#really gotta change that tag sometime soon because a lot of the shit i talk about isnt really hottakes
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gamingforeternity · 9 months ago
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man i should try writing fanfic sometime...
nothing will ever amaze me the way fanfiction authors do. like, you wrote silly little stories about my favorite little guys? and i can read them?? for free??? that’s fucking wild.
you poured your heart and soul and very being into your writing and then put it out there for anyone to read? insane.
you spend a truly incredible amount of time writing novel-length, high quality stories, again, FOR FREE, that anyone can read, again, FOR FREE??
shoutout to every single fic author in existence, you guys are fucking incredible and i love all of you so much
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where-them-kinomiya-at · 1 year ago
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OK. EXPLODES. there's like. sooooo many facets of g-rev to get into, both for better and for worse (and when it comes to the bega arc it's very hard to talk about what i'd consider some of the best parts of the season without also going into... whatever the fuck they did after that.) but honestly. takao is i think a very good starting point to talk about what i'd say are the most interesting aspects of the season- and hell, out of the main cast, him and hiromi (who didn't really have anything to lose in the first place) are the only ones who made it out of the season unscathed.
there's like.. a lot to go over with him. but i think what i find the most interesting is the decision to go into just how deeply becoming world champion messed him up. like.. even if g-rev kind of backed out on most of the themes it was cooking as soon as kai joined bega, it's still a BOLD fucking direction to go. and it's just... i don't know man, it's almost horrifying in a way seeing this literal teenager thrown into the public eye y'know? he enjoys the attention, yes, but it's eating away at him in the long term and he doesn't even realize it!! he doesn't even know, chat!! and when you look back at s1 it hits you all over again that He's Just A Kid!! it hits you how much this has changed him!!!
honestly. i'm no good with words but i will probably write an entire very very long post on What G-Rev Was Cooking overall sometime. other key examples of The Vibe include barthez soldat just, as a whole, and the first several eps of the bega arc (again, the moment it goes to shit is when kai joins bega) (also ep 32 in particular is probably my favorite ep in the entire season)
Takao's struggles are definitely a major element in this season and yeah, it was messy and sad as hell. He faced the struggles of a real champion and the media/public throughout was as usual, god awful. Sometimes you gotta keep in mind that he's literally still a teenager. The media will be the media anyway but I'm glad Takao pulled through. I think this tension is one of the best parts of this season. But here's the thing....while focusing on Takao and Kai they had to degrade every other character in this season and that's why I can't watch it anymore.
The G-Revolution tensions were good and the battles were pretty good too, worth watching for sure. It's just that I cannot bear the deterioration of every other character apart from Takao and Kai even if they're my favourites. The BEGA arc doesn't exactly make up for Max and Rei either. I can go on about how much I hate the character focus in this season but that's another BIG ASS rant.
Personal opinion: Of course, I disliked the characterisation for some of the cast as well [i.e supporting/minor characters]. About Kai, ironically across the three seasons, this one was defo my...least favourite....the nicest way I can put it (his design was fabulous though of course). It's not that I disliked him but I prefer the personas of the previous two seasons. Just a personal opinion though lmao, no offence. Also they took zero elements from V-Force (which I may say would have helped build this season up more) and pretended like it never happened [like yeah YALL PLAYED TAG TEAM LAST YEAR REMEMBER??? and Takao and Max BOTH. WON. TOGETHER. REMEMBER???]. And yes, V-Force took plenty of elements from season 1 despite the change of directions.
Episode 32 was a good one for sure, because that's when the tensions following the BEGA arc took place.
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ray-ray-writings · 4 years ago
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Okay I’ve been recently getting super into Karl’s streams because I just adore his puppy energy but, hear me out here.
Reader and Karl are friends right? And she goes and hangs out with him a lot and eventually one Saturday she convinces her BF, Techno, to come with her. He follows, mostly cause he’s bored and she’s persistent, they get to Karl’s place, Reader knowing instantly what to do gets up near Karl, grabs something Techno can’t see from where he’s standing, spins and belts out a song for Karl’s Karaoke. (The song playing in my ears right now is Talk Too Much)
Cue Technos surprise as he hears his s/o sing for the first time, grinning like a maniac. Reader tries to get him into it but he refuses until he watches Karl and Reader do a duet together (they’re best friends your honor) cause no one else would duet with him and he just gets up very bored my, lumbers over and snatches the microphone from Karl and does some soft deep number. Nothing energetic it’s gotta be deep and soft. (First thought is resting on Achilles Come Down)
After the singular song he doesn’t get up to sing again and you think he’s hated the whole experience but next Saturday you find him by the door ready to go with a bag in his hand. It isn’t til halfway through the time when he does his weird standing up, snatching the microphone from whoever was singing, setting it back in its stand and grabbing his bag before Reader realizes he brought a fuckin violin. Tommy or maybe Ghostbur get jazzed because “I REMEMBER WHEN MY BROTHER PLAYED THAT” and just-
GOOD SHIT!!!
With love- 🌻
Holy shit 🌻 you have my entire heart. This is so amazing. So so poggers. (Also, this is the only post for tonight! Hope you enjoy!!) 
So yes, you and Karl are best friends and you two hang out a lot. But as more and more things happen on the SMP, you find yourselves spending less and less time together, which makes you sad. So as a compromise, you two decide that the two of you would hang out every Saturday night. No exceptions, no excuses, Saturday is for Y/N and Karl. And it works very well with you guys, sometimes you have dinner and talk or you play games and yes sometimes even karaoke. Even when you and Techno got together and he, Sapnap, and Quackity got together, you two never missed a Saturday. Sometimes though, Sapnap and Quackity tag along which is just fine with you. And if you could convince Techno (you never could but just in case haha), Karl would be fine with that. But everytime you ask Techno, he says no, he doesn’t want to intrude and he doesn’t really want to do some of the things you two do. 
But that all changes on fateful Saturday. Techno had been gone for a majority of the week and had only gotten home in the early afternoon of the Saturday. You two had been cuddled up in bed, just cuddling, kissing, and catching up because you’d missed each other so much all week. But it gets to be that time and you try to leave your bed, but Techno has an iron grip on you. “Tech, babe, I’ve got to go” you whisper, pressing a few kisses to his face before landing one on his lips and smiling at him. Techno only pouts at you, “No you don’t. I just got home. You could stay here with me.” he grumbles, attempting to pull you closer to him, but you don’t let him. “I know baby, but you know Saturdays are spent with Karl… If you want you can come with, Sapnap and Quackity will be there so it won’t be awkward. We can have a fun time. My best friend and his s/os and me and my s/o. It will be fun, come on baby,” you murmur, running your hair through his pink locks causing him to sigh. He pretends to think for a moment before giving you a nod. You smile at him before easily weaseling your way out of his grip, pulling him with you. He steadies himself on his feet as you reach up and press a kiss to his lips before bouncing out of the room. “Come on baby, we’re going to be late.” 
The two of you leave the house and make your way to Karl’s house. You throw open the front door without second thought, “Karl! We’re here!” There’s a bit of noise from further in the house before Karl calls back, “We’re??” you can’t help but laugh as you shut the door behind you and Techno before pulling Techno arm along with you as you move to where Karl’s voice was coming from. You make your way into the living room and find Karl hunched over what you know to be the karaoke machine and Sapnap and Quackity curled up together on the couch. “Yeah, we’re” you answer from the doorway causing all three men’s gazes to snap to you two. A huge smile grazes Karl's face at the sight of you two, Quackity gets a little nervous but is quickly comforted by Sapnap’s smile and a quick kiss. “Hey Techno! It’s great to see you!” Karl, ever the charmer and the kind heart, greets your boyfriend. Your boyfriend gives the man a small wave, “Hey Karl… Sapnap………….. Quackity.” The other two give the pink headed man a small smile and wave before turning their attention back to Karl. You pull Techno around the side of the couch and usher him to sit down and before you can sit next to him, Karl has grabbed your arm and pulled you to the machine. “Karl, I wanted to sit and relax with Techno for a moment,” you complain to your best friend. Karl just grins at you and shoves a microphone in your hand as music begins to play. You roll your eyes at how well your best friend knows you and he moves to sit next to his fiances. With all eyes on you, you decide to have fun. You belt out the lyrics and dance around just having fun. (This is the song! Talk Too Much by COIN!). Every once in a while one of the fiances would let out a cheer, edging you on. Techno though would just be staring at you with wide eyes, he had never heard you sing before, well maybe once but never this carefree. 
The four of them clap in excitement after you finish and then bound over to the couch. Once again, you move to sit next to Techno, but are instead this time pulled down onto his lap with your back pressing against his chest and burying his face into the place where your neck meets your shoulder. “I didn’t know you could sing like that” he murmurs into the skin. You can’t help but melt a little bit as you relax further into him. “It’s just something we do for fun sometimes.” you murmur in response, your eyes watching as Karl stands up and picks out a song for himself to sing. “It was nice” That was the last words before Karl began his own song. 
The two of you watched as each of the fiances sang their own solo. “Do you want to sing something?” You murmur, leaning back and turning your head slightly to talk to your boyfriend. Techno let out a huff and tightened his arms around you for a moment, “No” he answers simply as Sapnap and Quackity step up to the mic. The three of you watch Sap and Quack do a very cheesy duet together causing you and Karl to laugh loudly and Techno to hide his chuckles in your shoulder. When the two were done, they were pouting. “Hey! Stop laughing at us!” “Yeah we sang a very serious duet together” And when neither of you stop laughing Sapnap and Quackity plop down on the couch and fold in to each other, “Fine, see if either of us sing a duet with you Karl” Sapnap juts out, poking his tongue as his fiance. Karl immediately stops laughing and begins to beg his lovers to sing with him, but the two don’t budge. So Karl does the next best thing he can think to do. He turns to you with a wide pout on his lips and puppy dog eyes, and who are you to say no to your puppy dog eyed best friend? You let out a sigh before carefully removing yourself from Techno’s arms, despite the grumbles of protest, and join your best friend by the machine to sing a duet with him. Karl wouldn’t let you see what he picked but as soon as the music began, you almost lost it. Of course he would pick this song. It is not only about two “best friends” it is definitely bound to make his two fiances just a bit jealous. (It is the Bro Duet haha. Find it here)
The two of you goofed around and sang your hearts out, changing every “no homo” to “no hetero” Karl sang the first part and you sang the second. Throughout the song, Sap and Quack, although amused, were admittedly a little jealous, that should be them up there singing about how much they love each other. Techno on the other end of the couch was a little confused and a little jealous. He couldn’t help but wonder to himself if this had actually happened. Had you and Karl one time gone to the beach and you had to give Karl CPR? Had you gone to an amusement park and started choking on a turkey leg and Karl gave you the hymlick? Had the two of you fallen in love with each other? What the hell was happening? Toward the end of the song, Techno found himself standing up from the couch and walking toward you two. It surprised you, because Techno had literally told you he did not want to sing. But here he was, grabbing the microphone from you… in the middle of a song no less. Karl and you stopped singing as you stared at Techno who now held the microphone close to his chest. Almost as if reading his mind, you took a step forward and gently cupped his face, “It didn’t actually happen Techno. It’s just a song.” You comfort your boyfriend. Techno’s shoulders did a big relax at your words. “Sorry” he grumbles out, “Didn’t mean to interrupt your song.” You can only give him a warm smile at that. “It’s okay lover. Do you want to sing something now?” And to your surprise, Techno walks over to the machine and begins looking through the song choices. So you and Karl share a look before making your way back to the couch and sitting down. Karl was immediately engulfed in a huge hug by his fiance’s while you curled into the still warm spot that was Techno’s. Soft cello music rang from the machine as Techno awkwardly stood in front of you four, his eyes dancing around the room. Techno took a deep breath before his beautiful bass voice rings out into the room. His voice completely encaptures the four of you sitting on the couch and not even Quackity is making a single noise. Techno sings a beautiful rendition of Achilles Come Down, it quite literally brings tears to your eyes. But once he’s done and the song is over, Techno sets his microphone down and immediately walks over to the couch and sits down next to you, wrapping an arm around you and pulling you close to him. You try to tell him how good it was, but he kisses you to stop you. Later that night when you two go home, you try once again to tell him how amazed and impressed you were at his song, but he brushes your compliments off and kisses you again before cuddling you to sleep. And so, you figure he absolutely hated it and never wanted to do anything like it again. 
So the next Saturday, you know is another karaoke night and this time Karl had invited the whole SMP to come. You were fine with it and you knew not everyone would show up. So when it was time to go, you looked everywhere in the house for Techno so that you could tell him goodbye but you could not find him. You were about to just leave when you hear your name being called from the front door. You rush to the door and find Techno standing there with a bag in his hand. “There you are. Are you ready to go?” Deciding not to question it, you give your boyfriend a smile and a nod before the two of you head out for Karl’s. When you arrive, there are quite a few people there, but not it’s definitely not everyone. You quickly find Karl and greet him with hugs before helping him get completely set up for the night. Techno hovers around you two, not really helping but not wanting to go around and socialize. Eventually he spots Philza and leaves your side briefly to greet his father. 
Finally everything is set up and ready to go. So Karl calls out to everyone to please take their seats, it’s go time. I would like to say that you go first and sing another fun and upbeat song to get everyone hyped. (I do not have one in mind for this time) But it’s great and a total banger, we stan. So then when you’re done, everyone claps politely and Karl moves to take your place. So you bound over to Techno and sit on his lap. One after another, people went up and chose a song and sang their heart out. You don’t expect Techno to get up and sing. You thought he hated it last time so why would he do it again? But he surprises you, of course haha. But after listening to Quackity screech out a song that you honestly cannot tell what it was because of how much he was joking around and not actually trying his best to sing, Techno had had enough. He carefully moves you off of him, grabs his bag, and moves to the front of the room, snatching the mic out of Quackity’s hand. “Hey! I wasn’t done singing!” Quackity protests, reaching for the mic again. “I was done listening… we are all done listening” Techno shoots back. Quackity glances around the room, lets out a sigh, before shuffling over to his fiances and curling into their arms. Techno very quickly turns off the music and a sigh of relief sweeps over Karl’s living room, which makes you snicker behind your hand. You’re surprised when Techno doesn’t pick another song from the machine, but instead he opens his bag and pulls out a violin. You haven’t seen him play that violin in so long and it melts your heart to see him pull it out and bring it up to his chin. You watch in awe as he brings his bow to the strings and begins to play so beautifully. “Oh I remember when my brother played the violin! He was always so good at it! We used to play together all the time. He on violin, me on guitar… It was amazing,” you hear Ghostbur exclaim from somewhere else in the room. And he’s right, it is amazing. It’s even more amazing when Techno opens his mouth and lets his beautiful bass voice ring out into the room. It’s really truly an amazing thing to see. Techno not only playing the violin, but also singing. The room is dead silent and all attention is on Techno as he sings about his time as king, as the Blood God. Please find the violin cover here and the song he’s singing here. Song is Fallen Kingdom…. Yes that fallen kingdom hahahah).
When he’s done, the room is so silent you could hear a pin drop. Techno glances around the room in a panic and you can see his face flushes. You know the voices are going crazy, trying to convince him that he just fucked up and everyone hated it and hated him. So you slowly stand from your seat and begin clapping. Heads snap to you as you clap. Philza quickly joins you, standing up and clapping. Slowly everyone joins you, and then everyone at once. Techno gets a standing ovation from the crowd. This makes his blush even harder and he quickly takes the violin off his shoulder and puts it back into the bag. You don’t let him get off the makeshift stage though, you quickly walk up to him, grab his now empty hands causing him to freeze and look at you. You just simply leaned up and pressed a sweet kiss to his lips. “That was amazing Techno” you mumble against him. He hums in response, kissing you back. “Oh it was nothing” he murmurs back. After a few more moments, the two of you pull apart and you give him a small smile, “sing a duet with me?” you ask him as the applause dies down. Techno looks hesitant, but one quick glance around the room at the encouraging smiles, he decides one more song couldn’t hurt. He lets you pick out the song and his heart almost melts at the choice. (Here is the song. It is Come What May from moulin rouge). Your voices meld so well together and it doesn’t leave a single dry eye in the house. Again, once you’re finished the room is roaring with applause. Literally everyone is crying. Like it’s so obvious you two love each other and that you two mean the words you’re singing in the song. You two end the song with another very passionate kiss as everyone claps so hard they’re all sure their palms will be red and sore the next morning. You and Techno pull apart and you have matching grins on your faces as you set down your mics and move back to the couch to cuddle again. It takes a hot minute for anyone to step up to the machine, not wanting to follow that amazing performance, but slowly Karaoke night gets back on track. Neither of you two get up to sing again though. You’re just content to sit in your boyfriend’s lap and he’s just content to hold you. As you snuggle into him, Techno thinks over the past two Saturdays and he decides quietly to himself that maybe spending Saturdays with you and the fiances wouldn’t be so bad… I mean he actually had fun. He deserves to have a bit of fun every once in a while.
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omg-imagine · 4 years ago
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All We Are
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Pairing: Johnny Silverhand x female!V
Summary: V is jealous after Johnny’s date with Rogue, which leads to an honest discussion about where they both stand.
Words: 1.7k
Warning: spoilers for Blistering Love side job, a little angst
A/N: Requested by an anon. This may be a bit different than what you were expecting, but I was in the feels™. Hope you still enjoy :)
Also, can we please talk about how adorable he looks in the gif?? 
The long drive back to the apartment was silent; the utter stillness in the car weighs heavily on V’s mind. Hands gripping tight on the steering wheel, she tries to ignore this unsettling ache she has, not allowing even an ounce of thought to pass. Though she chalks it off as a side effect of the pseudoendotrizine, this strange, hollow feeling of hers continues to stir deep inside, burning, burning and burning.
And so, she switches on the radio and focuses ahead on the stretch of road winding down the North Oak hills, the approaching lights of Night City glowing brighter against the inky skies. A fresh breeze flows into the open windows, dulling the tension for a moment.
A moment of tranquility that ends far too soon, yet it was a moment V’s at least grateful to have.
“You’re awfully quiet,” Johnny points out, the gruff baritone of his voice piercing the air. “An enny for your thoughts?”
Kicking his feet up on the dashboard, his aviators glint in the silver moonlight, making him appear impossibly more obnoxious than he usually is. He acts as if he’s not aware of the recent thoughts plaguing V’s head, but perhaps that truly was the case. If it were, then she would be surprised— Johnny often invades her mind, poking and prodding at things he shouldn’t be. For a while, she assumes he knows.
“Just tired,” V replies monotonously. Her answer was far from a lie; she really was tired. Exhausted, even. All she wants is to collapse into bed, pass out, and hope that for a few short hours, she can forget about today, about everything.
“Huh,” he breathes out, and V spares him not a single glance. “Pretty sure somethin’ was up. You’ve been actin’ weird since we left the drive-in.”
A chuckle rumbles through her chest. V still finds it unusual for Johnny to act so… concerned. Almost caring, if she had to be honest. She’s noticed a change in him recently, which became apparent after their conversation in the oil fields. He’s a lot softer now, sometimes sweet, both in his own unique way, of course. As if his rough edges were slightly smoothed out with sandpaper, enough that they no longer cut and make her bleed.
V would often catch him staring when he thinks she’s not looking. She also doesn’t fail to miss the small smile that creeps across his face as she talks. And in those passing seconds that lasts an eternity when the relic malfunctions, Johnny was there to offer her comfort. He’d kneel down to the ground while she coils in agony, whispering promises that this will all be over soon. That one way or another, they would get rid of that goddamn chip slotted in V’s head and ultimately save her life.
Life. Life has a funny way of unraveling itself. Fuck, this all seems like a cruel joke the universe is playing on V. Fate is rarely kind to her, a sad fact she’s accepted over the years. Never would she have imagined that after experiencing the pain of heartbreak and loss, she’d find herself falling for someone at the worst possible time.
And that someone is the imprisoned digital ghost of a rockerboy-turned-terrorist studying her from the passenger seat.
But V’s adamant in denying it. Her life was too fucking complicated for this right now.
“Are you capable of shutting the fuck up for two seconds?” V bitterly snaps, the hands on the wheel clenching stiffly as her jaw. “You got what you wanted tonight. Finally got your dick wet after fifty years, so leave me the hell alone, would’ya?!”
She doesn’t mean to act on her muted anger, but it manages to get the best of her. V knows why, and because of it, she crumbles. She crumbles like the walls she’s built around herself. Like the facade she’s been hiding behind for the past couple of months. Because underneath the dirt and grime, V was just a poor, tragic soul, more worried about losing the man she couldn’t have than her awaiting death.
“Really think that’s what happened?” Johnny asks, pushing his shades up to his head as he shifts to sit up straight in his seat.
V grits her teeth, eyes remaining locked on the road. She had woken up an hour or two after Johnny took over, finding her lips still warm, still swollen. Her hair was tousled, and she had been stripped off of most of her clothes; the scent of Rogue’s perfume lingering on her skin. She didn’t need him to recount; it was all clear to her what had transpired. It was what she agreed on to make him happy, a date with the Afterlife fixer and whatever it could lead up to.
In the end, V regretted it, not because Johnny used her body to sleep with someone. But because even after the rollercoaster ride, the dog tags, the private concerts, and the heart-to-heart they had at his gravesite, she still wasn’t his. He was too hung up over Rogue, and she couldn’t blame him. Having shared a lengthy history, there was no doubt Johnny wouldn’t snatch up the opportunity to win her back.
But then where does that leave V?
“The fuck is wrong, V? Don’t make me figure it out by myself.”
Biting the edge of her lip, she ignores Johnny’s latest question and contemplates swallowing an omega blocker. She doesn’t even care that he’s threatening to search for the truth without her permission. Choosing not to do so, he keeps pressing on regardless, and V was getting pissed off. When he doesn’t stop, she loses her temper and slams on the brakes, the Porsche coming to a screeching halt on a dead street.
Huffing, V pulls over to the side, shutting the car’s engine as Johnny is left bewildered by her actions. Peace and quiet. She yearns for peace and quiet, and the pills would do the trick in an instant. Her hand reaches for the bottle in her jacket pocket, the pounding of her heart echoing in her ears. Popping the cap open, she turns her head to the side, unable to help herself. She sees the tenderness etched in his features, a wordless plea shining in his dark eyes.
“V… Tell me.”
V’s gaze slowly falters, her consciousness at war with itself. The storm of anger in her calms, yet she needs to know what her next move is. She’s always been terrible at this sort of thing, dealing with her feelings and shit. Growing up in the streets of Heywood, she’s learned how to shut people out and keep them out. Biggest rule she had imposed on herself was to never, ever fall for a choom, but this time was different. Despite him being a mere figment of her imagination, she feels safe around Johnny, appreciated and content. The two understand each other on a level nobody else has done. They’ve been through literal hell and would only sink further into it to find a way to survive.
A chrome palm comes to rest on V’s cheek, the sensation oddly warm, oddly familiar. Her attention flickers back to Johnny as he strokes her weary face. His touch was delicate, movements careful and controlled. He treats her as if she were porcelain, afraid that his metal hand would cause her to crack. V exhales deeply, relishing the feeling she’s longed from the moment she had broken that dumb rule of hers.
“Go ahead,” she mumbles, giving Johnny consent for him to read her mind. It only takes a second, maybe even less. V half expects his shit-eating grin to make its appearance. She couldn’t forget how cocky he was, and she thought this would certainly rub his ego.
It never comes. Instead, Johnny’s lips turn up into a genuine smile, one softer than the way his black hair falls to frame his face. V swears she was floating; this doesn’t feel all that real to her. It couldn’t be real. But as the first faint slivers of sunlight appear on the horizon, she starts to believe that she isn’t dreaming nor hallucinating. She was still very much wide awake.
“Didn’t know you were the jealous type,” Johnny quips as he leans closer. “You had no reason to be jealous, princess.”
“Why not?”
“Nothin’ happen between Rogue and me,” he clarifies, his fingers pushing back her locks. “Yeah, we made out a little, but I couldn’t go through with it. Wanna know why?”
V nods.
“’Cause I realized that ship sailed a long time ago. We’re too different people now; she’s got her own life, while I got mine sittin’ right here.”
“Johnny…” she murmurs his name as he brings up his other hand to cradle her face. “I wanted to have what you and Rogue had, minus the shitty things you did. But I could feel how much you loved her, how you basically worshipped the ground she walked on. Then I thought, can’t compete with her. She’s a livin’ legend, a badass. Meanwhile, I could be dead the next minute or two, either by this fuckin’ relic or a bullet.”
“Trust me, V, you wouldn’t want that,” Johnny returns, resting his forehead against hers. How could he feel so real? “What you and I have is special. Ain’t felt this way before, not even with Rogue or Alt. Like I said, you’re the fuckin’ closest to me. These feelings you’re afraid of? Shit, I have them too, and I’m fuckin’ terrified. But knowing that you’re here and we both share them, it makes things a lot less scary.”
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
Johnny laughs softly. “Gotta spell it out for ya, huh? Well then, here it goes; V, I love you. I don’t throw that word around randomly, but know that it’s what I feel whenever I think of you.”
V doesn’t waste a second longer. Her lips meet his for a kiss that is gentle and bruising, all at once. They hold one another close, their grasps taut so that the other wouldn’t slip away, not wanting to lose what they’ve gained. Time goes by, ticking in the background as they kiss again and again, but to them, it’s slow, nearly everlasting.
And when it was over, when they finally had to part, they were breathless, panting.
“Love you too, Johnny,” she murmurs into his skin, tone dripping with affection as he hums in response.
Night melds into day, and the city comes back to its fullest life. V kisses Johnny a final time before driving back to the place she calls home, even though she’s found her true one in his heart.
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scuttling · 3 years ago
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Tempting
Fandom: Criminal Minds Pairing: Aaron Hotchner/Latina OFC Sophie Cortes Word Count: 2,392 Tags: 16+, Mature SFW, Pre-relationship, Fantasizing, Accidentally turned on, Mentions of sex Summary: Aaron and Sophie both find themselves... tempted. Collection: Sophie Cortes timeline, 7-12 Months at the BAU (See Masterlist for reading order) Link to AO3 or read below! “Hey, just wanted to hand off my profiles,” Sophie says as she peeks her head into Hotch’s office Wednesday night. “Any idea when the department will catch up to the 21st century and let us do these on the computer?” she asks playfully, and he smiles, rolls his eyes a bit.
“It’s not the department that makes us do these on paper, it’s me. Morgan has been trying to get me to switch to digital, says Garcia can make us a user-friendly system in her sleep.” She crosses her arms, leaning a hip against the doorframe.
“And you’re resistant because…?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. Maybe it’s nostalgia, or because I hate change.”
“As long as it's not because you’ll miss seeing my smiling face at the end of the day, turning in my files,” she says, and though it’s obvious she’s teasing, that kind of is part of the answer.
He doesn’t want to be just a figure in his office, silently collecting completed case files with a ping of his computer. He knows they know his door is always open, but it’s sometimes the excuse of turning in their work that leads them there, gets them in the door, and he thinks it’s important to maintain.
“All joking aside, I think it could really benefit the team. If you wanted a beta tester, I’d be happy to try it out; we can get together once a week for a couple weeks to discuss any bugs or issues we find with the system. The others don’t even need to know; I could do my regular cases during the day, stay later once or twice a week and work them on the computer. I don’t mind the overtime, I’ve got nothing going on.”
“You should go enjoy your life, not spend extra hours holding my hand because I’m resistant to change.”
“I want to, though, if it will help. And I said I don’t mind the overtime.” They stare each other down for a moment; he is the first to cave, sighing and pushing a hand through his hair.
“I’ll talk to Garcia, see if she has capacity to work on the program this week.” Her answering smile is almost blinding, and he feels warmth spread in his chest; he's been feeling that a lot lately, always where Sophie is concerned, but especially when she smiles. “Hey, while I’ve got you, do you mind looking at a case with me? I can’t help feeling that I’m missing something.”
“Sure, of course.” She walks fully into his office, around the desk so she’s looking over his shoulder at the open file. Her hair falls in cascading waves around her face before she gets a chance to tuck a few strands behind her ear, and the smell of her shampoo is... tempting, to say the least.
It’s coconut, and jasmine, maybe, a light, tropical scent that makes him think of palm trees, fresh pineapple, warm sand under his feet… Sophie in a bikini, a tiny thing that shows off her every curve… Sophie curled up next to him in a private cabana, laughing softly in the moonlight… Sophie on a soft bed in a hotel room, her bare skin, even darker from sunbathing, a beautiful contrast to crisp white sheets…
“Have you considered that the second unsub could be a woman? That would explain how the victims are being lured from the mall—a woman probably wouldn’t stop in a parking garage at night for a man, but she would for another woman, if she’s in trouble.” She turns to look at him, and he’s shaken from his fantasy abruptly.
“No, uh, I hadn’t considered that. That closes the gap in my profile. Good thinking.”
“That’s why you keep me around, isn’t it?” He earns another, softer smile, and he thinks about leaning in to kiss her, how easy that would be. It doesn’t take long to shake that thought away, because it’s almost literally insane, but he can’t deny that he had it.
“Something like that. Are you headed home?” She stands fully, and he’s glad, because that means the temptation is gone. It’s not her fault in any way, all his, but he can’t deny it gets worse the closer she is.
“Not home; the girls and I are meeting around the corner for a drink. Will you be finishing up soon?”
“Probably not, but it’s alright. I have nothing going on,” he says, repeating her turn of phrase. He looks down at his work, and she sighs lightly.
“You could have something going on. Come out for a drink with me.”
“And crash your meeting with the girls?” He’s not entirely certain he’d be welcome, or comfortable, but she makes it sound so easy. Like it’s something he could just decide to do, if he wanted.
“Trust me, they won’t mind.”
“It’s a nice offer, thank you. Maybe another time.” She rests a hand on his desk, on top of his case file so he can’t finish filling out the consultation paperwork, and he has to look up and make eye contact with her, which he’s sure is by design. She’s too good at reading him, sometimes. “Definitely another time. I really do appreciate the offer.”
“I’m gonna hold you to it, Hotch. You need a life outside of this place.” She lifts her hand from the desk, places it briefly on his shoulder, and then heads for the door. “Have a good night.”
“You too,” he sighs at her retreating back. His feelings seem to be getting a little too hard to ignore. Their next case doesn’t come until the beginning of the next week. Sophie goes with Hotch to interview a victim’s mother in hopes that they can find the woman who is currently missing before the unsub kills her, but they come up with nothing, which is all they’ve come up with all day.
It’s clear Hotch is not pleased with their progress. He stands outside the car for a moment, looking like he’s trying to compose himself, and he takes off his jacket and throws it in the back seat.
“Damn it,” he hisses when they get back into the car, slamming his hands against the steering wheel; he scrubs a hand through his hair, unbuttons his cuffs, and rolls up his shirt sleeves a bit more angrily than seems strictly necessary. Sophie can’t keep her eyes off of his hands as he pushes the fabric up over his forearms—baring firm muscles covered in thick, dark hair—and when he throws the car into reverse and turns his head, placing his palm on the back of her headrest while he looks behind them, it gets her a little… hot.
It’s nothing new, of course. She has been feeling certain things, where Hotch is concerned—some emotional things, some physical things—for a little while now, if she’s being honest with herself. And she’s usually got the presence of mind to ignore it, or force it to the back of her thoughts, but he caught her off guard and she’s spiraling, now, imagining his hands on either side of her head, on her throat, holding open her thighs. His hands are close all the time, and visible, and the thought of reaching out to touch them is just so… tempting.
She must be making an oh, shit face, because his eyes become more inquisitive, his features a little softer. “What’s wrong?” She’s breathing heavily, and her cheeks feel warm, so she probably looks insane; she just shakes her head and exhales lightly, tries to calm herself.
“Nothing, it’s nothing.” He looks like he absolutely does not believe her, and she curses herself for the hundredth time for choosing to work around a bunch of profilers; they’re always thinking, analyzing, squinting their eyes at you and trying to figure you out, and it can get really irritating.
“I shouldn’t have reacted like that. I’m sorry if I upset you,” he says when he’s done squinting. She almost wants to laugh: he’s worried about upsetting her over a minor curse word while she’s literally hot under the collar for him; her chest feels like it’s on fire, always quick to flush when she’s aroused, and she’s thanking the gods that she chose a crew neck t-shirt today and not a v-neck, or the situation would probably be a lot more awkward.
“You didn’t upset me, Hotch, it’s okay,” she insists, and he breaks eye contact to focus on the road.
They ride in silence the rest of the way to the precinct, but he doesn’t move to exit the vehicle after he takes the keys out of the ignition. “I’m sorry again for my outburst. I shouldn’t have reacted that way, at least not with you in the car.” She sits back in her seat, because this is now about more than her embarrassing moment from before.
“You’re allowed to be human, you know,” she tells him, and when it looks like he’s about to argue, she shakes her head. “I know the bureau likes to discourage it, but being in tune with our emotions and other people’s emotions is what makes us the best at what we do. Don’t apologize for the things you feel.”
“I have to lead by example. It’s the best way to set clear expectations.”
“Telling us your expectations is the best way to set clear expectations. You don’t have to pretend to be emotionless. When you’re angry, be angry.” He frowns, looks at her like what she’s saying makes absolutely no sense.
“When I got angry just now, you were looking at me like you were seeing something about me for the first time. Like you were afraid of me.”
“I wasn’t afraid of you, it’s… it’s nothing. I’d really rather not get into it.” His face softens again, and he’s giving her a look that’s usually reserved for families of victims, which throws her off guard.
“I know that victims of abuse can sometimes have a negative reaction to shouting…”
She wants to groan. He’s being so kind, but if he doesn’t let this go...
“I’m not a victim of abuse, and you didn’t scare me.” He still looks guilty, and if that’s what he thinks happened, and that’s how she made him feel? Well she’s gotta come clean sooner than later. She takes a deep breath. “You turned me on, okay? You were angry, and you rolled up your sleeves, and then you put your hand on the back of my seat and it just… affected me. I can’t believe I’m saying this,” she mutters, covering her face with her hand. Hotch processes that, is still processing that when she removes her fingers from her face. He just looks at her, expression carefully blank.
“Oh. Uh, well. It’s natural; nothing you could have done about it.” She sighs at that, runs a hand through her hair.
“I know, I’m not ashamed of being aroused, or anything, but—we’re working, you’re my boss. The situation is awkward.” He looks at the steering wheel, like he can’t say what he’s going to say directly to her.
“You shouldn’t feel awkward. This kind of thing happens to all of us.” She arches her brow, smiles a little incredulously.
“You’re telling me you, Aaron Hotchner, have been inappropriately turned on on the job before?” He shrugs, nodding.
“Sure, yes.” Her brows rise further into her hairline, not believing him for a second; he sighs at her expression and shakes his head, huffing a laugh. “Okay. You were in my office last week, leaning over my shoulder to look at a case file, and I could smell your shampoo. It’s coconut, right?” She nods, not sure exactly where the story is going, but she feels herself getting hot again, against literally her every wish. “Well, it made me daydream of the vacation I so desperately want: a drink in my hand, sun on my skin, sand beneath my feet… making love late at night with a breeze blowing through the open patio door.”
“Oh.” Her heart is racing, beating so hard she’s almost surprised the sound doesn’t give her away, and her breathing is heavy, and she thinks he’s about to speak again when someone taps on his window abruptly. He rolls it down and Gideon sticks his head in.
“There’s another body, 482 West Hemlock; you two might as well stay in the car and meet us there.”
“Will do,” Hotch replies, and Gideon nods, steps away from the car. If he wonders why they were sitting there unbuckled for so long, he doesn't show it.
They back out of the parking lot sexy-incident-free, and they’ve gone a few blocks before he turns to look at her again. “Are we okay? I hope I didn’t say too much.”
“No, you didn't. We’re okay.” She smiles softly, actively thinking about anything but vacation sex with her boss.
(It’s surprisingly difficult.)
They process the crime scene, gaining some new insight about the unsub, and before long they’re ready for a profile. Sophie opts to ride back to the station with Prentiss under the guise of letting Gideon and Hotch iron out the details, but really she needs to be as far away from him as possible while working the case, or she’s going to lose her mind.
The rest of the day is uneventful, spent poring over pages and pages of cold case files trying to link other murders to the one that occurred earlier that day. They identify at least 15, and when they literally can’t go on for a minute longer, Hotch calls it and they discuss where to go to grab some dinner.
Italian wins, and Sophie gets a big, beautiful bowl of pasta primavera and a glass of white wine, and it’s almost enough to make her forget all about the day until Hotch catches her eye from across the table, smiling at something Morgan said, and her stomach clenches. She smiles lightly, trying to hide it, but she’s not sure she was able to save face in time. She spends the rest of the meal arguing semantics with Reid, something so perfectly normal that it shouldn’t raise anyone’s suspicions.
She feels eyes on her anyway, but she doesn’t look in their direction.
45 notes · View notes
theaviskullguy · 4 years ago
Text
Ink and Petals
@dapple-dualies-propaganda here's the au
Tattoo artist! Rider x Florist! Goggles
hope you enjoy!
---------
When was it not busy at Squid ink?
It was one of the top Tattoo Parlors in Inkopolis. and it was also on a pretty busy street. So, it got a lot of customers. Also the fact that one of the artists was a famous turfer.
Rider hadn't formerly retired, but he had eased out of playing Turf Wars. He had found other interests outside of the sport: Theater, art, reviewing old movies online... He still did Turf from time to time, albeit the adult league. He was too old for the more popular teen division.
So, he found a job as a tattoo artist. And he rather loved it. Not only did most of his friends consult him for tattoo advice (from where the best places are to good designs), but he also knew some gossip. One of his regulars had beef with her neighbor because he has a pet raccoon who keeps stealing her trash and Rider could NOT wait to hear more about this story.
Another thing was, well, Rider had seen some shit. From people covered head to toe in tats, to people eagerly wanting their first tattoo, even to shyer folk who wanted one to defy controlling parents or to mark something important.
None of that prepared Rider for the news he got when tattooing one of the customers. More specifically, Gloves.
You see, Gloves had been coming in for the past few days. They had wanted a pretty complicated butterfly tat, so for the last 3 days Rider has been exchanging stories with the resident enby about... pretty much anything.
This is how this exchange happened;
"So you remember Goggles, right?" Gloves asked.
Rider rolled his eyes. "What, you think I'd forget the guy who kept pulling down my pants?"
"Oh ha ha. Anyways, apparently he works at that flower shop now."
"...He what?"
"You heard me!" They said. "I went there yesterday to get something for a project and there was Goggles! He misses you, 'ya know!"
Rider was just. quiet. He hadn't talked to his crush in a while, contact dwindled when Rider stopped doing Turf as much. Never once did he think Goggles would miss him, but that was probably the self hatred talking.
"...I'll think about it." Was all Rider said.
The conversation continued like nothing happen; Gloves saying multiple cursed things and Rider sharing interesting stories he heard on his job. Time flew by and soon, the tattoo was done; a butterfly with the bi colors on one wing and the nb colors on the other. Rider was quite proud of it, and Gloves seemed to like it. They waved, and left the store, humming to themselves.
Rider looked at the clock. His shift ended in just a few minutes. He knew he had no other appointments that day, so he took to watching old recorded matches in his phone.
Those were over a decade ago. Yet he still remembered everything. His favorite part was still learning he won a match by such a small margin. It was just... amazing.
He sighed. Rider missed those battles. But he has to say, he missed his crush a bit more.
He clocked out, saying goodbye to the other employee-Cherry (business relationships were easy to maintain when your coworkers were your siblings), and headed towards the flower shop for more reasons than one.
Army had a performance the next day. And yeah, Rider knew it was romantic, but platonically giving your best friend flowers was always nice. Plus, he wanted an excuse to see Goggles again.
He looked into the shop-the blue inkling was nowhere to be seen, but then again neither was the front desk. So, Rider shrugged and stepped in.
The floral scent was strong, but not overwhelming. Plenty of blossoms lined the stands, along with tags of what the flowers were and what they meant.
Rider looked around, trying to remember which flowers Army liked again, when he heard a familiar, youthful voice.
"Hi! Need any help?"
The inkling turned around. Goggles had definitely changed since Rider last saw him; his tentacles were longer and in an actual bun, for once. His blue eyes still had that clarity, and he still had that goofy smile. Though he didn't seem to recognize Rider.
"Uhh... I'll be fine. I'm just trying to remember what flower my friend likes the most." He said, hoping his accent didn't give him away; there weren't many in Inkopolis with an Australian accent.
But, Goggles didn't seem to notice or care. "Oh, okay!"
Rider internally breathed a sigh of relief. That would have been awkward if Goggles recognized him.
He looked around the shop, before spotting a bouquet of lilies. He knew Army liked lilies. If they weren't his favorite flower, it'd be close enough.
Rider took a few of the bigger ones, and a few white roses for variety, and took them to the counter.
Goggles smiled. "This a special occasion?"
"Not exactly. Just, my friend's doing a performance for a musical and I wanted to get him something for it." Rider explained.
"What musical?" Gogs asked, arranging the flowers with a sheer, white ribbon tying them together.
"Hadestown. He got Eurydice."
"Oh! I went to go see it last night! Army's amazing at that role. He's your friend, right?"
Rider internally panicked, but calmed down after remembering he wasn't Army's only friend. "Yeah. We've been friends for a while now."
"Well, tell him I said hi!" He handed the bouquet to Rider. "On me, alright? It's for a friend anyways!"
Rider nodded. "Thanks, mate."
"You're welcome!"
------
A few weeks went by. Rider occasionally stopped at the flower shop and got flowers for...well, no real reason. He'd use them to add color to his house, or give them to friends. He just wanted an excuse to see Goggles.
He'd talked to the blue inkling a bit more, too. He'd gotten into the business since, well, he really liked flowers, and he wanted a job where he could just...relax! He still did Turf, of course, but the Adult league was more serious than the teen one, and he just wanted to have fun instead of be expected to take a game seriously.
He still didn't recognize Rider. The yellow-green inkling was a bit hurt by this, to be honest.
Though, it was a bit startling when Goggles actually walked into Rider's work. And Rider was assigned to give Goggles his first tattoo: A blue jay on his shoulder, taking off from a branch.
This time, it was Goggles' turn to ask questions as Rider worked.
"Sooo.... you've been coming into my shop for a while and I still don't know your name!" The blue inkling stated. "I mean, you can probably recognize me though!"
Rider shrugged. "Well, who can forget Goggles of the Idiot Blue team?"
Goggles giggled. "You do know me! I still don't know you!!"
"...I can assure you, we've met before that day I got Army flowers." Rider said.
"Ooh! Can I try and guess who you are?"
"Ehh, why not."
"Okay! Umm..." Goggles thought for a moment. "Clams facemask?"
Rider shook his head. "Nope."
"Inkfall?"
"Wrong."
"Eging Jr?"
"Not even close there."
"Stealth Goggles?"
"Getting closer, I'll give you that."
"....Rider?" Goggles asked.
Rider chuckled. "Took you long enough, idiot."
Goggles smiled wide. "I finally found you! Hi Riri!"
"Hey, Gogs. It's been a while."
"Yeah! I'm a bit surprised I didn't recognize you, since we were pretty close!" Goggles stated.
Rider shrugged. "Well, I'm not the most memorable person anyways."
"Riderrrrr don't say that!" Goggles said. "You're still really popular!"
"To some people, maybe. Not everyone."
There was a tense silence, other than the hum of the tattoo needle as it made the drawing.
"....So." Goggles started again. "How's life?"
"It's...well, better than it was." Rider said. "Got my own place, for one. Though it gets a bit lonely.. You?"
"I'm still living in an apartment. I really want a roommate!" Goggles proclaimed. "Maybe we could move in together?"
"..I'll think about it, Gogs. Though it might be fun being your roommate."
"Really? Thanks Rider!" Goggled smiled.
The conversation grew more casual. Rider enjoyed it; turns out Goggles had his fair share of gossip. It was kinda cool.
And as the next few days passed, Rider looked forward to each of those sessions. His crush seemed to go from "this person would be fun to date i think" to "hOLY MOTHER OF THE GODS IM IN L O V E", and it didn't help that during those meetings, Goggles had to be shirtless.
The days turned into weeks and months. Goggles moved in with Rider, and the two became incredibly close friends.
And, it came to a head near valentines day. Goggles' shop was very busy, as expected. Luckily, Squid Ink wasn't as much.
So, on his day off, just before Valentines, Rider headed to the flower shop and got a bouquet of roses. Cliché to confess on Valentines day, Rider knew, but he's a pining gay cut him some slack.
And Rider came home right as Goggles was leaving for his shift. So, that left Rider with a good 3 hours to practice his confession.
"Alright, Rider. This has to be CASUAL. 'Hey, I've liked you for over a decade but just now had the confidence to confess!' No, too creepy sounding. 'Yo, Gogs. I really like you and maybe we could go out to dinner sometimes?' ...Too casual."
....Yeah, this went on for a while.
Rider groaned, collapsing his his bed. "I wish feelings were fucking easier...I should just call Army."
So, he grabbed his phone and selected the contact, Veronica Sawyer Kinnie
"C'mon, Army... pick up."
And not one ring later, "Rider, what is it?"
"...I need romantic help. Please." Rider asked.
"Look, just because I'm married to Aloha, doesn't mean I know how I ended up here."
"Yeah, I kinda know that." He stated. "Still. I really need some help."
Army sighed. "Who is it? It's totally that one person with the raccoon story-"
"Actually, no. It's, um.... It's Goggles."
The octoling on the other end of the line could be heard sighing. "Still a morosexual I see."
"OI! You're the one who married a fuckin himbo!"
".....Touché. Still, there's a difference."
Rider huffed. "Just... give me some advice. I wanna confess to him tomorrow but I've got no idea how. I'm giving him roses, but like, there's gotta be something more I could do, y'know?"
"Have you tried asking Prince?" Army suggested. "He is the one with the obsession with rom coms and romance novels."
"This is his exam period, Army. I'm not about to potentially interrupt a cram session by asking for romantic advice!"
"Fair enough. I'd say...well, just rip off the band aid. Like... 'Hey, Goggles, I really like you and was wondering if you'd like to be my boyfriend.'"
"...Thanks, Arm. I'll, uh, give it a try."
-------
Rider couldn't sleep that well. Mainly out of anticipation.
He was gonna confess to his crush of...over a decade, at least. He didn't fuckin know what was gonna happen!
Like, would Goggles reciprocate? Would he hate Rider after it? WHAT THE FUCK WOULD HAPPEN-
He sighed. He needed to get his mind off this shit.
Rider looked over to his bedside clock: 5AM. 5 hours before his shift. 5 hours to get his shit together and plan for confessing to the world's cutest but also dumbest man later that night.
C'mon, Rider. Think. Army said to rip it off like a band aid, but Goggles might find that a little sudden and out of the blue. He could write a letter and leave it for Goggles when he went to his shift (The flower shop was closed on Valentines day). That would be a safe option.
Rider sat up, and got out a piece of paper and pencil, writing a note.
"Hey, Goggles.
There's something I've been wanting to tell you for a while. I really, really like you. As in, a crush.
I totally get it if you don't like me back, or think I'm weird, but hey, I was wondering if you'd wanna go out to dinner or something. Probably not tonight cause of Valentine's day but maybe tomorrow night or something.
-Rider"
Quickly, he folded it and wrote Goggles' name, putting a little heart sticker on it. It was corny, but hey, Rider had to use up those stickers somehow.
Rider attached it to the roses, and kept it on his desk.
And so, the morning went as normal. He had breakfast, got out of his pjs, put his hair up... the usual.
But as Rider left to go to work, he left the note and rose on the table, and left the house quickly.
During the day, he nearly forgotten all about it; He caught up with the gossip-Apparently the neighbor with the raccoon and the regular were now dating. So that was a nice little end to the story.
Squid Ink wasn't AS busy-probably because it was Valentines day, people were spending it with their lovers, not getting inked up (unless they made the appointment when single)
And it was near the end of Rider's shift when he heard his name mentioned. Probably someone making an appointment before he heard the familiar voice of Goggles going "Okay!!"
The blue inkling walked over to his station. "Hi Ridey!!"
"...Hey, Gogs. Getting another tat?" Rider asked, trying to keep his cool.
Goggles nodded. "Yeah!!!"
"A'ight anything specific in mind or-"
"Can I get just a simple quote one?"
Rider nodded. "Where do you want it?"
Goggles pulled down the collar of his shirt slightly. "Right here, please!"
"Okay. Just try to keep holding that down so I don't mess up.
-----
And so, tattoo conversations ensued.
The quote Goggles had wanted was a simple Pride one, that said "love is love". It was discreet, but a bit of it could be seen poking out if Goggles ever wore a v-neck.
"So, any plans for tonight?" Rider asked, trying to keep things subtle. Maybe Goggles hadn't read the note yet.
The blue inkling nodded. "Kinda! I had mental plans buuuuut nothing serious."
Rider raised an eyebrow. "Who with?"
"..I m-mean, I still have to ask him.." Goggles' face turned a shade of blue, and he averted his gaze.
"....Can I guess who he is?"
"If ya can!"
He smiled. "Does his name have an R in it?" Rider had a guess it was himself, but it wouldn't hurt to check.
Goggles nodded. "Yeah!"
"Got an accent?"
"Yep!!"
"Is he doing your tattoo?"
"....y-yeah?" Goggles sheepishly smiled. "I'm n-not that discreet, am I?"
Rider chuckled, but on the inside he was screeching. "Honestly? I had no clue myself."
"Really? I've been dropping the most obvious hints!"
"...Like what?" Rider asked, now a bit curious.
"Welllll I've been picking movies you like during movie night, I've made sure to get your drink on coffee runs, Oh! And I offered to cook dinner that one time!" Goggles stated.
"...Damn. I'm just oblivious then." The former dynamo user laughed, before turning off the needle. "There. It's all done." Rider held up a mirror for the blue boy.
Goggles' face lit up. "Whoa! It looks amazing!!! Thanks Riri!"
Rider smiled. "You're welcome. Now, uh, ...did you read my note?"
"..Y-yeah, I did. And, um...I like you too Rider!!" The blue man pressed a small, quick kiss to Rider's cheek.
Rider blushed. "S-so, you'll let me t-take you out?"
Goggles nodded. "Yeah!!!"
"I...thanks, Gogs."
"You're welcome Riri!!!"
----------
aAAAAA RUSHED END
but like. hope yall enjoy!
48 notes · View notes
drabbles-mc · 4 years ago
Text
My Plus-One (Part 1)
EZ Reyes x Reader
Request by the lovely @ly--canthrope​:  The reader has a large ball/award ceremony/something fancy to attend. Her and Ez have been in each other's lives for years and they make a promise that each year, if there is an event to go to, they would go together. Its been a few years since this tradition has played out, and it is brought up in conversation (maybe talking about their plans for that week, what they are doing and busy with etc) and Ez goes, “I am busy, I am going with you to your event” and he is a pure gentlemen (You can decide thing like; are they bordering that blurred line where they are really affectionate with one another and time frame like, he could be at uni still and travels to go see her just for this event because its special to her)
Warnings: none. just some good old pining 🥺🥺
Word Count: 3.4k 
A/N: I loved writing this so much wtf. I switched up the timing of it a little bit but I think it worked out well! I got a little carried away with it (hence the 3.4k lmao) but I just love EZ and I’m a sucker for friendships with feelings. Please enjoy! (requests are always open)
EZ Tag: @noz4a2​ (if you wanna be added just shoot me a message!)
(Part 2)
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You wandered around your small studio apartment, phone held loosely in your hand while you video-chatted with EZ. Both of you had long since given up on making sure that you held the camera at flattering angles. Besides, you were trying to make dinner and not even EZ could stop you from getting food.
“So glad I get to have this conversation with half of your face,” he laughed, shaking his head.
You held the phone up so you could get a better look at him—he was sitting at the table in his trailer, phone propped up as he typed away on his laptop. “This better?” you laughed as you tried to set it up on your counter so he could see more of your face.
“Much,” he smiled, “I miss you.”
You glanced over at him as you turned the stove on, “Miss you too, EZ.”
“So,” you could hear the clicking of his keyboard in the background, “what’re your plans for the week?”
“Meh, not a whole lot going on. I do, though, have a gala for work this Saturday.”
“Oh?” he raised his eyebrows, “Sounds fancy.”
You chuckled, nodding as you waited for your water to boil, “Yea, kinda. I was thinking,” you looked at him through the lens of your phone, “If you aren’t busy, and if you really miss me, you could maybe come and be my date. It’s all paid for and everything already. All you’d have to do is show up and be my arm-candy,” you batted your eyelashes.
“Ah, like the good old days.”
“C’mon, it’s been a while since one of us had to drag the other to an event that was way above our paygrade.”
“What’re you talking about? You just drove out to visit me last year for an event.”
You rolled your eyes, “Your patch-in party is not the same as a fundraising gala, Ezekiel. Although,” you laughed, “it was undoubtedly more fun than this is going to be.”
“Giving me the hard sell, Y/N,” he laughed and shook his head.
“If you’re too busy with club shit, I get it. I know I didn’t really give you much of a heads-up.”
“Well…” he dragged out the word, milking every letter for all it was worth, “I am gonna be busy.”
“Fuck,” you sighed, “I get it, I do. Sorry I always protcrastin—”
“Let me finish,” he smiled, “I’m gonna be busy with you, so I’ll let the guys know that my weekend is booked.”
You laughed, clapping your hands excitedly, “Yay! Oh, I can’t wait to see you. I feel like it’s been forever.”
“Because it has,” he waited for you to look back to your phone, “When was the last time you came back home to SanPa?”
You sighed, shaking your head, “God, like, six months maybe? Maybe a little more? Work has just been nuts, you know?”
“You think they’re gonna relocate you back closer to home any time soon?”
You shrugged, “Not sure. I hope so, though. I miss bugging you all the time in person not just by blowing up your phone.”
“Well, you’ll get to bug me in person all weekend. Text me your address and anything else I should know. I can probably come out Friday night if that works for you?”
You nodded, “Yea, that’s fine by me. You can crash here if you want but I gotta warn you, my place is wicked small.”
“I’m currently living in a trailer, Y/N,” he chuckled, “I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
“Alright,” your heart felt so much lighter knowing that he was going to be able to go with you—you hated going to these kinds of things by yourself, “I’ll text you all the details and stuff later this week.”
“Sounds good. Go back to making your gourmet ramen over there,” he chuckled, “I’ll see you soon. Love you.”
“Love you too, EZ,” you waved goodbye before hanging up the call. You let out a sigh of relief as you tucked your phone back into your pocket.
The week seemed to fly by. Any time that you felt yourself getting stressed, or overwhelmed, or homesick, you remembered that you were going to be able to spend the whole weekend with your best friend. It made the rest of your problems seem so insignificant. Every night you’d come home and you’d see your dress hanging against the door of your closet, begging to be worn. You’d smile and run your fingers along the fabric whenever you’d walk by it. Back when you were in high school and college, the two of you went to everything together. Each prom, award ceremony, induction ceremony, friends’ weddings, you name it, it was the two of you showing up together no matter what. You had your own unspoken language, knowing when the other was ready to tap out and call it a night. Sometimes to keep things interesting you’d try to sneak out unseen, other times one of you would come up with any excuse you could so that you could leave early without anyone giving you a hard time about it. It’d been a few years since either of you had an excuse to get dressed up together.
You were finishing cleaning up your apartment when you felt your phone going off in your pocket. You glanced down and smiled at the sigh of EZ’s name on the screen, “Hey, what’s up? Everything okay?”
“Yea. I think,” he chuckled, “I think I’m outside the right building? Everything looks the same here.”
You laughed as you walked over and peeked out your window. Sure enough, you saw him sitting, leaning against his bike, “I see you. I’ll be right down,” you hung up and made sure to close your closet door before heading downstairs to greet him.
You came barreling out the front door of your apartment building, tackling him in a hug. He laughed, sweeping you up off of your feet and swinging you around as he held you tight to him. You wrapped your legs around his waist, forcing him to hold you for a few moments. It had been way too long since you last saw him in person.
“I’ve missed you,” you mumbled against his neck.
“I’ve missed you too.”
You finally let go, dropping your feet back to the ground. You helped EZ get his two bags and had him follow you up the stairs to your apartment. You kept apologizing in advance for the fact that all you had was a studio, so there wasn’t going to be a lot of room, and there was no grand tour to give him. He smiled and shook his head, constantly telling you that he didn’t care.
You opened the door, dropping one of his bags next to the couch, “This is,” you chuckled, “my beautiful kingdom.”
EZ smiled as he looked around your apartment. It was a studio, so there wasn’t a whole lot of space, but it was all modern and renovated. He was impressed by how much you had managed to utilize the space. He also liked being able to see how you chose to decorate a space that was completely your own. The last time he got to visit you, you had been sharing an apartment with a roommate and the two of you had completely opposite tastes in décor. He liked the vibe you had created—a lot of bright, happy colors. He recognized some of the art on the walls as things you had commissioned your friends to make for you because you liked having things that were one-of-a-kind.
“This is a pretty great spot, Y/N.”
You smiled, “Thanks. It’s home for now,” you sighed, “I have no guest room to offer you, but the couch does pull out so you won’t be too crammed for the next couple nights.”
He chuckled, nodding, “I appreciate it.”
“You eat before you left?”
He nodded, “Yea I’m all set. Didn’t want to be taking any of your ramen from you.”
You gave him a playful slap to the arm, “So considerate.”
The two of you spent the night sitting on the couch together catching up, a show on the television just for background noise. It crept late into the night before the exhaustion started to show on EZ’s face. He had had a long day but he was enjoying the fact that he was actually face-to-face with you for the first time in months.
“I’ll let you get some sleep,” you smiled as you stood up off the couch, “If you’re up for it in the morning there’s a really good coffee spot a few blocks from here.”
He smiled, nodding, “Sounds good.”
“Bathroom is right through there if you wanna change. I’ll see you in the morning,” you leaned in and gave him a hug that you dragged out to last a little longer than you usually would, “Goodnight.”
The morning and afternoon flew right by, and before you knew it the two of you were getting ready for the gala. You chastised EZ for leaving his dress clothes in his bags for so long. All these years and he still hadn’t figured out that they needed to hang to cut down on wrinkles. You ironed out his slacks and shirt, impressed by the fact that he had also brought a suit jacket. It was an all-black ensemble that you knew would make your coworkers drool over him, and you were going to soak up every second of that.
You left the bathroom open for him to get changed as you retreated to the semi-privacy of the space that passed for your bedroom. You shimmied into your dress, pulling the straps up onto your shoulders. You zipped it up as much as you could without risking ripping any of the stitching, thankful that you had EZ to help you with it the rest of the way. You looked at yourself in the mirror and smiled, still loving the dress as much as you had the day you tried it on in the store.
You had settled on a deep burgundy dress. It was a little low-cut, but not so much that you felt overly exposed. It was floor length, and had a slit up to just below your hip that you could only see once you started walking. You had picked up some simple jewelry—a few gold bangles and a long necklace that draped down your chest. Deciding to pull the whole look together with your favorite pair of black heels. A little height boost when you were walking with EZ never hurt.
“Hey, EZ? Can you come finish zipping me up?”
You heard the sounds of his dress shoes on the hardwood. He poked his head around the half-wall that separated your bed from the rest of your apartment. His eyes grew wide as he took in the sight of you. He cleared his throat, trying to get his thoughts in order as he remembered the actual reason you had called him over.
You pulled your hair off to the side and turned so your back was to him, thankful that it gave the added benefit of hiding the giant grin on your face. He tried to be as gentle as possible, the rough pads of his fingers grazing lightly against your back as he pulled the zipper up the last of the way.
“You look amazing, Y/N,” he smiled at you.
“Yea, we clean up alright, don’t we?” you patted his chest, practically salivating over the sight of him in dress clothes for the first time in years. You reached and undid the top button of his shirt, allowing a little bit of his collarbone to be exposed.
“Feeling a little risqué tonight?” he chuckled.
“Who knows when we’re going to get to do this again?” you smiled, “Might as well make the most of it.”
“I was gonna offer to take you on the bike,” he laughed as he looked you up and down for the hundredth time in two minutes, “But I don’t think that dress would make it.”
You nodded, “You’re right. We’ll take my car,” you walked over and grabbed the small clutch that you had picked up just for this occasion, pulling your keys out of it, “You ready?”
“I think so,” he patted his pockets down to make sure that he still had his phone and wallet, “You gonna give me the dirt on all your coworkers on the ride over?”
“Of course,” you smiled as you ushered him out the door, locking it behind the two of you.
You parked the car at the venue and EZ all but leapt out of the car to come and open your door for you. You chuckled as he held his hand out to help you step out onto the pavement. He hadn’t even wanted you to be the one to drive there, but you insisted since he knew nothing about the area.
He gently wrapped his arm around your waist as the two of you walked into the venue. You knew that your coworkers weren’t expecting you to show up with a plus-one. You had been quite clear about the fact that you weren’t dating anyone, and that no one at your job interested you enough to break your, “I don’t date coworkers” rule. There were quite a few lax jaws as the two of you strolled into the event room. Anyone else might have been nervous, but EZ saw how much you loved it and he was eating up every second of it.
You brought him around and introduced him to everyone, reveling in the fact that his arm never left your waist. After a handful of introductions, you dragged him across the room to introduce you to your boss.
“Cynthia,” you smiled wide, “This is my friend Ezekiel. Ezekiel, this is my boss Cynthia.”
“Please, call me Cindy,” she held out her hand, eyes slowly raking over the man you had put in front of her, not that you could blame her, “It’s nice to meet you, Ezekiel. I have to admit, Y/N here is a bit of an enigma around the office,” she turned her attention to you, “You look amazing, by the way.”
You smiled, “Thank you, so do you. A little more than business casual, huh?”
She laughed, nodding, “That’s for sure,” she paused, “Also, don’t forget, it’s open bar. So help yourselves.”
You tapped your fingers together mischievously, “Ah, don’t mind if I do.”
“I’ll make sure to catch up with you two later,” she smiled at EZ, “It was nice to meet you, Ezekiel.”
“Nice to meet you too,” he nodded politely before she walked away, swept up in a sea of other conversations.
“Remind me to keep a close eye on you around her,” you laughed, “Don’t want her snatching you up.”
The night wore on, and you were impressed with how easily EZ blended into the crowd with everyone from work. He made his way through a lot of small talk, a lot of, “So how do you know Y/N?” and other questions of the sort. The whole night he couldn’t help but to keep looking over at you, making sure that he had physical contact with you in one way or another. You couldn’t pretend that you minded it.
By your fourth glass of wine EZ had managed to get your keys from you, promising that he would drive the both of you back to your apartment safely and responsibly. His largest obstacle of the evening was hiding your bidding number sign from you so you didn’t spend money that you didn’t have.
“You’re the one who told me,” he said quietly in your ear, trying to suppress a laugh, “that your financial contribution was the, and I quote, buttload of money you paid for our tickets here.”
You huffed, trying and failing to give him a displeased expression, “But I wanna feel like a fancy rich person, EZ.”
He smiled at you, resting his hand on your thigh, “You’re certainly dressed like one, Y/N, so for tonight that’ll have to be enough. And besides, I’m your personal chauffer, so it doesn’t get more fancy rich person than that.”
You smirked over at him, placing your hand on top of his and interlocking your fingers, “I’m really glad that you’re here.”
He squeezed your fingers lightly, “Yea, me too.”
The evening was beginning to wind down, and EZ could see it on your face that if he didn’t get you out soon, you were going to start causing trouble. It was fine when the two of you were out among people you didn’t know, but he didn’t think that he’d be a very good friend if he let you start drunkenly stirring the pot with your coworkers. He convinced you to start saying your goodbyes, his hand placed on the small of your back as the two of you maneuvered through the small crowds of people in the event space.
You were walking through the parking garage, your hand entwined with his as you swung your arms back and forth, “What a night!”
EZ chuckled, spinning you carefully so you didn’t fall over, but still got to enjoy the flow of your dress when you spun and moved, “I’m honored I got the invite.”
“You sure you’re good to drive?”
He laughed, nodding, “I’m sure. Not like you could take over for me anyway.”
He helped you into the passenger seat before going around and getting in, sliding the seat back so he could actually fit. He chuckled as he saw you out of the corner of his eye, peeling your shoes off before you even left the parking garage. The whole drive home you went on and on about how much your coworkers loved him, you could just tell. He smiled and nodded, letting one hand stray and come to rest on your thigh.
He parked outside your apartment building and you looked over at him with your biggest puppy-dog eyes, “Ezekiel, I don’t wanna put my shoes back on. Will you carry me upstairs?”
He laughed and nodded, “Yes, but only because tonight you’re a fancy rich lady.”
“You’re so good to me. I love you,” you smiled over at him.
He felt his heart beating harder inside his chest, “I love you too.”
He carried you bridal style up the stairs with such ease. You loved every moment of it. He held onto you as you unlocked the door, still wrapped up in his arms. You giggled into his neck as he kicked the door shut behind you and turned the deadbolt. He carried you to your bed, setting you down gently. You smiled up at him from your mattress, reaching out and taking his hand in your own.
“I’ve missed you so much, EZ.”
He traced his thumb over your knuckles, “Yea, I’ve missed you too.”
Before he could walk out to collapse on the couch you asked him, “Can you help me with my dress?”
He swallowed hard, nodding, “Yea, of course, whatever you need.”
You pulled your hair off to the side again so he could pull the zipper down. If you didn’t know any better, you’d say that there was a slight trembling to his hands as he fumbled with the zipper, pulling it down slowly. He took a deep breath as he gently pushed the straps down off your shoulders. You hummed in approval as you leaned back against him, melting into him as he wrapped his arms around your waist. There were a few beats of silence before you felt him lightly press his lips against the bare skin of your shoulder, gently kissing the soft skin there.
Your breath caught in your throat and it took you a second to get the words out, “You could, um,” you were thankful that you weren’t facing him so he couldn’t see the nervousness on your face, “you could stay in my bed tonight…if you wanted. It’s probably…you know…more comfortable than the couch.”
His lips were still pressed against your shoulder and you could feel his laughter vibrate against your skin, “Yea? You sure?”
You turned around so you were facing him. He leaned in, resting his forehead against yours. He was holding you close enough that you were certain that he could feel your heart palpitating, “Yea. I’m not ready to give up your company yet.”
He kissed your forehead, “Let’s get to bed then.”
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sheerfreesia007 · 3 years ago
Text
Finding Love In Legacy OaIs pt. 12
Title: Finding Love In Legacy Oaks pt. 12
Fandom: Kingsman
Pairing: Agent Whiskey x Reader
Author: @sheerfreesia007​
Words: 8,768
Warnings: Fluff, mention of injury, mention of cheating, mention of mental & physical abuse
Permanent Tag List: @paintballkid711, @fioccodineveautunnale, @phoenixhalliwell, @linkpk88, @weirdowithnobeardo, @athalien
Author Notes: I’ve used the Old Farmer’s Almanac for the flower meanings since there are so many different cultures that have different meanings for the flowers. (I used a different meaning for Daisies though because I needed a get well soon flower) And I love Es calling Jack out on upping his flower game. “Tough nuggets” came from teaching myself and my husband not to curse in front of our son when he was younger, we came up with tough nuggets and the kid even started to say it which is super cute! We learn about the ex-husband, dun dun duuunnnn. He’s another piece of work just like Cynthia.
Gif Credit: Google
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Stepping on the brake slowly Jack came to a stop at the guard shack as Jeremy stepped out of it early on Saturday morning with a slightly confused smile on his face. Jack lowered the volume on his radio and rolled down the driver’s side window so he would be able to talk to Jeremy as the man leaned against the doorframe of the shack.
“I thought you weren’t supposed to be home until tomorrow afternoon?” Jeremy asked curiously about the obvious change of plans. Jack nodded his head before looking over at him.
“Work wrapped up earlier and I wanted to surprise the girls. How’re they doing?” Jack replied with a question of his own. Jeremy smiled softly at Jack’s question before sighing softly, he crossed his arms over his chest and settled against the doorframe more securely.
“Well Es is still upset about Bunny breaking her ankle. Still feeling guilty that it’s her fault even though Bunny and I have told her that it’s not. Bunny’s been trying to keep her occupied and busy to keep her mind off of it. But Bunny’s drained, between the pain of her ankle and having to do things while on crutches it’s hard for her. Much harder than she was expecting I think. But you know Bunny she’s gonna put a brave face on and not show you how she’s really feeling.” Jeremy explained conversationally and Jack nodded along to his words.
“But Bunny’s big on checking in on everyone else and making sure that they’re all okay, who checks in on her?” Jack asked knowingly and Jeremy nodded his head in agreement.
“Well Penny Rogers checks in on her every once in a while and then I’ll call her at least once a week to catch up. But I don’t think Bunny has anyone who checks on her every day.” Jeremy said truthfully and Jack sat back in his seat for a moment silently contemplating that info.
“Her siblings don’t reach out to her? Or her parents?” he asked concerned and Jeremy shrugged his shoulders.
“Every once in a while but not all the time. Sometimes it’ll be months between her siblings calling her. And I think her parents call her about once a week. Her sister keeps up with her more because of her nephew but again I think it’s once a week. So she’s got people who check in but not every day.” Jeremy advised. Jack nodded his head at his words and sat there wondering if Bunny would think it weird if he began to check on her every morning or afternoon.
“Okay, well I know she’s probably gonna give me shit for it but I’ll help her out with anything that she needs done.” Jack said with a soft smirk and Jeremy scoffed before laughing knowingly.
“Oh yeah she’ll give you shit for it but I’m pretty sure you’re the right guy to put her in her place and let her know what’s what.” Jeremy said with an ecstatic glint in his eyes. Jack laughed loudly at Jeremy’s words and shook his head at the thought that he’d have to put Bunny in her place.
“Hey anyway, here I got this for you on the way here. In thanks for helping Bunny and Es out when that all went down.” Jack said as he turned to his passenger side seat and pulled out a plain bagel, some butter and cream cheese packets, as well as a large coffee and the sugar and milk containers. Handing it over to Jeremy through the window Jack smiled softly at the pleasantly shocked face of Jeremy.
“Oh wow! Thanks man, this is great.” Jeremy said in thanks as he took the food and drink from Jack.
“Yeah figured I’d pick ya up somethin’ since I stopped there for breakfast and just to say thanks and I appreciate you helping Es and Bunny.” Jack said with a shrug of his shoulders when Jeremy came back to lean against the doorframe with a soft smirk on his face.
“You care a lot about Bunny don’t you?” Jeremy asked knowingly and Jack instantly felt as if Jeremy was interrogating him. Jack looked over at Jeremy quickly who was still smirking at him. Feeling his anxiety rise slightly Jack tried to find a way to not divulge to Jeremy just how much he liked Bunny.
“Well yeah, I mean she’s been a huge help to me with Esme ever since we moved here. And she’s always so nice to everyone around here. How can I not like her?” Jack reasoned unassured as he watched Jeremy’s smirk widen on his face.
“Uh-huh, but that’s not what I’m talking about. And I think you know that.” Jeremy said cryptically and Jack knew that he had been caught out by the man standing before him. “You don’t have to on guard with me man. I’m loving that you two are feeling something out together. I think it’d be good for the two of you. I mean I don’t know your story but if you two wind up together it’d probably be great for Bunny.” Jeremy told Jack still sounding cryptic and Jack sat there wondering what he meant about it being good for Bunny to be with him. Jack also felt a seed of hope settle in his chest and he took in a deep breath feeling it start to pulse.
“I’m still trying to figure it out what’s going on between us.” Jack blurted out truthfully and looked over at Jeremy shocked. The man was nodding his head knowingly before he smiled softly down at the ground.
“There’s nothing wrong with that.” He admitted. “Plus I don’t think Bunny’s there quite yet either. You gotta give her a little bit of time to warm up to a romantic relationship. She’s been hurt really bad by her ex-husband, so she’s cautious and doesn’t trust easily when it comes to that type of relationship. So if you’re still figuring it out just know that so is she.” Jeremy advised softly and Jack got the feeling that Jeremy knew everything about Bunny’s past with her ex. He wondered silently why Jeremy knew everything and how the two had bonded over something like that to become such close friends.
“Thanks.” Jack said nodding his head as Jeremy cleared his throat softly and shuffled his feet underneath him.
“Just know that if you hurt her I’m coming after you and then I’d let Bunny adopt Esme once you’re taken care of.” Jeremy said nonchalantly as he shrugged his shoulders and stood to his full height. Jack burst out laughing at that and slid his car into drive.
“Well at least Esme would be well cared for that’s all I’d want.” Jack said jovially and Jeremy shook his head laughing at Jack. Jeremy then waved at him as he pressed the button to raise the gate at the entrance.
“Alright I’ll see you later. Tell Bunny I’ll call her before I leave work.” Jeremy said in farewell and Jack nodded as he slowly eased his car through the gate after waving at Jeremy.
*-*-*-*
Parking his car in the driveway to his house Jack stepped out of the car and stood next to it for a moment gazing around the quiet morning in the neighborhood. It was still too early for anyone to be up and about as the sun was just rising from the horizon. He smiled softly as he heard birds chirping before he saw they darting and dashing through the air. He relished in these quiet moments where he was able to reflect and just take in his surroundings as time slowly creeped by.
Shaking his head softly still smiling he moved to the passenger side of the car and opened the door so he could lean inside and pull out the bag of bagels and condiments, as well as the large bouquet of flowers he had ordered. Standing tall once more he nudged the car door shut with his hip before turning and walking across the street to Bunny’s house. Jack was reminded once again of the quiet morning as the only sound was the heel of his cowboy boots landing on the pavement of the street. It almost made him feel lonely as he listened to his footsteps, but then he heard the soft music playing as he neared Bunny’s house and he smiled as he saw the front windows were opened and he could hear Esme calling out to Bunny from somewhere inside the house.
Grinning widely he knocked on the front door as he came to stand before it. There was a loud call from inside and Jack heard running footsteps from the other side of the door. He chuckled softly when he saw the curtain on the side window shift and fall back across the window as a loud squeal was heard.
“Daddy!” Esme shouted loudly as she grinned up at him happily. Jack set the bag of bagels and the bouquet on the ground before kneeling down and opening his arms up to her. She quickly dashed forward and wrapped her small arms around his neck tightly as her small body collided with his. Jack wrapped his arms around her quickly and held her to him tightly.
“I missed you peanut.” He said fondly into her wild hair and she giggled softly.
“I missed you too. Love you lots like jelly tots.” She said softly and Jack felt his heart melt instantaneously as his arms tightened around her slightly more.
“Love you lots like jelly tots.” He whispered back to her before pressing a soft kiss to her temple. Esme took a step back and looked down at the flowers and bag of bagels before grinning up at him.
“Good thing you bought breakfast.” Esme said knowingly and Jack tilted his head to the side confused.
“Why?” he asked curiously and Esme hooked her thumb over her shoulder to the inside of the house.
“Bunny didn’t get a lot of sleep and she’s not used to her crutches yet.” Esme explained softly and Jack nodded his head in understanding. Just then there was the loud sound of crutches hitting the floor and a loud hiss of words that couldn’t be made out. Jack quickly grabbed the bagels and flowers before ushering Esme inside so he could see if Bunny was alright.
“Es, who was at the door?” came the called out question and Jack turned the corner to see Bunny leaning back against the kitchen island grimacing as she rested one of her crutches against the front of her body. Jack stood there in awe as he stared at an adorably bedraggled Bunny. She was dressed in an oversized long black sleep shirt that had the words ‘Amazing in bed, I could sleep for days’ on the front in white lettering. Her hair was piled up high on her head in a messy bun and she had a bunch of hair falling out of it around her face. Her right foot was in a large clunky white cast and the other was barefoot. Her left wrist was wrapped tightly in a bandage as she clenched and unclenched her fist. Jack’s eyes danced down her body and felt a warmth settle in his stomach as he imagined waking up to her like this every day. His eyes lingered on the lettering on her shirt as she finally looked up at him and he felt desire start to bloom inside him as he saw her eyes widen at seeing him standing in her kitchen doorway. “Jack!” she said shocked before he watched her cheeks flush with a pretty pink color as she tried to hurriedly move from her position over to him. Once more he dropped everything he was holding as he saw her try to twist and began to fall forward when her crutches escaped her hold.
Easily catching her around the waist Jack held her close to his body and gazed down at her trying to see if she had hurt herself with her movement. She grimaced softly with her eyes closed before opening them and looking up at him. He smiled softly at her and her cheeks seemed to flush once again.
“Second time you’d had to the catch me.” She said with embarrassment tinging her tone of voice as she grimaced softly up at him.
“I’ll always be here to catch you.” He promised softly and watched as her eyes sparkled with appreciation of his words. “Are you okay?” he asked as he began to straighten her posture against him. He bit his tongue harshly when he felt her soft body lean into him and he felt that she wasn’t wearing a bra under her shirt. Arousal spiked inside him and he felt the warmth from earlier begin to boil under his skin. His hands came to rest at the base of her lower back on her hip bones and the urge to drag her body into his was almost too great for his will power. But he managed to hold back on his desires as he watched her nod her head at his question.
“Yeah just a little clumsy with the crutches still.” She said a little dismissively.
“Well you did only get them yesterday Bunny.” Esme said self-assuredly and Jack was instantly reminded that it wasn’t just him and Bunny in the house. He turned his head to watch Esme set the bag of bagels and flowers on the kitchen island as she hopped up onto the stool at the island. Jack felt Bunny begin to pull away and he regretfully let her go as she took a step towards the kitchen island and grabbed her crutches again. “You still have to get used to them.” Esme said before she began pulling out bagels and the different cream cheese that Jack picked up.
“Yeah, I know. I’m just feeling sorry for myself.” Bunny said a little dejectedly and Esme looked at her with a sure confident look making Jack bite his tongue once more waiting for the gem that was going to pop out of his little girl’s mouth.
“Tough nuggets.” Esme scoffed and Bunny’s head whipped to her as she burst out with shocked laughter.
“Excuse me?” Bunny asked amused and Jack grinned as Esme squared her shoulders.
“Tough nuggets. You shouldn’t feel sorry for yourself.” Esme said assuredly and Bunny laughed happily at Esme’s words.
“Alright, alright.” Bunny said shaking her head as she held her hands up in faux surrender to Esme. “Jack these are beautiful.” Bunny said as she took hold of the bouquet and lifted it to her face to take a whiff of the pretty flowers.
“Yeah Daddy! They’re really big!” Esme said eyeing the flowers. “Bigger than the last ones.” Esme said as her eyes darted over to Jack who instantly felt like an ass for only buying grocery flowers the last time for Bunny.
Jack stood there silently watching as Bunny laughed amused as Esme called him out on his flower buying skills before she moved to the sink and awkwardly began to try and bend over to get a vase from under the sink. Jack quickly moved to grab one of the larger vases to hold the flowers. Bunny grimaced slightly and Jack knew she was feeling frustrated with needing his help so quickly. He nudged her hip with his and she looked up at him and he smirked down at her before speaking.
“Tough nuggets.” He said and her eyes widened slightly before she burst out into laughter.
“I’m gonna be hearing that an awful lot from you two aren’t I?” she asked amused and Jack grinned before nodding.
“Yep.” Esme said from behind them making Jack and Bunny burst out into laughter at her quick wit.
“Alright let me get the flowers and I’ll cut them.” Bunny said as she hobbled over to the island before leaning the crutches on the counter before moving back to the sink with the flowers in her hands. “They’re beautiful by the way. Thank you so much.” Bunny said as she set the bouquet on the counter and pulled out a pair of scissors from the drawer.
“I figured they’d brighten up your mood after breaking your ankle.” Jack said smiling at Bunny who nodded her head. “How are you holding up by the way?” he asked watching as she cut open the brown paper package and string tied around the flowers.
“Last night was rough. In a lot of pain. Had to sleep down here in the second guest bedroom last night. Wasn’t able to get up the stairs to the bedroom.” Bunny relayed to him and Jack nodded along to her explanation.
“Do you need me to move anything from upstairs down here for you? It’d probably be easier for you if you stayed down here until you got used to the cast more. Don’t want you to take a tumble down them stairs.” He said contemplatively as he looked over his shoulder at the stairs that were just outside the kitchen doorway.
“I’d have to check the bedroom to know what I’d need. I do have to go out shopping though. Get some baggy pants or shorts to be able to get them over my cast.” Bunny said as she pulled out two purple hydrangeas from the bouquet. Jack watched silently with baited breath as Bunny peered at the flowers in thought before snipping the end of it and handed it to him to place in the vase.
This past mission with Tequila had been an interesting one. They had an intel agent on the inside of a religious cult who was deep undercover and hadn’t been able to communicate with them in the traditional ways so they had to get creative. When Jack and Tequila had first visited the religious cult Jack had noticed all the large flower arrangements that filled the main building on the compound where the agent lived. He and Tequila had then put together a plan to communicate with the agent through flowers by slipping a flower of significance to reflect if it was safe to meet with them or not to relay the information they needed. Jack had done a lot of research on the language of flowers and their meanings. Which was why he had decided to order a special bouquet for Bunny.
As Jack placed the hydrangea in the vase he silently thought of what the flower meant, gratitude. He waited patiently as Bunny handed him the next bunch of flowers he had chosen. When she handed him a bunch of sunflowers he smiled down at the large flowers, adoration. Jack wondered silently if Bunny knew what each flower meant or if she just took the flowers at face value. The next bunch she passed over to him were some fern and basil leaves that he had asked the flower store clerk for specifically, fascination and good wishes were the respectful meanings of those two. Jack had to admit he had a lot of fun creating Bunny’s bouquet and felt like a secret that he had specifically created this bouquet for her, he was a little giddy that she might not know what he was saying with the flowers.
White daisies were the next flowers that she handed to him and he smiled down at the delicate looking flowers in his hand, get well soon. Jack looked over and saw that Bunny was looking down at the next bunch of flowers which were coral peonies. Jack sucked in a breath because this flower had numerous meanings to it but he was going for good fortune and compassion when he had chosen it. Bunny looked up at him with lightly pink dusted cheeks as she handed him the flowers, her reaction to the flowers making Jack wonder if she did know what the flowers symbolized. Jack’s eyes landed on the next two flowers and he felt his body tense with anticipation of Bunny noticing them. Two white gardenia flowers sat on the brown paper and as Bunny picked them up in her hands Jack avidly watched her reaction. She stood there staring down at the flowers as her cheeks heated up to a deep red color and her mouth parted softly. Her head snapped up to look at him and Jack felt like he had just been gut punched as her eyes were dilated and her breaths were coming out in soft pants. Secret love or you’re lovely was the symbolism for these flowers and while Jack was still figuring out how deep his feelings were for Bunny he had a feeling that it might easily morph into the first meaning.
“Jack.” She said softly and he smiled fondly at her waiting for her to say what she was thinking. “Do you know the language of flower?” she asked with her eyebrows slightly furrowed and he nodded his head grinning softly as her cheeks heated even more. “Oh.” She said in a soft shell shocked voice. Her eyes darted down to the flowers in her hands before looking up at him. “I-“ she began to say something and Jack rested his hands on top of hers.
“Right now I’m saying I think you’re absolutely lovely. And something is developing between us, but I’d like to take it slow if that’s alright with you. I’m still not sure what exactly I’m feeling and it’s been two years since Maria. I’d like to be close friends first before we explore this other side that I think is forming between us.” He said softly so that Esme didn’t overhear him. Bunny looked up at him with soft tender eyes and he could see the uncertainty swirling in her orbs but there was also longing at the edges of her eyes. Jack took in a relieved breath when he watched Bunny nod her head at his words.
“I’d love that.” She said softly and Jack felt like his heart just exploded in his chest with happiness. He nodded his head as he took the flowers from her hands and placed them in the middle of the bouquet. Bunny’s bright smile spread across her face and Jack watched as her eyes looked happily on the flower arrangement that he had created just for her.
*-*-*-*
“Alright so let’s talk about how we’re going to help you out with things you need done.” Jack said as he stood from the kitchen table and picked up the plates that they had used for breakfast.
“Jack you don’t have to do that.” Bunny protested as she began to ease herself out of her chair. Jack whirled around on his feet and pointed his finger at her.
“Sit. Down.” He commanded suddenly and Bunny stopped short in her ascent from her chair to stare at him with wide shocked eyes. She slowly lowered herself back into her seat and watched him silently in shock. “I got this. I think I can handle a few dishes.” He promised her.
“But Jack I’m not helpless.” Bunny protested as she crossed her arms over her chest.
“No you’re not but you’re injured and need to rest and heal.” Jack said firmly as he stared at her.
“But Jack, I can do that myself.” Bunny tried again to protest and Jack shook his head.
“Nope.” He responded. Bunny opened her mouth to retort once more and Jack shook his head quickly. “Tough nuggets.” He said before whirling on his heel and walking over to the sink. Esme’s happy giggles burst into the air and Bunny’s soft grumbling could be heard making Jack grin softly at the antics of them.
“So you’re not going to let me do much are you?” Bunny asked in a sour tone. Jack shook his head and chuckled lightly.
“Bunny, you need to heal and if you’re constantly on your feet aggravating the break it’s not going to heal quickly or effectively. You gotta let us help you as much as we can. Keep your ankle elevated and stay off your feet as much as possible.” Jack said adamantly. “I’ve broken bones before, recovery sucks but I’m gonna do my damndest to make sure that you heal as quickly as possible.” He leaned back against the sink and crossed his arms over his chest. Bunny was looking at him with soft eyes and Jack felt himself being pulled into her gaze from across the kitchen. “Besides, now Es and I can spoil you a little bit.” He said with a shrug of his shoulders. Bunny ducked her head quickly as Esme squealed in her chair with happiness. Jack smirked as he saw the soft blush on her cheeks at his words and Jack knew he won her over.
“Alright fine.” Bunny conceded and Jack beamed over at her as Esme clapped her hands happily.
“How often does Butter have to go out?” Jack asked kindly before turning back to the sink to wash the dishes quickly.
“Oh well, I normally take him around the block twice a day once in the morning and then once in the afternoon or evening. But he can go out in the backyard for now until I get into a boot.” Bunny said and Jack shook his head as he finished drying the dishes and stored them away in the cabinets. He turned and leaned back against the sink and sighed softly as he shook his head at Bunny.
“Will you let us help you? Please?” he asked softly as he looked up and over to her. “You’ve done so much for me and Es, it’s our turn to help you when you’re in need. Let us.” He implored her and she looked at him surprised. She sat there in her chair her eyes darting from him to an eager looking Esme for a few moments before nodding her head in compromise. “Thank you.” Jack said softly and Bunny pouted her lips slightly but nodded her head. Jack knew that she didn’t want to burden them and she was being stubborn but Jack was adamant about helping her and making sure that she was well taken care of. But while he was ready to fight her and glad that she was allowing them to help her, when she pouted her lips like that overtly all Jack wanted to do was walk over and kiss the pout off her mouth. Blinking his eyes rapidly he tried to erase the image from his mind of them kissing before he spoke again. “So Es and I will come over before we walk to the bus stop and we’ll take Butter with us. Same for in the afternoon.” Jack informed her and Bunny reluctantly nodded her head. Jack grinned and winked at her watching as she blushed and furrowed her eyebrows.
“Oh yes! I can totally walk Butter.” Esme said happily and Bunny chuckled softly.
“You’ll have to show your dad the doggie bags and everything.” Bunny said as she looked over to Esme who nodded eagerly. “Thanks Es.” She said softly before looking over at Jack who nodded his head. “Alright so that’s taken care of do you guys want to hang out? Or do you have things you have to get done?” she asks making Jack look at her with a disappointed look. “What?” she asks exasperatedly as she raises her hands in the air.
“We’re not done. But we do need to go food shopping. Are you up for a trip to the store or do you want to stay home?” Jack asked as he looked over at her. “Oh and we have to figure out what you need from your room upstairs moved down.” Jack suddenly clapped his hands together and rubbed them together eagerly. Bunny shook her head and Jack began to nod his head at her. “C’mon Es, head upstairs and get dressed while I help Bunny up the stairs. Pack up your stuff so that we can bring it back to the house before going out.” Jack instructed easily and Bunny looked at him offended as Esme quickly hopped off the kitchen chair and raced upstairs to her room.
Jack walked over to Bunny and set one his hands on the back of her chair, the other sat steadily on the kitchen table in front of her effectively caging her in her seat. He leaned forward and watched as Bunny took in a sharp breath as her eyes widened at his closeness.
“Look, I’m not trying to make you feel like you’re an invalid. But I don’t want you hurting yourself again because of your pride. You broke your ankle Bunny. That’s no joke and I really want you to heal. I want you in no pain. So please don’t think I’m just trying to take over here. I’m just trying to help you. I promise.” He said softly as he stared deeply into her eyes. He smiled softly as she silently nodded her head at him. He then stood to his full height and took a step back to grab her crutches for her. He stood a step away from her chair holding the crutches out for her as she stood from her chair. She took a hold of the crutches and began moving towards the stairs. When they had both reached the bottom of the stairs Bunny turned and looked up at him as she was hunched over her crutches.
“Let me try to do this. Just stay behind me in case I fall.” She said determinedly and Jack nodded his head in agreement.
“I’ll always be here to catch you.” He promised her and allowed her to do it her way.
*-*-*-*
Jack smiled as Esme chatted easily with Bunny as the two of them walked ahead down the aisle. He was stuck pushing the cart but he couldn’t complain as he was able to surreptitiously observe Esme and Bunny’s relationship right before his eyes.
Jack could feel his heart swelling in his chest as Bunny talked with Esme about everything the little girl brought up. And while Bunny was knowledgeable in a lot of things there were some topics that puzzled her. Like right now Esme was going off on a tangent about one of the shows that she watched and Jack had to bite his tongue as Bunny looked down at his little girl with a lost look on her face. He was shocked when he noticed that Bunny wouldn’t interrupt Esme in her ranting about the show and let her get it all out first. He chuckled softly when he heard Bunny begin to question Es on the show once she was done.
“So you mean her parents don’t even know that she’s a witch?” Bunny asked confused and Jack bit his bottom lip as he watched her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and disbelief.
“Yeah she’s been able to keep it a secret from them.” Esme explained, nodding her head. “She’s had some close calls where they’ve almost figured it out but not yet.”
“Oh okay, but her grandma knows?” Bunny asked, still perplexed and Jack was absolutely charmed as this woman before him took time out to understand more about his daughter’s favorite show. “Oh hold up, hey can you grab that box of crackers for me please?” She asked stopping next to the crackers and pointing them out to Esme, who eagerly grabbed the box and placed it in the shopping cart. “So how come the grandma never told the parents? Wouldn’t that be something she should tell the parents?” Bunny asked and Jack shook his head silently at the scene before him. He was relieved that he and Bunny were now on the same page for their relationship because now he was gifted with watching his two favorite girls discuss a tv show while the three of them shopped for groceries.
*-*-*-*
Jack finished putting the last box of pasta in the pantry and turned with a grin to Bunny who was leaning against the kitchen island with her crutches leant next to her hip on the island. She smiled softly at him as she shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. He walked over to her and let his eyes dart over her face to look for any discomfort. Standing in front of her he watched as her eyes darted up to his quickly.
“Are you in any pain?” He asked softly and she grimaced slightly at the question.
“A little, I was thinking of taking one of the pain meds and then sitting out in the backyard with my ankle up.” She answered him truthfully. Jack nodded his head at her response as he heard Esme coming back into the house from the backyard.
“Do you want us to head home? Or are you up for some company for a little longer?” Jack asked as Bunny hooked her crutches under her armpits and moved to the sink and leaned up to grab her medicine and a glass.
“Oh I’d love your company for however long.” Bunny said easily and Jack nodded his head as he opened her fridge and pulled out the iced tea that they had bought at the store earlier.
“Okay we’ll stay for a little bit longer. Wanna order dinner and have it delivered?” He asked as Esme walked into the kitchen and hopped up onto the stool at the island.
“Ooooohhh! Can we order pizza?” Esme cheered and Jack laughed happily as he set the iced tea on the island before turning to Bunny who moved to the island and set the glass down on it.
“Good choice!” Bunny said happily as she opened a drawer and pulled out a local pizzeria menu. “Here, pick a pizza and I’ll call them.” Jack watched as Esme peered over the menu while he poured Bunny a glass of iced tea that she thanked him for. Jack watched as she popped her medicine into her mouth and took a swig of her drink swallowing down the pills. With a grimace she blew out a breath after swallowing the pills and Jack chuckled softly.
“Don’t like pills?” He asked understandingly and Bunny shook her head.
“I don’t like the aftertaste they leave.” She explains as she takes another sip of her drink. Jack nods his head and looks over to Esme who’s still pouring over the menu.
“So what are we gonna eat tonight peanut?” He asked fondly as she looked up at him with his question.
“I wanna get a taco pizza.” She said with a shrug of her shoulders. “It sounds cool.”
“Oh, that’s a good one. They also have a good margherita pizza. And their garlic knots and mozzarella sticks are really good.” Bunny said as she pulled her cellphone out of her back pocket and began dialing the pizzeria number.
“Hey Es, c’mon. Let’s go walk Butter while Bunny orders and then we’ll come hang out once we’re done.” Jack said as he ushered Esme to the front door.
“C’mon Butter! Let’s go for a walk!” Esme called happily as she quickly made her way off the stool and towards the front door. Jack laughed as he watched Butter leap out of his dog bed in the kitchen and ran as quickly as he could to the front door where Esme stood holding the leash. Jack looked back at Bunny and she smiled and waved at him before focusing back on the phone call.
When Jack reached the door he saw Esme with her jacket on and Butter with his leash on. Esme handed Jack the doggy bag holder that was in the shape of a red fire hydrant, Jack laughed amused as he looked down at it in his hand. Esme smiled and turned to open the front door.
“So do you know Butter’s normal night time walk routine?” Jack asked as he began walking down the steps with Esme.
“Yeah, they normally walk to the bus stop before mine and then back taking the long way around the block.” Esme instructed and Jack nodded his head as he fell into step with Esme.
“Sorry that we’ve been with Bunny all day and haven’t had much quiet time together. Bunny just needs a little bit of our help since she broke her ankle. So we might be spending a bit of time with her.” Jack said softly as he looked over at Esme. He watched proudly as his little girl looked up at him with a furrowed eyebrow.
“Daddy, I like Bunny. I like being with her. I’m not mad that we’re spending time with her. Besides, she gives us time to be together even when we’re with her.” Esme explained reminding Jack of when Bunny wandered off in the grocery store leaving Esme and Jack to themselves to talk and check in with each other.
“I know, I just don’t want you to think that I’m ignoring you or paying more attention to Bunny.” Jack said insistently and Esme shook her head.
“Daddy, I-“ Esme began to say and then shook her head silently before looking up at him with a smile on her face. “I don’t think that. I know you’re not ignoring me. And Bunny needs our help, she's hurt.” Esme reassured him softly with a shrug of her shoulders.
“Ok, as long as you know that peanut. So how was school while I was gone?” He asked softly as they continued to walk towards her bus stop.
“It’s okay. We’re starting to do some projects in Science and I’m gonna need some help with that soon.” She said and Jack nodded his head along with her words.
“Ok, that’s no problem. You let me know what you need and we’ll go pick it up. And I’ll help as much as I can.” Jack said easily. “Anything else happen while I was gone?” He asked softly trying to see if she wanted to talk about what had happened at the sleepover.
“Are you asking about the sleepover?” Esme asked suddenly after being quiet for a moment. Jack turned his head to look down at her shocked, he was surprised that she had picked up on his leading questions, but he shouldn't have been as surprised since she was his little girl.
“Only if you wanna talk about it.” Jack offered easily. He watched Esme shrug her shoulders before letting them slump forward.
“I called Bunny Mom.” Esme said softly. “I didn’t mean to and Bunny said she wasn’t mad about it at all. But Cynthia wasn’t very nice to me about it. Said that I shouldn’t be spending so much time with Bunny because then I’ll get confused.”
Jack felt his heart clench in his chest at how lost Esme sounded. He stopped walking as they came to the bus stop before Esme’s and he kneeled down to be at her eye level. He placed his hands on her shoulders gently and turned her to face him.
“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with calling Bunny Mom. I mean she’s been taking care of you while I’m away so I’m not surprised you did call her Mom. And I think that’s great that you’re getting so close to Bunny that you might see her that way. Don’t listen to Cynthia, I’ll talk to her and tell her to mind her own business. She has no right to say anything to you about that, okay?” Jack reassured Esme as he stared into her eyes softly. “I just want to make sure that you’re okay. I know we don’t talk about your Mom that much and we probably should talk about her more.” Jack said softly and Esme tapped his nose gently making him look up at her after his eyes had fallen to the ground.
“I miss Mommy. Every day I miss her and wish she was still here. But I have you Daddy and Bunny may not be Mommy but she’s a really cool babysitter and I like her being my babysitter.” Esme said softly as she smiled at him. Jack felt tears well in his eyes as Esme’s words and he nodded his head.
He knew that they should probably talk more about Esme calling Bunny Mom but he wasn’t sure of his own emotions and feelings in regards to that. On one hand it had only been two years ago that Maria was taken away from them and he wasn’t sure if he was truly ready to have another “mom” in his life yet. He was comfortable with flirting and figuring things out with Bunny right now but he wasn’t looking too far in the future just yet. But on the other hand, Esme was forming a bond with Bunny that seemed to be very deep, strong and meaningful. It was the first time since Maria’s funeral that Esme had become close to another woman that she hadn’t known before Maria’s passing.
It was a convoluted situation and Jack knew he was going to have to address it but wasn’t sure if he was ready to do that just yet. So while he was relieved that Esme was okay with her slip of tongue he would hold off on the more in depth conversation for another time when he knew for sure what he wanted with Bunny.
“She is a cool babysitter huh?” Jack asked softly and Esme grinned at him as she nodded her head eagerly.
*-*-*-*
The sun was slowly setting as Jack stepped out of the back door and moved down the back steps of the house to where Bunny was sitting in one of her outdoor chairs with her right ankle propped up on the ottoman. On the small table next to her chair sat a tray of three glasses and a pitcher of peach flavored iced tea. Esme was standing not far on the brick patio in front of her easel and paints while Butter lazed about in the grass in front of Esme.
“You gonna paint Butter for me?” Bunny asked Esme as she nestled back in her chair. Esme turned to Bunny grinning as she nodded her head. Bunny grinned as she nodded her head at Esme and rested her head back on the chair, closing her eyes slowly.
Jack felt the urge to sneak up on Bunny and press a soft kiss to her lips to surprise her, but then he suddenly felt insecure of his intentions. So he walked up behind Bunny letting his fingers trail along her right shoulder before moving to the chair on her left. He saw her warm smile as she turned her head to watch him take a seat next to her.
“This is nice.” Jack said softly as he sat back in the chair and settled himself. Bunny nodded her head as she grinned over at him. “So we talked about the whole sleepover incident.” Jack said softly as his eyes watched Esme begin painting Butter, she was far enough away that Jack felt comfortable bringing this up with Bunny.
“Does she still feel badly about it?” Bunny asked softly as her eyes landed on him and stayed there steadfastly.
“She doesn’t feel bad about calling you Mom. She feels bad about what Cynthia said to her.” Jack said with a hard edge to his voice at the end of his sentence. Bunny nodded her head in thought and Jack saw her left fist clenching tightly. Leaning over he placed a hand on Bunny’s fist and she slowly released it.
“Sorry, I just get so mad about what she had the nerve to say to Es. She had no right to make a comment and it had to be an ugly one at that!” Bunny ranted heatedly and Jack felt his heart swell once more as he saw how angry Bunny became on the behalf of his daughter. “I mean she’s already a mean spirited woman when she doesn’t get her way but to say something cruel to a child? That’s unnecessary and uncalled for.”
“I agree. I don’t like that she said something mean to Esme. Especially if it was a slip of the tongue.” Jack said as he nodded his head and watched as Bunny grew quiet and almost turned in on herself. “Hey, what’s wrong?” He asked concerned and Bunny shook her head at his question.
“It’s nothing.” She deflected and Jack grew curious of what was running through her mind but ultimately chose to table the questions for the time being.
“Say, you’re awfully good with kids. How come you don’t have any?” Jack asked curiously as he turned to see Esme giggling at Butter who began to wiggle in the grass on his back with his feet up in the air. He got lost in just watching his little girl that when he realized that he had asked a question he turned back to Bunny, surprised she hadn’t interrupted him. He saw her smiling sadly at Esme and Butter, her eyes somber as she gazed at the two of them acting silly. “Bunny?”
“Oh, uh, well, you see my ex-husband wasn’t the greatest guy to have kids with. For the six years that we were married he cheated for four of them.” Bunny said bitterly and Jack looked over at her surprised. He couldn’t believe someone would look at anyone else when they had Bunny right in front of them. “Yeah, we got married right out of college after being together for two years. We were young and dumb, thought we were in love. I mean I was, but for him it was more of a power trip. He liked that I didn’t ask questions when he said to do certain things, even though I knew that I didn’t want to do them. I always thought, I trusted and loved him why would he hurt me?” Bunny explained softly. “I slowly started coming out of the fog around the fourth year of marriage, but by then he had the manipulation so ingrained in me that I couldn’t quickly break free from it. It was a whole process of getting away from him, took two whole years to finally pull the trigger and send the divorce papers.”
Jack sat there in shock as he listened to Bunny’s retelling of her past. He sat there shocked to his core that this wonderful, confident woman next to him had been manipulated and abused by her ex-husband, someone who should have protected her from all others. But then as he thought further of Bunny’s mannerisms and character he understood the burst of confidence he would see from her when interacting with him. She was still so unsure of herself when it came to men, and he was instantly glad that he had asked her to go slow with him as they explored their relationship.
“It got really ugly towards the end.” Bunny said solemnly and Jack whipped his head to look at her. “He tired to convince me that it was all my friend’s Mercy’s fault for putting it in my head to get divorced. He lied about the numerous affairs he had and was still having. He kept telling me that I wouldn’t leave him, that I couldn’t leave him. I developed some serious panic attacks and anxiety attacks because of him, but thankfully they pretty much disappeared once I was away from him. But the worst was the night he was served the divorce papers, I had moved out that day while he was at work and the courier delivered the papers once he got home from work. He was livid, to the point that he found out where I was living and shoved himself into my apartment when I answered the door. Came in screaming and yelling about the papers, shoved me down onto the floor and the way I landed on my right wrist broke it in a few spots.” Bunny explained as she slowly and calmly took in a few deep breaths. Jack tapped his fingers along the back of her left hand that he was still holding in his hand from before, letting her know that she was alright and he was here for her.
Taking a deep breath in and slowly blowing it out she turned and looked over at him, nodding her head gratefully at him. Jack smiled softly and nodded his head at her as well. He didn’t know firsthand what she gone through but after all the missions that he had been on he had seen quite a few men and women who fell prey to their loved ones abusing them.
“Had to go through the whole divorce with a cast on my arm that he kept saying was for show. I managed to get a restraining order on him and still have it to this day because he’s tried to pop up a few times in my life since the divorce.” Bunny said solemnly and somber. Her head suddenly perked up when Esme giggled loudly as Butter began suddenly running around the backyard chasing the lightning bugs that had started appearing and lighting up. “I probably should have told you that before babysitting Es, but he hasn’t bothered me in almost a full year now.” Bunny said suddenly and quickly as she looked over at Jack worriedly.
Jack shook his head slowly as he gently cupped her hand in his, trying to reassure her. He gazed at her for a moment before clearing his voice.
“Bunny, relax. Your past is yours to divulge however you see fit. I know for a fact that you wouldn’t let anything happen to Esme if it was in your power to prevent it. I know you’re careful with her and hold her well being over your own. And I know you would tell me if something was happening that you couldn’t stop or protect Esme against.” Jack said confidently as Bunny nodded her head. “It’s alright Bunny. I’m just sad to hear that someone treated you that horribly. You shouldn’t have had to go through that. And I’m so sorry that you did go through that.” Jack said softly.
“It sucks that it happened, and I understand that it didn’t have anything to do with me that it was all him and his choices. But you gotta get through it and let me tell you therapy works wonders.” Bunny said before chuckling softly and Jack nodded his head at her words.
“Yeah, we’ve done some therapy after Maria passed to help Esme and I express ourselves properly to each other.” Jack said softly. “He really cheated on you?” He asked suddenly and Bunny chuckled softly as she nodded her head. Jack just shook his head in silence and Bunny chuckled again.
“Yeah, I know. I never understood the whole cheating thing, if you’re unhappy in a relationship just leave it.” Bunny said softly. “That’s why I don’t get along with Cynthia, she isn’t faithful to her husband and I don’t know if she ever has been. At least since I’ve known her she never has been.” Bunny said bewildered as she shook her head slightly.
“Don’t get me started on her. She’s already on my shit list for that and now for being mean to Es.” Jack said darkly and Bunny nodded her head. Jack tapped his fingers against the back of Bunny’s hand once more to gather her attention. When she looked over at him he smiled softly at her. “Thanks for sharing.” He said softly and watched delightedly as Bunny’s cheeks flushed deeply.
“Just answering the question.” She said softly and shrugged her shoulders at him. Jack shook his head at her deflection and gazed at her fully as he shifted in his seat.
“Not many people want to share that type of information about themselves.” Jack said knowingly and Bunny shrugged her shoulders again.
“Figured it’d be something to help get to know each other.” Bunny said as she turned and watched Esme dancing around the backyard catching lightning bugs. Jack watched Bunny a little longer in silence as Esme giggled while Butter barked happily in the early evening, he was surprised by her candor but he surmised that he shouldn’t be. There was still so much that he needed to learn about Bunny and so much he had to share with her. Settling back in his chair he began to look forward to learning more about her.
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atsunflower · 5 years ago
Text
Hospital for souls — Tokyo nights.
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Rated: SFW
Author note: Man, this one took me ages to write. And I don't even know how I could write this much for the second chapter, this is about 3,2k words. I'm tired because I decided to change lots of things in this chapter and I hope you all like it. Also, feedbacks are much appreciated!
Warnings: This chapter contains cursing, swearing, graphic descriptions of blood, violence and surgical procedures (Kind of inaccurate but only for writting purposes. Don't do it at home, kids). Also, there are slight mentions of anxiety, OCD and PTSD.
Enjoy the reading!
II — Tokyo nights
Previous || Next
You felt anxious.
Everytime you walked through Itachiyama halls, the hairs in your nape would stand and your skin, prickle in fear; a bitter taste would take over your mouth because everything was too much.
"Look, you don't have to worry. Itachiyama wouldn't dare to lay a hand on you because it would mean war." The memory of Suna's voice did nothing to soothe your nerves.
You knew that Inarizaki did not care. If anything, Itachiyama harming you would be like killing two birds with a stone: the Miya would get rid of your existence and then, have a excuse to go after your husband. "They know the twins' intentions, you know. It's not like Sakusa is dumb. Being honest, the guy is the most cautious man I ever saw" you recalled Suna saying it in your wedding's eve.
But one month after the deal, you still felt suffocated.
You opted to lay low and don't wander around the house; Sakusa's men were still suspicious of you and kept sending nasty glares in your direction whenever they saw you.
Since you weren't allowed to work anymore, boredom was killing you. At least, the maids were nice enough — or just too afraid to go against the lady's will — and let you do as you pleased. You then took over some house chores to busy yourself.
Cleaning, tidying and baking.
Sometimes gardening when you needed some fresh air.
"What a shame for Oyabun-sama, his lady is lowering herself to the peasants' level" you would hear some gossip here and there. Not that you cared, though.
"Sakusa-sama" you heard the housekeeper calling, the new name still foreign to your ears.
"Kaede-san? Do you need something?" The old woman wearing a green hakama stood in front of you, accompanied by a girl with dark blond hair.
"This is Kuribayashi Runa, the new maid working here" she said presenting the young woman by her side. The latter politely bowed at you.
"New maid? Why?"
"I'm afraid it's not appropriated the lady take care of house chores. These are strict orders from Komori-sama" her tone was dry. Kaede was never hostile towards you, but you could tell she wasn't fond of your presence either. "Also, remember you're having lunch with oyabun-sama today"
You released a shaky breath, dismissing their presence.
Why yakuza was taking even the smallest things from you?
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Prying to the clock on the nightstand, you realized it was past noon and the lunch hasn't been served yet. Sakusa didn't show up either.
After being destitute of your duties, you went for a shower and killed time by reading in your bedroom.
Did something happen? You wondered.
Punctuality was something very fancied in this household and everything inside the mansion functioned like clockwork.
But how come Sakusa didn't show up yet? Why the food isn't set?
"[Name]" The door to your bedroom was open without ceremony, Komori's voice sounding harsh when he called you. The look on his face wasn't amicable either. "Sakusa wants to see you. Now."
The brown haired male did not spare you another glance, turning his back to you. You followed the tall man in an auto-pilot mode, already dreading whatever was going on.
The Kobun was taking you to Sakusa's office.
The large doors always made you feel unsettled; you never were there before. Being called to this room sent shivers down your spine.
Komori knocked the door only to the faint voice of your husband acknowledge your presence. Getting in, you were stunned. The whole mansion held a modern architecture with a minimalist design, and this room was true to Itachiyama's style.
The walls were pristine white and the floorboards were dark and shiny. The furniture held the impersonal style your husband seemed to appreciate and was clean to the eyes. Everything millimetrically positioned, aesthetically appealing.
By the glass wall, Sakusa stood proud. His back facing you, body clad in a black suit. The way he admired the stunning land through the windows held a power you never saw before.
Right now, he looked like a god rulling his own creation.
"Komori, go" his stone cold voice ordered the other male. The kobun did as he was told, leaving you two in this sinister room.
"I don't know if you are too brave ou just too dumb" he didn't turn to face you. The cold tone boomed loud within your ears and you felt cornered.
Forget the god thing. The man in front of you was the demon himself.
"What do you mean?" You asked, brows furrowing when suddenly, his enraged features loomed over you, even from afar.
"Don't fucking play dumb. I've warned you to stay out of my way" his menacing stare made the breath hitch in your throat "Where is the fucking folder?"
"I don't know what are you talking about!" You meekly replied, seeing his body growing close to yours.
"Thats it. You have a death wish." He merely stated "You're the only enemy inside this fucking house"
Without knowing what was going on, you didn't stand a chance to defend yourself. You tried opening your mouth in protest but your brain didn't come up with anything.
"Listen. I don't have the time to play whatever game you and those brothers of yours are planning." Sakusa scowled "In the first opportunity, you get to screw up. Fascinating."
"I don't even know what you're talking about" the cry left your mouth and your body trembled. The man before you grimaced at your outburst. He let out an exasperated breath, still trying to keep his cool.
"Do you expect me to believe you? Fine, I'll play along, then" He sat at the imposing chair behind his desk "The manila folder that was on this desk was stolen. You're the only one inside this house who has reasons to take it."
"It wasn't me! I never entered this room before!" You retorted, anxiety crawling in your skin. He fished his cellphone from his pockets, reading whatever on his screen
"Can't be proven, though it looks like we didn't find anything in your stuff–"
"Wait! You fucking messed with my things?" You cut him off in rage, observing him reaching over for a flask on the wooden surface.
"Well, you messed with mine first." He said while rubbing some hand sanitizer on his palms.
You rolled your eyes at his antics.
"Whatever" and then turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" The sarcastic voice filled your ears, making your steps to halt "As much as I despise it, you won't be out of my sight anytime soon"
God, You trully hated it here.
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It was nighttime and true to his words, neither Sakusa nor Komori left you alone for the whole day.
Their presence was unnerving, to say the least, and everytime they talked to each other, you body went stiff.
Their speech wasn't explicit as you thought it would be. Both of them treated the matter as if they were making normal business instead of some yakuza stuff.
It didn't sound violent.
But you knew better.
"Have Fukuroudani made contact yet?" The Oyabun asked.
"Yes. Konoha told me they will be waiting by eleven" Komori peered at his watch "One hour to go. We should get going, then"
Sakusa turned his attention to you.
"Go get changed. We're leaving in ten minutes."
You did as you were told; black would do, you decided. Grabbing a wool coat and a satin scarf, you were ready to go.
Why the hell Tokyo nights were so cold at this time of year?
In the living room, Sakusa and Komori were waiting for you.
"Man, bringing [Name] along will be a pain" the brown haired male said while stretching.
"The stolen docs were about this meeting. We gotta bring her along if Inarizaki tries to do something" The taller one reasoned.
"Ah shit, this is so fucked up. I dont know how you agreed to it" Komori lamented.
Being honest, neither Sakusa did.
"Why do I have to tag along?" Your voice startled them. Your husband scowled at you while Komori opened the front door, both males ignoring your question.
A sleek black car was waiting for you three. Komori took the driver seat and Sakusa sat on passenger's side. You found comfort in the beige leather of the backseat, appreciating the warmth provided by the air conditioned.
"Shouldn't we bring more men with us?" The Kobun asked.
"There's a back up car in downtown. They can reach us in no time if something comes up" Sakusa said while covering his face with a mask "Also, I doubt someone would dare to mess with both Fukurodani and Itachiyama" He spared a glance at you through the rearview mirror.
You sighed. Anxiety didn't let you be for the whole day and now, fear was taking its toll on you.
With your temple resting on the window, you observed the city lights.
You loved Tokyo and how bright it was, although, you loved the suburbs even more; the industrial aesthetic and the narrow streets brought you the comfort you didn't feel in the last three months.
You lived here for your whole life, after all.
It wasn't a surprise when you spotted the building you used to live in.
A surge of homesickness found its place in your guts and your chest constricted in longing.
The drive lasted five more minutes before Komori parked the car by a hangar. When you lived in this neighbourhood, the place was deem abandoned with its vandalized walls and rusty gates. But inside there, you found our the interior was really neat, proving you wrong.
"Sakusa-san, Komori-san!" A blonde male came into view, eyeing you with wariness. "I see you brought your lady tonight. It's a pleasure having you here, miss" the indifferent tone of his voice said otherwise, tough.
You merely noded at him while the heads of Itachiyama greeted the man.
"Shall we start, then?"The blond asked before opening a door to your right. You felt unsettled knowing they wouldn't want your presence there.
"As you wish, Konoha-san" was all Sakusa said while a woman appeared out of nowhere.
"I'm afraid your wife would be pretty bored in our meeting. Yukie here will keep her company for the time being." The man Konoha pointed at the brunette with short hair. Sakusa sent you a hard stare before entering the room.
You both sat on some wooden boxes filled with god knows what. You eyes wandered through the hole place, trying to find something entertaining.
The woman hadn't said anything for a whole eternity before breaking the silence.
"So, Miya-san, huh?" The way she said the damned name tickled you off.
"I'm no Miya"
"Yeah, I know. I've heard of you" Yukie chuckled, looking at you with despise. You cocked a brow ate her.
"Sure you did" She was about to retort before the door was open again.
"Well, it's always a pleasure to make business with Itachiyama. We will see you off, then" Konoha said before reaching for the exit.
It was long past midnight when the meeting ended. The five of you were by the gates, Konoha and Komori doing some chit-chat, when four people appeared out of nowhere, knives in their hands.
"Ara, ara. look at these yakuza big shots" A man with an undercut said, fidgeting with the blade between his fingers. In your periferic vision you saw Yukie running back to the hangar and the three men by your side reaching for the guns by their hips.
Among the other four, a figure seemed familiar to you.
"Kuribayashi Runa" The name left your lips in a whisper. The female let out a mocking laugh and Sakusa frowned at you.
"Explain" Your husband immediatelly demanded, grimacing.
"She is the new maid working in your house. Today was her first day." Runa scoffed at your reply.
"Do I look like a maid to you, bitch?" And then, everything went into slow motion.
The woman came in your direction, holding the knife high in the air whilst you stepped backwards, being cornered by the gate.
You saw the blade glinting under the street lights and saw it aiming for your chest.
But it never came.
A hand pushed you downwards and you fell to the ground along a clattering sound. Sakusa's shadow loomed over you, trying to evade the knife.
By your left, you saw Konoha and Komori fighting the other guys, their guns useless in a hand-to-hand fight.
The adrenaline rushed through your bloodstream, your mind going frantic. It felt like one of those life or death situations you faced in the surgery room.
How can I save someone's life right now?
You saw Sakusa's pistol laying on the ground next to you. He and the woman were a couple of inches from your body.
You knew what you had to do.
With your leg reaching forward, you made her trip. The knife she held was kicked away by your husband.
"Sakusa! Watch out for Komori!" And you threw the gun at him.
A second too late, the bang echoed and an agonizing scream ripped through the night.
By your left, Runa and two of the guys were already running away.
The man Komori fought collapsed to the ground clutching his leg and cursing under his breath.
But the most disturbing sight was the way Komori held his arm, whimpering and cursing while his right hand clutched the knife's handle.
The blade tore his flesh and crossed the limb right next to its joint, in a weird angle.
Yukie came back, carrying a rope and a pistol.
"I sent some of our men to their direction." She said while helping Konoha to restrain the guy who attacked you.
"What the fuck you guys want?" The blond asked before kicking the man in his guts. The latter spat blood, giving a crooked smile at Konoha.
"Johzenji is coming" Was all he said before passing out.
"Yukie, carry him to the basement." He ordered "Since it happened on our territory, we will be investigating the incident. We count with Itachiyama's cooperation and will keep you updated" Konoha bowed at Sakusa, before rushing back to the building.
Komori was still on his knees, head hanging low. A grunt went past his lips and you knew what he was doing.
"Komori! Don't!" But again your shout came too late and the man ripped the knife away from his limb. Blood rushed through his fingers and dampened the suit he wore. "Fuck" you rushed to his side, Sakusa's features going livid.
"We gotta take him to a hospital" you said.
"No!" Komori croaked out, getting a hold of your arm. You knew what he meant, but you also knew what could definetely happen if he ignored the situation.
Sakusa was frozen in front of you two, unsure of what to do. You took a deep breath, mustering up all the courage you had.
"You have to trust me, then" you held the brown haired male by his torso and gave Sakusa a determined glare.
The oyabun noded at you and it was all the assurance you needed before ripping out Komori's blazer and transforming your scarf into a tourniquet.
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In your old apartment, you ushered the two males inside, taking them both to your kitchen.
Sakusa sat the Kobun in a chair while you went to another room. A minute later, you brought two metallic cases, some flasks and a first aid box.
In the cupboards you took a flask of alcohol and squeezed it to the table, wipping it with some gauzes.
Positioning Komori's arm over the wooden surface, you sterilized his wounds with povidone and then turned your attention to Sakusa.
"I'll start it now" before proceeding to the sink. Sakusa admired the movements you made while washing your hands "I need you to do the same" and he complied.
The male helped you to put the gloves and mask on and to set your instruments over the table.
Looking at Komori, you realized he passed out in spite of the pain. The blood loss wasn't huge, but you did not knew why he fell unconcious.
You prepared two syringes of anesthesics. Sakusa sent you a weird glare, brows furrowing at you.
"Don't look at me like this. I'm a surgeon you know" and then you did the infusion. "Its not that weird if I have some hospital shit at home".
You opened the cut with a scalpel. Scrutinizing at the wound, you saw the artery was hit.
"Thank god." You let out a breath of relief, realizing the damage was little. It didn't need an anastomosis, so some stiches would do. "The ulnar artery was hit but it won't be too hard to fix. Although, I can't tell if there's a nerve damage" and you started to close the vessel's lesion.
You observed if there was any muscle or tendon damages and proceeded to suture the gashes, making sure the procedure was well done. You then patched it up and imobilized the limb with a makeshift splint, before undoning the tourniquet.
"Let's take him to my bedroom" With that, you both carried the unconcious man to your bed. "I need to check him overnight and– Shit! Your face!" It was just now you realized he had a gash on his cheek.
Sakusa flinched, feeling the blood drying over his skin and dampening the mask he used. He removed the cloth and observed the cut with the front camera of his phone. He frowned at the sight.
"It can get an infection and leave a nasty scar. Do you want me to patch it up?" You offered after checking Komori's blood pressure and his heartbeat.
A please left his lips in a whisper.
You both went back to the kitchen and you used a new set of tools. Holding his face between your gloved hands, you admired his facial features.
Sakusa was pretty.
Almost ethereal with his thin nose, almond eyes and thick brows. In addition, te two moles on his forehead complimented his beauty.
You snapped out of your reverie, getting to work.
"Finished. This kind of suture won't leave a visible scar" you said cutting the thread and reinforcing the stitch with tape.
Your finger lingered a bit longer on the apple of his cheek. Sakusa grabbed your hand and held it for a while before getting away from you and settling himself on your couch. You ignored the ghost of his touch on your skin and went back to check on Komori.
That night, Sakusa realized that no one ever handled him with such care, as if he was made of fine china.
I like that touch, he decided.
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❥ taglist: is still open. Send an ask or use the commentary section to let me know if you want to be added!
@ukaiwachin @keekee-732 @chiibichann @shinguchi @captain-shittykawa @fortheloveofbakugo @daisyjaebae @jihoonspout @floodinginstars @fl4mepillar @trash4sportsanime @translucentthoughts @starrystanze @teaanbiss @hqxreader @sunboikyo00 @yskomiii @ly-nia @shadyjinyoung @julimausi1311 @idiot-juice-enthusiast @hyoonx23 @keuromi @differentballooncollection @re-zerohora @onigiriimiya @ayaeushi @wolfiepirate @sekshi-namjas @tomo-uwu @flodaisez @jh-bee @kemochie;
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petekaos · 4 years ago
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2020 creator wrap + a follow forever
rules: it’s time to love yourselves! choose your 5 (or so) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!
hiii hello everyone! sorry it’s taken me so long to get on this BUT it’s all for good reason! i thought i would combine this post into me sharing some of the works i am most proud of this year as well as spreading more love in this wonderful little community because i truly love you all tons and being a part of such a lovely group of people has made me beyond happy this year. it’s been a difficult year for all of us and i’m just so glad that i can give back the love and care y’all can give to me 💛
onward to spreading love to people who tagged me, in no particular order! thank you all for tagging me, it means so much and know that i have read through your posts at least twice with a smile on my face.
@wjmild: kylie!! you constantly surprise me with how kind and insightful you are, as well as your dedication to watching absolutely every show with lee thanat in it. you are so smart and educated and every time you talk about your research and your studies i can’t help but feel so incredibly proud of you. i really hope life brings you the peace and fulfillment you deserve. i love you!
@gigiesarocha: cata - it is always such a pleasure to see you on my dash. i can rely on you losing your shit over ingredients every two weeks and every time i see jeff doing things it 100% reminds me of you! you possess such a kind soul and i’m so glad to have had the pleasure of following you this year :’)
@yihwas: sometimes i still can’t believe you know who i am and that we’re grouped together, soph! your blog is such a refuge to me, i adore scrolling through your replies and laughing at all the witty things you say. you are simply so kind and thoughtful in your responses and criticism and you have such talent in gifmaking! i am forever grateful to you for introducing me to new lakorns and to you and shannon for creating @lakornladies​. 
@morksuns: sumaya! my url twin! i absolutely love seeing you on the dash, it really is that trans desi solidarity, no? your moodboards are always so aesthetic and your blog is so soft and calm. i see you sending such lovely asks to people, including myself, and i truly admire your personality so much!
@gayvlad: nico, my sibling! i love you so much and seeing you on the dash always makes me smile. sometimes you’re too hard on yourself, but that’s okay, because i’m always here for you. i loved your reactions to dbk in live time, and that you’re now as attached to the show as i am. we love a lot of the same things, and i’ll forever be grateful to you for indulging my headcanons and developing them with me, like the ram and bohn friendship. the ram fic of him finding the gym as a home was developed through much of your influence, and i’ll never stop being astonished at how kind and supportive you are. i love you! 
@khaotungthanawat: saaaam! your gifs are always a beauty to behold. i admire you so much for making those bl compilation gifsets because that takes so much patience and dedication, especially to find all the moments. i can always count on you for underrated gifsets, too, and i smile every time you send me an ask!
@tanwirapong: roa! oh i adored getting to know you better this year through the gifted gays gc. i remember still when you made a post about there’s an art to honesty and it truly made my day - i sent it to my partner and best friend and they were so fond as well! i will always be so happy about the fact that we both lose it over petekao every now and again, it means the world to me :’)
@emisfritish: your wisdom and way of expressing your thoughts will never fail to amaze me, emma. i can always count on you for calling things like they are and writing out well-worded, thought-provoking posts that express everything i have ever thought about fandom but could never quite write down. it’s such a pleasure seeing you on my dash and honestly, whenever i see tay, he reminds me of you!
so that was everyone who tagged me, for which i am eternally grateful! (if i missed anyone... i am so sorry ily...) now onto me rambling about how much i love specific people in the fandom generally that i haven’t already mentioned.
@earthfluuke: maddie... where do i even start. getting to know you this year means the absolute world to me and i love how many thoughts we can share together and how many aus and ideas we can plot out to the finest detail, but i also love how we can talk about serious topics and irl issues affecting us both and know that the other person will be there. i admire you so much for going on and persevering despite the many difficult factors in your life right now. know that i will always be there - to listen to you, to support your gifs and fics, to develop characters with you, to weigh in on problems or ideas you have. i love you!
@asianmelodrama: faiza!! i can never address you without immediately adding ‘jaan’ after it honestly. you are a sister to me in all things and knowing you has been such an honour. your wise words, your calmness in dealing with things, your infectious excitement - they are all facets of your personality that i both admire and adore. whether it’s getting angry about shitty muslim rep or freaking out about a movie, i know that i can always count on you to be there for me if i ever need it. i hope light and love touches your life always, and you find peace in everything you do. if i ever happen to be in england, i am definitely coming over for your chai :’) i love you!
@yioh: yura my laddoo! i say this all the time, but i simply am so grateful that we met. i love seeing your tags on my posts and i just... adore seeing you doing your thing on your blog, your posts always make me smile. i know school is hard right now, but know that i’m always rooting for you and believe in you completely. words cannot express how happy i am to have found another tamil lgbt person who can understand the same experiences, it really does mean everything to me. and know that i will begin reading tyk soon, i promise, and i’ll tell you all about my thoughts! i love youuu!
@1akorn: shannon!! i still cannot believe people group us together because i’ve always admired you from a distance - imagine my absolute surprise when i found out that you followed me! i 100% rely on you for the good mek content and love your gifs so much. you’re so articulate and speak your thoughts incredibly well, which i truly admire.
@brightwin: jelly - you already know the amount of love and fondness i hold for you. you’re such a kind and bubbly person and your personality shines not only through your tags and responses to people, but also through your gorgeous gifsets that are just so warm and lovely. i can always rely on you to give me updates on all things related to brightwin and 2gether. you’re wonderful!
@yibobibo: aamna! i know i can always get my yibo content from you, and i adore it. i love seeing updates about your bunnies and your kind responses to your anons, you truly are a ray of light! you’re also one of the fairly concentrated cql blogs i follow - and for that i am always grateful.
@metawwin: ali! your gorgeous gifs are always such a light on my dash. i remember once you called me ‘rahulito’ and it made me so soft. your voice and songs are so lovely and i don’t even know where to begin thanking you for sharing your art with us. i know it means a lot to me, and it means the same to many others.
@taytawan: nuriaaa! i remember seeing you so often in the petekao tag and i gotta say that your sets of both petekao and sarawatine, especially the heart eyes series, always make me so soft. and of course, the fact that you gifted me this wonderful url! i will always be thankful for that and for your general kindness and warmth that you bestow upon everyone.
@piningbisexuals: axelle! although we don’t talk that much, i always love seeing your gifs and your thoughts on shows on the dash. i’m wishing you all the best with your thai classes and hope that everything goes well with you! also, you should know that i read that manboss fic you gifted to me at least once a week because it just means that much to me - and i’m so glad i got you into this little silly ship of mine. 
@sunsetchimyeon: nene, my pk anon! i love seeing your asks in my inbox and writing essays as replies. having conversations with you was one of my absolute highlights and i’ll always be blown away by how kind and calm and supportive and patient you are! i hope life is treating you well, my friend.
@toptaps: zey!! oh i love seeing your gifs and kindness on my dash and know that whenever i see toptap in anything, he always reminds me of you! also your gifs of sammy? absolutely gorgeous!
@giftedgays: i love you all SO much it is truly insane. being part of our tumblr gc that evolved into a discord server with a thousand channels has been one of my 2020 highlights. i loved yelling with you all about tgg every week and i must thank you all for sitting through my chanonpom breakdowns every second day. 
in particular: 
@pangwave - dawnie, i love you! i admire you and your no bullshit attitude so much. i know you’re going through a process of change right now, and i could not be prouder of you for persevering through it, regardless of the painful and strange circumstances we find ourselves in. i have full faith in you, and i know that you got this. we’re all here for you! 
@doctorbahnjit: - alexa! i still remember when you wrote the first manboss fic and an anon sent me a link regarding it. you are genuinely one of the funniest people i know and you deserve the absolute world. i read out of the blue every day, no kidding, because it means so much to me! thank you for being my fellow chanonpomer, my fellow manboss-er, and just being an all around ray of absolute sunshine.
@gunatps: vee! i have already embarrassed myself enough in my post to you but it’s worth repeating. i adore our eden chanonpom breakdown sessions, which we should have again soon when you have time, and i love us roasting modi in the chat, it truly cracks me up! we have so much in common and i just want to say that i am so proud of you for studying and taking your exams - i know how difficult they are. 
@wavelovespang: cass!! how i adore your analyses and breakdowns of scenes and relationships, you have so much insight and wisdom that you spread in such thoughtful ways! you’re so supportive and kind and such a great teacher, i know that. your writing is so wonderful and i’m truly so honoured that we all get to read it, it’s a gift!
@class2clown: angel! i cannot say this enough but i admire your art so much, it’s so so beautiful! you’ve always been so kind and lovely, and just like with cass, thank you so much for organising the gifted week events! although i couldn’t properly partake this year because of time constraints, i loved seeing everyone’s creations and it was super thoughtful.
@soulmatelines: i’ve said this before, jo, but it must be said again: i cannot believe you thought i was cool. i’ve always adored your gifs from afar and you’re such a sweet person! i love love love talking with you in the kpop channel (even if you personally hate 3racha smh), and you truly do bear the novel agenda! i’ve learned about so many more novels i must read and for that i am so grateful :’) 
@billkinpp: violet, i will never fail to crack up at a) your and kylie’s plans to run away and get married, and b) you having a thousand sideblogs and complimenting yourself on your own gifs in the tags, as you absolutely should! i hope the next year is kind to you and that your sleep schedule isn’t too fucked up :’)
@vihokratanas: mel, i will always be in complete awe of your gifs! they are always so clean and crisp. i remember still when you were fondestphan and my phannie days flashed in front of my eyes fhsnfg but either way, you’re so kind and sweet! 
@pvrrish: eleni!! i don’t think i’ve ever told you this before but i’ve always loved the 2gether poster that you made, i sometimes go on your blog to look at it for like 5 minutes, it’s truly so beautiful! i hope you’ve had an okay year, all things considered, and that life is kind to you!
@lee-thanat: another leesbian, ke! y’all always crack me up in the lesbians for lee thanat channel truly. your simping for ms ladda is so valid, i miss her so much honestly. i hope that the coming year is kind to you, and that you find the peace you deserve!
okay, so i think that’s everyone that i either talk to regularly or admire a lot! in case i didn’t mention you, please please feel free to reach out to me because i mean no offense at all - my brain is small haha. would also like to shout out all my anons who send me asks and bear with my late responses these days because of life, i adore you all and i love answering your asks.
if you’re still reading after this... whole monster of a post, i’m just gonna quickly mention some things i’ve been proud of either writing or making this year. in no particular order:
1. my weary heart has come to rest in yours. this is a fic i wrote in an... interesting headspace, and i was really going through my chanonpom feelings at the time. i’m really proud of how it came out and i adored writing chanon through pom’s pov. also i kinda love how i tied in p’bird’s song prip dtah in with the fic because i adore the song and it fits so well with them.
2. petekao week 2020. i guess this is sort of cheating, because these are technically 7 fics, BUT. i am actually proud of myself for writing seven, and i think they’re all of fairly good quality. i just really love this little universe i created for the dbk characters after the show and this whole week was just so warm and lovely to be a part of.
3. this set of num and prang from a gift for whom you hate. this moment really stuck with me from the finale and i actually am really proud of the colouring and how it came out! i think the blues really popped and i managed to lighten this dark ass scene without whitewashing mek or aye. the fireworks gif also is one of my favourites i’ve made! num and prang’s whole relationship was so pure throughout the entirety of this show, i adored them. 
4. but love is impossible and it goes on despite the impossible. this is the longest fic i’ve posted so far and i’m super proud of it - it’s also my most well-received fic. the yunmeng brothers mean the world to me and i just... wanted to write about jiang cheng and his love for his brother and give them a somewhat happy ending, in one future at least.
5. there’s an art to honesty. i think i really nailed my version of kao in this work! i just really loved writing this fic so much, especially because it was right after the whole ‘scandal’ with new happened. i was really just finding a way to separate kao from him, and i delved into my feelings with this fic as well, because i relate to kao in multiple ways. either way, i thought writing this fic was fun and a lot of people loved it too, which made me so soft!
if you’ve read this far, i personally adore you! while this has been a difficult year, i am blessed to have been part of this loving community, and i really hope that next year will be kinder to us all and give us good shows and discussions! i love you all. stay safe and stay kind, friends 💛
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strawberrywritings · 4 years ago
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Second problem.
A/N: I am an hour late to posting this and i haven’t proofread, but to make up for it: Señor Galindo makes another appearance! I honestly hope i managed to tag everyone because sometimes i lose a username (sorry in advance)🙈 
Hope you like this chapter, ad if you want, let me know what you think in my askbox xx 🍓
ps: look how cute Angel is when he sleeps!!!!!
/ Previous parts
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The next hour and a half went by in a blur. You and Angel sat on the sofa as he proceeded to explain to you everything about what he did with the club: the drugs, the tunnels, his past, his mom. Multiple glasses of water later, there was a thick silence in the room, your arms were crossed over your chest as you stared everywhere but him, and he sat there defeated, because he knew what was coming: heartbreak.
He was the first to break the silence, “I opened up myself to you, please say something”. His voice was desperate and your heart ached. “I don’t know what to say. This is… a lot”, you had tears in your eyes, and he might not be a genius like EZ, but he could see how uncomfortable he had made you. And he hated himself for it. He nodded in understanding, and you spoke again, your voice wavering. “I just… I hope you can understand this isn’t easy for me”, rejection was coming Angels’ way, he was sure of it, so he did what he did best: building his walls back and acting as if he wasn’t breaking inside.
“It wasn’t easy for me to tell you all of that shit, either”, his voice got rougher and you looked at him, a frown on your face as your tone got firmer, too. “Well, I’m sorry I’m not used to all of this drug bullshit. – you looked at him, and while the strong façade you had put on started to crumble, Angel’s eyes stayed hard, staring into yours – I’m sorry I’m not from your world, I’m sorry I can’t understand what you’re going through. I can try, for you, but now I just need to come to terms with everything you told me. This may be just another day to you, but not for me. All I’m asking is some time”, you finished your rant with a sob, and his gaze softened at seeing you like that, he wanted to hug you so bad, but he was playing the role of the big bad biker and couldn’t get out of character now. El Pardino’s words echoed in his mind, “If she doesn’t accept it, you just let her go”. He was too afraid of losing you, and he thought that acting like this would make it hurt less. “Call me when you wanna talk”, he got up, making his way to the door and getting out of your house, not looking back.
You remained on the couch, the same couch you and Angel had spent so much time making out and cuddling on, it had become a place for sadness. You cried, and doubted your feelings towards him: was this a sign that it was best to break up with him? Could you take what came with this life? Would this happen again? That night, you couldn’t sleep. Every time you closed your eyes, your saw the pictures again, and every time it was hard to breath. Angel rode home, entering his apartment as if he was in a daze, he walked straight to the cupboard ad grabbed a bottle of tequila, drowning his feelings in alcohol and weed. He drank to escape his reality, to pretend that everything was fine, just for one night.
/
Angel arrived at the yard late, but when he did show up, everyone could see he looked like shit. He didn’t say a word to anyone and walked straight to the bar, asking Chucky for a bottle of water and some painkillers for his terrible headache. He kept quiet for most of the morning, and then lunchbreak came, so he sat at a random table and began eating. “Ain’t your girl coming around, today? – Coco spoke, plopping down next to his best friend – you could use some tlc to get that fucking shitty mood off yourself”. Angel winced at the mention of you, and Coco looked at him, his brows furrowed. “Nah, I’m good”, Angel replied and continued to eat; his friend kept quiet but looked at EZ, who just shook his head, signaling he also didn’t know what was going on.
In the afternoon, after work, EZ (poor guy, always babysitting and taking care of the others) had to snatch away his brother’s third beer, telling him to go home and get his shit together. That had made Angel scowl at him. “Mind your fucking business, prospect”, he spat the last word like it was an insult. Everyone was silent, not daring to challenge him if he was in a bad mood. Angel didn’t say anything else as he grabbed his stuff and stormed out the clubhouse, Coco going after him. “Hey, hermano, where ya going?”. “Home”. “Talk to me, c’mon”, Coco grabbed his arm and Angel yanked it away harshly, turning towards the other man and looking at him with angry eyes. “I told her everything and she said some shit about needing her space”, Angel huffed out and put his helmet on. “Everything?”. “Everything, Coco. And now I am alone again. I’d appreciate all of you not pouring salt into the wound and just letting me be”. He started his bike and sped off the parking lot, leaving a stunned Coco standing there. When he went back inside and relayed the information to his brothers, they all felt sorry for him and agreed that it would be best to leave him some time to cool off. Nonetheless, the old Angel was, seemingly, back.
/
You, on your end, weren’t doing much better. You had cried yourself to sleep on the couch, woke up late and had to rush to work. All day, you couldn’t think about anything other than the man that had been in your life for the past months. Luck didn’t seem to be on your side: as soon as the bell rang, marking the start of lunch time, you smelled a familiar cologne, and you turned just in time to see Miguel Galindo approaching you; he was wearing an almond-coloured suit with the usual white shirt underneath, perfectly complementing his skin. He invited you to have lunch with him at the same café you had been to a couple of weeks prior, and you figured you could use some distraction.
Miguel had done his homework: he had Nestor find out what he could about you, where you were from, what schools you attended, how you got to Santo Padre. Knowing all these things (but bringing them up in a way you wouldn’t be able to know he knew), it was easy for him to hold a conversation with you, even though he noticed how you seemed to space out from time to time.
“Is everything alright?”, he politely asked. You were brought out of your thoughts, and you softly smiled at him. “Yes, I’m sorry, I zoned out”, you apologetically smiled and shook your head. “Something’s bothering you?”, he asked, straightening up and leaning forward towards you. “Just… a rough night. Nothing that a good night of relax can’t fix”, you lied, still smiling at him and looking at the time on your phone. “I should probably get back, I have a class in 15 minutes”, you got up and gathered your things in your purse, grabbing the check, which was immediately snatched from your hand. “I’m not letting you pay, señorita. It was my pleasure to have lunch with you”, his hand brushed the small of your back, almost imperceptibly, and he said something to the waiter, who nodded and Miguel led you out of the place.
/
You were talking by the entrance of the school, just after the bell rang, when you heard the roar of a bike approaching. Instinctively, you averted your gaze from the man in front of you just in time for EZ to climb off his bike and spot you, and spot Miguel: Taza had sent him to see what was wrong with Angel.
“Hey”, he shortly greeted you with a smile, his eyes meeting Miguel’s, who was standing way too close to you for EZ’s liking. “Prospect – Miguel said, an amused smile on his face – what brings you here?”. “Family business, actually. – the prospect turned to you and smiled, completely ignoring the look on the other man’s face – got a minute?”. You nodded and turned to Miguel, “I’m sorry, I have to go”. “Don’t worry, we’ll catch up some other time”, he leaned in and kissed your cheek, a common greeting. EZ looked at the two of you with wide eyes, but as soon as he could, he dragged you over to where his bike was parked but didn’t let go of your arm. He asked you what happened with Angel and you gave him a brief explanation, you really didn’t want to think about last night, or Angel, at all at the moment, and he felt it, too, so he let you be.
“And what the hell was that? Galindo? Really?”, he crossed his arms on his chest and you did the same, not liking the implications of his tone. “It was just lunch. God forbid I relax for an hour, eh? You and club have all these girls around, ready to throw themselves at you – and don’t say it’s not true or it doesn’t matter, Ezekiel. I’ve seen the way they look at y’all, at Angel… I had a shitty night and for once someone manages to get my mind off that, and it’s a problem?”, tears were threatening to spill from your eyes, all the emotions you held inside, spilling out. He never meant to insinuate something, and the fact that you were feeling like shit, just like his brother, meant that the discussion had taken a toll on you, too. Still, it didn’t change the fact that it was Miguel Galindo who helped you take your mind off of Angel.
You sniffled and lowered your head to regain some composure, first of all, because you were in public and secondly because you knew that your outburst to EZ was uncalled for, and he didn’t deserve it. “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to. – you said and he nodded, his gaze was full of understanding, but you still felt bad – I have to go, now. I’ll see you”, and with that, you made your way to your car and left. EZ followed your car with his eyes, and when he was sure you couldn’t see him, he got out his phone and called his brother. “Angel, you gotta get your girl back, rápido”.
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mrs-geuse · 4 years ago
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Jealousy - Hank Anderson x Reader
Re-posting because Tumblr didn’t let it show up in the tags...
Anonymous requested:  “Can you please write some jealous!hank x reader? Or some Hank x pregnant!reader fluff?”
(I tried to keep this as gender neutral as I could, sorry if there are mistakes!)
Warnings: Language, alcohol use.
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Hank Anderson should not be one to judge about public intoxication – and he was not judging. He was worried. This was so not like you.
Connor had been the one you called and that stung. He tried his best to swallow down that jealousy, he really did, but he was so hopeful to come in and play the hero for you. There was something about you that just made him want to play protector, but he knew you’d hate that.
Yet you still called Connor when you got drunk tonight and it was obviously not a call to Hank. Whatever the Hell that meant. What you and Connor had was a friendship and he needed to let that go.
“Hank, they’re at Crazy Matt’s,” Connor’s voice interrupted him as he grabbed his keys from his desk, shouldered on his coat.
“Glad they answered for you,” was Hank’s only response.
“That didn’t happen. Location services are still on their phone. I…noticed from the social media post that was made.”
“Great detective work. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve gotta go get my ass handed to me by your bff.”
Connor had a date tonight and Hank couldn’t help but wonder if your outburst was due to that little fact. Naturally, Hank’s only date was with a bottle when he got home so Connor called in a favor. Of course, he was glad to do it – the three of you were pretty inseparable after you’d met.
So here he was speeding toward Crazy Matt’s to pick you up. Too fuckin’ bad, you didn’t want company. Pain in the ass…
In the small parking lot, he noticed your car wasn’t there and he was instantly cussing because – damn it – if you dipped to another bar, he was going to have to chase you around this city all fuckin’ night.
He slammed the car door harder than necessary and stormed his way toward the entrance. Crazy Matt’s was a pretty seedy place and he hated that you went there. Apparently, you knew the owner or some shit.
Eyes scanning around the bar, he grumbled to himself.
“Can I get ya somethin’?” the dark-haired man behind the counter greeted him.
Hank ignored his interest in what was on tap. “Do you know Y/N?”
The idiot let his expression change, yet responded, “Who wants to know?”
“Look, it’s been a long night, and I’m a friend,” the term stung something in him and the thought he’d like to drown in alcohol. “I just need to know they’re okay.”
He nodded. “Saw them go out back a few minutes ago. Left their drink so I’m sure they’ll be back.”
Hank tapped the bar, nodding in thanks as he glanced at what you’d been drinking.
There was a lot to be said about Hank, but he was not a patient man. A few seconds and he was back outside, glancing down the side alley.
What, had you gone to hook up with somebody? Fuckin’ a…
The sight shocked him.
“Y/N!?” he jogged over because it was all he could muster.
You stopped momentarily, looking breathless and disheveled and…damn it, alluring. But his eyes were instantly on your bleeding knees.
“What the fuck happened?” he almost pulled out his gun just in case something was amiss.
You waved him off, patting him on the shoulder and he stilled at the touch. “Guess I’m not great at running while inebriated,” you answered simply.
“And you were running because…?” during his question, you held his shoulder, balancing so you can pull off your shoe and get the gravel out.
He wanted to wrap his arms around you but instead he shoved his hands in his pockets.
“Some jackass stole my wallet,” you waved it in front of you, clearly having gotten it back. You weren’t too flustered but the blood was dripping down your knees and it kinda stung.
You stumbled a little when getting the shoe back on and he was forced to hold you upright, your shirt having slid up just the slightest and his thumb pressed against your bare skin. Hank inhaled sharply, moving his finger as soon as he noticed.
“I’m taking you home,” he responded gruffly.
“Fuck off,” you pushed your hand against his chest but it did nothing to move the big man. “I’m not going home.”
“Jesus Christ, Y/N, you’re bleedin’ all over the place. I’m leaving and you’re coming with me.”
“No,” you pulled from his grasp, stumbled a little, still feeling your drinks. He caught you and his grip was surprisingly soft considering his voice was gruff.  “Hank,” you muttered, grabbing onto his jacket and sliding your hands up to the collar. You watched his Adam’s apple move as he swallowed hard. “I’m going in to finish my drink.”
“The drink on the bar?” he managed to question. At that, you nodded. “Yeah, no you’re not.”
“Hank!” you were about to debate with him when he interrupted you.
“-Be pretty stupid ‘a you to leave a drink unoccupied for so long then down it. You know better than that.”
You smiled at that; glad he wasn’t arguing with you for once.
“Then buy me another one, Lieutenant. Let’s enjoy the night.”
Your tone of voice stirred something in Hank and he struggled to speak something coherent for a moment, his mind traveling to some impure thoughts.
“Yeah, sure.”
•••
Hank needed a drink, but didn’t expect to have one at a seedy bar tonight. He’d bought a bottle and was ready to tell everyone else to fuck off on this Friday night, but the change of plan wasn’t terrible.
The anxiety he felt at the moment was overwhelming. It wasn’t often that the two of you were alone, Connor playing a big part in the times you spent together and you both were very aware of that. But you’d become fast acquaintances and he’d grown to enjoy your company.
“Thought you were goin’ to clean up,” he nodded at you as you stayed right beside him at the bar.
“Eh, sure, I will. They got a deal goin’ on tonight,” you wriggled your eyebrows.
“Oh yeah?”
“Two shots for the price ‘a one.”
“Shots?” he repeated.
“Yeah. So…you’re my whiskey guy, aren’t ya?” you nodded at the bartender and ordered some.
“Christ…” he muttered, wiping a hand down his beard.
“Aw, come on, Hank, I know you’re always drinking alone. Live a little,” you gripped onto his jacket again, looking up at him with those eyes and, fuck, was he done for.
“Fine,” he grunted when the glasses come. You clinked the glass with him, smirked, then both slammed back two shots.
The burn was so welcomed right now, he needed something to rid his clouded mind.
“How about you get us another drink?” you sauntered off to the bathroom to wipe off your bloody legs.
And, fuck, what was he doing? He knew you and Connor would go out sometimes, knew the boy wonder didn’t drink with you and you’d sometimes make a comment that Hank should join. He avoided it. Because it was you. Because he knew what he would be like with alcohol around you and, damn it, he couldn’t let his guard down because he’d end up saying something stupid and chasing you off and the three of you would stop spending time together. Not to mention you’d end up doing just what you did tonight – calling Connor over him.
By the time he watched you wander back out of the bathroom, he was halfway done with his drink and had ordered another.
That Matt guy had stopped you and you were chatting with him, laughing at something he said. He knew you two knew each other, but how well and…well, how? Guy seemed kinda seedy, just like the bar.
Not to mention, he started touching you – hand on your shoulder, the two of you started walking toward the bar – and he slung his arm around your neck, kissed your temple, smiling the whole time.
You didn’t seem to mind, but that made Hank mind even more. What the Hell was he doing here? He’d told Connor he would come pick you up, not sit here and watch you find someone to hook up with.
Only you found the table he’d grabbed for you, came back with another round of shots.
“On the house, apparently,” you shrugged. He took one. “Oh, no, you get both. Any more, I’ll be on the floor.”
Hank could handle his booze pretty well, sure. Only he hadn’t really eaten today and the speed that the two of you were drinking…he was buzzed already.
“I need food,” you voiced, reading his mind. “Split a burger and fries with me?”
Hank swallowed back the last shot. “Sure, yeah.” You grabbed a waitress, ordered something. He felt a little loose, a little less anxious. “So, Connor’s date tonight…”
You smiled. “Oh, yeah, how do you think that’s gonna go?”
He’d meant to cast that line, hook you in, pick your brain, but you gave him no indication of discomfort.
“You first.”
You sipped your drink. “I think it’s good he’s getting out there. Proud of him for acting on his feelings, yanno?”
Hank nodded at that, contemplative. “You have anything to do with him finding the courage to ask them out?” That would tell him…
You smiled shyly. “Perhaps. Why, Lieutenant, did you miss your opportunity?”
Hank chuckled at that. “Fuck no. Plastic prick…” he trailed off. “So, what’s got you all fucked up tonight?” he blurted and then, “shit, I’m sorry. That, uh, that voicemail to Connor…”
You were surprised by that, though you knew he was blunt. “No, it’s fine. I…just long week. Stupid shit at work, tired of biting my tongue when people wrong me. Just…felt like I needed a night to be in my feelings.”
“Oh.”
“Oh?”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “I’m just really fucking dull, aren’t I?”
“Hank…why…” you looked concerned for a second. “why do you say that?”
Maybe it was the shots talking or the kindness you showed him, but he admitted, “Thought you…maybe had feelings for the kid.”
“What!?” you almost spit out your drink. “Hank, he…he’s like a brother to me, that’s pretty fucked.” You laughed and he was glad he hadn’t pissed you off, seen your fire. He knew it was there.
“Ah, I’m fucked so don’t act too surprised.” He downed the rest of his drink.
“Cheers to that,” you clinked your glass with his and drank.
“You come here often?”
“What is that, some shitty pickup line?” you laughed and he noticed your eyes flash to his mouth.
“Well, no, just…curious. What’s up with the owner?” he couldn’t help but ask.
You leveled your gaze with his. “Hank,” you started to which he hummed, acted casual. “I’m sensing a pattern here. You worried? Competition?”
“Wh-what?”
You winked at him. “You got nothin’ to worry about, old man. We just gotta leave before…” you glanced at the bar, expression changing.
“Before…?” his slightly-more-than-buzzed mind was slow to the take, that and the flirtatious air about the conversation was giving him some ideas, stirrings in his gut…
“It’s Friday, isn’t it?” you mumbled with a sigh. “They…uh…do this thing…” you started looking under the table and Hank was slow to the take, pressing his arm over his lap as your eyes scanned down there.
“What the fuck?” he felt his cheeks heating up. “Y/N?” Seconds later, you pulled a pink sticker out from under the table. “What the fuck?” he repeated.
“Oh, God…”
A voice came over the loud speaker by the karaoke setup, announcing, “You know what time it is, folks. If I could please have everyone look under their tables for a sticker…” the announcer gave the crowd a second and people around them followed instructions. “Here at Crazy Matt’s every Friday at 8 we do a nice little ice breaker. Hold your stickers high if you’re one of the five lucky tables.”
Y/N sat perfectly still and Hank felt a sense of dread but also…some excitement. You kept looking a little lusty toward him. A waitress was coming by each sticker table and dropping off some salt and limes and vodka…
Oh, shit…
“Don’t be shy, Y/N,” a voice called. Matt, the owner, walked over. “Soon as I saw your friend here sit down, I knew it was gonna be a show…come on, partake. Live a little. On the house.”
“Y/N?” Hank asked tentatively. “What the fuck’s going on?”
“Body shots,” Matt answered instantly. “Every Friday at 8, we treat our guests – if they sit at the right table. Little ice breaker, some free shots, good company…” he eyed Y/N. “I’ll gladly take your place if you’re…”
“No,” Hank found himself answering instantly, to your surprise. The thought of him licking salt off your body, drinking a shot off your skin…Hank had enough of this jealousy bullshit but he was not going to sit idly by.
Matt raised his hands up, nodded, walked away as the waitress dropped the supplies off.
“Hank, you don’t have to…”
“Nah,” he waved it off. “I…why the fuck not? Live a little, right?” he quoted that asshole, was for sure pretty far gone to be agreeing to this, his heart pounding harshly in his chest.
The announcer talked them through the steps as the waitresses cleared off the tables. When was the last fuckin’ time he’d done somethin’ like this?
You looked tentative as the waitress took your hand, helping you up on the table. Hank looked at you, gazed at your body as you laid back, tried to keep his mind focused on something else and not how you looked sprawled out in front of him. The alcohol let his mind wander. And then your hand halted the waitress and Hank’s mind cleared.
“Y/N?” he asked.
“Hank, you are not drinking a shot out of my bellybutton,” you laughed, glancing around at the other customers doing just that. He didn’t know how to respond so he just stood there looking stupid, feeling stupid for agreeing to this if you were just gonna back out. Fuck, he put himself out there just for you to turn his ass down… You grabbed the salt shaker and looked up at him. “Well? How do you think that salt’s gonna stick, Lieutenant?”
It took him a second to register, but he nodded, grabbing the shot glass the waitress brought over. Slowly, he watched you lift your shirt, saw the exposed skin, almost groaned. You handed him the salt shaker and watched with eager eyes as he dipped his head down toward you. The sensation of his facial hair registered first and then his soft lips pressing an open-mouthed kiss to your abdomen. You inhaled sharply at the sensation, biting your lower lip.
Your fingers almost forgot to fumble for the plate of limes, but you managed to as soon as he started sprinkling the salt on you and then his mouth was back to lick it off your skin. You moaned against the lime in your mouth, unable to hold back.
Hank smirked a little, stood up, took the shot. As he swallowed, he leaned down to get the lime, his mouth lingering over yours before biting into the thing, his lips ghosting over yours.
“Annnd switch!” came the announcer’s voice before Hank was even done.
He pulled back quickly, stood straight, pulled the lime from his mouth, then helped you back off the table.
“I, uh…” he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
“My turn,” you chuckled, stepping close to him, pressed your hands to his belly.
“I am not showin’ my shit in here,” he stopped the trail of your hands toward the hem of his shirt.
You shrugged. “Suit yourself,” and instead moved your hands to his collar, pulling it down slightly.
Before Hank knew it, he felt your lips on his neck, tracing your tongue over the sensitive skin, nipping a bit.
“Fuck…” he mumbled, completely aroused at that point.
You sprinkled the salt on the spot then inched up to put your mouth back, flat tongue lapping it up. It ended before he wanted it to and his half-lidded gaze watched as you slammed back the shot.
Fuck.
He grabbed the lime, put it in his mouth, felt like a complete idiot. When he turned back to you, he felt your hands grip on the back of his head, dipped to meet your lips, stopped himself from grinding his body against yours at this close proximity.
Your lips were on his, no shame, no ghosting like he’d done, full-on around the lime, kiss…
You bit the fruit, pulled it from his mouth, tossed it on the plate at the table, then pulled him back in for another kiss.
Hank felt like the floodgates had opened. Fuck, had he thought about what it would be like to kiss you…
His fingers gripped at your hips, pulled you into him, mistakenly let you feel his erection.
“Hank…” you pulled back from the kiss, traced your hands down his torso.
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“Your order,” came a voice and, go figure, it was that Matt guy holding their burger and fries. “Oh, sorry, am I interrupting something?”
And there it was, perfect timing for you to pull away from him, slap him, call him a pervert for getting so worked up over this…
“Can we get that to go?” you asked Matt and Hank couldn’t help but stare dumbfounded.
“Uh…yeah…I…yeah,” Matt scurried off.
“Too much?” you asked, gnawing at your lower lip.
Hank felt like his jaw was on the floor still. “I mean, this…you…”
“I’m done being in my feelings, Hank, so I’ll be very forward: I want you. This ends one of two ways tonight and both of them I need to leave.”
Hank felt bold for once tonight. “What are the options?” his voice was deeper, laced with flirtation, arousal. He stepped closer to you to hide his erection in case someone was looking.
“Either I go home alone, cold shower, play with myself to get you off my mind…or you take me home, we eat this together, and see where the night takes us.”
Hank never thought he’d leave half-empty drinks at a bar but on this occasion, he gladly raced out with you in tow: dinner in a to-go box, whiskey half-drunk next to the tip on the table.
So maybe you weren’t lying – you weren’t into Connor after all…
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twomoonstwosuns · 5 years ago
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in too deep.
back to you [series masterlist]
previous part · next part
pairing: professor!poe dameron x reader
warnings: alcohol, smut (18+), swearing, age gap (reader over 18), everything consensual
word count: 4.0k
a/n: tag list is open, let me know if you wanna be added! feedback is greatly appreciated. also this whole series has gotten such a great response so thank you so much <3
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Do you want to go on a date with me?
Want to get a drink with me sometime?
You had rehearsed it in your head seventy time since you got ready for class that morning.
The only thing you didn’t have prepared was what he would do if he actually said yes.
You knocked on Poe’s office door, the momentum from your knuckles causing the door to move in place. “You wanted to see me?”
Poe gestured you in, pausing the cleanup of all the papers on his desk. He left the door open, the tiny glimmer of hope that office sex would happen going straight out the window.
“Yeah, I finally found that book for you.”
Poe pointed to the thick book on his desk. You walked in and picked it up, thumbing through a few pages in the middle. You had been talking to Kaydel before Poe’s class a few days prior about a paper you were starting to write but finding very few sources for and he had heard you, mentioning to you that he might have something that would help.
“Shit, this is heavy,” you said, putting it into your bag. “Thank you, really. I’ll try to get it back to you soon.”
“Take your time with it. There’s a lot of info you might find useful in there, you might need to keep it for a while to be thorough. It’s not exactly at the top of my reading list right now, so I won’t miss it.”
You smiled appreciatively. Your brain told you this was your opportunity, the question on the very tip of your tongue. You opened your mouth to speak, but Poe spoke first.
“There’s something else.” You raised your eyebrows, waiting for him to continue. He let out a heavy sigh as he busied himself with piling up the papers on his desk. “I have a date tonight.”
Your lips parted like you wanted to say something, only you realized you didn’t know what to say. You were quiet for a moment, clearing your throat as you shifted your weight from one foot to the other.
“Oh.” You feigned nonchalance, but your mind was racing with questions. You kept your face as neutral as possible. “Ok.”
Poe finally glanced up at you, looking for any signs of protest.
“I know what we’re doing is casual—“
“It is,” you replied a little too quickly. “I mean, it is. Casual.”
The added inflection of the word was not lost on Poe. His brow furrowed just a little as he studied you. You avoided his eye, instead adjusting the strap of your backpack.
“Thanks for letting me know.” You backed towards the door, finally meeting his eye and giving him a tight-lipped smile. “I gotta go, but have fun tonight.”
Poe opened his mouth to stop you as you turned away but he didn’t say anything. You had already rushed out. With his hands on his hips, he looked down at the papers in front of him, thinking how he kind of didn’t want to go on this date, but it was probably for the best that he did. He was getting too attached to whatever you called what you were doing. That didn’t stop the sting in his chest upon having to tell you.
But you did seem upset about it, and it posed a question in Poe’s mind: why would you be upset about that if you didn’t care?
Perhaps he was overthinking it, reading too much into it, but he couldn’t help but feel elated at the idea of you not being ok with him going on this date. He replayed your whole visit in his mind, from the moment you smiled at him to your face falling at his news. He told himself that there was in fact jealousy in your response, and Poe suddenly didn’t care if the date went well or not, because there wasn’t going to be a second one. He really hoped he was right about you, because maybe it meant you wanted a more than a physical relationship.
Stars know Poe did.
You waited until you were a safe distance away from Poe’s office to let out a loud sigh. A heavy weight landed on your chest and you wished you hadn’t stepped foot in his office. He interrupted you before you could ask him out, but you could’ve asked him not to go after he told you. But you didn’t, and you missed your chance.
“Y/N!” Karé greeted you happily as soon as you stepped foot in your apartment. “What do you say to going to Maz’s tonight? Celebrate the beginning of our last ever semester of undergrad?”
You dropped your backpack, thinking before nodding with a smile.
“Let’s do it.”
You quickly changed into something nicer and did your hair and makeup, meeting up with your roommates in a record thirty minutes. The walk to the bar was a cold one, but better than trying to deal with someone staying sober to drive home or worrying about leaving a car somewhere overnight.
Maz’s was a sports bar frequented by college kids Thursday through Saturday, though it was still popular amongst the locals. The owner, Maz Kanata, was an older woman with a zest for life so grand that she could keep up with hundreds of drunken college students each weekend. She got to know her customers and was a very well known by everyone.
“Alright, quick question before we start drinking,” you said as you slid into a booth with Jessika on your right and Karé across from you, two drinks in front of each of you. “Hypothetically, how would bring up possibly going on a date with the person you’re casually sleeping with who just so happens to be out on a date right now?”
Jessika nearly choked on her drink.
“Hypothetically? Since when do you want a relationship with your booty call?”
You glanced at Karé,who didn’t look as surprised as Jessika. Since your confession to her the night you came back from Poe’s, she had a feeling that you were feeling something different.
“I’ve been really enjoying myself with him lately. And the way he makes me feel…I just thought maybe we could get to know each other, see if it could go anywhere beyond physical. But I also don’t want to scare him away thinking I’m looking for commitment. And I don’t want to ruin what we already have going, which might happen if I ask for a date and he says no.” You expressed all of your concerns; the words just tumbling out like word vomit and you hadn’t even had a sip of alcohol yet.
“You said he’s out on a date right now?” Karéasked, giving you a sympathetic look. You nodded.
“My stomach dropped so hard when he told me. I’m surprised I managed to keep my cool.” You couldn’t help but glance at the time on your phone. It was still early in the evening, just getting to 7p.m., and you wondered if Poe was getting ready to leave or if he was already out. “I don’t know, maybe I should just be happy with what I’ve got. I might not get him for much longer if his date goes well.”
“I think you’re thinking too much.” Karésaid.
“If you told us who he is…” Jessika hinted, but you shut her down with a single look. She held her hands up defensively. “Alright, alright, I won’t ask again. All I can say then is go with your gut, not your heart. Just make sure you’re sober.”
You nodded in agreement as you took a sip of your drink. Your heart was telling you to go for it, risk getting it broken, but your gut was telling you to think about it. Was it really a good idea to get into a relationship with your professor?
Your night with Poe had not left your mind once. Everything from the subtle touch of his fingers in your hair and the lingering kiss he left on your forehead to the way he listened to you attentively without judgment was replaying on a constant loop. You also couldn’t help but think of the little things you’d become so fond of: the crinkle of his eyes and the dimple in his cheek when he smiled, the way he sometimes got passionately carried away when talking during class, and the way his tongue would peek out when he was heavily concentrated on something.
You were getting in so fucking deep that you didn’t know how you’d come out of this without a broken heart.
Two-for-ones turned into two more and soon you found yourself swaying drunkenly to whatever music was playing in the bar. You knew your limits, allowing yourself to enjoy your drinks to the point that you wouldn’t start pouring out all of your secrets. But you did get drunk enough to make some not-so-smart decisions, which is what you did when you stepped outside and called Poe. He didn’t answer his phone, but you left him a very explicit voicemail telling him how much you wanted to fuck him in that moment and all the things you wanted to do to him.
Like your thoughts, your dreams tended to get a little dirty when you drank too much.
You woke the next morning, slightly hungover with a deep desire and an ache in your core only Poe could fulfill. The smell of hash browns and bacon had wafted into your room, the thought of a greasy breakfast making your mouth water. Stepping into the kitchen, you immediately hid your face in the hood of your sweatshirt as your head throbbed, the sunlight glistening on the white snow and making it unbearably bright. Snap stood at the counter, a mug of coffee already made up and he handed it off to you.
“Were you at the bar last night?” You asked, taking a sip and relishing in the feeling of the hot drink warming your insides. Snap chuckled.
“You don’t remember?” You shook your head. “You three got drunk and barely made it down the block before you were walking into snow banks. Karé called me to come pick you guys up.”
“Coffee, breakfast, and a sober cab. I owe you so much,” you mumbled as he set food in front of you. “By the way, if the other two aren’t out here in fifteen minutes, I’m eating their breakfast.”
Snap sat down next to you, stealing a piece of bacon from your plate and getting his hand chased away by your fork. “Karé told me you had a rough night last night.”
You shrugged your shoulders. “My…friend had a date last night.”
“And you’re mad about that because…”
“Because it should be me out with him. I like him and he’s out with some other girl. God, I’m pathetic.”
“You’re not.” Snap assured you. “I don’t need to tell you that friends with benefit type relationships cause complications. You’re experiencing it right now. Just do what’s best for you and if things don’t work out like you want, I’ll gladly be your sober cab.”
You smiled and gave him your last piece of bacon. “You rock, Snap Wexley.”
“I know,” he said, standing up and taking away your empty plate. “Go shower, you smell like a distillery.”
You stuck your middle finger up at him as you walked out of the kitchen, a shower actually sounding very welcoming at that moment. Breakfast and your heart-to-heart with Snap hadn’t quelled the deep desire within you, and you nearly took care of it in the shower but stopped yourself. You expected Poe to ask you about the voicemail you left him, but what if he was still busy with his date this morning?
Your phone rang as you stood in your room in your towel and your heart jumped when Poe’s name flashed across the screen.
“You know, I was just thinking about you.”
“Funny, I was too.”
The question was out before you could stop it, and you mentally slapped yourself for sounding so pathetic.
“How was your date?”
“It was nice,”Poe said and you gulped, wondering how you were going to fake being excited for him. “Didn’t really feel a spark with her though, so I’m not going out with her again.”
You pulled the phone away from your mouth and let out a sigh of relief.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” you said, not the least bit genuine. Poe had to hold back a laugh. His suspicions about you caring were correct.
“It is what it is,” he said. “I want to talk to you about that voicemail you left me last night.”
“What about it?” you teased. You knew exactly what he wanted to know.
“Are you planning on sharing the details of those ideas you had with me?”
“Maybe. What’re you doing later?”
“You, hopefully.”
“I’ll come over in a bit.”
“My door will be open for you.”
“See you soon.”
You hung up the phone, acutely aware that it probably wasn’t the best idea for you to go over there. But thanks to your dirty thoughts and dreams, you were practically shaking with arousal. You were addicted to him. He affected all of your senses.
And if you couldn’t have him the way you wanted, you’d have him in any way you could.  
》  》  》
Just as he promised, Poe’s door was unlocked. You slipped inside quietly and were taking your winter layers off when Poe came around the corner. He was shirtless with a pair of dark grey sweatpants hanging loosely on his hips, the chain of his necklace glinting in the soft overhead light. You couldn’t help but gawk at him.
“I’m flattered, but you didn’t have to get all dressed up for me,” you said sarcastically.
“I figured we’d save a couple of steps,” he said as he took a few steps closer to you. His hair was damp and messy, like he had just finished drying it. You gulped as he took you in, eyeing you like a predator eyes its prey. “So, about that voicemail…”
You walked slowly into his apartment, deciding to toy with him a little bit. You took care not to touch him as you passed him.
“To be completely honest Poe, I don’t really remember what I said in that voicemail,” you said, running your hand across the top of the table. “But then I had this dream…”
You took your sweatshirt off, leaving you in a thin black tank that did nothing to hid the fact you didn’t bother to put on a bra. You looked at Poe over your shoulder with a smirk on your face. “…and that I remember very clearly.”
Poe chuckled lowly, throwing his head back and looking at you. “You’re a tease, you know that?”
You cocked your head to the side, licking your lips slowly while studying Poe. You crooked your finger at him, lust burning behind your eyes accompanied by a look of pure desire. Poe walked over to you, his curiosity spiking. You could see he was already starting to get hard at the mere thought of what you wanted to do, even though you hadn’t actually touched him yet. He pressed his body along yours, backing you against the side of the couch. His brown eyes roamed your face, memorizing every inch, every freckle, and every line, and you were sure you forgot how to breathe.
“Show me,” he demanded, his breath fanning over your lips as he grasped your hips. You let out an airy laugh and pressed your hand against his bare chest, your voice just barely above a whisper.
“Well, it started out like this…”
You leaned up, running your lips over the vein in his neck and following it up to his jaw, gently nipping at it. His grip on your hips tightened and he groaned when you wouldn’t put your lips against his own, where he really wanted them. You were drawing this out, teasing him as your hand floated down his chest and to the waistband of his sweatpants.
“And then…”
You said it so quietly that Poe felt the words against his skin rather than heard them. You gently took his bottom lip between your teeth, giving a gentle tug as your hand slipped into his hands and wrapped around the base of his cock. That was the final straw for Poe as he claimed your mouth with his. He grabbed the side of your neck as he tried to take control, but you had other plans. You took his hand off of your neck and pulled away, your cheeks flushed and lips swollen. He gazed at you through dark, hooded eyes, arching an eyebrow in interest at what you were going to do next.
You dropped down to your knees, one hand bringing his sweatpants down and the other applying a bit more pressure to his hardened cock. His head dropped back with a deep exhale as you took the head in your mouth. His hand found your hair and he tangled his fingers through your locks. With a flick of your wrist, you spread your saliva along his entire length. You ran your tongue along the underside of his cock before taking him fully in your mouth, your head bobbing as you sucked him off.
Your tongue swirled around the head and you looked up at him from your lashes. He was breathing heavily, his hands tightening in your hair whenever something felt particularly good. Your hand came up and cupped his balls, and he couldn’t help but springing his hips forward at the sensation.
“Fuck, sweetheart, that’s it.”
He was going to cum embarrassingly quickly. All his resolve flew out the window when he saw you looking over your shoulder at him with bedroom eyes, like he was a cool drink of water and you hadn’t had anything to drink in days. His hips bucked at the light scrape of your teeth, the feeling sending an unexpected jolt of pleasure through him.
“Stop.”
His cock left your mouth with a soft ‘pop’ and he pulled you up with his hand cupping your jaw. He stepped out of his sweatpants and you leaned in, not quite pressing your lips against his.
“I also seem to recall you saying something last week about bending me over a desk?”
You took a few steps back until you bumped into the table.
“It’s not a desk but I think it’ll still work.”
Poe followed you, turning you around so your back was against his chest. He locked one arm around your waist to keep you still. One hand gently pulled the strap of your tank top down, his mouth replacing where it laid on your shoulder while the other laid flat against your stomach, fingers splayed against your bare stomach and tracing small circles against your soft skin. You sighed dreamily as his lips sucked a mark onto the top of your shoulder, his teeth nipping just enough to send a jolt of heat straight to your core. You were positively dripping at this point. You pushed back against him, feeling his cock pressed against your back. Poe moved to the other shoulder, repeating the same action as you unhooked your arms from the straps. Your hand came up to cup the back of his head, your fingers tightening around his hair.
“Oh god, Poe…”
Poe dragged his lips from your shoulder up your neck, the wet trail stinging with cold with every breath he took against you. The smell of your hair was intoxicating. He enveloped the shell of your ear in his mouth, tugging on your earlobe with his teeth to make you whimper.
“Tell me what you want,” he growled. His hand dipped into your leggings, the groan he let out upon not finding another barrier vibrating against your skin. He rubbed lazy circles against your clit, putting just enough pressure on it to make you write in his embrace.
“You.” All of you; mind, body, you. Of course you’d never tell him that out loud. “Please, I need your cock inside me.”
Poe pushed your tank down your body, removing it along with your leggings and tossing them to the side. He pushed your body down onto the table, the wood cold against your breasts. You moaned as he ran his fingers along your pussy, feeling just how wet you were.
“You’re soaked,” he sounded pleased with himself and you gave him a small roll of your eyes. As if he didn’t know he had this effect on you. You bucked your hips against his fingers, needing to be filled to dull the ache of your pussy.
“Poe, don’t tease, please.”
Poe had a smartass remark on the tip of his tongue, something along the lines of how you had teased him and not being able to take what you dished out. But he was painfully hard and the way you were bent over for him with all of you on display made him not want to wait anymore. He guided his cock to your entrance and slid inside. The sudden intrusion made your lips part with a soft cry, the new angle allowing him to feel like he was impossibly deeper inside you. He didn’t wait for you to adjust, instead pulling out almost all the way and snapping his hips back home.
You expected it to be rough, but each thrust was deep and deliberate. Poe was making sure he put everything he felt into each snap of his hips. He wanted this, but he also wanted you. He held your hips tightly, finger-shaped bruises sure to be there later on. You rocked back against him with whatever strength you had, your hands desperately trying to grip the flat tabletop. You felt everything from this angle, the ridges of his cock against your tight walls and the table rubbing against your clit as your body moved. The sensation was overwhelming.
Your moans increased in volume as he increased his pace, both of your releases just out of reach. You had been so worked up before you got to his apartment that it didn’t take much for you to feel the heat low in your belly and the coil getting ready to snap. Poe hauled you upright, one hand tweaking your hardened nipples and the other rubbing your clit with ferocity. You clenched around his cock as your orgasm washed over you, your head falling back onto his chest. Poe wasn’t far behind, thrusting his hips once, twice into your sensitive pussy before spilling inside of you.
He held you against him as he pulled out of you, the mixture of your cum dripping down your leg. He then squeezed your hip, bringing your attention to him.
“We forgot a—“
“It’s fine,” you panted, realizing the same thing. “I’m on the pill.”
Poe set you carefully on the tabletop, stepping away from you and coming back with a washcloth. He cleaned up between your thighs, the gesture one of those little things he did that made your heart race. He tossed it aside and stood over you, hands on either side of your hips as he eyed the marks he left all over your neck and shoulders.
“Think you have a few more in you?”
You laughed.
“For you? Always.” You slid off the table, your legs still regaining strength. “But maybe in like five minutes.”
Poe smirked at you before leaning down and hoisting you over his shoulder. Your laugh was music to his ears, a beautiful song he wanted to play on repeat. You swatted his ass as he stepped over the discarded clothing and took you into his bedroom.
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hoeassproductions · 4 years ago
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Break A Leg: Chapter 11
Masterlist
***Author’s Note: Hey everyone, I am so sorry that you’ve waiting this long for this story to finish out. I happened to come on here after I haven’t been on Tumblr for almost two years. I honestly thought I had posted the last chapter but realized it’s been sitting in my drafts this whole time! How freaking lame!! Anyways, this got an updated edit and without further ado, the last chapter to Break A Leg! I hope you like it!***
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I do not own, possess, or have any links to Chris Evans, nor do I profit off of this work. Any claims otherwise are grossly misleading. This work is not to be posted anywhere else without my explicit permission.
If you would like to be added to any future tag list, reply here or send me an ask. I’d be happy to add you! Happy reading!
Word Count: ~2,500
The Beginning
“Sooooo. . .you've been talking to your mom about me?”
Chris begins to turn crimson as he tries to explain away anything Lisa may have overshared.
“Oh god, what did she say? I only told her the good stuff, I promise. I will talk to her about being nosy. She’s a sweet woman. I love her to death and tell her everything.” he says with a shrug of his shoulder.
“I could tell that, yeah.” I say, not being able to hide the smile that beams from my face in listening to him talk about his mom.
“You have no idea.” He chuckles, and I can visibly see the tension leave his body as he realizes I'm not mad.
"Don't worry Evans, I think it's sweet and I don't mind. Just a little taken aback I guess. I don't know, she seemed really excited to meet me. I want to meet her too, don't get me wrong! It's just…" I take a small breathe as I meet Chris eyes as he waits for me to find the words. "… Is she that excited to meet all of your friends?"
"Well, I mean. C'mon Y/N, you're not just anybody! You're…you're you."
Before I can push him further on what he means, he presses on.
"Y/N, about in the hallway before Sandra came out…"
"Yeah… I think that maybe we should talk…" Now its my turn to be nervous as it's not clear where he's taking this.
In the middle of Chris beginning to speak, my phone goes off. We both laugh uncomfortably, the nerves of the new subject getting more frazzled at the second interruption since being alone. Saved by the bell again!
I pull my phone out of my back pocket and I see that it's ringing for a reminder with my date with Jessie. My face drops. How could I forget about… Shit!
When Chris sees the change in expression, he can tell there's a problem. "What's wrong?"
"It's um…it's a reminder. I have to go, I'm sorry." I get up and walk away back to my cabin with conviction in my step. To my surprise, Chris doesn't follow me, but the separation is good. I need time to think.
How the hell did I not remember I told Jessie we could go on a date tonight? It completely slipped my mind. If I never set my alarm, I would not have even batted an eye staying at the dock longer with Chris. Confusion continues running through my mind as I check the clock on my phone again as I reach my porch. Had it already gotten that late? We couldn't have been out there that long already could we? And I rush back here to go on a date?!
I can only think of one thing do at a time like this. With a little under an hour before Jessie shows, I dial Hannah's number. On the second ring, She picks up.
"Hey love, love!"
"Oh Hannah, thank god. I need to talk to you, and I don’t have too much time." I explain to her everything that's happened since I got here and the current predicament. She's listens patiently, and understands my dilemma.
"Hannah, what do I do? With Jessie, and all the old feelings… It's just so easy to fall back into it but Chris…he's something else entirely. I can't get him out of my head or heart. I see small glimmers here and there that maybe he fees the same but I don't know what he wants. It's a risk to lay it all out there not knowing. What do I do? Jessie will be here any minute and I'm so confused."    
Hannah is quiet while she thinks everything over for a few moments.
"Y/N, your heart knows what you want. I know it's scary, but that's why you should go for it. Lean into the fear and trust that it would work out. Given everything you've told me, I would be hard pressed to think Chris doesn't have feelings for you. You know what you need to do. I know you gotta get ready or whatever, but I love you. Call me later if you need to talk, okay?"
"Ugh, okay. I hate it when you're right sometimes. I love you, too. We'll talk soon."
Thinking to myself as I get ready with 8pm quickly approaching, I'm finding butterflies beginning in my stomach. The nervousness of what's ahead sinking in more. Before long, I hear a knock on my door, and open it to see Jessie standing there with a bouquet of wildflowers. I welcome him in while I place them in a vase with some water.
"You look great Y/N! I have some fun stuff planned for tonight…" he trails off as he realizes something is off as I don't make eye contact with him or say anything. "Y/N, is everything ok?"
I take a deep breathe as I sit him down next to me.
'Jessie, look. Given our history, I think that it's very important that I be as open and honest with you as I can right now. All day, I've been completely distracted… and you weren't on my mind even once. I forgot about our date until my alarm went off to remind me to get ready. And then, once that happened I began to get butterflies and so nervous, but - " Before I could finish, Jessie speaks up.
“Listen, I know we've never gotten the timing right with this, but I can’t help but feel like fate has brought us together this time. Like….things have finally matched up and we can, I don’t know, give us a try? Before you say anything, can we agree to take some time this week to feel each other out. No expectations, just getting to know each other better again. It’s been awhile, and I know some things must have changed….I know they have for me.”
Giving thought to his words, my mind can’t help but wander to Chris.
Chris said it himself. TWICE. You guys are just friends. What if I go for it and he still feels that way? But Hannah was right, there is something there…something that feels beyond what I can even put into words. The almost kiss, the comfortability on the dock, him being so trusting and open with me? Why not lean in to it? And this, with Jessie? This is just…..safe. Hannah said I need to lean into the fear if that's what my heart wants…
Gathering my resolve, I think to myself for a moment, trying to figure out what the hell to say. Looking at Jessie, I can feel the right choice planting itself even further in my heart as my nerves continue to grow until the words reach my lips.
“You know what? Under normal circumstances, I would probably say yes to that but…I don't feel like I can right now. I did get butterflies before you came because I know what my heart wants. Falling back into this would be easy and low-maintenance…safe. But I don't want that, I want fireworks and passion. I want to feel electricity from a knowing stare across the room or my heart pounding from an almost kiss. I-I just…we don't have that chemistry anymore, Jessie. I have it with someone else, and I don't know what's going to happen but I know I have to at least try, or I'd never forgive myself. I'm sorry. You're a great guy and you deserve to find someone who feels this way about you, but that's not me anymore. It just wouldn't be fair to you if my heart isn't in it. I hope you understand.”
After some time of silence, the tension releases from my shoulders, and I can see him process my words.
"I guess that settles it then, Y/N. I appreciate your honesty, and to be honest, I could see the chemistry between you and Chris as soon as you guys arrived. I always told myself that if I ever saw you again, that I would try again but I understand now that I just got wrapped up in the past and I'm sorry for that."
At the mention of Chris, my eyes shoot up to meet Jessie's. "But I didn't say who it was..."
"You didn't have to. It's obvious and there's been a lot of talk since you guys got here. I shouldn't have even tried to get you back, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity for us to actually have a shot at what we kept failing at for years. Listen, he's a great guy, and if he's the one for you, I'm happy for you. Truly. You could do worse than him. Just be careful. His lifestyle and career… it's no joke."
We both fall silent for a moment at him verbalizing something I hadn't even considered yet, the fame that Chris has to bear. Where would that leave me if this goes any further?
Seeing the gears turning in my head, Jessie interrupts my thoughts thrown into overdrive. "Have you talked to him about your feelings yet?"
"No, I've been trying to deny them for many reasons…I don't know what he wants. He says we're friends, but I feel like there's more there. I know I want more, but it's scary to approach it without knowing."
"Only one way to find out kid. Follow your heart, and your gut. He'd be crazy not to go for it with you. You're a catch, Y/N."
I walk him to the door, and give him a hug on the porch.
"Thanks Jessie, and thank you for being so understanding"
Pulling away, I see that Chris has walked back, and is just getting to his porch. He waits until Jessie leaves to say anything.
"That's what all the rush was about? Him?" I can hear slight frustration in his voice as he says this to me while crossing the distance to his door. Is Chris…jealous?
"I-I, Yes it was, but I made it very clear to him that it wasn't going to work. My heart isn't in it…it's with someone else."
At hearing this, Chris comes to a halt, key at the ready.
"I had to be honest with him. I Couldn't…not when…" my words trail off as Chris' eyes meet mine and I can feel all of the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
"Not when what, Y/N?" he says, walking towards me on his porch, and I can see uncertainty dance in his expression.
I feel my anxiety and fear build up inside of me. Tears begin to well in my eyes and I know what I need to say but getting the words to come out is proving difficult.
I take in a shaky breath to gather myself. Y/N, you can do this. Tell him you're worth it. That you both deserve to give this a real shot.
My pulse quickens as my breathing begins to saw in and out of me, but I hold my ground "Not when...my heart is with you. I want you."
I look at Chris and in a matter of seconds, I see confusion and frustration fade from his face to be replaced by the biggest smile I have seen of his to date.
In seeing the change in his demeanor at my admission, the tears begin to spill over, clouding my eyes to point of blurring my vision so when I begin to feel steps on my porch, I was a little startled.
I wipe my eyes and see Chris standing before me. He reaches for me and pulls me into his arms with no words, knowing that I need a minute to compose myself.
I take in a deep breath, his scent settling around me, and I feel myself starting to relax.
"Chris, I'm.....let me explain....I-"
"No Y/N, it's okay. I'm just happy you're less of a chicken shit than I am."
I feel his laughter vibrate our bodies as he lifts his head, and pulls back to see my confused expression.
"Wait-"
"I feel the same way, and clearly you're scared but Y/N, you're one of the most kind and caring people I have ever met. I would be crazy to NOT to be interested in you! Ever since I dumped my coffee all over you and you threw your panties at me, I knew I had to keep you around by any means necessary." I slap his chest as we recall the haphazard way we met a couple months ago.
"Hey, HEY…" he says, as he shields himself from any more of my attack and we continue to chuckle. "What I'm trying to say is that you're amazing and I have feelings for you too. I don't know when it happened but you burrowed your way into my heart and I…I love having you there "
Listening to this, I am overjoyed. I grab Chris and I pull him in close, resting our foreheads together.
"Oh Chris, that makes me so happy to hear. I was so scared that I would ruin this if I said something and you didn't feel the same way but I couldn't ignore it anymore. You're in my heart too, and there's so much we need to talk about and discuss… a lot to figure out but I want to face all of that with you."
"I know Y/N. I know being with me has it's own challenges that a normal relationship doesn’t have to endure but I will do everything in my power to protect you while giving you the world because you deserve it…WE deserve it. You feel that too, right?"
"Yes, I do. I really do. There's a lot a stake when you lead with your heart."
"There always is but you're worth it, what we will build together will be worth it." He holds me to his chest again as I begin to full out cry, the emotions of it all overtaking me. After a few moments, I can feel his tears beginning to mingle with mine, and the realization hits me that this is real. This is my life and he's not going anywhere.
After we both compose ourselves and have calmed down, I embolden myself and look up into his eyes. "I guess there's only one thing to worry about right now then…to finish this."
The question forming behind his eyes before it reaches his lips, "Finish what?"
"The beginning of us."
Recognition falls over Chris face as I pull him in so our lips to finally meet for the first time, and I can feel in my soul; this is the moment I realize he's the only one that could capture my heart.
As we share our first kiss, I feel the world settle around me. This feels right, here in each other's arms without a care in sight. There's no place I'd rather be and to think it all started with a chance encounter.
                                                     ~The End~
Previous 
A/N: Again, so sorry I’m an ass and have kept this ending in my drafts. If you see this and have followed this story this entire time, thank you sooo much! Appreciate all of your likes, reblogs, and words of encouragement to make my first full fic a great experience! Writing is hard and scary, but I really enjoy it and am excited to get back to it! I have some fresh ideas that may just make it on here, so stay tuned!
Tags: @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan  @avenger-nerd-mom @mycapt-ohcapt-writes @mad-for-marvel @vanillabeanlattes @captain-ariel-barnes @emilyevanston @thewife101cevans @loricameback  @plussizeappreciationfics @a-tale-of-two-comics  @melodramaticfanatic @writingcreatingstorytelling  @mywritingsblog @disney-fire-fox @harrinoodles  @lookwhatyoumademequeue @janeyboo @aglarelen @purelyfictionallife  @cevansgirl @mrs-captain-evans @randomcevans  @nomadicpixel @elivanah-writes @katiew1973 @tchitchou26@mackevanstanfan80 @unicornpurplelife
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jidai · 4 years ago
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jidai’s budget mutuals/friends appreciation
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Hi, all! I’m quite late with this but I decided to put a small friends and mutual appreciations post in hopes of brightening up the end of this year a little bit. ❤️ If you were tagged, please make sure to check below for a small little message from me. However, I want to make it very clear that I truly appreciate all of my mutuals. You guys brighten up my dash and always reblog or create so many funny and creative posts. I just wanted to give a few special shout outs to those that have taken out the time to reach out and interacted with me past my ask box or we just see each other often.
The messages are ordered by your URL, so you might have to scroll for awhile before you see your messages. I’m so sorry lmao. 
Happy New Years, everyone!
@25th​​, Nonnie, the Young Genius. bro, remind me how old you are 🧍‍♀️ Like my brain CANNOT fathom the thought that you’re so skilled at SO many things and you’re not even in your twenties??? PLEASE SPARE THE TALENT. i will even accept crumbs. But I’m writing to tell you that you are such a wonderful presence on my dash. I always look forward to your gfx. They’re so SO good and you’re improving from one post to another. Like WOW. Now, you’re even starting an art blog, too? You’re so dedicated to the arts. I respect that a lot. Your hard work and commitment will bring you very far in life, whatever you decide to do. 
I love interacting with you. You’re such a big sweetheart and full of positivity and energy. I look forward to seeing more of your art and gfx ❤️
@biscuitwalk​, Dann, the AK Wiz. Dann, I know you’re not as active on here so idk when or if you will ever read this but I want to say that I miss you and your creations so, so much. I will say it a hundred times over and OVER but you inspire me so goddamn much. You have no fucking idea. Your works are absolutely gorgeous and unique. I can look at it once and I can instantly recognize your style (and your cute lil’ pufferfish <3). The way you utilize colors and implement various techniques, shapes, textures into your work. Goddamn, you’re so good. I always look to your work if I ever need inspiration and they help me brainstorm. God, I wish I could put it into words how much I adore your works.
We didn’t really talk for long but you seemed like such a kind and fun person to be around. I wish you the best in your future endeavors, wherever you are. Stay safe <3
@elriccs, Mirai, the Short King. 🧍‍♀️ ok look I know, I know I’m TERRIBLE at replying to you and I’m so fucking sorry. I absolutely love to talk to you but my dumbass cannot seem to reply in a timely manner LASELKSAL. That’s on me and I gotta do better. Anyways!!! Thank you SO fucking much for always leaving such kind messages on my work. I swear to god you’re one of my biggest hype man and I ALWAYS look forward to reading your tags. They’re so funny and it makes me all tingly and happy inside. Bro, like, you just radiate big fun vibes, bro. I really hope that I can get to know you better so I can just insult you until it’s too late to walk away </3
And of course, let me also remind you that I love your works so much. They way that you utilize your textures and those muted colors... OOMPH *chefs kiss* I will always love--
@lockhvrts​​, Em the Soulsborne GOD. hi em 🥺 it’s been awhile since I’ve had a proper conversation with you and I hope you’re doing okay! I miss you and our conversations where we do nothing but geek out and complain about the game industry lmao. if you manage to read this, I just wanted to let you know I miss your presence here. It’s been kinda dull not seeing your beautiful soulsborne gifs and your game rants. Let’s catch up soon. <3 stay safe and well!
@nathanprescutt, Benn, the Man. BENNNNNNNN.  I love you a lot bro. I know we haven’t had long conversations for some time and I hope I can change that! You were my first friend on this blog and I will always appreciate it. I remember us just geeking out over your works and how I would always send you a gfx request like once a week LMAO. The one thing that I have always appreciated about you was the fact that you’re very opinionated (if not, very vocal on your stance on things) and you hold your ground. There were a few time where you encouraged me to speak on topics that I think I shouldn’t and that stuck with me for quite awhile. I’m still a nervous rambling mess when it comes to debates but just know that the one time you supported me to voice my opinion--I hold it very dear to my heart. 
While I don’t spend much time together, I will always remember our animal crossing session. It was  so much fun just trashing and chilling on your island. Especially the bar :( that bar was fucking AMAZING. Maybe once FFXVI comes out, we can geek out hehe
Also, thank you so much for sending in photos of all your doggos, omg. I miss seeing them so much I hope they’re doing well. Stay hot, my German bro lol. Ich bin sehr dankbar, so eine tolle Freundin zu haben. ❤️❤️❤️
@noxdivina​, Lin the Big Dick Daddy Kind. The church is open for business bitch and I’m here to preach the GOSPEL.
Okay, jokes aside, I’m really happy that we became mutuals. You’ve always give off this like, mysterious cosmic vibe (????? huh). And your selfies just further proves that you are wtf. But you’re always so kind to those that you interact with. You’re an absolutely sweetheart and like I just want to give you a giant hug every time we interact. You’re such a soft human being. It’s so nice being around you. It’s like being tossed in the oven and baked at 250 degrees F for 25 minutes. And to boot you’re really talented, hello? God really said let there be a perfect human being and yeeted you into the universe. Thank you for always leaving such kind messages and words in my DM/askbox/works. I cherish them so much. I hope I can get to know you better in the future bc you’re rad, bro <3
anyways, updated drawing of u and maya:
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i always assume you’re in a black fur parka 24/7 and maya is coatless neck down. also deck me with those jacked arms of yours thanks  🧍‍♀️
(edit: fuck i forgot to draw a PARTY HAT ON MAYA IM SORRY)
@rokuseis​, Sei, the Dumber.
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i have nothing to say to you go away you banana hater ASELKSAEKL
BITCH, you doo bee getting on my nerve 24/7/365 🧍‍♀️ you were an unexpected but a very welcomed addition to my life. I can’t believe we really went 1 fuckin’ year without speaking to each other and then suddenly our friendship blew up because over a stupid BANANA. Now you gotta deal with me and my stupid, random, crude ass messages daily. I cannot. Clown to clown communication. But thank you so much bitch for being there for me and telling all of these funny ass stories and life experiences.
I know I don’t say it a lot because when we talk it’s literally just dogs barking at each other but I want to make it clear now: I love your humor and vibe so much. You never fail to make me laugh anytime I talk to you and I appreciate it so much. I can’t tell you how many times I felt better after talking to you. Even though sometimes your fucking jab hits hard and I end up actually inSULTED BY IT. But thank you for becoming my friend and I look forward to all of our stupid moments together. Looking forward to shitting in your sink when I finally fly to your home <3
@wolfamongthem, Anna, the Grinch. Please don’t hurt me for that title. I'm just saying if someone needs a live casting, it’ll be u. Anyways, did you know that I was so fucking intimidated by you for a long ass time, even before we became mutuals aseljas LMAO. I always see your gifs around on explore and they’re so gorgeous and then I look at your text posts and it’s u roasting people like there’s no tomorrow- 🧍‍♀️ bitch I was SCARED OF U KSKS. Now that I’ve talked to you a few times, you’re really funny like where do you find those reaction memes????? Like bro you and your shitposts is my morning cup of coffee. 
Anyways, in 2021 I expect a full-fledge review of all AAA games from you-- no more shit talking in the tags let it all out BITCH. Thank you for being such a great mutual! I look forward to see what weird shit you will send me the next time we talk lmao
@zenien​​, Selm, the I’m-gay-for-Lady-Maria-or-anything-that-moves-in-BB-Bitch™. ok bitch if I’m being honest I wrote yours last so my brain is FRIED. so everything i say from here is raw from the HEARt cause that’s all I got left. But anyhow, we savin’ the best for last! honestly, i didn’t expect you to barge into my life like that. i really didn’t. i was just gonna keep admiring with my 7 feet (2.1336 meters) pole. I’m glad you made the first move because look where we are wtf 🧍‍♀️ friends??? I wouldn’t believe you if you told me that in 2014 when I first followed you lmao. 
You’re such a kind soul. I know you may disagree but I’m determined to convince you. I can’t tell you how much I want to thank you for taking the time to talk to me during my rough bits. It’s like sitting on a wooden bench in a park during sunset and you sit next to me, just enjoying the vast sky. You radiate such peaceful energy. It’s very calming. Or you know, 2 seconds later i’m suddenly suplexed by your 40 tons of insults like what-- 
Thank you for everything, so far. Truly. It’s been so fun listening to you talk about your Bloodborne journey and see your reactions live. It’s been so fun to see you post your graphics and it continues to blow me away. It’s been so fun hearing about your life and the stories of your adulthood. Every words that we have exchanged, I hold dearly to my heart--more than you ever know. Love u bitch.
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sharekowa · 4 years ago
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Kankandara
When I was in Elementary School I was a naive hick, and fucked around with my buddies A and B a lot. We had a turbulent life.
A and I’s families had given up on us, but B’s mother was always taking care of him.
She was super strict about it, but she still did a lot of stuff for B.
B and his mother had a bad fight sometime in Middle School grade 3. He didn’t tell us what it was about, but apparently he hurt his mother psychologically.
After leaving his mother in ruins, his pops came back.
B’s pops immediately understood what had happened and went up to his wife, ignoring B.
Her clothes and hair were in tatters, and she was spacing out, staring at the floor with eyes like a dead fish. B’s pops looked at her and spoke to B.
B’s Dad: “You little shit, you became the kind of guy who could trample all over someone this much, huh? Why can’t you understand how much your mother cares about you?”
He was holding his wife, and was not looking at B at all.
B: “Shut the fuck up. Should I kill you, motherfucker? Huh!?”
B had no intent of listening to his pops.
But his pops didn’t react to this threat, and apparently kept talking calmly.
B’s Dad: “...You...you think there isn’t anything that can scare you, don’t you?”
B: “Nope. If there is, I’d fuckin’ like to see it!”
His pops was quiet for a bit, and then spoke.
B’s Dad: “You are my son. I know very well how much your mother worries about you. But if you can only hurt her in response, I have an idea.
I speak not as a father, but as a human, a third party.
I’ll be upfront, I only tell you this because you have proven you don’t care if you die. If that’s fine, listen to what I have to say.”
B apparently felt an intense energy from these words, but provoked him anyway saying “Whatever, fucking tell me!”
B’s Dad: “You know that place in the forest that is restricted? Go in there, all the way to the back. You’ll understand the rest when you’re there. Try going crazy like you did just now, if you can.”
The forest B’s pops was talking about is at the base of a small mountain where we live. It’s kind of like a sea of trees (jukai).
You can enter the mountain normally, and the forest as a whole is normal, but if you go in, there’s an area that is restricted partway through.
Specifically, it’s like if you drew a small circle inside a square, and were told not to go in the circle. It’s basically a super small part of the forest.
The restricted area is surrounded by a fence around 2 meters high, with thick chain links and barbed wire. The whole fence is tangled with layered white paper (like a unique shide), with a ton of bells of varying sizes attached.
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Shide (paper used to designate sacred areas in Shinto)
It’s so weird that it’s just a small part of the forest. The fence itself is strange. Basically, I can sum it up as being extremely weird.
Also, on specific days, I’ve seen priestesses gathered around the entrance, but I didn’t know what they were doing because those days the whole area would be restricted.
There were lots of rumors flying around, but the most common one was that there was a brainwashing facility for a cult. It’s a pain in the ass to even get there, so I barely heard of people even going that deep into the forest.
B’s pops didn’t wait for B to reply, and took his wife upstairs to the second floor. B immediately left his house and met up with me and A who were waiting for him. That’s when we heard about what his dad told him.
A: “A father saying that much to his son? Must have been bad.”
Me: “It’s rumored to be a cult facility right? I guess he’s telling you to get caught and brainwashed. You could say that’s scary but...what are you gonna do? Are you gonna go?“
B: “Of course I’m gonna go. It’s probably bullshit.“
Me and A  tagged along out of curiosity, so all three of us were going to head there.
We used different tools. I think the time was past 1:00 midnight. We arrived with high spirits, entering the forest and shining the ground before us with the flashlights we had brought.
The path is one you can hike with light equipment. We always wore jikatabi so it was easy for us to walk, but there was almost a 40 minute walk to get to the area in question. However, before even 5 minutes had passed since we entered the forest, something weird happened.
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Jikatabi shoes
Around the same time as we got in and started walking, we could hear a sound coming from far away.
The still of the night emphasizes the sound. B was the first to notice it.
B: “Hey, you guys hear something?”
We strained our ears upon these words, and yep, we could hear it.
We definitely could hear it faintly from far away: the sound of dry leaves being dragged, and the sound of branches being snapped.
Since it was from a distance and so faint, we weren’t really scared.
We didn’t think it was a person -- there’s gotta be animals around here. Reassured, we kept going.
I stopped paying attention to it after thinking it was an animal, but after around 20 minutes of walking, B noticed something again and stopped me and A.
B: “A, can you walk ahead a little bit?”
A: “What? Why?”
B: “Just do it, dude.”
A, looking confused, walked ahead and then came back to us.
Seeing this, B developed a thoughtful expression.
A: “Hey, what is it?!”
Me: “Yeah, explain!”
After we said this, B said “Stay quiet and listen veeeery carefully,” and walked ahead like he had made A do, and came back.
After he did this 2 or 3 times, we finally realized what was happening.
The faint, distant sounds were moving when we did.
When we start walking, the sound starts walking, and when we stop the sound stops too.
It was almost as if it knew what we were doing. I couldn’t help but feel a bit colder. There is no light aside from what we have. The moon is out, but it was almost entirely blocked by the trees.
We have our flashlights on, so it’s not strange that whatever it is knows where we are. But we have to squint to even see each other even though we are walking together.
What are they doing with no light on in this darkness? Why are they moving the same way we were?
B: “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Is someone following us?”
A: “It doesn’t feel like someone’s getting closer. It sounds like they’ve been at the same distance from us as earlier.”
As A said, for the 20 minutes we had been in the forest, the distance between us and the sound hadn’t changed at all.
It wasn’t coming closer or going further. It had maintained the same distance the whole time.
Me: “Are we being watched?”
A: “Seems like it...If it’s a cult or something, then they probably have weird devices and stuff.“
Judging from the sound, it wasn’t multiple people, but just one person following us the whole time.
We stopped to think a while, and decided it was dangerous to try to figure out the source of the sound. Being careful of our surroundings, we decided to keep going.
As we kept going, the sound stuck to us, but I couldn’t care less about a damn sound when we finally were able to see the fence.
...Because the appearance of the fence was even weirder than the sound.
It was the first time seeing it for all three of us, but it exceeded our imaginations.
At the same time, a thought that hadn’t crossed my mind before suddenly occurred to me.
I am a skeptic about ghosts, but even I couldn’t help but think that there is something unreal beyond that fence.
Not just anything either, but something extremely fucked.
Wait, so it’s a place with that kind of legend...?
For the first time since we came into the forest, I started to think we were in a dangerous place.
A: “Are you telling me we have to rip this and go in? No matter how you look at it, this ain’t normal!“
B: “Shut the fuck up man, don’t be pissing yourself over some shit like this!“
B yelled at me and A, who were scared upon seeing the weird fence. B used the tools he had brought and started to destroy it.
The sound of the insane amount of bells ringing was louder than the sound of him tearing it down.
But since we hadn’t imagined it would be like this, the tools we brought were too weak. Or rather, the fence was unnaturally strong. It didn’t even move an inch, so I wondered if it was made with special materials.
In the end, we had to climb it, but because of the chain link that was pretty easy.
But as soon as we got off the fence, I felt strongly that something was wrong.
I guess it was maybe claustrophobia? I felt short of breath, like I was trapped in a coffin.
A and B seemed to be feeling the same, and we all hesitated before moving more. We had already gone past the fence, though, we couldn’t stop now.
As soon as we stepped forward to keep going, all three of us realized something.
The sound that had followed us all this time had stopped as soon as we crossed the fence.
To be honest, it was so freaky that I couldn’t care less, but I was even more freaked out by what A said next.
A: “Hey guys...what if...they were in here the whole time? This fence, at least from here, has no gate...maybe that’s why they couldn’t come closer...?”
B: “Nah, no fuckin’ way man. The place where we first noticed the sound moving can’t even be seen from here. There’s no way they would know what we were doing from the moment we got into the forest.“
In normal circumstances, B would be right. The restricted zone and the entrance to the forest are pretty far part.
I wrote that it’s around a 40 minutes’ walk earlier, but we weren’t walking slowly and the distance itself is pretty long.
But as soon as the thought crossed my mind that it might not be something from reality, I couldn’t deny A’s words.
Unlike me and A who had felt a definite danger since we first saw the fence, B was suddenly very determined.
B: “I don’t know if it’s a spirit or what, but if it’s like you said, doesn’t that mean it can’t leave this fenced area? it’s not much of a big deal then.“
Saying this, we went deeper.
The fence of the opposite side of the restricted area was starting to come into view. We found something strange after we walked 20-30 minutes after crossing the fence.
6 trees were surrounded by a shimenawa, and those 6 trees were enclosed by 6 ropes, making a hexagonal space.
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Shimenawa, which are used to designate sacred places in Shinto.
There was official-looking shide, unlike the ones on the fence.
And in the center was something like a money-offering box from a shrine.
As soon as we saw it, all three of us were speechless. Me and A were starting to panic - things were really getting dangerous.
As dumb as we are, we vaguely know where and for what shimenawa are used.
The reason why this area is restricted must be what we are seeing.
We had finally arrived at our destination.
Me: “This has gotta be what your pops was telling you about.“
A: “You can’t go wild here, man. It’s obviously a bad idea.“
But B didn’t lose his determination.
B: “It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s something bad. Let’s try checking out that box! Maybe there’s treasure inside.“
B ducked under the ropes, entering the hexagon and approaching the box.
Me and A were more worried about what B might do than the box, but followed him anyway.
The box was covered in rust, perhaps because it was left outside and got rained on.
The upper part is a lid, with mesh so you can see inside, but there’s a plank under the lid so you actually can’t see anything.
The box also had something wild written on it in chalk. Probably family crests or something, but each side of the box has multiple symbols and they are all different. No two were the same.
Me and A tried our best not to touch it, but B didn’t care and touched it. We cautioned him to be gentle as he investigated the box.
It seemed to be anchored directly into the ground, so even though it wasn’t that heavy, it couldn’t be lifted.
After examining the box closely to try to see how to open it, B realized that the just the back side comes off.
B: “Yo, just this part comes off! We can see inside!”
B removed one side of the box, and me and A peered inside from behind B.
Inside the box, there were four plastic water-bottle shaped jars, with some kind of liquid inside. In the center of the box, toothpick-like sticks around 5 centimeters long with their tips painted red were arranged in a weird shape. /\/\>
This kinda shape, made of 6 sticks. Just the four places touching are painted red.
Me: “What the hell is that? Toothpicks?”
A: “Yo, the water-bottle things have stuff inside. Gross.“
B: “We came all this way for some water bottles and toothpicks? I don’t get it.“
Me and A had just lightly touched the water-bottle shaped jars, but B took one of them in his hands and started to smell its contents and stuff. Once he put it back, he reached out to touch the /\/\>.
The toothpick stuck to his fingertip for a second, maybe because he was sweating, and the shape was messed up when he let go.
That moment...
Ring rring! Ring ring!!
The bells were ringing with incredible force from the opposite direction from where we had come -- beyond the hexagon, around where I could barely make out the fence.
At this we all screamed “Aaah!”, scared shitless. We all looked at each other at once.
B: “Who is it, goddamit!? Don’t fuck with me!”
B started running in the direction of the sound.
Me: “Dumbass, don’t go there!”
A: “Yo B! It’s dangerous!“
As we readied ourselves to scramble after him, B stopped in his tracks. He was motionless, with his flashlight still facing in front of him.
“What, are you fucking with us?” As me and A sighed in relief and rushed towards him, B’s body started to tremble.
“H...hey...What’s wrong...?”
As I said this, we both instinctively looked towards where B’s flashlight shone.
B’s flashlight shone around the roots of one of the many trees huddled together.
From its rear, a woman’s face was peering our way.
Showing just half of her face, she seemed to be unbothered by the bright light and was gazing at us.
She was grimacing, showing all of her teeth, and her eyes were hostile.
“AAAAAARGH!!!!!”
I’m not sure who screamed, but at that moment we turned back and ran.
My mind went blank. It felt like my body was making the best decisions it could.
With no time to even look at each other, each of us scrambled desperately towards the fence. As soon as I saw the fence, I jumped it with all my might and climbed it with force. When I got to the top, I jumped off and tried to immediately run for the exit.
A, perhaps confused, is having trouble climbing the fence and isn’t coming.
Me: “A! Hurry up!!”
B: “Yo! Hurry the fuck up!!“
Me and B didn’t know what to do while we waited for A.
Me: “What is that thing!? What the hell is it!?”
B: “I don’t fucking know man, shut up!“
We were completely in panic mode.
Just then...
Rring! Ring ring!
The bells shook deafeningly loud, and the fence started to shake.
What the... Where is it coming from!?
Even as me and B panicked, we checked our surroundings.
It was coming from the opposite of the entrance: from the direction of the mountain. The sound and the shaking of the fence got more and more intense as if it was coming closer.
Me: “Oh shit, oh shit!”
B: “You still haven’t climbed yet!? Hurry up!!”
I knew our words were only confusing A more, but there was no way we couldn’t warn him. A scrambled up the fence with immense concentration.
The moment A was about to reach the top of the fence, me and B were not watching.
I was shaking violently, sweat pouring out all over my body, unable to make a sound.
A noticed and looked at where we were looking.
The thing was on this side of the fence continuing towards the mountain.
I had thought it was just a face, but it was actually a naked torso with six arms.
Using those arms it grabbed the chain link and barbed wire skillfully, its mouth still in a wide grimace. It was coming towards us like a spider crossing its web. Immense fear filled me.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!”
A suddenly jumped from above, crashing onto me and B.
This woke us out of our stupor, and we got A up immediately and booked it for the entrance to the forest.
We can’t look back. I just looked forward and ran and ran with all my strength.
It shouldn’t have taken 30 minutes running at full speed, but it felt like I had run for hours.
As the entrance came into view, I could see people in the distance.
No way...all three of us screeched to a halt, quietly checking out the silhouettes.
We couldn’t tell who it was, but it was multiple people. It wasn’t the thing.
As soon as we confirmed this we started running again, and ran right into the group.
”Hey! They came out!”
“You’ve got to be kidding me...They actually went past the fence!?”
“Heeey! Run and let the wife know!”
The gathered people ran to us, abuzz.
All three of our minds were blank and we were so spaced out that we couldn’t immediately understand what they were saying to us.
Then we were put in a car, and even though it was around 3:00, we were taken to a gathering hall that is used for events.
When we got inside, my mother and big sister, A’s pops, and B’s mother were there.
B’s mother aside, my mother who I hadn’t even had a decent conversation with was crying. A told me later that his pops’ facial expression was one he had never seen before.
B’s mom: “Everyone was okay...! I’m so relieved...!“
Unlike B’s mother, I was hit by my mother and A was hit by his pops. But, we both received kind words unlike any we had heard before. After each of us had spoken to our families, B’s mother came to talk to us.
B’s Mom: “I am very sorry. This is my husband’s fault, and by extension also my fault. I am truly so sorry...! Really...”
She bowed many times.
Even though she’s from another family, a parent acting like that in front of her child was an unpleasant feeling.
A’s Dad: “That’s enough. Everyone was okay, see?“
My Mom: “Yes, exactly. It’s not your fault.”
After this, most of the conversation was between the parents, and we were just spacing out.
Probably because it was late at night, and it felt like a wrap after everyone checked in on each other. At this point, we didn’t get any explanation and went our separate ways home.
Around noon the proceeding day, my big sis violently woke me up.
When I opened my eyes, her face was so tensed that it seemed like a continuation of last night.
Me: “What the fuck is your problem?”
Big sis: “B’s mother called. Shit’s going down.“
When I took the phone and answered, B’s mom was yelling in a way I had never heard her do before.
B’s mom: “B...B is acting strange! What did you do last night, up there !? I thought all you did was go past the fence!?”
It seemed like I wouldn’t be able to have a conversation with her, so I hung up and headed to B’s house.
A had apparently got a similar phone call, and both of us went to talk to B’s mother. Apparently, after B came home last night, he suddenly started screaming that all of his hands and feet hurt. He collapsed with his arms and legs outstretched, maybe because he couldn’t move due to the pain. She told us that he stayed in that pose and thrashed around complaining of pain. Whenever his mother tried to do something to help, all he did was yell “It fuckin’ hurts” and they couldn’t understand each other. She tried her best and was able to carry him to his room, but since he was still in that condition, she wondered how we were doing and had called us.
After hearing this story we immediately went to B’s room, and could hear him screaming all the way from the stairs.
”It hurts, it fuckin’ hurts!” on repeat.
When we got in the room, as expected his arms and legs were outstretched and he was flailing around.
Me: “Hey! What happened!?”
A: “Pull it together, man! What is wrong with you?”
Even when we talked to him, B just yells “It fuckin’ hurts” and didn’t even make eye contact with us.
What’s going on...? Me and A couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
We went back to B’s mother for the moment, and she asked us with a tone strikingly more quiet than earlier.
B’s mom: “Tell me what you did there. That will tell me everything I need to know. Last night, what did you do there?“
I of course knew what she wanted to ask, but I couldn’t answer well because I loathed having to remember what had happened in order to tell her.
Or rather, the fact that I saw that thing was so dominant in my memory that I had completely forgotten to think about what was the cause of it all. B’s mother clarified, asking us “Not what you saw, but what did you do?” She seemed to be indicating it.
After B’s mother told us this, we tried our damnedest to remember last night and search for a possible cause.
If the question is “What did we see?” then we should have been in the same condition as B currently is.
But even if the question is “What did you do?” We took basically the same actions towards that thing.
We touched the box too. We also technically touched the water bottle-shaped things. The only thing left is...the toothpicks....
Both of us realized. It’s the toothpicks. Only B had touched those, and he even moved their shape. He also didn’t put them back. We communicated this to B’s mother.
Then, her expression began to change and she started to shake.
She suddenly took out some paper from a drawer and dialed a phone number while looking at it. Me and A could only look on.
After she spoke to someone on the phone for a while, B’s mother came back to us and spoke with a shaking voice.
B’s mom: “If you boys take the approach of going over to their house, they can see you immediately, so go on home and get ready right now. I will speak to your parents for you, they will prepare you even if you don’t tell them anything. Come here again the day after tomorrow.“
I couldn’t understand what she was saying. We were gonna meet who, where? She ignored us when we asked for an explanation and sent us home immediately.
We both went straight home, confused and doubtful, and were told “You have to go there” without asking us any questions.
Two days later me and A went with B’s mother to a certain location, still completely in the dark on what was going on.
Apparently B was taken there the previous day.
I had thought it might be someplace far, but it was not only a different city, but a different prefecture. We rode the Shinkansen trains for a few hours, and then drove from the station for a few more. We were taken into a picturesque village in the depths of the mountains. We were shown to a mansion on the outskirts of the village. It was old and huge, and even had a separate building and storage house. It was impressive.
When B’s mother rang the doorbell, a middle aged dude and a girl came to greet us.
The middle aged dude looked Yakuza-esque, kind of scary-looking and wore a suit. The girl was a little older than us, wearing white traditional Japanese clothes and a red hakama. Basically, she wsa dressed as a shrine maiden.
As they greeted us, we found out that the middle aged dude was the girl’s uncle. He had a pretty common surname, but the shrine maiden girl had a confusing name that sounded like “aoikanjo” (this is how I heard it, at least).
Though I said they greeted us, it was apparently different from common understandings of a greeting.
I don’t really get it, but basically her family’s true identity is something we are not allowed to know.
In truth, neither of us knew anything about her or her family, but for here to make things easier I’ll call her Aoi.
We were taken to a huge ass traditional Japanese style parlor with tatami floors, and they started talking to us in a super serious tone before I could even understand what was happening.
Uncle: “Your son is currently resting. These kids are the kids who were with him?”
B’s mom: “Yes. It seems like these three went to that place.”
Uncle: “I see. You, can you tell us what happened? Where did you go, what did you do, what did you see, as detailed as possible. Can you do it?” I was surprised at him suddenly asking us a question, but me and A were able to soomehow tell the middle aged dude the events of that night.
However, around the part of the toothpicks, he suddenly said “Hey, what the fuck did you just say?” in a very deep and serious tone. We couldn’t understand what was happening and got even more confused.
A: “Y...yes?“
Uncle: “You motherfuckers, you’re not telling me you moved those things!?“
He yelled at us with such energy that I thought he might grab me. Aoi stopped and started to talk in a voice so quiet and weak it was like a mosquito’s cry.
Aoi: “In the center of the box...small stick-like objects should have been placed in a certain shape. Did you touch them? By touching them, did you change the shape even a little bit?“
Me: “Ah, um...we moved them. I think the shape changed too.”
Aoi: “Do you happen to recall who changed the shape that the toothpicks were in? Not who touched it, but who changed the shape.“
Me and A looked at each other, and told her it was B.
Seeing this, the middle aged dude sat back and sighed, and said to B’s mother: Uncle: “Mother, I’m terribly sorry, but I don’t think your son can be helped. I hadn’t heard in this much detail, but if it’s his symptoms another cause might be possible. I didn’t think he’d had moved the sticks.”
B’s mom: “No..this can’t be...”
She probably had more to say, but B’s mother looked away as if she was swallowing her words.
We couldn’t say it, but we felt the same way too. What does it mean that B can’t be helped? What is he talking about?
Even though I wanted to inquire this, my voice wouldn’t come. Seeing the three of us like this, the middle aged dude started talking, sighing along the way. Finally, we were told something about what we had seen.
Its common name is Narijara or Naridara, but in older times it was called Kankanjara or Kankandara. Apparently there’s a lot of names for it depending on the person’s age or familial background.
Currently, the most common name for it is just “Dara”. Special families like the dude’s call it the Kankandara. It’s a story close to myths or legends.
The villagers of a certain village were plagued by a giant man-eating snake. They requested its removal from a shrine maiden’s family who had hereditary various powers as the children of kami. The family accepted the task and sent a particularly powerful shrine maiden to defeat the giant snake.
The shrine maiden earnestly fought the giant snake, as villagers watched from their hiding places. However, the snake got her in a passing moment and ate the bottom half of her body.
Even then, the shrine maiden used various powers to protect the villagers and fought the giant snake with all her might.
However, the villagers saw that she’d lost half her body and decided she would never win. They proposed to the giant snake that they would like the safety of their village in exchange for the shrine maiden’s life, as a human sacrifice. The giant snake was annoyed by how powerful the shrine maiden was, so it accepted. It made the villagers cut off her arms so she was easier to eat, and consumed the shrine maiden who had become like a Daruma. With this, the villagers got a short period of peace.
Later, it becomes clear that someone from the shrine maiden’s house had came up with this plan. At this time, there were 6 people in her family. The changes occurred suddenly.
The giant snake suddenly disappeared, and people started dying one by one in a village that was supposed to not have any more enemies.
They died in the village, in the mountains, in the forest. Everyone who died was missing either their right or left arm.
18 people died, including the 6 members of the shrine maiden’s family.
There were 4 people who survived.
The middle aged dude and Aoi explained it to us in turns.
Uncle: “I don’t know where or when this story’s from, but that box has been moved locations periodically and appeased ritually.
The person managing it changes each time. There’s a bunch of house crest-like symbols on the box, right? Those are the houses that have contributed places for the appeasing until now.
There’s a gathering of people from families like ours who oversee it, and that’s where it’s decided. There are occasionally idiots who volunteer, though.
Anything about the Kankandara is not shared with people who aren’t in charge of it. Locals are just told it has some negative history attached to it, and the managing people give locals someone to contact in case something happens.”
When we tell people, the contacts, people from families like us, are there, so people understand just from that the nature of the negative history. The current contact isn’t us, but since it’s an emergency we were contacted yesterday.“
Apparently, B’s mother had called somewhere else the day before yesterday, and whoever she talked to took B here and entrusted him to these guys after talking.
B’s mother had already called there while we were in the forest, and had heard some of the details.
Aoi: “Usually, the Kankandara is moved among mountain or forest locations. I think you saw it, but the 6 trees and 6 ropes represent the villagers, the 6 sticks the shrine maiden’s family, and the 4 jars in the corners represent the 4 survivors.
The shape that the 6 sticks create is that of the shrine maiden.
Why this is how it is dealt with, or even just how the box is set up, from when...including my family, I do not think anyone currently knows any more than what legends say.”
However, the most commonly told theory is that the 4 who survived researched all about how to calm an angered spirit at the shrine maiden’s house, and created a unique format as a result.
The bells on the fence were the only part following the formula, and the chain link and such were put by the current manager.
Uncle: “There are a few people from my family who have exorcised the Kankandara in the past, but all of them died within 2, 3 years. Just suddenly, out of the blue.
The person who caused it almost always doesn’t make it out either. That’s how hard it is.“
Even after hearing all of this, us three were still completely behind. All I could do was just sit there blankly.
However, the situation changed again.
Uncle: “Mother, I think you have an idea of what a dangerous thing the Kankandara is. I said it before, but if he had just not moved the sticks he would have been fine. But I think this time, there’s nothing we can do.“
B’s mom: “Please, is there anything you can do? It’s my fault, I beg of you, please.”
B’s mother didn’t back down.
It wasn’t her fault no matter how you looked at, but she made it her responsibility and lowered her head, asking over and over. She wasn’t crying though, she looked like she had made up her mind somehow.
Uncle: “We also want to do something. But if he moved the sticks and saw that thing...
You guys saw it too, right? You saw the shrine maiden who was eaten by the giant snake. You saw her bottom half, right? And you understood the meaning of that shape?“
”...What?”
Me and A couldn’t understand his words. Bottom half? I thought we only saw her upper half.
A: “Um...lower half? I did see her upper half, but...”
Haring this, the dude and Aoi were visibly surprised.
Uncle: “Hey hey hey, what are you saying? You moved that stick, right? Then you should have seen her bottom half.”
Aoi: “The woman who appeared in front of you didn’t have the bottom half of her body? Then, how many arms did she have?“
A and I checked with each other and answered: “She had 6 arms. 3 on each side, but no bottom half of her body.”
Hearing this, the man leaned forward again, putting the pressure on us and getting real close.
Uncle: “You’re sure? You definitely didn’t see the lower half of her body?“
Me: “Y...yes...“
The man turned to B’s mother again and smiled, saying:
“Mother, we might be able to do something for your son.“
At this, B’s mother and us all held our breaths and paid attention. The man and Aoi explained what he had meant.
Aoi: “There are 2 actions that can cause the priestess to become enraged with you.
What you cannot do is change that shape that represents the priestess. What you cannot see is the priestess who is depicted by that shape.”
Uncle: “In truth, moving the sticks means you’re done for, because that means you have to see her. But somehow, for some reason, you guys didn’t see it. It should be visible to everyone, not just the person who moved the shape, so if you guys haven’t seen it, then B must not have either.“
Me: “What do you mean, we didn’t see it? What we saw...” Aoi: “Of course, it still was the priestess herself. However, it wasn’t the kankandara. She must not have had an intent to take your lives. She appeared not as a kankandara but as a priestess, so that night must have been her having fun.” The priestess and kankandara are the same, but also different, apparently.
Uncle: “If the kankandara didn’t show up, then the thing attacking that kid must be doing it for fun, like Aoi said. If you leave it to us, we will probably be able to do something about it in the long term.“
I felt like the tenseness in the air had suddenly dissipated for the first time.
It was enough to just know that B could be saved, and B’s mother’s face at this time was incredible. It was a smile that showed how much she had worried for B over the past few days and how that anxiety had suddenly got off her shoulders. The man and Aoi saw her reaction and the atmosphere became more relaxed, and suddenly they started acting like normal people.
Uncle: “We’ll take that kid in officially. Mom, we’ll explain things later. You two should be purified/exorcised by Aoi and then go home. Try not to be too reckless from now on.“
After this we talked a little bit about stuff related to B. His mom stayed and we got purified and went home.
I don’t know what they did since their family had a tradition where we couldn’t meet B. I don’t know if he was treated as having switched schools or was still in the school system, but I haven’t seen him since then. Apparently he hasn’t died or anything; he completely recovered and is living normally somewhere.
By the way, B’s father never showed his face once throughout the whole ordeal. I don’t know what he is thinking.
Me and A calmed down pretty fast.
There were a lot of reasons, but the biggest was B’s mother’s appearance. There’s a bit of an epilogue. Things were probably the hardest for her.
I felt like I was forced to think about what being a mother is like. And after this, both my and A’s parents started to interact with us bit by bit.
All of this combined, and we stopped doing dumb shit naturally.
In terms of other stuff we were able to figure out, the priestesses who convened on specific days were from the families who gave us advice.
Even though the Kankandara was already seen as dangerous, it is considered something close to kami. A giant snake was the kami of the mountains or the forest, so once a year they dance sacred kagura and offer norito prayers.
Also, we heard sounds after we went into the forest because the Kankandara is basically like, kept in a cage. The hexagon and box thing are like seals for it, so if we hadn’t moved the sticks or changed the hexagon, it would’n’t have shown itself. The place where it is appeased is decided by specific numbers defining the area within a limited part of the mountain and forest. Generally, it can’t leave that area, but if it’s surrounded by a fence, then it can crawl around on the outside of the fence like we saw.
This is all we found out. Apparently it’s been moved from where we live. I don’t ever want to go back there again so I haven’t checked, but after almost a year passed from what happened, people came to remove the fence, so it’s probably somewhere else now.
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