour.”

    Tony shrugged philosophically. “Lead on.”

    In the short walk from the flight line to housing Bucky managed to convince himself that he could play it cool for a few days.  Just because he’s been stuck out here on this tiny fucking base for five months with only a couple of days R&R at a slightly bigger base a hundred miles away wasn’t a reason to lose his self-control over a mouth that looked like it was made for sin.  Didn’t he tell off a specialist for coming on to a female contractor just last week? He was way too old to be led around by his dick.

    Bucky was feeling good about that pep talk as he went up the stairs to the housing office to get the keys to Tony’s CHU.  He missed a step going back down the stairs when he realized that Tony was going to be right next door to him, but he shook that off too because he was a professional goddammit.

    “Alright, here’s your home away from home,” Bucky said as he turned on the obnoxious fluorescent lighting and dropped the sheets, blanket, and towel on the bare mattress.  Since it was a guest room it was pretty bare bones; someone had left a rug and a lamp behind when they shipped out, but other than that it was a long, metal rectangular room with all the charm and style of a high school locker. The bed was a metal frame with a mattress the thickness of your average dictionary; when they got here his unit had fought over the good mattresses until all the busted ones had ended up in the unoccupied CHUs.  Like this one.  For a brief moment Bucky felt self-conscious about it until Tony stepped around him to throw his duffle bag on the floor and start unfastening the flak vest with the loud rip of Velcro.

    Bucky stared as Tony pulled his sweatshirt over his head, leaving him in a sweat soaked black tank that clung to the long lean lines of Tony’s back and revealed his slim but muscled shoulders and the cargo pants that were about to fall off his skinny hips.

    Bucky started to sweat.

    Tony grabbed a towel and threw it over his shoulder, looking at Bucky expectantly.  “Shower?”

    “Sure,” he said automatically, and felt his face get hot.  “I mean, it’s…” He went out the door so he didn’t have to see that amused, knowing look in Tony’s eyes. “It’s right there,” he said, pointing to another of the ubiquitous rectangular buildings that made up the whole base. The stairs were barely lit up enough to keep you from tripping over it, but you could see the universal symbols for shower and toilet on the door.

    “You’re not going to stay?”  Tony asked and Bucky’s brain went blank for a moment.  “To take me to midnight chow?”

    “Right, uh, well my CHU is that one so I’ll just come back in a hour and take you over there.” Bucky made a hasty escape and banged his head against his door in frustration when he closed it behind him. “Get a grip, asshole,” he said and threw himself on the bed, reaching for his zipper.  He had an hour to jerk off enough that he could look Tony in the eyes without acting like an oversexed sailor on shore leave.

      Tony blew out a long breath as he turned on the shower, debating whether he wanted to take a cold one after laying eyes on James Barnes in the bright light of his room. Pale grey eyes, thick silky hair he wanted bury his hands in, and a body Tony wanted to climb like a jungle gym wrapped in an army uniform?  For a moment, Tony’d had a crazy thought that he’d wandered into a porn movie and was just waiting for the 80s techno music to start.

    And the look in his eyes when Tony had turned around in just his undershirt? Tony smirked as he stepped under the slightly above room temperature spray.  He’d bet half of Stark Industries Bucky was rubbing one out right now.  Digging out his soap, Tony wondered what Bucky was thinking about.  Maybe surprising him here in the shower and crowding him against the wall of this rinky dink stall, letting the water soak through that tight brown shirt as he lifted Tony up to wrap his legs around his waist, holding him up with those thickly muscled thighs that the army fatigues did not disguise at all. Bucky could pin him against the wall while he fingered him open and bit marks across his shoulders.

    Tony braced himself against the wall of the shower and wrapped his hand around his cock, stroking himself quickly.  When they were ready, Bucky could just pick him up and lower him right onto his dick, and Tony would tangle his fingers in Bucky’s dog tags as he held on for the ride. Was Bucky a talker during sex, winding him up with praise and filthy suggestions about what he would do to him when they were in a real bed?  Tony bit his bicep to stifle a moan, not sure how far sound would carry around here, and stroked himself faster.  Maybe Bucky was the take charge type and would pin his hands against the shower stall, watching him with those cool grey eyes and daring him to come untouched.

    His climax punched out of him at the thought and he grunted with the unexpected force of it. He shivered as he stroked himself just past the point of oversensitivity and made sure his hand was clean before he wiped the water from his face.

    Oh yeah.  Bucky Barnes just went to the top of Tony’s to-do list before he left Afghanistan.

    Bucky blessed the darkness when he went to pick up Tony for midnight chow because he knew he was blushing from having come twice imagining that wide, mobile mouth wrapped around his dick.  Thankfully it faded by the time they got to the DFAC and Bucky got to introduce Tony to the wide variety of food available on a tiny base in the middle of the night.

    “Burgers and bagels,” Tony repeated.  “Well I did ask for a burger.”

    “Welcome to FOB Ob,” Bucky said cheerfully, and started filling up his tray.

    “So what is there to do here?” Tony asked when he sat down across from Bucky in the surprisingly busy DFAC.  Everyone was eyeing Tony curiously since he was the only one not in uniform but so far no one had come up to them, which Bucky knew would change as soon as someone from his unit showed up.  Honestly, he was surprised that Dugan hadn’t rounded them all up just to give Bucky a hard time.

    “Well, we have a gym, the MWR has most of a game of chess and a stack of VHS tapes, and…” Bucky trailed off, thinking hard. “Sometimes we get nice sunsets. Oh, and we shoot people.”

    “Charming,” Tony said dryly as he bit into his hamburger.  Bucky had to look down at his plate quickly when Tony started licking a trail of grease off his hand and just like that, an hour’s worth of hard-on work, wasted.

    “Yeah, we gotta make our own fun around here. Tomorrow – well, later on today,” Bucky amended, looking at his watch, “is an unsanctioned poker night with the guys in my unit.  If that’s not your thing, I think they’re doing karaoke night at the MWR.”

    “What time am I getting up to meet the brass?”

    “They didn’t tell you?” Bucky patted down his pockets until he found the printout. He took a toothpick from the center of the table and put it between his teeth while he skimmed it.  “You have a meeting with Lieutenant Rogers at 1000, break for lunch, then looks like you’re going to sit down with me and the other Howlies to show us all these pretty toys we’re going to try out for you.” Bucky slid the paper across the table and caught Tony staring at his mouth.  Smirking, he tossed his toothpick on his tray.  “Sorry, we’re discouraged from smoking out here and it has left me with a bit of an oral fixation.”

    “You don’t say,” Tony said mildly, lips quirking when he met Bucky’s eyes. Then he surprised himself with a jaw-cracking yawn that brought tears to his eyes.

    “Come on, I’ll take you back to your room.” Bucky stood and cleaned off their trays.  “Chow starts at 0800, so if you want breakfast you’ll probably want to set an alarm.  Don’t know if you noticed, but the CHUs don’t have windows so it stays dark as shit in there. And there’s no insulation, so it’s going to be chilly if you don’t remember to turn on the heat before you go to bed.”

    Tony fumbled with the unfamiliar keys before he got his door open .  “Thanks for all your help, Bucky.  Sure you don’t want to come inside and, um, help me figure out the heater?”

    It was too dark to really see the look on Tony’s face, but he could imagine the dare in his eyes because it was certainly there in his voice.  Sparks lit up Bucky’s inside like fireworks but then Tony yawned again, swaying slightly.  “You’re the genius billionaire, I think you can figure it out,” Bucky said with a wide grin.  “Get some sleep, and we’ll see if you still need help with it tomorrow.”

      Eight hours later, Bucky was rudely interrupted from taking care of his morning wood by someone banging on his door. “Just a minute!” he shouted, grabbing his BDU pants and pulling them on over his boxers, wincing a bit as he had to tuck his erection behind his zipper.

    “What?” He said irritably, opening his door and angling his body so hopefully his visitor wouldn’t notice – oh, it was Tony.  With a slightly evil grin, Bucky leaned against the doorframe, successfully rendering Tony speechless for at least a moment as his eyes traveled over Bucky’s bare chest, down to his groin and then flew back up to his face.

    “Really?” Tony said. “Do you always answer the door like this?”

    “What?” Bucky put on his best innocent look and glanced down, as if not even noticing the hard line of his cock against the zipper of his fatigues.  “I put on pants.  On this base, anyone who’d be knocking on my door this time of morning has probably already seen me naked at some point or another.  Except you, of course.”

    “Yeah, except me,” Tony echoed and his eyes drifted south of Bucky’s belly button and went far away for a second.  

    Bucky would have bet money that whatever was crossing his mind at that moment was probably the plot to a cheesy porno and shit, now he was thinking about it too, and that was not helping the fit of his pants. He cleared his throat. “What do you need?”

    Tony raised an eyebrow and raked his gaze back down Bucky’s body, all the way down to his bare feet, and then back up.  He leaned slightly around Bucky to look at his bed suggestively. “Ready to teach me how to use the heater yet?”

    God, yes. Bucky’s hand tightened on the doorframe as he fought the urge to drag Tony inside his room and kiss that suggestive smirk off his face.           “Well the thing is,” Bucky drawled, “you only have about thirty minutes before you have to meet with the LT. And when I start a project, like showing you the AC, I like to be really…thorough and make sure the job is done right.”

    Tony swallowed. “And thirty minutes isn’t enough time?”

    “Nope. So what did you really come over here for?”

    “Oh yeah.” Tony looked down as if just now remembering he had a suit jacket draped over his arm. “For my meeting with Rogers, would you say he would respond better to a suit or something more casual?”

    For a split second Tony looked incredibly young and unsure and Bucky’s heart squeezed. He waved a hand at what Tony was already wearing, a long sleeved henley and khaki pants. “Rogers is a no bullshit kind of guy.  I’d skip the suit.”

    “Thanks,” Tony said with a small smile.  His eyes dropped to Bucky’s mouth and he ran his tongue over his lower lip, and Bucky ached to pull him up the stairs to follow its path with his own tongue.

    But.  “Believe me, I want whatever you’re thinking about and more,” he said in a low voice, shaking his head slightly.  Glancing around, he saw that they were alone – most people would be sleeping until at least noon, having run operations all night – but the sun was a glaring presence in the sky, illuminating all the different shades of brown and grey that made up FOB Ob, and Bucky hadn’t made it in the Army this long by being reckless.  “But if we get caught, Rogers wouldn’t have any choice but to drum me out of the country and out of the Army.”

    Tony nodded and took a step back. “I get it. I’ll see you later.”

    “Yeah, later.” Bucky did, however, let himself watch Tony walk away before he closed the door to his CHU.

***

    When it came time to meet Bucky and the rest of the Howlies down at the range, Bucky was impressed to find that Tony was all business, sleeves already rolled up and hands stained with gun oil as he unpacked the gorilla boxes.  All the fancy new toys were lined up on a table at the back of the range and the guys started making cooing noises as they saw them.  

    Tony worked his way down the line of weapons and explained where the Stark model differed from what the Army currently used, hands deftly taking the weapons apart to make a point before reassembling them like it was second nature.  Bucky found himself staring at Tony’s calloused hands, long-fingered and dexterous, with narrow palms and slim wrists and scarred knuckles.  Not, he imagined, the hands of your average billionaire.

    For his part, Tony didn’t seem to notice Bucky’s distraction because he was explaining something to Dernier, switching to flawless French when he noticed that the liaison was struggling with the more technical English terminology. Bucky must have made an interesting face at that because Dugan caught his eye and made a swooning gesture behind Tony’s back. Scowling, Bucky gave him the finger and turned away to start loading magazines.

***

    Later on that night, after dinner, Tony heard a knock on his door.  It took so long to untangle himself from his electronics that the knock came again, more hesitantly. He finally got to the door after tripping over a charger cable, smiling when he saw Bucky on the other side.

    “Hey,” Tony said with his most charming smile, leaning against the door to hide the chaos of his room. “What’s up?”

    “Poker night got canceled for a mission,” Bucky said, glancing around the darkened area to make sure he was alone.  “I thought I’d stop by for some luck.  Can I come inside?”

    “Sure,” Tony backed up to let him inside.  Bucky looked around and just quirked his lips and raised an eyebrow to see the mess; one side looked like a closet exploded and the other was full of electronics.  “So, luck, huh?”

    “Yeah,” Bucky said, curling one hand around the back of Tony’s neck, stroking the thin skin under his ear with his thumb.  Tony shivered at the touch, and the quirk of his lips widened into a smile.  “Maybe a kiss or something?”

    “I think I can do that.”  Tony hooked his fingers into the belt loops of Bucky’s fatigues and pulled him closer. Bucky dipped his head and brushed his lips over Tony’s, breath ghosting out with the smell of his after-dinner mint and coffee.  Then came Bucky’s tongue, lightly touching Tony’s bottom lip with little kitten licks. Tony didn’t realize he was holding his breath,  wound up by Bucky’s teasing, until Bucky finally covered his mouth with his own and he let out a long exhale. He felt Bucky smile and bit his lip in retaliation, feeling victorious when Bucky’s breath hitched.  Bucky’s other hand came up and then he was framing Tony’s face with those big, capable hands, calloused and smelling faintly of gun oil, holding him in place while he took him apart with his mouth. He was being so careful, so controlled, like he was afraid he was going to scare Tony away and all Tony wanted to do was to see what happened when he got pushed beyond that control.  He wanted Bucky to shove him up against the wall, a knee between his thighs, rutting against him fast and hard.

    But he knew without saying that now wasn’t that time, because Bucky was already pulling back with a few last lingering kisses, the final one pressed against the corner of his mouth.  Tony opened his eyes and saw Bucky smiling at him, still cradling his face in his hands. “Hey, handsome,” Bucky murmured. “I gotta go, but I’ll see you tomorrow, ok?”

    “Yeah.  It’s going to take all night?”

     “I don’t know.  But we’re going to take some of your gear out, so I’ll let you know how it does.”

    Bucky still had his hands on his face, so Tony covered them with one of his own.  “Will it be dangerous, your mission tonight?”

    “Nah,” Bucky shrugged.  “Besides, I’m like, a level five Paladin so I’m practically invincible.”  Bucky knew he’d fucked up when Tony’s eyes got wide.

    “You,” Tony accused after a breathless moment, “are a nerd.” The joyful revelation in his voice made Bucky roll his eyes.

    “You,” Bucky countered, “knew what I was talking about. And I’m a geek, not a nerd.” He dropped his hands and started heading towards the door, Tony right on his heels.

    “Who’s your DM? Who’s your supplier, Bucky? Are you in a game right now? Are you really a Paladin?”  Tony was poking him in the ribs until Bucky turned around and shut him up with another hungry kiss.

    “I didn’t make it through SERE school to give up my secrets to a pretty face,” Bucky said with a smile, opening up the door behind him with one hand. “Not that easily.”

    “I have ways of making you talk!” Tony shouted after him as Bucky disappeared into the darkness.

 ***

    Hours later, Bucky paced a bit in front of Tony’s trailer, debating the wisdom of knocking on the door again because on the one hand, it’s like four in the morning and most people would be asleep by now, but on the other hand, Tony’s light was on.  But on the other other hand, he doesn’t want to seem needy and weird, but –

    At that point Tony yanks the door open and the light from inside made Bucky squint. “I can hear you walking on the gravel,” Tony pointed out.  “Why didn’t you just knock?”

    Trying to explain his headspace right now would take too long and would definitely sound stupid, so instead Bucky just said, “we just got back and I’m too wired to be in my room right now.  Want to go for a walk?”

    “Sure.” Tony stepped into his shoes right by the door, not even bothering to lace them up. “Where are we going?”

    “Just around,” Bucky said vaguely.  “I hadn’t thought that far, but it’s not like there’s a lot of options.”

    “Ok.” They walked in silence for a bit, their shoes crunching loudly on the gravel.  It was a nice night, an almost full moon and stars unusually clear without all the light pollution Tony was used to.  He’d gotten used to the smell out here, like hot asphalt and gasoline and an odd smell that he could only describe as desert, but at this time of night the smells had actually died down and the air was something close to clean.  “So how did the mission go?” Tony asked finally.

    Bucky shrugged. “Fine. We had a bit of a close call, but we got him in the end.  I’ll have a report to you about the gear sometime tomorrow.  Why are you still awake?”

    Now it was Tony’s turn to shrug, hands in his pockets.  “Insomnia.  Taking care of business back home.  After…you know…my parents died, I all of a sudden have to make a bunch of decisions, so…”

    “You don’t have any help?”

    “Yeah, I mean, there’s this guy Obediah, he was my dad’s right hand man, he’s been really helpful. But in the end, it’s still Stark Industries.  And I’m the last Stark.”

    Bucky made an understanding noise, and then it was quiet for a while. Until Tony heard a shrill, piercing whistle, and then there was a deep roooooooaaaaaaarrrrrrr noise that split the night.

    “Ah, shit.” Bucky grabbed Tony’s arm, dragging him towards a structure that was a darker shadow against the rest of the base that proved to be a bomb shelter.  

    “What’s happening?” Tony tried to peer out the little sliver of sky that was allowed by the concrete and sandbags of the bomb shelter.  There was another high pitched shriek and Tony saw a streak of red against the night sky, but he listened hard and didn’t hear any impact.

    “Indirect fire,” Bucky said shortly, rolling his eyes.  “Just gotta wait it out.”  After a while there were no more shrieks or streaks, so Tony leaned against the wall of the bomb shelter, close enough that Bucky was a line of warmth against his left side.

    “How long do we wait?”

    “Until they give the all clear.” It was too dark to see Bucky’s face, but after a moment Tony felt Bucky’s arm around his shoulder, pulling him in close. Smiling, Tony snaked his arm around Bucky’s back and felt lips press against his temple in return.  Tony turned and lifted his head so the lips met his own, just a little off center. Bucky made an amused chuck and settled against the wall of the bunker, tugging until Tony was between his legs. They kissed there, lazily, tongues curling together, hips grinding like they were teenagers on their parents’ couch.  Bucky slid his hands into the back of Tony’s pants and cupped his ass, a low groan rumbling through his chest.  Tony heard his head hit the back of the concrete wall. “You know what they say about snipers?”

    “I don’t, actually.  What do they say?”

    “Dammit, I was hoping you knew. I haven’t been a sniper for long and nobody’s told me yet.” Tony dropped his head against Bucky’s collarbone and shook his head, feeling Bucky shake under him with laughter.  “Seriously, though, my job is to cover my team’s asses, right? Which means I’m a great shot, and,” Bucky squeezed his ass and made a deep throated unf sound, “a connoisseur of fine asses.”

    “And?” Tony really wished he could see Bucky’s face.  His hands searched for skin under Bucky’s shirt, but it was tucked too tightly into his pants, so he settled for tucking his head into Bucky’s neck.

    “Well, I haven’t had a good look yet, have I?  But I can say that feels perfect. Like it’s made to fit my hands.”  He squeezed again and rocked their hips together. “Hey, guess what,” he whispered into Tony’s ear.

    “What?” Tony whispered back.

    “I like you.”

    “Yeah?” Tony grinned stupidly and rubbed his nose against the slightly stubbled underside of Bucky’s jaw, feeling warm inside.  Bucky’s hands were just resting on his ass, squeezing sometimes but mostly seeming content to just cup them instead of wandering anywhere interesting and it was oddly…soothing.

    “Yeah. You were great on the range today, handling all those weapons like a pro.  How many languages do you speak, anyway?”

      “Three.  You?”

    Bucky snorted a laugh and tipped his head down for a kiss.  “Well, I can speak enough Pashto and Dari to get by, but I’m not going to be explaining how changing the composite metal of a rifle bore affects rifling and accuracy.”

    Tony shrugged self-consciously.  “It was part of one of my masters’ theses.”

    “One of, the man says.” Bucky slid his hands out of Tony’s pants and ran them up his sides, dragging his shirt up as his fingers trailed over the bumps of his ribs.  Then his thumbs were rubbing circles over Tony’s nipples and Tony was gasping against Bucky’s mouth.

    “Jesus, Bucky.” His hands tightened on Bucky’s waist and his hips surged forward, seeking friction against the hard length of Bucky’s erection.  “For the record, I like you too.”

    “Good.” Bucky was still tracing circles around his nipples, giving them only the briefest of touches.  His hands were so warm, making the rest of Tony feel both chilled and feverish at the same time. Tony shivered and made a sound deep in his throat.  “Want to go on a date with me?”

    “This doesn’t count?” Tony asked, incredulous.  He was like four or five serious strokes away from orgasm and this didn’t even count as a date?

    “This is an IDF bunker, I can do better than this,” Bucky said, sounding affronted.  “We may be in the middle of Afghanistan but I do have some standards.”  He had abandoned Tony’s nipples and now had a grip on Tony’s hip, encouraging him to ride the thick line of his thigh.

    “Sure, yeah, sounds great,” Tony said breathlessly as he let Bucky set the rhythm, giving up all sense of propriety and chasing his release. He fisted his hand in Bucky’s hair, the other on Bucky’s shoulder for balance.  When he tugged on Bucky’s hair he earned himself a surprised “fuck” and then Bucky’s mouth was crashing down on his.

    “Come on, come for me,” Bucky whispered against his mouth.  “I want to hear the sounds you make.”  Right now the only noises Tony could manage were panting breaths, so close that his hips were stuttering.  Then Bucky brought one hand around to the front of his pants, rubbing hard and that was it, sparks flew behind Tony’s eyelids and he came with a long hitching moan. Bucky was murmuring “yeah, that’s it, get it,” in his ear, pressing kisses along his jaw as he came down.

    Finally Tony slumped against him, boneless, skin still humming. Bucky’s erection was still a hard line against his hip, but he seemed content to just hold Tony instead of finishing, forehead resting against Tony’s temple.  “So I heard there was a lunar eclipse tomorrow night, want to get dinner and watch it with me?”

    “Is this the Afghanistan version of Netflix and chill?” Tony asked lazily, still leaning heavily against Bucky.  He brought one hand up to run his thumb against the underside of Bucky’s dick, smiling when he heard Bucky’s grunt of pleasure.  “Want some help with this?”

    Tony could feel Bucky wavering and his mouth started watering at the idea of getting his mouth on that cock, ready to feel the hot weight of it on his tongue, and then Bucky was pulling his hand away and kissing his palm. “Next time.”

***

    Tony spent much of the next day hunched over his computer while periodically wandering circles around the small, very boring base – he found the MWR Bucky had mentioned and it was just as dismal as he’d described, only with a lot more second-hand and second-rate political thrillers and mysteries stacked on every available surface.  He also wandered by the motor pool and got the bored PFC on duty to show him the vehicles that the soldiers used when they went outside the wire; the armor on them was a rush job if he’d ever seen one, the unreinforced axles of the HMVs groaning under the extra weight.   In his head he started immediately composing an email to Obediah to put together a proposal to the DoD because he could do a better job than this just using the spare metal he had around the lab.  He found the gym along with most of the inhabitants of the FOB and managed to kill some time on the treadmill, trying to lift weights until he got bored with it.  After lunch and showering, Tony thought optimistically that it would at least be three or four o’clock, but when he saw that it was barely after noon he groaned and collapsed on his bed, staring up at the cheap metal ceiling of the CHU.

    Goddammit it was going to take forever for this evening to get here.

      After the sun set Bucky wiped his palms on his pants and raised his hand to knock when he heard music.  He leaned closer and listened for a minute, smiling when he recognized a Black Sabbath song.  Smiling, he knocked on the door and said “Housekeeping!”

    “Just a minute!” Tony shouted. “JARVIS, music off.”  After a moment the door swung open and Tony was stepping back to let Bucky inside. “Hey, sorry about that. Watch your feet,” he added unnecessarily; scattered across the floor in neat piles were gears and rods and other random parts to what looked like a small engine. Bucky stepped carefully to avoid knocking over one of the stacks and found himself a small clear patch of floor to stand while Tony put his shoes on.

    “Who is Jarvis?”

    “This computer program I’m developing to respond to voice commands.”  Tony patted his pockets as if checking for his wallet then smiled when he realized all that he needed was his security badge.

    “That’s amazing.  That’s going to change a lot of things for people if you can get it to work.” Bucky leaned carefully over to kiss Tony.

    “I hadn’t thought about that,” Tony said, looking thoughtful. “I was primarily working on developing it as an artificial intelligence.” He grabbed the closest piece of paper, already covered with equations and scribbled notes and scrawled another note in the corner.

    “I definitely want to hear more about that, but first –“ Bucky dug into one of the big pockets of his fatigues and pulled out two small bottles full of dark liquid. “Can I buy you a drink?”

    Tony took one of the airplane bottles of whiskey and started laughing. “You sure know how to show a guy a good time, Sergeant Barnes.”

      When they got back from dinner, illicitly spiking their drinks with the contraband whiskey, Bucky led Tony behind his CHU, full of weeds and the loud humming of the AC/heating unit built into the wall. Bucky tossed a blanket up onto the roof and then boosted Tony up, hearing him walk around with loud pongs, before backing up a few steps to get a running start. When he managed to climb up he saw Tony making a face at the level of grit and grime on top of the CHU, from years and years of sandstorms and rain that never quite washed all the sand away, but Bucky just shrugged and spread out the blanket. “It’ll wash.”

    He lay down and held out his arms for Tony to join him. They finally got comfortable with Tony resting his head on Bucky’s shoulder with Bucky’s arm wrapped around him, hand resting on the center of his chest.  The moon was low on the horizon but full, gilding the base with silver light. Glancing up, Tony could see the dark shadows of Bucky’s eyelashes and his contented smile. “I didn’t peg you for a cuddler,” Tony murmured with a smile hidden by the darkness.

    “Apparently I turn into an octopus when I sleep.  I just naturally grab on to the warmest thing in bed and just,” he squeezed Tony to his chest, “hold on tight.”

    “Sounds sweaty.”

    “Slippery, even.”

    “Greasy and slick…”

    “Two wet bodies, sliding against each other…”

    “Getting all…moist,” Tony said, and under his head Bucky shook with quiet laughter.

    “Gross,” he said, still laughing, and then he tilted Tony’s head up for a kiss.  Tony could feel the curve of his lips and taste the whiskey he’d had at dinner.  Bucky’s hand slid along his jaw and then cupped the back of his neck, pulling him closer until Tony was laying half on top of him. Tony made a sound deep in his throat as Bucky tilted his head to deepen the kiss and slid his free hand into the waistband of Tony’s pants to cup his ass.

    He moaned into Tony’s mouth and squeezed his ass before releasing him and pulling back from the kiss. “Jesus,” he said, breathing hard, one hand still tight on the back of Tony’s neck.  Tony put a hand on Bucky’s chest and slid it down to his erection, pressing his palm against it and practically whimpering when he measured its size. Looking up, he saw that Bucky had one hand in his hair and his eyes were closed as he rolled his hips against the pressure of Tony’s hand.  “Jesus Christ,” Bucky said again, and then he was pulling Tony’s hand away.  That was when Tony realized he’d been practically riding Bucky’s thigh, chasing pressure for his own achingly hard erection.

    Tony forced himself to roll back over onto his back, shaky with arousal. He took a deep breath and released it slowly.  “You are a menace,” Bucky said under his breath.  “We’re on top of a CHU for Christ’s sake.”

    “That seems easily remedied. I bet I could find a video of a lunar eclipse to watch later. Much later.”

    “But then you wouldn’t be here to explain how they work.”

    Tony propped himself up on his elbow to peer down at Bucky in surprise and then huffed out a laugh when he saw the quirk of a grin on Bucky’s lips.  “You know how eclipses work,” he muttered as he lay his head back down on Bucky’s shoulder.

    “Sure, but I like hearing you explain things.”

    “Take me to a bed and I’ll explain a lot of things, I promise.”

    Tony heard the thunk of Bucky hitting his head against the top of the CHU. “I swear to God, you are making it difficult to be romantic.”

    That had Tony sitting up again. “Is that what this is about?” He said in surprise, then lowered his voice when Bucky put a hand over his mouth. “Romance?”

    “Well, yeah,” Bucky said, shrugging self-consciously.  “I mean, don’t get me wrong, you’re like the sexiest thing on two legs I’ve ever seen, but you’re also insanely smart and funny and…what?” He trailed off at the look on Tony’s face.

    “On two legs?”

    “Oh. Yeah, well, I’ve got a black Ducati Monster at home and she will always be my first love.”

    Tony’s brain went temporarily offline at the thought of Bucky on a motorcycle, wearing a leather jacket and jeans and big black combat boots, raking a hand through his hair after taking off his helmet.  “You’ve got a…”

    Bucky’s slow grin was perfectly filthy. “Oh, yeah.  I love having all that power between my thighs, the heat and vibrations traveling up my-“

    Tony effectively shut him up by throwing his leg over Bucky’s hips and grinding that perfect ass right down on Bucky’s still hard dick.  Bucky’s hands flew up to his thighs to hold him still, torn between wanting to fill his hands with the tight roundness of Tony’s ass and the acute awareness that they were still on the roof of his CHU. “You’re not the only one who likes a lot of power between their thighs,” Tony murmured against his lips, rocking against him, and that was the last straw.

    “Ok, ok, I give up.” Bucky lifted him off and got to his feet, adjusting his erection gingerly as he helped Tony to his feet and grabbed the blanket.  “Let’s go.  We’re going to fuck until we break the bed.”

    “A man after my own heart,” Tony teased as they dropped down from the roof. Bucky shook his head and fumbled for his keys, checking over his shoulder for witnesses before he was shoving Tony into his room.

    Tony had enough time to glance around quickly before Bucky grabbed his waist and pulled him in for a kiss that was surprisingly gentle and slow.  Tony let his eyes close, losing himself in the soft, wet glide of Bucky’s mouth, shivering when his tongue licked inside.  At his waist Bucky’s hands slid underneath his shirt, calloused fingertips raising goosebumps as they traveled up and down his back before they were pulling his shirt off over his head.  

    “Jesus, look at you,” Bucky murmured, running his hands over the lean muscles in Tony’s arms and shoulders.  Tony tugged at his uniform, pulling the lapels away from each other with the loud sound of Velcro and shoving it off his shoulders.  Bucky’s eyes didn’t leave Tony as he started undressing, hungry gaze running over every inch of his skin, lips parted.  When he unbuckled his belt and pulled it through the belt loops the noise of it sent chills down Tony’s spine.

    “Look at you,” Tony breathed, pausing as he was toeing off his shoes, staring at the sculpted muscles of Bucky’s chest and abs as he pushed his pants to the floor.  He abandoned his project to get naked as fast as possible to put his hands on Bucky’s body, to see if the muscles were as firm as they looked, the skin as smooth.

    It was. They were.  Tony growled a bit and set his teeth into the thick muscle of Bucky’s shoulder, drawing a hiss out of him and then hands were shoving his pants down and off, sliding back up his inner thighs to cup his balls and wrap slightly cool fingers around his cock.

    “Just to let you know, these walls are like, paper thin.  So if you’re a screamer, try to keep it down,” Bucky said with a smirk, eyes heavy lidded and dark as he slid his fingers up Tony’s cock and rubbed a thumb over the head.

    “I grew up in boarding schools, I know how to be quiet.” Tony started pushing Bucky backwards until he was sitting on the bed and then climbed into his lap.  “But generally speaking, I do prefer to make noise.”

    “Oh, I bet.  One day,” Bucky said, wrapping his arms around Tony and turning to lay him out flat on the bed, “I hope we do this somewhere we can be as loud as we want.”  He bent his head to press a kiss to Tony’s lips as he fumbled for something in a bag under the bed, pulling out a half-empty bottle of lube and a couple of condoms.  For now he just set them on the table beside the bed and dedicated himself to learning Tony’s body, running his tongue over his nipples, biting the crest of his hips, licking a hot stripe along the bottom of his shaft, all while Tony writhed under his hands with bitten off whimpers.

    “Come on, enough teasing,” Tony finally moaned, breathing heavily.  “I feel like foreplay started as soon as I got out of the helicopter, let’s do this already.”

    Bucky huffed in amusement but finally crawled back up his body to hand him the lube.  “Show me how you like it,” he said, his eyes hot and dark as he settled at the foot of the bed to watch, fisting his cock as Tony raised his knees.

    “And he says I’m the menace,” Tony muttered, gripping his cock tightly at the base to try to slow down.  He generously lubed his fingers and tried to concentrate on giving Bucky a good show.  He teased himself for a moment, tracing around his hole before sinking inside, curling his finger as he slid it in and out as he stroked his cock lightly.  He was so fucking turned on that he quickly added another finger, probably too quickly, making a low sound at the slight burn of the stretch.

    His eyes flew open as he felt Bucky stroke a soothing hand down his thigh, having moved up the bed a little. “You’re not ready yet, but you want my cock so bad, don’t you?” Bucky murmured, his eyes on where Tony was prepping himself. He reached out to trace the fluttering rim of his hole and Tony hissed out a breath.  “One day I’m going to put my mouth right here until you are begging for something inside you.”

    “F-fuck,” Tony gasped, running out of patience. “I’m ready, I swear-“ He propped himself up on his elbow to get another good look at Bucky’s cock, and then fell back on the pillow with a groan of frustration.  “Ok, one more finger, then you.”

    Bucky gave him a small smile, eyes still riveted on the slick thrusts of Tony’s fingers in and out of his body. Bucky’s hands were roaming over every inch of Tony’s skin that was within reach as if he were just as impatient.  Finally Tony gave him a nod and said, “How do you want me?”

    “I want to see your face,” Bucky said, cupping Tony’s cheek. Tony nodded and Bucky was reaching for the condom and lube.  He braced one arm on the bed by Tony’s head and the other hand was under his hips, tilting them up as he pressed slowly inside.  His grey eyes were watching Tony’s face as he slowly thrust in and out, going a little deeper each time until he was finally all the way in, hips flush with Tony’s ass. He let out a sigh and rested his forehead against Tony’s and for a moment they just breathed together while Tony adjusted to the feeling of fullness.

    “God, you are so tight,” Bucky whispered hoarsely, drawing back a little just to thrust back in. His dog tags brushed Tony’s chest and the feeling of the cool metal made him shiver and tighten around Bucky’s dick, dragging a low moan out of him. For a few minutes Bucky kept his thrusts slow and easy, hooking an arm under Tony’s knee to adjust the angle until one thrust hit a spot that had Tony arching off the bed in surprise.

    “Holy Christ,” Tony panted, bringing his hands up from the mattress to bury one in Bucky’s hair and wrap the other one around the back of his thigh.  He realized that Bucky was trembling with the effort of being so slow. “Do that again.  Not every time, but…”

    Bucky grunted in agreement and spread his knees a little bit for leverage.  Then he made the mistake of looking down at where they were connected, where Tony was still hard and leaking precome, and he gritted his teeth around another low moan. “Look at you, split open by my cock.”  He paused for a moment, thrusting shallowly. Tony whimpered and tried to lift his hips to get him deeper, but Bucky held him still.  “I’m going to try to go slow,” Bucky managed, pulling out until he was almost out and then sliding all the way in again, “but I just want to let you know that I’m going to want to go again before I let you out of this bed.  I want you to fuck my face and come down my throat, then I want to come on your chest.” He dragged his eyes down Tony’s chest and back up as finally settled into a steady, mind blowing rhythm. “If that’s ok with you.”

    The mental image of that made Tony shiver again.  “Holy fuck, Sergeant,” he said, then his breath hitched as Bucky’s eyes grew hot and the thrusts grew harder when he said sergeant. “You’ve got a filthy mouth, and now I know one of your kinks.”

    “Oh, you have no idea.” Bucky leaned down to capture his mouth, practically bending Tony in half as he rode him hard.  Tony waited as long as he could to put a hand on his cock, loving the feel of Bucky’s body over his, moving inside him, but eventually the need to come was impossible to ignore.  He kept one hand in Bucky’s hair because every time he pulled on it Bucky made a noise in his chest that went right to Tony’s groin, but his other hand went to his cock, stroking it fast and almost rough.

    “God, Tony, I want to see you, do it, come on my cock,” Bucky said, voice ragged and thrusts growing irregular as he felt Tony tightening around him. He hitched Tony’s hips up higher and then every thrust was hitting his prostate. Tony’s eyes flew open on a low moan, pupils completely blown, as he hovered on the edge of orgasm.  Bucky squeezed his eyes tight and buried his face in Tony’s arched neck as his thrusts got deeper and rougher like he couldn’t get far enough inside. “I don’t know if I can wait, you feel so fucking good, God, Tony, you’re so good,” he said, breath hot against Tony’s skin, and then the tight coil of tension snapped, a rolling warmth spreading through Tony in waves as cock pulsed hot come on his hand and stomach, his body tightening around Bucky’s.  He threw his head back against the pillow with a groan, arching his body and pulling Bucky closer, riding hard on his cock as the waves of pleasure kept coming.

    In his ear Bucky was chanting increasingly desperate iterations of “fuck, Tony, fuck” and then he was shaking as he came, hand fisted in the sheet by Tony’s head as his body went rigid. Tony wrapped his arms around Bucky’s shoulders as his hips rolled shallowly as he came down off his orgasmic high, pulling sparks of sensation out of Tony’s oversensitive body that was right on the edge of too much.

    Finally as his breathing slowed Bucky withdrew carefully and took the condom off to throw away.  He snatched a towel off the back of a wooden chair and handed it to Tony to try to clean off come and lube.

    When he was done Tony stretched gratefully, scooting over a bit to get out of the wet spot. “Holy shit,” he said, watching Bucky towel himself off as well. “So does Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell include ‘don’t come knocking if the trailer’s rocking?’”

    Bucky huffed out a laugh as he stretched out beside Tony. “Yeah, sure.  This is the military, everything that might be fun is against the UCMJ. Sex, gambling, drinking. Laughing, probably. But no one here is going to turn me in as long as I’m not stupid about it.”

    Tony turned so that he was laying half on top of Bucky, ignoring the light sheen of sweat covering them both, brushing his lips idly over Bucky’s collarbone while his fingers traced patterns on his chest.  “Why do people call you Bucky?”

    “My middle name is Buchanan.  When I came to the 105, there were like five other Jameses so they got creative.”

    “James Buchanan Barnes,” Tony said thoughtfully.  He sat up and straddled Bucky’s waist so he could get both hands all over that skin while he had the chance. “Can I call you the Notorious JBB?”

    “Hey, don’t put that evil on me,” Bucky said, putting his hands behind his head and letting Tony explore to his heart’s content. “They never found Biggie’s killer.  What’s your middle name?”

    “Edward.  I also like long walks on the beach while watching the sun set, in case that was your next question.”  

    Bucky smiled and smacked him on the ass.  “Rude.  Do you really like walks on the beach? Sounds dull.  Besides, after a few times out here I’m done with sand for a while.”

    “Picnics in the park?”  Bucky made a face.  “Dinner and dancing?”

    “Sure, I like to dance,” Bucky said with a shrug.  “Not all my moves are horizontal.”

      “I’m sure.” Tony’s fingers wandered up to Bucky’s face and he pressed his thumb into the dimple in his chin.  “So are you ready for round two, or do you need more time, old man?”

***

    Tony only had one more day on FOB Ob before he got called back to the States for an emergency board meeting.  Bucky managed to convince Lt Rogers to let him escort Tony back to Kabul for his flight out of country, but eventually the time came that he had to let Tony walk away without being able to follow him.

    Tony threw his duffel bag on top of the stack of luggage for the loadmaster to put on the C-130 that was his ride back to civilization.  Bucky gathered his hands behind his back in an ‘at-ease’ posture, both to look professional and to keep himself from grabbing Tony and giving him a goodbye kiss that would do Hollywood proud.  Tony shoved his hands in his pockets for the same reason.  “So do you guys have email out here? Phones?”

    “Sure. Why?”

    “If you, you know, wanted to call or write sometime, I’d like to see you again.”

    “Of course,” Bucky said with surprise.  The nervousness in Tony eased at the warm affection in his eyes, the smile curving his full lips. Tony felt an answering grin light up his face. “Barring any unforeseen events, I should be going home in under a month, and then I’ll be due some time off.  I’d love to spend it with you.”

    Tony pulled a business card out of his pocket and scribbled his personal phone number and email on the back.  Bucky’s hands trailed across his palm as he took the card and put it in his chest pocket.  “I look forward to hearing from you, Sergeant Barnes.”

    "Sounds good, Mr. Stark.  You know, I hate to see you go," Bucky said in a low voice, hiding his heavy heart behind a cheeky grin, "but I am looking forward to watching you walk away."

    And he did stay there, watching as Tony boarded the plane and gave him a last wave, then watching until the plane disappeared into the sky.  He gave himself five minutes to kick the sand and feel sorry for himself before he went on with the rest of his tour.

[minhoneysmuses]

zombie apocalypse au.

The clicking of fingers against laptop keyboards echoed the large college classroom. Jasper was one of the most focused students there could be. Luckily, he knew a lot about plants and how they worked, so it was an advantage. Rain pelted against the thick glass window to the left of him, which only caught him off guard from the essay he was in the middle of writing. Lazy eyes focused on the small droplets hitting the window, one by one, then as they dribbled down the foggy glass. Rainy days were the best days to sit down and write. Not only did he spend his time in his classes, but he also spent his dreary days writing poems of some sort. Jasper was a writer, he wrote, and wrote, and wrote. 

The emergency broadcast message starts going off in every corner of the room. ― A rare disease outbreak in the surrounding areas of Los Angeles. 

"What the fuck..." He mumbled, grabbling tightly at his phone. Swallowing thickly, he looked around at all the faces. Some looked confused, most looked frightened. These types of scenarios never happened in real life ― "zombie" activity happened in corny movies as well as TV series. "Professor. What is this all about?" A student asked, holding her phone up, pure fear in her eyes. 

His first thought was to contact Chloe, but he remembered she was out of town for two weeks with her family in Miami, FL. Great. Buzz. Jumping from the sudden vibration at the palm of his hand, he glanced down.

[text message] chloe: i just heard on the news about what's going on. are you safe?

[text message] jasper: yeah, baby. i'm safe. i'm in class right now. i think they're about to let us out. i love you. 

[text message] chloe: i love you too, jasp. go to your apartment and wait until it's all over. 

Buzz. 

[text message #1] mom: jasper. i hate being across the country from you.

[text message #2] rodney: am i high? or is a zombie outbreak about to happen.

[text message #3] blair: chloe demands that you come hang out with me. she's worried about both of us. 

[text message] jasper: i'll be over soon. 

Replying to everyone in his list, he shoved his MacBook into his computer bag, as well as his phone. "Stay safe, students. I'm not sure what's going on..." The professor called out, but before Jasper could listen in on the conversations, he rushed to the exit. There was no way in hell he was going to die in a zombie apocalypse while at school. 

Fifteen minutes into his drive to the sorority house, Jasper found himself in a traffic jam. "Jesus Christ..." He cried out, anger filling his system. It wasn't entirely his fault that he was panicking. It could've been the traffic. Or it could've been the people screaming in the streets.

"Blair, I'm on my way..." He spoke into the phone, gripping tightly at the phone. "This traffic is awful..." SLAM. "Jasper, what the hell was that?" Blair asked, worry in her tone. Blood. "Holy fu―" Jasper cut himself off. It wasn't normal to witness a person eating another person's face off. Was it? Gurgling growls. "Jasper!" Blair shouted through the phone. Jasper wasn't going to allow himself to admit to what he just saw. Not over the phone, not like that. Worrying Blair would only make matters worse. "I'm five minutes away," He lied. Click.

Shoving himself through the large doors of the sorority, he heard screams. Shit. You're too late, asshole. Rolling his eyes at himself, he walked toward the foyer and looked around the area. "Blair?" He called out, looking around with worry. He could frantically look around the large home for Blair, but what was the point? The risk was too high to turn around a corner and randomly get his ace bit off by some sorority bitch. 

"Jasper! Up here!" Blair blurted out, waving her arms in the air at the top of the stairs. Dumbass bitch. Scoffing at the loudness she made, he rushed up the staircase and quickly cupped her mouth. "Are you crazy? Zombies are stupid, but they can hear." He spoke as if he were the zombie apocalypse expert. "My bad. Shit." She rolled her eyes, brushing the hair from her shoulder, a typical brat. Jasper was glad that Chloe wasn't like the other girls in the sorority. Down to earth, full of pureness. Everything Jasper needed in his life. 

"We need to gather food and get the fuck out of here," Jasper instructed. Grabbing ahold of Blair's hand, he yanked her toward the steps and jolted down them with her. It was only a matter of time until Los Angeles had zombies all over it. "I need to get to Miami. I"m not sure how, but I need to. Do you want to come with?" He asked, grabbing a bag under the sink of the kitchen, he quickly started gathering whatever he could find. Candy, chips, can foods, etc. Not the healthiest foods, but who ate salads during the zombie apocalypse? 

Back facing the female, Jasper gathered things inside the bag until there was no room. If they ended up needing more on the road, they could stop anywhere that was remotely safe. Theft wasn't necessarily a thing in the apocalypse. "Oh my god!" Blair screamed out. No girl in this sorority would make it out alive. At least, not alone. Did he want to turn around and witness the sight? Did he want to risk saving someone he barely knew? If anything, he'd do it for Chloe. Jasper knew how important her sisters were to her. Twisting around to face the screaming, Jasper left one eye open and one eye closed. 

Heidi. A goddamn zombie. Not a massive surprise. "Fuck..." He called out, looking at Ivy eating at Blair's throat. Blood gushed from it, causing a gag to slip from Jasper's plump lips. "That's fucking gross...I'm going to throw up..." He called out, reaching for a knife. Padding around the island, he squinted his eyes and shook his head. You've always wanted to kill the bitch. Do it. His mind was racing with different options. She's a zombie, you prick. Stab. Right through her retina and to her brain, that's how it worked. Well, that's how it worked in movies and TV series. 

Vibrant blood gushed from the female's skull. "Ja...Jasper..." Blair cried out, voice trembling. "I..." Jasper looked at the female, seeing the bite mark with blood spilling from her wound. "Oh, fuck..." Jasper mumbled, gripping tightly at the knife in his hand. How long did it take until someone turned? Did he have to kill this bitch too? Fuck, this was too much stress on one guy. Please wake up from this nightmare, you idiot. Blinking a few times, he squeezed his eyes shut for a few moments. Wake up, wake up. Shooting his eyes open, he could still see the vibrant blood spilling from her neck. "Tell Zachary I love him..." She called out, tears staining her cheeks. "Blair. No offense, but I'm betting Zachary is already a flesh-eating zombie. He's dumber than all of us put together..." Jasper truthfully spoke. 

Giving her an awkward facial expression, he shrugged his shoulders. "No hard feelings, Blair...but, I'm just gonna have to..." He held the knife upright. "N―" Before she could try to convince him not to jab a knife into her skull, he jabbed a knife into her skull. Blood spewed from her head, all over the marble top counters, all over Jasper, etc. Two dead sorority girls at his feet. "Kind of a dream come true, but also...I kind of feel bad..." He spoke to himself, dropping the knife onto the floor. 

Exiting the sorority house with two full bags of goodies for the road, he heard his phone go off. Chloe. Sliding the green phone over, he answered, "Hey, baby...I'm on my way. Sort of..." He called out, explaining his plans. "Is Blair okay? Is she with you?" Chloe frantically asked. "About that..." 

[perfectlyrose]

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (or however many you have altogether). See if there are any patterns. Then, tag your favorite authors.

I was tagged by the absolutely lovely @sequencefairy​ and @cryofthewolf​. thanks darlings! ♥

I’m gonna do the same thing as Jess and grab my last 20 on AO3

midnight cuppa - Ten/Rose, canon-verse, established relationship

Rose stared down into the dark well of liquid in her favorite mug fighting back the sting of tears that she knew were completely irrational. They were out of milk again but she hadn’t realized until she’d already brewed a cup of one of the teas she preferred with a splash of milk.

Up In Flames - Nine/Rose bank robber AU

Rose carefully twisted and flipped through the web of lasers that filled the vault’s antechamber. It was cute the way banks still thought that a few dozen moving laser tripwires would keep her away from the vault door.

After she slowly cartwheeled out of her last handstand and into the two foot space in front of the vault that was free of lasers she turned to look back towards the doorway where John was leaning against the doorway.

distractions - Bill Potts/Martha Jones, AU

A girl plopped down into the seat next to Bill’s, messenger bag hitting the floor with a thud that suggested more textbooks than just the one she was carrying.

“Thought I was going to miss the start today. You know how he is about latecomers and I wasn’t about to be his latest example,” she said, directing a bright smile at Bill before leaning down to dig a notebook and pen out of her bag.

build me up from bones - Fem!Eight/Rose, UA

Rose watched at the Doctor moved around the medbay, hands flitting from one machine to the next, a study in constant motion. It was easy to tell that the Doctor was trying to distract herself from the situation at hand by staying busy, by running scans on the futuristic looking tech that occupied the room. Rose bit down on her bottom lip, nerves finally starting to creep up on her.

pretty and poisonous - Jenny/Vastra

Sometimes Vastra can’t help but be reminded of flowers when she looks at Jenny. They’re both so pretty and picturesque. They’re both so fragile.

fragments - Clara-centric

Sometimes, Clara can remember bits of all the lives she’s lived, all the echoes that she made herself into once upon a time. A few times she gets an overwhelming sense of deja-vu, of nostalgia, when she looks out at what is a new-to-her vista. More times she wakes up gasping for air, wakes up with a scream hovering on her lips and about to escape.

a hand to hold - Alec Hardy/Rose Tyler

It felt so natural that Rose almost didn’t notice that Alec had slipped his hand into hers as they walked down the street. Their fingers twined together with the grace that came from practice and Rose just smiled and kept chattering on about the client she had been working with earlier in the day who was making crazy demands.

budding love - Ten/Rose, flower shop AU

Rose kept an eye on the door while she straightened her displays and filled in blank spots. It was a Tuesday and that usually meant that her favorite customer would be coming in at some point with a new odd request and random fact.

an evening in - Nine/Rose, canon-verse

The Doctor wasn’t quite sure how Rose had convinced him to agree to a movie night tonight but the fact remained that he was in the galley making popcorn and loading drinks on to a tray while his companion picked out their movie in the media room.

kill of the night - dark Bad Wolf!Rose, Tenth Doctor

Her smile formed slowly, one corner of her mouth curling upwards and then the other until her lips stretched enough to bare her teeth. It was always fun when they ran, when they gave her an opportunity to hunt.

light me up - Twelve/Clara, canon-verse

The rain poured down in sheets around them, cutting off the rest of the world and leaving the Doctor and Clara in their own tiny bubble of existence underneath a small awning in Paris. Clara tightened her grip around the Doctor’s waist, pressing closer to get further away from the downpour at her back and relishing this opportunity for an extended hug.

moments of peace - Mercier/Betty, bakery AU

Betty hummed along to the music coming from the radio in the kitchen as she stocked the display case with the morning’s goodies. She carefully arranged the selection of croissants and scones alongside the slices of various breads. She could smell the cookies she had in the oven and couldn’t hide her smile.

the gravity of stars and souls - Nine/Rose, soulmate UA

The Doctor rubbed at his wrist absently as he stared at the time rotor. He was trying not to think about it, trying not to think about the girl who had turned his universe upside down the moment she’d gripped his hand in that shop basement.

life leaves its marks - Tentoo/Rose

The Doctor rubbed his thumb over the slightly puckered line of skin on the back of Rose’s left shoulder. “I don’t remember this scar,” he said before leaning down to press a light kiss to it.

fragility of memory (strength of heart) - Fem!Eight/Rose, UA

Rose’s first thought upon waking up to a strange woman’s face looming above her was something along the lines of oh my god, she’s gorgeous, followed closely by what am I doing on the floor and who is she?

hell of a first date - Twelve/Rose AU

“I demand to know what you’re charging me with. I was doing nothing illegal,” the man protested in a loud voice, Scottish accent prominent.

“You refused to move when asked,” the exasperated police officer answered.

Disaster Waiting to Happen - Alec Hardy/Rose Tyler

“Ach! No, don’t do that.” Alec said, looking over to where Rose was at the stove, spoon in hand.

“It’s spaghetti sauce, I’m hardly going to burn the place down!” Rose protested as he reached over and plucked the spoon out of her hand.

You Light Up The Room - Twelve/Rose historical AU

He watched from his position against a wall as Rose dazzled the room, moving through the crowd with ease and bright smiles. She was nothing short of a miracle in a pink gown and the only reason he agreed to come to these infernal dances was to see everyone else be as bowled over by her as he was on a daily basis.

worth the wait - Martha Jones/Rose Tyler, AU

“Come on, Martha,” Rose cajoled, using the smile she knew almost always got her her way with her roommate and best friend. “You’ve been revising for three days straight. Your brain’s going to melt if you don’t take a break and I don’t think you can be a doctor with a melted brain.”

still of the morning - Clara Oswald/Amy Pond, AU

Clara leaned forward on the couch, mug of tea warming her palms as she read through her emails. The flat was quiet since Amy was still in bed and if she timed it right, she could get some papers marked before starting breakfast.

Holy pairing diversity, Batman! Okay... patterns.... i tend to start with thought or description rather than dialogue but i definitely go with dialogue when I feel like it. Umm, I don’t know?

I’m pretty sure most people have been tagged by lets go with: @rose-tylers, @fadewithfury, @deathlyfandoms, @asthewheelwills, @lastbluetardis and @chiaroscuroverse