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tojipie · 1 year ago

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as long as trade professions exists i WILL write this man working as each and every one of them.

mechanic toji x fem reader | 2.2k words !

content: smut ! semi public (??) not sure if garage sex counts

the feeling of your shoes losing their grip nearly sends you flying as you step into the car shop lobby.

whoever was working tonight clearly had no grasp on what a wet floor sign was, opting to cover the floor in what felt like 2 feet of suds.

“oh! sorry!” suguru exclaims, extending an arm for you to hold onto. “you okay?”

“i’m ok sugu,” you tell him, feeling your anger dissipate at the sight of the shop’s newest bright-eyed apprentice.

you can practically hear him asking you not to tell his boss, eyes big like a kicked puppy.

the smile you shoot him is soft and reassuring.

suguru apologizes again, grabbing a caution sign from the supply closet.

“he’s in the garage if that’s who you’re looking for.” the apprentice adds, sending you in your husband's direction with a smile.

“toji?” you yell, scanning the 8-door garage for his telltale mop of black hair.

“on your right!” he shouts, waving an oil-stained hand in the air to flag you down. cars in varying conditions line your path as you make a beeline for your husband, following his black footprints like breadcrumbs

a 59’ impala comes into view as you weave in between the tall legs of the suspension machines. toji is crouched on the driver’s side with his back to you, fiddling with the front end of the vehicle.

“woah,” you whisper, trailing your hand over interior seats wrapped in glossy leather.

the cherry red exterior of the classic car is blinding, waxed to perfection by none other than the man in front of you

“aht, aht—hey.” toji chides, motioning for you to get your hands off the car.

“no fingerprints,” he says firmly, tossing you a rag from his equipment cart.

you quickly wipe down the headrest of the driver's seat, restoring it to its original sheen. the residue left on your hand smells like lemons, the sterile scent of carwash soap.

“you fix this up by yourself?” you ask, watching him fasten a new headlight into place. the amount of detailing was beyond impressive.

“course i did.” your husband chuckles. “can’t even trust these other guys with an oil change.”

you laugh, recalling the shop’s newest employee and your little wet floor debacle. toji reaches for the back of your calf, rubbing your leg affectionately from his spot on the floor.

“you’re the one that hires them.” you remind him.

“yeah, gotta stop doing that,” he mumbles, snorting at the way you smack his shoulder in protest.

the impala looks fresh off the conveyor belt with the amount of restoration that had been done to it. you can’t quite recall the last time you’d seen toji put this much work into a vehicle.

“what’s the story with this one?” you ask, stepping back to let your husband stand up.

navy blue coveralls come into view as toji rises from the floor, chest peeking out from where the one-piece garment is unzipped. he’s filthy, covered in motor oil and sweat. god, he looked good.

the raven-haired mechanic steps back with a cocky smile, zipping the garment down to just above his waist.

“what, like what you see?” he asks, slipping toned arms out of his uniform and tying the excess around his waist.

your mouth goes dry, eagerly taking in the way his body ripples under his black tank top.

“nah, nothing i haven’t seen before.” you tease, taking the spray bottle and cloth he holds out for you.

“right, okay.” your husband laughs, ego clearly knocked down a peg.

you’re wiping down the front windshield when he speaks again, answering your question from earlier.

“one of our regulars dropped her off a week ago, needed some help with parts,” he explains. the “her” in question being the obscenely glossy car in between the two of you.

“how’d the inside look?” you ask, strolling over to the sink. the smell of leather polish and windex gradually fades with a bit of scrubbing.

your husband scoffs, recalling the abhorrent state of the under-hood.

“fuck.. awful.” he explains, handing you a roll of paper towels. “some people don’t deserve cars like these.” he laughs, rubbing your back as you join him at the hood.

your husband fiddles with the tool cart, wheeling it closer to begin working on the tires.

“you look good tonight.” toji mumbles, leaning down to accept a kiss from you. you tug on the neck of his wifebeater just as he begins to pull away, roping him into a deeper kiss this time.

“careful.” scarred lips mumble. you feel his hand trail down your back, slipping under the waistband of your jeans and leaving just as fast.

“stop being a tease,” you tell him.

“s’ one hour till quitting time.” he says, grabbing a wrench from the cart. “can you make it, pretty girl? or do you need it right now?”

“i can wait.” you lie, not wanting to distract him from the job.

he nods, clearly not believing you.

“you remember how to get these bolts off?” he asks, handing you the wrench with a sly grin. his hulking form settles behind you as you crouch down in front of the tire he’d picked.

vintage cars like these needed a lot more manual work, not being able to withstand the force of any automated tools.

you unscrew the bolt with ease, fidgeting at the feeling of two warm hands rubbing up and down your waist.

“mhm, just like i taught you.” toji says, nosing at the curve of your neck.

you twist another one free, groaning at the feeling of scarred lips suctioning onto your neck.

“can’t focus.” you whimper, trying to wiggle free of your husband’s embrace.

“s’ not your job to focus.” he chuckles, biting the meat of your shoulder for good measure. toji takes the equipment from you and replaces the bolts with new ones, motioning for you to stand up.

you wait as he washes up in the sink, scrubbing the grime from his hands and forearms. thick hands dry themselves on his uniform, stalking over to you with a look that can only be described as lust.

“think that’s all for today,” he says, voice hinting at something much deeper.

“you’re still on the clock,” you tell him half seriously, taking note of the 45 minutes left in his shift. still, warm hands settle on your hips, backing you up against the washing station

“yeah?” he says, entertaining your jest. deft fingers slip under the hem of your shirt, lifting the garment off your body.

“funny how that works out.” he starts, “guess I'll have to live with getting paid to fuck you.”

your skin is on fire, prickling with every calculated brush of his hand. you lean up to kiss him again, feeling his tongue flit over your bottom lip.

“someone will hear,” you whine in between kisses.

“they know not to bring it up around me,” he says, lifting you onto the counter with ease.

toji’s zipper is next to go, stopping just under his crotch to reveal his boxers.

convenient you think, palming him through the opening in his coveralls. now that you think about it, why hadn’t you two fucked in the shop before?

scared lips peck over the tops of your covered breasts, biting down momentarily to leave a red mark.

the whine that escapes your mouth echoes throughout the spacious garage. blood rushing to your ears as embarrassment takes over.

“shhhh,” he tells you, crowding impossibly closer to muffle your sounds.

“can you stay quiet for me?” he asks, genuinely curious. a small nod is all he needs to seal your mouths in another kiss, shucking your bottoms down along with your panties to position himself in between your thighs.

you scoot to the edge of the counter, kicking off your shoes and wrapping your legs around your husband's waist. he doesn’t free himself from his boxers just yet, choosing to grind himself on your heat while you leave dark hickeys at the bottom of his neck.

“fuck.” he groans, flinching at how loud the sound echoes in the garage.

“quiet,” you whisper.

“i know, i know baby.” you watch as toji hooks a thumb into his boxers, his manhood already dripping with pre.

you pull away from your husband's neck right as he pushes in, a thin string of saliva connecting you to the dark bloom of purple your lips had left.

it’s a tight fit, but not impossible. the angle you’re at has you clenching down on the cock that’s splitting you open, squeezing him like a vice.

“fuck.” you whimper, lifting your husband’s tank top to expose his abs. toji bites the hem for you, letting you caress the dips of his toned muscles.

the distant echo of his rhythmic thrusts reverberates throughout the shop, drowning out your shared pants and groans.

“no fucking point in being quiet, huh?.” he mumbles with a smirk, taking you by surprise as thick fingers slide under your thighs and hoist you into the air.

“wait—wh-” you’re cut off as toji turns around, holding himself inside of you as he walks you over to the car.

“oh shit.” you gasp, mouth agape as you’re set down on the long hood of the impala.

your husband props his knee up on the vehicle, pummeling into you at an angle even deeper than before.

“thought you—ah- said no fingerprints.” you whimper, feeling yourself slide up the hood of the car with every thrust.

thick arms wrap around you, holding you in place while your husband ruts into you from above.

“you’re helping me wipe this thing down after.--fuck” toji says with finality, pulling you into a deep kiss with a hand cradling the back of your head.

the car continues to rock as the two of you go at it, filling the shop with noises that are beyond sinful.

“wanna ride you,” you mumble, taking in the way his eyes darken.

you’re flipped and carried up the hood of the car, the two of you now fully seated on a bed of cherry red aluminum.

toji settles into his back, satisfied with his work. he does it all without leaving your walls, cock still buried to the hilt.

“come on.” he encourages, moving you up and down his shaft with two hands around your waist. you’re practically being tossed around on his cock like you weigh nothing, panting and groaning while your walls struggle to accommodate his length.

“just how i like it, give it to me,” he tells you, leaning back on his forearms to watch where you two connect.

“gonna make me fucking cum, shit.”

you rock yourself onto your husband's dick, feeling him twitch each time you sink to the base.

“wait, wait.” you pant, smiling at the idea that just dawned on you.

you let toji slip out of you for the first time in half an hour, readjusting so your back is to him. cautiously, you reach both arms back, feeling him wrap both hands around your wrists.

“reverse cowgirl? on a fucking chevy? shit.” he chuckles, clearly impressed at your bold move. the raven-haired mechanic gathers both your wrists in one hand, using the other to guide his cock back into your heat.

the first thrust is agonizingly deep, pushing you closer to your edge. strong legs anchor themselves onto the hood of the car, steel-toed work boots leaving murky footprints.

“ah shit—like this?” toji groans, each hand holding your arms behind you at the wrist.

“want it like this? want me to ruin you?

"please." you groan, feeling your climax hit you like a tsunami.

the sound that rips out of toji is purely carnal, a long groan reverberating throughout the garage.

"fuck--oh fuck-hah" he pants, still reeling from the sensation of your walls pulsating around him.

you slowly lift off of his cock, holding onto his leg to balance. warm, viscous fluid drips down your thighs and onto the red surface beneath you. you hadn't even realized he came inside with how intense your climax was.

"fuck, look at this." the raven-haired mechanic chuckles.

the state of the car is absolutely abhorrent. obsidian footprints bleed into sweaty handprints. you'd think a game of twister went down if you didn't know any better.

"oh shit." you frown, stepping onto solid ground for the first time in half an hour.

guilt gnaws away at you at the thought of toji's hard work going to waste. this was his only form of income after all.

"hey, not a problem." he coos, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

"s' nothing some scrubbing can't fix, right?" you nod, lifting your arms to let him redress you.

navy coveralls zip back into place, covering the mess of hickeys you left on his chest.

you finally button up your jeans, frowning at a murky streak of oil across one of the legs.

"must've tossed those on the ground when I took em' off of you." he chuckles, dodging a swat from you.

You pad into the lobby first, blissfully unaware of a very disturbed sugaru sitting at the front desk.

your husband follows soon after, watching you walk into the parking lot.

“see ya, man.” the mechanic says plainly, shooting his apprentice a smug wave with a laugh.

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peppermintquartz · 6 months ago

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Explicit.

Yes, with the Daddy kink.

"God, I hope so."

Tommy can't believe those words left his mouth, but what is a guy to do when Evan Buckley is sitting so close looking delectable?

Evan only gazes at him, smiling in a way that seems to be hinting at something naughty. Tommy refuses to squirm in his seat. He's thirty-nine years old, he's not going to be a shy little prude about what he likes. Been there, done that, bought the t-shirts and the leather cuffs.

"I don't know, Tommy," says Evan slowly, spearing some salad on his fork, "I may need some persuading to, uh, open up to you more about my daddy issues."

He chews and raises an eyebrow in challenge.

Okay, that's it.

"Challenge accepted." Tommy feels a slow heat building at the base of his spine, but tucks that away for now. The dinner is really good and he's not about to deprive Evan of the energy he'll need. And Tommy is going to make sure Evan expends a lot of energy.

They chat about other matters: about flying for the army versus flying for the fire department, about bartending, about how Evan sued the fire department for wrongful termination ("yes, I was on blood thinners, and yes, I'm still very careful"), about the first car Tommy restored.

By the end of the meal, Tommy is less concerned with what they're talking about and more concerned about Evan's wine-stained lips and dark eyes. And from the way Evan's foot is rubbing up and down Tommy's calf, he thinks the younger man isn't interested in conversation any longer either.

"Let's clean up," Tommy suggests. He doesn't mean to drop his voice further, but the words come out in a low rumble. Evan's eyes darken even more.

They load up the dishwasher together, Tommy knowing enough about Evan not to usurp the task. When Evan closes the door to the machine and starts it up, Tommy reels his boyfriend in and says, "Good boy."

Evan swallows, his Adam's apple bobbing. "I just put some plates in the dishwasher. That's hardly difficult."

"True," Tommy allows, then swivels Evan around to face the sink, where the salad bowl is sat. "Wash that now, hmm?" He keeps his hands on Evan's hips as Evan washes up quickly, and firmly pins him against the counter when he takes the bowl, his arms going around his boyfriend to dry the wooden bowl and set it aside.

"Tommy?" Evan sounds a little breathless. "What are you..."

"Shh. Good boys don't interrupt." Tommy turns him around again, noses along Evan's jawline and breathes him in. He flicks his tongue out and plays with Evan's earlobe before biting softly on it. Evan shudders and moans, wrapping his arms around Tommy's waist and shoulder.

Tommy feels his pulse kick up another notch. He pushes a thigh between Evan's knees, and gratifyingly Evan allows it. Tommy needs to get closer, and reaches down to hook one leg up. Evan goes along with it, gasping when Tommy starts licking and sucking on that soft spot under his ear. He's hard against Tommy where their groins are pressed together, and his fingers are digging into the older man's back.

"Alright, baby, do you want it here or on the bed?" Tommy growls. He wants it to be good for Evan, he needs it to be good for Evan. He needs to see Evan undone completely.

"Bed," Evan says.

Tommy begins to move, then pauses. A wicked little smile crosses his face and he leans back to make sure Evan can see it. "That's not how you answer nicely, Evan."

Evan is flushed and his pupils already wide with lust. His mouth - and what a pretty, pretty mouth, Tommy wants to do all kinds of filthy things to it - is open, his breathing labored. "Tommy, bed, please."

Tommy is very pleased that he's strong enough to keep Buck pinned against the counter. He rocks his hips forward, hissing at the pleasurable pressure. "Ask nicely."

"I did, I said please!" Evan protests. He tries to push away from the counter but with one leg firmly hooked around Tommy's waist, he has little leverage.

Tommy leans forward to lick his way into Evan's mouth, unable to bear another second not tasting his boyfriend. "Ask Daddy nicely now."

Evan freezes for a second. His hands tighten where he's clutching Tommy, and for a heartbeat Tommy wonders if he's spooked the younger man.

Then Evan grabs Tommy by his neck and practically inhales him with hungry kisses. With a tiny jump, he wraps both legs around Tommy and, oh, that feels very encouraging, where Evan's hard cock is pressed against his abdomen.

"Take me to bed right fucking now, Daddy." It's Evan's turn to growl, and Tommy is very glad his knees are strong enough to hold him and Evan up.

It takes some tricky maneuvering before they do end up on the mattress, Tommy having had to relinquish his prize so they can both take the stairs without falling and hurting themselves, and they're stripping with the efficiency of men who know exactly what they want right now. Evan grabs the lube from the nightstand and Tommy tears open a condom.

It never fails to awe Tommy that his partners trust him so much with their bodies, and even more so with Evan. The younger man sighs into the pillows and allows Tommy into him with minimal prep, only the faintest of grimaces on his face where it may sting. Despite every nerve telling him to claim, Tommy holds still, chest heaving and arms trembling with the effort not to just thrust into that slick, hot tightness.

Evan's eyes flutter open. His pupils are blown and his lips redder than before. "Take me," he whispers. "Take me hard. I wanna feel it for days."

Tommy smacks Evan's thigh lightly. "Ask properly."

Evan licks his lips, a look of mischief fluttering over his face. His cheeks are pink and his hair fluffed up. "I don't want to."

The downfall of saints, this one, Tommy thinks, and thrusts, once, to remind Evan exactly who's in charge, and begins to pull out. "Really? Then I guess I'll just take a nap instead-"

"Wait, no, Daddy," Evan gasps, and his cheeks flame even darker with want.

Tommy is shaking inside with desire but he holds still. "Ask. Properly."

Evan blinks up at him. A coy smile curves his lips. "Please, Daddy, may I have more?"

Tommy kisses him. "Much better." He flexes his hips and thrusts into Evan's hot body. It is so much better. He loses himself to the rhythm and the feel of sweat-slick skin. Evan spreads his long legs even more and wraps his limbs around Tommy, breathing encouragement and pleas for moremoremore.

Reaching between them, Tommy wraps his big hand around Evan's hard cock. "Daddy's gonna take care of you," he rasps, stroking fast and firmly, his callused hand wet with Evan's precome. Evan whimpers, fingers raking over Tommy's back. Even in the haze of lovemaking, Tommy hopes Evan will leave scratch marks. It'll be satisfying to have visible reminders of pleasure.

"Please," Evan sobs when Tommy's thumb rubs over the head of his cock over and over, the pad of his thumb pressing into the wet slit. "Please, please, please Daddy please-"

Another soft cry and Evan's spilling hot and slick all over Tommy's hand, clenching down on Tommy's cock. Tommy valiantly strokes Evan through his climax until he's limp and breathless, telling him you're a good boy Evan, such a good boy for me, and suddenly Evan has a hand buried in Tommy's hair and he's squeezing down on Tommy's cock again - whatever Evan has been reading up on to build those muscles, Tommy is going to get a subscription, it feels incredible - and then Evan is whispering in his ear, "Come for me, Daddy, show me how I've been a good boy." And Tommy's vision whites out for a second, all sensation rushing inwards and exploding through his nerves.

When his brain comes back online, he realizes he's lying on his boyfriend like a huge immovable rock and carefully pulls out to roll to the side. Evan makes an unhappy sound as Tommy releases him from his weight, but snuggles closer once Tommy's got rid of the condom.

"I know I liked that," Tommy mumbles, his eyelids growing heavy from the post-coital hormones. "But was it good for you?"

"Yeah, yes it was," Evan replies, sounding just as sleepy. He drapes a long leg over Tommy's. "We'll be stuck together if we don't shower though."

Part of Tommy wants to say he doesn't fucking care, but another part knows that Evan won't appreciate the discomfort. He grunts and levers himself up onto his elbows.

In the dim light, Evan's an adorable, debauched angel with mussed hair and flushed skin. Tommy wishes he were twenty again, just so he can go one more round with Evan immediately.

"We can shower together," he says instead, and gets a sweet kiss. Then he adds with a hopeful bat of his eyelashes. "Shower sex?"

Evan raises his eyebrows. "We'll see if you're... up to it." With another twinkle and smirk, he tacks on, "Old man."

Delighted, Tommy smiles and grabs Evan's wrist. "Challenge accepted."

#bucktommy #tommy kinard #evan buckley #yes there is sex #i will upload to my ao3 too

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forcedtogrow · 1 month ago

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DAWG okay so masc transguy to masc transguy, WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR ROUTINE

i haven't had regular access to a gym until now and i gotta get your physique man. i'm pre everything and i wanna make sure i have pecs post-top surgery someday it may or may not be so that i can pin my future bf to the mattress and plow him. if that means anything.

My current routine has been changing because I’m not patient and I very much like to push myself to the limit. If I didn’t have obligations to my job and people in my life I’d probably workout 2 hours a day, but that’s not the case. I worked up to this routine and am trying out higher volume right now, which seems to work for me. Also, my current split might seem weird because I don’t do shoulders and chest the same day, but I like to do them separately to be able to push myself as hard as possible on both muscle groups, which isn’t possible when I do them together. You need to do flat, incline, and decline bench for the results you want, period. The accessory stuff for chest is not that important which is why I don’t incorporate much of it right now, but I will throw in chest flys or something randomly.

Current 5 day split routine:

Upper Body Power Day:

Bent over barbell row 3x5

Pull up 3 sets to failure

Rack chin up 3 sets to failure

Decline dumbbell bench press 2x5-8

Decline bench press again but my palms are facing towards me, so the dumbbells are facing in at a V shaped angle (targets slightly different lower chest) 2x5-8

Triceps dip (weighted) to failure 3 sets

Seated overhead press dumbbell 3 sets to failure at weight 70% of my max

Lower Body Power Day:

Barbell squat 3x5, heavy as possible

Hip thrust 3x5, heavy as possible

Deadlift 3x5, heavy as possible

Standing calf raises (smith machine, standing on a platform so my calf can stretch down) 4x15

Leg extension 2x 12-15

Leg curl 2x12-15

Russian twist holding 35lb plate on a decline bench 2x30

Decline crunch holding 25lb 2x30 or failure

Hanging leg raise holding 15lb dumbbell between my ankles 3x15

Back and Shoulders Hypertrophy:

Bent over barbell row 6x5

Rack chin up 3x12 or more

T-bar row 3x12

Lat pulldown 3x10-12

Seated overhead press barbell 3 sets to failure (I find standing makes it easier, so I always do overhead sitting)

Ez bar front raise 3x12-15+

Reverse cable fly 3x10-12 or more if possible

Dumbbell shrug 3x10-12 or failure

Lateral raise 3x10-12

Chest/arms hypertrophy:

Barbell Bench press 5x5

Incline bench press dumbbell 4x10-12, very slow, take arms wide and to the lower chest, and press up at an angle towards upper chest

Incline bench press smith machine 2x10-12

Preacher curl 4x10+ (if I’m feeling it I might do up to 20+ reps right up until I’m afraid I’ll hurt myself)

Decline bench barbell (70-80% of max weight) 2x10

Chest press machine 2x12 or to failure

Cross body curl 3x12

Tricep cable extension 3x10-12

Cable hammer curl drop set, start at weight you can do 12 reps of and descend for 4-5 sets going to failure at each weight

Legs whatever day:

Barbell squat 7x failure for each set basically

Hip thrust 70-80% of max for at least 3x12-15

Calf press on leg press 4x15

Leg press 2 sets, but for each set do 10 reps and wait 20 seconds and do 10 more reps.

#ask #lifting routine #lifting advice #muscle encouragement

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eatmangoesnekkid · 10 months ago

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Even if you are celibate, you want to still have access to arousal in your body instead of numbed out. You still want to have connection to your orgasmic range as well. I also know it's tender thing too because we weren't necessarily taught to think of arousal or orgasm beyond being in relationship to men or a lover. That's the huge shadow I'm seeing buried in the female psyche that hinders us in accessing deeper mysteries. We are literally the only mammal on the planet who has an organ whose sole function is pleasure: the clitoris. I want to be pristinely clear though that when I speak about "arousal" or "orgasmic range," I'm not necessarily talking about sex with a lover. I am, however, speaking the primal truth of the divine nature of a healthy female body and how it functions best--with orgasmic arousal energy flowing throughout from root to crown, whether due to seeing a stunning sunset over the wild horizons of South Africa, feeling the seat of the machine move deeper into your body while doing seated calf raises at the gym, or taking your time while making sourdough bread or incredible love with your Beloved lover. What's important to emphasize is that when you have high arousal or a large orgasmic capacity, you also have an enlarged amount of creative energy. Even if you are celibate, you have to transmute this energy beyond chronically masturbating, moving it up your spine and turning it into spiritual energy to manifest the most incredible ideas, next step directions, and advanced intuition. With celibacy, a movement practice is essential so that your energy doesn't pool or become too dense or heavy. And masturbation is fine, but too much masturbation drains your chi. You need art, hobbies, skills like learning a new language, fitness, creative projects, entrepeneurship, music, dance lessons, and the like. -India Ame'ye, Author

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sleepymccoy · 3 months ago

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I have a character in my scifi who's missing his legs from knee down. It's not a recent disability so he's adjusted to it. I'm trying to come up with some cool leg attachments he'd probably have. He's an engineer, so he makes his own in his down time and could have some wild stuff

Like, he'd have just easy to walk with legs for causal use I figure. This kinda thing (but both legs)

I reckon he's got stealth fake legs that look and move like real legs, even to the point of having a rubbery skin touch if you bump them. For if he ever wants to lie to people. He lies to people a lot, it's a real character trait so that works for me

He'd have one of the swoopy ones that look so cool

I mean, how cool can you get? They're awesome

They work in zero gravity sometimes. So there'll be a foot design that's easier in zero g. Moving around is mostly done by hooking your toes under a hoop, so something with a hook inbuilt makes sense for him. This kinda of vibe

But more hook-focused in design

I reckon he'll have something that's magnetic. So, he can climb walls by clicking the magnetic of it on and off as he steps. He might use that in zero g sometimes too I suppose

He'll also have a set that attaches to his space suit. They'd have some air thrusters on, so he can kinda fly alongside the ship and adjust position iron man style without having to hold onto stuff to manage himself

And he def has something with like a seat built in. I mean, that's the dream, innit? I'm basing that off this design

But with the idea that the lever thing at the back of the thigh would be a seat that kinda locks into place if you bend your knees a certain way. And on both legs, so he can just sit whenever he wants

He's a pretty fun engineer. I reckon he's got like a work day one that looks like nothing special except it can also make a coffee

Like that, except the coffee machine is attached where the calf would be

Like, that's the work leg on the right, the left work leg has a bunch of emergency engineering equipments. Like, four Allen keys, WD-40, and a wrench hidden inside. And a good erotica novel.

Maybe he'd have one that's designed to flip around and become a table when he sits down? Or a really pretty one? I think he'd have to buy a pretty one, he's not an artistic kinda dude

I can't think of anything else rn. I am taking suggestions lol

#i dont wanna tag this with real tags #cos i have both legs and am spitballing here #so its going under the usual story tag #bunkmates

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ladylaviniya · 10 months ago

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The Negatives of Shooting People

Chapter 3 || MasterList || Chapter 5

Chapter Summary: The ten year anniversary soiree is here for August's Lion Lounge club. And he's awfully surprised to see you, an uninvited guest...careful now....

Chapter Warnings: 18+ Dead Dove Do Not Eat, Gambling, Non-Con, Piss, Manipulation, Threats, Sexual Assualt, Bondage, Murder, Violence, Strangulation, Public Execution, Kidnapping, Bondage, Slight Daddy Kink, Slight Puppy Play Kink, Petnames.

Pairing: Kingpin!August Walker X F!reader

Word Count: 8k

Author Notes: I honestly don't know how to gamble or how it works. I read a quick wiki instruction and played a game. If anyone actually knows how to play, let me know and I'll change the writing.

Inspiring Song: "Poker Face." By Lady Gaga.

07:00pm Friday 16th August 2024, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane.

When Lloyd met you in the foyer and escorted you to the car, you noticed how his neck was tight against his bow tie. His bruised face and knuckles had lightened. He had waxed his moustache and curled the tips upward.

He whistled low and gawked at you all over. Your foot rubbed the back of your calf shyly. You were decadent in pearls and metallic shimmering from your dress.

He reminded you that your role was too find August and do whatever you could to distract him from figuring out that Lloyd, a police officer undercover had infiltrated his event.

Lloyd gave you another hundred dollars and said it was for gambling and pleasure purposes only. If August could be distracted by a drink, a game of poker, a jukebox dance even a pokie machine, that should give Lloyd plenty of time to look around for an illegal weapons auction.

You both got out of the car and found yourself escorted on his arm passed the body guard checking the invites.

You clenched a small purse under your arm tighter as you entered the massive club. It left you briefly speechless.

The floor was covered in black and gold mixed marble. The club was an old building. Probably over a century or two old. It had a huge bar and multiple show rooms. On one stage was a burlesque dancer shaking her covered nipples. In another part was a casino theme of tables and machines. And to the sides were seats, tables and booths.

Lloyd got you both to sit down and he ordered a drink. He sipped his whiskey and glanced at the stairs that spiralled up to more private rooms.

“There he is, balcony, beside the blonde.”

You tried to not be obvious when you looked over your shoulder. August was smirking with a drink in his hand, shaking hands with an old bald gentleman with beady eyes and a brief case.

As that older fellow walked away Lloyd murmured, “And that’s our cue.”

He moved out of his seat and left the whiskey behind.

You waited a few minutes. You stared at the reflection of August in the whiskey glass and bit your lip. That man was a monster. He had raped you, humiliated you and made you scared…except now you had teeth and claws to flex.

You shut your eyes and prayed to get out alive. Picking up the glass you tossed your head back and finished what Lloyd had left. Your lipstick smudged the beautiful glasswork.

You abandoned the booth and deposited the glass.

You turned back and started to glide up those stairs in your small heeled feet. You felt immaculate, confident. And you were sure…he had seen you as you ran your hand up the banister.

You slowly moved around him. He hadn’t turned to look at you yet. A blonde woman was on his other side, whispering in his ear with her seductive rose lips. She was gorgeous, legs long and slender waist. Her dress was a deep burgundy red and her gloves black. She made you look like the frumpiest woman in the club.

You leant against the railing beside them at a respectful distance. You looked over the dance floor. You recognised local representative politicians mingling, kissing, all salacious actions that the average public would be shocked to witness. A Greenie with her tongue down a Nationalists throat.

From your side you could feel his eyes. You couldn't tell if August was glaring daggers, but you knew he had seen you.

Your fingers squeezed the railing tight.

You took a deep breath in and focused not to stutter, “Fancy seeing you here.”

You managed to angle your face his way. You prayed he wouldn't look at your hands, trembling on top of the metal bar.

He looked down at his glass cup. He turned away from his golden haired friend and smirked at you. The woman attached to his side flashed you a sickly fake smile. Her eyes were full of scornful judgement.

He chuckled lightly, eyes raking up and down your body in a way to made you feel like meat in the deli section.

“Well, I do own the club Miss Y/L/N or did you not read my name on the invitation?”

You curled your toes and strained a brave smile, “Oh of course, but business is always busy with men like you…”

You looked away from him briefly, trying to compose yourself. Your hands were starting to shake while your knees felt light. You swallowed hard and returned to face his predator eyes.

“Men like me?” He purred and turned his body to lean on the railing.

You nodded slowly, trying to find a way to answer him and continue the conversation.

“Men like you,” was all you could repeat back firmly. You could feel a line of sweat crawl down the back of your neck.

He chuckled and held his empty cup to his feminine companion.

“Natalie, be a dear and fetch me some Guinness and whatever you’d like.”

Natalie winked at him and gave a girlish laugh when he smacked her backside. You wanted to scoff but at the same time you pitied her. You were scared she would be his next sexual victim. She toddled down the stairs and August slid himself closer to you on the railing. His fingers fluttered and circled around your neck. It was too public a place for him to squeeze any tighter. He couldn’t kill you out here, it was too public. His fingers softly moved over the spot where your pulse sat.

“Why are you here?” He raised his brow to you as he purred, “How did you even get in, huh? I know you didn’t get the invitation…so…have you come to take some more photos? We could have a quick interview in my office if you’d like.”

His lips were amused, but his eyes were dark and annoyed. Annoyed with you.

You shuddered, you weren’t too interested in his offering, but you had to consider how much time Lloyd needed to gain incriminating information. Lloyd didn’t know you had your phone down the front of your dress. It was risky but you wanted to catch anything if the occasion arose.

Your glanced at him, your bottom lip trembled slightly, you nuzzled his hand that started to cup your cheek.

Lightly shaking your head you said calmly, “I got your photos…the envelope…so no photos tonight…”

He chuckled and leered down your chest before leaning in closer to your face moaning, “So…what have you come for?”

You were frustrated that Lloyd really thought you’d be able to do this….this improvisation was nearly impossible when you had to face a man with a mean face. It was the tension of your chest snapping, the breath you were holding broke in a breathy sigh which was close to a gasp.

“The party,” you lied, you leant closer and let your noses touch, “Just to party.”

You laid your hand on his chest and rubbed it in large low circles. The whiskey was warm in your cheeks. You felt daring. Your heart beating strong in your ears. Do it now or you might as well drown. You squeezed your eyes shut and tightened your insides as you pushed up and kissed his mouth. His moustache scratched your top lip as you forced yourself onto him. It was a hard lip pressing peck, you felt his hot breath fan your face. The smell of his malted breath mad a hot light sing in between your legs. Your heart was thundering in your chest,

His wide cold eyes bore into your soul and he chuckled, “You make such a fucking terrible liar.”

It was like he had punched you in the gut the way the air had left your body.

“August dear, I have your drink!” the ringing of Natalie’s voice had his head turned away and letting you go. You couldn’t think, you just stood there absolutely frozen.

August collected his new refreshment, taking an impressive gulp, and you watched him lean closer to the blonde, “The accounts are settled, you can piss off now Nat.”

Her false smile faltered into a malicious smirk. She winked at you before she fled back down the stairs and greeted another gentleman in a tuxedo. You felt sick.

August leant back and cupped your waist in his awfully huge hand, “Let’s take a walk.”

He smirked feeling the shiver roll down your back. His hand squeezed your fingers as he led you down the staircase. You frantically looked out to the room and dance floor. You hoped you might see Lloyd, you might call out for him to save you.

“Ever played Roulette?” he asked setting his empty Guinness on a passing waitress tray.

You shook your head and heard him chuckle, “Of course you haven’t, good girl like you hasn’t done many things at all.”

You were slightly offended by his wording no matter how much it might’ve been true deep down.

He put his hand back to your lower back and led you to the casino rooms. There were multiple tables with different games involving cards and chips. But there was a long table surrounded by at least twenty or thirty well dressed men with their arm candy super model women. At the end was a dealer with a long metal pole. He wore a golden coloured suit. He looked serious and when his eyes caught the sight of August that cold aura disappeared. A giant smile graced his cranky appearance.

“Want to join the game sir?” he asked, “We just finished a game.”

August smiled and said, “Yes, give me ten black chips, six purple and…” he sucked his teeth, “Six yellow.”

The dealer smiled and nodded, he handed his boss, your rapist, the eftpos machine before pushing some chips towards the edge of the table you both next to.

Your eyes widened. The black chips had the number of one hundred, the purple was five hundred and the pretty yellow chips were decorate with a one and three zeros. You had a wild guess that those digits were the amount of money he was putting on the table.

To August it was nothing.

The dealer was selling other chips to the players that were from the old game wanting to buy more while August groped your hip and pressed his nose to your ear, “Lets start off easy, pick, red or black.”

You looked at the table, there were numbers between zero and thirty six. Half the numbers were covered in red, the other half in black. Your mouth felt dry. You really didn’t know what you were doing.

“Bl-“ you cleared your throat as his hand cupped your backside under the table, “Black.”

He smiled, “Now pick, do you prefer even numbers or odd?”

You looked over the red squares and noticed how half looked odd and the other half was even, you weren’t sure if this would help or set you back.

“Odd numbers,” you whispered.

His breath was hot and his eyes were trapping you where you stood. You felt embarrassed to meet his looks.

“Dealer, One hundred on Black and one hundred on Odds.”

The dealer smirked, you knew that dealer knew this wasn’t really Augusts choice.

He spun the wheel that had a metal ball tapping along inside. Round and round the crimson and black. The ball landed onto black thirty five. You held your breath.

“And now,” August purred, “You’ve just won an extra two hundred dollars pup.”

The light in your chest bloomed with excitement, the butterflies rained like a storm in your belly. You were amazed at how it was to win so quickly…but then what if it was red even that won? Or just black and even? Would you have lost it all? Half? You were tickled with curiosity to learnt this grown up game. Two new black chips along with the original were pushed back to you. August thick fingers stacked them on top of each other in a bundle.

“Lets play again, now…see those top numbers, one to twelve, thirteen to twenty four, twenty five to thirty six?” he said, gesturing to the top of the red and black chart against the green fuzzy felt of the table.

“Pick one of those three groups.”

You sucked in a breath and tried to strategize….you had more numbers in the two boxes. You didn’t want to risk less numbers more chance of losing…

“One to twelve?” you said, his large hand rubbed on your ass pressing you closer to the table edge.

“Dealer, a purple chip on the one twelve,” he said cooly not even looking at the dealer this time as he said it. You wanted to know what he was thinking as he stared right down into your skull.

“Yes sir,” said the dealer pushing the five hundred chip over the dozen number group,

“Spin hockey,” August barked and clapped his hands.

And the bowl with a ball spun. it settled on number five. The table players groaned as their games were losing. Luck of the gods must’ve been over you tonight…

“And now you’ve won an extra thousand dollars,” he hummed.

The damn game made no sense except you were happy to be winning. You didn’t expect the fear you got from being in Augusts palm mixed with the joy of winning at gambling would make you aroused and wanting.

The yellow chip was pushed to you and you daringly picked it up. It was pretty, the emboss was August Lion symbol.

“Now…see those three columns that say two to one? There’s a right, middle and left. Pick one,” he plucked the chip from your curious fingers.

“Right,” you bravely exclaim. August laughed and turned to the dealer who had gotten back to your turn, “You heard the lady, yellow on right column.”

The chip was planted and the wheel spun once more…landing on black eleven…a middle column. And just like that, a thousand dollars gone…All the warmth left your body. Now you understood a gambling drop felt worse than the gambling high. His hand snuck it’s way across your lower belly. He moved you closer into his side. His hot breath fanned over you neck.

He tutted at you, “See the risk? Got all the blood rushing, didn’t it and now you’re feeling that punch of loss?”

You slowly shook your head, agreeing. Thank fuck it wasn’t your money or the money Lloyds' had given you. So far you’d at least made August a two hundred dollars profit from the original ten thousand he bought out.

August held your hips and pressed you back into his crotch. He wasn’t hard but you could feel his warm body heat and the shape of his soft cock in his pants.

His mouth purred along the shell of your ear, “Now, Puppy, choose one number.”

He was standing behind you, trapping you against the table flushed. None of the other players took notice and if they did they didn’t care. Because maybe they didn’t know what type of monster this monster could be.

“N-nineteen,” you stuttered, choosing your age might be a safer option.

“Tell the dealer,” he whispered.

You swallowed. You felt hot and a foul arousal between your thighs. You thought about the time you played Pool with August. Your first kiss...

“Nineteen please sir,” you said to the gold suited man.

“Chip type?”

August whispered like he was telling you the dirtiest secret, “Tell him you’re all in.”

You repeat the term and made it sound like a question. You had a feeling you knew what it meant after watch movies ‘Bounty Hunter’ with Jennifer ashton and Gerald Butler. The dealer glanced at August and smirked, “All in number nineteen.”

The long metal pole came out and scooped up all your chips to the nineteen box.

When the ball began to spin inside the wheel your belly twisted and your hands desperately squeezed Augusts. You remembered there was at least ten thousand two hundred dollars on the number and you were truly risking losing all his money. You damn well knew that Lloyd didn’t give you that much and there’s be no way to pay August back.

Your eyes ran round and round the wheel, you held your breath as the metal ball landed and bounced between the numbers. You felt weak in the knees. The wheel slowed and you nearly vomited from anticipation alone managing to force your arse harshly back into August you sound and desperately buried your face into his expensive cologne soaked shirt. You worried and bit your lip hard as the clattering silver ball stopped and the wheel paused.

You could imagine the dealers face peering down into the black and red bowl of fortunes and curses, debts and dreams.

“Congratulations little lady in front row, number Nineteen, you have won three million five hundred and seven thousand dollars,” said the dealer over an excited cheering crowd.

You swore you misheard, your knees wobbled as you dared to look up at Augusts grinning face. You looked over your shoulder and true to the dealers word, that silver ball sat in the groove of red painted with the number nineteen. All the air was drained from your lips. You could’ve fainted. You couldn’t believe it. Out of all the bad luck in your life, this felt truly unbelievable. You wished your father was here to see this. You started to smile...and then the squealing crawled out of your throat. You jumped up and down on your feet, your fingers squeezed Augusts arm tightly. The buzz inside you was wild. Your adrenaline was jumping out of adrenaline was jumping out of our throat. You knew the money wasn’t yours. It was Augusts but knowing that you’d managed to win that much by chance sent the greatest wave of euphoria.

“I won! I won! I won!” tears prickles your eyes and you cupped your mouth.

August smiled into your cheek and chuckled softly, “Yes, you did.” His moustache scratched against your cheek, he smelt like Guinness and felt like total warmth on a cold night. His thumb rubbed beneath your arm near the space of your ribs and breast.

The dealer couldn’t give you that many chips but digitally sent a code with the prize to August as owner of the card that bought the chips in the first place.

August laughed and spun you around on your feet, he tugged you away from the roulette table towards the dance floor where a slow dance was taking place to the sombrous tones of Frank Sinatra.

“Oh my god, I did that, I can’t believe I just did that,” you muttered happily in a daze, a high. You suddenly forgot entirely everything that August had done to you in the past few weeks. You forgot your entire purpose of why you were even there. His charming face was beaming in pride.

His warm lips pecked your forehead and cheek, he repeated, “Yes, you did.”

“I mean I know it’s your money but just the thrill of just- my god,” you sucked in a new breath of air and sighed, “Thankyou for letting me experience that.”

He hummed and swayed your bodies together slowly. He could’ve picked you up and carried you away and you weren’t sure if you would’ve protested.

“My money?” he chuckled, “I can right you a cheque if you’d really like. Bank it tomorrow.”

You scoffed in disbelief, you shook your head at him, “Don’t be mean August, like you’d just give me three million dollars, be fucking for real.”

He pinched your bottom making you hiss lightly as you danced in his arms and he scolded teasingly, “Language.”

You threw your head back and giggled. You were still riding the drunk high of life.

“Welcome to bloody Australia Mister Walker,” you tapped a finger on his chest, his suit felt so smooth and expensive like silk instead of basic cotton, “Where we say all kinds of things casually; Ass, cunt, fuck, bitch, bastard and so on.”

He bent you backwards and cradled your spine as his lips pressed up into your jaw and neck, “Oh fret not, I’ll discipline it out of you. I’d rather have you speaking like a true lady who cares about her appearance.”

You scoffed again and rolled your eyes. You didn’t give a flying care in the world what he thought about a true lady. He wasn’t a true gentleman. You pushed a little away from him.

The high of life became dangerous impulsive boldness, “Why? So I can teach you that true gentleman don’t drug and rape women?”

A few heads turned at your words out of the thousands dancing and gambling around you. His jolly gaze turned black and ice. His frown was deep and displeasure greatly obvious. He looked ready to kill you...

The shudder in your chest returned. It was like a bucket of icy water dunking over your head. That glare made you sober and sheepish. You pushed away gently and smoothed your dress out.

“I...I need to pee.”

You didn’t actually, yet the fear consumed you enough, blanketing over you and you needed an escape from the danger you had willingly nosed dived into. It was the only explanation for you to flee briefly and compose yourself for more of his aggression.

His hands were tight on your wrists.

“August, I’m sorry...please let me go to the loo.”

He let you go, and muttered, “It’s upstairs, be quick, we need to talk.”

You hissed when the blood pumped back into your flesh, you felt your wrists throb in rings. Stepping backwards shakily you almost fell back into a passing waiter. It felt impossible to remove your eyes from him, to make sure he wasn’t following you.

You could feel him watching you as you kept walking to those stairs. Up the grand stairs you scurried away from him for the seconds he was distracted looking away from you, grabbing a new drink.

Just find the ladies toilet and he can’t come in right?

Your head was pounding. Breathless and flushed you didn’t look at the signs on doors. You didn’t even need the bathroom, honestly, you just needed to sit down.

Relief filled you as you looked behind. You couldn’t see August and knew he still wasn’t following you. You leant against a door and turned the handle hoping out of all these doors, this would be a toilet.

When you fell inside. You noted the room was empty…but there was also no toilet…instead there was a couch to your left and to your right a massive wall with a control panel and TVs lining the wall…on the televisions were colourful pictures moving, replaying the events of the party…they were the viewpoints of cameras…security.

You were in the security room!

With widened eyes you closed the door behind you entirely and awed at the stuff you were watching…

There wasn’t just one party going on tonight.

The screen showed the rest of the club you hadn’t had the pleasure of observing. The back stages dancers change room, the full game slot casino, a smokers room where a stripper was sucking some random man off. Your stomach twisted.

There were men sniffing coke off a woman’s thigh. Other people in another room were injecting each other with heroin.

There was a room auctioning paintings and appeared to be a business meeting. Multiple men were sitting on couches and bar stools watching while a stunning woman in the middle waving at expensive items…. Katarina Vikander. She wore a stunning green gown that hugged her body, around her neck was a thick row of diamonds, she looked like an old Hollywood actress.

You stepped closer to the screen and traced the figures of people and faces you recognised. There were even famous local politicians. Your mouth felt dry. You knew it was a simple auction but the items were familiar, they were museum pieces. There were items that morally speaking belonged to the indigenous Meanjin people. It was a inexplicable scandal.

Then there was Lloyd! He was sitting beside an older man with the bald head and beady eyes. In that man’s lap was a young woman with dark flowing hair in a very short dress, definitely young enough to be his granddaughter. yuck!

It was a room of gentlemen and their own weapons to show off. Guns and blades you were confident weren’t even allowed to be sold in Australia after the Port Arthur Massacre. There were tommy guns and automatic rifles. There were trench knives and a urban skinner daggers. Things you’d only seen in movies.

You pulled out your phone and started taking photos of the screens. They would be bad quality photos, not well enough to publish to the press but it didn’t matter, evidence was still important. August was willingly allowing this in his club and on the unlikely chance he wasn’t, it was still occurring in his club, he’d be responsible.

You thought about the amount of people these guns and knives could or had already killed. You clicked some more and quickly sat in the empty chair. There was a couch behind you, you noted the strange red splatter stains over the cushions. You took another picture. You didn’t want to consider if it was blood because that lead to the question of whose blood it was...you shuddered.

No wonder he didn’t appear as excited as you when you won the three million dollars…he probably made that in a week from profits out of these illegal auctions.

You held your breath and watched the screens further.

Soon Lloyd would bust the club. He’d call back up and the floor would go wild. Now it was a matter of waiting. Any minute now, you bet.

You took photos of the men doing drugs with the strippers and the gambling and finally the bar. You wondered how much of the alcohol would’ve been watered down to save money. It even clicked to wonder if the club even had a license to sell alcohol while the casino was open.

You were checking the photos and perched yourself on the couch when the door opened. You gasped and dropped your phone on the ground with a loud clatter.

The looming shadow entered the dark room. It was him…August…he stood inside and closed the door, away from the party, silencing the booming hustle and bustle.

“No photos tonight?” his brows lifted and a smile spread while he tutted, “Oh my sweet girl, you’re breaking daddy’s heart.”

You leant down and grabbed the phone again and shoved it into your clutch purse.

“I-I wasn’t using my c-camera…” you poorly lied.

You stood up spritely and tried to find away around him. He leant against the door, blocking your escaped. His eyes rolled from the screens back to you.

He flashed a sinister fanged smile and shook his head, “Oh no, no, I think it’s about time we chat little Miss Y/N…don’t you?”

You pouted and snarled, “Get out of my way August.”

He shook his head again and sucked his teeth, “Tell me why you really came tonight, and I will.”

You gulped. You clenched your first and said louder, “Get out of my way August or I’ll fucking scream and I’ll make a damn scene.”

He stood in silence for three solid seconds before nodding.

He moved away from the door but as you tried to pass him reaching for the doorhandle, he grabbed your waist and hauled you back. You were launched back across the floor and landed hard and sharp on the carpet. The air was knocked from your lungs and your hands lost grip of your clutch.

Gaining your bearings quickly, you shrieked and cowered. You raised your hands and shuddered. You were so sure he was going to punch and kick you, instead a soft strong hand curled over your wrist and tugged you to your knees.

“Come here,” he softly murmured, while he gently made you crawl over to the couch. On the cushions he sat before he pulled you into his thick lap. Your legs were trapped between his, while you were held on his lap.

You felt so small, so weak. His hands were warm, and strong, you were growing sore as your body overcame the shock of him throwing you back into the room. It made you feel terrified at how simply he was able to manhandle you. All those weeks without his presence had somehow made you forget how deadly and scary he could be. And despite being in his club, in a public place, he still had the upperhand and power to take what he wanted.

Your body shook as his hands touched you. He was so calm…it was unsettling and struck icily in your blood. This was the August you met that afternoon two weeks ago. This is the August that duct taped you and forced you to cum in your fathers recliner chair.

“You wearing any wires baby?” He cooed as his hand stuck down your dress top and another slipped up your thighs. You didn’t fight, but your fingers pleadingly hooked into his shirt sleeve while his hand dug around and slid around your breasts, groping your soft flesh.

His hand the groped around your thighs and lingered when cupping near your underwear. A stream of sweat trailed your face, what if he felt how wet you were in your underwear?

You shook your head and pitifully whimpered, “N-no, just the ph-phone in my bag.”

His lips pressed against your shoulder and neck before finally going to your ear, “This is what’s going to happen…” he purred, “You’re going to be my good girl and do everything I tell you, or else I’m going kill your piggy friend.”

You gasped as his fingers rubbed at your underwear covered clit.

“Wh-what?!”

“Yes poppet, I know about him,” he chuckled and sucked on your earlobe loudly, “He’s not very smart, coming here…his wire, he’s wearing…it’s not going to pick up anything.”

Your eyes dared to glance at the cameras, Lloyd was still on the screen, still watching the auction.

August moved his mouth to your other ear and moved your underwear aside, his finger easily slipped inside of you, tearing a whine from your lips at how wet you were.

“Has he fucked you yet?” He mocked, “Has the piggy touched what’s mine? Stuffed that dirty cock in this pretty puppy pussy?”

You choked on a rising sob, “No, now please st-stop.”

Tears streamed down your cheeks, tears August kissed away softly. You were watching the screens, Lloyd was looking around the room from the chair he was sitting in. Someone handed him a drink. You didn’t know what he was saying as he laughed at someone. You just wanted him to call back up, before you potentially were raped again.

August paused and slipped in another thick finger, “So…you thought you’d help him? Think I’d be so blind? It breaks my heart that either of you thought I was that dumb. This whole time I’ve been telling myself you weren’t a threat, just a dumb little girl…but that’s not entirely true huh? Miss picture perfect, taking photos she fucking well shouldn’t be.”

Your whimpered and wept with salty tears that stung hard. You heard him shuffle as he propped you onto one knee. A moment later, something hard and cold touched your cheek. You were certain this was your fault. You didn’t distract him enough, instead you ran off like a cowered. You sobbed and found it difficult to breathe seeing what that hard object in the corner of your eye was. If you weren’t so scared you might’ve screamed…

“Did you wear this for me baby?” He asked, rubbing your cheek with the warm tip of the gun, “Awfully pretty, awfully expensive for someone like you.”

Your eyes fell down at the dress you’d bought earlier that day. God you regretted it all now, all the excitement you felt buying it for tonight, it was all backfiring. You bought it knowing this was something he might want, it made you feel rich and sensual. It was your shield of confidence, ironic how a shield means nothing compared to a gun pressed to your head.

“Yes,” you wailed, “Please just let us go.”

“Us?” He scoffed scornfully, “And you’re telling me, you’re not fucking him.”

His fingers curled harshly and pinched your inner walls, cupping and shaking your entire cunt in his hand roughly.

You whined and choked, “it’s- n-not his faul- fault…I’m…I’m-”

Your eyes widened and your mouth fell silent…Jesus fucking Christ. August was covered in a hot wet warmth. He grunted, slowly, he removed his two thick fingers out of your pussy and shook his hand of the wet liquid pouring out with three large wrist flicks.

Mortified, a blubbering fest left you mouth. A line of ‘’please” and “sorry” poured desperately out of you.

Your piss puddled the floor down to his shoes.

You had half expected him to throw you off or kill you in disgust. Instead, August hissed a little as the warm liquid soaked over his trousers. You flinched away. He put his gun back in his pocket.

He laughed darkly, “You are so silly huh? So goddamn innocent,” his wet head cupped your neck and clenched your jaw, “I think I’ve amused you long enough baby, I think it’s time I show you why you were put in my care.”

You fluttered your wet eyes at him, “Please just let Lloyd go,” you swallowed a gulp of air, “I’ll do whatever you want.”

You gagged at the acidic smell of your own urine on his hand burning into your nose. His tongue clicked and he wagged his other finger at you.

“You’re about to see what happens to shits who think to try and bring me and my friends down, go on sunshine, look at the TV’s.”

His hand jerked your head forward. You were forced to watch everything happening in the room where Lloyd was. Within seconds, there were two security guards dragging in a limping man over a giant square of tarp.

“This dumb piece of shit decided to double dip my profits in a club I own down in Sydney…dickhead thought to embezzle me…I don’t like when men take what’s mine…”

The struggling man had a black pillow case shoved over his head. He was pushed to his knees in front of Brandon Sullivan who held a gun he took out from the briefcase. Katarina stood away from the centre of the room and watch him with the brightest smile.

The gun from the suitcase wasn’t particularly impressive. It was a hand gun with an ivory hilt. American.

The barrel was pressed to the pillow case. Your eyes widened.

Your bottom lip fell, “Wait please no, he can’t, stop-”

It was two little light flickers from the tip of the weapon, the bag flutter backwards as the man’s brains were blown through. It wasn’t like the movies. His body just flopped and slammed down on the floor and in seconds the blue tarp was rolled up and dragged away, no time for the blood to soak into the auction room carpet.. Brandon put the gun down and clapped his hands.

Lloyd didn’t flinch…his eyes hid inside his cup.

You gagged and bent your head opening your mouth above Augusts spread knees, the floor not only covered in your urine was also granted a haul of your bile. The whiskey you finished from Lloyds cup came back up hard burning your throat.

Why wasn’t Lloyd arresting them there and then? Why didn’t he leave to call back up?

You trembled watching the detective standup and walk over to order a drink at a private bar. He was so vulnerable standing in the den. And he was wearing a wire that wasn’t even working and you couldn’t tell him. You were helpless, Lloyd was helpless.

“I could kill him right now if I wanted to…” August cooed as you sobbed with the shock of seeing a real person killed in front of your eyes on screen.

You wailed and turned your body away. Buring your face into his shoulder and begged, “Please don’t hurt him, please, dear god. I’ll do whatever you want!”

“Anything?” He sarcastically gasped.

Your whimpered, “Yes!”

He was laughing and humming while he was toying with what he’d do to you. He bounced his knee you were on forcing you to land hard on your crotch and gasping everytime your clit made contact with his thigh and knee.

When he stopped, he pinched your wet inner thigh, “Call me Daddy you piss soaked slut.”

You nodded and tried to slow your meltdown, “O-okay d-daddy, I will.”

“Are you sorry for trying to trick me, whore?” He said harshly.

Your chin shook as you choked out, “S-so sorry daddy. Please forgive me.”

He liked that with how he grunted and moaned.

“I guess I should huh? You come in here, looking for dirt, but you win me gold.”

He pushed you off his lap. You were scared and embarrassment. The feeling of the wet that ran down your legs was drying up, yet the puddle that was drying up was huge. The scent was pungent. Your legs were weak and wobbly. You stumbled and grabbed your clutch with your phone inside.

You heard him clear his throat and flinched when he stated, “We are going back to my office. I have wipes, and spare clothes.”

That would’ve sounded nice except you knew better, you knew he’d just rape you in there…and with these sketchy men in the auction room you could only imagine what else August had business in. Human trafficking on top of all these other crimes wouldn’t have entirely surprised you.

You needed to find a way to get away. Since Lloyd still hadn’t gotten the back up he promised, you knew you would need to abandon him too. Guilt filled your belly, you worried for the cop’s safety, but it came to the dilemma…would you risk this for the chance to save his life, or save yourself and pack up and run for it with the cash he had given you. The amount of money in your clutch could buy you a ticket up north all the way to Townsville. You hardly could imagine a British man like August in the sweltering heat of northern Queensland…only issue? It was a perfect place to hide a body. Sugar cane fields were burned daily up there. If you wanted to dump a body, it would be perfect and convenient…you thought about moving in the opposite direction to New South Wales. The Blue Mountains had a cult you had heard of, maybe they could hide you from him.

“Y/N,” August broke you from your thoughts, he touched your chin and matched your gaze, “Did you hear me? I’m going to clean you up, sort you out.”

You took a ragged breath in and nodded, “Y-yes da-dad-" you gulped loudly, "daddy.”

He smirked and pressed his mouth to yours, pulling back with a sigh, he murmured, “That’s a good girl.”

He placed his hand on your back and moved you forward to the entrance door.

Your fingers reached out and touched the handle. Your other hand was clenching your bag tightly. It was only a door…But the knob turned, and you were faster than him. You slammed it shut behind you when you rushed out the door. You raced and shoved people aside. You heard him rip and bang the door open. You felt his heavy feet chasing behind you.

You felt so fucked! Your heart was palpating, and your thighs were chaffing with that sour smell of your pee dress soaked. You almost slipped down the stairs but managed to get to the bottom before seeing him starting to run down from the top.

Guests were staring but who cared? The party was wild and many just giggled thinking it was a big game.

It wasn’t a game though, truly you believed now he was going to kill you and Lloyd if you didn’t get out now. You had no idea where that auction room was hidden. You could grab him and bolt. These seconds were precious, and you just needed to get out onto the street.

You got to the bar and as you ran forward, you saw the fire alarm off the side. You slammed a fist down hard and bolted for the exit. Sprinklers went off wild, the rain made the party wet and all the main lights activate blinding half of the club. The other guests became frantic hearing the chance of a fire happening. Everyone was starting to rush out of the club with you. You swore and hoped that Lloyd was going to be able to get out safely too.

There was no way you’d be able to go home tonight. You were a dead woman walking with the content of your phone and the murder you witnessed. You tried to find an uber driving past but the fear that August was behind you made you keep moving.

You kept running even as you got outside in the cold air. The sound of car horns and lights of the streets were chaotically plaguing your mind. You didn’t have a clue where you were running. You just kept going. There were roads totally dead and quiet, you ran across without pressing any walking buzzers. You needed to find safety. Your feet raced down pavement paths until they hit the soft dewy grass of the park. The parkour park was near the train lines, you could hear the rattling wheels and noisy horn of a passenger train go through, leaving it impossible to tell if someone was following you… But you heard could him, you swore you could hear his catching breath and hear those leather shoes sprinting behind you.

You squealed in the dark as your ran past an empty children’s playground. He was big and he was fast. You felt his hand in the air trying to grab you and successfully you dodged him. You rushed down a street of abandoned shops and tripped over a groove in the ground that you missed in the ground.

And that’s how this all started don’t you see? Don’t you remember?...

A rush of air sucked out from your lungs as your hands and knees collided with the gravel pavement. Your stupid kitten heel snapped and your handbag had flown a couple metres in front of you.

Your heart thudded against your ribs as you poorly attempted to catch your anxious breath.

“Dumb. Very stupid. I perceived you to be smarter than this…” his voice dripped into your burning hot ears.

He was behind you, you knew that…with his hands in his suit pockets. His expensive leather shoes crunched on the rocky path the closer he neared you.

You hissed when the chilly night air whistled against your cut up palms. Blood rose up from your skin, shining in the light of the city lamp. You flinched as his two fingers traced along your spine and pressed harshly down on the back of your neck.

With watery eyes, you watched him walk pass and collect your handbag. His lithe fingers dove inside and pulled out the phone. His lips pursed as he let it fall from his hand before crushing it under his foot.

The salty tears raced down your cheeks, gliding into your trembling mouth.

If only you could’ve screamed for help. If only there was someone in the park to see what had unfolded.

A hiccup escaped you and he softly cooed, “It’s alright now, I think it’s about time you received an education, my darling.”

You shook your head and felt the rise of bile in your throat.

“Please,” you begged with a rasp voice, “I won’t tell anyone. Let me go. I swear I won’t go to the police, just let me go!”

He tutted his tongue and wagged his finger. He crouched down, his soft hand combed into your sweat soaked hair and tugged your head up. Your eyes met his icy gaze.

Hopelessness filled you. Begging had fallen on deaf ears.

“That’s right, you won’t tell anyone…but I’m not finished with you yet.”

As a gasp lifted from your lips he chuckled, “You’re precious if you think I’m letting you go after seeing that.”

His cold palm grabbed the sides of your throat and began to choke you. As the oxygen was restricted, your little hands clawed desperately at his callous hand. Your feet flailed against the gravel. Tears raced down your face. It was impossible to scream out without any air to cry with. With every passing second, a dizzy blanket was clouding your mind and filling your eyes with black spots. His glare made your knees buckle. Exhaustion from fighting was taking over, your nails left his hands, your eyes were finding it difficult to stay open. Eventually your lashes shut, and you let your mind drown in the airless space of time....

Unknown...Unknown...August 2024, Brisbane.

You thought he had killed you. You genuinely believed as the blood pulverised your skull, he had choked you to death.

You felt cold and hungry…the smell of hot Chinese food woke you up.

You curled up in a tight ball, hugging your naked body. Your couldn’t see anything. Your face had been blind folded. Your mouth was chewing on something long, some type of rubbery gag. And around your neck you felt a tight squeeze and the bite of a chain…a collar? Your fingers tried to pull them off but they were tied around your head and you felt the cold shape of padlock..

The carpet scuffed.

Someone was in the room, getting up from a chair. You heard a masculine breath and you trembled covering your chest and cupping your last as your curled back up in a ball.

You were laying on a soft blanket and mattress.

You whined as a warm human finger raced down your arm and the hand splayed out over your skin.

“Good morning, pet…I’m glad I was here to see you wake up,” you heard August moan.

You felt his fuzzy moustache tough the corner of your gaged lips.

You flinched and rubbed your face into the pillows above you.

The chain moved and taunted you backwards until you sat up so you could breathe.

His hand touched your inner thigh, you felt the bed tilt to his weight.

“I bet you’re hungry, I could hear your tummy growl for quite some time before you woke up.”

You felt his fingers unlock the gag and pull it down your chin.

You gasped and enjoyed the ability to breathe properly again. You were still stuck in total darkness however.

You heard a fork clinking with a bowl. You could hear August blow on the hot food and were told to open up.

Your lips parted and your tongue was touched by the greasy goodness of Chinese honey chicken.

You chewed and tore off the meat from his fork.

“Another,” he said as he fed you some more.

Your hands reached out to hold the fork yourself before you heard him casual say, “Keep those paws down, I haven’t given you permission to use them.”

Your might’ve been blindfolded but you knew he was looking at your body. You lifted your knees up to your chin and tapped your arms around your legs.

A cold bottle of water was pushed to your lips and your mouth greedily suckled it down. You knew it could be laces with drugs but your mouth was dry and you knew you were dehydrated.

You gaspingly asked as the bottle was pulled away, “Are you going to kill me?”

You didn’t want to die but it wasnt your choice. You knew this process would be quicker and easier if you allowed death to come…you would rather die than have to succumb to rape.

“No puppy…not today.”

You didn’t feel relief. Actually you felt your chest shake as you tried to hold back your crying.

Your heard him out the fork down and felt him come onto the bed. He pulled you into his arms and let you sob. He rubbed your back and hushed you gently.

It took everything in you to not fight him…you sagged into his touch and let him hold and rock you until you composed your tears.

You should fight him…if he’s going to kill you…go out with a fight.

“Would you like some more food?” He asked and you meekly nodded, “Yes please.”

He tutted and softly scolded, “That’s not how we ask now is it?”

You couldn’t see him but your fist flew up and caught him in his shoulder, “If you th-think I’m going to call you ‘daddy’…you’re fucking nuts!”

And you truly readied yourself for the beating of a lifetime…rather…his fingers moved up and unlocked your blindfold, pulling it off your head.

You winced as the bright light of day pelted your eyes…

He was sitting on the bed. A long button up shirt with rolled up sleeves and dress pants still wearing his leather shoes. His fingers pinched your chin.

“Still want to be a bad girl?”

You realised he expected an answer. And bravely your jerked your chin away.

“You can rape me, cut me, kill me...I’m not calling you fucking ‘daddy’!” You slapped his hand away and crawled to the other side of the bed feebly. You shrieked as he slapped your naked ass hard and laughed.

“That’s alright… I’ll talk to you again in a few more hours.”

He pushed you down and slapped your hands. He put the blind fold and the gag back on. He took the cup and Chinese food away….he left you…vulnerable and nude on the bed. Alone with your thoughts for the next few hours.

Unknown...Unknown...August 2024, Brisbane

He left you blind folded for hours right? Or was it just thirty minutes? You couldn’t tell…blind folded and gagged. You could move your arms and blindly crawl around the bed but the chain would grow taunt if you tried to climb off the mattress. You considered hanging yourself…would it have been easier to just let him find your corpse then wait to be raped?

You rolled around and felt around the covers. You were helpless and scared. For all you knew he could’ve been watching you quietly.

Your crying was muffled with the gag between your teeth. Drool dropped down your chin and dribbled to your chest. You kept wiping it up feeling revolted with yourself.

You tugged and pulled the chain, yet no freedom was granted in your attempts. You grew tired, the panic in your chest exhausted you.

Hesitantly you pulled the duvet back and wiggled yourself in between the massive pillows, you fell asleep…and it was daunting.

It didn’t help that you couldn’t tell when you drifted off to sleep and the first thing you saw was dad. He was coming home from work and you were in the lounge room flicking through the tv channels. When you saw him come through the door your were scared it was August, but seeing your dad made your heart burst with joy. Relief and peace clouded your mind.

“it was all a bad dream!” You said as you got off the couch and raced to hug your father. He was never much of a hugger, that was okay…

His hand pat your back and you sobbed, “It was so awful dad! I thought you had died, everyone said you were dead but I knew there was no way. Thank god it was just a bad drea-”

He was skinny …you hugged him tight …why did he feel so hard and sharp around his body?

“Dad, I missed you,” you licked your lips, “come on I’ll make you something to eat, why are you so thin?” You moved your head back and screamed. His work shirt was stained in blood and his skin and muscle were rotting off his body. His cheeks were hallow and the tip of his nose was gone. His eyes totally white. A slice settle on his face. He opened his mouth slowly to speak and a rotting tongue rolled out over his chin.

You kept screaming and saying “No!” Over and over again. You moved backwards and fell over on a bowl of porridge. His body fell forward on top of yours.

You couldn’t breathe from the fear. The dream went dark in shadows and it clicked that perhaps you’d woken up. But you weren’t entirely sure. You kicked your legs and curled up in a ball. You wailed and hiccupped. The gag in your mouth brought your mind back to where you were. Where you’d been trapped. You hit the mattress over and over in frustration and anger.

“Lmph ma gaoh!” let me go, you howled.

Your knees trembled and you felt nauseas. You shook your head, trying to fight the vomit that could be rising to your chest. You knew if you vomited it would go everywhere and some might stay inside your mouth or throat or up into your nose.

You whimpered, “Peaff!” Please!

Your body tightened…you felt your bowels grow sore and your bladder tight.

Dread filled your mind with the harsh reality that if you don’t get off the bed you were going to be sitting in your own fluids. It cracked your mind….it broke your own heart…you started to scream knowing what your kidnapper wanted to hear..

“Daffy! Peaf half mah!” Daddy please help me, you bawled over and over while your legs crossed tightly and you tried to hold in your bowels. Your toes curled and your acrylic nails dug deep into the skin of your palm. You scolded yourself for letting at service woman Drew to convince getting your nails done.

It was agony, holding in for so long. Your hands cupped yourself in hopes to stop any form of self leaking.

But after the fifth or sixth begging sob…you felt his presence return. It was like he never left, you didn’t hear his feet walk over to you, you only felt his hands…he unlocked you from the chain and guided you to the guest toilet. He took off your gag and your mouth slackened. The drool that hit your feet and floor with a splat made your shoulders curl in humiliating embarrassment.

You were sat on the toilet seat. You knew he stood waiting. It made you feel worthless and disrespected, the lack of privacy as he watched you push your bladder and bowels.

And that wasnt even the worst of it.

Reaching for toilet paper to the side of you, your hands were slapped away. You heard the roll move and a quick tear. You held out your hand to take it but his hand touched your thick and you twisted away, choking on a sob….the sick fucker wouldn’t let you wipe your own body... As he wiped the piss, you grabbed his wrist and tried to tug him away from your intimates.

“I’m not a baby,” you croaked quietly. You heard him hum, “I can do it myself”

“I know you’re not a baby…I just want to remind you this body belongs to me,” he murmured as he flushed the toilet paper away and you heard his hands wash under the running water of the sink.

Your knees bounced with anxious impatience. What was he planning to do to you?

He got you to your feet and guided you back. When the tiles became carpet you guessed you were being put back onto the bed.

He locked the chain back to the collar and whispered into your temple, “Just a moment.” You felt him move away and heard him drag something heavy from under the bed. Your stomach dropped and thought the worst.

He’s grabbing power tools…he’s going to chop and stab and beat me up and then dice me up into tiny pieces, you but your lips and let your tears flow.

“Wh-what’ are you going to do to m-me?” You dared to ask the maniac millionaire.

You flinched at his echoing chuckle, “Just tie you up for now, but let’s see where that takes us? You were talking in your sleep, did you know you do that?”

Your shoulders shook and you curled. You moved back to the head of the bad and clenched the fabric tightly. You felt him dropping things on the bed. His torture tools….

“Please don’t do this,” you tried to beg, “I haven’t done anything wrong. I just want to go h-home please.”

You hated the weakness in your voice. A part of you was angry and demanding you to claw his eyes out and fight to the death. You just weren’t sure what was the right thing to do anymore. What was the least painful.

Warm fingers brushed along your shoulder, and you gasped a little too loudly, he laughed.

“Easy now, I’m just taking off the blindfold, or would you prefer I leave it on?”

Your eyes watered under the fabric, your voice broke out into a whimper, "Off please..."

HELPLINES:

If you are a victim of sexual abuse, assault or domestic violence or know someone who is please reach out to these links that share helpline services, phone numbers or emails. Consent and respect is important in every relationship whether between friends, family or even strangers. .

Australian Helpline Services

UK Helpline Services

American Helpline Services

India Helpline Services.

#TNOSP #august walker x black!reader #august walker x ofc #august walker x you #august walker x reader #henry cavill x female reader #henry cavill x y/n #henry cavill x ofc #henry cavill x you #henry cavill x reader #dead dove do not eat #dead dove fic #dark!august walker #dark!henry cavill #milky fics #Spotify

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the-random-phan · 3 months ago

Text

Dead (name)

Summary:

Short drabble about trans masc Danny's experiences.

Muscle memory from years of sleepovers and movie nights at Sam's led Danny towards the downstairs bathroom, and he shut himself inside. He locked the door, ensuring his privacy. With that privacy, Danny sat on the toilet and shucked off his shirt- then rolled his binder up to his armpits. He sighed with relief, as it finally felt like he could breathe. Binders and recently cracked ribs didn’t match well, it turned out. Super healing or no.

Word Count: 1,449

Ao3

(I recommend reading on Ao3 for the proper formatting)

“Hey glowstick! Dim the lights, please.”

Danny’s head snapped up at Sam’s comment. Ah, right.

He, Sam, and Tucker were in Sam’s basement theater, about to start a movie. Tucker manned the popcorn machine, and Sam stood near the light switch- which she’d just turned off. The room was dark. Mostly.

“Sorry.” Danny replied from the couch. Between one breath and the next he turned from ghost form to human. His glow vanished, leaving the room in shadows lit only by the projector screen.

“Thank-you.” Sam left the switch to sit next to him, getting cozy with her purple blanket.

“Make way!” Tucker exclaimed, armed with the popcorn bowl. He plopped down between them and promptly laid his head in Sam’s lap, and his legs in Danny’s.

Sam huffed.

“You should change your name to Trucker, not Tucker. Forcing your way in like that.”

“I don’t hear any complaints.” A grinning Tucker shimmied, making himself comfortable between them.

“I literally just compla-”

“Shhh! The move is starting.” Tucker said and pressed start. Sam shook her head but smiled, and turned her attention to the movie.

Danny remained quiet, watching their interaction with a smile. He was content to be the third, for now. He automatically grabbed an extra blanket and threw it over Tucker’s legs, tucking it in around him.

“Thanks, man.” Said Tucker around a mouthful of popcorn.

Danny laughed.

“No prob.” He rested one hand on Tucker’s calf and the other in the popcorn bowl. The opening credits began and he settled in for the movie.

“Now that’s a girl’s locker room.” Tucker snickered at the scene.

Sam and Danny rolled their eyes.

“Girl’s locker rooms really aren’t as exciting as you think, Tuck.” Memories of covering his eyes and ducking into the bathroom stalls to change flashed in front of Danny’s eyes.

“How would you know?” Tucker retorted.

Danny didn’t deign that with a response, and turned his attention back to the movie.

“Oh.” Tucker laughed quietly, awkwardly, and then the scene changed and the moment was forgotten.

They got through the first half hour before Danny felt a tinge in his ribs. He ignored it for a while, but the pain was constant. He shifted in his seat but was unable to get comfortable. Until he could ignore it no longer.

“Bathroom break. Be right back.” Danny said in a hushed voice and stood, dumping Tucker’s legs out of his lap. Prompting a startled squawk.

“Want us to pause the movie?” Sam turned to see him standing. Tucker watched as well.

“Nah.” Danny waved them off.

“I’ll be back soon. Just fill me in when I get back.” Not wanting to interrupt further, Danny quickly made his exit. Just as he’d asked, the movie continued to play as he left.

The stairs felt like a special kind of hell as Danny ascended them. He pressed a hand against his chest and tried to ignore the sharp ache, just putting one foot in front of the other.

Muscle memory from years of sleepovers and movie nights led him towards the downstairs bathroom, and he shut himself inside. He locked the door, ensuring his privacy.

With that privacy, Danny sat on the toilet and shucked off his shirt- then rolled his binder up to his armpits.

He sighed with relief, as it finally felt like he could breathe. Binders and recently cracked ribs didn’t match well, it turned out. Super healing or no.

Danny rested his head in his hands, eyes closed so he didn’t have to look. He took a moment to just breathe- in, and out.

He should have taken a binder break earlier, really. He’d been wearing it for… thirteen hours, now? Eight if he didn’t count time in his ghost form. Which he didn’t, usually. Because that form didn’t need a binder. A blessing and a curse, all in one. His top surgery fund was abysmally small.

A few minutes passed, and Danny figured it was time to go back to the movie. He didn’t want to miss too much.

Danny pulled his binder back down and it was then that he realized the fatal flaw in his plan. His chest ached even more now, and the pain clogged his throat.

“Shit.” He cursed quietly.

He’d come right to Sam’s after ghost hunting, and his backpack had been blasted to bits by Box Ghost. With it, his spare bra- the one he kept just in case this sort of thing happened.

Unable to stand the pain, Danny shucked the binder off onto the floor. He took a deep breath, enjoying the freedom but finding himself shivering.

He abhorred not wearing anything for his… chest. Being trans made him self-conscious enough, he didn't need it accentuated. But he also didn’t have a choice. Reluctantly, he picked his t-shirt back up off the floor and put it on. A glance down made him cringe.

Part of Danny thought maybe he could ask to borrow one of Sam’s bras. But another part shrunk away from the idea of saying the word out loud, and making his ‘issue’ known. Plus, Sam always wore the expensive, custom-fit kind. A far cry from the ten dollar two-packs he picked up at walmart. He didn’t even know if hers would fit.

With gritted teeth, Danny stuffed the binder in his pocket and washed his hands. He left the bathroom with his arms crossed in front of his chest; trying (and failing) to look casual. The last thing he needed right now was the run into Sam’s mom, so he hastened his steps.

Danny returned to the basement and found the most important people in the world his friends still laying on the couch.

Tucker had shifted in his absence, knees bent and legs tucked up. From his slow heartbeat and slower breaths, Danny could tell without even seeing his eyes that Tucker was asleep. His head still rested in Sam’s lap, and she had an idle hand in his hair.

“Everything good?” Sam asked in a hushed tone, noticing Danny’s entrance right away. He’d been gone for a while.

Danny’s reply was quick- he didn’t want her to worry. Or to look at him.

“Fine.” He sat back down on the couch, distanced by Tucker’s folded legs. Danny took his blanket and tucked it under either arm, tight around his chest. He kept his arms folded.

“Hm.” Sam frowned.

“Well, I saved you the last of the popcorn. Want it?” Sam wasn’t done yet, it seemed. Danny glanced over to see the bowl with just a handful or two left. He debated- he really wanted popcorn. But he also didn’t want to lift his arms to take the bowl from her.

“No thanks.” He said politely.

Sam dropped it, thankfully- attention turned back to the movie. He caught her sideways glance but pretended not to notice.

“Hey Danny?” Tucker asked.

“What?” Danny laid out the blanket on the top of the Ops Center. There was a meteor shower tonight, and they’d gone up there to watch it. Sam sat down on the blanket and began to dole out their orders from Nasty Burger.

“Why are you always in ghost form nowadays when we hang out?” Tucker sat down next to Sam.

Danny froze, teeth clenched. He forced out a breath.

“Yeah, I noticed that too.” Sam added, chewing on a fry.

“It’s been like a week since we’ve seen Fenton anywhere but school.”

Danny’s plan on just shrugging and saying ‘idk’ went out the window with that statement. And with Sam and Tucker’s stares.

They weren’t judgemental, of course. They’d never judge him, not about this. But Danny couldn’t help feeling that way. And it made him quiet.

The two must have noticed his discomfort with the question and he saw them exchange looks, silently communicating.

“You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to.” Said Sam.

“Yeah- I was just curious. No pressure, man.” Tucker added.

A weight lifted from Danny’s chest. He took his seat on the blanket between them.

“Nah, it’s fine.” He scratched the back of his neck- a familiar gesture.

“It’s just more comfortable, I guess?”

Danny paused, debating how much he really wanted to say.

“...Helps with my dysphoria, and all that.” He said quietly.

“Ah, gotcha.” Tucker nodded immediately in understanding. For which Danny was immensely grateful.

Sam piped up as well with her own support.

“You look happier. Even if you also look, y’know, dead.”

“Thanks, Sam.” Danny said dryly.

“I do mean it though. You seem more comfortable” She bumped her shoulder against his.

Tucker piped up with a snicker.

“Yeah, you’re positively glowing.” “Tucker.” They groaned in unison.

#this is really just pushing my own feelings/experiences onto Danny lol #mostly at least (as in. i've never had cracked ribs. my cousin did tho!)#I threw in some comedic interactions around the angst #so I hope this is a fun read!#danny phantom #dp #trans!danny #sam manson #tucker foley #everylasting trio #(or not. it isn't explicity said :3)

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emberfrostlovesloki · 1 year ago

Note

☆ put this star into the inbox of your favorite blogs. it's time to spread positivity!

Photo credits: Left (@hollydays) Right (@junipers-archive)

Anon, um.... thank you so much!!! This is so kind. Oh my goodness, I'm blushing as I type this. I'm so glad you like my blog. Thank you for spending time here! You are always welcome here - Love Levi ❤️

Here's a small (very small) Spencer blurb for us.

Socks

Prompt: How Derek finds out Spencer has a girlfriend.

Pairing: Spencer x fem reader. The reader uses she/her pronouns.

Category: Fluff

Word Count: 559 words

Content Warnings: Brief mention of intimacy/none.

A/N: Nothing really to add here except that if you like this story, likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated.

P.S. Barely edited.

List with all stories

_y/n_ = your name.

Spencer rolled into the conference room two minutes late. This prompted looks from everyone else in the room. Reid said, "Sorry I'm late." He didn't provide a reason for why he was tardy, and Hotch, standing at the front of the room said, "It's fine for once." The genius sat down and listened as the team continued to debrief. It took him a second to read over the information he had missed in his file. As the team piled into the jet, Morgan and JJ sat next to him. Reid's pants leg was lifted a little as his right leg crossed over his left. Morgan noticed his friend's mismatched socks and said, "You have a problem with your footwear this morning, Reid?" Spencer flushed. Spencer was known for having mismatched socks. It happened often, but today was an extreme example. He had one calf-length black sock on his left foot and one short white on his right. Even for Reid, this was an extreme. Spence murmured something under this breath and Morgan teased, "Come again, Reid?"

Spencer was thinking of that morning. How warm he felt in _y/n_'s arms. She had asked to be the big spoon the night before and it wasn't something Spencer had experienced before. She had crawled behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. _y/n_'s face was pressed between his shoulder blades, and he had to wonder if this was comfortable for her. He asked hesitantly, "Is this comfortable for you. _y/n_.?" She had softly hummed out a, 'Yes,' as they settled in for sleep. Spencer's insomnia lifted a bit when she was with him. It was a reprieve. And, as it turned out, this sleeping situation had seemed to ease his mind into oblivion even further. In the morning, he woke later than usual. He panicked for a moment; he was going to be late. For one second, he just stayed, seeping into the soft intimacy of the moment. It was _y/n_ that had ended up pushing him out the door, tossing two random socks in his direction. He hadn't even looked at them as he slipped them on with his loafers.

Reid's brain was momentarily back there but was pulled from the memory as his phone pinged. Spencer pulled it out of his pocket. He swiped up on his messages. As much as Derek tried not to look at the text, he was sitting just close enough and in view to see that the sender didn't have a name. There were just these emojis where a name would normally be: ❤️ 📕 🌟. This immediately Derek's interest was piqued, and he couldn't stop himself from reading the message. It was simple: just, "Stay safe out there, Spence. Love you." Morgan almost fell out of his seat. Spence had a partner! And he had been keeping it a secret from all of them? Derek had to wonder how long this had been going on. Morgan cleared his throat and said, quietly, "Reid, walk with me to the back of the jet for a minute?" Spencer followed his friend to the rear of the jet, and Derek looked at him, eyes piercing. The tall, lithe man blushed and said, "Well, I guess I've got some stuff to spill..." Derek gave a warm smile. It was nice to know that Spencer was getting care from someone. That he wasn't alone all the time in his city apartment. Derek leaned back against the small counter that housed the coffee machine and waited for Reid to speak. He was ready to listen.

______________________________________________________________

Want to be added to my Spencer tag list? Please see this post, CM tag list (linked).

#anon comment #thank you anon #anon you are so kind!#spencer ried #dr. spencer reid #spencer x y/n #spencer x you #fanfiction #criminal minds #spencer blurb #spencer ramble #spencer fluff #soft spencer #spencer has a girlfriend and morgan finds out #reader insert #soencer reid fluff

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meetinginsamarra · 6 months ago

Text

mayprompts2024, #30 journey

Chapters 1 to 6 here on AO3

If you like the tattoo AU give it some love on my AO3, please. It would mean a lot to me. TYSM!

+++++

White Pony Tattoo - Part Ten (journey)

Eight days later, once again, John found himself hovering in front of 221 Baker Street. He wondered if there would ever come a time when he would be able to simply just walk inside because he was sure about it like every other normal person would probably do.

The days since he had last seen Sherlock had flown by, with John barely noticing the passage of time. He had thought a lot about what Mrs Hudson had said to him in her kitchen. Not the threat she had uttered. But the thing about Sherlock having had a hard time in his past.

John had pondered about what might have happened to him, what had hurt Sherlock so much that he had needed to put up that wall of protection around himself. To build an armour around his heart.

Of course, John wouldn’t ask. He also promised himself not to stalk Sherlock on the internet any further. If Sherlock wanted to trust John with telling him anything about his past, it was solely up to Sherlock to take the first step into this direction.

Calais Reno, the movie star, whom John had begun to follow on Instagram out of sheer curiosity, had posted a picture of the newly acquired tattoo yesterday. It had been placed on the outer side of the right calf and reminded John of a mixture between HG Wells’ steampunk-inspired time machine and Doctor Who’s Tardis. It was intricately detailed and although it was very close to a technical drawing, the image seemed three-dimensional. Given that the movie star was known to be a fan of stories about time travel, it was the perfect choice.

John would have expected nothing less, coming from Sherlock.

Which made him more and more curious about the phoenix Sherlock would put onto him this afternoon. Excited. Also, a bit anxious. What if he didn’t like Sherlock’s design after all? Sherlock had only texted John, giving him a time and a date when the tatooing would take place but he had not given the tiniest hint concerning its design.

John remembered very well the part of Sherlock’s shop sign that demanded no arguing. He would just have to trust Sherlock, John supposed.

Into battle. John opened the door.

Sherlock, dressed in a deep green shirt today, was already waiting and welcomed John with a radiant smile. This time, he reciprocated John’s firm hug with much more comfort and surety.

Without further ado, John was led into the tattoo parlour behind the curtain and Sherlock wordlessly gestured at the computer screen. It showed a black-hued phoenix. In a realistic 3D view that turned from side to side in an endless loop as if John was moving his arm. The firy bird totally eclipsed the Virgin Mary tattoo, depicted in faint red hues underneath, leaving not even the least bit of ink uncovered.

John stared with his mouth hanging open and didn’t know what to say.

“Given that you just perform the perfect impersonification of a gold fish, I take it that the design pleases you.” Sherlock deadpanned.

“Holy cow, Sherlock, this is,” John’s voice was hoarse as a multitude of feelings rushed through him, “this is… perfection.”

John must have chosen the right word because Sherlock’s face flushed red.

“It had to be. More than any tattoo before.” Sherlock swallowed, fiddling awkwardly with his hands. “I made it for you, John.”

“Sherlock, I…”

But Sherlock launched into a flurry of rapid movements, starting to set up everything for the tattoo session. It looked like a meticulously rehearsed ballet performance and John was transfixed by the lithe beauty and grace.

“Get comfortable in the seat,” Sherlock said whilst putting various needles, phials and two tattoo guns onto a tray, “I estimate that it will take three and a half hours to tattoo the phoenix. If you need a break, to move or stretch, just say so.”

John did as he had been asked and then Sherlock took off his dress-shirt to put on sterile surgical gloves. Underneath it, Sherlock wore a skin-tight black t-shirt where the short sleeves had been cut off. For the very first time, John saw Sherlock’s arms and the sight made him grateful that he was already sitting.

Sherlock’s arms were nothing short of spectacular.

Beautifully muscled, like a dancer’s, skin milky-white and smooth like marble. His right arm was not tattooed, but the left was wholly covered with intricate lines of deep black and brilliant red. From John’s point of view, they looked like dancing flames.

Sherlock apparently felt John’s eyes on him because he suddenly kept still. He turned, stepped up to John and held out the tattooed arm so that John could take a look at its front side. He carefully watched John’s reaction.

“You also have a phoenix on your arm!” John gasped. “A huge phoenix surrounded by flames!”

“Brilliant observation, John.”

John realized that every time Sherlock had become sarcastic before, at least when he had talked to John, it had been an indicator of Sherlock being nervous. Something that he would never openly admit.

But what should Sherlock be nervous about?

The tattoo was beautiful and perfect and then John remembered what Sherlock had said about perfect tattoos. That they had to connect to their wearer’s personality and history. The implications of Sherlock’s professional credo in connection with chosing a phoenix for himself made John dizzy.

Did that mean…

“Are you a survivor, too?” John blurted, overwhelmed by his sudden epiphany.

Sherlock sighed. He fought an inner battle, the pros and cons of the choice he was about to make clearly written on his face.

John didn’t say anything, knowing Sherlock needed time for what this was. To find the courage and the trust to tell John about it.

When Sherlock had made his decision, he straightened his back and carefully wiped every emotion off his face, but his eyes stayed wary and apprehensive and he looked right over John’s head.

“It’s been a long journey before I’ve arrived where I am now.” Sherlock gestured with his hand to the tattoo parlour. “It’s not been a joy ride for a very long time. I’ve literally died, John! My heart had stopped and I’ve been brought back to life.”

John simply nodded one time. He did not dare move another muscle, lest Sherlock might get spooked and retreat back into his shell.

Sherlock took a deep breath, gathering his strength. He slowly searched for John’s eyes. After finding them, he asked silently.

“Have you ever wondered why I chose the name White Pony Tattoo?”

++++++

tagging some people @totallysilvergirl @peageetibbs @lisbeth-kk @raina-at @calaisreno

#mayprompts2024 #number 30 journey #my sherlock fanfics #white pony tattoo #no beta we die like (wo)men

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mrhaitch · 2 months ago

Note

Good afternoon from the other end of the planet. May you tell us what your workout routine is? Asking for a friend who wants to get fit.

Fairly standard Push - Pull - Legs, with some cardio (but nowhere near enough) sprinkled in.

With all of these, please keep the following in mind: I've been lifting for a little while so starting with 3 sets is best for someone who is starting out. I do 2 minutes of stretching before I start, followed by a 5 minute warm-up (I like the rowing machine). Keep the weight to a controllable level: I typically find if I can do 12 reps on my first set, I'll fail at around 5 or 6 reps on my last set. Make sure you rest for 60-90 seconds between sets, but no more or you'll get distracted or become discouraged.

1 day rest between workout days, 72 hours rest for each muscle worked (so if you do a push day on Friday, don't do another until Monday or Tuesday).

Push day looks like this:

4 sets of a chest pressing movement (machine or free weights)

4 sets of a shoulder pressing movement or rear delt flyes (I rotate them every 2-4 weeks depending on growth)

4 sets of triceps (tricep extension machines, or with dumbbells, or cables, or dips)

4 sets of chest flyes

Pull looks like:

4 sets of bicep curls (zottman are best for development of biceps and forearms)

4 sets of lateral pull downs

4 sets of seated rows

4 sets of bicep curls (either barbell, machine, or dumbbell hammer curls)

Legs:

4 sets of leg press (or weighted squats)

4 sets calf extension

4 sets leg extension

4 sets hamstring curl

I swap the exercises around based on availability, but I'm usually hitting my larger muscles (chest, back, thighs) twice per workout, and my smaller muscles once. I'd also heavily advise putting a very basic diet plan together: nothing too strenuous, just know what your maintenance calories are, and what the division of your macros need to be (carbs, protein, fat).

I'm around 80kg, and I aim for around 120-150g protein per day, just to give you an idea. Avoid supplements if you can. If you need to take creatine up your water intake as it will dehydrate you massively, and be prepared for a little bit of bloating.

#mr.haitch #mrhaitch #mr haitch #mrhaitch answers you too

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oddinary4bts · 3 months ago

Note

Cc JK: share your workout routine please 🤣

Oof I do not have it in me to write a male workout routine hahahaha but mine is 2 days a week (can’t go more), one upper body day and one lower body day

The upper body day is:

10 min cardio

3 x 20 leg lifts while holding a 25 lbs plate for abs

1 min plank, followed by 1 min of side planks on each side

3 x 20 alternate chest press with dumbbells

3 x 20 (on each side so 3 x 40 total) back row with dumbbells

3 x 20 alternate lying tricep extension with dumbbells

3 x 12 seated military shoulder press with dumbbells

3 x 20 alternate bicep curls with dumbbells

3 x 15 reverse curls with dumbbells (not alternate, do the two arms at the same time. You can also use a bar for that)

3 x 12 face pulls on the cable pulley machine

Stretch for 15 min

Now the lower body day

10 min cardio

3 x 20 leg lifts while holding a 25 lbs plate for abs

1 min plank, followed by 1 min of side planks on each side

3 x 12 hip abductors followed by adductors on the sus machine (so 12 abductors followed by adductors then rest then next series)

3 x 12 leg curls

3 x 15 hyperextensions (for the lower back)

3 x 12 leg extensions

3 x 12 seated calf raises

3 x 12 bulgarian split squats on each side (24 total)

15 min stretching

For every exercise I take the heaviest weight I can do. The goal is to reach failure. And I drink a protein shake after every workout too to help with building muscle! Do not skip cardio (it warms up your body for the exercises) and stretching (it helps to make sure you don’t get stiff from working out and also helps with muscle recovery). I usually take around 1 min break between each series, except the bulgarian split squat where I take longer cause they kill me hahaha

Hope that helps even tho it’s not what Jungkook does haha

#anon ask #chasing cars ask #chasing cars #jungkook #chasing cars series #about me #personal

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layla4567 · 1 year ago

Text

"Magic night"

Colin Zabel x Latina reader

Summary: It was your second date with Colin, you started dating for a few days but you still didn't know each other well enough. You are a foreigner, you came from far away to start a new life away from the problems of your native country. Colin invited you to a bar for a drink, a quiet evening, or not?

Warning: Slightly suggestive, alcoholism, a little angst ,mention of economic crisis, impoverishment of a country and coup, also spanish words but don't worry they will have their translation.

A/N: I want to clarify that I never saw this series (so sorry) but I wanted to write something with this character because he seems very soft, and yes, this is quite specific but I really wanted the protagonist to know Spanish idk why

..............................................................................................................................

Sitting in Colin's car seat, I was accommodating the folds of my skirt for the fourth time somewhat anxious, despite being the 2 date I always got a little nervous when I saw him, I just couldn't help but feel a tickle in the pit of my stomach. Apart from the dark blue jean skirt, I was wearing a light black fabric shirt and my hair was somewhat messy with a flower-shaped clip, I knew he liked it. Completing my outfit was wine red lipstick and I was wearing black wedge boots that hugged my entire calf almost to the knee.

The detective who was trying to pay attention to the road could not help noticing from his peripheral vision your hands move, smiling with a free hand he took yours in his

I was looking through the window absently when his soft touch made me turn my head in surprise, fist at his hand and then at his face.

"Is everything alright, darling?"- He smiled as he kept looking ahead.

He had just called me darling? Oh I think that's another thing I like about him to add to the list. Their cute nicknames.

"Yeah, no worries"

His hand was still caressing mine, his fingers tracing slow circles on the back of my hand and on my knuckles. His warmth was making me melt but I tried to keep my composure.

Every time I went out in a car I liked to look out the window and see the buildings or the landscape in general. The sun was going down and the clouds were dyed in orange and pink colors, it looked like a work of art. Focused on the sky, I had not realized that we were arriving at the bar. A neon sign illuminated the car and our faces, there were tables outside and inside.

Colin opened my door and held out a careful hand to help me out.

"You look very beautiful today"- He said innocently

I looked at him with wide and surprised eyes while a shy radiant smile appeared on my face. He couldn't even imagine what those words had done to me, or the hours I spent trying to find the perfect outfit. I tried not to show my flushed cheeks

"Do you really think so?"- I said as if trying to play it down and feigning confidence, although that phrase meant the world to me.

"Of course yes, I'm always honest"

Now Zabel offered me his arm cavalierly inviting me to put his hand in it to walk together towards the entrance

"Well now I'll be honest, that blue suit looks radiant on you"- I told him flirtatious

And it was true, he was wearing a matching teal blue suit, a plain white shirt, and a black tie that matched beautifully. I was so used to seeing him in his typical black coat and dark shirts that seeing him in other colors made everything about him stand out.

Colin chuckled sheepishly as we entered the bar. The walls inside were painted a blood red while the freshly varnished wooden floor shone like a mirror. The bar was full of bottles and cocktails that the bartender was masterfully preparing. There was also a live band playing, a bass player, a drummer and the lead singer. I loved live bands, well, I loved music in general. I remember that for my 15th birthday my mother had bought me a karaoke machine, she almost instantly regretted it, I wouldn't stop using it in my room at full volume.

We went to the bar and took a seat, the music was nice. The bartender asked us what we were going to drink. Colin had a margarita and I had a gin and tonic.

"Wow, you seem to like strong drinks"- he said

"Over time you get used to it"- I laughed

While the boy in the red bowtie was preparing the drinks as if he were a juggler in a circus, Colin and I began to chat.

"So tell me... what prompted you to move to this place?"

A shadow darkened my gaze and I suddenly became serious, I lowered my head a bit uncomfortable

The detective noticed this so he quickly said

"I'm sorry, I know it's a somewhat personal question, you don't have to answer it if you don't want to."- An expression of sorrow crossed his eyes.

"No it's ok I just-"

I wanted to continue but I felt the weight of a rock in my throat. Even so I took a breath and answered

"My country had just come out of a coup d'état, the whole world had been left poor, we hardly had to eat. I remember my mother crying, the screams of the military. It was horrible"

I closed my eyes so that the tears that were about to appear would not be seen. Colin sympathetic caressed my arm rubbing it from top to bottom which gave me the strength to continue.

"Thank God my family was not harmed. When I grew up I promised my family that one day I would raise enough money to help them financially, even if it meant moving to another country."

Zabel looked at me giving me all the attention in the world and his face showed an expression of anguish as if everything I've experienced had been experienced by him too.

"I'm so sorry about all that"

"Thank you Colin.."- I was able to genuinely smile until my eyes were slanted as if they were two parallel lines, it was comforting to know that someone was listening to me without judging me

The bartender had already finished the drinks and served them to us. We thank him with a smile

"However, now I'm here and I'm not doing so bad, and the best thing is that I'm talking to the most handsome detective in town"- I told him while taking the straw between my lips and winking

I liked to make him nervous

He looked down at his drink laughing as his cheeks flushed slightly. Bingo

"Well, enough about me, now I want to hear from you, you're working on a new case, right?"

"Yes, in fact, I'm trying to make progress on that"

And so he began to talk to me about the details of the case, his co-worker and everything. It seemed like an interesting but dangerous job at the same time, I looked at him carefully while he spoke calmly, I couldn't help but worry about him every time he talked about the injured people who were involved in detective work.

"You're a very brave man"

He looked at me surprised and confused.

"Why?"

"Well, with everything you told me, it seems like you fear for your life all the time."- I tried to sound funny but I was really worried.

"Well you are partly right, this profession is dangerous but don't worry, I know how to defend myself"- He said with a smile to reassure me and put his hand on mine

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

We continued to drink our cocktails, mine was almost empty and it was getting to my head a bit because I could feel the heat of the alcohol in my blood, especially on my face.

Without warning and laughing at who knows that I asked Colin

"Do you want me to teach you words in Spanish?"

He laughed enchanted

"Okay, miss y/n, teach me"

"Do you know how to say party in Spanish?"- I said as I moved my straw in circles inside the glass

He shook his head, amused by my behavior.

"It's said: Fiesta, F-I-E-S-T-A"- I pronounced it slowly so that he can understand me and repeat it

Colin repeated the phrase with a cute American accent, it sounded adorable.

"And job it's trabajo"

The handsome detective tried to repeat the word but failed pathetically, then annoyed and getting closer I told him

"No, no no, not like that"- I gently grasp his jaw to force him to look at me.

"Look at my lips, tra-ba-jo"

He didn't expect that contact with my skin and even less when I told him to look at my lips, he immediately blushed and tried to repeat the word just to give me the satisfaction of listening to him and knowing that he learned the Spanish lesson like a good student. I felt like a preschool teacher

"Yaaay muy bien! oh that's another word haha"-I laughed nasally- "and means very good"

"It seems to me or are you a little drunk?"

I gasped

"Naah, it's your imagination"- I made a gesture with my hand like shooing a fly

Colin seemed entranced by my presence because he kept laughing in amusement.

I leaned my elbows on the bar and laughing like a schoolgirl I told him

"Guess what it means mi amor"

"I-I don't know"

"Oh c'mon. You really don't know?"

"I have no idea"

I framed my face with my hands while blinking flirtatiously.

"Means my love"- I smiled mischievously while biting my lower lip.

The brunette scratched his shirt collar heatedly with an awkward smile.

Suddenly your favorite song started being played by the band

"Ohh my god I love that song! You have to come dance with me!!"- I told him while I grabbed his wrist and dragged him to where the audience was with the musicians.

"Oh I don't think that's a good idea"- Colin said as he resisted my push and sat back down on the stool.

"Pleaseee"- I pouted sadly

"I don't know how to dance, but you go. I see you from here"

"Fineee but you are missing the opportunity to dance with a sexy latina"- I said swaying my hips

I went to the center of the room near where the musicians were playing, waving my arms in the air happily. My confidence was through the roof. I let myself be carried away by the rhythm of the music, moving my legs from one side to the other and my arms making waves while I closed my eyes letting myself go. My clothes were tight to the body highlighting my attributes and my hands ran through my body from head to toe ending on my thighs near my groin while slowly lowering to the ground.

Zabel's eyes widened.

I continued dancing with my eyes closed, my head moved from side to side as did my waist, but in an act of rebellion I went up on stage and grabbed the microphone of the main vocalist.

"What the hell are you doing"- He said irritated and confused

"Oh no, this can't be good"- Colin sighed

"Hellooo amigoos!"- I grabbed the microphone and exclaimed trying to keep my balance

"Tonight I want to dedicate this special song to that pretty boy over there who is sitting at the bar and covering his face"- I said pointing at him shamelessly

The detective covered his eyes with an embarrassed hand and laughed nervously, he wanted the earth to swallow him up

The bassist approached me annoyed and said

"Hey you can't do that he-!"

"Shh!"- I shut him up by putting a finger to his lips - "Now I will sing"

I started to sing a couple of Lady Gaga songs while seductively dancing every movement I did, it was full of elegance and passion, it was in my blood. From time to time he gave Colin provocative glances like a hunter watching his prey. I knew how to dance and capture people's attention, my hips did not stop moving and waving to the rhythm of the songs like a belly dancer, there was not a single inch of my body that I did not move. Sometimes I would bring my attention to my hands either by moving them in circles in the air and gesturing like flamenco dancers or by bringing them to my bust. I think people also liked my voice, I wasn't a professional but I put all my effort and enthusiasm into it. I could hit high notes and some low ones without so much effort.

Detective Zabel didn't know whether to run away or stay to continue enjoying the show, but he looked at me with dreamy eyes and a sparkle of joy.

"Your friend seems funny huh?"

"Uh excuse me, what?"- Colin turned his head in confusion to know who was speaking to him.

"Your little friend, the one in the pretty black shirt, seems to know how to have fun"- The bartender, while cleaning a glass, elbowed him as a sign of complicity while winking at him and then burst out laughing.

"Oh ye-yeah. She's amazing"- This last he said in almost a whisper. This woman aroused new emotions in the detective, and he liked them

Now the crazy singer began to sing in Spanish, although nobody understood her, they enjoyed the music

"SI NO SUPISTE AMAR, AHORA TE PUEDES MARCHAR!" (If you didn't know how to love, now you can leave)

"BOOM BOOM PON A GOZAR TU CUERPO CON EL BOOM, BOOM BOOM PON A GOZAR TU CUERPO, WOOO" (put your body to enjoy with the boom)- I was jumping like I was in carnival while waving an arm in the air

I stopped singing, I was exhausted

"Thank you dear audience, y ahora chupenme la-!" (and now suck my-)

The vocalist, fed up with me, snatched the microphone from me before I could finish the sentence.

"Go insult somewhere else, I have a Colombian cousin, you know? I understood what you said"

I came down from the audience somewhat embarrassed but happy because the people were applauding me happily, it was nice to be the center of attention for 5 minutes

I got to Colin who was still sitting at the bar looking at me like I was a Christmas present smiling with his eyes and mouth

"My, my. You're quite the jackpot"

"Oh what can I say?"- I said modest

"Let's go I think it's already quite late"- He looked at his wristwatch, it was 9:30

Colin Zabel took me affectionately but firmly by the arm, accompanying me towards the exit and then resting his hand on my lower back.

I got in the car together with him and we began the return to my apartment. Colin drove calmly while I still kept the music on my mind, nodding my head rhythmically and rocking my foot up and down. I looked at the streets distracted through the window. I suddenly turned my whole body so that I could face the detective. I rested an arm on the headrest of my seat, looking at him mischievously.

"What did you think of today's performance?"

"I think it was magical"- He smiled and showed some sexy dimples.- "I didn't know you could dance so well, my favorite part was when you took the vocalist's microphone and made him shut up"- When he laughed his nose wrinkled adorablely, he looked like a bunny

"Really?"- I laughed hysterically throwing my head back.- "Ok yeah, that was good"

We continue laughing heartily until I get closer to Colin laughing and resting my hand on his leg. I stroked his thigh coming up a bit near his groin and gave a playful squeeze.

Colin, who was not expecting that, tensed his muscles and clenched his jaw, letting out a contained grunt.

I looked at him biting my lower lip into a smile while still having my hand on his leg.

"Uhmm I-I think the alcohol affected you a little"- He moaned slowly, unable to contain himself.

Music for my ears

I laughed and slowly removed my hand from his thigh.

"I wasn't really drunk..."

Colin turned his head to gape at me, but remembered he was driving so he quickly looked back at the road.

"What did you just say??"

I shrugged as I looked at him, smiling innocently as if I had done some mischief and was about to punish myself.

"Did you seriously think it was my first time trying a drink that strong?"- I said naughty

Zabel snorted

"Please don't be mad, I know it was stupid"- I begged - "The cocktail had gone to my head a bit but not so much that I lost consciousness, I was conscious"- Now totally serious I look at him worried

"I'm sorry"- I sounded like a wounded animal as I looked down at my skirt. I didn't want to play the dead fly but now I realized that what I did was irresponsible

Colin heard the tone of regret in my voice and since he didn't like to see me down he said

"I'm not mad I promise, plus I have to admit it was kind of fun. And no one got hurt so you didn't do anything serious"- He gave me a warm look and a smile that was brighter than the stars in the sky that night.

Relieved, I smiled back at him as he continued driving to my house. Again he helped me get out of the car and walked me to the entrance.

"Well y/n I really had a good time today, I say again that you are full of surprises"

"Aww you don't suck either"

He laughed

We stared at each other's eyes, both shone in a particular way, was it love?

"Well I guess I'll see you another day Detective Zabel"- And without waiting for an answer, I grabbed his face with both hands and planted a passionate but quick kiss on his lips. It was our second date anyway and that's what happens at the end of one, right?

Colin stared at me silently, not knowing how to react.

"See you tomorrow, mi vida"- I smiled even with his face in my hands

He looked at me smiling confused

"I think you'll have to ask me out again to find out what that means."- I said amused as I quickly opened the door and entered my house.

The brown-haired boy stared at the door for a few seconds without knowing what to do, but then he laughed, placing his hands in his pants pocket as he headed towards his car. He would definitely ask her out on another date.

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

It's not the best I've written, sorry for disappointing the fans of this series 😭

at least i hope i made you laugh

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forcedtogrow · 4 months ago

Note

I've been going to the gym for a few months now, can I message you to ask about tips/routines?

Please feel free to message me if u want more specifics. I personally run a traditional Push Pull Legs split, with 2 days a week for push right now

So for example

Sunday- legs

Monday-push

Tuesday-off

Wednesday-pull

Thursday-off

Friday-push

Saturday-off and/or abs circuit day/myoreps to absolute failure (at home workout)

Legs:

I keep it simple

Barbell squats 5x5

Hip thrusts 4x10-12

Leg press-this one is a little odd. I do one set for 10 reps and then rest 20 seconds and do 10 more reps of that same weight; I do this twice (so, 4 sets total). Use a lower weight as needed

Calf press(whatever machine is available) 5x14-20

Leg extensions 2x12-15 or a drop set

Push:

Barbell bench press- 7 set doing a pyramid style of adding weight and lowering weight throughout the sets (think=structure of the app nSuns) I do this to failure for each weight and don’t care about 1RM at all

Decline bench 3 sets to failure

Incline bench 3 sets to failure (usually 10-12)

Seated shoulder press (arms should be slightly angled in, not straight out) 4x8-12

Dumbbell lateral raise 3 to failure (8-12)

Overhead press 3-5 sets

Reverse cable fly (ESSENTIAL for big shoulders, do not skip. This will likely be very difficult at first bc these muscle are not used often and you should use a low weight to start) 3x10-12 or to failure if I want my upper body to look thiiiccc if im going out after or whtevr

Tricep dip 3 sets to failure (hits short head of Tricep)

Tricep overhead extension 3 sets to failure (hits long head of Tricep)

yeah I know my push day is crazy, but it works. not great for beginners to do this much, so I’d cut out decline bench and pick btwn seated shoulder press and overhead press to avoid injury

Pull:

Deadlift 5x5

Bent over barbell row 3x8-12

T-bar 3x10-12

Lat pull down (wide grip) 3 sets to failure (8-12 at least)

Lat pull down (v bar or close grip) 3 sets to failure, lower weight as needed to get reps in with good form

Cable row (wide grip) 3x12+ make sure you are pull the bar to the bottom of your rib cage to engage your entire back

Back extension (weighted) 2x20 if possible, just body weight if you’ve never done this

Preacher curl 4 sets to absolute failure (must be failure for growth here) at a weight you can do at least 12 reps of while maintaining form

Cross body curl 2x8-12

Cable hammer curl drop set

(I switch up bicep exercises, these are just my current)

This is my basic run-down; I try to avoid accessory movements and stick with compound lifts. For me, hitting all 3 benches is non-negotiable, but I am neurotic. Some good beginner resources are athleanx, who is my favorite exercise yt. FTM fitness has great pages as well, and I can show more info if needed.

#ask #lifting routine #muscle encouragement #I realize my routine may be a little much for some ppl but tbf it took me a while to work up to this

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threadandlace · 1 year ago

Text

✵When I Say Softly, Slowly- Seamstress for the Band series, part thirteen (11.7k)

Masterlist- to start from the beginning

You woke up in pain. Your ankle hurt, your face was raw from crying, and your heart felt like it had been smashed with a sledgehammer. You rolled over in the bed and reached for your phone to check the time. 5:45 am. You opened your messages for an update but there wasn’t one since Jack’s 3:00 am text.

Jack: He’s out of surgery and stable for the night. Try to get some rest. I’ll let you guys know if anything changes.

Last night had been a blur. Danny had helped you move Albert to the floor after you’d found him unresponsive on the bus. You remember screaming for help, the surroundings eerily quiet despite there being thousands of people in and around the venue hours before. You had performed about 10 minutes of CPR while you waited for paramedics to arrive. You had barked orders, sending Sam back into the venue to find an AED as you continued compressions on Albert. Sam had apparently been frantic as he ran around the venue in search of the machine you requested, getting back to you when the paramedics had finally arrived. They had whisked Albert away in the ambulance and you had finally had the chance to break down, the exhaustion and heartbreak hitting you as soon as Albert was out of sight and his life was out of your hands. A few of you had loaded into one of the vans and headed to the hospital before being sent away.

“It’s late. You can keep one person here for updates, but the rest of you need to trust the process and come back in the morning. He’s in great hands,” a nurse had explained when the group had arrived at the hospital. Jack took watch and echoed the nurse as he sent the rest of you back to the hotel to sleep.

You swung your feet over the side of the bed and made contact with something warm and solid. You yelped and lurched backwards onto the bed, quickly withdrawing your feet.

“It’s just me!” Josh exclaimed, his figure materializing as he sat up on the floor. “Oh, shit, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to kick you. I didn’t realize you were down there” you said as you slid forward. He reached out to gently pat your leg. “It’s okay. I’m sorry I scared you,” he said softly, his hand lingering on your calf for a moment. “So, I’m going to go get changed and then do you want to go ahead and go to the hospital? See what’s up? I can always go by myself though,” he said and you shook your head before realizing he couldn’t see you. “No, I’m good! I’ll get up and get ready and meet you out in the hall in a minute,” you said. He squeezed your shoulder before finding his way to the door, the light streaming through as he went out into the hall.

You flopped back against the bed. There’s no way anything happened, he was on the floor for Christ’s sake after we were at the hospital. You pieced together the night as you got up and started getting ready. It had been you, Jack, Josh, Dean, the other driver, and Damion, Jack’s assistant, that had taken the van to the hospital. Jack had offered to stay at the hospital and take the first shift of sending updates to the group, you and Josh had both offering to come back first thing in the morning.

It was all starting to make sense- Jake had been asleep and you and Josh would be getting up together anyways, so he just crashed on your floor. Right?

You set the irrational worries aside and finished getting ready, meeting Josh in the hallway. “I got us an Uber, it should be here in a minute,” he said as he led you towards the elevator. You rode down in silence, both of you exhausted physically and mentally.

The Uber driver had greeted the two of you before turning onto the main road. Josh had reached across the seat to place his hand over yours, giving you a weak smile. “He’s going to be okay,” Josh said quietly and you nodded, tears starting to well in your eyes as you remembered how scared you had been last night, how scared you were for Albert.

The radio switched over to Safari Song, taking you and Josh both by surprise. You both chuckled and Josh leaned forward to ask the driver if he could possibly switch the station. “Sure! You don’t like rock?” the driver asked. You couldn’t contain your laughter as Josh shook his head. “I’m not the biggest fan of that band. Their singer is a washed up Robert Plant wannabe,” he said, giving you a smirk. “Really? I had no idea,” the driver responded as he switched the channel to country. Josh grimaced, but shrugged with acceptance as he sat back into his seat, his hand still placed gently over yours.

You and Josh followed Jack’s directions to the wing where Albert was. You had subconsciously reached for Josh’s hand as you walked through the corridors, your anxiety ramping up. He wrapped his hand around yours, providing instant comfort as you rounded the corner to the waiting room.

Jack was slumped in a chair, his laptop teetering on the edge of his lap as he snored softly. You reached forward to take the laptop from him and he woke up, straightening himself quickly before realizing it was just you and Josh. “Oh, good, I’m glad you’re here! There’s been no news since 3 am, but I was going to go inquire when you guys got here. Let me go ask real quick,” Jack said as he stood and made his way to the nurse’s station across the hall.

You and Josh watched as Jack talked with a nurse- the same one that had sent the group back to rest. “She told us to go home and rest, but she’s still here,” you whispered to Josh, who had been flipping through a magazine. “Yeah, but she gets paid,” Josh said with a definitive nod before turning back to his magazine.

Jack walked back to you, rubbing his face with his hands. “So, good news is that there’s no news,” he said as he sat in a chair across from you and Josh. “That’s good?” you asked and Jack nodded. “He’s still unconscious. They’re waiting for his family to get here so they can have them make a decision about which additional surgery they would like to have done. As of right now though, he’s doing really well. They just want to be ahead of the curve and make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

You nodded. “What did they say even happened?” you asked. “Oh,” Jack said, shaking his head like he couldn’t believe he hadn’t told you. “Heart attack. And then they found an aneurism near his heart when they went in to fix the heart attack issue. So now they’re dealing with that,” Jack said. “I don’t understand all of it but,” he took his laptop from you, “I have been in communication with his family and they’re on their way. And Emily is going to meet you in Florida. She’s been cleared for travel. And the transport company sent out a new driver for you,” Jack pointed to you, “so you guys should be good to head to Florida as soon as everyone is awake!”

You sat there for a minute, taking everything in. Jack noticed your sadness and laid a gentle hand on your knee. “I know it’s hard, but we have to keep going. His prognosis is good, his family is going to be here soon, things are rolling,” Jack said and you nodded. “No, you’re right. We have a lot of people counting on us, counting on you,” you gestured to Josh, who nodded. You could tell he didn’t want to go, but was being strong for you. “Alright, well, are you staying?” he asked Jack, who nodded. “Emily will be landing in Tampa about the time you get there and will hit the ground running. I’ll meet you guys down there once Albert is on the mend and his family is here and settled. They should be here this afternoon.”

“So,” Jack said, standing, “I’m going to send you both to go get some coffee, something to eat, and then go rally the troops. We will get through this.” You nodded, barely able to stand before Jack pulled you in for a hug. “I know you and Albert were close. I’ll make sure he knows you were here, okay?” Jack whispered and you nodded into his shoulder, begging for the tears gathering in your eyes not to fall. “Josh, you’re okay?” Jack asked, turning to him. Josh nodded and gave him a smile. “Yeah, just ready for Albert to be out of the woods. I’ve grown to quite like the geezer,” Josh said with a chuckle.

You and Josh went to the hospital cafe to get something while you waited for your Uber back to the hotel. Both of you got chai’s and chocolate chip muffins before heading out the front doors of the hospital. “I really wanted to at least get to see him,” you said quietly as you picked at your muffin. “I know,” Josh replied, taking a sip of his tea. “He knows how much you love him though, and you can tell him yourself when you see him next.”

The drive back to the hotel was a little lighter, you and Josh discussing different ideas for the outfits he wanted to wear in Europe. He discussed themes he wanted to represent and you nodded, taking notes on your phone as he talked. You loved the way his mind worked- his thoughts were fleeting, yet they all connected in one giant web. You were lucky that you were able to speak his language, having the ability to pick out the specifics of what he wanted from the ramblings he sometimes went on.

When you pulled into the parking lot of the hotel, you had three or four solid ideas for outfit sets- all four of the guys matching to a certain degree in theme, although each set would be unique. You and Josh thanked your driver and Josh ensured the tip went through before heading into the hotel.

You were surprised to see most of the group sitting in the lobby when you walked through the doors. Everyone had their stuff packed and in-hand. “What’s going on?” you asked Ava as she walked forward to hand you your bags. “I packed your stuff up, hope that’s okay. Jack called and filled us in and the drivers are saying we need to leave now due to a storm that’s heading towards the coast. They don’t want to get stuck in it because it could delay us getting to Tampa. And the semis with the stage stuff are already en route, so they need us to follow suit,” Ava explained. You nodded and Josh turned to take his luggage from Jake, who had come to stand next to you.

“I’m going to ride with you,” Jake said under his breath. You turned and gave him a questioning look and he took a deep breath before continuing. “I was talking to Dean and he said that the driver they were able to send down to take Albert’s place is… an interesting one. Dean doesn’t like him or trust him. Dean tried to get this other guy to switch rigs so that he could drive you, but the guy refused. He’s apparently kinda slimy, so we don’t want you to be alone with him. I just don’t have a great feeling,” Jake said quietly, you and Josh leaning in to listen. “I’ll ride too,” Josh said with a nod. “I’m better at hand-to-hand combat anyways,” Josh added as he took another sip of his tea, causing Jake to chuckle. “Whatever you say,” Jake said with a smirk as he patted Josh’s chest.

You instantly understood what Jake had been saying when you met Andy. He had reached out to take your hand, squeezing it a little too tightly, when he had met you as you boarded the bus.

‘They didn’t tell me I’d be driving for a knockout,” he said, his toothy grin reminding you a bit too much of a shark. Luckily they warned me I’d be driving with a weirdo. “Oh, well, thanks,” you said as you tried to remove your hand from his grasp. “And what is it you do?” he asked, leaning closer to you. If you had taken a second to actually walk through the bus, I’m sure it would be pretty clear you skeeve. “I do the costuming and wardrobe for the band,” you answered with a smile, ready to be left alone.

Josh, sensing your discomfort, reached forward to take Andy’s hand as he introduced himself. “I’m Josh,” he said, hitting Andy with his megawatt smile. “And you do what?” Andy said flatly, clearly immune to Josh’s charm. “Singer! Frontman! Face of the band if you will,” Josh joked. Andy withdrew his hand and nodded. “Very cool,” Andy added, clearly not thinking it was very cool. “Are you all riding on here? I thought it was usually just the little lady. At least that’s what the itinerary says,” Andy asked. “Oh, yeah, we take turns riding and doing fittings. Helps keep things running smoothly. She has a lot of work to do, incredibly talented this one,” Jake said quickly with a pat to your shoulder. “And she’s great company!” Danny added as he scooted past the group and walked down toward the back of the bus. “Ah, right. Well, settle in and we will get on our way shortly,” Andy said before returning to his seat.

The group collectively exchanged glances when you had all taken your spots in your usual seats. The clear consensus, even without words, was that Andy was not liked. “Where’s Sam?” Jake asked. “He wanted to sleep until lunch. He was tossing and turning last night- I think it really threw him for a loop not knowing what to do,” Danny answered with a sigh.

“I’m glad one of us knew what to do,” Jake added, turning to give you a smile. “You were a badass last night. Really and truly,” Jake complimented you, leaning forward to pat your knee. You gave him a tight smile, tears welling in your eyes. “Yeah, the paramedics said if you hadn’t stepped in and done CPR, he may not have made it. You should be really proud of yourself,” Danny added. “It was a group effort,” you replied, remembering how Danny had helped you maneuver Albert to the floor, Jake had called for help and Josh had watched from beside you, frozen with fear, but getting you anything you requested and helping count your compressions.

The group was quiet as the bus merged onto the highway. “Well,” you said before standing, “is anyone up for a fitting? May as well get something done and working will help clear my mind while we wait for an update.” Danny was the first one to stand, following behind you towards the closet to help you pull out the outfits for Florida.

You had decided on red as the color for Florida. Something about it just seemed fitting. You laid out the outfits on the table, directing Danny on where to put the various pieces. Jake stood and started to help, rearranging things as you pointed them out. Eventually, you had the items laid out by member.

Jake instantly fell in love with the boots you’d picked for him. They were chelsea boots, of course, and were two-toned with different red stains on the leather. “Any chance I could keep these?” Jake asked and you shrugged. “We bought everything outright, so I don’t see why not. We will probably use them a few more times, but after the tour, I’m sure you can have them.”

Danny turned to you. “You bought everything? I thought a lot of it was rented usually?” he asked. You nodded, “it can be. But I do a lot of thrifting and know a lot of people in high fashion who either want to get rid of old inventory or want their designs used. So, it works out. I do the same thing with the fabric- a lot of it is castoffs, thrifted, that kinda stuff.” Jake shook his head, “you’re pretty brilliant, you know that?”

You shrugged and lifted up Sam’s suit jacket to use as an example. “Like this? Tom Ford from a few seasons ago. I took apart the panels, altered the measurements, added embroidery and crystals, and made it into this,” you explained as you turned the suit jacket around to show off the red accents you’d painstakingly applied. “And these,” you placed the jacket down and picked up a pair of satin-type bright red pants, “are recreating some, according to fans, iconic pants Sam wore before. They’re actually made out of a material Jen used as a backdrop for photographing one of her collections. It just worked out perfectly.”

“I knew you were a genius, but not to this caliber,” Jake said, shaking his head. “Hey, when you hired me, you said you liked to stay as green as possible. I took that to heart,” you replied. Danny shook his head in amazement as he looked over his outfit. “Yeah, definitely let me know if the bicep area needs to be changed. I made it looser than your measurements but I can always adjust,” you instructed as you showed Danny the area you were talking about. “Lace can be tricky to work with, but it can be adjusted. This was actually from a wedding veil and I dyed it this color of red,” you explained. You turned to show Josh his jumpsuit and realized he was fast asleep on the bench, snoring softly. Jake chuckled at the sight. “He really can fall asleep anywhere. I feel like the two of you have that in common,” Jake said.

Jake turned to look at you. “Did he keep you up last night?” You froze at the question, your body instantly tensing. “I mean, that uh, I hope he didn’t snore. Because, you know… he snores really loud sometimes? And uh…” Jake spoke more quickly than usual, trying to explain what he meant. “He told me he crashed on your floor when you got back from the hospital. To uh, not wake me up. And because you guys told Jack you’d be back first thing in the morning,” Jake finished, nodding with satisfaction at his cover. “Oh, yeah, he was fine! I totally forgot he was there and stepped right on him in the morning,” you replied with a chuckle. There, now they know he was not IN my bed and therefore we didn’t sleep together. Sexually or otherwise. Even though I have no doubts he would’ve told them either way.

Josh rolled over, grunting suddenly. “I don’t fucking snore. And stop the interrogation Jacob or I’ll find the energy to beat your ass,” Josh hissed, his threat empty. Jake laughed and shook his head, “whatever boss.”

Danny had been watching and listening as he changed, his face hard. “You okay? How does it fit?” you asked with a smile, hoping to break through the tension in his eyes. “Yeah, great,” he said, giving you his signature smile that melted your heart every time. “The sleeves are perfect actually, I think you got the measurements perfect,” Danny said as he moved his arms around, testing the range of motion. “Perfect. Is it too tight here?” you asked as you moved and hovered your hands just above the collar of the shirt. “No, you can check it though,” he said, nodding to give you permission. You slid your hands between the fabric and the warm skin of his neck, pulling to check the give of the fabric. “Yeah, I used a fabric with more give, and that feels perfect,” you said, removing your hands and nodding. “Perfect,” he echoed before moving to the other side of you to begin changing back into his street clothes.

“How’s this look?” Jake asked, twirling to show you his outfit. “Stunning. How does it feel?” you asked as you walked over to assess the final fit of the jacket. “Good. I love this cut,” Jake said, gesturing to the ¾ sleeves and deep v cut on the front of the suit. “It’s really flattering on you, really accentuates your chest and the coin necklace of course,” you said with a smile as you pointed to the necklace he always wore.

Jake smiled and dropped his head shyly. “Yeah, I may need more coverage on the jackets during the next leg though,” he said quietly. “We can always change the cut if you want, that’s no problem. What is it you don’t like?” you asked. “I uh… people have just been saying things,” he whispered as he took the jacket off and put his button down back on. “Saying what?” you gently prodded.

“They’ve been utterly disgusting online,” Danny said, walking back from the bathroom. “Saying what?” you asked again. Jake took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead with his hand. “They’re I’ve gained weight, gotten fatter. It’s only a few people, but,” he said softly, his voice flat. You scoffed at him and looked from him to Danny, who was nodding to affirm that Jake was telling the truth.

“You’re kidding, right?” you asked and Jake shook his head. You hated how deflated he was, how crushed his confidence seemed. “Jake, I will do whatever you want, make any change you desire. But I will only do it if it’s what YOU want and what YOU are comfortable with,” you said, leaning forward to place a hand on his. “I’ll tell you right now, you are not fat. Far from it. This cut looks fantastic on you, absolutely screams sex appeal. And I don’t say that lightly,” you said, getting a chuckle out of him. “See, I seem to recall a whole lot of comments you showed me the other day about wanting to lick the sweat off your stomach, so, clearly there’s more appreciators than haters,” Danny said with a laugh. “Daniel, I showed you that in confidence,” Jake replied, giving him a smirk.

“Listen, I have heard my fair share of comments when I’ve ventured out into the venue, and I can confirm- the hearthrob vendetta is alive and well. People love what you wear and what you show off because it’s you. I believe that people should be more enthralled with your talent rather than your body, but I can confirm that people are obsessed with you for both reasons,” you added, tapping his leg with your foot for dramatic effect.

Jake turned to smirk at you as he raised an eyebrow “did you say people are obsessed with me?” You rolled your eyes and took the jacket from his hands, turning to hang it back up. “Don’t flatter yourself too much. I’ve heard enough nasty comments about all four of you to horrify me for decades,” you said with a laugh as you reflected on the various things you’d heard people whisper to each other when they thought nobody could hear, their intoxicated minds speaking freely.

“Oh, we’ve seen it,” Danny said with a chuckle as he leaned back on the bench across from you. “And heard it,” Josh croaked from his spot laid out on the other bench. “Oh, true! Josh’s in-ear picks up feed from a mic that faces the pit. The shit he’s heard is so disturbing it’s funny” Danny added, giggling as he likely reflected on various comments he’d heard.

“Don’t remind me of barricade granny,” Josh said with a groan before rolling over. “Oh shit, barricade granny!” Danny said, doubling over as he laughed even harder. Jake rolled his eyes and shook his head before explaining. “There was this lady, probably what, like in her 60’s? 70’s?” he asked and Danny nodded as he gasped for air. “She was making the most disgusting comments, like, holy shit it was insane. Screaming them too, loud enough to hear clearly. And then she flashed Josh when he walked towards her. Absolutely no fucking shame, that woman,” Jake said, laughing to himself as he reflected.

“That’s… horrifying,” you said, your eyes wide. “Yeah, but it was hilarious too,” Danny said, wiping tears from his eyes. “Imagine being that worked up over this guy,” Danny said, pointing to Josh, “in a sparkly jumpsuit. She probably thought you were fucking Elvis or something.”

“Well,” you said as you worked to hang the outfits up, “I hope to never see a pair of granny titties. That’s all I got.” Danny started laughing again and Jake grimaced. Josh rolled back over. “They actually weren’t bad. I think they were fake. But still, the principle made me turn around real quick. Don’t need to be staring at someone’s grammy’s rack. Jesus,” he said with a chuckle.

“Does that happen often?” you asked. “What? Get flashed by grandmas?” Danny asked with a chuckle. “Just in general,” you added and Jake shrugged. “Sometimes. People online really started to tear them apart over it, you know, consent and all that,” Jake replied. “I, sadly, can’t really see from where I am. I know I’ve seen my fair share of boobs popping out when we used to watch people run to barricade though,” Danny added. “Oh, yeah, that’s true. We used to watch people come in for general admission and they’d be so concerned with fighting for a spot, you’d just see everything flying. We don’t watch anymore because it’s turned into a bloodbath. A little disappointing to see,” Jake added.

“Who would’ve thought that you guys would be rockstars, hmm?” you said, both Danny and Jake smiling. “I knew he’d make it big,” Danny said, gesturing to Jake. “And that he’d become something. I thought he’d be more of a filmmaker, some big shot director. But that will be his next move I think,” Danny added, pointing at Josh, who was back to snoring in the corner.

“Yeah, what’s next for you guys?” you asked, pulling a panel for one of Josh’s future jumpsuits out of your drawer. You began applying the embellishments by hand, checking your pattern as you went. “Not sure. Probably another album, work on it slowly,” Jake said, clearly in thought. “I think Josh wants to focus more on film endeavors, so the three of us may work on the musical portion of the next album while he does that. I don’t think we will tour for a while. It’s been a whirlwind and Emily is begging us to take a break. Something about longevity or something,” Jake said, waving the thought away with his hand.

“I have a few friends with bands that I want to help out. Do some producing and mixing, that kind of stuff,” Danny added. “Yeah, Sam wants to work with some other bands too. Just kind of go slow for a little bit,” Jake added. “That sounds lovely,” you replied with a smile. You couldn’t imagine doing tour after tour with no real end in sight.

“What about you?” Danny asked. “Oh, I’m on my way to having a waitlist longer than I can even imagine. A lot of smaller bands want to work with me, which I love. I really and truly do this for the art, not the money, so I probably will take a break and do some smaller projects. I know Jen has been requested to come work with some brands in Japan for a bit, so I may join her there and act as her assistant. But, honestly? After all this travel? I think home is going to be nice for a while.”

The three of you talked for a while, discussing all sorts of topics. When the bus pulled into the gas station, it shocked all of you that you’d already made it over the line into Florida. Jake woke Josh up with a gentle tap and you made your way off the bus. “Ugh, we are definitely in Florida,” Josh said with a grunt as you stepped off of the bus. Luckily Andy was on the other side of the bus, refilling the gas tank. “What do you mean by that?” you asked Josh with a chuckle. “It is humid. My hair is gonna hate this,” Josh replied gruffly as he ran a hand over his curls, still clearly working on waking up.

Sam was already inside, ordering his lunch from the Subway inside the gas station. “Ah, look who made it,” he said with a smile. “You’re clearly rested,” Josh said as he poked at his little brother. Sam stuck his tongue out at Josh, who lurched to smack it. “I swear we were in the presence of toddlers,” Danny said with a sigh, Jake chuckling in agreement. Everyone ordered their sandwiches and headed back towards the buses. Sam and Josh decided to ride with you, both as a protective measure (Andy was still not trustworthy, according to Jake) and so they could do their final fittings. Jake and Danny rode in their bus, excited to nap after lunch.

“Please make him sleep after you fit him,” Jake said, pointing at his twin before giving you a look. “I will make sure he sleeps,” you agreed, Jake nodding with approval. When you climbed back onto the bus, Andy was sitting at your desk, flipping through your sketchbook. “Oh, you’re back!” he said as he jumped up, closing the book quickly as he struggled to hide what he had been doing.

“What are you doing back here?” Josh barked, clearly irritated. “Oh, I was just waiting for you guys to get back,” Andy said, running a hand through his thinning hair. “Well, we are back now and ready to go,” Sam added, his tone sharp, but not rude. Andy nodded and started to walk past the three of you but Josh stopped him as he tried to scoot past. “I suggest you stay out of things that aren’t yours,” Josh hissed. Andy nodded and continued to move past the group.

“That was weird,” Sam whispered, echoing what you were all likely thinking. You went over to your desk and picked up your sketchbook, moving it back to the shelf where it had been before you’d left the bus. “I’ll make sure he never sets foot on another bus if he so much as glances at you wrong,” Josh said to you before he took a bite of his sandwich. “If he is being this nosey, who knows what he has or will do,” Josh added as he chewed.

“Easy killer,” Sam said with a chuckle. “I’m sure he was just looking around,” you said as you unwrapped your sandwich. “There isn’t anything in here that’s really secretive. I mean, besides the designs for the rest of the tour. But even that isn’t like a national security issue,” you said with a shrug. “It’s the principle,” Josh said quietly. “I don’t like him either Josh, but we will keep an eye on him,” Sam said as he ripped open his bag of chips, sending crumbs flying across the table. Josh rolled his eyes, but said nothing. “Jesus, you really do need a nap,” Sam said as he cleaned the table with a napkin, “or to get laid.”

Josh smacked his hand on the table, causing you to jump. The look he was giving Sam was lethal. “Shut up Samuel,” he hissed and Sam raised his hands in defense. “What? You know I’m right,” Sam replied. “Look, we can find you a nice girl in Florida. Pull out your old Tinder account and give it a tune-up. You don’t even have to have sex, just a blowjob, okay? It’ll fix you right up,” Sam said with a laugh, clearly enjoying tormenting his older brother.

“Don’t be fucking vile, Sam,” Josh spat, his face reflecting utter rage. “Okay, okay, sorry,” Sam said, chuckling to himself as he turned back to his sandwich. You felt Josh’s eyes on you, but you refused to acknowledge the conversation, your eyes trained on your phone instead. “Well? Fucking apologize for being so vulgar, Samuel,” Josh barked. “Oh, uh, sorry. I was just joking,” Sam said, his eyes never leaving the table. “That was a shit apology,” Josh chastised before taking a bite of his sandwich, signaling he was done with the conversation.

The three of you ate in silence for a moment before you decided to try to cool things off. “So, I’m really excited about this jumpsuit for you Josh. I pulled some inspiration from the costumes they use in ice skating competitions. I think the necklines and cutouts are really quite cool and I’m excited to maybe venture into more of that with your stuff,” you said with a smile, testing the waters.

Josh looked up at you, his face calm and eyes warm. He gestured to the jumpsuit, which had been hung up on the wall. “I love it. I think it’s really interesting and adds some contrast. I know you had shown me some concepts a while back, and I think this was one of the ones I was especially excited about,” he said, returning your smile.

“I see I’m bringing those red pants back,” Sam said, his mouth full as he turned to gesture towards his outfit. “Yes, there were many requests for their return,” you said with a chuckle. “Probably because my ass rivals his in them,” Sam said, giving Josh a gentle shove. Josh took it well and chuckled, shaking his head. “You wish,” Josh added, giving him an eyebrow wiggle.

“Well, you may have me beat there. And in having your entire dick and balls out in front of everyone,” Sam added with a laugh. You rolled your eyes at that comment and pointed at Sam. “I’ve been working hard to ensure things stay concealed on this tour, okay? We are going for tight, but in all the right places,” you added with a laugh. “It’s okay to be jealous, Sam,” Josh said with another laugh and Sam flipped him off. “If you wanna talk length, I think-” Sam started, but Josh’s look shut him up instantly. “Again, quit with the vulgar shit Sam,” Josh shot and Sam nodded, returning to his sandwich.

After lunch, they both tried on their ensembles, both sets of clothes fitting perfectly. “Another set without needing adjustments. I think I’m really getting the hang of your measurements and preferences,” you said as you helped Sam out of his suit jacket. “And my ass looks good?” Sam asked, turning and popping his butt out towards you. “Stunning,” you replied with a laugh. You were glad things seemed to be good between the two of you, especially after such a rocky start to the tour.

Josh had been standing in front of the mirror, running his hands along the various cutouts on his jumpsuit. It was low-cut and had organic cutouts on the front, giving the piece movement along his chest. “I think this part hits perfectly and you don’t even need to wear any jewelry with it because it’s got an interesting neckline,” you said as you traced your finger along the top of the jumpsuit bodice. Josh tensed and you instantly removed your hand, realizing you had crossed a line. “You’re fine,” he whispered before clearing his throat and heading towards the back of the bus to change back into his street clothes.

“Can you make me some cool underwear? Is that in your job description?” Sam asked and you turned to be met with him standing in his boxer briefs, gesturing to the sides. “I want something more fun because these are so boring,” he said with a sigh before pulling his pants on. You couldn’t help but laugh- the man had no filter sometimes. “Like when I bring a girl home and she sees these?” he said, gesturing to the plain pattern before zipping his pants up, “boring, right? But if it was like, I don’t know, Greta Van Fleet logos or something, now THAT would be sick.” You shook your head and held your hands up. “I’ll see what I can do Sam.” Josh came back into the work area and gently hung his jumpsuit up in the closet. “What do you think, Josh? Matching Greta Van Fleet underwear?” you said with a laugh. He shrugged and returned to his spot on the bench. “I bet we could sell those as merch and they’d do okay,” he said with a grin.

You ended up heading back to the bunks and taking a nap for the rest of the drive. Josh took the top bunk, telling you to wake him up if he snored. “You haven’t bothered me yet. I sleep like the dead, as you should know by now,” you added before rolling into your own bunk and drawing the curtains closed. You laid there for a minute, painfully aware of how close you both were. You thought about getting out of your bunk, crawling up into his and laying next to him, the heat from his body lulling you to sleep. Nope, we are professionals. And he doesn’t see me like that. One drunken kiss should not be enough to keep me in this spiral. Despite your desperate pleas with your brain, you fell asleep thinking of the man laying above you, with only a few inches of plastic keeping you separated.

___________________________________________

“Wake up beyotches, we are hereeeee!” Sam’s voice carried, even through the thick curtain surrounding your bunk. You flipped your curtain open and were met with Sam in all his excited glory. “You better get up! It’s time for dinner! And Emily is back! Come on!” He said, slapping at Josh’s curtain before bouncing down the hall.

Josh groaned and popped his head out of his bunk. “Is it really 7:30?” he asked and you gasped before checking your phone. “Shit, it is. I can’t believe I slept this long,” you replied. “We slept this long. I think we needed it though,” he said as he slid out of the bunk, his feet landing with a soft thud on the floor of the bus. You lifted yourself out of your bunk, sliding your shoes back on.

“Latest update is that Albert is awake and doing well. They have his second surgery scheduled for tomorrow,” Josh said, looking up to give you a smile. “That is fantastic news,” you replied with a sigh. Before you could say anything else, Josh had grabbed you in a hug and was holding you tightly against his chest. You slowly wrapped your arms around him, the shock wearing off and giving way to comfort. Both of you stood like that for a moment, Josh taking a deep breath before squeezing you once more and pulling away. He held onto your shoulder for a moment as he looked at you.

You gave him a smile and patted his hands with yours. “I’m so glad he’s going to pull through. I know he still has another surgery,” you started as you bent to find your purse and pull on a sweatshirt, “but I’m really glad things are finally looking up.” Josh nodded and put his phone in his pocket. “Shall we?” he asked, pointing towards the front of the bus. “We shall,” you said with a chuckle as you stuck your arm through his and pulled him along down the hall of the bus.

Andy was sitting in the driver's seat and watched as you and Josh headed towards the stairs. “If you guys ever need the bus to yourselves, just let me know,” Andy said with a wink. Josh stiffened and turned to confront him, but you pulled him towards the door. “No need, but thanks for the assumption. See you later,” you said before jumping down the last few stairs into the parking lot. “Fucking prick,” Josh cursed under his breath and you turned to look at him. “Ignore him. He’s a weird perv, we’ve already established that,” you said with a shrug. Josh just nodded and you both headed towards where the group was congregating outside a local Italian restaurant.

Emily saw you first and walked towards you quickly, throwing her arms around you. “Oh I missed you,” she said. “I’m glad you’re back,” you replied, giving her a gentle squeeze. You pulled back and ghosted your hands by her belly, careful not to actually touch her. “How’s the peanut?” you asked.

Emily placed her hands on yours, guiding them gently to rest on her belly. “Actually it’s peanuts,” she said with a huge grin. Your mouth fell open in shock. “Twins?!” you exclaimed and she nodded enthusiastically. “No way!” Josh said from beside you, reaching around to give Emily a gentle side hug. “And further along than I suspected. I’m actually 13 weeks today,” she said with another huge grin. “Emily, congratulations! Are you so excited?” you asked. “Yes. And terrified. But I’ve seen how twins can work out and I fully expect them to pop out with some talent after being around you two,” she said to Josh as she gestured towards him and Jake, who was leaning against the side of the building.

The three of you chatted for a few more minutes before the group headed in, a table finally ready for a group your size. Emily insisted you sit next to her and fill her in on everything she missed. Josh took the spot on your other side, a comforting familiarity to the constant chaos.

You spent the meal catching Emily up on everything that she’d missed and she showed the table pictures of her babies- little white squiggles swimming in a black abyss on the ultrasound printouts. “I think they’re going to be girls, but Jared thinks it’s going to be one of each- a boy and a girl,” Emily said. “Why not two boys?” Jake asked, raising an eyebrow. “Because I do not wish to speak that into existence. I’ve talked to your dear mother enough to know that twin boys are more than a handful,” Emily replied, pointing her finger at Jake and Josh. Josh held his hands up defensively. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. We,” he gestured from himself to Jake and back again, “were great. it was that one,” he pointed at Sammy, “that gave her the most trouble.”

Sam looked up from his pasta, clearly lost in the conversation. “What? What’d I do?” he said. ”Enough. You did enough to drive mom mad,” Jake said with a chuckle as he sipped his wine. Sam shrugged. “Probably. Everyone knows that it’s the job of the youngest to cause chaos,” he added matter-of-factly. Everyone chimed in, sharing their own thoughts about birth order. You sat back and listened- being an only child you didn’t have much to contribute, but you loved to hear everyone recount their childhoods, no matter how chaotic and messy they were.

You wondered how you got so lucky. This was truly the chance of a lifetime- designing centerpiece stage costumes for a star power band, surrounded by a group of talented individuals who wanted nothing more than to see you all collectively excel. Something about the journey you were on had you feeling extra nostalgic.

As soon as you were checked into your hotel room, you decided to call Jen. She was working on a short project in California, so you used the time change to your advantage.

“Hey, let me step outside real quick,” Jen said, barely audible over the loud music reverberating through the phone. You turned down your volume and waited for the background music to fade. “Okay, I’m here,” Jen said with a sigh. “Where are you?” you asked, sure the answer would be entertaining to some degree. “Some night club. You’d hate it. I almost do- it’s a bit too loud, even for me. But I hit it off with a few of the models and they wanted to show me how they party in LA. It’s got nothing on New York, I can tell you that,” Jen said smugly. She filled you in on her latest projects, getting some of your input on a few ideas she had before turning things over to you,

“How’s teen beat land?” You rolled your eyes before taking defense. “They’re not teens, and they’re more talented than any stupid pre-teen magazine pop band,” you said. Jen laughed on the other end, making you smile. “So which one are you in love with?” Jen asked. “Wait, no, let me guess. I think there was a moment with the curly-headed tall one, but the lanky one kissed you… but you like the short one? With the goatee thing? And you kissed that one too,” Jen threw out, her descriptions making you giggle. “You’re on the nose,” you replied.

You filled Jen in on everything that had been happening. “I don’t think there’s really anything there, I think we are just always working together and he’s friendly,” you said, concluding with your position on Josh. Jen sighed loudly, making her feelings clear. “I think that you’re both into each other, especially after what Danny said. That you’re made for each other? You and Josh? One of his closest friends saying that has to mean something,” Jen pointed out. “I guess you’re right. It does hold weight,” you replied. “I think you guys should just have sex and see what happens. If it sucks, no hard feelings. If it's great, keep him on the backburner and have some fun during this stretch of time,” Jen proposed. “Look, I don’t think either of us are those kinds of people, okay? I’m just going to continue to feel things out, see where they go, remain professional,” you rebutted. “Whatever makes you happy. But if you guys end up married with five kids, remember that I said to just go for it. Okay?” Jen added. “Deal.”

You could’ve talked to Jen for another hour, filling her in about the drama with fans and Albert. You’d texted her the night Albert went to the hospital and she had been checking in for updates periodically. She knew he meant a lot to you, and therefore he meant a lot to her. “Look, I need to get back in there before they realize I’m missing and call me out for being a pussy. Hang in there and let me know how things go,” Jen said before giving you a final goodbye before hanging up.

You heard a knock on the door and went to check who it was. You were surprised, but not shocked, to see Josh at your door. You opened it and he gave you a smile. “Sorry, I know it’s late, but Emily wanted to make sure you knew that we needed to get to the venue early again tomorrow. They’re expecting the same rigamarole with the GA line and wristbands or whatever and they want to ensure there aren’t any issues. They’re doing some sort of new lottery system or something, I have no idea.” He paused, looking you over for a beat before continuing. “They want us rolling out at 9:00. I guess that’s important to convey,” he said with a chuckle. He is nervous… why?

You looked down and surveyed your pajamas, realizing you were in an oversized tee shirt, a pair of underwear hidden under the draping fabric. You moved further behind the door and smiled, trying to ignore your poor choice of wardrobe to greet your late night caller. “Thanks! I’ll see you in the morning!” you said quickly before giving him a final smile and closing the door.

You watched through the peephole, your curiosity getting the best of you. Josh took in a deep breath and ran a hand through his loose curls before nodding and turning to head back in the direction of the twins’ room.

That could’ve been a text. A text from Emily nonetheless. Or Ava could’ve just woken me up in the morning. What the hell was that?

__________________________________________

Your alarm went off at 8:30, eliciting a groan that rattled your soul. You checked your phone before getting up.

Danny: Jake and I walked across the street to the coffee shop, do you want a chai?

You: Yes please!

You headed to the bathroom to start getting ready for the day and heard your phone buzz again.

Danny: In return… Can you please ensure Josh and Sam get down on time?

You: I guess…

Danny: Alright, there will be a muffin with your name on it too then! Thanks!

You got ready quickly and were headed out the door by 8:45. You stopped by Sam’s room first, knocking a few times. He opened the door quickly, his face reflecting how tired he was. “Hey!” he greeted, surprisingly chipper for it being so early. “Good morning! I see that you’re alive and well. Can I trust you to be out of here and on the bus by 9:00 or do I need to pull you along with me as I go check on your brother?” you asked, giving him an eyebrow raise. He rolled his eyes, giving you your sassy answer. “Go get the diva up. I’m actually ready today,” Sam responded, gesturing down the hall quickly before turning and closing the door.

It took Josh an extra moment to open his door, and he answered still clearly half-asleep. “Are you the wakeup crew?” he asked groggily. “I believe that I am,” you said as you walked past him and took a seat on the far bed. “And you have about ten minutes until I’m dragging you downstairs to the bus, ready or not,” you added.

“There’s lot’s that can be done in ten minutes,” Josh said under his breath. “What?” you asked even though you had clearly heard him. He cleared his throat as he pulled on a pair of pants over his boxer briefs. “I’ll be ready well before ten minutes,” he said, much louder this time. “Well good. Because I’ll have a chai waiting on me upon your delivery to the bus, so the faster we can get there, the better,” you added with a smirk.

He disappeared into the bathroom and reemerged a moment later, a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth as he picked a shirt out from his suitcase. He looked so… real and domestic standing there in front of you- casually brushing his teeth, his curls loose and wild and his skin still pink and warm from sleep. This Josh was worlds away from the one you clothed in elaborate costumes before he went onstage to entertain thousands of adoring fans.

He was ready within five minutes and you headed down to the bus. He was quiet, but turned to you once you were on the elevator. “Ava said you’re going to watch the show tonight. The whole thing for the first time. Is that true?” he asked. “I’ve seen the show before- there are screens backstage and I’ve caught glimpses when I’ve gone to concessions. But yeah, I think Ava wants me to actually sit and watch the show from seats, at least once. Not that I’d ever complain,” you replied. He gave you a smile, “I think you’ll really enjoy it. It’s different seeing it live and in front of you, seeing and experiencing the crowd. Compared to on the screens backstage, of course,” he added and you nodded.

“Look who made it,” Danny said as you and Josh loaded onto the bus. “And…” Jake checked his watch, “with two minutes to spare! And you beat Sam.” Danny handed you a cup with your name printed on the side. “Your prize,” he said with a wink as he also passed you a bag that contained a blueberry muffin. “Thanks,” you said before moving to your spot at the table. Josh gave Jake a dirty look and Jake shot his hands up in defense. “Yours is at your seat, dear prince,” Jake said with a heavy dose of sarcasm.

Sam stumbled onto the bus at 9:02, Emily right behind him. “Well, now that we have everyone,” she said, backing up and giving Sam a dirty look as he took a seat and took his coffee from Danny, “we will get on our way. See you guys there.” You all waved as Emily headed back off the bus. “She doesn’t want to ride with us? We are so much fun though,” Sam said with a chuckle. “Coffee is one of the smells that’s making her sick,” Danny said before taking a sip of his coffee. Everyone turned to look at him, collectively wondering how he, of all people, knew this. “What? I asked her if she wanted a coffee and she said she would, and I quote, ‘throw up everywhere if I got a coffee within three feet of her.’ So, that may be why.”

“If I am ever that sick when pregnant, I just simply won’t leave my bed,” you said absentmindedly as you tore off a piece of your muffin. “You want kids?” Sam asked casually. “Oh, for sure. But that’s so far away, I can’t even think about it,” you said, waving your hand at the thought. You looked up to see Sam and Josh exchanging glances. Again, probably nothing. “What about you guys?” you asked.

Danny chimed in first. “I guess I want kids, I dunno.” “Yeah, I think we are all on the fence about it except for Josh,” Sam added. “Josh was made to be a dad. I think the rest of us have cool uncle potential,” Jake added with a chuckle. “That’s not true! You like kids!” Josh replied, pointing at Sam. “Yeah, but there’s a difference between liking and doing well with kids and wanting them. Like, that’s forever,” Sam replied, shaking his head. “Well, yeah. I’d hope it’d be forever,” Josh said, giving him a face. “Being responsible for a human is a big undertaking, so it’s good to make sure it’s really what you want,” you added. Josh nodded, “huge, but also the greatest honor.”

The conversation was ended abruptly by the sound of screams from outside the bus. You locked eyes with Josh, who motioned for you to come sit next to him on the bench on the side opposite the screaming. “Here, come sit,” he said quietly and you nodded. You sat and felt Josh put a protective arm around you, applying light pressure to help ground you. Jake and Sam went to the window on the opposite side, peering out between the blinds covering the glass. Danny alternated between keeping an eye on you and watching Jake and Sam.

“Yeah, they aren’t even that close. We’ll be fine,” Jake said before turning around and plopping back down on the bench. Sam remained glued to the window, watching the ongoings outside. “Breathe,” Josh whispered in your ear and you realized you’d been holding your breath. You exhaled and took a sip of your tea before giving him a slight smile. “I’m okay,” you said quietly. Josh nodded, “I know. Just don’t want any panic, especially because we are fine.” Josh paused before raising his voice slightly to continue, “right Sammy? Are we okay?”

Sam was quiet for a moment before answering. “Yeah, we are entering the gates now. They got closer, but venue security is keeping them back. It actually looks like there’s a group of fans pushing people back too, which is interesting,” Sam replied. “Yeah, I saw that some people were going after the fans that came up to the bus. Calling them out for inappropriate and unsafe behavior, that kind of stuff. I think a lot of them were pissed about it actually,” Jake added as he finished his bagel. “That’s good to hear. Some humanity left,” Josh said with a chuckle.

The bus came to a stop and Andy appeared from the front of the bus. “Well, we are in! Let me know if you guys need anything,” he said before winking at you. Sam faked a gag after Andy had walked away, laughing at himself. “It’s not funny. He’s utterly creepy,” Jake shot at Sam. Sam shrugged, “maybe, but I have a feeling he’s harmless. Just kinda gross.” Danny stood and shook his head, “well, we aren’t going to find out if he’s harmful or not because she won’t be on the bus alone with him, right?” The group nodded in agreement. “Alright, so show us what needs to be brought in so that you don’t have to come back out,” Danny added, motioning towards the closet. “I’ll get it with some venue staff, don’t worry. Let’s just go get settled,” you said as you stood. “No, I don’t trust them either. Between us, we can get it all,” Jake said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder as he moved towards the closet.

You complied, and showed them what needed to go into the venue. Andy, of course, had comments when you all walked past him, clothing in tow. “I didn’t think the talent usually moves their own wardrobe,” he said with a snicker as he worked on filling out his log book. “Yeah, well, we’re not like most talent,” Jake shot back, his tone cold and serious. “I know that,” Andy said, giving you a once over before returning to his log. Danny nudged you and you headed down the stairs after Sam. “Disgusting,” Jake muttered under his breath. “Still think he’s harmless?” Josh asked Sam, who shook his head.

_____________________________________________________

Time moved slowly when you got to a venue early and had to wait for call time. The group often got into shenanigans when they had to wait more than a few hours, Sam usually the ring leader. Today, he had decided to commandeer one of the security Segways and ride up and down the halls at break-neck speed, doing all sorts of quick maneuvers and turns.

“I fear you’re going to make me go into premature labor,” Emily had said to him as he drove past where Ava and Emily had been sitting with you. “Why?” Sam asked, pausing only for a moment before doing a few spins. “The sheer amount of stress you put me under cannot be helpful for a developing fetus, let alone two,” Emily added, raising an eyebrow at Sam. He laughed and took off down the hall, nearly running Danny over in the process. Danny ran after him, trying to pull him off of the Segway as they both laughed.

Jake stuck his head out of his dressing room, guitar in hand as he looked on with confusion. He turned to give the three of you a shrug before disappearing back into his room, the sounds of an acoustic guitar flowing freely through the air moments later.

Everyone reconvened for lunch, and later in the evening, dinner. “What’s the setlist looking like?” you asked as you sat down next to Sam, who was looking over some notes he’d scribbled on a piece of paper. “Normal setlist for tonight. But Jake wanted to rework part of this,” he pointed to a scribble on the paper. “ to include some new stuff we are working on. I can’t seem to get it worked in,” he said, sighing in exasperation.

“Just do the bridge music for the new song, it’s not that big of a deal Sam,” Jake said between bites of his sandwich. “Yeah, it is Jake, because it doesn’t go,” Sam said, looking over the table to shoot daggers at his brother. “Look, it seems to go really well with Cadence, why don’t we swap out the bridges? Or just tease the new stuff at the end of the bridge? Hm?” Danny said, taking a sip of his drink while he waited for an answer. You looked at Josh, who just shrugged.

“Why do you guys want to do some new stuff?” you asked, genuinely curious. “Because someone thinks we always need to be three steps ahead even though some of us have to play and arrange the parts on how many different instruments? Hmm?” Sam shot at Jake. “You’re welcome to take guitar for a show. I’d love to see it,” Jake said quietly. “See, that’s not really funny, because you know I could do it. If the roles were reversed though? That’d be a sight to see,” Sam spat back.

The air in the room grew thick with tension as the two faced off. “Well, in that case, put me on the drums I guess. Daniel, you’ve been working on your range, do you think you can hit a C7?” Josh said before chuckling. “You two are being ridiculous. Just play the normal set and we can figure it out on the road tomorrow. If you really want to do something spectacular, we can do the Highway and Safari mashup,” Josh added before finishing his drink and standing. Both Jake and Sam nodded.

“Time to get ready,” Josh said before giving the group a wave as he headed towards his dressing room. “He’s getting ready late tonight. It’s already,” Sam checked his phone, “5:30. He only has a little over 3 hours to sit in his jumpsuit and do nothing.” You rolled your eyes but also stood and threw away your trash before following behind him.

You pulled Josh’s costume off the rack in the hall and headed towards his dressing room. The door was slightly ajar but you still knocked before entering. “Hey,” he said with a soft smile as you entered, heading over to hang the jumpsuit on one of the hooks on the far wall. “Care to join me for a drink?” Josh asked, motioning towards where he’d turned on his electric kettle and started to make his pre-show concoction of alcohol, tea and honey. “Yeah, but not that,” you said with a chuckle before pulling a hard seltzer out of the room’s mini fridge.

You took a seat in one of the push chairs near where he was mixing his drink. “Don’t knock it ‘til you try it,” he said, handing you his cup to try. You took a tentative sip and instantly made a face. “Josh, that’s straight whiskey and hot water with a hint of lemon. Putrid,” you said before taking a deep sip from your can. “Okay, but it works! I never have a sore throat, my voice is never scratchy,” Josh rambled as he walked over to his jumpsuit.

“I love the red,” he said as he gently ran his hands over the night’s outfit. “How are you going to change it for the next show?” he asked. “Removing the sleeves,” you said matter-of-factly. “If you’re lucky, I may add some crystals. We will see how generous I’m feeling. Danny’s getting a new neckline and losing his sleeves, so I may have my work cut out for me. Sam is getting a wing and Jake is getting some more crystals. Both of those changes should be simple enough,” you said before waving your hand. “It doesn’t matter though.”

Josh turned to look at you, his face hardened. “It does. Your work is really important. That’s why we specifically made sure to hire an incredibly talented designer to come along with us. We wanted our outfits to tell a story, to be an entire portion of our production. And that’s what you’ve done,” he replied. “No, I know,” you corrected, “I just don’t need to bore you with the details. You’ll see it when it’s all done, after all.”

Josh walked over and leaned forward to level with you. He smelled sweet, like a mix of the honey and alcohol he’d been sipping on. “I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to know,” he said quietly, goosebumps raising on your arms. “Yeah, you’re right,” you said as you leaned back, taking another sip of your drink.

Ava popped her head into the dressing room, giving you a bright smile. “You’re still on to join me in the seats, right?” she asked and you nodded. “Okay, I’ll come find you before they go on and we can go find a spot in the reserved seats,” Ava said before giving you a wave and heading down the hall.

Josh chuckled and shook his head after she had left. “What?” you asked. “Nothing,” Josh said before getting up and heading back over to carefully remove the jumpsuit from the hanger, turning to lay it out on a table. “Any surprises I need to be aware of putting this on?” Josh asked and you rolled your eyes. “You literally had it on the other day, Josh. It’s reinforced, so it’s not like it’ll combust once you put it on,” you said with a chuckle. “I know that, I just… it looks so delicate,” he said, pointing out the open panels in the jumpsuit which were held together by a mesh material. “It’s basically an ice skating costume, Josh. It’s flexible. It’s fine, I promise,” you said as you stood and walked over to the table.

You flexed and pulled on the see-through fabric, twisting it to show him the durability. “Okay, okay, point take,” he said before taking the fabric from you and placing it back on the table before pulling his shirt off. “Please tell me you have the right underwear on,” you said, giving him a knowing look before taking another sip of your drink. “You know I never do,” he said with a grin. “Which is why I’ll finish changing in the bathroom.”

He disappeared behind the bathroom door and you laughed to yourself. You, Josh Kiszka, certainly haven’t left much to the imagination. You thought back to those first few meetings with the band when you went over general ideas and thoughts for wardrobe. “Please make it so Josh’s dick isn’t as prominent,” Jake had said before pointing to the printouts of previous costumes you’d set out on the table in your studio. “Like? Really? No more white, please, for the love of god. I cannot see another tweet about Josh’s massive horse dong,” Jake added, rubbing his face with his hands. “Look, I haven’t seen a single complaint,” Josh replied, throwing both of his hands up. Danny shot him a look, Sam pulling out his phone from his pocket. “I bet I can find one in thirty seconds or less,” Sam said as he opened his phone and began typing. “Okay, more groin coverage, I got it,” you had said, the group agreeing at varying levels.

And now here he stood- the same man from those meetings, yet so much had changed. The second he stepped out from behind the bathroom door, your heartbeat altered, your chest squeezing at the sight of him. The red material draped over his body, each cutout perfectly placed and each crystal catching the light at the perfect angle. He was breathtaking, even in the shitty dressing room lighting.

He looked up from where he’d been adjusting the strap over his collarbone. “That good, huh?” he asked with a sly grin. You swallowed hard, putting the world back into focus. “I think this one may be my best yet,” you replied. He walked over to assess himself in the full-length mirror near the door. “Yeah, I’d second that statement,” he said before turning and giving you a big grin. “And you get to see it on stage. How exciting is that?”

Ava came back into the dressing room, stopping mid-sentence when she saw Josh. “Oh yeah, that’s one for the books for sure,” she said and Josh did a little twirl, showing her the entire jumpsuit. Ava turned to you, “Sam wanted me to see if you still had that pair of slip on black loafers? He wants to wear shoes for some reason, so I told him I’d ask you.” You stood, putting your drink down on the coffee table. “Yeah, I have them on the bus. Let me go grab them,” you said before giving Josh another smile and heading towards the back lot.

The backlot was quiet, everyone caught up in pre-show preparations. You hurried back to the bus and put in the combination before opening the door and heading back to the closet. It was a bit of a disorganized mess, but you were able to find the pair of shoes Sam had requested quickly.

“Well… hello gorgeous,” you heard a voice behind you croak. You rose instantly, pressing your back against the clothes in the closet as you spun. Your hand found your chest as you took a deep breath. “Oh, Andy, you scared me,” you said with a chuckle as you tried to dissipate the alarm bells sounding in your head. “I was hoping maybe we would have a moment alone together,” Andy said.

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

writer's note: just a gentle reminder that everything I write is completely and utterly fiction

much love to my forever editor: @joshs-jonch

taglist: @eyelinerjake @radmads-gvf @gretavansara @everyglowinthetwilightknows

#seamstressfortheband #gvf fic #gvf #greta van fleet #greta van fic

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