#she cried when i told her i couldn’t pay my rent when we got paid on friday bfkfosgdhf GIRL…..

[clancyycat]

on my period ✅

back fucking hurts ✅

freezing in here ✅

can’t feel my toes ✅

dgaf abt closing ✅✅✅

[thetravelerwrites]

Alexei (Part 2) Lemon

Rating: Mature Relationships: Female Human/Male Satyr Additional Tags: Exophilia, Monster Boyfriend, Satyr, Arranged Marriage, Fake Marriage, Strangers to Lovers, Reader Insert, Illness Words: 6143

A commission for @thebimess​​! A sudden illness changes the nature of the reader's and Alexei's relationship. Please reblog and leave feedback!

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You left the next morning before Alexei woke, as usual, but the walk to the bathhouse, which was only across the street, was more difficult than it had been before. Within an hour, you felt exhausted and weak, as if there were steel bands constricting your chest, preventing you from taking a full breath. There was a sharp pain in your side every time you breathed in.

“You don’t sound well,” Your work neighbor, Ellie, said. “There’s a nasty whistle when you take a breath. Are you alright, lovie?”

“Yes, I’m alright,” You lied. “Don’t worry about me, I can carry on.”

“If you say so.”

At some point during the day, you were called out of the laundry room.

“Am I in trouble?” You asked the matron.

“No, dearie,” The matron said, looking concerned. “We went and called on your husband to take you home. You’ve looked like you’re going to fall into the tubs all day.”

“I can work, Madam, I’m fine,” You protested.

“Nonsense,” She said. “Let your husband take you home. The last thing I need is a corpse on my working floor, you got me, missy?”

“Yes, Madam,” You said.

Alexei stood up from where he was sitting in the front room. As soon as he saw you, his face pinched in concern.

“You’re terribly pale,” Alexei said, coming close. “What’s happened?”

“Nothing,” You gasped. “I just have a little cold or something, it’s nothing to worry about.” It was unfortunate that at that moment, your feet decided to trip over themselves and you stumbled into him.

“Oy, oy,” He said, helping you right yourself. He put a hand to your head. “My word, you are boiling, pet! Let’s get you back home and lay you down. Madam, thank you for sending for me. Will you need compensation for the time she’s not working?”

“We’ll figure that out later. Get that child in a bed.”

“Yes, Madam.”

Alexei managed to drag you back to your room and helped you out of your short cloak and shoes. He steered you toward your bedroll and lay you down in it. As soon as your body hit the blankets, it gave out and you lost consciousness.

When you woke, it was dark. You had a wet rag on your forehead, your body feeling as though you’d been trampled by horses. Though you were bundled up, you felt like you were going to freeze. Breathing was like being stabbed with knives. As you inhaled and exhaled, there was a gravelly rasp that you could feel in your lungs. You made a sound of discomfort, and suddenly Alexei’s face came into your field of vision.

“You’re awake,” He said, taking the rag from your head. “Can you sit up? You need to drink.”

“Help me,” You croaked. He wedged his arm under your shoulders and lifted you. Your body screamed in agony and you gave a pained cry. “I can’t breathe,” You told him. “I feel like I’m drowning.”

“I know,” He said, his face scrunching in sympathy. “The physician has been ‘round to see you. You have pneumonia, he says.”

“Pneumonia?” You repeated.

“Yes,” He said, tipping a cup of water for you to drink. “He doesn’t think you’re infectious, since no one you’ve been around has developed symptoms. He left me some medicine to give you, powdered willow bark and peppermint.”

“That must have been expensive,” You wheezed. “How much did it cost you?”

“Let me worry about the expense,” He said, urging you to drink more. “Just concentrate on getting better.”

“But my job…” You protested. “I’ll be sacked...”

“Stop fussing,” He admonished. “I’ll take care of it. I’ll take care of everything. Just rest.”

“I’m cold,” You said piteously, beginning to cry.

“I know,” He said again, stroking a strand of your hair from your forehead. “It’s the fever. I can’t make you warmer or you could die.”

“It hurts,” You said. “Let me die.”

“Don’t say that. You’ll be alright,” He soothed, laying you carefully back on the bedroll. “Let me get your medicine.”

Every day, Alexei woke you four times a day for your breathing treatment, which consisted of steeping the peppermint leaves in boiling water and having you inhale the vapor, and to take some fluids, usually water, tea, or broth. He stuck to this schedule without fail, and while it irritated you, you knew somewhere in your subconscious that he was saving your life. The peppermint vapor helped ease your breathing some and the willow bark prevented the fever from becoming dangerous, but it still felt as though you were dying.

Five days in, he woke you for your treatments.

“No, I can’t,” You cried weakly.

“Yes, you can,” He said patiently. “But I want to show you something first. Let’s sit you up, pet.” He lifted you up gingerly and sat behind you so that you were resting with your back to his front and your head on his shoulder. “Can you open your eyes?”

Your eyes felt glued together, but you managed to pry them open. “What do you want to show me?”

“Look,” He said, pointing at the wall where the fireplace was. “Can you see?”

It took a moment for your eyes to focus, but when it did, you saw flowers. Hundreds, thousands of tiny flowers painted on the wall. It was a field, a meadow, and a sweet little cottage sat in the middle next to a small pond. Every color you could think of waved in the painted breeze. It was dusk, and the sky was pink-gold with fluffy clouds of silver floating along it. Little ducks, chickens, and baby goats gathered around the steps to the cottage, and there, a woman who looked much like you stood scattering seeds from a basket on her arm. She wore a crown of flowers on her head.

“Oh,” You breathed, a tear rolling down your cheek as your body trembled weakly against his. “It’s beautiful.”

He rubbed his hands up and down your arms. “I’m glad you like it. I worked on it while you were sleeping. I was going to just paint a small piece of wood with flowers and fruit for you to carry in your pocket, but… it didn’t feel good enough.”

“I would have loved that, too,” You said. “Won’t you get in trouble with the landlord for this?”

“I asked permission,” He said softly into your hair.

You began to sob. “It’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. I just wish I weren’t dying so I could enjoy it properly.”

“You’re not going to die, love,” He said, wrapping his arms around your shoulders and rocking you gently side-to-side. “I won’t let you. You have a fiance to piss off; you can’t die before then. I’m looking forward to the day when I can watch you tell him to stick that contract where the sun don’t shine.”

You laughed through your tears. “Why couldn’t I haven’t been promised to you instead?”

He laughed, too. “You’re too independent and headstrong for me, love. I like women who can’t fend for themselves. They don’t realize what I twat I am.”

You chuckled. You spent a few minutes in silence, staring at the lovely gift Alexei had made for you. And then it was time for tea and treatments before he let you rest again, all the while he stroked your hair and hummed a soft tune under his breath.

It took eight days for the fever to break. Thankfully, you were unconscious for most of it, since consciousness was nothing short of torture. You couldn’t eat and could barely swallow. Every breath was like your lungs were catching fire over and over again.

Once the fever broke and you were able to stand up, Alexei paid a substantial amount to rent you a private bathing room with soaps, shampoos, fruit, cheese, and wine. Every luxury had been seen to and Alexei had spared no expense. When you offered to pay him back, he simply ruffled your hair and told you not to worry about it, saying that you’d earned a nice day for yourself.

He asked your coworker, Ellie, to help you wash up and to watch over you, since you were still weak and had a terrible cough. It was nice to have another friend sitting with you to talk; you hadn’t really had a girl-friend before.

Thanks to Alexei, you didn’t end up dying, but recovery was painfully slow. By the time the six months of the marriage was up, you’d only just started to feel like your old self again, but you still tired easily and couldn’t push yourself for too long.

The two of you packed your room to travel back to Red Landing, selling the furniture you’d purchased when first arriving in Dunmountain.

“Are you ready to go back?” Alexei asked as he helped you up into the driver’s box.

“Not really,” You said. “I’m not looking forward to facing my parents. Or Gregory. Just because I know he’ll be utterly obnoxious about it.”

“Well, don’t worry about a thing, pet,” He said. “If the bastard tries to make off with you like a prowler in the night, I’ll be there to stop him.”

You smiled at him. “Thank you. I’m glad to have you as a friend, Alexei. I’m sorry if I ever insinuated that you weren’t.”

“Water under the bridge, my pet,” He said, patting your hand before trotting around the mule and hopping up to sit next to you. “Shall we?”

“Eh?” You said with a noncommittal shrug. Laughing, he took that as a yes and snapped the mule to movement.

The trip back was comfortable, despite your nerves, and took far less time than the trip to Dunmountain had, since you were walking for half of that one. The two of you either slept in the vardo or rented a room at an inn. After six months of sharing a space, sleeping in the same room was second nature by now, so there was no reason to rent two rooms.

When you reached the boundaries of Red Landing, you wrapped your arms around yourself and took a large breath.

“You’ll be alright, pet,” Alexei said. “If things get too badly out of hand, I have no qualms about loading us back up and doing a legger.”

You smiled. “That’s good to know, I’ll keep it in mind.” You pointed at the crossroads. “Take a left at this fork.”

He nudged the mule left, and it took you out of the marketplace and down the residential track.

“Here. We’re here.”

He stopped the wagon in front of a modestly built wooden house with shuttered windows open in the breeze; your mother had always said that glass was an unnecessary luxury and not worth the cost. There was a simple garden and an apple tree planted next to the walkway up to the front door surrounded by a low stone wall and a wooden gate, which was open.

“That’s odd,” You said as Alexei helped you down. “The gate is never left open.”

“Could they be expecting someone?” He asked.

“I don’t know,” You replied. “All of the windows are open, too. That’s unusual.”

“It’s a nice day,” Alexei said. “They could just be enjoying the fresh air.”

You shook your head. “No, this isn’t like them.”

“Do you think something could be wrong?” He asked, taking you by the forearm and stopping you cautiously.

Before you could respond, your mother appeared at one of the windows, crying out.

“Oh!” She said, her hands to her mouth. “You came back! John, she’s back!”

She disappeared from the window and a few seconds later, the door flew open. She launched herself out of it and into your arms, brushing past Alexei to do so.

“Oh, I’m so happy to see you!” She cried into your shoulder. “I didn’t know if you’d ever return.”

Your father, a gruff looking man with a short beard, came out too. He was less talkative than your mother, but he gathered you up in his arms and held you tight for a moment, releasing you with nary a word, though a small tear fell down his cheek and disappeared into his whiskers.

“Hi, Papa,” You said. “Hi, Mama.”

“Oh, darling, we were hoping you’d come back! We left the windows open, so we could hear you coming. They’ve been open every day since you disappeared.”

You sighed, feeling guilty. “I’m sorry I vanished on you without saying anything. But you understand why I had to do that, don’t you?”

You mother regarded you warily. “Darling… you know how important the investment is for us. We had so many plans.”

“Mother,” You said sternly. “I’m not marrying that man.”

“Be reasonable,” She pleaded. “We can do so much once our business gets off the ground. For you, as well.”

“I don’t think there’s anything unreasonable about wanting to be treated like a human being and not a possession to be sold,” You said, your voice raised. “What happened to you two? What happened to working for what you want? What happened to never trusting a gift? Do I mean so little to you that you’d make a deal with the devil so that you don’t have to work anymore?”

“I can’t believe how ungrateful you are!” Your mother replied, scowling. “Do you know how long we had to wait for this? Do you know what we sacrificed for you?”

“I never asked you to sacrifice anything for me!”

Your mother slapped you. “Don’t raise your voice to your mother!”

Suddenly you were yanked back. Alexei had pulled you behind him and stood between you and your parents.

“I understand family matters can get heated,” He said evenly. “But I must insist that you not strike my wife. She’s still recovering from being quite ill.”

“Wife?” Your father repeated, the first thing he’s said since you returned. “What’s this about a wife? Who are you?”

You heard that but not that I was ill? You thought bitterly.

“My name is Alexei,” He said, his voice deep and imposing. “I’m your daughter’s husband.”

There was an awkward silence as your parents took that information in.

“Why don’t you come in and we can… discuss this,” Your father said, motioning for your mother to follow him inside.

Before you could follow after them, Alexei stopped you. He touched your chin and tilted your head, examining the cheek where your mother had struck you.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” You replied. “Let’s get this over with. It’s going to be painful, either way.”

He grimaced and opened his mouth to say something, but thought the better of it and shut it again, stepping aside to let you pass.

Inside, your mother was setting out tea. Your father sat in his usual chair with his arms folded, looking at Alexei unfavorably. You frowned at him. It’s a little late to be playing the concerned father, isn’t it, Papa?

Your mother sat down next to your father across the table from you. You took the marriage license from your bag as she set out the teacups and unfolded it showing them.

“You can inspect it and send a letter to the magistrate, if you wish.”

Your mother cleared her throat, not looking at the document. “So… how did the two of you… meet?”

You tried to answer, but you felt your mouth dry up.

“She took shelter from the rain in my carriage one night, actually,” Alexei said, laughing a little. “I didn’t even notice her until the next day halfway through my journey. But when I did, it was love at first sight. I did everything I could from that moment on to woo her.”

“How soon after you met did you marry?”

“Three days.”

Both your mother and father’s eyes shot to you suspiciously. You felt the weight of their scrutiny, but didn’t flinch.

“What is it about our daughter you fell in love with?”

You were slightly concerned that Alexei wouldn’t be able to come up with anything, but to your surprise, he answered without hesitation.

“She’s a self-starter, fiercely independent, and has an amazing work ethic, which I imagine is thanks to you.” He gestured at your parents. “She’s headstrong and funny and makes faces when I tease her and is genuinely fun to be around. Not a dull day since I met her.” He turned to look at you fondly. “She’s spent all of our marriage taking very good care of me. Better care than anyone ever has. She’s the only family I’ve ever had, and that means more to me than I can ever express. I count myself blessed to have met her, and doubly blessed to be her husband.”

You couldn’t help but smile softly. He sounded so sincere.

“What about you, dear?” Your mother asked, still looking unmoved. “What is it about Alexei you fell in love with?”

You sat and thought. “I’ll admit, when first the idea of marrying Alexei was presented, I didn’t want to do it.” You didn’t mention that it was you who brought it up. “But Alexei has never been anything but kind to me. He’s silly and talented and he laughs a lot and is never bothered by anything. Not until…”

You stared at your hands, trying to recall the time you’d been ill. “I got sick. Very sick. I almost died, I think. He took care of me. It took a long time for me to get better, and he was there the entire time. He painted an entire wall with flowers and ducks and pretty things for me to look at, just because I’d said I wanted a little painting to brighten up our room. He spend a lot of money for several months on medicine to help me get better. He never got mad at me, never impatient, never frustrated. He didn’t give up on me even when I wanted to die so that the pain would stop. He’s my husband, but he’s also my best friend, and I’m lucky to have him as both.”

That was a hell of a revelation to come to sitting right in front of your parents being interrogated about your fake marriage. Without looking at each other, Alexei flipped his hand and reached for yours, and you took it. He squeezed your fingers firmly. Don’t worry, He seemed to say. Just say the word and we can run.

“So, are you a man of means, Alexei?” You mother asked. “Can you take care of our daughter financially?”

“She’s more than capable of doing that herself, you know,” He said levelly. “But yes. I’m a fairly well known painter and I have a decent nest egg set aside to build a home. If the underlying question is, ‘am I going to give you money in exchange for your daughter as if she were goods to be bartered for,’ the answer is no.”

Your father got red in the face and your mother sputtered. You didn’t even try to hide your smug smile.

“Darling,” Your mother said, turning to you and pleading. “It’s not too late to fix this. You can still annul the marriage and marry Gregory. He’ll straighten up after he’s married, most men do!”

You sighed and rubbed your temples in frustration. “Look,” You said, pulling out your coin purse. “This is all the money I took, plus a little more. Since money seems to be the only thing you care about, take this. I don’t owe you anything anymore.”

“I can’t believe you’re doing this to us,” Your mother said angrily, shoving the license back across the table. “After everything we’ve done for you.”

“What? What have you done for me, Mother? You did what you were supposed to do when people have children? Had a child and then raised that child? You don’t get a reward for doing what you’re supposed to do; you taught me that, for God’s sake!”

Your father slammed his hand down on the table and you jumped, letting out a startled squeak. He stood up, his eyes dark.

“Perhaps…” He said slowly. “It’s best if you leave.”

You felt stung. “Happily,” You said, snatching the license from the table and stuffing it in your bag. “I have a feeling that I won’t be back this time.”

“Are we off, then, my pet?” Alexei asked casually, standing and reaching to take your bag.

“Yes,” You said through your teeth. “For good.”

“As you wish, pet,” He replied, taking your hand and wrapping it around his arm. “There’s a lovely tavern a little east of here we might stay. It’s less…” He turned back and looked your parents up and down pointedly. “Money-hungry.”

You asked Alexei if you could ride in the vardo and he was agreeable. As soon as Alexei snapped the reins and the mule lurched forward, you began to sob. You knew he could hear you, because the window near the driver’s box was open. He whistled loudly as the cart rolled, perhaps to disguise or drown out your weeping so you felt less awkward about crying noisily on a crowded street. You appreciated it.

The vardo stopped, you assumed in front of the tavern Alexei spoke of, though he didn’t hop down right away, simply sat in the driver’s box and continued to whistle as you cried. After a time, you pulled yourself together and forced yourself to stuff down the rest of your tears.

“Alexei, I’m alright now,” You said faintly.

He stopped whistling. “I’ll give you some coin. Would you mind getting us a room while I see to the mule and wagon?”

“Sure,” You said tonelessly. You climbed out of the vardo as he came around and held out your hand. Before he handed you the money, he took your chin and tilted your head up, looking at you in concern.

“Are you sure you’re alright, pet?”

You nodded but you didn’t meet his eye.

“I’ll see you inside. Wait for me downstairs and I’ll buy us dinner, alright?”

You nodded again and walked off wordlessly.

Inside, you paid for the room and bought two mugs of ale. Alexei came in after a few minutes and bent down.

“Anything you want specifically?”

“Doesn’t matter,” You replied flatly.

He walked off, and after several minutes he came back, picked up his mug and took your hand, pulling you to your feet.

“Come on, pet,” He said. “I’m having it sent up to our room. You look like you need rest. It’s been a long… trying day, and you’re still not well yet.”

You didn’t argue and allowed yourself to be led upstairs. Once inside, he put your mugs on the provided table while you sat down on the very small bed. You pulled the license back out and stared at it.

“I suppose we should find a magistrate in the morning,” You said. “Six months is up. You held up your end of the bargain. We can have this annulled as early as tomorrow afternoon and be on your way.”

He sat next to you. “Is this a conversation we should have now?”

“There’s no reason not to. I have to think about where I’m going to go.”

“Go?” He echoed.

“I’m not going home, clearly,” You said. “I have an aunt up north, but I don’t know if she’d be any more interested in taking me in than my parents were at listening to me.”

“You could always stay with me,” He said. “Annulling the marriage doesn’t mean we stop being friends.”

“It’s improper for a man and a woman to live together if they’re not married.”

“Who cares what’s improper? We’re adults, we can do what we like.”

“It’s alright, Alexei, I’ll figure something out. I’m resourceful, you know that.”

“I do know that,” He said, reaching over and taking the license, inspecting it. “What if…” He said slowly. “What if we didn’t annul the marriage? What if we stayed married?”

“What are you talking about?” You asked looking up at him. He opened his mouth to speak, but was saved from answering by a knock at the door.

“That’s our dinner, I expect.” He stood up and opened the door, taking a tray from whoever delivered it and closing the door again, putting the tray down on the table.

“Alexei,” You said, standing up. “What do you mean, stay married?”

“Well…” He said, not looking at you and bending over the table, busying himself with placing the food out. “It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement. And we’re good friends, we take care of each other. I can’t think of a single good reason not to stay together.”

“Well, I mean…” You started. “It’s not like we love each other, right?”

He didn’t answer, just continued fussing with the food. You stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder and gently pushing him upright.

“Right?” You asked again.

He met your gaze, his face a little sad and anxious, and took a big breath.

“When we first got married,” He began slowly. “It was a laugh, something funny and silly to occupy my time. Teasing you was amusing, and I got someone to cook and clean for me as a bonus. I figured that at the end of the six months, I’d just walk away with the money having done my part and never have to see you again. I’d be one step closer to my goal of building a house for myself. I didn’t expect to end up as friends.” He dropped his eyes and took one of your hands in his. “I grew up alone. I expected to live my life alone, and I was happy with that. But when you got sick…”

“Alexei, it’s okay,” You said softly, squeezing his hand.

He shook his head, grimacing as if in pain. “When you got sick, I know I kept telling you to keep your chin up and that you’d be fine, but deep down I was panicking. I wasn’t sure if you’d make it and I was terrified…” His voice shook. “…that I was going to lose the only family I’d ever had. I didn’t sleep at night and watched you all the time to make sure you were still breathing. Whenever I’d try to rouse you to drink and you wouldn’t wake, my heart would stop. I was willing to spend every penny I’d ever earned to fix it. I didn’t want to be alone anymore, and I wanted more than anything for you to live. I wanted you to stay with me. I still do.” He looked up at you again, and there were unshed tears in his eyes. “So stay with me.”

Stunned and moved to silence, you nodded slowly.

He swallowed hard, leaned in, and kissed you. He seemed jumpy, as if he worried you might slap him and he’d need to hop back quickly, but you didn’t slap him. You stepped closer and put your arms around his shoulders, pulling him to you. He sighed in relief and deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms around your waist, pulling your body flush with his. He was only slightly shorter than you, so you had to tilt your head down a little to kiss him, but it was nice. It was comfortable.

Ignoring the food now, he took you to the bed, shedding his vest, tunic, and undershirt. He’d worn his best clothes to meet your family, but now they were left in a pile with your dress on the floor. He unstrung your bodice and you slid it off, pulling your chemise off after it. God, why did being a woman come with so many damn layers?

Finally, you were both undressed and crawled into the bed together, your limbs tangling together. He laid you down on the threadbare blanket and kissed you deeply, touching your body and spreading your legs with his knees. After a moment, though, he stopped and popped up in his hands, peering down at you.

“Are you feeling alright?” He asked, looking concerned. “I may have been a little overeager when you didn’t push me away, but are you well enough to… do this… with me? Are you feeling tired or sick?”

You giggled softly, stroking his cheeks with your thumbs. “I feel incredible,” You said. “Better than I have in a long time. It’s alright, Alexei. I want this. We never had a wedding night, after all.”

He laughed. “I think you’d have thrown a pan at my head if I tried.”

“You’re right,” You replied, pulling him down for another kiss.

He took his time exploring your body, touching and kissing and sucking. He nipped at your skin as he made his way down your belly, tickling your sides to make you giggle and squirm.

“I wish I’d known how soft your body was,” He murmured. “And how warm. I’d have confessed my feelings sooner if I could’ve just curled up next to you at night.”

“Flatterer,” You said, smirking down at him.

“Honest,” He said, kissing your hipbones. “To think, so many cold nights with this beautiful body lying mere feet away. It’s enough to chill a man’s heart.”

“Or something else,” You snickered.

“Speaking of which,” He replied, spreading your legs and kissing lower. His lips touched your… lips… and you inhaled at the new sensation. It wasn’t a bad feeling, just strange since you’d never felt it before. You looked down at him as he teased you, and he looked back up at you. You bit your lip and watched him as he finally pressed his tongue to your pearl, and he watched your flushed, thrilled reaction with fascinated intensity.

Shivers rippled through your body and you let your head fall back onto the pillow as he went to work pleasuring you, gripping your inner thighs tightly to keep your legs wide open. His beard tickled the sensitive skin as he pressed his face firmly into the hollow, pushing his tongue deeply inside you and wiggling it up and down. You moaned and tilted your hips so that he could get even deeper.

“Alexei, please,” You rasped, pulling his hair.

He raised back up, wiping his beard and reaching between his own legs to gently stroke himself. He kissed his way back up your body and braced on one hand as he pressed his cock to your entrance, pushing inside you. Your body opened to his eagerly, taking him in to the hilt. He moved slowly at first as he kissed you over and over, making a loose fist in your hair, but when you wrapped your legs around his and thrust your hips up to meet him, he began to speed up.

His lips never left your skin and neither did his hands. It was as if he couldn’t touch you enough, couldn’t get enough of how your skin tasted, and gripped you as if you’d evaporate if he let go. There was a strange, anxious tension in his body that you could feel in his muscles as he slammed into you over and over.

You were getting closer to the peak of your pleasure, you could tell he was, too, because he buried his head in the crook of your neck and clung to you as if he were drowning. His movements were precise and rigorous. His grunting grew louder and faster, joining with your moans and gasps. You gripped his back and dug your nails into his skin, whimpering “yes! yes!” over and over.

He suddenly popped up on his hands, thrusting frenetically before giving a shout and going completely rigid, his forehead pressed against yours. You cried out right afterward, grinding your clit against his body and riding out your orgasm as he released inside you.

The two of you were locked in place, gasping for air. He finally collapsed sideways, sliding wetly out of you, and drew in deep breaths. When the two of you had cooled down and caught your breath, he pulled you into his body, your back to his front, and locked his arms around you.

“Pet?” He said softly.

“Hmm?”

“In case I hadn’t made it clear, I do love you,” He said.

You laughed. “You couldn’t have done much more to make it plain short of shouting it out the window.”

“Do you want me to? Because I will!” He made to release you and reach up to open the window, and you grabbed him back, giggling.

“You silly thing!” You told him, rolling over to look at his face. “In case you were wondering, I love you, too.”

“Oh, that’s good,” He said with a smile, stroking your hair. “Was a little worried.”

“Well, don’t be.” You went in for a soft kiss, and then another, and another. “I’ll stay. Wherever you go, I’ll be with you. Because I want to be.”

He cuddled you in and the two of you slept.

A short few hours travel brought you to a meadow with a small pond. The field was full of flowers of all sizes and colors.

“I know this place!” You said as Alexei helped you down off of the driver’s box. “This is from the painting!”

“Very perceptive, my love,” He said, grinning. “I’ve owned this little stretch of land for a while. I think I finally have enough money to build our home. We might be sleeping in the vardo for awhile until it’s finished, though.”

“I don’t mind,” You said, turning and wrapping your arms around his shoulders. “I love it here. I wouldn’t even care if we slept in a tent as long as we could live here.”

He chuckled and kissed your temple. “I think we can do better than that, Pet,” He said. “Welcome home.”

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My Masterlist

The Exophilia Creator’s Masterlist

[yamithediaperdork]

Big Brother Loves you (Digimon)

Matt was riding cloud nine as he got ready for his date with Sora. no one was threatening the digi or real world, things with him and Sora were going great, and the sales of the new lone wolf's CD meant he had money to burn.

There were only two dark clouds in his sunny sky line was the fact TK had become more and more aggressive as of late, and belittling of Matt, because of the second problem: Matt had started bed wetting again.

It wouldn't of been so bad if TK didn't live with Matt, his share of the rent being paid by their parents and likewise for his food. and with school out all TK did was work out and lounge around the apartment while Matt had to mange the lone wolfs, keeping up gigs and doing band practice.

Since the accidents had started TK was always calling Matt 'little brother' or 'baby bro' or worse 'pissy pants' and after the fifth accident had gone out and gotten -4- packs of overnight diapers, using Matt's debit card.

when Matt had gone to say something about it TK had balled up a fist and brought it in like he was gonna punch Matt, making the older boy yelp and almost piss himself.

"That's what I thought. wear these to bed on your own Or I'll diaper you pissy pants. and If I diaper you, you're wearing the diapered till they're wet AND messy." TK had said and his evil smile left NO doubt in Matt's mind that he would follow though.

Still all that was behind him. He had booked a table at one of the finest restaurants in the city for him and Sora and then he'd gotten them a spot at the hottest club in town for drinks and dancing and finally reserved a hotel room for them.

It was going to be the perfect night and just thinking about Matt's head was up in the clouds, in a pair of black dress pants and a light green dress shirt that he didn't notice when TK came in, till his bully of a little brother spoke up.

"Oh my, your all dressed up for tonight! going out with the slut?" TK asked, smirking and leaning against the wall.

"D-Don't call Sora that, and yes, we're going out. Tonight's gonna be the night when we give yourself to each other. she's gonna be my first and I'm gonna be here." Matt said hotly.

"Awww, that's cute! you think she hasn't been ridding cock while waiting on you to build up the nerve to wreck her shit?" TK laughed. "Look baby bro, Let me spare you some time. That bitch has been putting out for any cock she could get her hands on, as long as it's 7 inches or more. Your little 4 inch wonder stands NO chance and let's be honest, your gonna blow your load in your pants before getting that far like you did during that slow dance at Joe's graduation party."

Matt was blushing super bad now, recalling the incident. Sora had been in a stunning gown, he'd been in a tux and halfway though the slow dance he'd creamed his pants so bad he'd stained her dress.

"T-That won't happen this time! Look, you're getting the house all to yourself tonight so just shut up and go plan a party alright?!" Matt huffed and Clenched a fist.

"Wait, your going out overnight? You sure Sora's gonna be ok with your 'little' problem?" TK said, noting Matt's fist and clearly not worried. "I doubt she's gonna wanna keep dating you after you piss on her in your sleep, and ditto when she see's you in your bed time diapies."

"Look asshole, just butt out of it and leave me alone or I'll-" Matt huffed, storming over and trying to get in TK's face, though due to a growth spurt TK was now the taller of them.

"You'll WHAT?" TK asked, and grabbed Matt by the collar with his left arm and hand and lifted him up off his feet and balled his hand into a fist and pulled his right arm back.

Without waiting for a answer Tk's threw the punch, though it stopped JUST in front of Matt's face the effect was instant and a hissing was heard as Matt's crotch dampened, then piss ran down his legs and puddled on the floor.

"That's what I thought bitch. I think your girlfriend deserves a night out with a real man." TK said and dropped Matt onto his ass, into the smelly puddle. "Get that mess cleaned up and then take a shower and meet me in my room. I'm gonna get you ready for the night."

With the mess cleaned up and Matt in the shower, TK listened to the soft sobs of shame and smiled even as he picked up his cell phone and starting to make a text message.

He'd gotten Sora's number from Matt's phone awhile back, and they had chatted off and on with TK asking her not to tell Matt he was messaging her, claiming Matt was the jealous type. So it was child's play to not only write a message explaining the full details of what kind of a loser Matt was, but to send her a few pictures of Matt in all his diaper bitch glory.

TK: Hey Sora, heard bout you and Matt's special night and I think there are some things you need to know about him.

Sora: Oh hey TK.

Like what?

TK: Well you already know he's a quick shot lol

Did he tell you how small he is?

Sora: LOL everyone knows about the quick shot thing.

Wait why do you know his cock size?

just how close are you two!?

TK: Well I know how 'big' he is because of his other other problem. He's a bed wetter and wears diapers to bed

Sora: LOL

Nice try TK

If your jealous just say so.

TK: Hey I'm not just blowing smoke. I got pictures and a video of him humping his huggies.

Sora: Surrre you do.

TK smirked and select a few of his favorite Matt pictures. one with him in just a diaper, on his back, hugging a teddy bear and sucking on his thumb in his sleep.

Anther with him holding a clearly soaked diaper away from him, holding it with just his index finger and thumb and holding his nose, in just a old white t-shirt.

and his favorite and most damning, Matt blushing and eyes closed, holding out a diaper and making it look like he was asking whoever took the picture (AKA him) to diaper him.

Sora: OMG O.O

TK: Still think I'm lying? XD

Sora: What the fuckkkk.. This looks less like bed wetting and more like he's a big fucking baby!!!!!

TK: XD well to be fair he loved being teased and treated like a little guy, so sometimes I wonder if he's still bed wetting.

or just using it as a excuse for huggies.

Sora: Wait, you said there was a video?

Let me see!!!

TK: heh, ok. it's about 5 min. long. perfect timing because piddle pants just got out of the shower after wetting himself LOL.

With the video sent to Sora, TK set his phone down and tugged out the extra pack of diapers he kept under his bed in case Matt ever tried to get out of wearing by saying he had used up all the ones in his room.

unlike Matt's normal bedtime diaper though, these were three times thicker and instead of being a basic white they had a nursery print on them.

there was a knock on his door and then it opened, and TK smirked, with the pack of 'little wussies, the baby diaper for big boys' sitting out on his bed and watching Matt's eyes go big and wide as he say what he would be wearing.

"T-TK no! please!" Matt mewed, his towel dropped to the floor and on his knees, hands together and begging. "I can't wear a diaper THAT thick out! Sora will notice fore sure! I'll be a good boy and wear one of the other diapers!"

TK thought about it for a second, but with Sora already told he figured it was too late for that fun.

"Relax Matt, I swear, Your not going out tonight in one of these diapers.Or in any diapers for that matter." TK said, coming over and tugging his so called big brother to his feet, a look of relief washing over Matt's face then replaced with confusion.

"Then.. why did you ha-" he started to ask, but TK cut him off.

"Because your not going out tonight. you're going to stay home and be tucked in bed save and sound like the little guy you are. I'M going to go out on your date with Sora and fuck her rotten..all on your dime." TK said and smirked.

"I..what!? Sora would NEVER agree to that! you can't do this!" Matt fumed and stomped a food.

"that's where your wrong. I might of texted her and gave her the impression your a closet diaper baby and she's more then a little shock. Right now she's watching a video of you humping your diapers while lisping about how much you love them." TK chuckled.

"But..but..You MADE me do that, you said if I didn't you were gonna kick my ass and lock me out for the night!!" Mat whined.

"Well -YOU- know that. and -I- know that. But who do you think Sora's gonna believe? the stud or the bed wetting loser?" TK asked smirking then giving Matt a look."Now, Your going in one of these diapers and your gonna pose for a picture to send to Sora one way or anther. we can do this the easy way where you let me do what I want, or the hard way where I spank your butt red and diaper you and take a picture anyways. Since I'm gonna get laid tonight I'm feeling generous and I'll let you pick: good boy or bad boy?"

Matt balled up his fists, looking ready to fright, starting to take a fighting stance.. then just dropped it and slumped forward, head hanging down.

"...I'll be a good boy." Matt said in a defeated voice, even as tears started to slide down his cheeks.

"Smart choice Mattie."

Sora couldn't believe what she was seeing as she watched the video over and over, waiting on TK to come back. Her so called stud in a diaper and humping his bed, moaning and coo'ing how much he 'wuv'ed his diapies' till he cried out and clearly creamed himself.

Sora was torn as she watched the video. On one hand she was upset that Matt had hidden this from her, She'd of never picked him over Tai if she had known he was a goo goo gaga diaper dork.

But on the other he WAS kinda cute in a pathetic sort of way and he WAS making decent coin.

"I suppose I could just blackmail to pay me to keep his dirty little secret." Sora mused out loud.

that DID leave her without a man though, Making her frown a little till she recalled just how in shape TK was and he was pretty good looking.

"then again small dicks might run in the family." she mused.

her phone buzzed and when she looked at the messages she was treated to a picture of Matt in just a babyish and thick diaper, tear stained cheek and holding up a sign that read 'plz dump me and go out with TK, He's hung.'

And to prove the point neck to Matt's tear stained face was a thick and long cock, ready to rub on the loser's cheek.

"..Well that settles that."

Still something like this shouldn't be done over a text, she was a proper lady after all and called TK's number instead.

As the phone rang TK smirked, tugging his pants back up and looking over at Matt.

"I wonder who that could be~" he snickered and answered. "Hello? Oh hey Sora... yeah that was my cock.... Uh-huh I thought as much. Sure you can still come over. I'll be getting a shower in and getting dressed for the night after I get the baby fed and put to bed." TK said, glancing over at a clock showing it was only 5:45 pm. "Hmm? Oh yeah, he's right here. Of course you can talk to him!"

Tk pulled the phone away from his ear and smirked at the sniffling Matt and held it out.

"It's for you diaper boy, Your 'girlfriend' wants to talk."

Matt whined and reached out, shaking as he took the cell phone and slowly put it to his ear.

"H-Hi Sora..L-Look I ca-" he started, but was cut off.

"There's nothing to explain Matt. I know everything. while I'll admit your a cute little pamper packer,I'm more into men who can get their rocks off without having to be pampered. So consider this your noticed that we're done, over, No more. I'll still come by and tease you but I'm going to be dating TK from now on." Sora said, a sharp edge to her voice and Matt felt the tears starting up again.

"But..but.." he whimpered.

"No butt's diaper boy. Now I will be nice and keep your love of huggies to myself and save your music career from flopping but my silence isn't for free. you're going to be spoiling me like the princess I am. Understood?" She asked.

"..I..Yes Sora." Matt whimpered and sobbed. "C-Can we at least still be friends?"

"heh, Awww~ How cute..and I'm gonna say not really. I'll put up with you when i've over there to be with TK but that's about it. I'm not gonna go out of my way to talk to you or be nice but I will make a effort not to make you cry, mostly because I hate the sound of bawling babies. Maybe if your a good boy and super spoil me I'll watch you hump a stuffie or whatever it is diaper losers like you do. Anyways, that's all I had to say to you, put your BIG brother back on the phone."

Matt was sobbing too hard at this point to say anything and rubbing his eyes with one hand, he held out the phone with the other.

TK took it back and ruffled Matt's hair.

"Thanks buddy. why don't you go and make yourself a bowl of cereal for your supper while the adults talk." TK said and Matt could hear Sora laughing.

Too defeated to argue, Matt nodded and started to stand up.

"what do you think your doing Mattie? In this house babies CRAWL." TK said.

Matt just whimpered and nodded, and on all fours crawled out of the room.

Tummy full of milk and cheerio's, Matt was put in a light green t-shirt that read 'diaper bitch' on the front in black text and was given a cock sharped pacifier with a green mouth guard to suck on, the dick being only 3 inches thankfully.

"There, you can picture it's yours and your getting a blow job as you got night night." TK snickered as he tucked Matt into his bed.

there was still sunlight coming into the room, even with his curtains closed.

"now I expect you to have that paci in your mouth and for that same diaper to still be on when I get back tomorrow morning, and I signed my name on the back of that diaper. I'll know if you removed it or changed it." TK warned.

Matt mewed and suckled on his paci and nodded he understood.

"I'll be taking your wallet of course and spoiling Sora, but if your a good little boy I might get you some baby toys. Have a good sleep loser, and dream about the pounding your EX girlfriend is gonna get." TK said and kissed Matt's forehead and headed for the door.

Pausing in the door frame he paused and looked over his shoulder.

"Oh and one last thing..remember big brother loves you~"

the end

[berrynarrybanana]

pink lemonade

A/n: I...had a cliche moment of I wrote this and it got deleted bc my computer had a hissy fit while I was trying to find a good pic to use. All I want to say is that I spent weeks agonizing over this piece because I wasn’t sure that it was good enough and that it touched on bi!reader as much as it should. I started it out in Harry’s POV and it kind of just took off from there. This is very heavily based off a song from one of my favorite bands. It’s called pink lemonade by the wombats and it really gave me inspiration to write this whole fic and for my reader and flatmate!h. I hope that I did this justice, because as a bi woman, I know how little representation we get in media and in fics. So thank you to the beautiful @bopbopstyles and @harrysclementines for hosting a challenge that made me feel included. I really appreciate and love you both so much! 

warnings: smut, drug use mention, angst, harry’s pov

word count: 4.3k+

Please enjoy and feel free to tell me what you think! 

Friday Night 

Harry remembers the day he met his flatmate. 

She was a little shorter than him, but her personality definitely made her seem much taller. She had her hair up in a messy bun, her Rolling Stones shirt tucked in, and her jeans cuffed at the bottom. She introduced herself to him with a dazzling smile and a witty joke about being a stereotypical bisexual being. It made him laugh, pulling her into a hug (after asking her permission) because they were going to be flatmates and she needed to know he was a hugger. He didn’t want to start off on an awkward note with a person he would be spending so much time with. He suggested they order some pizza and drink wine on the floor of their living room on their first night. 

Their furniture hadn’t been delivered or moved in yet, so they had to settle for putting a few of y/n’s pillows under their bums while they watched comedy specials on Harry’s laptop. A majority of their evening was spent giggling and sharing stories about their previous experiences with old girlfriends. He found it oddly comforting that the beautiful girl was a little bit different, because he had always felt that way in life. With her, he didn’t feel so alone in being different. Perhaps that was one of the things that made him fall in love with her. She was a bright, radiant soul that brought him more joy than anyone else ever had. But she could be a bit thick, sometimes. 

As he watched her prance around their apartment in her tight mini-dress, he tried his best not to let her see his obvious attraction to her. 

The pillow on his lap would seem obvious to just about anyone else, but not to his precious flatmate. She practically floated through life, oblivious to how people looked at her when she moved. She was like a walking porn ad, her beautiful hair and gorgeous smile nearly impossible to ignore. He tried not to focus too hard on what she was wearing, but christ, it was hard not to. Her legs looked a little longer due to the black heeled booties she’d put on and she was most definitely wearing tights with little sparkles in the fabric. 

He hated seeing her dressed up like this, knowing that he wouldn’t be the one sliding his hands up her dress in the backseat of the taxi on the way home. He wouldn’t be the one gripping at her thighs while she straddled him on their shared couch. He wouldn’t be the one making her scream, unable to contain herself as he pulled orgasm after orgasm out of her. He hated that she was wearing the perfect shade of red on her lips, a shade that painted the walls of the prison cell in his own personal hell inside. He wanted to smear it off her lips with his own, kissing her until she was breathless and begging. 

Instead, he flipped through the channels on the telly, pretending to pay attention.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come out, Harry?” She stood in front of him, pouting her lips out as she tilted her head to the side. He shook his head as she crossed her arms, the gesture pushing her breasts up just a little. Fuck me, Harry thought. “You love going out!” 

“I know, love.” He grumbled, glancing behind her as if she was in the way. “But I’m not really in the mood to party tonight and I don’t want to bring the mood down.” 

“Well, I don’t feel right going out without you.” She sighed, dropping her arms to the side, causing Harry to look up at her. “Maybe I should stay home? We can order takeout and-” 

“Absolutely not.” He shook his head. “You have a date. You can’t stand him up!” 

“He’s just some rando from Tinder, I really don’t care about his feelings.,H.” She snorted out a laugh, rolling those perfect eyes as he tried to fight off a smile. “I’d rather be with you if you’re feeling down.”

“Don’t give up the chance for a good time because I’m a grumpy old man.” He shook his head. “I really want you to go out.” 

“Okay, okay.” She let out a heavy exhale, stepping farther away. “How do I look?” 

“Perfect.” He didn’t tear his eyes away from the telly, knowing he would overshare if he actually looked at her right now. 

“You didn’t even look!” She laughed around a playful groan. “Boys.” 

“I’m a man, love!” He called out as she walked into the kitchen for her keys. “If you’re too drunk, call me. Don’t go home with your random tinder date and-” 

“Lock the door when I’m home.” She nodded. “I know the rules, dad.” 

“Please do not ever call me that again.” Harry narrowed his eyes at her. “Go, get out of here and go have some fun. Tell everyone I said hi.” 

“I will!” She smiled. “Bye, roomie!” 

“Bye!” He waved, his heart sinking as the door shut behind her. “Guess I’ll be having a sad wank about that later.” 

Harry grumbled, sinking further into the cushions of their shared couch. 

                                   ******************************************

Saturday Morning 

The guy from Friday seemed to be a keeper. 

He was there the next morning when Harry was making a hangover breakfast in the kitchen for his flatmate. He strutted  in without a shirt or a word, reaching for a coffee cup as if he owned the place. Last time Harry checked, only two people paid rent here. Harry watched from the stove, spatula in hand as he glared at the man’s back. What a sodding prick. With a quick roll of his eyes, Harry pushed around the potatoes he’d chopped up earlier. Of course she brought him home. It had been weeks since she’d had a proper shag and it was bound to happen sooner or later. And even if Harry hated to admit it, the man standing in his kitchen gave it to her proper. Harry closed his eyes, cringing at memory of her moans melded with the banging of her headboard against the wall last night.

He hadn’t heard her moan out like that in a long time. Halfway through orgasm number two out of god knows how many, Harry shoved his headphones in and tried not to cry. He hated that someone else was making her feel so good that she was screaming the bloody walls down. He wanted to sink into her, to have her screaming out his name instead. But that wasn’t going to happen. Not even in his dreams could he have her, always cutting off right around the time his hands landed on her hips. 

“Oh, didn’t see you there, mate.” The guy turned around. “M’Alfie.” 

“Harry.” He grumbled, reaching up to the heat down. “Y/N’s roommate.” 

“She told me about you.” Alfie nodded. “Said you’re a right laugh when you’re drinking.” 

“Did she now?” Harry hummed as if he was actually interested in the conversation. 

“Shame you didn’t come out with us.” Alfie said. “Y/N was a fucking animal. Have you ever had sex with her? I mean she’s amazing when she’s high.” 

Harry wanted to vomit. 

This guy was a total prick.

“Yeah, what a shame.” Harry cleared his throat, glancing over at Alfie. “When Y/N wakes up, let her know that breakfast is here. She’s going to want two pieces of toast with butter.” 

“I will tell her.” Alfie sipped out of the bright pink mug and Harry’s face grew hot. That was his mug, the one that Y/N got him for Christmas last year. The little lamb on the front with a comical smile was mocking him now. “You alright, mate?” 

“Yeah, I’m stellar.” 

Harry stormed out of the kitchen and down the hall. 

He nearly made it to his door when she stumbled out of her bedroom. 

“Morning, Harry.” She yawned before smiling at her roommate. 

He didn’t respond, ducking past her and into his bedroom. 

Maybe he didn’t really know the girl he loved after all. 

                                            *******************************

Another Magical Friday Night 

Alfie, as it turns out, wasn’t a keeper. 

During their second escapade, Alfie shouting to the top of his lungs pulled Harry out of his half-asleep state. His heart sank and his blood ran cold as he sprinted out of his bedroom to Y/N’s. When he got there, Alfie was storming out of her bedroom, half dressed with a red face. Harry stood in Y/N’s doorway, avoiding her gaze as she struggled to put a t-shirt on. After a few moments, Harry couldn’t stand to hear her soft whimpers and loud sniffles. He tore his own shirt off, walking over to where she was sitting on the bed with her legs crossed in front of her. 

“S’alright,” He cooed, sitting down in front of her as he slipped his shirt over her head. “It’s okay, love.” 

“I’m sorry we woke you up.” She leaned forward, pressing her forehead to the column of his throat as she cried. “I know you have an early yoga class tomorrow.” 

“Please don’t apologize.” He said softly, rubbing his hand over her back. “Tell me what he did?” 

“He didn’t do anything.” She shook her head, pulling back as she wiped at her cheeks. “I just...Alfie dabbles a bit in drugs and I tried some with him last week, but I didn’t like it. I told him I didn’t want to do it again and he called me a whore and a tease.” 

Harry’s jaw tensed as he watched his best friend hiccup, swiping under her eyes again. 

“You are not a whore.” Harry reached up, gripping her chin between his thumb and forefinger, demanding her attention. “Don’t ever let anyone make you feel like you need to be ashamed of yourself.” 

“Thank you.” She sniffled. “Sleep with me tonight?” 

“Yeah.” He nodded. “Let’s go to my room instead, okay?” 

He didn’t have the heart to tell her he couldn’t sleep in her bed right now. 

Not after Alfie had been in it. 

“Okay.” She gave him a wavering smile. “Thank you, H.” 

“Anytime.” 

Harry held her that night, his heart pounding against his chest as she cuddled into him. 

As he drifted off, he mumbled out loud, “This must be what heaven feels like.” 

He hoped she didn’t hear him. 

                                            ****************************

Harry decided that if Y/N was going out this Friday, he was too.

He couldn’t stand the thought of her going out without him by her side after last week’s incident with Alfie. There was no Tinder date for her to meet up with, just Harry and a few other friends who wanted to have a good time. They got ready in their shared bathroom together, pre-gaming with whatever they had left as they sang loudly to Harry’s pre-game playlist. When she spritzed her perfume over her neck, Harry’s mouth started to water. 

The warm vanilla and citrus hybrid was damn near a love potion to him. 

“Alright,” She nodded, giving herself a once over in the mirror. “I’m ready.” 

“You look perfect.” He smiled, trailing his eyes up from her vegan, leather combat boots to her black skinny jeans, finally settling on the lacy bodysuit that she had recently purchased. “S’a bit like lingerie, innit it?” 

“Yeah.” She shrugged her shoulders, pursuing her lips as Harry looked at her eyes. “But it’s nice and light and extremely sexy.” 

“One of those nights?” Harry’s brows quirked up and he forced a little smirk to settle on his lips as she nodded. “Good, you deserve a bit of fun.” 

And he actually meant it, this time. 

She did deserve to have a little fun after Alfie

He could suck it up for one night if the girl he loved would be happy at the end of it. 

“I do.” She giggled, reaching down to grab the bottle of tequila set on the bathroom countertop, wiggling it around. “One more shot for good luck?”

“Pour it up.” 

                                         *****************************

Harry bucked his hips up as the girl above him rolled her hips over his denim clad cock. 

This time, he brought someone home. 

Granted, Y/N brought someone home as well, he now had a distraction to keep his mind busy and his cock wet while his flatmate got off. The girl he’d met at the club was so sweet, her hazel eyes enticing him the moment his gaze met hers. Her lips were so soft and they tasted like strawberries. He wondered what Y/N tasted like? They were normally covered in gloss when she went out, shiny and peachy. Did her lips taste like peach? Harry closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as the girl dug her nails into his stomach. 

“Can I take your pants off?” She asked, timid and soft. Nothing like Y/N demanding the naughtiest of things on the other side of the wall. “I’m ready to...I want to ride you.” 

“Okay, yeah.” Harry opened his eyes, sitting up as he wrapped his arms around her. He pressed a few soft kisses over her jaw before catching her mouth in his. “Just a second, love.”

“You’re sweet.” She pressed a kiss to his forehead, swinging her leg over his thighs as he reached for his buttons. 

“Fuck, yes!” 

Harry rolled his eyes, fumbling with the zipper on his trousers as the girl next to him slapped her hand over her mouth, trying not to laugh. 

“She’s loud.” She giggled, reaching down to start working on her heels. 

“I know.” Harry sighed. “I’m really sorry about that. I...I didn’t know she would be bringing someone-” 

“Right there, y/n! Yes baby yes!” 

“Jesus.” He let out a huff, reaching his hand up to tap the wall with his fist. “Oi, other people are trying to have fun here.” 

“Oh my god.” The girl tossed her head back, barking out a laugh. “You don’t have to do that, it’s fine.” 

“Sorry, H.” Y/N called back. “We’ll keep it down.” 

“I just don’t want to ruin the mood for us.” He shuffled out of his jeans and boxers, tossing them to the side before he looked back at her. 

“I’m okay.” She climbed on top of him again, her shoes now tossed aside and her dress hiked up to her hips. “I really, really don’t care about anything else but fucking you right now.” 

“Oh.” Harry’s cheeks were surely tinged pink as she gripped his cock in her hand, stroking up with gentle movements. “Fuck, that’s nice.” 

“Good.” She leaned forward, pressing her free hand to his shoulder. He fell back onto the mattress, dropping his hands to her thighs. “I promise I’m gonna make you cum so hard, you won’t even know there’s anyone else in the world besides me.” 

Harry dropped his head back, digging his nails into her thighs as she lined herself up with his cock. It had been so long since he’d fucked anyone, his emotions for Y/N a huge cock-block that he couldn’t seem to shake. Other girls just didn’t do it for him anymore.  But tonight, the alcohol in his veins and the vision of Y/N nearly fingering some girl in the back of the club reminded him that he was free to fuck whoever he wanted, despite his love for Y/N.

“Y/N!” 

Harry let out a heavy sigh through his nose, the sound of Y/N’s one night stand screaming making the fire in his belly dim just a little. He didn’t even care that his own girl was sinking onto his cock, soaking wet and tight like a vice. He barely even remembered that she was on top of him until she moaned his name out. 

He opened his eyes, watching her face contort as she settled onto his thighs. 

“You’re huge.” She whispered, tilting her head back. “I swear I’ve never had...never had someone so big, fuck.” 

“Yeah?” He licked over his bottom lip, sliding a palm up to her belly. “Feel me there?” 

“Mhm.” She whimpered, gripping onto his wrist. “M’so full.”

“Y/N, please let me cum.” 

Harry let out a frustrated sigh, reaching his hands up to rub over his face. 

“Are they bothering you?” The girl asked softly, lifting off of his cock. “Because it seems like they are.” 

“A little, yeah.” Harry nodded, wincing as his cock slapped against his stomach. “I’m really sorry, it’s not that you aren’t amazing-” 

“I get it, it’s okay.” She fell next to him as his cock started to soften. “I would be kind of wigged out if my roommate was fucking while I was too.” 

“She does this every Friday night.” Harry said. “And...not to continue ruining whatever we had going between us, but I’m kind of in love with her.” 

“Oh.” The girl whispered. “That would really turn me off.” 

“Yeah.” He nodded. “And I was trying to have fun for once, you know? Because she seems to go about life oblivious to my feelings and I’m stuck pining for her while she’s fucking whoever she wants to.” 

“Do you think she knows that you like her?” His date asked. 

“I don’t know, probably not.” He mumbled, turning his head to look at her. “You don’t have to listen to me moan on about it, I’m sorry.” 

“No, it’s okay.” She turned on her side, pressing her palm to his chest. “I have a feeling you haven’t talked to anyone about this and it’s not very healthy to keep things bottled up.”

“You’re right about that.” Harry smiled. “You know, I have a friend who would absolutely adore you.” 

“Is it Y/N?” She giggled. “Because I don’t swing that way.” 

“Oi, you think I’d let you shag the girl I just told you I’m in love with?” He laughed, his brows crinkling together as he reached over to pinch her hip. “It’s not her.” 

“Good.” She laughed with Harry, sliding closer to him. “Would it be weird if I stay?” 

“No,” He shook his head. “It’s the least I can do after wasting your time.” 

“And...what about a cuddle?” She asked. “Because I do enjoy a good cuddle session.” 

“I can deal with that, I think.” He leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers. “Thank you.” 

                                           *****************************

The next morning, Harry was livid. 

He sent his date, Halle was her name, off with a sweet kiss and a coffee to-go. Maybe in another life, she would have been perfect for him. A soft, sweet girl with kind eyes and a willingness to listen to him. Unfortunately for him, he was too far up his obnoxious flatmate’s ass to see anyone else. And even if it made things awkward between them, he had to tell her how he felt. There was no way he could keep going on like this if there was a way to prevent it. 

“Good morning,” She chirped, her hand linked with the girl she brought home last night. “Are we having breakfast?” 

“You can do whatever the fuck you want.” Harry snapped, taking his coffee mug and his breakfast plate from the counter. “I don’t care.” 

Y/N’s jaw dropped and the girl’s eyes grew wide. 

Harry didn’t say another word, walking past the two girls.

He hated being a dick, but lashing out made him feel the tiniest bit better about what happened last night. He pushed his bedroom door open with his hip, settling back into bed as he flicked through his options on Netflix. He wasn’t even thinking of Y/N, his mind struggling to remember whether or not he’d seen the last episode of the Great British Bake-Off. When he realized that he hadn’t, clicking on the title to start the episode, his bedroom door flew open and his roommate stormed in. 

“Fuck you!” She snapped, reaching for his remote, standing in front of his bed with a scowl on her perfect lips. “I don’t know who pissed in your cheerios this morning, but you don’t get to talk to me like that! Especially not in front of guests.” 

“Okay.” Harry shrugged. “Can I have my remote-” 

“No, you can’t!” She shouted, tossing her hands up as she let out a noise crossed between a groan and a growl. “What’s your deal?” 

“I haven’t exactly finished my coffee, love.” Harry was trying not to relish in the sight of his roommate frustrated and adorable. The feeling she was experiencing now was a fraction of what he felt every time he heard her through the wall. “Maybe come back later?” 

“Are you upset because I fucked someone last night and you didn’t?” Her brows shot up. “I know you didn’t cum last night and neither did the girl you brought home. Are you mad because you’re shit in bed?” 

“Maybe we were quiet. You know, decent and considerate of other people,” The smile he gave her was sarcastic. “Or maybe- and this is a good one- maybe, I had a girl sitting on my cock, ready to fuck me so bloody good I would cry, but I couldn’t let her because all I could think about was how much I love you. ” 

“What?” She asked, her mouth falling ajar. 

“Maybe when I was kissing her at the club, I was thinking about kissing you.” He set his coffee mug down on his nightstand, continuing on. “And maybe when I had my fingers in her cunt, I was thinking about you. And maybe, just maybe, every time you fuck someone so loud that it keeps me up at night, I wish it was me instead.” 

She didn’t say anything, watching as Harry moved forward. He snagged the remote from her hand, proud of his little confession. He turned the show back on, ignoring his roommate as she stood there with her eyes wide. He smirked, crossing his legs before he settled his hand on his stomach. 

“You process that and I’m just gonna watch Noel and Paul bicker.” Harry said. 

“You’re an asshole.” She whispered. “You...you can’t just be upset with me because I didn’t know that you liked me.” 

“I’m not upset with you,” He said. “I’m a little upset that I was trying to have a good time for once and you ruined it with you and your girl’s pornstar moaning, but I’m not upset with you. That would be extremely unfair of me.” 

“Why have you never said anything?” She cleared her throat, fidgeting with the hem of her oversized shirt. “We’ve been roommates for years, Harry.” 

“Because I love you as a friend, too.” He started. “I didn’t want to risk it.” 

“And now?” She squeaked out. “You’re willing to risk it now?” 

“Yeah.” He nodded. “I’m tired of wishing that it was me on the other side of this wall, Y/N. So...take some time to think about what I said and let me know if you’d be willing to give it a try. No hard feelings if you don’t want the same thing, I completely understand and I’ll respect your choice either way. We’ll just have to work out some arrangement where you let me know when you have someone-” 

“I want to try.” She said quickly, kneeling on the edge of the bed. “Because I really like you, Harry. Like, the only reason I’ve brought so many people back home with me is because I couldn’t have you. I knew that there was no way in hell you would like a girl like me. I’m obnoxious and boisterous and just...I didn’t think I was your type.” 

“You’re kidding?” His brows shot up. “You thought...oh my god, we’re both bloody idiots.” 

“You’re telling me.” She laughed, falling on her ass in front of him. “This whole time I’ve been fucking people that loudly to make you jealous and the entire time you’ve been listening, imaging it was you?” 

“I guess so.” He let out a breathy laugh, shaking his head. “Well, I guess that leaves us with two options.” 

“And what might those be?” She asked, a soft smile settling on her lips. 

“I take you out for brunch, maybe a nice walk in the park, and then I bring you home and fuck you so hard you won’t even remember the orgasms you had last night.” He lifted one finger up, smiling as he watched her inhale sharply. “Or option two, I fuck you now and we go to brunch later?” 

“Wouldn’t it just be lunch by then?” She tilted her head to the side, playfully narrowing her eyes at him. “I mean...that defeats the purpose, yeah?” 

“Really, that’s-” Harry let out a laugh, shaking his head. “You’re missing the point.” 

“I’m not.” She leaned forward, sliding her hands over his thighs. “I see it clear as day.” 

“And what does your heart tell you to do?” He licked over his bottom lip as she moved closer, her nose nearly bumping against his. 

“To take you up on option two.” She whispered. “Because it’s really not fair that I came five times last night and you didn’t come, not even once.” 

“Fuck.” Harry sputtered out as she brushed her lips over his. “Kiss me?” 

She pressed her lips into his, moving his body back onto his pillows. She moved over him, straddling his thighs as she deepened the kiss. When her tongue slipped over his bottom lip, his mouth fell open in response. His hands fell to her hips, digging into the soft flesh as his mind tried to catch up. The girl of his dreams was sitting on his lap, in his bed, and she wanted him. She wanted him just as bad as he wanted her. He couldn’t believe that this was happening, sure that he was just a fever dream or a nightmare that he would wake up from any second. But he was brought back to reality when her tongue slipped over his. 

And at that moment, Harry knew he was right. 

She did taste like peach. 

[fi0r3]

Just A Black Coffee

Warning(s) ⇾ profanity, 

Pairing ⇾ kuroo x gn!reader

Genre ⇾ fluff and some angst, college au,  mini-series

WC ⇾ 3.1k

Summary ⇾ You just got out of a toxic relationship and now you need a new place to stay. Your friend just so happens to know someone who’s looking for a roommate who can help out with the rent for the apartment.

AN: @luv4sakusa​ wanted to be included in my story so bad so I put her in 😒

j.a.b.c master list || next chapter

Ch. 1: New Encounters 

It was two in the morning, you and your boyfriend were in a heated argument. You had just caught him cheating on you, but he was trying to deny it. “Why won’t you just fucking admit it!” Your throat was hurting from screaming so much. “I saw you on the couch with her and you dare to tell me that it was nothing!” Truth be told, you had known for a while now that something was going on, but you were in denial. You didn’t want to believe that your boyfriend of five years would do something like that. Yet here you are right now, confronting him. “Omg, you’re overreacting. I was just--” you cut him off “YOU WHAT? HUH? YOU TRIPPED AND YOUR TONGUE ACCIDENTALLY SLIPPED INTO HER MOUTH?” You didn’t want to start crying, yet your body said otherwise. He stared at you in silence before you stomped off to the bedroom. 

“Y/n what are you doing?” “Isn't it obvious? I’m packing my shit and breaking up with you.” You were shoving your things into your suitcase not bothering to fold any of your clothes. He scoffs, “Really? Where are you gonna go then?” “Anywhere without you seems good.” You had no clue where to go, all you knew was that you didn’t want to be near Daisho for another second. 

You zipped up your suitcase and pushed past him. He forcefully grabbed your arm causing you to turn around. “You can’t just leave me y/n,” he says almost menacingly. “I think I fucking can when I have a pretty valid reason.” You yanked your arm away from him and walked out of the apartment leaving him alone with the girl. As soon as you were out, you felt a sense of relief, but that soon went away as you realized that those five years you spent together were nothing. And your heart starts to ache even more the further you walk away. 

_______________________________________________

You were sat on a park bench, the autumn winds nipping at your nose. You looked at your phone and the time read 2:31 am. ‘I shouldn’t have left while it was this cold’ You go to your contacts and call your best friend Abby. “Y/n?” she says in a raspy voice. “What’s wrong, why are you up right now?” You sigh before telling her everything that happened. 

“So, yea I was wondering if I could crash at your place for a bit.” “Bitch of course you can! Fuck Daisho, his bitch-ass doesn’t deserve you.” You chuckle at her string of curses. “I’ll be over soon.” “Okayyy be safe.” 

You were thankful for having a friend like Abby. You stood up from the bench and made your way over to her apartment. You needed to start finding a place for yourself soon because you didn’t want to mooch off of your friend for too long. You knew she wouldn’t mind having you stay, but you didn’t want to be too much of a burden because she lived in a pretty small space. You got on the bus that led to her address and looked up some websites for apartment listings to pass the time.

_______________________________________________

By the time you arrived at her place, it was already 3 am. You knocked on her door waiting for her to come and open it. You wait there for a few minutes before the door slowly cracks open. “Hey hun,” she says with her eyes partially open. She invites you in and leads you to the living room to set your things down. 

“You can put your suitcase over here and there are some toiletries in the closet if you need them.” “Thanks, Abby, you’re the best.” “Of course,  you know I’d do anything for you.” “Yea I know.” “So how ya holdin’ up?” You stared at her in silence for a moment trying to recollect your thoughts. You thought you had cried it all out while you sat in the park earlier, so you were surprised when you felt tears streaming down your face. 

You didn’t want to cry over this anymore, but your emotions got the better of you. You held your head in your hands and kept sobbing, unable to stop the emotions from pouring out. Abby came over to your side and hugged you. She didn’t say anything. She just let you cry it out until you were able to compose yourself. Deep down she always had a bad feeling about Daisho ever since the day you announced you two were dating. She just didn’t want to say anything because you were so happy. To her, it felt like she was overstepping her boundaries. 

“Ok, I think I’ve cried about this enough for today.” “Well shit, I thought I was gonna have to hear you cry until class started.” You chuckled. “Oh shut up.” “I think it’s time we both go to bed, otherwise we’ll pass out from sleep deprivation in class.” She gets up and brings you some pillows and blankets. She bids you goodnight before going back to her room. You were glad she went back to her room because you didn’t want her to see you crying still. You felt bad that you called her so late so you told her to go to bed. You spent that night crying until you finally fell asleep.  

_______________________________________________

You woke up at 7 am, eyes still sore from all the crying you did. You felt so drained, but you had to get up and get ready for your classes. Getting up from the couch, you fold the blankets and place them neatly to the side. You open your suitcase and take out your clothes and some toiletries before heading off to the bathroom. 

You saw your reflection in the mirror and were startled at the image before you. Eyes all red and puffy and hair all tangled and sticking up. ‘Yikes,’ you thought. You quickly detangle your hair and wait for the shower to heat up. 

When you get out, you quickly dry yourself off and change into a fresh pair of clothes. After getting dressed and drying your hair, you met Abby at the kitchen for breakfast. 

“You gonna be okay going to school?” she questions while grabbing two plates, placing one in front of you. You take a seat at the counter and fix yourself some of the food she prepared. “I’m not gonna let this whole break up ruin my studies alright. I just have to hold myself together during the day and break down when I get home,” you say with a strained smile. She rolls her eyes at your remark and takes the seat next to you.

“I swear if I see him I’m gonna--” you interrupt, “You’re going to walk away and not cause any drama.” She looks at you with an unamused face. “I’m serious, I don’t want any drama. I said what I said and I have no reason to talk to him anymore.” She turns back to her food before responding. “Okay fine.” You shake your head as you see the look of disappointment on her face. “I’ll be fine, promise.” 

You two finished up your food and grabbed your things for school. Both of you rushed to the train station so you wouldn’t be late for class. You were still in anguish over the events that happened, but you were trying your hardest to ignore those feelings so you could focus on your studies. You were anxious about running into him because you felt like you would start crying again if you did. You didn’t want to have a whole breakdown in school. 

You pushed all those thoughts in the back of your head as you reached the front of the school. “I have my club meeting after school so you’re gonna be going home by yourself.” “That’s fine I have my part-time job today.” You bid your goodbyes as the both of you head to your respective classes. 

_______________________________________________

You head to the back of the classroom and take a seat. You didn’t feel like socializing with anyone at the moment. Mainly because you didn’t want anyone to notice how red your eyes were. You had tried to cover it up as best as you could but to no avail. You decided to look for more apartment listings as you wait for the professor to come to class. All the ones you found were either too expensive or looked like they would fall apart the second you walked in. Finally, the professor walks in and begins the class. 

You barely paid attention during the lecture. You were so tired from basically having zero hours of sleep and stressing out over how you were going to find a place to live. You weren’t that close with anyone in your class so you couldn’t even ask them for help. You had zoned out for the majority of the class.  The only thing that you obtained from the lecture was that you had a research paper due in the two weeks that was worth 25% of your grade. 

You feel a buzz from your phone and you look down to see what it was. 

*Message from Abby*

Abby: “Hey y/n, I just wanted to let you know my boyfriend is coming over later to hang, but don’t worry we won’t make you a third wheel :)”

Y/n: “If I walk in on both you being whores, I’ll kick you out of your apartment--”

Abby: “Whatever”

You turn your phone off and try to pay attention to the last ten minutes of the lecture. 

_______________________________________________

School was finally over and you quickly met with Abby to tell her that you might be coming home late because you had to cover for your coworker. “Okay, just remember to be safe, you never know what sketchy ass guy is gonna be around.” “Don’t worry I know how to take care of myself. I didn’t take those self-defense classes for no reason.”  She waves goodbye as she heads over to meet with her club. 

You walked over to the convenience store where you worked that was only a couple of blocks away from your school. You liked taking the night shifts because it was usually the least busy and it meant you could do some homework. That being said, you also had your fair share of creeps and drunks. You had bought pepper spray just in case anything happens. Though you hoped that you wouldn’t have to use it. 

When you arrived, the worker there got up to leave so you could take over. You didn’t have much to do. Your main tasks consisted of restocking shelves, mopping the floors, and managing the register. When it was just you in the store it kind of felt peaceful. Sometimes you’d just observe the people who walk by and other times you’d be lost in thought. However this time, you wanted to be away from your thoughts. You tried to put on some music to drown out your thoughts. For a while, it was working until you saw your ex walking hand in hand with the girl he cheated on you with. You were enraged at the sight. How could he move on so easily, while you were still stuck on it? Were you overreacting? Were you the only one who cared about the relationship? All these negative thoughts started to flood in. You were brought back to reality when you heard the bell from the door ring, signaling that a customer was there. You quickly brush off those thoughts and greet the customer. The last hour and a half went into cleaning the floors and doing a little bit of homework.  

By the time you finished your shift, the sun had completely disappeared. Although you were confident in your self-defense skills, you would still be nervous about walking home alone. You made sure that you had your pepper spray with you before locking up. You quickly shoot Abby a text saying that you were done with work and were on your way to the apartment. 

_______________________________________________

 Upon your arrival home, you were greeted by a very loud and energetic guy, who you assumed to be Abby’s boyfriend. You were caught off guard by his liveliness, especially since it was pretty late. “Y/n, this is Bokuto, my boyfriend.” “Bo, this my friend that I was talking to you about.” You exchanged hellos before you went to the bathroom to freshen up. 

“Y/n I just solved all your problems,” your best friend announces to you as you exit the bathroom. “Uh how exactly?” you question with one eyebrow raised. “Bo, tell her” she nudges her boyfriend. You sat down next to them on the couch waiting for his response. “So, Abby told me how you’re looking for a place and I happen to know someone who’s looking for a roommate to share the rent.” Your eyes lit up immediately. “Omg really?!” you ask in excitement. “Yup, I can--” you interrupt “I’ll take it.” Both of them were startled by your immediate acceptance. 

“Damn y/n, you hate me that much.” You roll your eyes at her remark. “You know that’s not the reason why I wanna leave.” You turn back to Bokuto to ask who this person is just to make sure it wasn’t some sketchy weirdo. “He’s a friend of mine from high school, he goes to the same college as us. He’s a marketing major.” “Okay, he seems fine.” “Yea, I’ll tell him that you’re interested, and I can set up a time for you guys to get acquainted.” You were kind of excited to meet your potential new roommate. You just hoped that he wasn’t going to be an asshole like your ex. “Thanks so much, Bokuto.” “No problem y/n” he flashes a friendly smile. 

After a few hours of hanging out with each other, Bokuto had to go. Before leaving he gave you the address of the apartment, Kuroo’s contact information, and his own. He said he would tell you when Kuroo would be able to meet with you. “Aren’t you glad to have such an amazing friend like me?” she asks smugly. “Uhh if I’m not mistaken it was Bokuto who knows Kuroo not you.” you tease. “Okay, but who was the one who introduced you to him? Me exactly.” The both of you started laughing. “Ok, but seriously thank you for doing this. I’ll treat you to ramen sometime.” “You better.” 

_______________________________________________

A week has passed since that day, and Bokuto finally texted you saying that Kuroo was able to meet. You were waiting in anticipation. You were hoping that he didn’t already find someone else during that week of waiting. A wave of relief washed over you when you received Bokuto’s message with the details for the meeting. “So when are you seeing him?” she asks from the kitchen. “Today at 4.” You had about an hour to get ready. “Are you nervous?” “Yes and no,” you respond. “I just hope he doesn’t reject me,” you say while trying to pick out an outfit. “Bo said that he’d be fine with anyone as long as they’re able to pay the other half.” “Do you know anything about him?” you inquire hoping to get a little more information before meeting him. “The only thing Bo has told me is that they’ve known each other since high school and were rival teams for volleyball. Other than that, I’m as clueless as you.” You give her a slight nod. 

You finally picked out your outfit and went to go change. “Does this look okay?” She turns around to see what you had on. “Yea you look great.” You go back into the bathroom to look at yourself in the mirror one more time. “ARE YOU SURE?” you yell. “YES STOP WORRYING, YOU LOOK FINE!” she yells back. You leave the bathroom to grab your bag and head to the cafe. “Wish me luck,” you sigh. “Relax, it’s not a life or death situation,” she jokes. You wave goodbye and head over to the cafe, hoping that you wouldn’t arrive late.

_______________________________________________

You walk into the cafe scanning the area to see if he was there. You didn’t even know what he looked like so there was no point in trying to look. You feel a buzz from your pocket. You take your phone out to see a message from Kuroo.

Kuroo Tetsurō: “By the window.”

You look up to see a guy with spiky hair sitting by the window looking at you. You could feel his gaze piercing through you. Your heart started to race. You walked over hoping he wouldn’t notice how nervous you were. “Hey gorgeous,” he says with a smirk. “What’s your name?” His forwardness caught you off guard. “Uh I’m y/n,” you say as you took the seat across from him. “Can I get you something to drink?” he asks. “A black coffee is fine.” He gets up to order the drinks. As he gets up, you catch yourself admiring his looks but you quickly brush it off, especially when he’s going to be your future roommate. Besides you just got out of a relationship. Just as you brushed it off, he comes back with the drinks. 

“So why do you wanna be my roommate?” he asks you and you reply with “I just really need a place to live right now, I promise I’ll be a good roommate, and make sure to give the payments on time.” “Whoa whoa whoa there, I just asked for a reason not a whole life story,” he says in a teasing manner. You sit there, cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “Sorry didn’t mean to embarrass you, sweetheart.” Little did he know that it made you feel even more flustered. “Uhmm it’s fine,” you reply. Trying to ease the conversation from what just happened, you say in a cocky manner, “So do you want me or not?” Causing a chuckle to escape his lips. 

“This is going to be interesting.”

[hiddlestonsbabygirl]

Care For Me (Steve Rogers au) SugarDaddy!Steve

•prologue•

An alternative universe where Steve isn’t an Avenger, but rather a CEO of one of the biggest companies in the US. His best friend and business partner Bucky secretly made him an account in an online dating site for sugar daddies and sugar babies, setting Steve up on a date with the only suitable sugar baby he thought was best for his best friend among the million others in his inbox.

It’s you. You’re the sugar baby.

Or,

Where reader is a med student who is badly in need of financial support and resorted to desperate measures by signing up to an online dating site with a little help from reader’s best friend, Nat.

•••

You ran up the staircase, not bothering to apologize as you bumped into strangers along the way. Your heart hammered against your chest as sweat outlined your forehead, thoughts running through your mind as you wondered what could have happened to your apartment. You just got a call from your good neighbor Mrs. Sally that the landlord stormed into your hallway followed by two men in white muttering angry words as he unlocked your door with his duplicate key. You knew instantly why he was there. You were getting kicked out of your own apartment since you weren’t able to pay for your rent in six months. The landlord had warned you beforehand to pay sooner, but it was getting harder and harder each day. You were already broke, all your savings spent on your medical school. You didn’t want to stop your studies—you were already on your third year and ever since you graduated college your goal was straight; finish med school, pass the licensure exams and become a doctor. You couldn’t even last a week on your countless part-time jobs because of your coming in late due to knee-deep work you have to face every single day in school.

Your financial status was making it hard for you to finish your goal. Very hard.

You reached your floor, and, as expected, all your things were outside your door in boxes. Your heart sank as you stared at the mess, your clothes and books thrown aggressively into the containers as if they meant nothing but pieces of trash.

You rushed inside and your landlord was standing by your small kitchen, barking orders at his two men, without even noticing that you entered.

“Please, sir,” you cried as you neared him. “Please give me one more chance. I’ll pay by the end of the month, I promise!”

He scowled at you. “I’ve given you too many chances, (Y/N). You’re too much.”

He turned his back at you and proceeded to march into your bedroom, calling out one of his men to follow him inside.

“No!” You yelled angrily this time. You couldn’t believe him. You may haven’t paid your debt owed to this man but that didn’t give him the right to intrude into your privacy.

You ran past them and stood in front of them before they could get any closer to the door, your cheeks flushed and eyes filled with angry tears.

“You can’t just walk into someone’s bedroom and take everything away!” You cried. “I can pack up myself! I don’t need your filthy hands on my belongings!”

Your landlord looked furious. “Then throw your damn things out of my apartment in the next hour or I’ll fucking rip this room apart by myself!”

You flinched at the loudness and anger of his voice before he turned around and left without another word, his men following close behind. Once you heard the main door slam shut you bawled your eyes out, sinking to the floor as you struggled to think of places where you could find refuge without having to pay. All you had in your wallet was a 20-dollar bill, and you didn’t have any extra cash in your bank account. You considered searching for very cheap rooms in the vicinity without having to ride because riding meant paying. But you couldn’t walk on the streets while struggling to hold boxes of your things. They were even too many for only two small hands.

You sobbed. At this point you felt so hopeless already. You almost convinced yourself that you were going to throw your unnecessary things away and sleep on the streets, while asking for spare change. You’d have to give up your med school since you couldn’t shoulder all the expenses anymore and just look for a job where it pays just enough for food and shelter. You didn’t have a family anymore to back you up. Your addictive mother left you for a stranger, and your father’s been gone even before you were born. You didn’t have any siblings, nor uncles or aunts or extended family members where you could go to for help. You had no one. It was only you.

You wiped away your tears, swallowing your pride as you took out your old, worn-out phone from your pocket and dialed your best friend’s number.

Natasha.

She’s been your best friend since high school, and you both shared the same passion in life. You both wanted to become a doctor. You both have so much in common, and you both agree to almost everything. You’ve been there for each other through the ups and downs, and Natasha has helped you through your own struggles financially. But asking for this big favor from her was just too much for you. You didn’t want to add a burden to your best friend—med school is already hard enough as it is.

But you were already desperate. You didn’t have any more options. This was the only one.

“Hello?”

You felt a sudden wave of relief hearing a voice so soothing in the midst of the chaos. “Nat, hi.”

“(Y/N), have you been crying? What happened??”

You hiccuped. “I-I’m fine, Nat. C-Could you come over? I k-kind of need your help.”

“I’ll be there in ten.”

As promised, a knock came from your door and you stood up to open it, revealing a worried Natasha standing over your disarrayed valuables.

You couldn’t help yourself. Fresh tears welled up in your eyes as she pulled you in for a tight hug and you sobbed into her shoulder.

“We’ll pack up your things and go to my house. You’re staying there for as long as you like. My home is always open for you, (Y/N). And you know that.”

...

“So? How did it go with Katherine?” Bucky spoke up as he stabbed his medium-rare meat with his fork, clearly playing with his food rather than eating it. It was lunch break and Bucky and Steve were in their usual go-to for lunch, Redbird.

“Despite the fact that we called it a night early? It was okay.” Steve replied with a scoff, bringing a spoonful of rice to his mouth and watched as Bucky gave his best friend a deadpanned look.

“And you were the one who ended things early, not her, right?”

Steve nodded. He was slowly getting tired of Bucky setting him up with several women, whom he doesn’t even take interest in. He always has the need to pair Steve with someone because “you always look so bleak and somber,” as Bucky would put it.

“Buck, I really appreciate you doing these stuff for me, being my wingman and all, but I really don’t feel like dating right now.”

“Oh, yeah?” He retorted. “Then why do you always look so depressed? You can’t fucking tell me your wealth and fame is making you distressed. That’s some absurd bullshit right there.”

“Language.” Steve glared at him. He always hated when people cussed. For him it was indecent and dirty.

Except, of course, cussing in bed. He can only tolerate profanity under the sheets. But not often, though. That would be too much to listen to.

“Seriously??”

“And yes, James. Wealth and fame does not automatically make you happy and unproblematic. Do you know how many rich and famous people died because they took their own life? Because they hide their problems. The only image the public sees is the happy and successful façade they show.”

Silence. Steve was almost convinced he had won over their little argument.

“That shit deep, man.” Bucky only chuckled to which his best friend exhaled an exasperated sigh. Steve couldn’t even bother to point out that Bucky said a bad language word again.

“But you’ve got friends. Your family loves and supports you, you make time for sports and leisure...what could possibly make you so sad??”

Steve breathed out. “I told you, I’m not depressed, I’m not sad. I just don’t feel like dating as of the moment.”

“Will you feel like dating again tomorrow?”

“Haha, very funny.”

Bucky only stared at his best friend as he took a sip of his drink, studying him with confusion and amusement. Very formal man, always has a steely look on his face, very dominant demeanor, couldn’t even stand hearing curse words! What could his best friend possibly like in a woman?? Were his calculations wrong? Did he expect differently? Was he looking at it in a wrong angle?

Is Steve gay??

“Barnes, quit staring at me like that. You’re making me uncomfortable.” Steve brought him back to his senses.

And then it hit him.

“Hey, Steve, I think I need to go.” Bucky announced as he stood up and gathered his phone and wallet lying around on the table.

“Oh? Why the sudden hurry?” The blond-haired man asked as his eyes watched his best friend suddenly look distracted.

“It’s nothing. I just forgot to feed my pet dragon.” He then proceeded to pace towards the exit, leaving Steve confused and asked himself how he was acquainted with a weird and funny man like James Buchanan Barnes.

Little did Steve know that his best friend was up to a very stupid but brilliant idea. He knew he was going to get in trouble if Steve found out about it, but it was worth a shot. And his plan involved an online dating site and younger girls.

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

A/N: New series! Yay!!! Tags are also open, just hit me up! Next part coming soon ❤️

[infinite-rabbits]

Emergency: Please help

So this happened yesterday. I made a few posts of it here and was messing around on tumblr to distract myself from all of the stress, but now the seriousness of the situation is really hitting us.

My roommate and I are both out of work due to Corvid-19. We’re not sure if we’re getting paid for our time away and there isn’t much communication from our jobs. Yesterday we got hit hard enough from someone who was gunning it out of a parking lot that they totaled the car. I know this doesn’t look like a lot of damage, but apparently the frame is completely messed up and the insurance company is going to take the car and possibly give us enough to replace it??

The worst part about this is that we had barely enough money to last over the next two months being out of work. We had rent covered, food, and bills once we pooled our money together.

But now we have to loose a huge chunk of that money because he has to pay the deductible on the insurance.

So I’m going to do what I really wished I would never have to do. I have to ask for your help. Please, if you can donate anything at all, doesn’t matter how big or little it is, you can send it to me through my Ko-Fi: HERE Or you can IM me and I can give you the address my paypal is linked to. If you can’t donate, please please please just reblog this. The more people see it, the better.

Thank you for any help you can give, little or small, it means the world to us.

Full Story of what happened under the cut:

So uh... we ran out of bread last night and we're close to being out of PB&J. This morning we decided to go out and get some more because, well, it's hard to get ahold of because everyone's panicking and it's one of the main things in our diet right now. The roomie and I headed for Walmart, and while we were on a 2-lane road in the left lane, some douchenozzle shoves his way through the heavy traffic out of a parking-lot and rams us on my side. We weren't even going that fast. We were actually coming up to a stop-light, so my roomie was slowing down. He hit us hard enough to make us spin-out and do a full 180degree turn. The back passenger door was absolutely wrecked and I was lucky he didn't hit MY door, but because he hit my side, I'm really starting to hurt now. The back driver wheel hit the median while we spun and it actually hit so hard that it knocked the wheel itself off of the rim and scraped the metal. Somehow we didn't hit another car and we wound up in the right-hand lane completely turned around and facing the wrong direction. I was SO pissed that I got out of the car and screamed at the guy. Both of us were shaking and I was choking because when he hit us, some white stuff flew  into the car and I breathed it in. Still kinda choking on it. (Found out later it was probably the stirofoam that was under his bumper.) I manage to kinda stop traffic enough for us to get the car out of the lane and into the parking lot beside us, after which we realized that we couldn't drive any further because of the wheel being messed up. He stayed in the median and called for someone while we called the cops and the insurance company. Then I noticed there was a damn kid in his car. She was like, 2-3 years old and didn't look like she'd been strapped in because she was just climbing from the back to the front seat to see what was going on. He sped through fucking traffic and t-boned us with a kid in the back seat. This whole time, he's over there refusing to come and talk to us until someone else shows up. Turns out, he needs a translator. That's fine. In our area we get a lot of tourists so I just assumed he wasn't from around here. I would have assumed his car was a rental if it hadn't been for the brand new paper license plate. They get their car into the parking lot too and his bumper is all but falling off. A lady shows up to take care of the kid, which seems fine. But then another guy shows up. Then another guy. And Grandma shows up too. For some reason the whole family shows up and are hanging around while we wait for the cop. Normally I wouldn't care, but being surrounded by this many people while I'm already anxious was a bit much for me and made me uncomfortable. I'd already called a friend and cried over the phone with her and being surrounded made me feel stressed. Finally the cop shows up, gets our stories and our information, then goes into his car for basically an hour to have to fill everything out and get it all in order. Luckily we just get given a sheet of paper with all of the information we need on it. Then he glances at them and says to us, "They're gonna be pissed." He wound up getting a ticket among who knows what else because of his reckless driving. The cop leaves and they're visibly angry. Then one of the guys who showed up approaches us. Something about him immediately rubbed me the wrong way, like I got a bad vibe from him. He asks us if we're alright, and I tell him no because our car's wrecked and I'm starting to hurt. Then he tries to get us to lie. Like the dude straight up look sat my roommate and says, "If they ask what happened, tell them--" I have NEVER cut someone off so fast before. I told him: " NO. If they ask, we are going to tell them EXACTLY what happened." And this douche has the NERVE to say: "Well next time you really shouldn't be going so fast. Then you can stop when something like this happens." Like, he's legit trying to turn this around to be my roomie's fault. Keep in mind: we were coming up to a stop light. We were actively slowing down. The speed limit in there is 45. My roomie couldn't have possibly been going more than 35 at the absolute most, and even that's pushing it. I just GLARE at this guy and say: "NO. Even the COP said WE HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY. HE hit US. You need to walk away." I'm... I'm tiny. I'm not even fully 5'6" and I'm sitting here in my stupid Jurassic Park tank top and hole-filled shorts just glaring daggers at this guy. Don't you dare come at me with your stupid scorpion gold chain necklace thinking you're all big and bad and thinking you're going to intimidate me when you're outright coming after my roommate. I'm a wuss when someone comes after ME and I'm by myself, but you put me in a room with people I care about and have someone go after them? All bets are off. Thankfully he just got pissed off and turned away. The whole family climbed into the back of their other van except for like two who went into the translator's car, and they all drove off. For like an hour. We were left sitting there trying to contact the insurance company again, making sure they got all of the files they needed, making sure they got their statements, and figuring out if it was getting towed tonight or not. Then the translator and one of the other guys show up and start messing with their van. First they back it up...and the bumper nearly completely falls off. Then they sit there for a few minutes and try to get it on. The guy driving it goes very slowly out of the parking lot, leaving his entire front in the right-hand lane for some reason while he's waiting to go and then finally does. The other guy on the other hand almost causes another accident. So he's behind a truck that's also waiting to turn out. When the truck goes to pull out, this dumbass SLAMS down on his gas, nearly rear-ends the truck, slams on his breaks, and then once the truck is out of the way, he zooms out of the parking lot without properly looking to make sure no one else is coming. I really don't understand it. But from the looks of things, they probably aren't going to be calling their own insurance company. The car wasn't even registered under the guy that rammed us. It was someone else's name of the same address. So he just wrecked someone else's newly bought car. All of it sucks, my roommate's car is totaled and we are gonna see if we're getting any money for it tomorrow, and I'm in pain so the insurance company is gonna have to send me a doctor over all of this. We're out $500 for the deductible and I'm.... honestly really frustrated. All of this because of Bread, Peanutbutter, and Jelly. Thankfully a friend of ours came to pick us up and also brought us those three things, but now the adrenaline is starting to wear off and I'm getting *really* tired. I'm going to get myself some coffee and try my best to focus on the one-shot I started before the crash just to keep myself awake for now. For the most part I was typing all of this here because it's a safe place to store the information in case I forget anything. But also I kinda wanted to let you guys know why I hadn't posted anything yet. I was saying I wanted to do one short-story a day and I fell behind yesterday because I was doing character-designs for one of the other stories. So I feel guilty falling behind today too. Even if I do have a good reason for it. Stay safe out there, everyone. It's getting really crazy.

[flemnotthun]

‘Who Else Would It Be’

Chapter 6 - Hard

BIG *TW* Rape (discussed, some detail). Kate’s story in this is my story, never stay with someone who hurts you x

_____________

Steve gave notice on his flat the next day, eager to get the ball rolling on his new life together with Kate as soon as possible. Thankfully, there was only one month left on the contract, so he’d only be paying rent for one more month, and being the gent that he was, he offered to pay rent for the time he’d stayed at Kate’s, but she wouldn’t hear of it.

“Don’t be daft! You’ve paid your way in dressing changes and food shops” she said.

Steve’s morning began with the warm person cuddled next to him giving him a peck on the cheek, then the side of his nose, and then his lips with a whispered, “Hello mate”. He leaned in to return her touches when he found that his bed-partner had vanished into the kitchen. She returned about 10 minutes later with two plates of pancakes accompanied by a glass of water each. Kate placed Steve’s breakfast on his bedside table and walked around the foot of the bed to do the same with hers. Sitting down on the bed to look at Steve, she saw him sat up, smiling and stretching out his arms to draw her close to him from behind. He rested his hands lightly on her waist, not wanting to pull due to the still healing gash in her side. Kate read his gesture and shifted back and down towards her friend, allowing his arm to fall protectively around her middle as he curled his legs behind her knees, slotting them together like puzzle pieces.

“What’s all this then? You didn’t have to make me breakfast , you’re still meant to be resting!” Steve spoke softly into the ear resting in front of his mouth.

“Not bloody likely!” Kate replied. “I’ve always cooked you breakfast when you’ve stayed over. You can’t get rid of my cooking that easily.”

“You’re a marvel Fleming,” Steve smiled into the back of her shoulder blade. Kate started giggling as his nose tickled her, and with that he eased them both up so that they were sitting.

They ate in a companionable silence, only stopping eating to make noises like “mmm” and “...tastes so good...”

“The neighbours will think we’re getting heavy on it if we carry on like this,” Kate laughed.

“Oh that’s funny,” said Steve. “I thought you were gay, short haircut and all that...”

Kate snorted, slapping Steve playfully on the arm.

“I bet you’ve got off on that one many a time,” Kate quipped, giving as good as she got.

“Um... no, ah, I...” replied a flustered Steve, using his hands to try and make up for his lack of speech. Kate put him out of his misery with a lemon and sugar kiss on his lips that broke them into fits of laughter.

“Nah, I’m more of a 10 dates after an STI test kind of guy.” Steve joked as Kate let out a hearty laugh. She was so beautiful when she was laughing, Steve thought. He told her this, which earned him an even bigger smile from the woman opposite him.

“Actually,” Kate said, the big grin draining slowly from her face to be replaced with a sad smile.

“That’s something we ought to talk about. It’s something I’ve been meaning to bring up for a while.”

Steve panicked. Had she guessed? Had someone told her about his problems in bed? God, had Sam said something? But his thoughts were cut off abruptly when Kate uttered the unthinkable.

“About 15 years ago, I was raped. It effects me in bed.”

All feeling dropped out of Steve’s legs as he took in her words one by one.

She’d been raped. He felt sick, empty, dead, but just like at the hospital, this was about her.

“Kate...I.” He looked at the woman in front of him, eyes filling with tears which he blinked back to save her embarrassment. Just when he thought that she couldn’t be more resilient, she outdid herself.

Steve took a breath to calm himself. “Kate, I’m sorry this happened. This must have been very difficult for you to tell me, and I’m here to listen whenever you want, for however long you want. And this goes without saying but of course I believe you.” Steve said quietly, offering his hand to her, which she grasped. To hear that his partner was effected in bed, understandably, by something so awful, put his physical difficulties, while upsetting, into perspective.

Kate took a deep breath. “Thank you mate. I don’t want you to think this means that I don’t want to have sex or be intimate with you. I do, and I have done for a very long time. I also don’t want you to think that I don’t want affection from you. I do, and everything we’ve been doing has made me feel cherished and so loved. You’ve done everything you could to make me feel comfortable and you’ve done nothing wrong. It’s just... with Mark, it wasn’t him... but there were problems. He would...”

She paused as Steve twisted the rings on her fingers, listening attentively and patiently.

“He would... do things... without asking, put his hand around my neck, use belts...”

Steve tightened his grip on her hand.

“It’s okay, Kate, you can tell me as much or as little as you want to.”

Kate smiled gratefully. “It’s okay. You’re my best mate, and I want to share this with you, not because I think you’re like Mark, or... him, but because I know you’re not.”

Tears began to fall from both of their eyes, as Kate went on to describe what happened to her.

It had been her first boyfriend, he’d pressured her, and she felt like she couldn’t say no because he’d flooded her with so much affection, the opposite of Steve’s careful gestures and respect for consent. He’d put his hands around her neck, he’d beaten her, but she didn’t leave.

“I stayed with him for a year, despite the rape. I know that makes me seem desperate.”

“No, not at all Kate, those situations can be so hard to escape from. I’m so glad you got out though. I’m so glad and I’m so sorry that this happened to you.”

Kate told Steve that the abuse had started with the subtle digs, the comments about friends, her short hair, the way she dressed, progressing to screaming fits and verbal beatings.

“He used to send me photos of women being raped by animals, threatened to break my arm, told everyone I was mental. Some of my old friends still think I was making it all up...” Kate’s words choked in her mouth, unable to go on any more. Steve gathered her in his arms and held her as she cried.

“I’m sorry Kate, I just hate the thought of you going through that alone. Love shouldn’t feel like that.” Steve said quietly as he stroked her hair.

Kate surfaced and continued: “it’s only sometimes, but with Mark... in bed... I used to freeze, dissociate and go into flashbacks. He used to tell me to pull myself together, and that I needed to ‘work on myself’ to get through it.”

Steve felt anger rising up his body that someone had treated his best friend as if she were broken, a problem that it was her responsibility to fix, “Oh God Kate, that sounds absolutely awful. Those responses are totally normal.”

“I know,” Kate replied, “but when it’s the one you think you love saying it...”

“Tell me about it, Nicky used to tell me not to spend time with you. I knew it was wrong, that she was so jealous, but she kept putting pressure on me.”

“But you never spent any less time with me?” Kate questioned, blinking through tears.

“Nope. Was never gonna happen.” Steve replied defiantly.

Kate beamed and pressed a kiss to Steve’s chin.

“Well,” she said, putting her hand on her heart. “I promise I will never ask you to spend any less time with me. In fact, I’m so excited for you to move in properly. Don’t get me wrong, I love being independent, but I want you there with me. What Nicky did was abusive, and you’re remarkable for resisting it. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you at the time, I should have asked more questions.”

“Kate,” Steve pushed gently, “You’re remarkable. I know it’s a cliche but you’re so strong. Likewise, I should have checked in on you more when things were bad with mark. You’ve been so brave, and I’m so grateful that you’ve trusted me with this. Most importantly though, you’re yours, no one else’s, and I can’t wait to see what you achieve next, even if it’s nothing. I want my time with you.” Steve put his hand on her hip and kissed the top of her head.

“I really love you Steve, you know that?” Kate whispered in his ear.

“I love you too mate. So much.” Steve whispered back.

Reluctantly, they rose from the bed and took their plates out to the kitchen. He would move in that day, and not just into her home, but into her soul.

[dopescotlandwarrior]

Bluegrass-Chapter 11

               A special thanks to @statell​ for everything you do for my stories

Previous chapters on AO3

Chapter Eleven

The following day, Jamie drove Michael to look at a car. It was perfect for his needs and he paid cash for it. Once they were done, Jamie suggested dropping in on Claire and he would just stay after their visit. Michael was all for a glass of whisky and texted her they were on the way.

Claire heard two vehicles pull up to her stairs and went outside to welcome the men into soft comfortable chairs on her patio. Jamie looked at her for a long minute, appreciating the long cotton dress she wore and hair up in a ponytail. She took his breath away, but was soon snapped out of his reverie with a glass of whisky. The three of them seemed happy and relaxed and the whisky flowed. Stories about training horses and buying quality broodmares were shared and Jamie laughed while telling how he acquired the Runner’s dam.

“It was ridiculous inching up with another bidder. That fucken guy was so cheap it was turnin into torture for all of us. I decided to offer the askin price and Chad could kiss my ass.”

“Wait!”

Claire put a hand to her chest and took a deep breath.

“Did you say Chad? You outbid Chad, Jamie”

“Aye, he was plenty pissed too. I told him to grow up and find another mare.”

Claire stood up and paced around her patio. Suddenly it all made sense. That’s why Chad went out with her, to get information about Jamie, or Runner. She sat down and stayed quiet until Michael left, and she was plenty worked up by that time.

“Maybe Chad had something to do with poisoning the horses, Jamie. I don’t know how yet, but I always wondered why he wanted another date when we didn’t seem to get along.”

“I know him, how could he slip in and poison the feed without someone seein him?”

“I don’t know and forgive me for saying this, but I think Isobel had something to do with it too. Only because her horse was not affected. Porcelain was not poisoned but she did beg me to get her away because she was afraid of Isobel.”

Jamie got very quiet and listened to Claire feeling the truth in what she said.

“It was a sudden trip to Scotland she went on, maybe she was afraid of bein implicated, so she left. I remembered she cried and carried on for days when she got home. An exaggerated response because she couldn’t give two shits for those horses.”

“Why is she staring at Runner in the middle of the night. What can she gain from hurting him?”

“I don’t know Sassenach, but it’s time to push her a bit and hope she makes a mistake. Right now I need yer body mo chridhe. Come inside, I have somethin to show ye.”

Claire was hungry for him and peeled his clothes and boots off slowly and then worshiped his naked body until he almost came in her mouth. He pulled her away from him and told her to remove her dress while he watched. She slipped out of the dress and waited.

“Bra and panties too, love.”

She stood in front of him raking her eyes over his gorgeous body.

“Come here.”

When Claire was seconds away from her orgasm, Jamie heard Molly come in and the front door close. He covered Claire’s mouth with his hand and pushed her off the cliff she was on, keeping his hand in place until her moaning stopped. She gave him a come fuck me look and he tumbled into his own hurricane of release, heroically quiet.

Most of the next day, Claire and Runner worked with Michael, giving Jamie some time to consider the Chad connection and possibly Isobel. He picked up the phone and dialed Ned Gowen. The older gentleman’s voice gave Jamie goosebumps and made his heart hurt. Ned had been a friend of the family for decades and his voice reminded him of home.

“Yes laddie, I added terms to your contract with Dunsany for the dissolution of marriage. Ye havena married the lass and doesna sound like any possibility in the future. If you want her out, tell her to leave. The loan contract was signed by you and Dunsany. Isobel was not a signer and as long as you are current on yer payments, she canna force you to sell. It may be harsh for Isobel, but she is entitled to nothing.”

Jamie couldn’t believe his ears and struggled through the rest of the conversation. He wanted to get up to the house and pack all of Isobel’s belongings right away. Isobel could rent an apartment somewhere, but he wasn’t paying for it. Maybe this was enough to drive her back to Scotland.

Fortunately, he gave it some thought before impulsively kicking Isobel out and though it was a dreaded phone call, he decided to touch base with Dunsany. He had given Dunsany double and triple payments when his foals and yearlings sold, consequently he was far ahead in paying off his debt. He hoped that would count for something. It was the dinner hour in Scotland, so he made the call before he lost his nerve.

Dunsany was not surprised at this development in the relationship of Jamie and his daughter, in fact, it was expected.

“If Isobel has taken no interest in your breeding business than it stands to reason she will not share in the profits. She isn’t smart enough to realize this so I imagine you will have quite a time with her. If she wants to come back to Scotland, her mother will welcome her with open arms. If she decides to stay in Kentucky I will pay for her housing. You can pass that along to her please and I will wait to hear from her.”

“Jamie, I financed your operation because you acted honorably, agreeing to marry Isobel when she was with child. I make money with honorable men every day and knew this was a good investment, no matter the turn out between you and my daughter. So far I was right, although I’m not happy with the doubling up on your payments, it's costing me too much in interest. You can pay your monthly installment or pay me off so I can reinvest.”

That was all there was to it. Jamie hung up the phone feeling like a man freed from four years of imprisonment and couldn’t sit still with his happy energy. He went out to watch Claire and Runner, also getting some sunshine on his face.

Claire was breezing and Runner was open-mouthed from her holding back on the bit. He wanted to bust out and gallop, it was obvious how much he loved to run. Jamie smiled as they came closer. Michael called to her to move him eight feet to the left and Claire was able to direct him with no problem. Other horses were working out and when three of them came close to Runner he pinned his ears back and almost broke out of Claire’s control. She let him accelerate a bit but still held him back.

Jamie sat against a tree and dialed Isobel.

“Something important has come up Isobel. I need you to call me back right away.”

Jamie closed his eyes to the bright sun and wondered what kind of shit storm Isobel was going to cause over being kicked out of the house. He picked up his vibrating phone.

“What is it, Jamie.”

“I need ye to come home as soon as ye can. I’ll be packin your stuff tonight because ye are movin out of my house. Yer father said he will pay your housing if ye stay in America, or ye can go home to Scotland.”

“You must have hit yer head today if you think I’m leavin with nothin. Ha, that’s rich Jamie. You will pay off the loan to my father and sell the farm so we can split it. Then I will leave happily.”

“By contract, you are entitled to nothin. You are not a signer on the finance agreement, more importantly, you have not contributed five minutes of your time to this business in the four years we have been here.”

“Bullshit! I am not stupid Jamie Fraser.”

“I think ye should call yer father and stay calm so he can explain it to ye. I’ll pack yer things and ye can take what ye need for the short term. You can stay in a hotel until ye find suitable housing or go home. If ye don’t come for your things tonight I will leave them outside the door for ye.”

“No!” Isobel was shrieking into the phone, so loud that Jamie held his cell away from his ear. “No, you canna do this to me, fuck ye. I will be home for dinner and bed like every night.”

“Perfect, I could use some help gettin it all packed. Goodbye Isobel.”

When Jamie looked up, Claire and Michael were staring at him. They could hear Isobel from the track. Claire jumped off Runner and pulled his saddle off. She gave Jamie a long look as she walked to the wash rack.

Jamie ran after her and helped kneed Runner’s muscles with his permanent smile. Claire had never seen him so happy.

“I am very curious about what has made you so happy.”

“I am movin Isobel out of my house, tonight. She isn’t happy about it but I’m doin it anyway. I spoke to Ned Gowen earlier and he told me the financing contract was signed by Dunsany and me, not Isobel. If we had married, the property and assets would be split according to Kentucky law. Failing to marry means she has rights to nothin. Her father will support her so she’s not in the streets and maybe she will go back to Scotland. I can only hope.”

They walked out into one of the pastures to enjoy the Indian summer warmth and let Runner chow down on grass. Jamie touched her cheek and then kissed her.

“Jamie, I can’t stop thinking about Dustin today. Can you think of a reason he doesn’t call or email me? I’m curious about how he is doing, and I miss him. It hurts my feelings that he just forgot about me after being attached at the hip for almost two years.

“He loves ye Sassenach. I imagine he’s suffering with a broken heart and talkin to ye will make it worse.”

Claire looked at him like he lost his mind.

“It’s true, love. I saw it the first day you were here. He will come around when he’s ready.”

Claire was deep in thought when they walked back. She wondered if it were true about Dustin and wondered why she never noticed. Jamie kissed her deeply and said he would be fighting with Isobel all night so he would not see her after work. He held her for several minutes, one last kiss, and she was gone.

Jamie stared at the enormous job of packing all the clothes, makeup, lotions, shampoo, and a thousand other things. This was way bigger than he estimated, and he would need a ton of boxes. He dashed into town and bought a dozen boxes in three sizes. Coming back, he saw Isobel’s Cadillac in the driveway and took a deep breath.

Isobel walked swiftly toward him looking like she would stab him in the face if she could.

“What are all those boxes for?”

“I told ye, yer movin out tonight. I suggest ye find a suitable hotel to stay at until ye find somethin to rent.” He moved toward the bedroom and started building the boxes. When the tape gun made that horrible noise, Isobel snapped. She grabbed the tape gun and kicked the boxes all over the bedroom.

“I’m callin the police to arrest ye, ye piece of shit!”

Jamie grabbed another box but could not get the tape from Isobel. It looked like she was having a stroke with her purple face and wide eyes. Jamie walked back to his truck where he had a second tape gun and then started on another box.

“I’m callin Jenny. She will stop this, she is at least sane.”

“Enough Isobel! Stop acting like a spoiled four-year-old! You have hated every minute in Kentucky, I can’t remember the last time you were here, and there’s no reason for ye to stay. None whatsoever. I’m not sellin the business and yer father doesn’t want any more double payments. I know ye lied to me about being pregnant, if ye don’t get out tonight, yer father will know as well. Now you can help me or leave me to my task.”

“Ye prick!” With that Isobel ran out the door and sped away in her Cadillac.

Jamie continued until he saw Michael at his bedroom door looking like he had seen a ghost.

“What’s wrong with ye Michael?”

“Did you tell Isobel I was staying in the guest room for a while?”

“I did, well I sent her a text message ye were here, why.”

“I doubt she read it. She came bursting into the house like hellfire was chasing her. She called someone and paced like an animal while she talked. She told this person he was an idiot and if he hadn’t botched the poisoning this would all be over. She also told him she was getting kicked off the property, so it was now or never.”

“Holy shit.”

Jamie sat on the bed and stared into space for several minutes. Both men were shocked by what Isobel revealed not knowing Michael was in the house. Jamie grabbed his phone and dialed Angus hoping the guys had not left yet.

“Angus, can ye and Rupert wait to leave until I get there. There are big developments and I need yer help. I’ll be right there.”

The men assembled in the office and Jamie explained what Isobel said on the phone before asking for ideas.

“Do ye think the poisoner is comin back to finish the job, Jamie?”

“I think this person still wants to hurt me, whether it be poison again or some other terrible thing. I don’t know why Isobel’s presence here will facilitate the guy, but she seems to think so.”

They continued thinking about what might happen and after fifteen minutes Isobel was calling.

“Isobel.”

“I never want to see your face again Jamie Fraser and if you get near me, I’ll call the police and tell them you tried to kill me! I must get my tack out of the barn, so I need a passcode. I’ll be in and out and you can watch from your ridiculous cameras if you want. But if you come near me, you’ll spend the night in jail. So give me your code.”

“8246 star.”

“Do I get to say goodbye to Porcelain Love?”

That’s a different code, its 7933 pound.”

Isobel clicked off without another word. Jamie was shaking with rage. Rupert and Angus were incredulous at what Jamie did, giving her his code. Michael figured it out and smiled.

“If I’m right gentlemen, she intends to give the code to the poisoner so he can finish the job. We know it’s happening tonight so if we take positions in different areas of the compound, we can catch the bloke in the act. As soon as you see him stop at a stall ye jump him. I have a feelin he’ll be headed straight for Runner so let him pass through if he is headed that way.”

“It’s a little daring Jamie. He could easily squirt poison into the water, and we might not even see that in the dark.”

“We should empty the water in each stall. They can handle it for a few hours. And Michael, ye will not be joining us tonight. You don’t need to risk yer neck for a job that doesn’t even pay ye.”

The men were all shaking their heads at the plan and figuring out where they could hide.

“We have another hour of daylight so ye guys get some dinner and a beer, only one beer please.”

Jamie took out a fifty and handed it to Rupert. “When ye come back, you need to hide yer truck Rupert. I’ll leave my truck in the driveway and you pull into the garage and shut the door. Since we don’t know when he’s comin, be silent after dark.” He tossed Rupert the remote to his garage.

The men disbanded to eat and get ready to catch the man that killed five of Jamie’s horses. Jamie argued with Michael on the way back to the house refusing his request to participate.

Jamie laid on his bed and called Claire to fill her in.

“I’m coming over Jamie.”

“No, yer not lass. I would be too worried and distracted with you here. We will get him tonight, I’m sure of it. Isobel has done a fine job of setting him up to be caught. I love ye Sassenach, don’t worry. I will call ye when we catch him.”

“Any time of night Jamie, I doubt I’ll sleep until I know you’re safe, and Runner too.”

“Lass, ye put me ahead of Runner, ye know what that means don’t ye? It means ye love me more than him.”

“I do love you more than anyone in the world. Please be careful.”

Jamie watched the monitors until he heard a light tapping on the front door.

“Claire, what are ye doing here?”

“I’m coming so I can prevent Runner from jumping his stall walls.” She put her hand up at Jamie. “You know the risk of him seeing someone at his stall in the dark. I will crouch down under his water bucket and keep him calm while you catch the guy. No one will see me.”

“Where is your truck?”

“It’s in the lower pasture, well hidden. I hiked up here.”

“In the pitch-black outside, no moon to light yer way? Yer in big trouble lass, let's go.”

As Jamie pulled the door closed, he felt it open again as Michael slipped out to join them.

“I’m coming too.”

Jamie looked at Claire and Michael, both dressed in black and shook his head.

“Silence as we walk.”

Michael hid in the breeding wing, Angus near the entrance door, Rupert on the long aisle. Claire was crouched under Runner’s empty water trough. Runner could not figure out why she was down there and pestered her to race him. She convinced him to lay down in his straw and showed him multiple images of him winning races. Before long he was snoring and the wait began. Jamie logged into the cameras and watched them closely. He had shut down the lights near the entrance so the man would be at ease coming inside. Most of the lights inside were off as well. With all the darkness, the night vision cameras would find him easily.

It was a grueling three hours later that Jamie saw a dark figure approach the keypad and then duck inside. Angus saw him right away and watched him closely. Rupert saw him move down the aisle and Jamie was right, he was heading right for Runner’s wing.

“Sassenach, he’s comin, stay down and quiet.”

Jamie pushed against the wall so he would be on the other side of the door when it opened. He heard the beeping keypad and tried to slow his heart. The door opened slowly, and the dark figure moved toward Runner’s stall door. When he opened the stall, Jamie slammed the door closed and turned on a light. The figure twisted and lunged at him. His arm was raised above his head, and there was a large syringe in his hand. The man slashed at Jamie with the syringe.

When Claire heard the stall open, she almost fainted. He was coming into the stall! She concentrated on images to Runner to keep him asleep. When the lights went on and the door slammed, she jumped up and watched Jamie in a struggle to save his own life.

Jamie reached up and grabbed the man’s forearm and kicked him viciously in the nuts and then pounded his face with his fist, three hits directly to his jaw and the man went down. Claire grabbed the syringe out of his hand and found a safe place to put it. She put her arms around Jamie who was panting from the fight.

“Sassenach, do you have that size syringe in yer truck?”

“Yes and the needle too.”

Rupert and Michael piled in the door and looked at the man. He had a ski mask on which Jamie pulled off to reveal Chad Remington.

“Rupert, go with Claire to her truck and hurry. Angus, turn the water main back on to refill the buckets.

Claire was back in short order with the syringe and needle. She filled the syringe with D5W, a harmless fluid, and looked at Jamie.

The man was tied to a chair and slapped awake. As Claire tied off his bicep and slapped the inside of his elbow to bring up a vein. She pulled the syringe out of her jacket pocket and pulled the safety cap off. Without saying a word, she bent forward and inserted the needle while Chad thrashed in his chair.

“Now then, ye worthless asshole, suppose you start at the beginning with poisoning the horses two years ago.”

Chad ordered Jamie to call the police, willing to face charges to get away from him.

Jamie brought his face close enough to Chad’s he could feel him breathe. Jamie put his thumb on the plunger and growled his question, “start at the beginning or I empty this syringe into yer arm.”

Chad was clearly terrified of the syringe and started sputtering about meeting Isobel at the Keeneland auction two years ago.

“We started sleeping together and I confessed how much I hate you for stealing the broodmare. She hated you and she hated Kentucky, but you wouldn’t sell the farm because your breeding program was making money. She wanted to cash out and get away, I wanted to cripple yer business. Killing your horses would satisfy both of us.”

Jamie couldn’t take another word and smashed Chad’s face with his fist, knocking him out. He left the wing and walked the aisle briskly, trying to calm down. Claire caught up to him and hugged his waist asking him to slow down. She could feel him shaking and spoke softly to him.

“It’s almost over sweetheart. One more person to identify and we can call the police to haul him away. We need to know who helped them poison the horses.”

Jamie exhaled and shook his head. They came back with smelling salts from the emergency medical kit and revived Chad.

“Sorry, I lost my temper for a minute and these blokes held me back from pushin that plunger in yer arm.” Jamie put his thumb on the plunger and told Chad to just give him a reason. “Who helped ye poison the horses. It wasn’t you, so who?”

Chad stared at Jamie but was silent until Jamie jumped forward and pushed the plunger a bit. Chad screamed as five cc’s were injected into his bloodstream.

“It was Yvonne! You hired her to manage the feeding, but she worked for me. She was in love with me and would have done anything I told her. She wasn’t happy staying on two weeks after you found out the horses were poisoned but she did it because I told her to.”

Jamie sneered at Chad and pushed the plunger all the way down. Chad was screaming as he watched the solution disappear into his body. Chad knew there was enough tranquilizer in the syringe to kill a twelve- hundred- pound horse and he would be dead in a matter of seconds. He was hyperventilating and screaming until he passed out.

Jamie pulled the syringe from his arm in disgust and then reached for his phone.

Sometime later Isobel pulled up to the driveway, thoroughly pissed off that Jamie left her boxes on the street. He had sent her a text an hour before telling her to come get them or the borders could have them. She had not reached Chad to come and help her, so she pushed and grunted to move the boxes toward her trunk.

“It looks like you could use a hand.”

Isobel squealed in her shock to hear someone on the road with her on this dark early morning.

“Jesus Christ, you scared me.” When she looked at where the voice came from a police officer came out of the dark and walked toward her while pulling out handcuffs.

“What the hell are you doin?”

Jamie came out the front door and looked closely at the vilest woman he had ever known.

“Yer goin to jail Isobel, along with yer lover Chad who told us the whole story. I’ll donate all this stuff because I’m told yer lookin at up to ten years. Nothing could make me happier.”

Isobel was screaming at Jamie to help her, but he walked into the house and closed the door.

Rupert and Angus were quick to leave, needing a little sleep before they came back for a full day of work. Michael begged off to his room thinking he would easily fall asleep tonight.

That left Jamie and Claire. He held out his hand and hugged her.

“Will ye stay with me tonight mo chridhe?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

They stood under a hot shower not willing to let each other go and soap up. She kissed her hero and felt her heart in her throat at the way he looked at her. He bundled her up in fluffy towels and held her close in bed. Neither wanted to make love after such a day. So they slept in their embrace and felt protected from the world by the other.

Jamie felt Claire’s movement several hours later. He watched her dress and asked her to stay with him.

She kissed him deeply and touched his cheek.

“See ya soon.” She left quietly to find her truck and her way home to change.

Two officers came to the compound the next day and took testimony from each of them. There would be more required of them in the near future, but this was enough to charge Isobel and Chad. Later that day, the officers were able to find Yvonne at Chad’s facility. She was arrested, charged, and sent to jail to await trial.

Claire worked on stats of the horses she would race that day. She was in her silks after weighing in and felt very determined after their disqualification in New York. There were ten horses in the stakes race, Sham was among them. Claire smiled and said a silent thank you knowing Runner would do anything to beat Sham.

Claire turned and smiled at Jamie as she was ponied to the gate. Runner was coming out of the fifth position, right in the middle of ten horses. Claire suggested he hang back for a few seconds to avoid the chaos. When the gate slammed open Claire was in her jockey position and finally asked Runner if he intended to run the race. Almost like an afterthought he jumped onto the track and loped like a rodeo horse falling even further behind. Claire told Runner that Sham was in first place so he better hurry and that was her last thought before he bounded into the turn and took off.

Claire was worried he had dallied too long. It looked impossible to run past the clump of horses and overtake Sham. “We’re going right up the middle big guy,” she yelled, and directed him to shoot straight up the middle of the pack. It was something the crowd would not soon forget. The dark horse coming out of dead last to run up the middle of an eight-horse clump at a staggering speed and overtake the leader, Sham.

Runner told Claire to tuck in from the start and when she peeked around her, she saw no horses. She looked ahead, no horses.

“Jesus Christ Runner, you are all alone. Hurry!” Claire looked ahead at the finish line and the camera blinded her again. “You won the race! Holy crap, there had to be five or six lengths between you and Sham!”

Claire pulled him back and waited for the ha-haha-ha-ha as he passed Sham, still at a full gallop. Claire came around the turn and saw Jamie and Michael smiling like the blinding sun. She stood in her stirrups and pointed her crop at them before pulling Runner back in earnest.

Three weeks later they were racing at Keeneland Park for the Breeder’s Futurity Stakes. Claire could see Jamie was right about better horses as they continued down the road to the Kentucky Derby. They were still running the prep races and Claire shivered to think what the super six would be like.

They were ponied to the third position in the gate and Claire was tense and ready when the gates slammed open. Runner let the others go first but quickly jumped onto the track. Claire could feel how tense he was and coming into the turn he took the wrong lead, slowing him considerably. Claire asked him for the left lead, and he changed it quickly. She didn’t know how to help him but as he came out of the turn his body stretched forward and she could feel his leaping gallop. She tucked close to him looking for trouble ahead every few seconds.

The crowd went wild watching the big black horse turn on his power and run ahead of the others at a blinding speed. Runner took the lead with the closest horse right on his butt as he ran across the finish line. Claire pulled him back while going a little crazy he had done it again. There was no showing off for the horses he beat. Runner obediently slowed down and a track pony was able to stop him quickly. Claire’s heartfelt sad for Runner because he didn’t have fun like he usually does. After the winner’s circle picture, she jumped off and held his face. He told her he was tired and he missed Jason. Claire took a double-take at this asking why he missed Jason, but Runner was being led away by Michael.

Claire jumped into Jamie’s arms kissing him while smiling hard. The number of spectators that gathered to congratulate Claire after the race was growing. She smiled and thanked them as Jamie led her into the stall area where Michael was washing the colt. She held his face and saw pictures of Jason rubbing him with a towel and throwing a blanket over him when he was wet. Claire wondered how they would find a groom like that. Michael was clearly not doing it right.

One man waited outside for Runner to emerge and be loaded into the trailer. The horse was accompanied by the owner, trainer, and jockey, and the man was thrilled. He identified himself as a writer for Sports Illustrated and fired a dozen questions off which were answered by one of the three. The man’s name was William Nock and he had Runner in his sights. The reporter returned to New York that night and blazed through his first article about the incredible stallion, Midnight Runner. He would be trackside for his next race in Florida, at Gulfstream Park.

Claire talked to Jamie when they were alone in the truck. She told him Runner was not happy about today’s race and he wanted Jason back.

“Who?”

“The groom you hired in New York. Runner showed me pictures of everything Jason did for him and he wants that touch again. It’s cold outside and Michael walks him without a blanket after the race and doesn’t rub his muscles, so they cramp up. I love Michael but we need a better groom.”

“I’ll look into it Sassenach. He won one-hundred thirty thousand today, so he gets the best groom. He kissed her and smiled.”

Over the next week, Jamie looked for an outstanding groom, talked to five or six that were still available but could not find anyone who did the treatments Jason did. He made a bold phone call to the track in New York and left a message for Jason to call. Later in the day, Jason returned the call and Jamie made him an offer.

“Come to Kentucky to be our groom for the rest of the races. It’s all travel until the winter break so you’ll be living in hotels, but we will feed ye well and pay all your expenses plus five-hundred a week cash.”

“No kidding?” Jason’s excitement came through the phone. “I love Runner and can’t wait to get out of New York! Heeeell ya!”

Jamie laughed at Jason’s exuberance and felt something release inside of him. He was still getting used to his new freedom. The happiness, the chance to love Claire and let the world know she was his. Why not give Runner the support he wanted to make him happy too?

The oppression of living with a hateful woman was slowly seeping out of him being replaced with happiness and hope. Jamie lived with secret doubts about Runner’s chance to get to the super-six races. He wanted to believe in him that much, he tried to believe, but in the end, he just didn’t. His gut told him great things didn’t happen to him because he was undeserving, not good enough, a pretender. Those were Isobel’s words that had been hurled at him for four long years. She was gone now and he was healing, feeling like himself again. Jamie was content to know however many races Runner had left, he would arrive to the race and exit the race a happy horse with his favorite groom.

[hauntedbythefanficsofmypast]

Heart-To-Hearts

By BeeTeeDubya14

This is @thebigpapilio 's own fic! It is a crossover of Miraculous + Persona 5 as well! This is another submission from them! I read their first as well and this one really caught my eye. Once again, I don't know Persona 5, but the idea of Akira leaving his universe to go help the Miraculous Universe is really cool!! It also gives me a few ideas for AUs of my own! 😉😉

Even after returning to Tokyo once he came of age to move out on his own, Akira hadn’t been too eager to stop his activities as the Phantom Thieves’ leader. It felt like he’d had more purpose doing that business than he ever thought he’d have. If it hadn’t been for the government & the cost of stopping Yaldabaoth, he would have gladly continued to work in the Metaverse. Don’t get him wrong, he knew and accepted that it was a worthy cost, but he did miss being Joker and changing hearts…

He learned to be careful what he asked for when he dreamed one night of a woman calling out to him.

Chapter 1: A Dream Of New Beginnings!

Even after returning to Tokyo once he came of age to move out on his own, Akira hadn’t been too eager to stop his activities as the Phantom Thieves’ leader. It felt like he’d had more purpose doing that business than he ever thought he’d have. If it hadn’t been for the government & the cost of stopping Yaldabaoth, he would have gladly continued to work in the Metaverse. Don’t get him wrong, he knew and accepted that it was a worthy cost, but he did miss being Joker and changing hearts… 

He learned to be careful what he asked for when he dreamed one night of a woman calling out to him.

“Akira Kurusu, also known as Joker,” she caught his attention immediately with that, “I am Geretas, and my world is in dire need of your help.”

“What…?”

“I know you hold the desire to become Joker again, a desire I can grant at little cost,” Geretas’ voice echoed throughout the dream world, “the Metaverse will be moderated by me - I promise to use it wisely.”

“And how do I know I can trust you?” Akira inquired.

“I beg you to do so - my universe is plagued by a supernatural threat, and if the heroes rising against himare not given any aid, they will fall soon.”

“Another universe, hm?” Akira said quietly, “...fine. Let me talk with the Thieves about it.”

“I can grant you enough time to inform them of your absence, but I’m afraid I only have the power to send one person to my world…”

“Very well. Please give me that time - I should be ready in less than a week.”

“My world will be in your debt. Now then, here are the specifics…”

And so, Akira was given a crash course in the situation of Geretas’ world, as well as being told about how the Miraculouses in play worked. He was also told about the changes in his transformation abilities. The first new thing was that he could easily transform at will into Joker (and back into Akira). He would be able to summon Personas outside the Metaverse to fight akumas. Furthermore, his dagger & handgun would not be hidden as model versions in his bag like before - instead, they would appear in his trenchcoat’s pockets once transformed; plus, his weapons were unable to so much as draw blood, kill or dismember (bullets would dissipate into thin air upon contact) for as long as Akira did not desire them to do so. He would be teleported out of any Palaces he infiltrated if he ran out of stamina (meaning he would be saved from death) and not be able to infiltrate a Palace again until the next day. He would also know French for the duration of his time in Paris in order to communicate with the locals without arousing suspicion. 

“Thank you, Geretas, for giving me this chance. Keep your end of the deal and do not interfere other than saving me, understood?”

“You have my word. I do not intend to become the next Yaldabaoth.”

Akira could already feel Arsène’s power - reverted to the beginning as it was - returning to him, causing him to grin almost creepily.

“So you were asked to save another universe?” Futaba asked, “Lucky you, getting to go.”

“And what would you be able to do alone?” Akira teased.

“Still, if that Geretas chick gets the power or whatever it was to bring us over, don’t hesitate to call us over!” Ryuji exclaimed.

“Good luck, Akira.” Makoto nodded. Ann flashed him a thumbs up and winked cutely. Haru smiled a serene smile, as did Yusuke.

“It really is a shame we don’t get to come along, especially me…” Morgana frowned slightly. He’d be staying with “his Lady Ann” for the duration of Akira’s vacation, and now that Akira had let all his Confidants have a decent idea at least of what would be going on (which meant for his other allies such as Yuuki, Yoshida & Iwai that he was ‘taking time to explore something new,’ and ‘would be out for an undecided period of time’), he was prepared to enter the alternate universe.

That night, Geretas visited him again - this time, however, Arsène was waiting with her. Arsène transformed into his Joker mask, then floated towards his face, latching on and fitting as perfectly as it always had. Light trickled from the top of Akira to the bottom of him, his pajamas reforming into his Joker costume.

From behind the mask, Joker smirked.

It’s showtime.

Chapter 2: A New Worls & An Old Beginning

Groggily, Akira opened his eyes. He quickly realized that he was not in his usual bed back in Tokyo. I’m in Paris already?!

The sun was shining, at least. How fitting for a new beginning… yawning, Akira hopped out of bed, and on a desk he found a note and a large trash bag filled with enough cash to pay for him for a few months. The note stated:

Dear Joker,

This apartment is fully paid for, and you will never have to worry about rent or anything like it for the duration of your stay here. You have all the supplies for house upkeep that you’ll need, but the fridge is empty - you will have to buy food for yourself, as I don’t know what you like.

Taking his wallet and stuffing it with a chunk of the euros, Akira went to some markets nearby and bought enough groceries to last him a while. He also got some bread from a fantastic patisserie he found while walking around. The woman manning the register was quite kind, and when she learned he was new to Paris, she halved the cost of his purchases from her as a welcoming gift. Smiling, he soon returned to the apartment, and after putting up the groceries, he suddenly felt the need to go on a rooftop stroll.

Willing his transformation into Joker, he covertly hopped out of a window and parkoured around Paris. He stopped however, when he heard the sound of conflict from an alleyway below him.

“Please, stop! Leave me alone! I’ll call the cops!” Priscilla sobbed.

“The fuzz are my bitches. Now stop fighting me and start taking it!”

“And what do you think you’re doing?” a voice purred. The voice was decidedly that of a young man, but it was deeper and more dramatic than Chat Noir’s, so this man didn’t think too much of him.

Regardless, both him and Priscilla were shocked to see a figure swoop down and land in the shadows of the alleyway. He’d moved too fast for them to get a good idea of what he looked like, and he was mostly covered by the darkness of the alley, so as far as they were concerned, he was just a voice and a silhouette for now.

“W-who are you?” the man asked, more caught off-guard than afraid.

Priscilla could sense an eerie grin appearing on this newcomer.

“My codename is Joker,” he smiled, “Phantom Thief, Changer of Hearts, & Savior of the Oppressed & Downtrodden.”

Although he was confused, the man regained his composure and snarled, “And what business do you got with me? This is none of your business!”

“From what I’ve picked up, you’re hurting an innocent woman and attempting to force her to do… unpleasant things to you,” ‘Joker’ snapped back, “When you try to hurt innocents, it becomes my business. Here is what you will do - you will leave this woman alone, or I can assure you that you will regret ever having looked in her direction.”

The attacker paled, only to grow even paler when the local officer Roger’s voice called out, “What’s going on here?”

Before Joker or her assailant could speak up, Priscilla cried out, “He was trying to rape me!” in desperation.

Roger entered the scene, his eyes narrowed with fury. Rapists had a high rank on his shitlist. 

Looking at the attacker, Roger said, “Alright, stranger, you’re coming with me.” and dragged him off, presumably to face punishment for his attempts. Looks like he wasn’t buddy-buddy with the police after all!

Turning towards Joker, Priscilla was about to thank him when she realized something about the murky figure. 

He was already gone.

Now a few rooftops away, Joker smiled as he watched the cop cruiser carrying the man drive out of sight. This was a second success against scumbags like Shido - he didn’t even get arrested initially this time!

Now then, he thought to himself, let us return ho-

The sound of something whizzing through the air caught his attention. Side-eyeing the direction the sound came from, he quickly caught something small, red and round thrown in his direction with one hand. Upon further examination, it seemed to be a red yo-yo with black spots.

Wait a minute…  

Following the string, Joker laid his eyes upon Ladybug & Chat Noir for the first time. They couldn’t be a day older than 18. What the hell?

“What’s your name, akuma?” the girl in scarlet said, her tone confident.

“Easy now, miss. I’m no akuma. In fact…”

Chat Noir & Ladybug paused. Akumas always swore their allegiance to Hawkmoth with misled pride, and he would have attacked them or someone else by now if he was an akuma. However, that brought up a new question in such a case:

Who was he?

As if reading their minds, the debonair stranger smiled. It was genuine, but a bit unnerving in some way.

“My name is Joker. And now that I think about it… there is a deal I would like to make with the two of you.”

[tsarinastorm]

Dreams Were Thunder-Adam Sackler/Reader-Chapter 1

This is my first fic, let me know what you think. No smut now, but there will smut in later chapters. I’ve outlined this storyline, but I also have some other fics that I’m working on simultaneously. 

Words: 2,500

________________________________________________________________

You were finally moving to New York from your small town in the middle of nowhere. You had saved enough from your book sales to afford a place in the city. You had won a MegaMillions jackpot when you were still twenty-six and living in your parents’ house. You had given most of it to your family, paid off your student loans, and invested the rest. The winnings had allowed you to focus on your true passion: writing. You had since written several novels and a few other works. Now, you just had to find an actual place to live, other than your married friend’s couch or random hotel, and preferably a roommate to help you adjust to the city. You had settled on the neighborhood of Williamsburg and found a building you liked, but the roommate search seemed doomed from the start.

Half of the roommate options seemed likely to commit a crime, while you just did not mesh well with the others for one reason or another. Your friend Elijah, who you met accidentally at a writing soiree, suggested his ex-girlfriend to be your roommate as she was moving back to the city and was a writer as well. It sounded perfect: someone in your profession, not criminal, or otherwise intolerable. Well, you assumed she wasn’t intolerable. That was the catch: you hadn’t met her yet. And she had a kid, which you thought you could deal with if the two of you got along.

You agreed to meet her at a coffee shop in Williamsburg in January, near the building you wanted to live in. You arrived early, a habit from your previous 9 to 5 career. You were wearing a long gray coat with black cropped sweater, black skinny jeans and over-the knee boots. You had just sat down at a table near a window with your first cup of black coffee and scone when a short, mousey-haired woman carrying a cute baby made her way to your table.  She spoke as she moved forward,

“Are you Y/N?”

“I am. You’re Hannah Horvath?” you respond with raised eyebrows. She sits down across from you, as her baby boy watches you with curious eyes, “Unfortunately, that’s me. I’m sure you were hoping for someone more glamorous.”

You’re surprised that she would assume anything since you just met. Maybe it was the way you dressed, you always enjoyed fashion and tried to look on trend. “Oh no, you’re fine. What’s his name?”  You say as you look at the baby.

“This is Grover. He’s six months old. He is actually the best baby, he goes to bed at a decent time and hardly ever cries. Except he cried when he was really young. Turns out we had a problem with latching. But that’s not a problem anymore, don’t worry.”

“I’m sure he is the best baby around. He’s adorable. Elijah tells me that you’re a writer too?”

“Still aspiring at this point. I’ve been teaching since I found out I was pregnant with him. Better money, better insurance. Though now I got a job as an editor, and have flexibility. What do you write?”

“I’ve written three cotemporary novels and a few short stories. My second novel was chosen by a popular book club and has done well. But it’s always hard for writers, unless you happen to be Stephen King.”

               You and Hannah had hit off, and agreed to be roommates. She was a bit narcissistic and over-dramatic but you thought the two of you would get along as roommates. You had met her friends, Marnie and Shoshanna, and liked them so far. But her other friend, Jessa was more elusive as she had gone on another adventure.

               A few months had passed since you had moved into your new place. You had hardly been there as you had to do promotional work on your third book. It was now April, and the weather was finally warming up. The two of you were walking through a park with Grover in the stroller when a tall, dark haired man approached you. He had unusual, yet handsome features, and he was built like a house. You were suddenly glad that you had on a cute outfit of a tank top, white shorts, sneakers and a windbreaker. The man joined Hannah and Grover saying, “Oh hi, kid, and hi little kid,” then as he looked at you, “Hi, person I don’t know.”

“Adam, this is Y/N, my new roommate. Y/N, this is my ex-boyfriend, Adam.”

You reach out to shake his hand saying, “nice to meet you” as you thought what a strange relationship to have with your ex. But nothing with their relationship was normal, at least that’s what you gathered from her, Marnie and Elijah. You were expecting him to look like some weirdo, not almost charming. Hannah had told you recently that she and Adam had hooked up when she came back to the city, then had decided that there wasn’t any spark left. She had also said that he offered to always be there for Grover when she needed him.

“So how do you afford Williamsburg? Are you another rich daddy’s girl?”

Your face is turning red. Now you see what Elijah and Marnie were talking about. Who the hell says that kind of thing to someone they just met? You hate when people assume things about you anyway, but that comment was really hurtful to you, especially when you grew up in poverty. “No, I actually lived most of my life below poverty level so I am not another rich daddy’s girl. Never assume you know anything about me again.” You walk away as Adam’s jaw drops, and you sit on a bench to wait for Hannah to join you.

4 Months Later.

Hannah had talked you into having an “End of Summer Party” at your apartment. This would be the first party you’d have since moving in. You had agreed with her because she was leaving soon for the semester and apparently she was the using the party as a way to tell her friends. She would still be paying rent and she got free housing where she was going, so you couldn’t complain. It also gave you a chance to dress up and become more better-acquainted with the friend group. You pull down the edge of your baby blue slip dress and toss on a pair of strappy heels, while you grab a bottle of champagne and head towards the foyer.

Marnie, Shoshanna, and Elijah came into the apartment in a cluster. Then there was Ray (who owns the coffee place) you add in your head, who trailed behind the trio. Elijah immediately goes to hug you saying, “Y/N, you look amazing tonight! Who are you trying to impress? Seriously, you look hot.” “

“Just you. I like to dress up,” you respond while hugging him back. You offer him a glass of champagne and as you step back to pour a glass, you lock eyes with Adam who’s just walked through the door. You can’t help but grimace when you remember your last conversation with Adam. Elijah notices, “So I guess that look means that you’ve met Adam. He is very different and according to Hannah, kinky. Do you know he even made a movie about it?”

“Excuse me,” you say as you hand Elijah his drink and begin moving further into your apartment. You see Adam heading towards you, and you try to retreat onto the terrace. You make it out there, where you’re distracted by the view and don’t notice him come up beside you. His voice startles you, “hey Y/N. I want to apologize for what I said when we first met. It was rude and I had no business saying it,” you look at him which must put him on edge because his voice changes pitch, “FUCK—I’m so socially awkward.”

“It’s okay. Really, let’s put it behind us.” You say, before being cut off by him, “You know, I had it pretty rough growing up too. So I get it, and I really don’t know why I even said that. I guess I can’t help but get nervous around a pretty girl.” You’re stunned and you’re certain that you must be blushing, but before you come up with a way to respond, you notice that he’s walked away.

The party drags on, the guests are shocked by Hannah’s announcement. However, the shock wears off, and you start to feel lonely even in a room full of people. You go back to your room, sit down on your bed with a glass of wine, and scroll through your phone. You see updates from your friends and family back home, you never realized how much you’d miss them. Before you know it, you start to tear up at the feeling of homesickness that wrenches through your gut. Then you hear light knock on your door as a head of black hair comes in.

“Are you alright? What’s wrong?” He says as he comes up and sit beside you. You wipe your tears away and feel embarrassed that he saw you crying. He must think you’re emotional wreck. His hands reach out like they’re going to embrace you in a hug then he pulls back to place a hand on your shoulder and he gives you a comforting pat.

“I just started feeling homesick for no apparent reason. I promise I’m not some kind of train wreck. At least not all the time.” You try to smile.

“Well, I’d rather stay here than be all around them. This is a nice setup in here. I’ve been around them for years and still don’t fit in. I don’t really find any of them tolerable, except you. Maybe.”

“Uh thanks. Do you want a glass? I have both red and white wine around. Or I can get you something else.” You shake your glass as you go to stand up. He gently pulls you back and shakes his head.

“I don’t drink at all. I’m an alcoholic, I’ve been in AA since I was seventeen.” He says as he looks down. You put a hand on his shoulder this time as you say, “Adam, if I had known I wouldn’t have even offered. You’ve been sober for all that time? That’s really great for you, sobriety is an achievement. I’m proud of you.” His face lights up into a smile, then suddenly it’s gone.

“Sorry to tell you how fucked up my life is so soon. I normally wait until the third or fourth meeting until I start sharing emotional trauma. Seriously, I never open up to people like that. You’re very easy to talk to.”

You smile and you sit back down on your bed. Why is it that you start to feel butterflies in your stomach? It must be the wine and other drinks you’d had earlier.

“Well I’ll take that compliment. You don’t need to feel bad about it, everyone is fucked up in some way.  I had an eating disorder for years so I understand. Not that it’s the same as alcoholism, but you know what I mean.”

“Yeah I know what you mean. How are you doing with that?”

“It’s a struggle every day. Some days are better than others.”

“You should probably head back out there, it’s your party.”

“No, it’s really Hannah’s party. And I think I’d rather stay here.”

               Hours must have passed. You and Adam had talked about everything. You talked about your backgrounds, he talked about being raised by his sister, his going through multiple career choices for years. Then you talked about his acting gigs and your writing, including his time in Major Barbara on Broadway. His most recent gig being Woyzeck at The Brick. That had set the conversation down the literary path.

“Tell me what it’s like to play a character who is going mad? Is it easier, freeing, or challenging?” You say in an excited pitch. He looks slightly embarrassed then he gets up and starts pacing.

“All three actually. I guess I’m kind of crazy too. I look back at my past relationships and I’m definitely crazy.”

“I think we’re all crazy when it comes to love, and if what Hannah told me is true, then you might be actually be crazy for good reason. Based on her stories, her life is more dramatic than a reality show.”

 He starts looking through the books on your bookshelf by your bed. You have a large, full bookcase that sits in the living room. But the books in your room are some of your favorites.

“You know, 1984 is better than Animal Farm.” He says as he picks up a book.

“Well I really like Animal Farm but I haven’t read 1984 so I can’t comment on it.”

“I have it. I’ll bring it over for you to borrow, you should read it. It’s a classic,” He says as he stares intensely at another cover on the shelf, “Though I’ve never read Jane Eyre. You like it?”

“Yes, it’s one of my favorites. I love all of the Bronte sisters. They’re some of my biggest writing inspirations.  I’ll let you borrow it, if you promise to bring it back.” You remove the book from the shelf. You suddenly notice how close the two of you are. You’re close enough that you can appreciate every one of his freckles, and you can’t help but take note of his plush-looking lips. It feels like there is an electric current between you as his hand brushes yours when he takes the book. You lock eyes and you think he might kiss you, then the spell is suddenly broken as Hannah walks into the room.

“There you guys are! I had thought everyone had left, but of course Adam is still around! I can never get rid of him.  And Y/N you just disappeared, I was worried that you got sick or something.”

Adam steps away from you and heads toward the door, “We were just talking. Not everyone is a social butterfly like you…Bye!”

Adam is out of your apartment in record time. Hannah watches you and raises her eyebrows at you. You don’t know what to say so you just shrug your shoulders. Hannah tells you good night and goes to check on Grover. You try to go to sleep, but you can’t stop thinking of Adam’s freckles and his lips. You think you’d like to trace all of his freckles and see if his lips were really as soft as they looked.  You know you shouldn’t feel that way about your roommate’s ex-boyfriend because that could be a nightmare, but you ease your conscious by remembering that there’s no harm in thoughts so long as they don’t lead to actions.

[mrs-i-have-too-many-biases]

Yandere!Stray Kids Wedding Series: The bachelor party (2/4)

Scenario: How would they react to their fiancé wanting to throw a bachelor part. Genre: Fluff/ Angst Pairing: Reader X Stray kids Members Requested: Yes, by @petalskook : “Can I ask for a reaction to skz!yandere, How would your wedding be?” A/n: I thought it would be fun to make this a series so I did.

Word count: 2,1k

Author’s note: I added some more things to your request, because I felt like it fit the story well. I hope you like it.

Warning: Yandere themes, swearing, mentions of death, toxic relationships, do not read if uncomfortable

Chan:

‘A bachelor party? Sure why not? If that makes her happy, why not?’ That was Chan’s mind-set when his fiancé had brought up the idea of throwing a bachelor party. “Of course baby, I’ll even arrange it for you.” He suggested, kissing her forehead. “You’re the best baby.” She whispered on his lips, before she left.

The only reason why Chan agreed on throwing a bachelor party for her is, because he had killed off most of her threats. Chan would remove people who were against their relationship in silent. He had no time or place for haters and so did his beloved fiancé. He absolutely loved calling her that. So when her, approved, friends came to the bachelor party, he’d be clingy and bragging about her in front of her friends. Their eyes would be sparkling in happiness as they giggled at their cuteness.

Chan would be satisfied by their behaviour, he chose the right people to stay it seemed. The party was simple, with the couple of friends she had over they would dance crazily to the music, Chan would be a gentleman and provide them of drinks and food. Eventually the girls would send Chan upstairs, the soon-to-be-husband wasn’t supposed to see the bride until the wedding.

With pain in Chan’s heart he would kiss his fiancé passionately goodbye, before he disappeared upstairs, little did they all know he had microphones hidden all over the place. He knew he chose the right friends, but that didn’t mean he trusted them alone with his precious princess.

Woojin:

He wasn’t too sure about having a party. The thought of him not seeing her for a full day killed him. And she knew it. She knew how much he hated being away from her. Only bathroom visits and quick showers were the times that Woojin could bare to leave her alone. He needed to be with her 24/7, otherwise he would malfunction.

“Baby, please. It will be so much fun and I’ll be able to see my friend-“ “Why would you need to see your friend? You’ve got me right? Don’t you love me anymore? Don’t you dare to tell me that you regret saying yes princess, otherwise-“ “No! No! Wait,” she cut him off. “I want to celebrate my engagement and my wedding with my friends. I want to celebrate with them that I’ve found the love of my life.” The last sentence did it for Woojin. He couldn’t help, but let the smile creep onto his face.

“I give you four hours, nothing more, nothing less. If it makes you happy then, alright. But there will be some rules, alright baby?” He muttered lowly as he stepped closer and closer to her, towering over her. “You will not talk to other man. If I find out you did, and you know I will, you will be in big trouble baby. You’ll have to earn this party okay? So be good for me, yeah?” He’d whisper against her neck. “I will my love.” “Good girl, I love you.”

Minho:

Just like Chan, he’d say easily yes to a bachelor party. He had arranged everything for her. ‘So she could just focus on being pretty at the wedding.’ He had rented a five-star restaurant for her and her friends. He had paid the chefs to cook as much for them as they wanted to. He paid the bartender enough, the girls could drink for weeks, but Minho didn’t care. He wanted her to be happy.

Little did the girls know that Minho had access to all the cameras that were hidden in the restaurant. He had every staff member under shot, even though they didn’t know. He kept his eyes on his precious fiancé, checking if she obeyed his rules. Which was to not talk to other men, to not touch them, to not look at them, otherwise the consequences would be harsh and she knows. She has been through them before.

“I’m sorry baby, I hate doing this. Nevertheless, you’ve been a bad girl. And bad girls need to be punished. So take it you brat and be my good girl again!”

Minho looked on the screen, seeing that the girls were about to order. He kept his yes like a hawk on her as it was her turn to order. She had turned to her friend and told her what she wanted, who passed on the order to the waiter. Minho leaned back, a smile resting on his lips. Happy to know that his baby was obedient to his orders, it was a sign of love to him.

Changbin:

A bachelor party? You mean an ‘I-am-not-able-to-see-my-baby-for-hours’ torture? Changbin hated the idea. He didn’t wanted to throw a part where they couldn’t see each other for almost a day. He needed to be around her. She was his oxygen, how could she be so selfish? Didn’t she wanted to be with him? Then Changbin thought of the greatest thing; a shared bachelor party.

“But, that’s not a traditional bachelor party.” She would say in a soft voice as she sat on his lap. “Just think about it baby. You, me a party where we still celebrate our lives, before our married life will come. I want to spend every single minute with you baby. That’s why I wanted to marry you; don’t you want to do the same?” He asks innocently.

She couldn’t say no. Now she was dancing with her fiancé on her bachelor party. He couldn’t even care any less about his ‘friends’ that he invited. He also couldn’t care any less that her friends wanted her to pay attention to them. He didn’t wanted to share her. He never did. She was going to become his anyway, they should get used to it already.

Hyunjin:

No. Just no. Hyunjin didn’t wanted to be away from you for a second. Bathroom visits were in pairs. Showers were in pairs. He’d follow her anywhere. Why would she need space when she has him? She’s all his. And she will be his forever. He’d do anything for her. Anything.

“But, baby. It will be so much fun-“ “I said no. It’s like you don’t love me anymore.” He pouts. “N-no. I do love you. I love you so much, but I wanted to spend some time with my friends-“ “Is that what you want? You know they are not your friends; they turned their backs to you. You know that. Is that why you’ve been acting so well lately, I knew that it was too good to be true.” “Hyunjin no-“ “No, I see how it is, you don’t love me anymore.” He let her out of his grip, looking away from her. He knew how he could play her; he knew how he could get what he wanted.

“N-no, Hyunjin I’ll stay. I’ll stay with you.” She gave up. And he knew it. He turned back to her, hiding his face in the crook of her neck. “That’s my good princess.”

Jisung:

Just like Hyunjin, he’d wouldn’t want to throw a bachelor party. Fuck no. The boy would start to panic just by the thought of it. He even forbid her to see anyone else, she wasn’t allowed to go outside without him, so throwing a bachelor party was a nightmare coming true for Jisung. ‘What if she finds out? That would mean the end.’ No, he couldn’t let that happen.

“But Jisung-“ “No! They will take you away from me! Is that what you want? To get away from me? You know that I can’t live without you! I need you! You’re everything I have! Why are you so selfish! You don’t love me!” He yelled with tears streaming over his cheeks. “No Jisung- I do love you! You know what, let’s forget the party. Why don’t we get some dinner. Just you and me.” She suggested when she saw how broken Jisung had gotten, thinking it was his separation anxiety. Which it was, but she was too naive to see his real face.

“That would be nice baby, I know a place where the two of us can be alone.”

Felix:

He would let her, but he insisted to hire bodyguards. He didn’t wanted be apart from her, but he couldn’t blow his cover. He hated how happy she was when he let her throw the party. He arranged the party with pain in his heart.

He had rented a mansion in the mountains, where the party would take place. He’d watch over her through the hidden cameras he had places throughout the house, just like Minho did. The party would go well. He remembered setting the rules with her: “If I see you even looking at another guy, I might have to chain you down. Do you remember that baby, the feeling of those cold metals chains against your hot skin? You cried so much that night, I thought you might get dehydrated. You don’t want to do that again, don’t you?” 

“N-no.” 

“Then be a good girl Y/n, you know that I love you right?” 

“I love you too.” 

“Good girl.”

Meanwhile as the party was almost to its end. Felix sat at home, packing his bags to pick up his beloved fiancé, that’s what she thought at least when he texted her that he was on his way. Did those bastards who he hired really think they would be still alive at the end of the night? They had to stare at his girl the whole night, only he could to that. They had to pay for what they did.

Seungmin:

Another whiny baby, he didn’t wanted her to go. But after some convincing, he let her. She’d have a nice day with her friends at the mall, getting dinner and later that night the girls would go out to dance. Seungmin tried, he really tried, but he couldn’t help it. He needed to be with her. He followed her around all day, ignoring his own promises.

“Baby, I will keep you updated all day, okay?” “Good, I hate not having you here. The house is so empty, my heart feels so empty without you around.” He’d say as he clung onto her. “It will be alright baby, I’ll be in your arms again in no time.” She’d say to him. And she was indeed in his arms again in no time. Seungmin had been following the girls around like a shadow, the urge of wanting to see her was too strong for the boy to handle. He ‘accidentally’ kept running into the girls, in the mall, at the restaurant and even at the dance. “You couldn’t stay away, could you?” She whispered in his ear as they danced together. 

“Spending time with you is so much better than being apart from each other, let’s never do that again.” 

“Okay,” was all she said in responds, but it was enough for Seungmin to calm his restlessness.

Jeongin:

Nobody should underestimate this boy, just because he’s young. He had taken out more people than the other boys and you could blame his hormones as an excuse. He had followed his older friends’ footsteps by setting up cameras in his and Y/n’s shared house. Hiring bodyguards would be just a waste of money, he would kill them anyway. No other man, but Jeongin was allowed to breathe the same air as Y/n. Unless Jeongin was there, but still then, he would glare at every man, wanting to kill them, seeing them as a threat.

A couple of, female, friends were over at their shared house and Y/n had pushed her fiancé into their shared bedroom. He whined as she kissed him goodbye to go to her friends. Jeongin wasn’t worried. The girls knew Jeongin had his mood swings and they were too scared to do or say anything about it, they didn’t wanted to be killed. There used to be one more of them, but she tried to tell Y/n who Jeongin really was. Y/n had gotten upset over her and told Jeongin, who eventually killed her.

Therefore, Jeongin wasn’t too worried, he had them all wrapped around his finger.

Gifs aren’t mine.

@klynvan @daebakshinki

[hopewritcs]

another day, another party.

pairing: billy hargrove x reader

word count: 2.5k

request: “13, 65, 66 w billy? you’re the best!” ( “I dare you to kiss me.” / “We could always crash the party.” /  “I’m not sure you understand how much I care about you.” )

summary: billy and y/n have formed an unusual friendship.  both of them are popular, both of them like to go to parties, and they always wind up crashing at y/n’s house after.  but they’re most definitely just friends.  

notes: post s2 - pre s3

stranger things tag list: @thekidsofneibolt, @madhatterweasley, @shaykeijser, @rainy-bookish-days (if you wanna be added to any tag list, let me know!!)

Billy Hargrove wasn’t someone that Y/N’d expected to be friends with.  But, through mutual friends and several parties that year, they’d wound up thrown together on multiple occasions.  

Now, when they walked in the halls at the school Y/N and Billy were always together.  Naturally, everyone assumed that they were together.  It was something they would laugh about when they skipped class and sat in the back of the school under the bleachers.  

Which is exactly where they were now, a lit cigarette dangling from Billy’s lips as Y/N fumbled with the can of coke she’d brought with her from home.  She wasn’t much of a smoker like Billy, but she still hung around with him when he did.  They both needed to skip class every now and again.  

“So Carol told me about this party she and Tommy are throwing this weekend.”  Y/N huffed, taking a sip from her soda before tilting her head to look at Billy.  “Said it was only going to be a small group, which you know means she’s inviting half the school.  Everyone will be there, I’m sure, except people she and Tommy consider freaks.”  

It almost hurt her to say that.  She never bought into the bogus social hierarchy, calling people names and making fun of anyone for something they’ve done or not done.  It simply wasn’t who Y/N was.  It got her a lot of shit from her supposed friends too.  She’d been caught defending everyone from Jonathan Byers to Steve Harrington ever since she could remember.  While her friends teased her for it, told her to stick with them, she’d just rolled her eyes.  

“We could always crash the party.”  Billy said, exhaling as he pulled the cigarette from his lips and offered it to Y/N.  She declined with a wave of her hand, leaning back and letting the sun wash over her as best it could from under the bleachers.  

“We’re invited to the party, dumbass.”  Which was a problem for her.  Of course, she loved a good party.  Honestly, who didn’t?  What else was there to do in a small town except for get wasted on the weekends and hope to god that the police chief doesn’t show up and take you home kicking and screaming?  But as graduation got closer, it was one of the farthest things from her mind.  

“Then let’s have our own party.  The two of us.  We’ll pick up booze from town and go to yours.”  Billy suggested, sitting up to look at her better.  Y/N, in his time in Hawkins, had become the one single person he gave a shit about in the small town.  She didn’t judge him--didn’t judge anyone for that matter--and carried herself both with an air of how can i help and fuck off, a tangled mix that Billy was more than intrigued by.  Y/N had quickly become the person he relied on, his best friend.  “Your parents are out of town, right?”  

“Yeah, they’ve got my older sister’s parents weekend.  Or an award thing?  Who fucking knows.  They’re visiting her and leaving me here.”  Y/N didn’t sound bitter about it, because she wasn’t.  That was just the facts of the situation.  Would she have wanted to go to whatever it was?  Probably not.  But she would have liked the opportunity--she would have liked it if her parents had asked first.  

“So then it’s settled.  Friday after school we’ll rent a video and have our own party.  Who gives a shit about all of them anyway?”  Billy gestured toward the school wildly with one hand as he snubbed out his cigarette and jumped to a standing position, pulling Y/N off the ground too.  Her soda can spilled on the grass as he grabbed her from her seat.  The bell tolled in the distance.  “We can’t be late.”  Billy said, pointing to the school with a smirk on his lips.  

“Yes, because we can actually be late to leave school for the day, Hargrove.”  

“Just move it, Y/L/N.” 

Friday came by quickly, and the hunt for videos and snacks was upon Billy and Y/N.  Billy drove to the video rental, blasting the cassette in his car stereo and driving fast.  He was laughing.  He knew how much it drove Y/N insane when he drove like this.  

Her hands were grabbing on to her seat as she screamed at him to slow down.  This was just how it was when they drove.  Billy drove like he thought--wild, crazy, little care.  Y/N hated every minute of it, her stomach always flew into her throat when she was in his car.  But he didn’t exactly like being driven around, so they always wound up carpooling in his car ( which she’d mentioned that she could drive once and only got a look across Billy’s face to tell her never to mention it again ).  

“Shit Billy, you’re insane.  Where the hell did you learn to drive?”  It wasn’t so much an actual question, but the same thing she always cried out in the car with him.  “You’re gonna get us killed!”  The panic clear on her features, but she also knew that Billy was in fact in control of the car and nothing would happen.  She knew he liked getting a rise out of her, but she couldn’t help her gut reaction of pure terror.  

When they got out of the car, with her backpack slung over one shoulder she looked toward Billy with a glint in her eyes, “If you drive like that all the way to my house I will kick you out of your own damned car Hargrove!” 

Y/N meant it to be threatening, but Billy was smirking at her.  “Think you can handle that on your own?”  

“Don’t test me.  We’re this close to finding out.”  

He balked out laughter at that comment, and Y/N rolled her eyes--she was still holding her thumb and forefinger just far enough apart that it created any space, and the pair made their way into Family Video.  

Y/N brushed past Billy and immediately began searching for snacks.  Regretfully, since she’d picked the film last time they’d hung out, it was Billy’s turn and she was unsure what direction he would go in.  She’d made him watch A New Hope last time, with hopes they’d continue with the trilogy in another movie night.  Billy had grumbled about a lot of the film, but he hadn’t outright hated it like the time she’d made him sit through Peter Pan.  She knew all the words to songs and Billy had sat on the couch with a pillow over his head to drown out the sounds.  With Billy, he either picked something like Animal House or the Birds.  

After he’d made Y/N watch the horror film she’d jumped the next morning at the sound of a bird tapping against her window, to which he’d made fun of her for.  

A tap on her shoulder told her Billy was behind her and she turned to look at him with her arms full of food.  Her mouth fell open at the video in his hands and she asked, “The Shining?  Didn’t we already watch that one?”  she followed him towards the check out, putting all the candies she’d grabbed up with the video he put there.  

“No, I mentioned it last time but you made me watch that dumb movie with the girl who’s whole family forgot her birthday.  The redhead girl and the dweeby blonde.”  

“Sixteen Candles.  I was so excited when it came out on video!  And that’s Molly Ringwald.  I heard she’s got another movie coming out this year.  Maybe you’ll go see it with me when it comes to the movies?”  

Billy shrugged noncommittally as he fished in his pocket for some cash.  Y/N did the same and both of them paid for the stuff before heading back to the car.  

The first time the pair gone to Family Video to do this--rent a video and buy snacks--the cashier had scoffed and asked why Billy wasn’t paying for the whole thing like a guy should for his girl.  Which led to both Y/N and Billy leaning on the counter laughing when you made eye contact with each other.  Of course, now the comment wouldn’t have been so funny.  

Y/N ordered a pizza, got plates and dished it out before she had settled into the couch with some mixed concoction of what she found in the kitchen--some of the soda the family kept in the fridge and a bit of the whiskey her father preferred.  Billy had taken his alcohol straight, already downing one cup and on a refill.  

The pair were on the couch, each leaning on an armrest as the movie began.  “I bet you you’ll be over on this side of the couch before the first half is over.”  

“You have so little faith in me!”  Y/N faked a gasp, putting an amused smile on her face as she placed her hand on her neck, shaking her head.  

“You’re not denying it.”  

“What do I get if I win?” 

Billy thought for a moment, “I’ll let you pick the next two films.” She figured he must be confident in his film choice because Billy always found something to complain about her video picks.  “But that won’t happen,” he sounded overconfident and it made Y/N laugh as she rolled her eyes.  “So when I win, I dare you to kiss me.”  

Y/N choked on the bite of pizza she’d been chewing and she leaned forward with a wild look in her eyes.  There was no way in hell that Billy had an inkling that she had developed a crush on him, right?  This was just some joke, right.  So she relaxed her seat and looked at him, “That’s the worst bet you’ve ever made in your life Hargrove.  What’s the deal?  Got money riding on the schools are they or aren’t they bet?”  Y/N was teasing him, but she still worried about whatever it was that was really going through his mind.  

Billy shook his head.  He was so calm it was irritating Y/N.  “Nah.”  

“Then what, you just wanna kiss me or somethin?”  she choked on her laughter, shaking her head at him.  

Billy shrugged his shoulders and turned his attention back toward the video playing.  Y/N pouted when she realized that meant she wasn’t going to be getting any answers out of him, so she sighed and turned her attention to the video and continued drinking, the pizza forgotten on her plate.  

Billy knew the movie was going to get under Y/N’s skin.  He knew how she felt about the horror films he’d picked in the past, so he was just waiting for the bet to be over with.  The last bet was during Lady and the Tramp where she’d bet him he would wind up complaining well before the baby was born.  Billy had said he wouldn’t.  The stakes were: if Billy won he could order what he wanted for both of them the next time they ordered from the diner, and if Y/N won she could bring one of her cassette’s into Billy’s car.  High stakes, since Billy hated listening to music he didn’t like, so he’d done his best to not complain.  He really had set against not complaining.  But in the first scene he’d gone and rolled his eyes, leaning on the couch, “But there’s no holes in the present!”  And Y/N had brought in her Cyndi Lauper tape into the camaro, which it now called home.  

Surprisingly, Y/N had made it through most of the movie without jumping over the middle of the couch.  Every time Billy looked over at her, her face was contorted in a look of concentration.  Which only made him roll his eyes, she was determined not to freak out and let him win the bet.  The look of determination in her eyes, even as he watched her flinch from what happened on the screen.  

They were more than half into the move at this point, but Y/N still hadn’t moved from her spot where she’d grounded herself.  She refused to move, except to look at Billy out of the corner of her eyes.  She’d caught him looking her way, but didn’t say anything.  Y/N was still trying to figure out what kind of shit Billy was trying to pull with the whole kiss dare.  

In the future when this movie night would be spoken about, it would be in terms of the bets they’d made and who won.  

When the credits were rolling, Y/N stood up and took the video out of the player and turned back to Billy with an angry tint in her eyes ( definitely partially fueled by the alcohol she’d consumed during the movie ), “So what the fuck was that dare for, Billy?”  

Billy stood up and chuckled at her.  He was playing it off as nothing more than just a simple dare to get under his friend’s skin.  But maybe it had meant more to him.  “Just wanted to see you squirm.”  He said, passing by her to go into the kitchen where he opened the fridge.  “I didn’t think it would affect you this much, Y/N.”  he’d called back to her.  

“I’m not sure you understand how much I care about you then.”  Y/N had meant to say it under her breath, but her voice carried from where she stood in her house to where Billy stood in the kitchen.  

“You care about me?”  Billy asked, suddenly appearing at her side and looking at her with eyes she couldn’t decipher.  

Y/N jumped and turned to face him, “You scared the shit out of me Hargrove.”  she nudged his arm with her fist, sloppily pushing against his chest.  

“You ignoring my question, Y/L/N?”

“What question?” 

Billy sighed and repeated his question from moments before, “You care about me?”  

Y/N’s eyes widened for a split second before she cleared her throat, “Of course I do!  You’re my best friend, Billy.  Of course I care about you.”  It didn’t sound so convincing to either of them.  Y/N was sure her voice had raised a surprising octave and Billy had kept his eyes on hers when she spoke.  

“Kiss me.”  he said quietly.  

“You lost the bet.”  Y/N pointed out with a soft chuckle.  

“This ain’t about the damn bet, Y/N.”  Billy harrumphed, putting a hand on her cheek and looking at her.  In that moment, she sobered up when he said, “Kiss me.”  

And she did.  

In the future, when they’d talk of the bet made that night: both of them would say they won.  

[prorevenge]

Don't pay me for half a year? Ok, enjoy being $20,000 in debt and being out of a job.

Ok, so I had this really nice lady as a boss in a sales job (I'm in a different job now). She was the sweetest soul ever and would always get us coffee when we got to work. She had a heart of pure gold, but that wasn't enough for the leech of a corporation the business I used to work at was. They were the most scummy people on earth. Just imagine Mr Krabs' money obsession on steroids. Half of my workforce got fired due to "budget cuts", thankfully not me because I was a pretty hard worker. But then I got a new boss and oh, boy was he a nightmare. He made us get to work an hour earlier so we could "get ahead of our schedule". He also made us stay behind late for the same reason. I barely ever got any free time to myself because I was rotting in a tomb that my new boss called an office. To be honest, he made me want to quit and also made me wonder, "What the hell am I doing here? I could be outside but instead, I'm sat in front of a monitor, making some sales. What has my life become?"

He made me hate my life.

Then they got really scummy. They got rid of another half of our workforce again because of their "budget cuts". They fired my best friend who I made a pact with to always have the same job as her. She got a job as a cashier because nobody was hiring. I couldn't leave my job and I felt trapped. But can I tell you what was really scummy? Because there was only 25% of our workforce left, they were making me do TWO different jobs and an extra 3 HOURS because they "couldn't afford" to keep their precious workers in the industry. My boss started to treat me like shit with a cherry on top and make sexist jokes and even spanked me once when I dropped my purse. It was so misogynistic and so damn rude that I just couldn't take it anymore. I went into a mental breakdown at home and cried myself to sleep for a week. The fucking boss also had the nerve to not pay me for 6 MONTHS! He came up with excuses like "we have a few setbacks, we'll give it to you next month" and "Oh, we're sorry! We're all tied up at the moment". I had rent to pay, goddamnit! I got paid roughly 3,300 a month but after that, I had to rely on my parents to help me pay my rent, buy my food, get transport through trains etc.

This isn't directed towards the boss but towards the entire goddamn company! I'm not naming any names but they are the worst corporation ever.

So I was slaving away at my job AGAIN, and my boss told me they were firing me because I was lacking schedule completion or whatever.

I. Was. Pissed.

I almost killed the guy it was so overwhelming and infuriating.

Fuck these guys.

NOW... FOR THE REVENGE:

I had no idea why I didn't do this before but I had gotten in contact with a lawyer. He understood it all and was in my favour and he agreed to take on the case. We had gathered every sample of evidence on how I was unpaid for the past six months and had to live off of my parents. (It was horrible, I felt so bad. It felt like I was stealing from them) We were certain we were going to win the court case. We had every bit of evidence to get my money back.

Court Trial Day. I was not suing my shitty boss but the CEO of the company for around $20,000. The CEO tried to bribe the judge with $500 but it didn't work. The judge apparently passed it off as "Sure, dude. I'll definitely be in your favour."

My lawyer is friends with the judge surprisingly enough and the judge told him after the trial case.

Ok so judge starts talking yada yada yada. Then he asked the CEO to give evidence that they have paid me. They had none. They didn't even think about forging documents. The judge was displeased and went onto me and my lawyer. THe judge told me to show evidence and I did. I whipped out 10s of pages of documents with unpaid bills and also said that the company has a reputation for killing its workforce. The judge had all the evidence he needed and it went in my favour.

This went over the local news and I got $20,000 in return (Thanks so much, CEO ;) really appreciate it)

I bought a used car and paid off the next few months of my rent.

All thanks to the CEO.

The CEO's company died and went out of business because clients heard about my court case and they were disgusted that a company would do that. The company went out of business because nobody would buy from them and they had a bad reputation in general. I, however, got my PhD in English and I am now an author for a book series. I can't say which because I'm not allowed to advertise, rip in chat.

TL;DR The company I used to work at killed 75% of it's workforce and didn't pay me for six months. I got $20k out of it and got the company shut down

(source) story by (/u/westyxxx)

[boogiewrites]

Choking On Sapphires 87

Characters: Alfie Solomons x Genevieve (OFC)

Title & Song: It’s too late to turn back now. 

Summary:  Genevieve gives a heavy dose of karma and learns about herself in the process. Alfie is once again reminded why he fell in love with her in the first place.

Warnings/Tags: Language. References to assault and violence. 

Click on my icon then go to my Mobile Masterlist in my bio for my other works and chapters. (Had to do this since Tumblr killed links, sorry.) Please like, comment and reblog if you enjoyed it! It helps out us writers A LOT!

Alfie was met with cold indifference that he knew was justified, no matter what his intentions were in his harsh words to Genevieve. He’d let the stress get to him and he’s forgotten to be delicate. She truly had come so far, but her defeat that he warned her of had pushed him too far and he found himself falling into the easy habit of giving his cold hard opinion in retaliation to someone going against what he said to do. He’s forgotten to treat the one soft thing in his life with just that when she needed it the most. And now she was gone.

There was no weakness behind her eyes that next morning. No hurt or shame to be found as he studied her from the opposite side of her dining room table. The great expanse between them more than suited for how distant they felt to each other now. They eat in silence, and she pays him no mind. He knows it’s warranted. As he had been helping her back to their room before he readied himself for work he calls out as she stands from her seat.

“Do you need me to-“

“No.” She states plainly with black eyes meeting his from across the room. “I won’t be requiring your help any further.” She states with cold biting tounge that he hasn’t heard since before the accident, and never directed at him.

“‘Course.” He says with a bow of his head as he sees Claire approaching her with a stack of paperwork, handing Gen her glasses as he saw she already had her plans for the day.

Their mornings continued in the same pattern. He ate as if he were invisible, and Gen came out fully dressed and talking shop over her meal with Claire about business. As much as it did hurt in its own way to be ignored, to see the result he had wanted all along forming in front of him as a result of his actions was still satisfying. The businessman in him was pleased, but the lover in him was not.

Genevieve felt a new. She felt self assured in a way she hadn’t even before the abuse. She knew now the cold and careless ways of the world

Outside. She was no longer approaching her work or life with a touch of whimsy, but the same harsh judgement it had given her. She got better faster, taking Alfies words in mind and not pushing but working forward at a steady pace. She stayed home but found her routine again, the maths and the reading and writing of her work. She walked the gardens, greenhouses and aviary and became one with her land and product again. She was slowly becoming what she felt she should have already, a confident but realistic woman who would no longer try to rule with love. She would rule now with respect, and if she found it Necessary, fear.

Claire was out conducting what would be the last of the solo collections for the rent of Genevieve’s properties. Seeing the state of her land without her constant oversight led the staff to have more than enough to keep busy to get things back to her standards, not a Normal one.

Gen’s feeling quiet and reserved this afternoon, a leisurely stroll around her estate to brainstorm and reflect. She found the click of her heels on the marble floors to be soothing as the architecture and decoration kept her eyes busy. She was planning for her future, wondering how to dispel the nasty rumors that had been going around about her, as she’s demanded Claire tell her them all. And she had. And now Gen was out to make everyone eat their words.

As she takes this thoughtful stroll she hears a female voice from the phone room. With narrowed eyes she approaches, knowing she’d told the girls no calls unless emergencies during work hours. And nothing had been approved by her so she prepares to scold an absent minded young girl. But the voice is not young and the words she hears stops her in her tracks and a new much stronger emotion creeps in.

“It’s been a bloody mad house let me tell you.” The women’s voice says and Gens hairs stand up on the back of her neck. “She’s a mess. Falling apart at the seams, she is. Her and Solomons don’t even speak anymore!” The delight she hears in the rumors being fueled by one of her own makes her eyes dilate and go black. Her shoulders relax and she spine stiffens, and she shifts into a mood that was far more intense than what she had felt before. “Who even knows! Wandering about naked in the garden! It’s shameful! Like some bloody pagan!” The woman laughs. “She talks to people who aren’t there you know? Almost sad.” She continues and Gen presses her back against the wall. Feeling the cool stone under her palms as she takes deep and slow breaths. No matter what the next words were there would be no saving this woman now. “They fight constantly! Shouting and hitting like children! He’s bound to leave her anytime now!” She exclaims as if she were proud as the red haze in Gennys eyes grew thicker, pulse pounding in her temple as she hears the nonsense spewed out into the Londoners ears that she was now having to help reign in. All this trouble from this woman. All this work because this cow couldn’t help herself. If this maid couldn’t help but talk, then Gen couldn’t help what she was going to do to her. “Once he finds out she’s pregnant with Horne’s child then he’ll be gone. She’s not bled still! How they are living in denial this deeply is BEYOND me!” She laments and Gen loses the last bit of reserve she had. Her brain makes the connection. This had happened before. This was Dorothy, the same woman who kept on with her passive aggressive compliments and mentioning things that triggered her. She was what made Gen lose control before, and she was about to cause it again.

If you were to ask her in approximately 15 minutes what happened she couldn’t tell you. But she most certainly knew the woman got what she had coming to her.

She meekly hangs up, and trots with her cloven hooves to the back hallways and Gen is right behind her. Silent as the night and eyes as dark with their blown pupils and no sign of remorse anymore. She saw only red and was going to kill Dorothy.

Dorothy moves into a dry goods pantry and Gen seizes the opportunity. She hadn’t felt this alive this...good in so long.

“Hello Dorothy.” She scares the woman as she clicks the door shut behind her.

She jumps and clutches her chest. “Oh Miss Durand! You startled me!” She laughs.

“Did I? And I thought nothing got past you in this house?” A single light bulb casts and eerie shadow on Gens hard and uncaring face. Dorothy watches as she takes a chair and wedges it under the doorknob and she starts to sweat.

“What ever do you mean Miss?” She stutters.

“You can drop the act you lying slag. I know you’ve been telling rumors and lies about me.” Her voice is deep and her shoulders shift with her body as she approaches the other woman, her body moving like a cat stalking its prey.

“What are you-?”

“I said… fucking… drop it.” She very literally growls and moves closer as the woman gives in.

Her shoulders slump and she sighs. “So you FINALLY found out. I knew Solomons was into me but not you.” She shakes her head.

“Even counting the days I bleed? What sort of fucked up woman does that? Do you have no life of your own that you must insert yourself into mine and try to belittle me?”

“I was paid to, don’t flatter yourself. Some high class London woman told me about this job after my former passed. Knew I’d be suited to help take you and Solomons down.���

“Why?”

“Because someone should.” She snarls back as Gen looks her up and down. “You’re nuttier than a fruitcake love don’t ya know?” She snaps back. “People should know you’re mad as a hatter out here and taking Solomons with you!”

“So someone who doesn’t like our lifestyle.” She responds calmly.

“No one should! You’re a loon and he’s a criminal!”

“Then we were made for each other hmm?” She smirks.

“See! You make no bloody sense! you’re both awful and hide behind your money. He’s a murderer and you’ve been beaten senseless.”

“You forgot one thing.” Gen says with a wicked smile that makes the maids blood run cold as she realized the danger of the company she was in.

“Wha- What?”

“He’s not the only murderer.” A smile that grows slowly, time enough for fear to cross Dorothy face. There was that look Gen missed. The one where they knew they were going to die. She hums at the feeling of control again. She’d missed it so.

What follows is a damn near artistic display of violence and gore from Genevieve. From the first pounce, the shrill scream of her victim sending chills of delight across her skin she blacks out, gives in to the dark part of her mind and loses herself.

When she comes to the door is being beaten in behind her, concerned shouts from the other side and her thumbs are dug into Dorothy’s brain. Her face was beaten into an unrecognizable pulp, broken bones led the body to lay in a most haunting and unnatural way. Gen was covered in blood spatter from beating the woman’s face into the stone floor. She’d taken every bit of frustration out on her and she felt… amazing.

Gasps and cries of shock are heard as the door finally breaks and Gen is pulled away. The red of blood lending a lovely contrast to her white and navy business ensemble.

Aggie screams at her only inches away, face full of concern but Gen only smiles. “I’m lovely Aggie. Thanks for asking.” She says despite not hearing what the woman said. She only stared at the body in the floor and heard a high pitched tone that drowned out most everything else.

Aggie face is confused and turns to fear when Gen starts laughing. She’s snapped she thinks. And to a degree she was right, but it was only temporary.

Gen comes to a realization. She’d seen this before. She’d been Aggie in this scenario. Arthur had spells like this, of inhuman violence and wild abandon. His mad dog side they’d called it. She hadn’t understood it until now. She realizes she owes him some apologies. She understood now. She had to break and put herself back together just like he had after the war...and now they were one in their madness. She thought it all very sentimental.

“GENEVIEVE ARE YOU HURT?!” Finally breaks through. Her eyes turn to Claire who does not look afraid, and that was why she adored her so much to be honest.

“I’m fine.” Gen responds with a shake of her head. “Not hurt.” She says looking down and touching, double checking herself.

“Who IS that? WHY?” She demands.

“Dorothy. She was a paid spy who has been leaking the rumors.” She calmly states and recognition comes across Claire’s face.

“What did you...do to her?”

“I killed her it seems.”

“Yes but...you’ve never done THAT before Gen. are you sure you’re-?”

“I haven’t felt this good in a long time cheri.” She smiles up at her friend. “But I’m afraid I don’t know what I did. I must’ve blacked out in anger.” She works thought he erased space of time.

“Well that…” Claire shrugs. “That would make sense.” She mutters. “So you had proof she was the one doing it?”

“I heard her.” Gens nose twitches in anger but seeing the blood spot where the woman’s head used to be makes her feel better. “Every disgusting word. Some high class cunts hired her to spread stories and help bring Alfie and I down.” Gen blinks rapidly. “Alfie.” She says looking to the doorway. “He should know.” She adds quietly.

“He should be on his way home at this hour. What a surprise for him today.”

“At least it is a good one.” Gen says with a tilt of her head.

Claire looks at her befuddled and lets out a nervous laugh. Gen seemed perfectly aware and coherent. But good lord what she’d done to that woman was anything but.

—————

Alfie comes home to very skittish and whispering maids. Taking his coat off and hanging it, narrowing his eyes at them before shouting.

“FUCKIN’ WOT, EH?” Causing them to jump and scurry away.

“Alfie.” Claire says with a tone he knows means nothing good. Her hand resting on the archway towards the kitchens

“What now?” He says loudly and shoves his feet into his slippers, taking his suspenders off his shoulders as he begins rubbing his temple.

“Just follow me.” She says with a less problematic delivery.

“Now I can’t even know what’s going on in me own house?” He gets out before rounding the corner and seeing Gen standing, covered in blood. Much to her surprise when she sees him he rushes towards her and holds her face. She meets him with wide blinking eyes that look mildly confused. “What happened, love? Are ya hurt?” Looking her up and down and touching her lightly.

She takes his hands slowly and puts them back down at his aides and his brow furrows further at her reaction.

“I’m perfectly fine.” she pauses and her lips form a tight line before she continues. “... but I did kill a maid.”

“YA FUCKIN WOT?” He shouts his face moving quickly to angry.

“The pantry.” She points casually and he steps back, eyeing her suspiciously.

“Fuckin’ ‘ell Genny. Gods not gonna recognize her sendin’ her back like that.” He remarks with a raised brow. “Ya fuckin...I ‘on’t even know who that is! Can’t even identify the body in that state.” He continues and scratches his head. “And you did this?” His tone turns to concern.

“I did.” She nods and looks unaffected.

“Ya mind telling me fuckin’ WHY ya turned her head to mash?” He exclaims.

“Her name was Dorothy.” She states factually without emotion. The name immediately rings a bell for Alfie. “I caught her calling out and telling lies and stories about me, and you. And us. Nasty rumors I know you’ve heard by now. Us fighting, me pregnant with…” She takes a deep breath and her eyes meet his with a boldness he knows means she was indeed sane for the time being. “Horne’s child. The hallucinations, pagan rituals, every sort of thing. It was her.” She nods her head in the direction of the headless body.

“I KNEW that one was off!” He snaps and growls looking at her again then to the floor towards Gen. “I told her not to make calls during work hours once before. Guess she didn’t listen eh?” He remarks sarcastically before taking steps towards Gen.

“Someone hired her as an insider. Some high class person to infiltrate and destroy us.”

“She said that?” He responds quickly.

Gen nods and Alfies face contorts in thought. “They don’t like our lifestyle. Don’t think people like us should be in their world.”

“Nothing new.” Alfie grumbles. “What a fuckin pain in the arse though yeah? The bollocks to plant someone! And to further harm a sick woman! Fuck those posh cunts. Swear I’d like to bash their fuckin’ heads in meself!” He proclaims with a groan after. “ But you…” He begins and puts his hands on her shoulders. “You did exactly what you should’ve. I would’ve done the same.” He says with eye contact and sincerity to his voice that breaks through her now useless resentment towards him.

She nods in agreement. “I couldn’t let her live after the things she said. I knew what I was doing but, I just kept...going. Until there was nothing of her left.”

“Ya okay now it seems.” He offers.

“Yes. Perfectly.” She shrugs. “It felt damn good to do that to her truthfully.”

“I’d say so.” He reserves his judgements and feels an inkling of optimism for Gen and their future. She was always a killer, but before Horne never to this degree. She’d snapped like one of the boys in the field. But there was no screaming and hitting to bring her back thankfully, but he could use this brutality to his advantage. “I’ll take care of this, love.” He says with a nod to her, being sure to meet her eyes and show support that he had so severely been lacking in doing as of late.

“No.” She says gently with a shake of her head. “I will.” She clears her throat and looks over to Claire who’s pleasantly surprised by the exchange between them. The most they’d spoken in around a week and certainly the most affectionate. “Gather the staff. All of them. In the ballroom. We need to get some things straight.” She says before sighing and looking to the body in the pantry. “Could use some help cleaning that up though.” Says before turning to look at Alfie again.

“I can certainly do that. Get my lads on it.” He nods and follows her lead. “Won’t have to worry about no one identifying the body at least.” He offers in a light hearted way.

she blinks slowly as if she’s considering it. “I do suppose that’s true.” She reflects in a thoughtful tone and moves to the meeting place.

With the varied people all standing and most looking confused in the golden and marbled ballroom, Gen walks in from the hallway slowly with clicking heels and blood still covering her clothes. Alfie stands back at the entryway and observes.

“There was a woman murdered here today. Her name was Dorothy. Some of you knew her, others didn’t. But I want to take this occasion to make some very important statements. Best you listen well.” She stands with her back straight and her eyes piercing into each person as she speaks. “We will deny this woman ever existed. She never worked here. We haven’t heard of her and she was never here in any capacity. You say nothing and heard nothing.” She pauses and takes a deep breath, adding to the delivery. “She was here as a spy to take us down. To spread lies and rumors by those who would oppose our successes. By those who do not approve of Mr. Solomons and mine ways of conducting business. They dared to send a rat aboard my ship when I was incapacitated. This shows me there is a new line drawn now for us. For me. This for each of you. There are people out to get us. Who want to destroy what we’ve worked so hard to build. They want to kill us and our way of life and we will not allow it. If you think that they are after only Alfie and myself you should remind yourself that our ruin is yours. If you have had the good fortune to only ever work for me, then you do not know of the horrors that await lovely little girls with no families in other homes. There is no school, adequate housing or support. There is back breaking work, rape and no future.” Some of the girls shift and show their discomfort. “I killed this Dorothy for what she has tried to do. And I will make sure personally that anyone else that tries to betray me will also be met with a violent end just as she was. I will not tolerate anything but loyalty. For this is a new era for myself and all of you. My successes are yours, and my downfall is shared by you as well. You’d do well to remember that. And if you cannot, leave now or go see the remains in the pantry before they’re gone so you can know what your future holds.” She holds the room in apt attentions all eyes on her. “Nothing will change in this moment for you. Go on about your work. But best you remember who takes care of you, yes? Because I can end you just as easily.”

The room is silent except for the stray gulp or sniffle. She gives a stern nod and exits after a drawn out silence here she eyeballed each girl to get a read on them. She was hoping she had fully put the fear into them.

Alfie watches her walk past him and down the hall to her wing like he’s invisible. He feels an odd churn in his stomach. One he hadn’t felt in months.

The power was still coming off her as her stone face readied for bed with its creams and primping. She was back in her sheer and flowy gowns, having noticed their reappearance after their last fight. She felt strong and womanly in them, showing her body that carried her through these challenges proudly. She empowered by herself and her nudity and her mind once more. All aspects of herself forming a newly evolved woman who was more based in reality and fact, less heart and more mind. Her new take on life killed pieces of her old self, but in their absence a new woman was born. And she was ready to take back her power.

There was that stomach roll again as he sat in silken pajamas and watched her over his half circle glasses while she took strides around her room. Her body language most certainly sold that it was her space, and his body was responding to it.

She takes off her dressing gown and matching slippers, lotioned and potioned and ready for a well deserved rest as she slides into bed and as it has been she pays Alfie not much mind. He decides it’s time to change that.

“Genevieve, love?” He asks politely as she settles back into a pile of pillows, propped up and facing him with her journal in hand.

“Yes?” Her eyes bright and attentive to him as they meet his without hesitation now.

“I wanted to tell you that I support your handling of the situations that came to pass today.” He leans in to speak to her with a calm but still gruff tone.

“Thank you.” She accepts with a nod.

“And I know we’ve been in a bit of a bad way yeah? And I hope that we can start to mend that now. Seein’ as you’re so boldly taking things into your hands again. Which is lovely to see that is.” He gives her a genuinely supportive series of nods.

He could sense her reservation but she wasn’t angry anymore it felt. “Thank you again, Alfie. I would like for us to… mend what’s been broken over these past months. Now with others out to take down both of us, and in such a tasteless manner, it’s important for us to appear as a united front. We are stronger together than apart. And I believe in time we will… mend as you said both our personal and professional relationships.”

She speaks so diplomatically about their lives it should’ve made him feel cold or detached. It should’ve made him not want to warm up to her, to touch her and tell her how proud he was of her. But it did.

“As all things it will come in time. Not only do I need more time to process and grow but more reflection on your behalf wouldn’t hurt either.” Her words were not meant to anger him, she was speaking like he would in a transaction. She was being level and honest and telling him what she wanted and not much caring if it wasn’t what he wanted to hear. And he hates to admit it but he loved it. “We’ve been through a lot. Best not rush the apologies and… romance until the more important things are handled, yes?”

He wanted to kiss her for her stern words. Wanted to tell her this woman was more perfect than the last, this rational and striking ball buster with her own needs first was making him want her something terrible. “‘Course love.” Is his measured response with an approving nod. “Couldn’t have said it better meself.” He adds as he situated into the covers. “May I wish you a goodnight?”

Her eyes moves back over to him and he swears there’s a ghost of a smile behind her calculated tilt of her head. “You may.” Her voice almost as a purr to him.

He leans over and kisses her cheek innocently. “Goodnight love. Sleep well.” He adds with a charming furrow of his brow.

“Goodnight, Alfie. I believe I will.”

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[mirdaniaa]

a year ago i worked a job i hated, one that filled me with more anxiety than a job ever should. i’d left my old job, where i was paid better and received benefits, because it was sosososo bad for my mental health and just an unpleasant place besides. i thought the law firm would be different. 

they called me after i left work for the day, after the office was locked, to tell me not to come in, they were looking for someone who was more focused on becoming an attorney, yada yada. i went home and cried. 

over the next few weeks, things just got worse. my best friend and roommate flew home early to tell me that now that i didn’t have a job, she didn’t trust that i could pay rent and one of us had to go. i had a mental breakdown i’m not proud of--i burst into her room a couple times, i relapsed worse than i had in a while. when i told her later, for the sake of transparency and to try to explain where i was mentally, she told me i disturbed her.

i took on a part time job at an old workplace that i HATED. being back was somehow even worse. i felt like a failure. i was miserable. i often contemplated killing myself because i felt like my existence was a waste and i would do nothing with my life but regress.

i started a fight with someone i’d been friends with for a long time. she was kind and gracious about it, and i felt like such a terrible person that i relapsed again. i’d made a public confrontation out of it in a discord server where it felt like everyone was turning against me. i realize now that they weren’t, and i was just paranoid, but it felt like i was losing all my friends. i left the discord server.

i went to so many job interviews. none of them worked out. the one that did end up hiring me weeks later was a part time nonprofit job where i felt hopeless and stranded. 

i threw myself an abba themed party, something that would have normally delighted me, but i was so miserable i couldn’t fully enjoy it. i cried before and after the party. i took a higher dosage than normal of zoloft just to fake my smiles. my fresh self harm wounds were visible. no one said anything.

i decided to dye my hair. the results were disastrous. i ended up shaving off all o fit. the best friend/roommate said “god, what HAPPENED?” she moved out the next day, and not long after, blocked me on every form of social media and i’m assuming my number as well. we haven’t spoken since. in the coming weeks, almost all of our mutual friends stopped talking to me. the other roommate and i brought in a series of increasingly terrible subleasers who ended up costing us more money than it was worth to rent out the room. 

i don’t know why i’m saying all this now. i think maybe the effects of that depressive episode reached much farther than i thought. i think i’m a little traumatized from how awful everything felt, and even now, on my one year anniversary of being fired from a place that i kind of always knew was going to fire me, my stomach is a ball of knots and i’m afraid it’ll happen again. that i’ll keep regressing and failing until the universe finally gets rid of me.

but everything is okay right now. it might not stay that way. but for right now, i’m okay.