#several times a day either me or my roommate will sigh and say

[houncls]

koga ball, my dearly beloved

[officialaemondtargaryen]

A Fine Line [part 4]

Summary: You've been with Aegon for a little over four years and the relationship just isn't the same. His brother isn't helping the situation, either. This is a Modern Day AU!

Pairing: Aegon x Reader / Aemond x Reader

Word Count: ~7k (holy shit)

Author’s Note: I am so sorry that this took so long! I wanted to give a special thanks to @queen-helaena & @persephonerinyes for their feedback and direction on this chapter! Also, my personal Baela, @felteppsters for her daily duty of being my best friend. I will get the next chapter out as soon as I can, I promise it will be less than the six or so months it took me to write this bitch.

Warnings for the entire series: severe angst, cheating, unprotected sex, jealousy, lying, possessiveness, stalking, manipulation, language, alcohol use, recreational drug use.

Masterlist & Playlist

It was light out when you heard the front door open and close. A soft groan escaped your lips as you stretched; fatigue deep in your bones from a restless night. You quirked your brow as you glanced at the window. The remnants of a pink and purple sunrise were painted in the early Saturday morning sky.

His feet shuffled against the hardwood floor. Your eyes were fixed on the bedroom wall as you heard the door open. He was fully clothed when he fell into the bed next to you; still had his shoes on, even. The faint smell of clove cigarettes still lingered on his skin. A sigh escaped his lips as he nestled himself into the mattress as if everything were perfectly fine. You shot up quickly, turning to face him; your tongue burning with all of the words that you wanted to say to him, but you just couldn't bring yourself to actually speak them.

So you don't say anything.

You don't say anything as you sit cross-legged in the living room floor; folding his laundry as he sat on the couch eating the breakfast that you cooked, drinking the coffee that you made, laughing at whatever stupid TV show was on. You don't say anything as you stood next to him at the kitchen counter, fixing yourself a plate of dinner. You don't say anything as he crawled into bed with you that night and kissed you on the cheek.

No, instead you put it away. Just like everything else. And for the next three days you hardly say anything to each other, and if you did speak, it was 'dinner is ready' or the occasional 'have a good day'. You ate in separate rooms and he had started falling asleep in his office. It was the first time since you had started dating that the silence had become this loud. Sure, you hadn't had sex in almost a year, and more often than not he just felt like a roommate to you, but the silence had becoming deafening.

It was actually Aemond who had encouraged you to bite the bullet and be the first to say something. You'd been texting back and forth since the bowling alley. It was a weird feeling, teetering between guilt and giddiness, whenever you saw his name pop up on your screen. Nevertheless, you appreciated his company, even if it was just through text. It was more communication than you were getting from your own boyfriend and best friend; you'd never known Baela to be so busy, but every time you asked if she wanted to hang out or have a glass of wine over FaceTime, she was otherwise occupied.

Wednesday night, after you had put away the leftovers and finished the dishes, you had found yourself standing in the threshold of his office. It was a room you hardly visited and the art on the walls looked foreign to your eyes; almost making you feel awkward to stand in what felt like his space. You watched as he was reading his emails; quietly speaking to himself, saying all of the things he wished he could respond back with. He was so engrossed in his work that he didn't even noticed you standing there.

"Aegon?" You asked and he flinched slightly.

"Hey!" His body softened and he gave you a tired smile. "What's up?"

"It's Wednesday," you shrugged. "Did you want to come down and watch our show together?"

"Oh," he sighed. His hunched shoulders fell. "I have so much work that I'm trying to catch up on, and it's getting late."

You bit your lip and nodded, but lingered against the doorframe. His fingers went back to typing on the keyboard, undoubtedly waiting for you to make your exit. After a few moments, he looked back up at you, obviously confused as to why you were still there.

"Is everything okay, love?" He asked.

The things that you wanted to say made your mouth taste fowl as they lingered on your tongue. How long could you keep up the charade? How long could he? You were holding on the crumbling foundations of your relationship, silently begging for him to help you save it, and he still did nothing. This was the part where you wondered if he even realized that you were one foot out the door, with your bags nearly packed, or if he'd even care.

How many times had you rehearsed what you would say to him? He was sitting right there, asking you, waiting for your answer. Yet, you still couldn't bring yourself to say it.

And the cycle continues.

"Yeah," you say with a small smile and push yourself off of the door frame. "Don't stay up too late working," you told him. "You deserve a break, you know?"

"A break," he laughed dryly. "You're funny."

You turned to head back downstairs but before you could reach the first step, Aegon's voice stopped you.

"Hey," he said softly and you turned back to him. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

The words left your lips with ease but their weight lingered. At this point, you couldn't tell if they were genuine or the easy, default response. The doubt was planted; sprouting like a garden sick with disease in your mind. The more it grew, the more you wondered if this was all that there was to it after four years. Was this the end of your relationship? Would you do anything at all to salvage it? Would he? It couldn't be that easy to unravel everything you had built together, and yet it was; all it would take were two words, just two. A simple acknowledgement that things weren't working out and then someone decides who stays and who goes.

It's over.

It was the smell of bacon that woke you the next morning.

Your body ached from a restless night as you sat up, stretching your arms above your head before reaching for your phone. Your brows furrowed as you read the date and time, almost having forgotten it was Thursday. It had been years since Aegon had cooked breakfast, let alone in the middle of the week. You quickly shifted out of the bed, shuffling down the hall before stopping in the threshold of the kitchen.

He was at the stove, humming softly as he turned down the heat on the bacon. For a moment, you were taken back to when he'd wake up early and cook breakfast on the weekends. You'd wrap your arms around him as he worked, swaying back and forth as music played over the little bluetooth speaker that sat on the counter. He wasn't someone who spent a lot of time in the kitchen, but he knew how to get the bacon just right and his scrambled eggs were always perfectly fluffy.

"Morning," he greeted as you stepped into the room. You slowly approached him and wrapped your arms around his middle, placing a small kiss between his shoulders. You felt him tense for a moment before he relaxed in your arms.

"What's the occasion?" You asked, reaching around him for a slice of bacon. "Figured you'd be at work by now."

"I'm taking the morning off," he shrugged as you moved to his side, leaning against the counter. He pulled the last few strips of bacon off of the pan and laid them across the cooling rack before turning the stove off completely. "I really wanted to spend some time with you, if you can spare it."

Your lips turned softly into a smile, "I think I can manage."

He stepped in front of you, his hands finding their place on your hips, gently pinning you against the counter. You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him in for a soft kiss. He lingered there, forehead pressed to yours as he sighed against your lips. Despite everything, you craved these moments with him. Your body still reacted in such an automatic way to his touch that it was almost enough to make you forget it all.

Almost.

You didn't want to question it, but an unsettling suspicion lingered in your chest that there was more to his actions than just wanting to spend some quality time with you. After all, it had been months since he had shown any interest in you in that regard.

"I do have ulterior motives, however," he mentioned.

There it is.

"I knew there was something behind all of this," you sighed with a quick roll of your eyes.

You went to step around him but he stopped you, lifting you at the hips so that you were sitting on the counter. You brace yourself for what is about to be said. The short silence echoed throughout the room as he weighed his words. Instinctively, your negative thoughts fill in the blank as he nudges himself between your knees and looks up at you with a pout. You can almost see the infidelity in his eyes, and you know that he can see the apprehension in yours..

"Don't, it's not like that," he said quietly and you exhale a breath you hadn't even realized you were holding in. "My mother is hosting a dinner tonight, celebrating the return of her favorite son, and I'd really like you to be there."

Your eyebrows raised with surprise.

"Are you sure?" You ask tenderly as you move a strand of hair from his face, suddenly feeling guilty for thinking so poorly of him. His blue eyes were downcast, unmoving from your lap where his thumbs drew circles in the skin of your thighs.

"I don't even want to go," he muttered. "But, I'm obligated to and I want you to be with me," he took a breath before looking up to meet your gaze; you could see the sincerity in his blue eyes. "It would mean a lot to me if you were there."

"Okay," you agreed and he leaned forward with a thankful sigh, pressing his forehead to your shoulder. Your hand comes up to the nape of his neck, fingers instinctively twirling in his hair. "Why don't we go get back in bed?"

He lifts his head and places another kiss on your forehead, breathing out as he does so, "I wish I could, but I've got to go pick up the dry cleaning."

"Send someone to go get it for you," you sigh and groan, tilting your head back in annoyance allowing Aegon to place a chaste kiss to your neck.

"Mhm," he breathes with his lips still pressed to your skin. "I could."

"You should," you whisper.

Aegon hums in response as his lips trail across your clavicle. His hands gripped at your waist, squeezing as you both leaned deeper into this moment. He pulled you forward by the hips, allowing your legs to wrap around him. His hands slid slowly up your thighs, fingertips teasingly playing along the bottom hem of your shorts. You breathed out, bringing your hands to his jaw and pulling him up to meet your lips.

You couldn't remember the last time he had kissed you like this- the last time he touched you like this. Three words clung to your lips as they parted to say, "I miss you", but before they could take form, the abrupt sound of Aegon's cell vibrating on the countertop pulled you back down to a harsh reality. He pulls away reluctantly, a mixture of frustration and obligation on his face as he sighs.

"No," you whine. "You took the morning off."

He steps back away from you, and your hands instinctively reach out for him, hoping to provide an anchor. You can't help but feel disappointed as he answers the phone; Otto's disgruntled voice faint on the other end, screaming. Aegon, deeply apologetic towards his grandfather, hurries out of the kitchen and up the stairs to his office, leaving you sitting on the counter with two plates of untouched breakfast and a sickening feeling of disappointment.

One step forward, two steps back; like playing the fucking Hokey Pokey with your relationship. You sat there for a moment, allowing the feeling of his now absent touch to linger on your skin, wondering if you'd ever become numb to it. You gently slide from the counter, your feet resting flat on the cool tile, and let out a small sigh as you begin disassociating and staring out the kitchen window.

The rest of the day seemed just as monotonous.

Your mind was in a fog as you thought ahead to dinner with the Targaryen-Hightower household. Your expectations of the evening were uncertain, given the limited information you possessed about Aegon's family. You knew Aemond, and you knew enough about Otto Hightower to form an opinion- albeit not a very positive one. He never talked about his father, and the only interactions he had with his mother were when he was ignoring her phone calls. There had been a few times Aegon had mentioned his sister, Helaena, who he described as 'creative' and 'artsy'. You also had heard him mention his youngest brother, Daeron, a few times; he would call every now and then, Aegon never ignored his calls.

There was also the half-sister, Rhaenyra, from his father's first marriage. She was typically referred to as 'dad's favorite'. You knew the most about her, only because she was quite vocal in interviews, discussing her father's health and the potential scandal surrounding the succession of his business.

"What do I wear to this sort of dinner party?" You texted Aemond. The same text that you had sent Aegon hours ago hadn't received a response, and as the hours passed you grew increasingly nervous.

"Something formal but it is just a dinner," his reply came quickly, followed by a second text. "I would stay away from the color green, however."

"Noted, thanks!"

Baela was typing away on her keyboard furiously next to you as you turned to face her in your chair. She had a red gel pen stuck behind her ear and her eyebrows were furrowed as she worked. She had been particularly quiet, which was unlike her. Typically you couldn't get her nor Jace to stop bickering over the cubicle wall long enough to think of a single sentence to write.

You chewed on your lip for a moment before you decided to swivel your chair to face her, reaching for the jar of green M&M's on the island that separated your desks. "Hey, you got a minute for me?" You ask as you pop a few of the candies into your mouth, hoping to break the ice.

"Hm?" She hums but her fingers are still typing. You toss an M&M at her and she turns completely to face you. Her expression softens when you smile at her, "I'm sorry, I've just been swamped with this new project Jason put me on this week."

"Is there anything that I can help you with?" You ask, not even knowing that Jason had her working on something new.

Baela shakes her head, "I appreciate you, always, but Jace has been doing some extra credit for me."

You laugh softly, although you couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that she hadn't asked you. "That's probably best, he could use something to do."

"So, what's up?" Baela asked, getting to the point.

"Aegon invited me to a dinner with his family," your friend's eyebrows immediately shot up in surprise and you nodded. "I've never met any of them and I have no clue what to wear. Aemond said it would be 'formal' but it's still 'just a dinner', and Aegon- he didn't say anything."

"D'you ever find out what happened to him Friday night?" She asked.

You shook your head and frowned, "I could really use some girl time, if you could spare it."

At precisely 4:59 PM you and Baela both rolled yourselves out from underneath your desks and grabbed your coats. The snow was barely sticking to the pavement, and a thick, dense fog hung over the city as you stepped out of the office; the two of you arm-in-arm, laughing about something that had happened earlier at work. You were thankful for her company, as the last few days had felt particularly lonely. Plus, you were hoping to get a chance to talk to her about her new work assignment and how her week had been.

Aegon wasn't home when you got there. At this point, you wouldn't be surprised if he'd come through the door just to tell you that the dinner had been cancelled last minute; and you, standing in the middle of the living room, all dressed up for nothing. He wouldn't even acknowledge the effort you had put in to looking good for him. You allowed that scenario to play out in your mind as Baela poured you a glass of wine. She was talking about Jace, but your attention was elsewhere; unable to decide if you would be relieved if the dinner was cancelled or disappointed. You did want to see Aemond, and you did want to be there to support Aegon, but the potential drama that the evening held had you on edge.

"I can always tell when you're not listening to me," she laughed as she took a sip of her wine. She had a lock of your hair wrapped around the curling iron as you sat on the toilet in your bathroom.

"I'm sorry," you frowned, knowing that you hadn't heard a single word she had said about her new work project.

"You've got a lot going on," she said softly. "Talk to me."

"It's just Aegon," you sighed. "It feels like our relationship has been dead in the water for almost two years and we're both just holding on to nothing."

"Have you talked to him?" Baela asked, moving on to another section of hair. You tossed a hand up, trying to keep your head as straight as still as possible. "You need to talk to him, Y/N."

"What is there to talk about?" You asked with a defeated sigh.

"There is everything to talk about," and she was right. Baela was always right when it came to relationship advice. "You can't just decide to throw away four years because he's not being a good boyfriend right now. Aegon loves you, it's so obvious, he just seems stressed. Maybe he's going through something, maybe it's his family, have you even asked?"

You shook your head, not wanting to continue this conversation any longer. Just because Baela was always right, didn't mean that it was what you wanted to hear. Sometimes you just wanted someone to confirm your suspicions, or tell you that he was being a dumbass for pushing you away, or that you should break up with him and free yourself from the emotional torment that you were experiencing daily just from staying in this relationship.

You were his girlfriend, not his therapist. It wasn't your responsibility to sit him down and figure out why he was no longer putting forth any effort into making this work. All that should have mattered was the fact that he wasn't, because to you, that was a direct reflection of how much he cared. The bar was on the floor, it wouldn't take much at all for him to give you something. Yet, he couldn't even do that. He did just enough to make you feel like the fact that you were still hanging on was worth it, but you knew that it wasn't.

It was only a matter of time.

"All done," Baela said shortly after. You took a look at yourself in the mirror and smiled at her through the reflection; she had such impeccable skills with a curling iron and your hair looked perfect.

"Now we just have to figure out an outfit," you smiled.

"What about that one green dress you wore to the office Christmas party?" She asked as she followed you to the bedroom. "I love that dress, I have been meaning to ask if I could borrow it."

"You absolutely can," you replied and threw open your closet door, pulling that specific dress out on the hanger and laying it on the bed for Baela. "Aemond said that I should stay away from the color green, though, I have no idea why."

"How oddly specific," she chuckled as she smoothed her hands over the fabric of the dress. "I have a date next week, and this is perfect."

"A date?" You asked, eyebrows raining in suspicion.

"Yeah," she smiled. "It's kind of new but he's really sweet, he makes me all giddy. Like kicking my feet while we talk on the phone kind of giddy."

"So that's why you haven't been answering my FaceTime calls," your tone was light, but with your back to her, you couldn't help but frown. You remembered how giddy Aegon used to make you feel. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do to make you smile. "I'm happy for you, B."

You were being sincere and she knew that.

"Alright," you took a breath, shoving those memories back down where they belonged and turned towards the bed. "I think I have it narrowed down to the red or the blue."

"The red says 'look at me'," she says and joins you at your side. "You don't want that kind of attention right now, go with the blue."

"You're right."

The dress was boring, but it still accentuated your curves, and was the perfect choice for a semi-formal family dinner. As you stood in front of your mirror, putting the finishing touches on your outfit, you could heard the front door open and close. Baela's eyes connected with you through the mirror and you gave her a soft smile.

"Babe," you heard Aegon say from the threshold of your bedroom. You turned to see him standing in the doorway. "Baela," he smiled and nodded his head at her. "The car is waiting."

"Doesn't your girlfriend look absolutely incredible?" Baela asked, obviously proud of the work she had done.

"Sure," his face was flat. "You look great."

Your smile fell- along with every bit of your confidence- as he turned back down the hallway without so much as another word. You turned back to Baela; giving her a look as if to say, 'this is exactly what I mean', but she only returned it by squeezing your shoulders and giving you a reassuring smile.

"Maybe he's just nervous?" She's trying to play devil's advocate.

You knew it wasn't true, you knew that he just didn't care, and trying to convince yourself otherwise was exhausting at this point.

"Yeah," you agree with a frown and grab your clutch from the bed.

The Targaryen-Hightower residence was a sprawling, water-front mansion about 45 minutes north of Manhattan in Greenwich, Connecticut; what Business Insider claims is the richest neighborhood in the United States. The car ride there was silent, save for the soft sounds of talk radio coming through the speakers. You kept your gaze trained out the window, avoiding making any type of small-talk with Aegon as he drove. He kept his focus on the road, his face becoming more pained with anxiety with each mile you drew closer.

He sighed as he turned the car into the driveway, and you reached across the center console to place your hand on his thigh to show your support. Even though you felt indifferent towards him at the moment, you knew that tonight would be difficult for everyone involved. You may not have ever witnessed the dynamic of this family first-hand, but if Aegon was right about any of it, the mood would be dysfunctional.

The valet opened the door and Aegon held his hand out to you, no doubt putting on a display for anyone who may have been watching. There was a figure waiting at the door; her wavy, red hair glowing like a halo- or Devil's horns- from the overhead lights in the foyer where she stood. Immediately you noticed the emerald green dress that she was wearing, now knowing exactly why Aemond had steered you away from that option.

"I didn't think you'd come," Mrs. Hightower said softly to her son as you stepped through the door. She reached out to hug Aegon, who only stiffened as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders before placing a kiss on his cheek.

"I didn't want to," Aegon replied curtly.

"Aegon," his mother spoke sternly, as her gaze fell upon you. "This was meant to be an intimate family gathering."

"Please tell me we can't stay, I'd love nothing more than to go home," he spoke in a low tone, a touch of annoyance evident in his words. You pretended to be interested in a painting adorning the foyer wall where you lingered, still waiting to be formally invited in. "Y/N is my family, mother, more so than anyone in this house."

"Aegon," she warned with a sigh.

He moved to step around her and called back to you, "shall we?"

"Just a moment," Alicent continued, holding her index finger up to her son. Aegon sighed, his jaw was clenched. "I'd like to speak with Ms. Y/L/N alone for a moment."

Aegon swallowed and glanced down at you. His lips pursed as he nodded slowly, realizing he couldn't spare you from what was likely to be an uncomfortable encounter. "I'll be in the dining room, okay? It's just through those doors, there."

You nodded and he planted a short kiss on your cheek. Turning, you noticed Alicent standing at the base of the painting you had been admiring just moments ago. She didn't seem old enough to have four grown children, and for some reason, that unsettled you. Her red hair cascaded down her back as she gazed up at the painting, a tight but sad smile playing on her lips as you watched her.

"This painting is worth more than you'll make in a lifetime, you know," she stated coldly. "You should feel privileged to even look upon it." Your brows furrowed at her words. Before you could respond, she continued, "I understand that by you being here our family affairs are at risk of being publicized. Consider it a warning when I say that your career would also be at risk if you chose to do so."

You took a deep breath and resisted the urge to roll your eyes, steadying yourself before responding, "Your concerns are valid, Mrs. Hightower, but I'm here for Aegon not a story," her expression tightened as you held her gaze. The tension in the air lingered, but you stood your ground, refusing to be intimidated. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

You didn't breathe until you stepped through the dining room doors. Your eyes immediately found Aemond as you stepped into the room. His concentrated gaze shifted down your body slowly, taking in your appearance, and you could only hope that this navy blue dress was working for you in the way that you wanted; though, the approval was evident in his stare and in the faintest smirk on his lips.

When you finally looked at Aegon, his face was undoubtedly apologetic. He offered a small smile as he poured you a glass of wine and gestured it towards you. "She didn't say anything particularly cruel, did she?"

"Nah," you replied with sarcasm and sipped from the wine glass he handed you. "She only threatened my career."

"She's harmless," Aemond interjected.

"Harmless isn't a word I would use to describe our mother," a girl you could only presume was their sister, Helaena, added as she reached her hand out to you. "I'm Helaena, by the way, it's nice to meet you."

"Shit, sorry," Aegon cleared his throat. "Y/N, this is Helaena."

You chuckled at his late attempt to introduce you to his sister and shook her hand, "it's nice to meet you, too! I've heard a lot about you."

"And I've heard absolutely nothing about you," she gave Aegon a look before glancing back at you. "No offense."

"None taken," you smiled, brushing her comment off.

"Forgive me for wanting to keep my relationship away from this poisonous family," Aegon argued as he slumped down in his chair.

The door to the dining room opened and Otto Hightower stepped over the threshold. Aegon sighed loudly, slumping even further in his chair upon seeing his grandfather. You had never met him, but you had watched him in countless interviews. He took his role as Chief Operating Officer very seriously and you respected him as a businessman. However, you despised him for the chokehold that he had on your boyfriend; for the fact that he was singlehandedly responsible for ruining so many moments over the last two or so years, including one this morning.

It was strange to watch the way this family interacted as an outsider.

Aegon was visibly displeased to see his grandfather, and yet Helaena jumped out of her seat to give the old man a tight hug before showing him a video on her phone; her smile was bright as the two of them laughed together. Then, your eyes flitted over to Aemond whom was seemingly unfazed by his grandfather's presence; sitting calm and collected at the head of the table, his blue gaze caught your stare and his lips turned up slightly before you averted your eyes back to Aegon who was actively trying to drown himself in wine.

When Alicent entered the room, the mood shifted once again. She silently took her seat next to her father and signaled for the waitstaff to begin bringing in the food before she unfolded a napkin across her lap. Otto leaned to whisper something in her ear, to which she shook her head in response.

"Are we not waiting for father?" Aegon asked, his eyes slightly narrowed at his mother.

"Your father is in no condition to join us," Alicent's tone was sharp as she looked directly at you.

It was then that you realized Viserys Targaryen wouldn't be joining his family simply because you were there. They had done an excellent job at keeping the specifics of his health condition private and it was clear that they wouldn't be taking any chances. The look Alicent gave you from across the table was enough to make you feel small; you could see in her eyes the blame she placed upon you, as if it was your fault why her husband wouldn't be joining the rest of the family. Aegon reached his hand under the table and squeezed your thigh gently and you looked up at him.

You could tell that he now regretted his decision to invite you.

The first course had been served; the sound of forks and knives scraping porcelain plates echoed through the otherwise silent dining room. At one point you had mentioned that the food was delicious, but your comment seemed to fall upon deaf ears. When the waitstaff arrived to collect the plates and bring out the second course, you thanked them, but were only met with tight-lipped smiles.

You hated every moment you spent sitting at this table. You hated the antique furnishings, the polished candelabras, the wallpaper, the fact that the china you were eating off of probably cost more than a year's salary. You wondered if it had been like this for all of Aegon's life or if there was ever a flicker of normalcy. Suddenly, you wanted nothing more than to call your parents and thank them for the childhood you had so obviously taken for granted.

Aegon finished what was his third glass of wine, and before he could even set the glass down, a butler was on the way with the rest of the bottle for a refill. You wanted to say something, but were terrified of drawing attention to yourself, so you settle for looking at him; hoping to convey your concerns silently.

It was Helaena who broke the silence as the second course was served. Her voice was soft and hesitant, but at least she was trying.

"So, Y/N, how long have you and Aegon been together?" She asked you with small smile. Unlike her mother, Helaena exuded sincerity; she seemed to actually care to get to know you.

"We'll be celebrating our four year anniversary next week," you smiled, but it immediately disappeared when you looked at Aegon; his boozy gaze remaining downcast on the table in front of him.

When the words left your lips, you heard Alicent chuckle. Both you and Aegon, and everyone else at the table looked over to her. She laughed again, covering her mouth with her hand this time, "I'm sorry, four years?"

"Why is that funny?" Aegon asked, his jaw clenched.

"It's just that- before tonight- I don't think anyone here knew you even existed," she laughed again, digging her metaphorical knife into your side just that much more.

"We shouldn't have come," Aegon said as he pushed his untouched dinner away from him. He stood up and grabbed your hand, "we're leaving."

Before you could respond, the dining room door opened and your eyes widened as Viserys Targaryen struggled into the room with a walking cane. Behind him, a nurse followed closely with a wheelchair. Alicent immediately rushed to his side, allowing him to hold onto her for support.

"Aemma, where is Rhaenyra?" He looked around the room, almost panicked, before his eyes fell upon his daughter, "Rhaenyra?"

"It's Helaena, Dad," she frowned, unable to meet her father's gaze.

"This is supposed to be a family dinner, was it not?" He asked, his strained voice becoming louder with each word. "Where is my daughter? Where is Rhaenyra? I- I need Rhaen- I need to tell her-"

"My dear," Alicent spoke softly as she tried to reassure her husband, motioning for the nurse to pull the wheelchair up behind him so that he could sit and rest. "Rhaenyra couldn't make it, she apologizes, she and Daemon will come to visit soon."

She turned towards the table and excused herself before she helped a tired Viserys back out of the dining room and down the hall.

"Let's get out of here," Aegon muttered to you.

"No," Otto interjected as he continued to eat; completely unfazed by anything that had just happened. Aegon groaned, knowing what was coming. "We need to discuss the Stark account, the board meets tomorrow and there are still details we must go over."

"We can discuss this in the morning," Aegon answered pointedly.

"The board meets in the morning," Otto argued. "There's no time. I advised you of this earlier that we would need to finalize it tonight. I am sure your guest won't mind waiting."

Otto looked at you and smiled curtly. You glanced up at Aegon, his expression regretful, and nodded at him to let him know you'd be okay. He promised he wouldn't be long, but you knew better. It didn't take but a few moments after they had left before Helaena also excused herself, leaving you and Aemond alone at the table, as the kitchen staff began cleaning around the two of you.

A breath that you weren't even aware that you had been holding blew through your lips and you could hear Aemond chuckle softly.

"First time?" He asked and you almost laughed out loud.

"What gave me away?" You asked with a smirk as you took a sip of your wine. "Is it always like this?"

He tilted his head to the side, back and forth, a few times before he answered, "We have a tendency to be a bit intense."

"A bit," you snickered as you placed your wine glass back on the table.

"Would you like to take a walk?" He asked. You looked at him for a moment before checking over your shoulder for any sign of Aegon returning. "They'll most likely be a while."

"You're probably right," you answered. "Some fresh air does sound good."

Aemond helped you into your coat and scarf and guided you out to the back terrace. The frigid, early February air bit mercilessly at your cheeks, but the sight of the full moon reflecting off of the water was worth the potential frostbite. You walked through a small garden, past empty concrete fountains, as he led you down to the water.

He held out his hand to you as he stepped out onto the floating dock; it shifted beneath the weight of him, but he stood steady, waiting for you to take a step further and join him. You took his hand and followed, trying to ignore the warmth that gathered in your chest at the feeling of his touch. He didn't let you go until you had reached the end of the dock and could hold onto the railing for support; leaning against it, you cross your arms over your chest and look out across the Sound. It was quiet, save for the lapping of the water against the rocks and the faint rhythm of Aemond's breathing.

"Thank you," you say softly, the warmth of your words swirling around you in the cold air.

Aemond turns his back to the water and leans against the railing. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a small, silver flask, taking a sip and making a face before holding it out to you, "what for?"

"For the distraction," you take the flask, fingertips brushing against his as you did so. It's whiskey, and you cough at the taste, but it warms your cheeks.

"What are friends for?" He asks with a soft smile. "I've been meaning to ask, did he ever say where he was Friday night?"

"I didn't ask," you admit. "He never brought it up."

"Hm," he hummed. "My brother is an idiot, but I would hope he wouldn't be foolish enough to-" He trails off, catching your eyes from the side before averting his gaze back out at the water. "Nevermind."

"Foolish enough to what?" You ask, already knowing the answer, to which Aemond only sighs in response. "You think he could be cheating on me."

"I'm only saying that he doesn't have a great track record," he turns to face you. "He's been known to be a bit thoughtless in the past."

You only nod your head as a silence falls between the two of you.

Thoughtless wasn't a word that you would have ever used to describe Aegon- not at first, not about you. People do change, and both you and Aegon had certainly changed in the last four years.

It would explain a lot and it would make things easier if he were cheating on you, however. You'd have a reason, an out, and you wouldn't have to worry about the guilt that came with breaking his heart just because you wanted more effort than what he was willing to give you. Though, it did hurt to think that he might have been putting in that effort with someone else.

In the distance you heard the faint sound of laughter and turned to see Aegon and Helaena sharing a hug and saying goodbye. You looked up at Aemond and gave him a sad smile, knowing that the evening was coming to an end. You weren't sure when you would see him again, but you already hoped that it would be sooner than later.

"In the case that no one has told you," he mentioned quietly, his elbow softly nudging you as you both walked back towards the house. "You look incredible tonight."

"You're just trying to make me feel better," you laughed.

"Maybe," he smirked. "Doesn't make it any less true."

"Don't forget about my art show," Helaena reminded Aegon one last time as you and Aemond joined them. "I know you are the worst when it comes to remembering things, but it would mean a lot to me if you were there. Y/N, I hope to see you there, as well!"

"Wouldn't miss it," you reply with a smile.

"I won't forget," Aegon groans sarcastically as he gives his sister one last hug before turning his attention to his brother.

They step off to the side and you turn back to Helaena.

"Sorry about dinner," she adds. "I promise some of us actually know how to have a good time."

"I believe it," you laugh. "I am dating your brother."

"Yeah, and he's typically the fun one," she smiled back. "You guys seem good for each other, though. I'm glad he finally found someone to be serious about."

You nod your head as you look over at Aegon; he's laughing with his brother as he takes a swig from Aemond's flask. You were happy to see that he was much more relaxed than he had been earlier, something his siblings seemed to bring out of him. He caught your stare and gave you a goofy smile before mentioning something to Aemond who then looked over at you.

The feelings you felt towards your boyfriend, and the feelings you tried your hardest not to feel for his brother were fighting a civil war inside of you. You hoped that it wasn't obvious that you were being ripped apart from the inside out, because if it was, you were in trouble.

But as you stood there, looking at the both of them, you knew you were in trouble no matter what.

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[piratefalls]

i emerge from my pile of blankets in the freezing midwest just long enough to drop this. there's all kinds of fun stuff this week! and, despite being housebound because of subzero temps, i'm so far behind on reading it's not even funny, so it's a little shorter than usual.

masterlist.

None of my love will go to waste by @kiwiana-writes

Alex had pulled away at the sound of the door opening, is the thing. He’d looked up at Henry with wide eyes and spit-slick, swollen lips, and Henry knows intrinsically that he will never be rid of that mental image. He’ll take it into the shower later, into bed tonight, into the rest of his natural life; if he hits his head tomorrow and winds up with some medically implausible form of amnesia, the key to unlocking his identity will be the enduring memory of a beautiful mystery man and his perfect cock-sucking mouth. Because Alex was—Christ, he was— Or, Henry has made peace with the fact that he's in love with his straight roommate. When he walks in on said "straight" roommate with a man, though, he may need to re-evaluate.

wake and shake by weather_stained

Alex wakes up to find Henry indulging in some...classical literature.

until you're sick of me by rizcriz

Henry hasn't seen his roommate in nearly two months. Alex left for Austin shortly before Thanksgiving for two weeks, and Henry left for London the day before he was set to return. They’ve had the odd facetime call, and several hundred text messages to help them tide their time apart—but that didn’t take away from the fact that Henry fucking missed him. And after three delayed flights, he’s finally standing outside their apartment door, and he’s resigned himself to the fact that it’ll still be several hours before he can finally see Alex again. He sighs and sets down his bag to dig out his keys, carefully tucks the key into the lock, and quietly opens the door, turning his back to it to pick up his carryon and grab his roller bag. As quietly as he can, he scoots backwards into the apartment, flinching as the roller bag bounces off the door frame. -- Or, surprise, it's a love confession

check-in closes at too-early p.m. by coffeecatsme

A passenger plane, even if he was in first class, wasn’t going to wait for the former FSOTUS to stop making out with his boyfriend so they can fly. Or, 5 times Alex misses his flight and 1 time he doesn't.

sometimes we break so beautiful by Anonymous

It’s his own damn fault; Alex knows this. It’s his fault for having everyone over for a small birthday party only to spend the evening whispering filthy things to Henry when no one was looking. (And when they were looking, because it’s his goddamn birthday and he can be as inappropriate with his boyfriend as he fucking wants to be.) It’s his fault for pushing Henry, for bratting off with antagonistic words like ‘what are you going to do about it—give me birthday spankings?’ and ‘do you actually think you could put me in my place? Because I’d like to see you try.’ It’s his fault for taunting Henry by suggestively licking the birthday candles, for doing anything he could possibly do to bring attention to his mouth, to his ass, to his fingers. It's his fault that he’s now on their bed, lying on top of Henry, arms stretched out in front of him on either side of Henry's head and wrists tied to the headboard.

There's Something Missing in My Heart by allmylovesatonce

When Alex goes to London to tell him he loves him, Henry sends him away. How do both of them react to being without each other and what happens when their emails are still leaked?

Waffles & Conversation by clottedcreamfudge

“I’m fine, I swear. I just need to give it a proper clean and I’ll be fine.” Ellen isn’t convinced. “Okay, but you’re letting Henry look at it later.” Alex grits his teeth for what must be the thousandth time today and tries to keep his voice level. “No, I’m not. He’s a vet, mom.” “And he’s the closest thing to a doctor we have coming tonight,” she says firmly, letting him take his hand back and raising her eyebrows at him. “It’s that or the ER, honey. Your choice.”

Keep Me Waiting (Give Me More) by bleedingballroomfloor

Alex rubs his face with his hands. “You’re telling me,” he says slowly, “that you got a guy off three times — three fucking times — without even touching his dick? I don’t even think that’s scientifically possible.” Henry’s wine-drunk grin grows a little wider. “Would you like me to prove it to you?”

Sweet, Like Sugar by everwitch

After Henry dates a series of certified assholes, Pez has had it and signs Henry up for a sugar dating app. Henry doesn’t expect much at first, but that’s before he connects with Alex; obscenely wealthy, devilishly handsome and unexpectedly sweet, Alex sweeps Henry right off his feet. But what does Alex expect in return for his extravagant generosity? And why is he so secretive about what his life looks like outside of his intimate conversations with Henry?

even sleeping you astonish me by accol

The utter irony. To be at a climate conference and have a storm descend upon the proceedings was perhaps poetic. To have the storm be intense enough to flood half the hotel and cut off transportation to the mainland was concerning. But to have it all culminate in Henry having to share a room with Alex Claremont-Diaz was as if Mother Nature herself was having a laugh.

9 to 5 by smc_27

Henry is Alex’s favourite colleague. By a fucking country mile, to be honest. He’s intensely competent, has an insane memory for process and policy, and is kind to everyone. Also? He’s fucking pretty, and Alex might be new to bisexuality, but he’s not that new. He knows what he likes, and what he likes are men with pretty eyes and kind smiles and nice cheekbones and English accents. Other men, too, but like. Be serious. Henry’s top of the list. Unfortunately, Henry lives in London. Alex lives in New York City. They work closely together and meet once a week, if not more, and Slack one another almost every day. Alex is on the legal team, and Henry is in business operations, and the second Alex met Henry for the first time, he knew he was truly fucked.

before the first light by stutteringpeach

“I don’t feel anyone. And I’m not going to feel anyone. Because I don’t have a soulmate.” Alex looks confused. “What? Everyone has a—“ “I don’t have a soulmate,” Henry tells him with a sigh, “because I don’t have a soul.”

Song In My Head by MayQueen517

Henry is an explorer and finds himself in a different situation entirely. === He’s restrained. By vines. His wrists and his ankles are encased in the surprisingly soft vines and around him is the scent of blooming honeysuckle that had charmed him so the night before. Henry groans, tilting his head back and he’s aware, briefly, of the vines gently supporting his head, as if they’re concerned over his comfort.

learning to love (without it having to hurt) by viciouslyqueer

Alex nods. “I get that.” He pauses. “You know you can talk to me if you need to, right? If things aren’t great.” Henry’s face softens, his shoulders relaxing a bit. “I know,” he murmurs. “Thanks.” He turns back to the television, and Alex forces himself to do the same. He tears his gaze away from Henry’s profile and focuses on their Star Wars marathon again, refusing to acknowledge how cuddly Henry looks in soft pajamas and fuzzy, mismatched socks. Alex’s heart leaps in his chest anyway. He knew having a crush on his roommate would be confusing, frustrating, and borderline heartbreaking. None of that stopped him.

address me properly by headabovethewater

25. Royalty kink

Pitching a Tent by cmere

Henry looks Alex up and down appraisingly. Alex feels heat rising in his neck and wills it to stop, burning with curiosity about what Henry’s going to ask. He finally says in a low voice, “Are you a serial killer?” Alex smirks. “Even if I was a serial killer, wouldn’t I just say no to get you alone?” “Dammit, you’re right,” Henry says, grinning. “I guess I’ll have to take my chances then.” “Live dangerously, sweetheart.” - or - “our mutual friend dropped out of this trip at the last minute, so hi i guess we’re spending the weekend together” AU!

take my hand if you can take me as i am by anincompletelist

It would hurt less, Alex guesses, if he wasn’t head over heels for the guy he’s supposed to be fucking through an ancient one-sided sex curse with that was partially — a lot, actually — his own fault. But. It’s not like there’s a fucking handbook. Alex has looked. 

'till the gravity's too much by IndestructibleHeart

He’s been pacing the length of the house for the better part of an hour now, restless after 48 hours of involuntary confinement. The blizzard outside is unrelenting, to the point that city officials have recommended staying indoors until conditions clear. It’s actually a “suggestion” that Alex might’ve tested if a) Henry weren’t taking the ‘sTaTe oF eMeRgEnCy’ so seriously and b) if not for the fact that their door has literally been frozen shut. “Baby,” Alex says, deliberate and slow, because he knows it’ll earn him the long-suffering, utterly helpless expression it always does. “I’m crawling out of my skin here. Can you just… distract me?”

a quick study by @whimsymanaged

Alex is new to bisexuality, and he turns to a friend for some guidance.

where every wish comes true by HypnosTheory

“Locked out?” “I forgot my keys,” Alex says with a sigh, leaning against his door with a muted shiver. He was planning on a heated Uber ride to June’s apartment, not standing out in the cold ass hallway. Alex hugs his coat closer to his chest. “My friend has my spare.” Henry nods, leaning against his own door frame. Alex isn’t sure what the man does outside of going to grad school at NYU, but it must be bench-pressing horses based on the size of his biceps. Henry reaches up to push his glasses higher on his nose and Alex swears he wasn’t that bisexual when the day started. “Would you like to wait in my apartment for your friend?” -- Alex gets locked out his apartment on Christmas Eve. He's forced to take refuge in his neighbor and occasional fuck buddy Henry's apartment, and together the two get into the Christmas spirit with the help of a festive costume and a silk ribbon.

Anything You Want by somuchworse

Alex rubs his thumb against the stubble on his chin, a soothing balm to the fire melting it’s way through Henry’s bloodstream. “You can tell me, baby. Whatever it is, I won’t care. I won’t judge you. Nothing. I’ll just listen.” And that helps. Henry opens his eyes, and his blood cools just enough to let him speak as he peers up at Alex through his eyelashes. “I’ve never had an orgasm. I’ve tried on my own, and with other people, and I always get close… But then it disappears. So, yeah. Never had one.”

I did one thing right (starry eyes sparking up my darkest night) by theprinceandagcd

"Sighing happily, Alex focuses on the feeling of Henry’s arm around his back. The tips of Henry’s fingers are brushing featherlight up and down his spine, and Alex can feel goosebumps rising on the flesh in their wake. It’s so fucking tranquil that Alex is pretty sure he could die right now and be perfectly content with his life, except – 'We should get married.' 'Pardon?' Oh. Fuck. He said that out loud."

like strawberries on a summer evening by Anonymous

He saw something wiggle in the blanket pile, and then Alex’s face appeared under a mop of messy curls, frown stuck firmly onto his face. “Ugh,” he said, from his spot on the bed. - Alex is having a rough time, and Henry is concerned, like any good boyfriend would be.

even though we know it isn't true by matherine

For so long, academics had been the one thing Alex could count on when everything else in his life was falling apart, the one thing he had always been good at. It didn’t matter that his parents were getting divorced as long as he could figure out how to factor an equation, didn’t matter that June was moving out to go to UT-Austin as long as he could analyze Jane Eyre, didn’t matter that his mother was on the campaign trail more often than he ever saw her as long as he could balance lacrosse with his position as valedictorian. But now, every time a paper comes across his desk marked to within an inch of its life, bleeding a C – or even worse, a D scrawled in bright red ink, his chest grows a little tighter, his breathing a little quicker. Thankfully, he’d not yet managed to fuck up spectacularly enough to get himself a real, honest to God F. He’s not sure he’d survive it. He’s already not sure how well he’s surviving. Alternatively: Alex is failing a class. Henry learns how to help him cope.

Twice the speed (of you and me) by @myheartalivewrites

“Hey. So, you know Pez?” Alex asks bluntly. No easy way into this, he’s decided. Henry looks up from his phone, frowning. “My best mate?” “Yeah, that one.” ——— Alex has an idea.

Don't Quit It by inexplicablymine

“And goddamn last but not least on my Hit It and Don’t Quit It list would be the Saracens rugby player Henry Fox. That man has great depths, and he could so easily plumb my depths, if you know what I’m saying. An all-around fantastic player, but also someone who is ridiculously smart off the field. And we all know by now that everyone on this list features my mile-wide competency kink. Henry, if you are seeing this, we could play around with some balls that aren’t just in play.” Fuck fuck fuckity fuck fuck. Alex has just accidentally outed himself to 6.7 million people. And according to the comments section, they seem to be all too aware. Or... Announcing your crush via viral TikTok... that's one way to get his attention ;)

Hall of Fame by politics_and_prose

“It is an unbelievable honor to be inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame. If I could tell the eight year old boy sitting in the stands at Shea that we would end up here, I don’t think I would. This journey has been … it’s been everything to me. Thank you, New York, for loving me as much as I love you. Thank you.”

Sip You Like Cosmic Juice by @sparklepocalypse

“There’s this… charity rugby match in Windsor next month that my mate, Percy’s foundation organizes. I, um… I was wondering if you might want to… be my guest.” Here’s the thing – Alex knows that Henry is athletic and strong. He’d felt and, to some extent, seen evidence of this in the way Henry’s hands had gripped at his waist and back in the Red Room, the ease with which Henry had manhandled him onto the sofa in his bedroom, and in how solid Henry had felt beneath him as they’d tumbled into the supply closet at London Children’s Hospital. And Henry’s a royal – being sporty seems to be a baseline job requirement for modern royals. So yeah, Alex knows Henry’s got some muscle, and as he walks toward the stands that line either side of the rugby pitch in Windsor, Alex thinks he’s prepared. He finds a seat in the stands among spectators wearing the colors of Henry’s team – red, white, and blue – then scans the pitch for a familiar head of blond hair. It’s probably for the best that he’d sat down first, because when his gaze alights on Henry out on the field, Alex promptly swallows his tongue. (Movieverse; what if everything's the same, except the charity sporting event is rugby?)

if you ever want me to tag you, let me know!

tagging: @starkfridays @stilesgivesmefeels

[kpop-stories-21]

A Boyfriend For Christmas

Group: Stray Kids

Pairing: Han x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 2.6k

Rating: 18-21+

Genres, Tropes, & AUs: Non-Idol AU, College AU, Romance AU, Strangers to Lovers, Fluff, Smut

Content & Trigger Warnings: Barista!Han, Student!Reader, strong language, unprotected sex(wrap that shit up kids), manhandling, oral sex(f receiving), edging, slight degradation, slight dumbification, intense orgasm, aftercare, after-sex cuddles

Summary: Telling your parents you had a boyfriend always kept them off your back about settling down. Now that they're coming up for Christmas your lie is about to be exposed. Luckily, Fate takes pity on you and has you running into a cute barista who captures your heart.

Tags: @kpop---scenarios @stardragongalaxy @jeonrose @skittlez-area512 @mybiasisexo @biaswreckingfics @anyamaris @trashlord-007 @liliesofdreams @rdiamond2727 @naturalogre @millennial-fangirl @twisted-tales-of-all @yoonguurt @staytinyville @dimpledsatan @kwanisms SKZ Tags: @lovelyhange

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Network pings: @kdiarynet | @cultofdionysusnet

Collab Masterlist | Main Masterlist

“Yes, Mom, I'm doing fine.” You sighed into the phone, rolling your eyes at her ill-founded concern.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me young lady.” Your mother scolded. “I’m just looking out for your wellbeing.”

“I know Mom, I know.” You admitted grudgingly. “Anyway, before you ask, my studies are going fine as well.”

“Good! Just remember, if at any point you want to change your major, you can go to your father’s friend Mr. Kim.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.” You said, knowing full well that you never would.

Just then your roommate Karina poked her head in and eyed you expectantly. You nodded in acknowledgement and began to end the call with your mother.

“I gotta go now Mom.”

“Okay sweetie. I’ll call back soon, I want to hear more about this new boyfriend of yours!”

Once you hung up, Karina stepped into your room.

“Still stalling her with the new boyfriend bit?” She inquired.

You nodded. “They haven’t questioned it so far.”

“Are they still planning to come up for Christmas?”

“Yeah, unfortunately.”

“So you have until then to find a guy?”

You frowned. “It’s either that or admit I’ve been lying, and that will not go over well.”

“Well, I wish you luck.” She said warmly. “I’m getting ready to head back home, you sure you’ll be alright staying here by yourself?”

“I’ll be fine Rina.” You say with a grin. “I can take care of myself.”

“Of that, I have no doubt.” Karina teased.

You laughed and chucked a pillow at her. “You better get going before your mom assumes you missing and calls the army.”

“Okay, Y/N! See you next year!”

After Karina left you fell into the same routine you always did, spending most of the day in the dorm room except for the few times you went outside to get coffee or takeout. A few weeks passed, and then came the dreaded call from your mother, announcing that she and your father would be coming up soon to spend Christmas with you.

Panic began to set in, and as you walked to the corner coffee shop one morning you wondered if you should maybe download Tinder or some other dating app. You were so lost in thought you failed to see the figure right in front of you until it was too late and you found yourself tumbling to the concrete, limbs tangled with those of whoever you had crashed into.

Looking up, you found yourself inches away from the most gorgeous man you'd ever seen. Eyes wide, the two of you just stared at each other for several moments until he finally snapped out of his daze and stood, brushing himself off before offering his hand. You took it and he gently pulled you to your feet.

“I am so, so sorry “ He began, remorse clear on his face. “I have a terrible habit of not watching where I'm going.”

You smiled comfortingly. “No, no, the fault is mine. My mind was elsewhere and I didn't even see you until we collided. It's me who should be apologising.”

He chuckled lightly. “Alright then. I happen to work at a coffee shop nearby, can I at least buy you a coffee or something to make it up to you?”

You needed no hesitation to answer his question. “You had me at coffee! I was heading to my favourite coffee shop anyway.”

“Perfect!” He exclaimed, smiling so widely his eyes disappeared.

“My name's Han Jisung, by the way. Most people just call me Han because they know at least one other Jisung.”

You grinned. “I'm Park Y/N and I happen to fall into that category as well! Nice to meet you, Han.”

As you walked you fell into a comfortable conversation with Han. He was easy to talk to, listening intently while also inserting little jokes and puns at the most opportune moments. Before you knew it the two of you were standing in front of the very coffee shop you’d been heading to before you ran into Han.

You were surprised, sure that you would have remembered seeing him there before. “You work here?!” You exclaimed. “I come here all the time, how come I’ve never seen you before?”

Han grinned. “I’ve only been here about a week, I’m kinda new in town.”

You nodded understandingly. “Ah, that would explain it.”

Han opened the door for you, making you blush a bit as you walked in. You’d been here enough times that you knew all the staff by name and considered them friends, so you received several greetings as Han stepped in behind you.

“Hey Han, you’re a bit early today.” Felix called out, blond hair in its usual ponytail.

“Yeah, me and Y/N here had a bit of a collision so I said I’d buy her a coffee to make up for it.”

Minho smirked mischievously. “Well I’m surprised she didn’t kiss you for that, Y/N-ah really loves her coffee.”

You glared at the brunette playfully. “Ha, ha. Very funny, Min.”

“I thought it was quite funny.” Black-haired Hyunjin quipped as he walked by.

You stuck your tongue out at him and he returned the gesture, stopping only when Jeongin started to complain about how grossed-out he was.

After ordering your coffee you sat down in a corner booth, watching fondly as they all teased poor Han about being perfect “boyfriend material” for you. Once they’d left him alone he came to join you, conversation picking right back up like nothing had ever happened.

Students and other people came in and out, oblivious as you talked with Han until his shift started. By the time you decided you should leave, the sun was already starting to set. You gaped at the time on your phone, shocked that you’d been out all day. Gathering your things you bid farewell to Han and your friends, and hurried back to your dorm.

Once back inside, you pondered your encounter with Han. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t find him extremely good-looking, and you were secretly hoping he’d feel the same. You’d never really believed in love at first sight, but there was no denying the instant attraction you felt when you made eye contact with him. It was worth pursuing at least, especially with your parents’ visit looming ever closer.

By the end of the following week you had exchanged numbers with Han, and hope was growing within you that maybe he felt something for you too. Having a boyfriend in time for your parents’ arrival was the last thought on your mind now, 90% of your brain was taken up with Han and how you felt about him.

One day you woke up feeling rather bold, and decided to just get it over with. Shooting him a quick text revealed he was free, and so you asked him to meet you at the wishing fountain near the coffee shop. He arrived there mere seconds after you did, curiosity written all over his face.

“Hey Y/N! Your text seemed kind of urgent, is everything okay?”

You nodded briefly. “Yeah, mostly. However, there is something I wanted to ask you.”

“Oh? Ask away then.”

Taking a deep breath, you blurted it out before you lost your nerve. “I really like you and I was wondering if it was at all possible that you like me too.”

Something akin to relief flashed across Han’s features, then he took your hands in his and held them tight. “I’ve been trying to work up the courage to ask you this very same question, but it seems you’ve beaten me to it.” Looking you right in the eyes he added, “Yes, I like you Y/N; so, so much. From the very moment we ran into each other you have been almost the only thing I’ve thought about.”

You blushed, feeling suddenly like a teenager speaking with her crush. “I’ve been the same way.” You admitted, which made Han smile brightly.

Leaning forward a little you caught his eyes and asked softly, “Can you kiss me?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” He remarked cheekily.

You smacked his arm playfully and he chuckled, pulling you close and covered your lips with his own. Fireworks exploded behind your closed eyes as your heart rate picked up, and you gripped his shoulders in an effort to ground yourself.

You parted after a moment, both of you breathing a little harder.

“That was…breathtaking.” Han murmured, hands coming up to gently cup your face.

“You took the words right out of my mouth.” You replied with a smile.

After that the rest of the week became a bit of a blur, most of your time spent either with Han or packing for the trip to the family cabin where you’d spend Christmas with your parents. You’d expected Han to go back and spend the holidays with his own family, but he insisted they wouldn’t mind if he went with you this time. So you soon found yourself driving those all-too-familiar roads while Han sat in the passenger seat and kept you company.

Upon arriving at the family cabin, you were surprised to find that your parents weren’t already there. Usually they would get there early to make sure the place was nice and cosy by the time you arrived, but this time they were nowhere in sight. Once you and Han carried all the luggage in you checked the answering machine to see if your parents had left a message. They had, and you played it immediately.

“Y/N sweetie, it’s your mother. We had a bit of an accident on the way here so we’re laid over for a few days until we can get the car repaired. Don’t worry about us, we’re both fine. You just have fun with your boyfriend and we’ll see you in a couple days!”

You turned off the machine and looked at Han. “Well, looks like we have the place to ourselves for a few days. What should we do?”

Han thought for a few minutes, then said “I have a few ideas, but they’ll all have to wait until the morning.”

You glanced at the time. “It is pretty late, I’ll fix us something for dinner and we can start our adventure in the morning.”

Han agreed to this and you set about fixing a quick meal of bibimbap, which he declared was the best he’d ever had. The two of you washed the dishes together, then retired to your room, where you unpacked and got ready for bed.

When you woke up in the morning it was freezing. Confused and more than a little concerned, you woke Han and together you made your way to the living room to look out the big picture window. To your utter chagrin, you saw that there’d been a massive snowstorm overnight and there was a thick layer of the stuff that reached halfway up said window.

“Seems we’re snowed in for the foreseeable future.” You grumbled, rubbing your arms vigorously to keep them warm.

“Hey, it’s not all bad.” Han stated as he came up behind you, engulfing you in his warmth as he wrapped his arms around you. “I can think of a few things we can still do.”

You looked up at him, curious. “Oh yeah? Like what?”

“Like…make breakfast together.”

You giggled and let him pull you towards the kitchen. “That sounds like a good place to start.”

Han, as it turned out, should not be allowed anywhere near a kitchen; a fact you only discovered after he put too much molasses in the cookies, dropped the jar trying to put some back, slipped on the sticky floor and pulled you down with him as the bowl of dry ingredients was dumped all over the both of you.

Sitting on the floor covered in multiple white powders with several sticky patches all over, you turned to a sheepish Han and gave him a playful glare. “You are banished forthwith from the kitchen, under pain of death.”

Han rubbed his neck, embarrassed. Then a look full of mischief came onto his face and he yanked his shirt off in one smooth motion, reaching over to do the same with yours. Before you could react or even open your mouth to complain, he had snatched you up and tossed you over his shoulder, all but running to your shared bedroom. You were dumped unceremoniously onto the slightly cool duvet, goosebumps popping up all over your skin at the contrast in temperature.

Looking up revealed Han hovering over you, eyes dark as he gazed down at you. A shock of arousal raced to your core, and you returned his gaze with rapidly growing want while quickly shucking off your sweatpants.

“You look so pretty laid out like this, baby.” He rasped, running his hands over the blue lace of your bra and panties.

“Wore them just for you.” You breathed, feeling your body heat up even more as he slipped his fingers under the waistband of your panties. “They’re an early C-Christmas present.”

“How thoughtful of you, baby. Now you just lay back and let me unwrap my present.”

The panties came off in one swift yank; then he hooked your legs over his shoulders and slid his tongue into your wet folds, eating you out like a man starved.

“Oh G-God, feels s-so good Han, please don't stop!”

His nose pressed against your clit as he continued his ministrations, bringing you to the edge three or four times but never letting you cum.

You were an overstimulated mess by this point, pitifully begging for your orgasm as if your life depended on it.

“Look at you baby, already going dumb and I haven't even fucked you yet. If you hold it till I finish, then I'll let you cum. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes, I can do it, I promise. Just please, please fuck me!” You babbled, mind blank aside from the overwhelming need for release.

“As you wish, my love.” He replied, making short work of his own pants and underwear before hovering over you once more, filling you to the hilt in one quick thrust that punched a sob of pure pleasure from your lungs, fingers wrapping the duvet in a death grip as you fought to hold back your orgasm.

Han set a rough pace, pounding into you with an urgency that belied his own imminent high. The sounds of squelching and slapping skin filled the room, the air permeated with the smell of sex and sweat. It made for a heady mixture of sensations that had your eyes rolling back as his thrusts grew faster, until finally he slammed into you one final time. Lips brushed your ear as he spoke the words you'd been waiting for: “Come for me baby.”

You let go, the world washing white as your limbs went stiff and liquid bliss flooded your veins, a hoarse scream ripping from your throat as your climax crashed over you. After a few moments that felt like forever, you began to come down, the white quickly replaced with black as you fully passed out.

You came to and found Han cleaning both of you as well as the duvet, a relieved smile appearing when he saw that you were awake. “Hey baby.” He murmured, kissing your forehead. “How do you feel?”

“Like I've been fucked into next year.” You whispered, voice almost completely gone. Han chuckled and pulled you under the duvet with him, wrapping around you to help keep you warm.

“Merry Christmas, my sweet Y/N.” He breathed, caressing your cheek.

“Merry Christmas to you too, my handsome Hannie.”

[p-r-art]

My new roommate

Starring: Gojo x reader Warnungen: none From: Oneshot

Request are open. Ask for Oneshots, Fanfictions or other things.

------------------------------------------------------ My new roommate

It was the beginning of June when I decided that I needed a roommate to be able to pay the high rent. i didn't want to move because I've been living in this apartment for so long and it's so nice and big. So I asked my friends to ask anyone they knew who was looking for an apartment. Nobara then told me that her teacher Gojo Satoru is looking for an apartment even if he has enough money to afford one himself. Nobara just said that he didn't like being alone. Of course I agreed. She had also shown me a photo. And what should I do when someone looks that good. I haven't had a man by my side for a long time.

-maybe something will come of it-

I think mischievously.

He was supposed to come today, but he hasn't shown up yet and it's already 12 o'clock. I sigh and make myself comfortable on the sofa. I've tied my long (h/c) hair into a plait. As it's my day off, I decide to put on a pair of sports shorts and a tank top.He was supposed to come today, but he hasn't shown up yet and it's already 12 o'clock. I sigh and make myself comfortable on the sofa. I've tied my long (h/c) hair into a plait. As it's my day off, I've decided to put on a pair of sports shorts and a tank top.

The doorbell rings. I immediately get up and see a tall white-haired man with sunglasses. I can't see his eyes through them.

“I'm Gojo Satoru, your new roommate.”

His voice is deep. A smile forms on his lips. I step to the side and let him in

“Hi, I'm (Y/n).”

Gojo enters and walks straight through to the living room. He only has two suitcases with him, which surprises me a little.

“The rest of my stuff will be here in a few days.”

“Okay. Make yourself comfortable or look around. I'll make something to drink.”

-A while later-

“Wait, what did you do to Yuji? Poor guy.”

I laughed at his stories. I sat on the floor while Gojo sat on the couch.

“He ate Sukuna's finger, after all. So he should learn and practice it.”

Gojo said.

“But just like that?”

I say with a laugh. The white-haired one just shrugged his shoulders.

- It's definitely going to be an exciting time with Gojo Saturu as my roommate-

-Time Skip-

Several months have passed since I started living with the handsome white-haired man called Satoru Gojo. It's been a real up and down. We tease each other a lot, whether it's pranks or flirting. He almost makes me feel in love with him. But I don't want to give up my friendship with him or make life as a flatmate unpleasant. I'm making myself a cup of tea when the front door opens.

“I'm home again.”

“Welcome back.”

I say with a smile, but concentrate on my tea. A white mop of hair itches around the corner of the kitchen.

“ Well (Y/N)-chan how have you been without my amazing presence?”

“Terrible as always.”

I dramatically hold a hand to my forehead and looked towards him with a playfully pained face. But I couldn't hold it for long. We both started laughing out loud.

“I really missed you, how was it in Hokkaido?”

I grab my cup of tea with my hands, blow a little and drink it carefully. Satoru comes up to me & encircles me with his figure. He puts his arms on either side of me. I can't move to the left or right. Satoru comes close to my face. He is still wearing his scarf over his eyes. I carefully reach for it with my right hand and pull it off. Bright blue eyes look straight into my soul. A grin forms on Gogo's lips.

“Mhm~ Little kitty, me too.”

His voice is like a purr? It sounded so seductive.

“Stop playing with me Satoru.”

I say with a laugh, ignoring the feelings he triggers in me.

“But I'm not playing. I'm serious.”

His smile disappears in his face turns into a serious expression. Gojo comes so close to my face that I can feel his breath.

“(Y/N) you're smart, but you're stupid when it comes to feelings.”

I put my head to sleep. His statement confuses me. Deep laughter permeates the air.

“Then let me put it this way little kitten. You belong to me: mine. Because your heart belongs to me and mine belongs to you.”

I was just trying to process the sentence when two lips interrupt my thoughts. My eyes widen at the surprise of Gojo Satoru kissing me. I close my eyes. My body reacts as if of its own accord and I surrender to the kiss. Gojo breaks away from me again.

“Mhmm I knew you felt the same way.”

A smirk creeps onto his lips.

“What?”

“My ability, little one.”

He winks, walks out of the kitchen & puts the black blindfold back on his eyes.

“See you the day after tomorrow kitten. Get ready for long nights.”

All I can hear is the door closing. Not sure how to react and still with the cup in my hand, I realize what just happened.

“GOJO!”

I shout, knowing that he can still hear me.

[lokilover2341]

High Nights And Sober Daze

Roommate!Sukuna x AFAB Nonbinary!Reader

Another long ass day at work  *sigh*. Making their way through the front door of their shared apartment, Y/N slipped their shoes off and locked the door, leaning against it wearily.

“Bad day at work” Sukuna, one of their several roommates, called from the sofa. They ignored him trudging their way to their bedroom. Sukuna peeps in, having followed you. “ Hey, I rolled up a blunt if you want to shower real quick and join me.” “Yeah actually, that sounds good,” they reply, exhaustion heavy in their voice. Quickly pulling their butterfly locs up so they didn’t get too wet, Y/N hopped in the shower opting for a quick wash down rather than their usual full spa-esque routine. 

  Heading out to the patio where Sukuna was waiting, Y/N realized that two of their other roommates, Luis (their ex) and Octavia (his newest girlfriend) (this is what happens when you end up stuck in a multi year lease with someone who decided to cheat not once but twice) were also home. Offering a quick wave out of politeness, they attempted to escape what is usually a very awkward conversation. Not to say Y/N and Luis weren’t capable of being civil to each other, the problem that arises is that Octavia seems to think they are competing over everything. “Oh hey Y/N, guess what Luis got me today for no reason” Octavia chirped with a sly smirk, pushing out her hand to show you a beautiful crystal opal ring set. “Actually you…” Luis tried to interject. “It must really suck not having someone who’ll just buy you presents, huh?” she spoke over him. “ Actually I’m not big on receiving gifts as I am giving them, but thank you for your concern I guess” Y/N replied smoothly sliding out to the patio before Octavia had an opportunity to reply. 

  Sukuna let out a chuckle as they closed the sliding glass door, “Lemme guess she showed you that dumbass ring set she practically had to beg Luis to buy.” “Yeah.” “It's not like it's anything special, the chances of any part of that being real is low given how much of a cheapskate Luis is” Sukuna laughed as he lit the blunt in his hand. “There’s no need to say such rude things about Luis, it’s not like I care either way.” Y/N motioned for Sukuna to pass the blunt over tired of being sober most of the day and wanting to relax. “I’ll stop being rude when that idiot actually grows a fucking spine instead of letting that bitch walk all over him.” “I’ll take things that’ll never happen for 200, Alex” Y/N joked. " Did you maybe want to cuddle and watch a movie?" Sukuna asked hopefully. "Well I don't work tomorrow so I can stay up pretty late but you do know you don't have to ask to cuddle, we share a bed we already cuddle.” Y/N arched an eyebrow at him. “ Aww c'mon you’re no fun. Besides you know what I mean, I just want to be buried in your chest.” “Sure but no getting handsy like last time.” Y/N conceded. "Scouts honor, babe." he said lying through his teeth.

As the pair walked back in heading to their shared space, they were quickly interrupted before they walked through the living room. "Hey Sukuna, did you maybe want to hangout when Luis leaves for work tonight." Of course she'd try some shit like this. Y/N continued to walk to the room not sparing a second glance at Octavia. "I have far better things to do than sit here with you, while you drool over me like you don't have a boyfriend." Sukuna's face honestly looked as though he stepped in dog shit, though as far as Y/N was concerned he did when it came to Octavia. Y/N sat down waiting for Sukuna to join them, deciding to scroll on Hulu looking for something interesting. While preoccupied with their search, they didn't notice Sukuna launching himself on to the bed, knocking all of the air out of them. "OH MY GOD SUKUNA IF YOU DON"T GET YOUR HEAVY ASS OFF OF ME!" Barking out a laugh he (albeit reluctantly) rolled off of Y/N. “So find anything to watch or are we going to stare at the Hulu search menu all night?” “Hmmm I was thinking..” “If you say Blood-C again I'm biting you.” Sukuna looks over to see Y/N trying to muster up the best puppy dog eyes they can manage. Sukuna sighed rolling his eyes at them. “Would it kill you to watch anything else?” Y/N giggled at his question. “Why don’t you choose then? You know I suck at finding new shows.” “How about a horror movie?” After he picks a movie for the two to watch, Y/N let's him cuddle up against their chest with him softly humming in content.

[bidoofenergy]

try to be patient (learning how to live)

It’s Saturday afternoon and there’s no class on Monday and Jimmy is about two miles away from HCU, about to have a very good 3-day weekend. A great weekend even, if his friends and Tango's too would stop assuming they're going to have sex all weekend. They haven't even talked about sex. Not that that's going to cause problems, of course not. sequel to let's ditch the dance floor also on AO3 (3611 words)

Jimmy has his phone to his ear and it’s been ringing for several minutes by the time the door opens. “Finally,” he sighs in relief. “Hey babe,” he says to the person opening the door: Impulse, not his boyfriend, who he’d been expecting.

Without missing a beat, Impulse, who is actually Tango’s roommate, grins widely and replies, “Hi snookums!” Behind him, Skizz, another one of Tango’s roommates pops up to investigate.

In his ear, Jimmy finally hears the sound of his call connecting. “Hi honey,” Tango says in a rush. In the background of the call and also in person, from behind Impulse and Skizz, is the sound of something crashing.

It’s all entirely too much. “Save me,” Jimmy groans and hangs up.

It’s Saturday afternoon and there’s no class on Monday and Jimmy is about two miles away from HCU, about to have a very good 3-day weekend. On Friday, after Joel got of work, he and Jimmy drove the few hours back home, grabbing lunch at the same middle-of-nowhere Mexican place that they always stop at, the one that’s a 20-minute detour, that they first stopped at way back when Jimmy was still nervous about driving on highways.

And then, because it was the start of a 3-day weekend and because Grian had set up a group chat at the start of the semester to demand it, they went to Pearl’s parents’ house to eat pizza and get drunk and celebrate being in the same space again. It was like a high school reunion but better, because it was only people he cared about—Grian and Pearl and Martyn and BigB and Netty—and Joel got to be there too because he was annoying about it.

And then, some time before noon, Jimmy woke up with a wicked headache, chugged a bottle of Gatorade, and drove a couple hours here, stopping only for McDonald’s once he stopped feeling nauseous. Drove here, because Tango had invited him over for the long weekend, promising a quiet place to catch up on homework and Tango’s bed to sleep in and an empty apartment until Monday evening, when he’d have to be back on the road anyway.

Jimmy had hoped Tango’s roommates would’ve already left, but clearly not. “Hi Impulse, hi Skizz,” he greets them, trying very hard not to be embarrassed.

“Aw, I’m not babe anymore?” Impulse laughs, stepping aside to let Jimmy in. Jimmy tries not to hit either of them with his duffel bag—but not very hard.

“So, you’re here for the weekend?” Skizz asks as Jimmy stops awkwardly by their dining table, not sure which room is Tango’s.

“Uh, yeah, sorry, Tango told me you’d be gone for the weekend.” From the farthest room is the sound of more things falling.

“Trying to get our boy on his own, huh?” Impulse nods seriously. Before Jimmy has to reply, Tango tumbles out of his room. He’s wearing boxers and a ratty HCU engineering t-shirt and only one sock. His bleached blond hair is sticking up at ridiculous angles. His whole face lights up when he sees Jimmy.

“Jimmy!” He yells and that’s all the warning Jimmy gets before he has an armful of Tango, short and warm and delighted. He hugs Jimmy so hard they go stumbling backwards into the dining table and then pulls back to grab Jimmy’s face and kiss him, soft despite his excitement, like Jimmy’s mouth is something delicate. Skizz and Impulse boo and gag good-naturedly. Jimmy can’t help but sink into Tango.

Tango pulls away and grins up at him. “Sorry, I started soldering and then I lost track of time and when you called me my phone was under my clean clothes and—stop laughing at me!” Jimmy can’t help it—Tango is so ridiculous and he’s so fond of him. His phone was under a pile of clean clothes because he swears it motivates him to put them away. Judging by his outfit, he probably started whatever project he’s working on right after he woke up and didn’t stop until his phone was ringing from underneath his underwear.

Jimmy tightens his grip around Tango’s waist, pulling him back in so they’re standing flush against each other and Jimmy can tuck his chin over the top of Tango’s head. He closes his eyes and squeezes, delighting in their closeness, the physical contact he gets to have for three days. He stands in the feeling for a moment and Tango hugs him back.

When he opens his eyes, it’s to Impulse and Skizz still jeering them and he can finally see what he missed earlier: their weekend bags, one on top of the other, right by the couch. They were probably leaving when Jimmy rang the doorbell.

Tango, apparently tired of noise, twists out of Jimmy’s arms and starts pushing Impulse and Skizz. “Alright, thank you to the peanut gallery.” He says, shoving their bags at them. “Get out, goodbye, drive safe,” Impulse and Skizz laugh.

“Bye Jimmy!” Impulse calls as he leaves and Jimmy waves.

“Say hi to your parents for me.” Tango tells them both sternly, even as he’s herding them out of their own apartment.

“Don’t have sex on our couch!” Skizz yells as he heads down the stairs.

“No promises!” Tango calls back and slams the door closed. “Okay.” He turns back to Jimmy, who flushes a little under the attention. “What do you want to do first?”

It doesn’t matter what Jimmy wants to do first, because first he has to force Tango to take a shower. He drops his bag on the floor of Tango’s room and pokes around while Tango showers and sings along to happy indie pop music.

Tango’s room has fairly barebone furnishings—a full-sized bed in one corner, a desk in another. A set of flimsy plastic drawers serves as his bed side table, covered in scraps of paper and keys and pens and a single Bluetooth earbud. His walls are well decorated, posters of bands and videogames and flyers of events he’s been to and printouts of circuit boards and wiring diagrams that seem to have started above his desk and slowly taken over the walls from there.

Except, right at eye level if you sit in Tango’s plush desk chair, taped over several overlapping layers of diagrams, is a picture Joel took from inside Grian’s apartment the night they got together: the two of them kissing on Grian’s balcony, Jimmy’s stupid cowboy hat firmly on his head, Tango on his toes to reach him. Jimmy is filled with a sudden burst of affection. He takes a quick picture before spins away to flop onto Tango’s bed. His dramatics sends clothes sliding off the end of the bed to join the pile on the floor. Jimmy ignores them to pull up his group chat with Grian and Joel.

Jimmy: GUYSSS

Jimmy: [image]

Jimmy: he’s so cute omg

Joel: congrats (face vomiting)

Grian: disgusting

Grian: guess you got there fine?

Jimmy winces a little at the dig—he was supposed to tell Grian when he got to Tango’s place.

Jimmy: yeah drive was fine didn’t even throw up [thumbs up emoji]

Joel: not me i threw up in pearl’s parents’ neighbor’s bushes

Jimmy: ewwwww

Grian: ew.

Grian: remember to stay hydrated during your sexathon!!

Jimmy: please never say the word sexathon again

Jimmy tosses his phone somewhere on Tango’s bed and covers his face with his hands. The worst part, the part that makes all the jokes so embarrassing, is they haven’t even talked about sex yet.

To be fair, they haven’t been together an enormous amount of time, not even six months yet. Of course, in College Time that was basically a year, but Jimmy didn’t think the sex-timeline moved at College Time.  They’re basically long distance, constantly carving out weekends to see each other. Winter break was brilliant, when Jimmy squeezed out the chance to stay at Grian’s and be there for his New Year’s party and they kissed at midnight and Jimmy felt like he could see years together.

Then Grian cornered him and asked, with an eyebrow waggle, if Jimmy had any details to overshare and all Jimmy had was a heated make out session they’d had at a different one of Grian’s parties, something drunk and sloppy and giggly. (“Yeah, I saw that Tim.” Grian had said and then, seeing the nervous energy building in Jimmy, asking, “Was he good at least?”)

And it had lingered in the back of Jimmy’s mind since—did he want to have sex? Did Tango want to have sex? Was Tango as worried as him about it? Why was he even so stressed about it?

Jimmy has had sex before; good, fun sex with Scott when they were together and fWhip when they’d had that weird on-and-off RP-bleed thing. But Tango didn’t even talk about sex, even when they talked about queer-awakenings, even when their friends talked about sex, even when he’d laughed as Jimmy waxed lyrical about Captain America over the phone for almost 20 minutes straight.

They don’t talk about sex, but Jimmy’s been thinking about it, especially because the last several weeks Grian and Joel had assumed he and Tango were going to have sex all weekend and had been teasing him accordingly. Jimmy drops his hands off his face and stares up at the textured ceiling. He’d love to stop thinking so much about having sex with Tango.

Of course, that is when Tango emerges from his bathroom, toweling off his hair and already midsentence about a specific shade of blue he’s been meaning to dye his hear and the careful dye-chemistry it’s sure to require. Jimmy props himself up on an elbow to just watch him, not even bothering to try and hide his smile. Tango’s wearing another HCU engineering shirt, thankfully less ratty, and cargo pants and Jimmy’s practically despondent over how he thinks Tango looks good, ridiculously good.

Scott’s going to be so disappointed in my standards now. Jimmy has time to think, half-hysterically, before Tango crosses the room and practically launches himself into Jimmy’s lap.

“Hey,” Tango says, grinning and breathless, and gently pushes Jimmy on the chest so he falls back against the pillows. Automatically, Jimmy’s hands go to Tango’s hips, balancing him.

“Hi,” he replies, equally breathless, desperately hoping it doesn’t come out squeaky. Before he can say anything else, it’s Tango’s mouth on his, far less delicate now they don’t have an audience. One hand is fisted in Jimmy’s shirt, pulling him close while pinning him down, and the other cups his face, carefully stroking across his cheekbone with a thumb.

Jimmy, for his part, goes lax almost immediately, opening up to let Tango lick his mouth. He lets Tango lead the kiss, content to instead run his hands over Tango’s middle, slipping up under his t-shirt to feel as much skin as he can.

Time slips away from him, the way Tango’s mouth slips against his, nothing but the steady push-and-pull of mouths and tongues, nothing but Tango’s warm body being mapped out under his hands. Tango groans into his mouth as he presses against Tango’s lower back, pushing their bodies together, and so Jimmy leaves his hand there and lets his right hand roam, sliding across Tango’s pecs, ghosting over Tango’s stomach until he laughs into Jimmy’s mouth, happy gusts of air that Jimmy eagerly swallows.

It's nothing but Tango, Tango, Tango’s hot-wet mouth against his, Tango’s weight firmly settled over his hips, Tango’s hands steady against him the way they always are, holding him in place. Like Jimmy would ever try to run away from this.

Jimmy pulls his right hand from under Tango’s shirt to the back of Tango’s neck, sliding up to thread into his still-damp hair. Tango sighs into his mouth and, encouraged, Jimmy uses this hand to push a little and angle Tango’s head differently. He’s so focused on the feel of Tango’s hair, on licking soft noises out of Tango’s mouth, he doesn’t notice his other hand slip under the waistband of Tango’s pants.

Doesn’t—until Tango freezes on top of him. Jimmy pulls his hands away immediately, moving one to Tango’s hip, the other to his chest, gently pushing them apart. Tango tries to keep kissing him but Jimmy pulls away. “Hey, hey,” he says gently.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Tango insists, which feels a little at odds with how he’s burying his face into Jimmy’s chest.

“It’s okay,” Jimmy reassures. “We can keep it above the waist.” He’d cringe at his word choice, but it’s not about his utter lack of cool. It’s about Tango, who’s still not looking at him, shaking his head against Jimmy’s chest.

“No, no,” he mumbles. “It’s not—I want to—I just—” None of this is clearing things up for Jimmy. He rubs Tango’s back and desperately wishes for something helpful to say. Abruptly, Tango sits up and, looking Jimmy in the eye, says, “I want to have sex with you.”

It’s Jimmy’s turn to freeze, under the intensity of Tango’s unwavering eye contact. “Right now?” he asks, because that’s the only way he can thing to respond.

Tango laughs, soft and fond. “No,” he says and climbs off Jimmy. “I can’t talk about this sitting down.” He shuffles through the things on his desk and slides his wallet into his back pocket when he finds it. He holds out his hand to Jimmy, still lying down, still confused. Of course, Jimmy takes his hand.

It’s a bright, cold afternoon day, the kind that reminds you that spring is on the way. Tango had shoved Jimmy into one of his sweatshirts, one that says “HCU” in big embroidered letters, and now holds his hand as they walk. Jimmy isn’t sure where they’re going, but he can’t bring himself to care. They’re leaving Tango’s apartment complex and heading down the sidewalk, beat up and with plants starting to peak back through the cracks.

They’ve barely gone a few steps away from the building when Tango starts to talk. “I’ve never had sex before.” He says in a rush.

“Oh,” Jimmy wishes he knew what to say to that. It didn’t matter to him, but clearly it did to Tango. Jimmy remembers when he told Scott he was a virgin (exactly like that: “Scott, I’m a virgin.”). Scott had laughed and said he knew and fucked him. But that was him and Scott and he had liked it when Scott laughed at him. That didn’t feel applicable here.

Tango keeps talking, “I want to have sex with you, but I’ve been really in my head about the whole thing. And it definitely doesn’t help that everyone seems to think we already have.”

Jimmy winces. Grian and Joel have been especially obnoxious about things. “Sorry.”

“Not your fault.” Tango says firmly. “I would’ve been in my head about it regardless. I just—” He sighs and shakes his arms out, jerking Jimmy’s arm around too and startling a laugh out of him. Tango smiles distractedly and continues. “You know. I can’t do one thing at a time. And that includes making out. I just get super conscious of my limbs and if what I’m doing is okay or weird. And then I start thinking about the Wikipedia article for kissing. And it sucks ’cause I’m having fun, but—” he cuts himself off with another sigh.

Jimmy nods, taking this in. “Is this why you never move your hands?” he asks and laughs when Tango shrieks, pulling them both to a stop.

“You noticed?” He cries and buries his face into Jimmy’s arm, mumbling something about stupid, smart, pretty boys. Jimmy pats the top of his head, going for reassuring but completely missing because he’s laughing so hard.

Eventually, Tango pulls away and starts walking again. “Anyway,” he says, with an attempt at dignity. “That’s why I froze. I freaked out in my brain.” He tugs on Jimmy’s hand until they make firm eye contact again. “Nothing to do with you.”

“Except for what I did.” Jimmy says, laughing a little.

“Hey, none of that.” Tango insists. “We didn’t talk about this. That’s on me too.” He grins. “You know what Scott says: in a healthy relationship, it’s on all parties to—”

“Oh my god, stop,” Jimmy nearly yells, slapping a hand over Tango’s mouth. Tango laughs from behind Jimmy’s hand, eyes bright and happy, and they keep walking.

It turns out they were going to the grocery store. They cut across the parking a lot on a diagonal; it’s quiet enough it’s not a problem. There’s a sale on avocados that has Tango frowning down at them for a full minute before he picks out 3. They buy Jimmy’s favorite tortilla chips—way too salty—and store-brand frozen cheesy bread that Tango swears will turn out well and a couple bottles of cheap red wine.

“It tastes good.” Tango assures Jimmy as they wait in line for the cashier to check them out. “Barely tastes like win, to be honest.”

“But does it pair with cheesy bread?” Jimmy asks with a laugh. Tango nods mock-seriously.

“And I have a white for the avocados.” He says in his snobbiest voice and Jimmy falls over him laughing.

And then it’s out the store and back to Tango’s apartment, hands still linked. The walk back is more relaxed, without the anxiety of a serious conversation. Jimmy asks about Tango’s senior design project—this year long group project he’s been complaining about more since the start of the spring semester. It turns out on of his teammates hasn’t shown up to class in a few weeks and Tango is, understandably, irate.

“—and after all this!” He yells, swinging the bag he’s carrying so wildly Jimmy is glad he doesn’t have the wine. “I have to see him at our final presentation and pretend I don’t hate their guts! And then again at graduation—” he cuts himself off with an awkward cough and a sideways glance at Jimmy.

They haven’t talked about the fact that Tango is graduating soon and now, seeing his face in the winter-light, Jimmy realizes that Tango has been talking around it, for Jimmy’s sake. Jimmy smiles at Tango and squeezes his hand and hopes his message is clear: it’s okay. They’ll have other carved out weekends to talk about it. Tango smiles and squeezes his hand back and asks him how D&D is going. And then it's stories Joel’s character’s god complex and the love triangle Joey, Katherine, and Shubble are orchestrating and his own misfortunes with the dice and Tango laughs and stares at him lovingly and pulls him up the stairs into his apartment.

Inside, Jimmy tells Tango about the real-life hermit crab Sausage and Joel found and are negotiating a custody arrangement for and Tango listens while he puts the groceries away. The avocados go in a plastic bowl that was once for Halloween candy, with a few bananas and a very wrinkled apple; the wine gets crammed into the vegetable drawer to chill; and the cheesy bread goes into the oven—bare on the rack, which makes Jimmy incredibly nervous.

“It’s fine.” Tango insists. He crowds up against Jimmy, backing him up against the counter, and kisses him fiercely.

It’s like somethings been unlocked. Jimmy had fun kissing Tango, before, but now it’s like Tango has loosened some kind of restraint. It’s a hot, wet mouth against his, biting and licking and insistent, and Tango’s warm hands sliding under his shirt to smooth across his stomach and sides, making him laugh breathily. It’s fierce, unwavering attention on him and all Jimmy can do is cling, feeling like Tango’s knocked the breath out of him all over again.

If Jimmy had enough brain cells firing, he’d feel bad about how restrained Tango has been, clear in hindsight. But all he can think is “Yes,” and all he can do is slip his hand back into Tango’s hair and hold on.

9 to 11 minutes later, the oven beeps and Tango pulls away with one last, lingering kiss, before he casually starts fussing over the cheesy bread, putting it on a cutting board and rummaging around for a knife, while Jimmy leans against the counter and tries to catch his breath.

Tango shoots him a grin over his shoulder, looking far to pleased with himself, and says, “Get the wine out, will you?”

“I hate you.” Jimmy replies with only affection in his voice and Tango’s smile only brightens.

They eat on Tango’s bed, cutting board and plastic cups full of wine balanced precariously, and Tango pulls up some 80s teenage comedy on his laptop. He knows all the words and, when Jimmy slumps against him, full and pleasantly buzzed and sleepy, he can feel the rumble of Tango’s chest as he speaks with the actors.

When he wakes up, Tango will probably be hunched his desk again, this time in boxers and one of Jimmy’s t-shirts, and Jimmy will have to pry him away. They’ll make something for breakfast and eat on the couch so Jimmy can stay right next to Tango, pressing their bodies together. He wants to take a nap on the couch with Tango on top of him. He wants to take a shower so he can feel the water pressure Tango’s always complaining about. He wants Tango to explain the newest version of Decked Out to him, patient when the rules get so convoluted his head starts to swim. He wants to, he wants to, he gets to.

He gets to.

[moralesmilesanhour]

Or an AU drabble where Miles and Margo go to the same HBCU and they have crushes on each other. Someone’s pet trarantula is loose and Miles who has arachnophobia grabs the first person who he can find (Margo) to help him get rid of it.

(obvious spider trigger warning to anyone else reading) Thank you for requesting!! :) Idk the specifics of how HBCU dorms work so I just went by my own experience cuz I couldn't find anything just looking it up lmao I hope that's okay (I also don't know how you're actually meant to handle tarantulas so maybe don't try this at home)

"Miles, don't look now, but - man, I said don't look!"

Miles' head immediately snapped to the wall opposite him where he was typing out a response to one of his discussion posts. Jude sighed and plugged his ears in preparation for the blood-curdling, slasher film-worthy scream that followed.

Miles had seen spiders in his house before; ones no larger than an ant that could easily be mistaken for a different kind of bug until it began to crawl and convulse in that way that only spiders do. He had made it a point to bring in boxes upon boxes of EcoVenger on move-in day to make sure he never had to see any sign of the creatures in his vicinity.

The spider currently ambling up the wall across the room from him after he leapt backwards was the stuff of his worst nightmares.

"Who the fuck brought a tarantula to school?!?"

Miles and Jude were both in the hallway now in their PJs after the former refused to go back inside until it was gone.

"That's Alex's pet. We all saw it at his party last weekend, you didn't-?"

Miles crossed his arms and gave him a look.

"...Right. Of course you didn't."

The door to their right creaked open, half a face peeking out from behind it. Both men recognized the young woman's sharp eyeliner before she even began to speak.

"Aye, Margo!"

"Hey," she smiled as she fully emerged from her room in her usual green sweatshirt and shorts. "Whatchy'all yelling about? I don't think I've ever heard your voice reach that octave."

"Oh that wasn't-"

"Yeah, Alex's tarantula snuck into our room, right next to his head!" Miles interrupted, leaning casually on the wall with an easy grin as if he wasn't just cussing out his roommate and about to do the same to Alex.

Jude gave him a nasty glare, but didn't say anything.

"Oh my god, it got out?" Margo gasped, sounding more like a kid at the zoo than a concerned neighbor.

"Yeah, it's really been botherin' Jude," Miles continued with great affect. "Care to lend a hand?"

"Lemme see - I mean, I can help!"

She clapped her hands together and strolled right past Jude towards their room.

"I'll make sure it's safe and put it in a jar to bring back to Alex, and you," Miles yelped when she grabbed his wrist and tugged him behind her, "are gonna help me catch it."

He hesitated and looked to Jude for help, but the other man shrugged with a self-satisfied smirk spreading across his face.

"Miles?"

"S-sure," he smiled painfully, "I'm right behind you!"

By the time they made it to the shared bedroom, the spider was nowhere to be seen. Miles swore he felt his stomach drop. He swept the room with anxious eyes while Margo ventured into the kitchen in search of a proper container. It wasn't on either of the desks or desk lamps, and after counting to three and pulling away their bed sheets, it did not seem to be hiding there, either.

He found her again while she rummaged through the cupboards to report his findings. She pulled out a mug with the faces of several 'Bleach' characters printed on the front and examined it.

Miles winked, "Don't use that one, that's my good mug."

Margo snickered and handed it back to him.

"Y'all got any mason jars I can use, then? I didn't see any around."

"Sure, they're just behind the...the... "

Miles had made the grave mistake of looking up, and stopped dead in his tracks. There, just inches away from his forehead, was the tarantula. The dark mass was slowly climbing its way up the cupboard where the mason jars were supposed to be.

"Oh, sweet, it's right there!"

He looked like someone had gotten out a remote and pressed 'pause', his eyes the size of saucers.

Margo's brows furrowed in concern.

"Miles? Aren't you gonna get it?"

"I...um..."

His chest began to rise and fall more rapidly as the spider continued its ascent, and she quickly realized that he was a little more than just startled. She took back the mug, set it on the counter, and gently pushed him aside.

"Actually, I got it."

Margo reached up to where the spider was and let it crawl onto her hand. Her other hand, she used to open the cupboard and grab a jar, which she turned to hand over to Miles.

"Open this for me?"

"Now that I can do," he said, taking the jar carefully as if the tarantula would leap off of Margo's hand at any moment. "There."

She deposited the creature into the jar with such ease that Miles half-expected to be made fun of, but she didn't say anything. Just observed with a little smile as it crawled aimlessly around the container and pushed its legs against the glass.

"Y'know, Alex actually let me hold this little guy once."

Miles leaned back against the opposite counter.

"Do you, like, regularly pet bugs?"

She hummed before answering, "I like some bugs, but I'm not exactly diggin' in the grass looking for 'em. Tarantulas are cool, though. They can shoot their hairs out at people to defend themselves. Wish I could do that."

"It'd be a hell of a superpower," he laughed. "You wanna take this guy across the hall?"

"I do, but are you gonna be able to handle it?"

"He's trapped and he cannot hurt me," Miles got off the counter and gestured for Margo to go ahead of him. "I'll be fine."

[doeilovr]

[ 01:11 ]

*Knock knock*

You slowly lowered your hand, eyes moving between the wooden floor and the white door in front of You.

Somehow you felt stupid knocking on your roommates door at one in the morning. On the other hand, it was him who had invited you to come to his room, after just minutes ago you had sent him a long paragraph on how you felt.

Mark, your friend, coworker and the person you couldn't stop thinking about.

For days you had the urge to text him to finally find out how he felt about you. Just last week you two had hooked up after watching a movie and then suddenly he went all cold and stopped talking to you.

It didn't make it any easier that you worked with him. At work though it was different, he was very bright and playful and you often caught him staring at you.

And so you found yourself knocking on his door after he returned from his shift late at night.

The door opened after a moment and on the other side stood Mark, dressed casually in sweats and a zip-up. Very different to his usual black slacks and white button up.

He flashed a smile and your heart almost dropped just at the sight of him.

"Hi", you whispered.

"Hi", Mark whispered back, his smile only getting wider. "Come in."

You carefully stepped inside, "I'm sorry."

You walked into his room, Mark chuckling behind you. "Don't be."

"But I don't know what's wrong with me. Am I overreacting?" You furrowed your eyebrows, turning back to him.

Mark walked over, still smiling a little. He sat down on his bed. "It's okay. Come here."

You swallowed, suddenly unable to move. "Huh?"

"Let's cuddle a bit."

"Oh."

Mark snorted, patting the spot next to him on the bed. "Come here."

You felt strange, somehow nervous but also excited. You really needed a hug. You climbed into the bed and got comfortable next to Mark, who also laid down.

It was dark, the only light in the room coming from the bathroom, where the door was open a bit.

Mark lifted his arm so you could cuddle up against him. He wore a fleece zip-up, so he was even cuddlier than usual.

"This is nice", Mark said, after he pulled up the blanket to cover the both of you.

You hummed in response.

"So you're an overthinker", Mark whispered. A soft chuckle following.

You sighed, "yeah it's so bad. I'm really sorry." You felt bad, it was as if you had to force him to spend time with you - let alone hug you like this.

"No, why? It's a good thing."

"How so?"

"You care", Mark whispered, saying it as if it was the most logical thing in the world. "You're not shallow, but rather think about what you do and say. You have empathy and a lot of love to give."

You swallowed, your heart feeling strange in your chest.

"Thank you, Mark."

"It's only the truth."

He planted a kiss on your head, rubbing your arm slowly. A yawn escaped his lips.

Several moments passed without either of you saying something.

"I didn't feel well the past days", Mark began, still speaking in a soft tone, "I didn't have the energy to do anything. I didn't mean to ignore you or make you feel bad."

You nodded. "I think I just really really missed you."

Mark chuckled again, his chest vibrating. "I missed you, too. I will give you more attention from now on, I promise."

You smiled, feeling almost a sense of relief. You closed your eyes, melting more into Mark's arms.

"You know", he said very softly, "I feel so cozy with you in my bed, if I fall asleep now, I fear, you are forced to stay here."

"I'm gonna have to accept my fate", you whispered back at him, smiling faintly and feeling so safe in Mark's arms.

"Mark?"

There was faint hum in response.

"I really like you, you know and I hope you're not mad", you began, "sometimes it scares me a bit, how much I think about you and how intense my feelings can be. But then, at moments like this, I forget about all my worries."

You paused a bit, hoping you didn't make him feel uncomfortable with your subtle confession. "Thank you for that", you added.

A moment of silence passed between you.

"Mark?" You whispered his name. As you were about to continue talking, a soft snore was heard.

You lifted your head only to find that Mark had actually fallen asleep. You smiled, pecking his cheek, before you slowly lowered your head back on his chest.

You closed you eyes and whispered, " good night, Mark."

[boba-at-323]

[10:34 PM] note : Fighting [verbal] , I swore 3 times.

“What happened to our ‘forever’, Sungchan?!” You yelled out, unable to control any more of the fury boiling up inside you. 

An hour had passed, but the argument continued to escalate showing no signs of stopping. 

It didn’t start as serious; when Sungchan invited you to hang out with him and his roommate Chenle, you were more than excited to finally spend time with your beloved boyfriend. The last thing you had in mind was to be standing in his bedroom with such a tense atmosphere. 

University had caught up to you and you needed a well-deserved break from everything that was happening, and Sungchan could say the same. Things might have been a little bit easier for the both of you if you had been going to the same universities, but you were attending a university which was hours away from his. In all honesty, Sungchan was trying his best to give you time by sending you ‘good morning’ and ‘good night’ texts every day or trying to call you whenever he got the time, but it just wasn’t the same as being physically together. Naturally, the frustrations had to manifest in some form. 

Sungchan had never been one of the people who got angry over a slight disagreement. He understood that everyone had their own opinions and he respected that, especially when it came to you. Even if you said the sky was green, he would laugh and completely agree. Alas, stress can take over the best of us. 

Poor Chenle was hiding in the living room. He could hear every word coming from the bedroom’s direction but he didn't want to come between the two of you. Of course, he wanted to stop you, but it was just too confusing for him. What would he even say? It’s not like either of you would listen to him and stop fighting. So, all that he could do for now, was to pray for the fuss to end. 

“Y/n, please stop being so impossible!” Sungchan sighed in frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Me?? I’m the one being impossible? Jung Sungchan, do you even hear yourself?” You asked him bitterly.

“I’m trying, okay? I’m trying my best to keep in touch with you. I’m trying my best to make up for the time we don’t get to spend together. I’m trying to make this relationship work, even though I barely have enough time to breathe. I’m trying to balance this relationship so it doesn’t end up going very wrong!” His words slipped out of his mouth before he could even think about them.

“Oh, so is this relationship just a burden to you?” You could feel your heart throbbing in your head, your mouth going completely dry at the thought of where all of this was heading.

 “N-no, Y/n– that’s not what I meant–” His stomach did several flips when he heard what you said. 

He tried to step closer to you but you only inched back, tears threatening to spill out. 

“No Sungchan, I think you’re right–” You said in a hushed tone, as a tear rolled down your cheek, “I– I think we need a break.” 

The sentence which left your mouth shattered his heart into a million pieces as if someone had slammed a hammer against a mirror. And with the knowledge that you deeply loathed crying in front of people, he realised that he had fucked up. Badly. The silence that followed was deafening.

“Y-you don’t mean that, right?” His voice trembled, filled with disbelief. He did hope that you didn’t mean the sentence that was tormenting his ears. He could hear it repeating over and over in his head, each time breaking his heart even more.

You didn’t answer. Tears continued to trail their way down your face as you looked at him with guilt. Maybe you had gone overboard. Maybe this was just stupid. Maybe you didn’t have any reason to fight. Maybe… You were wrong. 

But before you could take your statement back, you heard Sungchan sniffle. 

Wait– Fuck, did I make Sungchan cry?

“I-I’m sorry Sungchan I didn’t–'' Yet, before you could finish your sentence, Sungchan wrapped his arms around you, engulfing you in a much-needed hug. 

“P-Please don’t leave, “ he sobbed against your shoulder, “I d-don’t want to l-lose you.”

Guilt took over you. Of course, you had been frustrated, but you should’ve also thought about him. He was right, he had been trying. You were the one who had been lacking the effort.

“No-no, I’m sorry… I shouldn't have been so s-selfish. You had been trying. Oh my God, I’m so fucking stupid- I’m s-sorry.” 

All he did was tighten his hold around you to pull you closer than ever as if you’d leave the second he let go of you. 

Both of you felt extremely stupid, dragging out such a little thing and making it such a big mess. The tense air started to subside as you both stood there feeling each other’s touch, making up for the prior events. 

He finally let go after a while, still keeping you right in front of him, so close he could feel the warmth radiating from you. He took one of your hands in his, as the other reached out to wipe away the tear streaks on your face. 

“Let’s never do this again, babe. I don’t want to see you go. Ever.” he sniffled for the last time.

“Don’t worry, love. I’m never leaving your side.” You said bumping your nose against his, making him smile a little. 

Outside the bedroom door, stood a very relieved Chenle, plotting about when he would clown his best friend for crying over his girlfriend. 

Title : [10:34 PM] || Word count: 957 || Genre: Angst, but fluff in the end || Pairing: Sungchan x Fem!Reader [ft. Chenle] || Thank you @tyuniiz for beta reading this mess ily <3

[pimento-playing-hopscotch]

WIP Wednesday

Thank you for the tag, @inkweedandlizards @lightningboltreader @lemonlyman-dotcom and @carlos-in-glasses for the tag! 🥰🫶

This is for my prequel, TK's growing up years fic -

Dad: Hey, kiddo! We have finally set a date. Your old man is getting hitched on July 23rd, 2013. Be there or be square!

TK had received this text message from his dad a week ago. At the time, he’d replied, “Sounds great!”

And he’d seen his dad several times at work since then. But TK couldn’t get this text out of his head.

First, the word “finally” really did not need to be used. There was no room for “finally” for two people who were engaged after they had been dating for seven months.

The wedding date his dad had sent him, that was six weeks from now. And on that day, it still wouldn’t have been a year since his dad started dating Lorraine. It would be a year in October that he started dating her.

The following January, it would be a year since she moved in with him. TK felt like he was still trying to understand that when his dad told him that they were engaged. There was a part of TK that wondered if Lorraine really had a roommate that she had problems with, or if that was made up.

Every single one of the twenty days between when his dad told him he was engaged and the text with the date, TK had been hoping for the call saying that it was called off. But no; Lorraine and her knives of décor were here to stay (but seriously, who has a hobby of making wind chimes made of KNIVES?! His soon-to-be stepmother, that’s who).

TK was pretty deep into his thoughts that he didn’t pay much attention to the feeling of fingers flicking the tip of his ear. But the back of the same meaty hand colliding with the side of his face — now that he felt.

“Fuck!” TK exclaimed. “Malcolm, what the hell?”

“What?” snapped the 26-year-old firefighter who was straddling TK. “You were like a million miles away. Sue me for trying to get your attention”.

“Try?” TK repeated. “Dude, my ears are ringing”.

“God, you’re dramatic, Probie”. Malcolm rolled his eyes.

“I’m not your probie,” TK snapped. “And you know I’ve had concussions. I have a shift in four hours; I’m not trying to get a migraine”.

“You’re not trying to get off either, man,” Malcolm retorted. TK couldn’t argue with that.

“Yeah, well, I think I’m good”. TK moved to sit up, but Malcolm pushed him back into the mattress.

“I didn’t say we were done”.

TK glared up at him. “Well, I did. Lobster roll. Enough”. Malcolm muttered something under his breath that TK didn’t catch, but he acknowledged that TK had used his safe word. He moved enough for TK to sit up. “I’m sorry”. TK sighed. “You’re right. My head’s not there. Could we talk, actually?” Malcolm looked at him quizzically. “Talk?” he repeated, like it was a new concept.

“Yes. Talk”. TK sighed. “I’ve got a lot on my mind”.

“Well, I know a surefire way to get your pretty little head clear,” Malcolm purred, rubbing his hands up and down TK’s arms. “And besides TK, I can think of six better uses for your mouth… than to talk”. TK hated himself a little bit that it made him blush when Malcolm said shit like that.

“I’m serious,” TK said, grabbing Malcolm’s hands in his. “I’m really worried about my dad”. Malcolm sighed.

“You know, you’ve said that way too many times for someone who is legally an adult?” Malcolm told him. “TK. You don’t come here to talk. Your dad is a big boy. And Topher is going to be back in twenty minutes, and he can’t know you’re here, so…”

“Yeah, got it”. TK rolled off the bed and reached for his jeans. He knew that Malcolm was implying that they could still do something in that time, but TK really wasn’t in the mood for something. At least, not with Malcolm. There were times where he wished that he and Malcolm were in the same firehouse, but times like this made him glad that they weren’t.

As TK went back out into the humid New York summer air, he scolded himself for trying to open up to Malcolm in the first place.

Malcolm had been very clear on that several times over, that there was only one thing he wanted TK for.

And, TK thought bitterly, he couldn’t even really complain; at least this time he didn’t have to sit in Malcolm’s closet buck naked because Malcolm’s parents had stopped by their son’s (who they thought was straight) apartment unexpectedly.

But not talking with Malcolm hadn’t allayed TK’s need to talk to someone about this, he realized as he tried not to be jostled around too much by the subway train. After all, he was supposed to be the best man at this wedding; a wedding which he thought had no business taking place. A wedding that had severely dwindled down the list of people he could talk to. He did think of one person, though.

TK was fighting against the current of college students exiting their federal income taxation class at Columbia university. TK was trying to get into the lecture hall, because he needed to speak with the professor who was teaching it.

“TK?” Enzo said when TK had finally reached the front of the hall. “This is certainly a surprise,” he said, greeting him with a hug. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine”. TK nodded. That wasn’t a huge lie. “But Enzo, could we talk for a minute?”

“Of course, acorn,” Enzo smiled. “Do you want to sit, or…”

“I’ll sit”. TK nodded and sat in the swivel chair behind the desk at the front of the hall. “It spins,” TK said as he used his foot to turn the chair around a few times. “Cool”.

“I don’t know why they have that in here, to be honest,” Enzo chuckled. “If I were to sit there while teaching, I wouldn’t be able to actually see any of the students I’m addressing”.

“Huh”. TK said as he moved side to side in the chair.

“TK,” Enzo cleared his throat. “I know you didn’t come down here to play with the chair. What’s going on, acorn?”

TK brought the chair to a stop. “My dad set his wedding date. It’s in July”.

“Ah”. Enzo nodded as he leaned on the desk. “That’s soon”.

“Right!” TK exclaimed. “Why is it so soon?” He was struck by an unsettling thought. “Oh God, what if it’s that’s soon because they’re having a baby together? She doesn’t look pregnant, though. Would he tell me if that were the reason?”

“TK”. Enzo said gently. “I’m going to take a guess that you’re here in the event that isn’t the reason?” TK nodded. Enzo was otherworldly smart, the same way his mom was. If those two ever had a kid, that kid would find the cure for cancer before they started kindergarten.

“It’s just…” TK sighed. “I’ve never felt like I couldn’t talk to him about something. But I can’t talk to him about himself. I can’t talk to Mom about this. And Sophie’s thrilled, she loves Lorraine”. He started to nibble on his thumbnail. “Soph has spent a lot more time with her than I have, though”.

“But you don’t love Lorraine”. Enzo guessed.

“I don’t know her well enough”. TK shrugged. “But neither does he. They were barely together six months before getting engaged. This is the man who wants to plan everything in his life to death; what part of the plan is this?”

No pressure tagging - @dreamingofmickeywaffles @rachelsversion1 @firstprince-history-huh @tailoredshirt @herefortarlos @paperstorm @reyestrandd @kiloskywalker @eclectic-sassycoweyes @omnivorousdilettante @sugdenlovesdingle

[kyabetsuhime]

Rinne Amagi 4☆ – Please, God☆

Writer: Yuumasu Characters: Kanata, Hiyori, Rinne, HiMERU, Kohaku, Niki Season: Autumn Translation: ksts Proofreading: mai (ENG)

Rinne: (So my next job is in an hour... I wanna play pachinko, but guess I'll only end up gettin’ there and comin' right back.) (And there's no point in goin' to Cinnamon either as Niki isn't there.) (Well, it seems I have no choice but to stay here and kill time. If only something could keep me from gettin' bored...) (...Oh.) Hey, Hiyori-chan♪ What a coincidence, nice to see you. For some reason, your mere presence is like a good omen. As if I'm gettin' an "fine weather" blessing...♪

Hiyori: Rinne-senpai, I know you're tearfully happy to see me, but now it's terrible weather…

Rinne: Hm? What's the matter? You don't look well. Did you caught a cold or somethin'?

Hiyori: I wanted to pick up some snacks for a light meal, but the quiche I was looking for was out of stock. Even though I was the one who wrote the letter asking them to add quiche to their repertoire, me not getting it in the end is simply unforgivable!

Rinne: Ehh, so your favorite food is tissues? Are you a goat eatin' paper?♪ Come on, Hiyori-chan, say maa maa...☆

Hiyori: I won't! And I'm not a goat! I'm not in the mood to be teased, why do you keep messing with me?

Rinne: But isn't it natural to greet acquaintances when you meet them in your free time? Why don't you get along with me since we're roommates? Gyahaha☆

Hiyori: Roommates, huh... Then you should ask Kanata-kun to keep you company. He'll bring you luck too, though not as much as me.

Rinne: What do you mean?

Hiyori: It's just a rumor. When I was still at Yumenosaki, I've heard that some people worship him, believing that he can make any wish come true for them.

Rinne: Any, huh? Gyahaha, that definitely isn’t true then. There's no way he could be a god, is there?

Hiyori: Fufun. Whether you believe me or not is up to you, Rinne-senpai.

<6 hours later>

Rinne: (Phew, all done. Good job, me~) (Now I'll drop my stuff off here and leave. My beloved gambling is waitin' for meee~♪) (There's a new pachinko machine, so should I try that first?~) (...Hm?)

Kanata: (Sleeping sounds)

Rinne: (So Kanacchi's back too. I didn't notice him at all.) (He looks so peaceful sleepin'. Is he havin' a good dream?) ... ("Make any wish come true", huh...) (I know it's just a baseless rumour, but... Guess it can’t hurt to try—) (In a low voice) May I win big! (Aight, I'm off now♪)

<Several days later>

Niki: Thanks for waiting~ Here are your two daily special sets~

HiMERU: Thank you.

Kohaku: ...Hey, Niki-han. I wanna ask you somethin'.

HiMERU: Oukawa.

Kohaku: But HiMERU-han, you're curious too, right? If we can't get anywhere on our own, then let's bring in Niki-han. Look... See Rinne-han sittin' at the counter?

Rinne: ......... ...(Sigh)

Kohaku: He's been lost in thought like that for quite a long time now. Did somethin' happen? Maybe he ate somethin' strange?

Niki: Eh!? Please don't suspect our food! But it's really weird that he didn't try to pester me. Well, now that I think about it, he sure looks different from usual~

HiMERU: So in other words, you don't know anything either.

Kohaku: HiMERU-han, where are you goin'?

HiMERU: To ask him directly. Since we don't know the situation, our discussion is just a waste of time. Amagi, can I have a minute?

Rinne: ...Hey, Merumeru. Do you believe in God?

HiMERU: ...What.

Kohaku: Oh no, Rinne-han's snapped!

Niki: Uwah, it's quite troublesome. Who can fix him then? Little brother-san?

Rinne: Nah, I'm totally fine. I don't know how it works, but lately I've been winnin' big at pachinko every time I pray to my roommate, Kanacchi. I suspected it was just a dubious rumour, but turns out he might really be a god of gambling... I haveta cherish this bond♪ Gyahahaha!

<Several days later>

Hiyori: I'm home! If there's anyone here, greet me with open arms!

Kanata: Welcome back, "Ohisama"-san.

Hiyori: Kanata-kun, what's the matter? Even though I'm back, you're in such a bad mood!

Kanata: No, I'm "fine". Just a little "bewildered". Lately, "Chief"-san has been "pampering" me so strangely often.

Hiyori: Pampering?

Kanata: Yes. Like giving me a "vinyl pool" or trying to take me to a "fish" restaurant. And now I'm stumped as I don't understand the "intention" behind it.

Hiyori: Ah, I think I might have an idea. Let me tell you.

<Some time later>

Hiyori: ––So it looks like his gambling luck increases in proportion to how much attention he pays to you. And now he seems to be completely devoted to the "god of gambling".

Kanata: Uu... That's why he's been "cozying up" to me... I don't like to feel used at all…

Rinne: I'm home~...

Kanata: Oh, "Chief"-san. We need to talk. I'm not a "god of gambling", you know!

Rinne: Eh... Haha–– So you found out about my prayers? Wish I had known this sooner. I lost big just now. (Sigh)... It really was too good to be true after all…

Hiyori: No sighs in front of me! If not Kanata-kun, you can worship me! If you treat the one of "Eden", named after the paradise ruled by the omniscient and omnipotent God, respectfully enough, you will surely earn His favor!

Rinne: Oh nooo~ Are you imposin' a religion on me~? What should Rinne-kun dooo~♪

Hiyori: It's worth a try! You'll have a bronze statue of me, so you can worship me everyday!

Rinne: Hehe~ Hiyori-sama~☆

Hiyori: Hmph, I don't like the way you say it! Show me more seriousness, will you!

Rinne: Oh, this god is so demandin'. ★ directory ★

[boytumms]

Hi! I wrote the story about the magical stomach/intestine filling contents! The one with the competitive eater from about two months ago

So, a story about magical stuffing

Two guys sat in their college dorms, bored out of their minds. One, Adam, was training to become a mage, the other, Mason, training to be an alchemist on top of already being a mage. Both were in their second semester of schooling, being fairly new to their trades.

“Dude, I’m so bored,” Mason said, sighing as he looked at the mage. “Do you have any ideas for what we could do to pass the time? Neither of us have classes for the rest of the day either,” Mason said, looking at his watch for a moment.

Adam shrugged, looking at his pile of text books for a moment. “I have a test in one of my classes tomorrow if you’d like to help me study?” Adam asked, picking up one of his books as he spoke.

“Sure. You’re grades suck anyway,” Mason teased, laughing as Adam punched his arm. “Alright, I’ll help you. What’s this test on anyway?” Mason asked, sitting up a little as he spoke.

“It’s on portals. My teacher is going to ask me to open two portals to transport small objects from one side to the other. I just have trouble with accuracy placing the portals, that’s all,” Adam said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“That’s easy. Just focus super hard on where you want the two portals to show up, even if it’s simply in this room,” Mason said, pointing to the space around them. Adam seemed to think for a moment before he nodded, looking in his textbook for a moment.

Mason watched as Adam casted the spell, smiling when he saw that a small portal had appeared in front of Adam. “That’s great! Now you need to make the second portal appear,” Mason said, cheering his friend on.

Adam seemed confused though, checking his book and mumbling words. “Both are supposed to show up at the same time. It’s gotta be close by, let’s look,” Adam said, standing and beginning to search the room.

The two guys looked for nearly half an hour, but couldn’t find it anywhere. Adam and Mason sat back on the couch, thinking for a moment on how to find this mysterious portal.

“Well, what if we put something into the portal? Something safe in case it’s somewhere nearby or by someone? I’ll go get the cookies I made earlier. Those shouldn’t harm anybody,” Mason said, standing to grab the food from the kitchen.

Adam stared at the small portal, wondering if he should close this set of portals and open a new set. The problem was, he hadn’t learnt that spell yet. But he could probably find it somewhere in his text books.

Mason came back in, interrupting his thinking as he held a plate of cookies. “Let’s see if we can find the portal,” Adam said, picking up a cookie and holding it over the portal.

Adam dropped it, waiting a moment to see if anything happened. Both the guys looked around for a mysterious cookie, listening for the cookie dropping in case it was somewhere else. Adam grabbed two more and dropped them into the portal, again looking around.

Adam paused for a moment, looking at his stomach as he felt a little bit of food settle. Could the portal have placed itself inside of his stomach? Adam dropped several more cookies in the portal, his suspicions being confirmed as he felt the cookies settle in his stomach.

“The portal is inside me! I felt the cookies go into my stomach! Mason, I don’t know how to reverse this spell yet! What do I do?” Adam asked, looking at his roommate as he began to panic. Mason set the cookies on the table, grabbing his friend’s shoulders with the most excited look on his face.

“Sorry, but I’ve snuck through your journal a few times. You like stuffing yourself, right? Let me do it for you,” Mason said, dropping some more cookies into the portal. Adam paused at the words as he felt the cookies settle inside, the idea actually sounding rather pleasant since it had been awhile since Adam had had time to himself.

“Only if you stop when I say so. I know my limits and I really don’t want to die today,” Adam said, his cheeks turning pink as he spoke. Mason picked up the cookies and dumped the rest of the plate in the portal, making Adam groan slightly at the feeling.

“Alright. Why don’t you sit on the couch while I get more food? I’ll be doing the work today,” Mason said, smiling as he took the plate back to the kitchen. Adam would’ve been lying if he didn’t say he was nervous, wondering if it was going to be ok to let someone else do it.

After thirty minutes, the front door was knocked on. Mason answered and payed for the fast food he ordered, turning around with a beaming smile after closing the door. “Here’s the food! I got a lot so we can stuff you nice and round,” Mason said with a smile, picking up a cheeseburger out of one of the bags.

Mason placed the whole cheeseburger in the portal before Adam could say anything, the mage huffing a little at the sudden weight of the burger. Adam watched as his stomach seemed to press out slightly, rubbing his stomach a little as he felt comfortable full. Mason repeated this process with four more hamburgers, Adam rubbing his stomach as it bloated little by little.

Adam was now uncomfortably full, rubbing his small bump of a belly for a moment. He looked up when he heard the pop of a soda being opened, his eyes widening as Mason began pouring a two liter Sprite in the portal. Adam felt the carbonation in his stomach, watching as his poor stomach doubled in size. He immediately began burping, the carbonation slowly inflating his already full stomach.

Mason didn’t waste any time before he picked up another bag, opening it and pulling out some French fries. He dumped in container after container, not leaving room for Adam to say anything as he felt the food mash into his stomach with the soda and burgers. The mage was still a burping mess, sighing as he felt the carbonation finally go away.

Adam gingerly pressed against his stomach, sighing as he saw the small food baby that rested in his stomach. “Alright, I think I’m done. That was a lot of food,” Adam said, rubbing his stomach as he spoke. His shirt definitely fit more snuggly now, but it wasn’t tight. Mason didn’t like that.

He picked up another burger, looking at if for a moment before he put it in the portal. “I was gonna have a few, but you seem to need them more,” Mason said, watching as Adam stared in horror. Mason added five more cheeseburgers after that, watching as Adam became a moaning mess. Ten cheeseburgers definitely wasn’t a light meal.

Adam’s stomach was now gently tugging at his shirt, the male panting slightly at the pressure in his stomach. Even his sweat pants were beginning to slide under the curved dome of his stomach. But that didn’t stop Mason, he seemed to be enjoying it too much. He opened another two liter of sprite, watching as Adam shook his head no.

Mason poured the Sprite anyway, watching Adam hold his distended abdomen as his stomach gurgled and bloated more. Adam’s shirt slowly slid up as his stomach expanded, burping soon emerging from Adam’s mouth.

“This is how it’s done, but you’re not even close to what I have for you,” Mason said, grabbing some more food as he spoke. This process went on for another hour, Adam complaining as he was force fed more food. Mason gave him the last of the food, sitting on the couch next to Adam.

“There, all done. Now look at you, you’re so helpless,” Mason said, chuckling as he placed his hand on Adam’s large stomach. He had placed so much solid food, that his stomach was going to take awhile to break down the burgers he had fed him whole.

Mason sat next to Adam and immediately began to massage at the tender abdomen of his friend, watching as Adam visibly relaxed. “That feels so freaking good…” Adam said, slowly falling asleep as Mason continued to help the food work through his system.

“Let’s do this again another time. Just let me digest this first,” Adam said drowsily, eventually falling asleep as Mason continued to massage his swollen abdomen. Mason could only chuckle, knowing that this would’ve happened anyway, even if Adam didn’t want it too.

AKNDJABDNABS HELLO AGAIN!!! Thank you for sending in another story, I do love me some magic stuffing :)))

[faofinn]

Swing Life Away

As promised, here it is! Sorry for the delay, life got whumpy lol

"You're kinda cute, you know?"

"Yeah? Thanks." Harrison shook his head with a smile as he returned to his notes. "Have a few days rest, keep off that ankle and you should be back to normal in a few weeks.”

“I’m serious.”  

“Who have you got to pick you up, Taidgh?”

“How about you?” He joked, and then at Harrison’s look, sighed. “My roommate drove me in.”

“Great. Do you want me to go get them?”

“Yeah.”

Glad to be away from his flirting for a few moments, Harrison headed into the waiting room to find Taidgh's friend. He was easy enough to find and Harrison brought him back through to where Taidgh was waiting.

“He’s had a bit of morphine, and he’ll need someone to keep an eye on him for a few hours.” Harrison told him. “Try and make sure he stays off the ankle as much as possible to let it heal. Ice it regularly and use painkillers as needed.”

“Alright, thank you. Tai, you ready?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Can I get your number before I go?” Harrison laughed. “Maybe wait until you’re not hopped up on painkillers before you ask things like that.”

“Oh, I’m serious.” 

“Yeah? Alright then. I’ll see you later.”

His friend laughed, leading him away. “Come on, you. Let’s keep it in your pants. Thanks again, and sorry.”

“It’s no problem. Take care.” He called as they left, returning to the nurses station with a smile. It always amused him dealing with patients like that, and he’d much prefer flirting over fighting. He joked with the nurses as he finished the paperwork, and then headed onto the next patient, a smile on his face.

It was the start of his next run of shifts, thankfully days, but it was slow going. The patients he had were quickly sorted, either sent home or admitted. For once, there were beds available, and they didn’t stay long in the ED. He had a run of patients just before his lunch, and was just about to disappear when one of the nurses called him over.

“Hars? One of the physios called earlier, wanted a call back.”

“Finn’s around, isn’t he? Can you get him to do it? I’m going on my lunch, I’m starved.”

“Finn answered the bleep to start with. They asked for you.”

He groaned. “For fuck’s sake. Right, I’ll do this and get this over with. I don’t get why they call us. They don’t need us, they’ve got plenty of toys up there to play with without disturbing us.”

The phone rang several times before there was an answer. “Physio department.”

“Yeah, hi. It’s Dr Cunningham from the ED. I was asked to phone you back? Apparently you couldn’t annoy my colleague instead.”

“Oh, yeah, great, give me two seconds and I’ll pass you over.”

“Sure, okay.” More waiting. He rolled his eyes, tapping his pen on the desk in front of him.

“Hey, you said to wait until I wasn’t hopped up on pain meds.”

Harrison was silent. It had been a joke, he’d been his patient, but he couldn’t help the flip in his stomach. “Uh, hi.”

“Sorry, this is really weird, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, a bit.” 

“Sorry, sorry. I just… you were cute and I thought I’d shoot my shot.” He paused. “I’m going to go and die of embarrassment.”

“Hey, no, no. Don’t go.” He spoke before his brain caught up. “Why don’t you give me your number and I’ll text you?”

“I’m about to go on lunch, I could come down and say hi?” He hesitated. “I was about to have mine, too. We could meet in the caf?”

“Great, it’s a date!” 

“Uh, yeah. Sure.” Harrison said, the phone already dead. What had he just agreed to?

He was ridiculously nervous as he waited, standing at the door of the cafeteria. He wasn't normally nervous, and he had no reason to be. They were just having lunch, it was a one off, nothing serious.

"Hey, Dr Harrison, right?" 

He turned. "Uh, hi. It's just Harrison."

"What, no first name?" He teased.

"No, Harrison is my name. Just Harrison."

"Alright. Don't think I can really say anything, can I? A name like Taidgh? Nobody normally gets it right the first time."

"I've got - one of the surgeons here, he's called Faolan. That's a mouthful too."

"Another Irish too? We'll take over the hospital eventually." 

Harrison laughed. "I'm sure you will. So, lunch? I'm starving."

"God, me too. Come on."

[audioaujom]

(4) Progress Comes at a Cost

LTWF Hub, < prev, next >

Hello again! It’s time for more Logan and Patton, though things aren’t as happy as either of them would like. Also enjoy more of the rather unhinged Michael Reeves-esque Virgil that this story has created lol As far as warnings go, the violence has escalated a little and in my head this feels at the very least a little homophobic (?) Not sure if that translated, but there’s a phobia of some kind in those boys. Just be mindful of it!

Word Count: 2558

Chapter TWs: Bullying, harassment

--

The plan Roman gave Patton was failing.

Well, partially failing. He was still spending a lot of time with Logan outside of class and they were definitely growing closer, but Logan continually frustrated him to no end with how dismissive he was of the stares and insults he was taking from the other students.

It made Patton really sad.

So for now he was choosing to focus on the good times they were having, of which there were a lot. They spent a rather large amount of time talking about class material, given how interested in astronomy they both were and the fact that once they got onto the topic they never seemed to know how to get off of it.

“Where would you go if you could go anywhere in the universe?” Patton asked randomly a few days into his plan, Logan looking at him in confusion.

“Why would I travel anywhere in space? We haven’t developed the necessary technology to sustain life over long periods of time in space, and there’s nowhere hospitable to visit.”

“That’s not what I mean.” Patton scolded lightly, leaning back on his hands to stare up at the ceiling as the two had found themselves moving to sit on the floor at some point. “If it were possible, what would you want to see up close? Where would you go, supposing you could?”

“Ignoring the fiction-like technology it would require to do so…” Logan sighed after a moment, fully giving in to the question and taking a long moment to think. “I’d like to go to the Andromeda galaxy. I don’t think I would need to see it ‘up close’, per se, but… I just wonder what’s out there. It would be nice to be able to find out and then study it more closely. Scientifically, and… personally.”

Patton had to stop himself from jumping up to his feet in excitement, relishing in the first real opinion he’d managed to weasel out of the android since they’d met. “Yeah, me too.” The two were silent for a long moment after that, before Patton quietly spoke up again. “If it was possible, I’d love to go and do that with you. Get on a spaceship and go out and chart the stars.”

“That sounds… worthwhile.” Logan nodded after a moment, Patton’s face blushing scarlet as he added, “I think I would like that.”

Patton was so ecstatic that Roman noticed it when he came back to the dorm, Patton’s wide smile contagious as he caught his roommate up on the fact the plan may not be working as intended, but was doing other good things for the two. He was on cloud nine.

It was three days later, on another innocuous Tuesday afternoon, that things turned sour again.

Patton and Logan were once again reviewing lecture notes on the floor of 102, stopping as several sets of footsteps came down the hallway and stopped in their doorway.

“Oh hey, look!” One of the three—all of which Patton recognized as the same three who were picking on Logan two weeks prior—spoke up, grinning as his gaze landed on Patton. “The android’s freak boyfriend beat us here today.”

“Hey! That’s not very nice.” Patton huffed, getting to his feet and putting his hands to his hips.

“You’re the one giving a microwave heart eyes.” One of the other two commented distastefully, all three of them snickering.

“Microwave?” Logan asked in confusion, also getting to his feet to stand beside Patton. “Is that another colloquial slang term I am unaccustomed with?”

“Man, your denseness takes the fun out of insulting you.” 

“I say we just hit him instead.” The final one spoke up, dark eyes menacing.

“It. Hit it instead.” The first one corrected, Patton unconsciously stepping forward in anger at his words.

“If you three have come just to be mean, I suggest you find somewhere else to do all that.” Patton declared with much more confidence than he felt, one of his arms moving out to block Logan. “You’re not welcome here.”

“We’re students at this university, same as you.” The second one ignored the warning in Patton’s words, stepping into the classroom to widely gesture at all three of them in the doorway. “Or do you not recognize your classmates?”

“There’s a lot of kids in that lecture!” Patton defended, his face flushing slightly in embarrassment. Maybe he did know them, but he’d have to keep an eye out in tomorrow morning’s lecture to be sure. “But it doesn’t matter if you are familiar, you’re being jerks.”

“Aside from your desire to have a go at his USB port, you don’t seem all that bad.” The first boy—and likely their leader, if that was even how they saw him—approached Patton, placing a not-so-friendly hand on his shoulder with a cold smile. “So stay out of it while we’re being nice.”

“No way! Logan’s my friend!” Patton shoved his hand off, glaring defiantly at the taller boy.

“Then I guess you wouldn’t mind joining him.” The last of the three boys—the shortest of the three with bleached blond hair and a cruel smile—stepped around the two facing Patton and swung a wild punch that collided with the side of Logan’s head.

“Whoo! Nice one, Kylar!” The first boy—a brunet who definitely was the obnoxious kid sitting two rows in front of Patton who left halfway through the first lecture never to return—cheered excitedly, watching as one of Logan’s eyes twitched from the impact and ‘Kylar’ prepared to throw another punch.

Immediately realizing that these kids weren’t going to back off, Patton pulled his phone out and sent a few quick texts to Virgil before putting his phone back away to try and help Logan.

————————————

To: Virgil !! Need help in 102 again

Kids here

Logan hurt

Hurry

From: Virgil !! patton?!

ah shit, I'm coming

————————————

Another hit to Logan’s head had his jaw locking up, his eye flickering again even as Patton tried to push past the brunet in front of him to get to his friend. “Hey! Seriously, stop it!”

“Oh, I just got a great idea.” The other boy not wailing on Logan commented randomly, Patton recognizing his mop of black hair as the lazy kid he was paired up with for a research assignment last week named Bailey. “You got your water bottle on you, Alex?”

The brunet—Alex—nodded, slinging his backpack off to pull the metal cylinder out of its compartment on the side to hand it to Bailey. “Always do. Here you go!”

“Hey! Stop it!” Patton once again tried to push past Alex, watching Kyler hit Logan hard enough one of his eyes powered off again. He couldn’t help the dread pooling in his stomach as Logan didn’t even bother to fight back, instead just obediently dropping to the ground as they attacked him. “Don’t do that!”

“Stay out of it!” Kylar yelled without looking back, watching with a grin as Bailey opened Alex's water bottle and dumped its contents on top of the android.

“Stop it!”

“I got him.” Alex rolled his eyes as the other two laughed, shaking his arms out before punching Patton in the face, hard.

This seemed to be the first thing to catch Logan’s attention, the water harmlessly rolling off of him as he propped himself up in concern, looking at Patton clutching his cheek in pained shock. “What… are you doing?” 

“None of your business, tin can.” Bailey dismissed, kicking him back to the ground.

“Leave him alone!” Patton and Logan called at the same time, turning matching looks to each other as the three boys dissolved into a fit of mocking laughter.

“How cute.” Kylar grinned, looking between them. “These freaks must love each other so much.” 

It’s as Alex was ready to swing at Patton again that someone cleared their throat from the doorway, everyone turning to look at the same time.

“Move away or get tased. Those are your only options.” Virgil deadpanned, a strange contraption held in his outstretched hand—which definitely contained more than one regular taser and was held together with what appeared to be tape.

“You here to stick up for these—” Alex started, but cut himself off as Virgil pressed a button on it and it let out a startlingly loud zapping noise alongside a visible jolt of electricity.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” 

“Shit! He’s fucking crazy! Let’s go!” Kylar decided for all three of them, frantically running out of the room with the other two in tow as they all shot Virgil horrified glances before disappearing down the hallway.

“Losers.” Virgil snarled after them, tucking the taser-like thing in his backpack before looking between Patton and Logan worriedly. “Are you guys okay?”

“I don’t think anything has been knocked loose, but the liquid could prove a problem if it manages to leak into my wiring.” Logan was the first to speak, sitting up and letting one of his hands wander up to the panel on the side of his head that the boys had targeted. He could speak, but his mouth wasn’t quite moving properly, not to mention the eye that was offline.

Virgil nodded in understanding, before turning to look at Patton and his reddened face. “Pat?” 

“Worry about Logan first. I’m fine.” Patton said quietly, sitting down on the floor across from Logan without another word. 

Virgil shrugged, taking his backpack off and getting on the floor with the two of them, seemingly satisfied with their answers. After digging through his backpack again and starting to use a spare t-shirt to dry Logan off, he quietly chastised, “You really can’t let them keep damaging you like this, Logan.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell him!” Patton huffed angrily, shoving his hands into his lap to keep from getting in Virgil's way accidentally.

Logan blinked his one good eye, tilting his head off to one side. “It’s not as though I really feel it, so I don’t see the issue.” 

“What the hell are you talking about?” Virgil asked, making sure the back of Logan’s neck was dry enough he could open the panel without worrying about the water getting in.

“I don’t… feel. I am a construct.” Logan explained casually, Virgil and Patton sharing an angry look as he continued, “As long as I am able to be repaired and they don’t interrupt my usual proceedings, what’s the harm?”

“Do you seriously not get it?” Patton asked, trying to hold onto his anger before it morphed into sadness. He didn’t really feel like crying in front of both of them at the moment. “You may not “feel” in the same way I do, but that doesn’t mean that the things you feel don’t matter!”

“I’m… not sure I’m following.”

“...what if I told you that them hurting you hurt me?” Patton tried after a moment, afraid to meet Logan’s eyes as Virgil stopped his work long enough for them to keep talking. “Would you want them to stop?”

“Well, of course.” Logan answered immediately, before both of them awkwardly blushed and glanced away from each other. “...does it really hurt you?”

“Yes.” Sighing softly, Patton shifted himself to pull his knees up to his chest. “Like… a lot. A lot a lot. I wish you could understand how much I care about you.”

“As a third wheel I know I have no right to interrupt, but…” Virgil started, ignoring the withering glare Patton shot his way at the lighthearted jab. “Your programming may dictate that you don’t feel any of the damage they inflict, but that doesn’t mean you have to just take it.”

“That too!” 

Virgil waited a long moment before resetting Logan, making sure they didn’t have anything else to say. After Logan powered back on and had full function of his face again, Virgil turned narrowed eyes to Patton. “Okay, Patton, your turn.”

“I’m fine, really.” Patton tried to protest, but Virgil wasn’t having it.

“Shut up and get over here.” He commanded firmly, Patton’s confidence deflating as he scooted across the floor to his friend. “Let me see it.” 

“Really, Virge, it’s—” He tried one last protest, but Virgil had already smacked Patton’s hands away from his face to look at the slowly forming bruise on his cheek.

“Going to be nasty in a few hours.” Virgil finished for him, pulling his phone out with a shake of his head. “I’ll ask Roman to bring you some ice after his rehearsal today.”

“It does seem rather serious.” Logan interjected, an unreadable look passing over Virgil’s face.

“...so you don’t like it when they hurt Patton?” 

“Of course not. He got hurt in defense of me, and…” Logan trailed off as the look on Virgil’s face suddenly made sense, recognizing the parallels between him and Patton. “Ah. I see your point.”

“Just think of us like companions!” Patton smiled wide, ignoring the slight metallic tang in his mouth as he swallowed down the dull pain in his face. “It’s no fun seeing a companion hurt!”

“Yes, of course.” Logan nodded, before uncertainty washed over his determined expression. “But… I’m not sure companion is the right word.”

“Really? It seems like a word you’d like.” Virgil scoffed, earning a smack on the arm.

“Shush. Let him talk.” Patton scolded, turning his full attention to the android. “Why not?”

“A companion is simply someone you spend a lot of time with.” The explanation was clumsy, Logan’s eyes looking down at the carpet as he slowly spoke, “You’re more than that.  You’re more like a… friend. Friend, right? That is the correct term?”

An inexplicable bittersweet success clogged up Patton’s throat, his smile turning wobbly—but not from the pain—as all he could manage to get out was a quiet yet hopeful, “Yeah.” 

“Well, I’ll leave you two to it. Just take the ice from Roman, yeah?” Virgil awkwardly clambered to his feet, trying not to disturb the moment too badly as he packed up his bag and addressed the two staring resolutely at anything but each other. “And you make sure to dry out. Wouldn’t want to put you in rice.”

“What good would ‘putting me in rice’ do?” Logan asked, confused, all tension breaking as Patton giggled softly. “I’m afraid your meaning escapes me.”

“Nevermind. Apparently the joke was just for me.” Virgil sighed, shaking his head as he put his bag on and backed up towards the door. “Just… care about yourselves a little more. See ya.”

“He’s quite strange.” Logan commented after Virgil was out of earshot, Patton smiling fondly at the retreating figure of Virgil’s hoodie.

“You’re telling me.” Patton blinked and turned to look at Logan, blinking back the relieved and happy tears from earlier that would definitely be out of place now. “But he’s a good guy, deep down.”

“You have an odd taste in friends.” 

“You should meet my roommate.” Patton scoffed, before suddenly being overcome with a brilliant idea. “Oh my god, you should meet my roommate! You could come to my dorm and everything! That way we can keep an eye on each other for the time being!”

“Well, alright.” Logan agreed simply, the two getting to their feet and packing up their scattered belongings. “Lead the way.”

Maybe Patton had finally made the progress he was looking for.

I can’t wait to tell Roman!

[faefictions]

Lonely People | Ch 19

Pairing: Harrison Osterfield x Reader

Warnings:

Word Count: 2294

“I already told you Butthead, I’m staying here,” y/n groaned, trying to tell Jace for the 15th time that morning that he needed to leave without her. 

Neither of her roommates were very keen on letting her stay in town alone. She had just started to leave her room again, but they could still tell that she wasn’t doing well. Sierra had given up hours ago, and had decided to finish packing her bags to leave town with Tom. They had decided last minute to spend the holiday together with his family, since he had already met hers, and the lovebirds could barely be apart for more than a day. 

Jace was relentless though. He had been there when she got home, had held her while she sobbed in his arms, and he was still shaken from the experience. He didn’t like the thought of anything happening while he wasn’t there to comfort her, especially since her only other friend was hours away from being in another country. 

“Please, y/n, mom already prepped the guest room.” 

“And it’s your problem trying to explain to her that I was never coming in the first place, isn’t it?”

“You know I am not going to hear the end of this from her.”

“Again, your problem,” she scoffed.

She had to admit, she felt a bit guilty knowing that his mother was probably baking several batches of cookies that very moment as a welcoming gift for her, but she just couldn’t subject herself to hearing how happy it would make the woman if she and Jace got married one more time. Any other time, it was a bit amusing, but she was afraid she would just break down again if a conversation steered to that topic. 

“Peach,” Jace sighed as he approached her bed, which she was laying on, staring straight up at the ceiling while she waited for him to pack. “I know you don’t want to talk about any of this, and you probably don’t want to be around anyone, especially my lovely but very insistent mother,” he laughed before he continued, “But we’re worried about you.” 

“I know, but for the last time, I will be fine on my own. I made it through fall break alone just fine.” 

“But you weren’t alone.” 

That was the last straw for her. 

“Jace, I am an adult, I can survive a week without anyone else in this apartment. You guys will be back before new years, and I will be here, just like I am right now, ready to annoy the shit out of you again. Now please, for the love of god, finish packing so I can take you to the airport.” 

He finally gave up after that, to y/n’s relief. She had began to consider going home with one of them after the interaction she had with Harrison on Wednesday. She had tried to keep her last promise to him, but the most she could do was stop locking herself away. She couldn’t bare being around someone else’s family right now. Sure, it would be her first Christmas completely alone, but she felt like she needed the peace and quiet. 

An hour later, there was a knock at the front door, and y/n made her way out of bed for the first time that morning to answer it. Sierra was still preoccupied with finding a 4th sweater to pack, and Jace was throwing some last minute things into his backpack before they would have to rush to catch his flight. 

Y/n knew that it had been Tom knocking from they way Sierra’s scurrying around her room became more rushed. What she hadn’t been expecting, though, was to see Harrison standing right next to him as she opened the door. 

“Hey, Si’s in her room. From the sounds of it, she might need some help,” she gently smiled at Tom, allowing him to walk past her and head to his girlfriend. 

She remained standing in the doorway, awkwardly waiting to see if Harrison would either say something, or enter after his friend. But he didn’t do either for what felt like an eternity. 

“You going home with Jace for the holiday?” he finally spoke up, barely above a whisper as to not startle her. 

“No, he, uhm, tried to talk me into it. But I’m going to stay home.” 

“Y/n,” he softly chided, trying his best to not sound too harsh. 

“They already tried to talk me out of it. I made up my mind,” she replied, with as much ferocity as she could possibly muster.

“You know, the offer is still on the table,” he spoke nervously, trying his best to not fidget with his hands too much, unable to return her gaze when she questioned what he had meant. 

“Last week, I told you you could come back with me. I know the answer already… I just wanted to remind you one more time, just in case.”

“I’m good,” she denied him, which hurt more than he thought it would. Like he had said, he already knew she wouldn’t say yes, but part of him had hoped she would. 

Just as she finished speaking, Tom and Sierra emerged from the room, too engrossed in conversation to notice the two speaking at the door. 

“If anything happens, if you need absolutely anything, I know you have other people to call, but if no one else, my line is always open.” 

And with that, Harrison began to make his way down the hall, ignoring Tom as he called to ask him to help with Sierra’s suitcase. 

“What’s gotten into him?” he questioned to no one but himself, but Sierra quickly nudged him with her elbow and jerked her head in y/n’s direction. The look on her face answered his question. 

Sierra said a quick goodbye to her, and yelled bye to Jace, before grabbing Tom’s hand and disappearing down the stairs. 

4 hours later, after dropping Jace off at the airport with no further attempt to convince her to go with him, and fighting for her life in the holiday traffic, y/n was back home. Completely alone in the dead silence of the empty apartment. 

Jace was right, fall break had only failed to make her crash and burn because she wasn’t really alone. The second no one else was around, it became hard to breathe. But she needed to prove them wrong, so she turned on the tv as loud as she could without giving herself a headache and began to make herself dinner. 

The rest of the break was spent pretty much the same as that night. The TV was blasting holiday movies 24/7, except for the few times she managed to drag herself from the apartment to talk a walk outside in the snow. The campus was beautiful in the winter, and she wanted to get as many photos of the trees covered in snow as she could before it all melted into spring. 

She had managed to survive the week just fine, even managed to only cry twice on Christmas, each time after her roommates had called to wish her a Merry Christmas and check in on her. It was only hours before Sierra would be getting home, and right after, they were going to go pick Jace up and have a happy little reunion.

She was excited to rub it in their faces that she had made it, she had successfully survived a week completely alone. She had been anxiously awaiting Sierra’s arrival all morning, barely leaving the couch so she wouldn’t miss the second her roommate walked through the door. 

About an hour before Sierra was supposed to arrive, she heard a knock on the door. At first, she thought it could be her, thought maybe she had lost her key. But the second knock that sounded was heavier than Sierra’s usual one, and it didn’t seem right. 

Y/n slowly made her way over to the door, crossing her fingers that the week had finally caught up to her, and that she was just being paranoid. But the second she opened the door, all the wind was knocked out of her. 

“Ian?”

————————

When Sierra got home, she was confused as to why y/n wasn’t home. It was the middle of the afternoon, so it wasn’t completely out of the question for her to be out running errands, but she knew exactly when Sierra would be home, and had promised to be there. 

She tried to not think much of it as she bid farewell to Tom, chalking it up to be an attempt to avoid Harrison, who had been waiting in the car trying to do the same. 

She didn’t begin to really worry until it was about time to pick Jace up from the airport, and she was able to find y/n’s keys on the hook where they usually rested while she was home. It wasn’t like her to leave without them, and Sierra wasn’t sure where she would have gone in this weather without a car. 

She ended up leaving alone to go get Jace, after waiting until the last minute to see if she would knock on the door, complaining about leaving her keys behind. But she never showed. 

When Jace finally found Sierra by the luggage claims, he knew something was wrong. She was staring down at her phone with a worried expression, instead of running up to greet him with a hug like usual. And the lack of their other roommates presence let him know why. 

“Where is she,” was the first thing he said as he approached her. Her head shot up and finally hugged him, but it wasn’t a happy embrace, it was fearful. 

“I don’t know, she wasn’t there when I got home, and she didn’t show up by the time I had to come get you.”

She didn’t sound panicked, as she had the last two times this situation played out, she just sounded tired. 

“Ok, well…” he paused to watch for his backpack on the belt and grabbed it before turning back to Sierra, “Wanna head home and see if she shows?”

There was nothing else for them to do, so they did exactly that. They waited in the living room together for hours, sharing stories about their week away from home. They did their best to keep their minds off of their missing roommate, she had returned home every other time she had disappeared like this, so there was no reason for them to worry. But that logic wasn’t helping the pit that had grown in their stomachs with every hour. 

After Sierra finished a story about Tom having a less than pleasant phone call with her father, they both stopped to sigh. The sun was starting to go down, and there was still no sign from her. 

“Should I try calling Harrison?” Jace finally broke the silence. 

“She’s not going to be with him, Jace.”

“Yeah, I know. But he found her last time. Maybe he knows where she is.”

“I mean, you can try, but I don’t know how happy he would be to help. He was basically sulking the entire trip.”

“It’s worth a shot,” Jace said finally, and pulled his phone out of his pocket. 

It took a minute for Harrison to answer, and he sounded less than happy when he did. 

“Hey, sorry to do this to you, but y/n’s missing again. Any chance you could know where she would be?”

“Again?”

“Yeah, look man, I want to get you involved even less than you want to be roped in. But she wasn’t here when Sierra got back and we haven’t heard from her.”

“I’ll call you back in a minute,” Harrison groaned and hung up.  

Harrison had to scroll through his text conversations to find the number that he hadn’t saved to his phone. The only text was the address that the had run to just a couple weeks ago in a situation just like this. 

“What do you want Osterfield?” Robin answered, confused and annoyed at the sudden call. 

The other boy’s cluelessness didn’t give Harrison much hope. 

“She’s not with you, is she?”

“She’s missing again?”

Harrison could sense the small amount of panic seep into Robins voice, but tried to keep his own head level. This wasn’t his problem anymore, he was just doing Jace a favor. 

“Roommates said she hasn’t been home all day. If she’s not with you, I’ll just tell them I don’t know where she could be. So?”

“No, she isn’t here. They’re sure she’s not just, like, locked away in her room or something?”

“You think they would have called me before making sure?”

“Right… Can you give me one of their numbers?” 

After a second of thought, Harrison agreed to send it and hung up. He was a bit disappointed for a moment, the thought of being out of the loop shot a feeling of desperation through him, but he reminded himself yet again, it wasn’t his problem anymore. He wasn’t supposed to worry about her anymore, he didn’t need to, but no matter how much he reminded himself, he couldn’t help checking his phone every few minutes to see if there was an update. Just in case. 

As he checked his phone for the umpteenth time, it began to ring again, and he picked up a little too quick. 

“What?” he tried to mask his worry with annoyance. 

“I need you to go over to her apartment, like now,” Robin demanded. He could hear the rumbling of an engine, letting him know that Robin was on his way already as well. 

“Why?”

“Harrison, I don’t have fucking time for this. Please.”